THE

GAEDENEE

A MAGAZINE

OF

HOETICULTUEE AND FLOPJCULTUEE

EDITED BY

DAVID THOMSON

DRUMLANHIG GARDENS

I8FI

WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS

EDINBUEGH AND LONDON

MDCCGLXXT

i87(

PaiNTSD E7 WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH.

'CM.

THE

GARDENER

JANUARY 1871.

THE GARDENER.

HERE is reason to suspect that they who are appointed to,
and undertake a share in, the direction and guidance of
the public mind, do not estimate their position aright if
they do not feel that there is attached to it a consider-
able amount of responsibility; and, if its duties be conscientiously dis-
charged, it must be a position of labour and anxiety. In coming
before our readers as the conductor of the ' Gardener,' such feelings
are frankly confessed, more especially as new tributaries are now
more than ever augmenting the current of horticulture, which thus,
as it advances, is becoming deeper and stronger.

To inspire confidence by a variety of promises does not form any

part of our intention. Promises are often made and not fulfilled,

and have rightly ceased to be regarded by those who wish to form an

estimate. Journalism will ever stand or fall — fulfil its mission or

come short of it — by its success or failure in providing interesting

^ and sound instruction for those who read with the intent to learn. It

Cv| ought thus to be, and more or less than this we do not hope for.

22 In the history of this country there never were so many interested

Cv7 in gardening pursuits as there are now. The owners of large landed

(^ ♦ estates have ceased to be the almost only owners of gardens, with all

f "■- that is implied in that term of the necessities, the pleasures, and the

^^ luxuries of life. Gardens can now be counted by thousands instead

2 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

of hundreds ; and in some, if not all of their departments, individual
expansion has kept pace with augmented numbers, calling for more
gardeners of superior skill and intelligence, and rendering it a sphere
of labour of increased interest to employers and employed. We wish
it could be further said that the social position and emoluments of
horticulturists have bounded upwards at a similar pace.

Looking in another direction, we see a great part of our population
pent up as " sons of toil " in our great centres of commerce and
wealth, and apparently dissociated from any interest or dependence on
horticulture. Still they have, or ought to have, an especial interest
in it. To them a good supply of wholesome garden produce, especi-
ally vegetables and fruit, is a matter of much moment, — a necessity of
health and life. And greater regard is being wisely paid to the
pleasures of public gardens and squares with their plants and flowers
as counteractors of the evils of the physical position of this class, and
as incentives to lift their minds above practices which are debasing
and destroying in their effects. In this direction there is a wide and
momentous field open to horticultural enterprise and usefulness. Be-
sides this, the collateral influence of horticulture has tended in no
insignificant degree to the advancement of agricultural practice, which
has taken from the horticulturist its highest lessons in deep drainage,
deep tillage, thin seeding, and wide planting. Is it, then, arrogant to
claim for horticulture a position of national importance 1 It is bound
up, not only with the pleasures and luxuries of a community, but also
with its healthy and prosperous existence. The avocations of the
horticulturist, whether he grows a Cabbage or a Leek, or applies with
an exactitude, which cursory lookers-on are not aware of, all those
artificial circumstances which long patient practice and study have
taught him to be necessary in rearing the Pine- Apple and the Grape
to the perfection now attained, are worthy of being accredited with
more importance and substantial remuneration than they generally
realise.

To try to do credit to such an interest as this, and to justify the
title of this magazine, we have attempted to direct our arrangements.
We beg to thank those who have so willingly rendered their esteemed
assistance. We invite correspondence and interchange of thought and
practice on all matters directly bearing on horticulture ; while we will,
to the best of our ability, provide sound advice and direction to those
who ask for such through the medium of the ' Gardener,' knowing
that, as a Gardening Monthly, it can hold its position and well serve its
own interest, only by continuing to be the dispenser of reliable infor-
mation and instruction relating to the various branches of the profes-
sion. Much of the usefulness of a periodical depends on its promis-

iSyi.] VINES AND VINE-BORDERS. 3

cuous correspondence ; and all of that nature that reaches us will meet
with conscientious consideration and treatment — for it is gratifying to
think that gardeners are the only class of servants who, almost entirely,
support a literature of their own. This consideration alone prevents us
from endorsing much that has been bandied about the ignorance of
gardeners as a class; and, taking it as one criterion among many, it may
fairly be asked if they are not the most intelligent and not the least
moral of any class of servants in receipt of the same amount of re-
muneration. Perhaps it may be said that this is not saying much for
gardeners. It is at all events something said, if not much. They cer-
tainly deserve this credit — that as a class of servants they do more to
improve themselves and their brethren than any other that we know of.
The exigencies of our position render it absurd to think that we can
entice into our ranks the youth of superior education, at least until a
national system of compulsory education has left us none other.

Our counsel to those who have been smitten with the poetry of the
garden is to do all in their power to improve their education, just
because they are men and gardeners, and to lend others a helping hand
in some way or other. Search the universe, and it will be found that
the most stunted objects of nature are among those that dispense the
least to others ; and the human mind is affected by the same law of
being. The more you dispense your own stores of knowledge, the
greater do they become. Just as the mountain-tops, instead of bottling
up the rains, send them down in cheering and sparkling streams to
refresh and water the plains betwixt them and the sea, receive all
back again ; or as the earth receives the flashing streams of light and
heat into her bosom, not to selfishly store them, but to gratefully yield
them up in fragrance, beauty, and nourishment to man and beast,
ultimately receiving herself the fullest benefit of all that she dispenses.
Let us thus act during the year 1871, that we may the more consis-
tently and hopefully anticipate ^' a happy new year."

VINES AND VINE-BORDERS.

I HAVE no doubt the readers of the ' Gardener,' like those of every
other horticultural periodical, consider they have had quite enough of
the subjects I have chosen for this and a few other papers of recent
years. Be that as it may, I think there is a good deal to be said on
the subjects in hand yet, and I mean to contribute my quota, and I
hope others will do the same.

Nearly all gardeners of any extent of experience must have observed
that certain vineries become suddenly famous for their crops of Grapes,

4 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

and as suddenly lose the reputation thus obtained. That there is
some sufficient cause or causes for this sudden wax and wane of fruit-
fulness no sane man will deny, any more than he will the importance
of a discovery of a remedy for the latter ; and in order to arrive at
some safe conclusions on the subject, I will proceed to make a diag-
nosis of a set of " worn-out vines," and of the border they are planted
in — I cannot say growing in, for the active roots have left it years
ago. What, then, do I find ? small, thin, flaccid foliage, the lateral
growths getting annually smaller in wood and larger in pith ; the foot-
stalks of the bunches long and slender ; the bunches composed one
half of matured, the other of shanked berries ; the Vines very subject
to attacks of red-spider or any other living pest that afilicts the Vine.
If the atmosphere is kept moist, they throw out a great many air-
roots. Altogether they are in a most unsatisfactory condition. Then
what of the border ? Dig down a foot deep in it and you find no
young active roots. The soil is more of the consistency of putty than
anything else. It was rich when compounded, and is so much the
worse now. In the process of its removal you come upon a fine large
bare root, running as direct across it to the gravel-walk beyond as the
electric cable does across the Atlantic, and you are provoked to find
that though there is not a living rootlet in the border that has been
prepared with such care, there are abundance branching in all directions
among the broken bricks, stones, ashes, or gravel, as the case may be,
that form the walk. My readers will probably remark, Then why not
make the whole border of brickbats, stones, or gravel ? I reply, bet-
ter it were so than as matters but too frequently are found ; at the
same time I hold that a border properly made of good loam, with the
addition of a few bones, a little horse-manure, and, if the soil is heavy,
some brick rubbish or burnt clay, or both, is far more likely to give
good results than bricks, stones, or ashes. The reasons why the roots
branch in all directions in the walk are that undoubted law of
nature which provides many roots for a plant on poor soil as compared
with those on rich, and the sweeter state — to use a technical term —
of the material of which the walk is framed, as compared with the
border, kept so by the air in the interstices amongst the stones. Others
of the roots, as I have often found, have gone down into the miser-
ably poor sand or gravel of the subsoil. They are anywhere, in fact,
but where they were intended to be. Your neighbour plants a vinery,
and he means to prevent the evil complained of. He bricks up the
arches of his front wall to compel the roots to live at home till they
occupy the inside border well, when he means to let them out ; but
they have their revenge, for they go first to the bricks, then trace
them down to feel if they can get out underneath them. They fail,

1 87 1.] VINES AND VINE-BORDERS. 5

but they are away a yard from the surface, and when let out, com-
mence their march across the border at such a depth as deprives them
of the genial influences of heat and air. So much for what we learn
from an examination of the old Vines and their border.

I will now, founding on much experience, suggest what the Vines
may have been like when planted. They were probably what are styled
in the advertisements of the present day, " fine strong planting canes,"
and to the comparatively inexperienced they appeared all they were re-
presented, but a critical examination proved that they were as pithy as
a rush. They had no well-plumped firm eyes, and when turned out of
their pots, it was discovered that they were grown in rich soil, half
dung in fact, that they had been grown in bottom-heat, and that
many of the roots formed under such circumstances had decayed when
exposed to a degree of cold that would do no injury to a properly-
grown Vine. They have been raised from eyes in small pots, where they
remained till their tap-roots had made several journeys round the
inside of the pot, when they were transferred to a 9 or 10 inch pot,
to finish their growth and make several more coils round it. Another
aspect of their treatment in early youth was that they were grown as
near each other in a close moist atmosphere as beans in a field, their
foliage never getting properly exposed to light and air. I by no
means blame nurserymen for growing them thus, while the vine-
buying public expect to get "fine strong planting canes for 3s. 6d.,
and fine fruiting ditto at 5s." The thing is simply impossible at the
present rate of labour and other appliances, including the space the
Vines would require to grow them properly. This is a real case of
sinking the ship to save a pennyworth of tar.

I may here remark that I observe another delusion springing up at
the present day about Vines for planting. I refer to advertisements
setting forth that the subscribers can supply young Vines grown tolth-
out the aid of artificial heat — as if this were likely to add to their value,
when the reverse is the case. No Vine should be planted that is more
than a year old from an eye, and to get such well grown and ripened
in the climate of Britain requires more or less fire-heat. Such being
the Vines, let us turn them out of their pots and proceed to plant
them. The roots that have survived are twisted and entangled in all
directions, and by the time the leading roots are disengaged from the
ball, there are no small laterals left on them ; but they are a good
length, and when spread out reach a long way across the border.
While the stored-up sap in the Vine and roots lasts, progress in growth
is made for a short time ; and after a halt, young roots start from the
points of the old extended roots, and, if the border has all been made
up at once, get rapidly on with their journey across it.

6 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

Here I must leave them in the mean time, for I find I have occu-
pied as much space as I have a right to expect on this occasion. In
my next I will suggest remedies for the evils I have attempted to
depict.

Dalkeith Park.

Wm. Thomson.

NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS.

" Rhododendrons, the pride of European gardens, as they are of
their native wilds " — so wrote the great Loudon nearly fifty years ago,
when very few species or varieties were either known or cultivated in
Europe ; and even many of these, though deeply interesting and
worthy of careful cultivation, by no means conspicuous or striking as
decorative plants. The gorgeous Indian R. Arboreum was but recently
introduced, and had not yet bloomed in this country, though wondrous
things were said of its tree-habit and dark-crimson blossoms ; and as
yet the still popular R. Ponticum, Catawbiense, Caucasicum, maxi-
mum, ferrugineum, and hirsutum, and a few of their varieties, very
nearly made up the list of what we may term showy sorts, though
all were worthy of the high praise which w^as accorded to them.

Since then, it is scarcely necessary to say, a vast and in some re-
spects a remarkable improvement has been effected, both in point of
variety and quality, through the introduction of new species from their
native habitat, as well as by the labours of hybridisers ; so that,
instead of the two or three sorts which were then so highly and de-
servedly appreciated, they can now be counted by the hundred, em-
bracing among them every possible shade of colour from the faintest
pink to the deepest crimson or scarlet, and from the purest white to
the deepest purple, while the flowering season is protracted from
February till the end of June — one variety following another without
a pause during the whole period.

Rhododendrons are now more emphatically than ever the pride of
European gardens, possessing as they do the most varied attractions
to be found in any class of flowers, combined with the elegant habit
and foliage of our finest evergreen shrubs, rendering them indispens-
able alike in the shrubbery, the flower-garden, or the conservatory — in
each of these occupying a unique place, and never failing to elicit the
highest admiration of all who have any appreciation of the symmetri-
cal in form or the beautiful in colour.

This wonderful improvement has been effected chiefly through the
crossing of the hardy late-flowering species with the early Indian sorts,
particularly "Arboreum," itself too tender for open-air culture in this

iSyi.] NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS. 7

country ; and it is to it that we are indebted for all the shades of
scarlet, crimson, and pink, which are so much admired in our pre-
sent race of hardy varieties. Among the first results of hybridising
in this direction were the still well-known Russellianum and Alta-
clarense from Catawbiense varieties, Smithii from Ponticum, and
Noblicanum from Caucasicum — all possessing in a greater or less
degree the fine crimson flowers of their male parent. It was soon
found, however, that though sufficiently hardy to stand the winter
outside in favourable situations, these hybrids inherited much of
its tree - habit and early - blooming peculiarity ; they were shy in
forming buds, or rather they required many years before they at-
tained sufficient size for blooming; while in nine cases out of ten
the flowers were blighted by late spring frosts before they were fully
expanded, detracting immensely from their value for outdoor cultiva-
tion, and rendering it necessary for their safety that they should be
potted in autumn, and placed in the conservatory after they were done
flowering; and while they were, as they still are, extremely useful for
this purpose, seeing that they can be had in all their glory during the
winter and early spring months, it was obvious that much was still
required to be done before bright-coloured Rhododendrons could be
got to flower in May and June. Hybridisers naturally turned to the
late species and their varieties ; and these were again crossed, but
with the crimson hybrids ; and this carried on with every possible
combination, and through a series of generations, has gradually devel-
oped that infinite variety of habit, form, and shade of colour with
which our collections are now so much enriched. It would almost
seem as if perfection itself had been attained; and a hybridiser may
consider himself fortunate if, after having raised thousands of seed-
lings, he finds even one sufiiciently distinct from, or even up to, the
high standard of those already grown. The work, however, is still
enthusiastically prosecuted, and from year to year novelties and im-
provements make their appearance.

The introduction within the last twenty-five years of these magnifi-
cent species from Sikkim, Assam, and Bhotan, with their wonderful
diversity of foliage, form, and colour, along with, in some cases, ex-
quisite fragrance, has opened up a new and inviting field for further
efforts in hybridising. The most of these species, though hardy
enough to survive our winters in the open air in sheltered situations,
bloom too early to be useful in any other way than as conservatory
plants; and the great object to be obtained is to infuse some of their
peculiarities of foliage, colour, and above all, fragrance, into the late-
flowering varieties. This has been hitherto a slow process, owing to
the extreme difficulty of inducing many of them to intermix with the

8 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

European and American species and hybrids. At the same time con-
siderable progress has been made, and already a few fine hardy hybrids
have been introduced; while a new race of valuable greenhouse varie-
ties— the result of crossing among themselves — has been created, which
are already high in popular favour.

In crossing Rhododendrons with a view to obtain hardy and late-
flowering seedlings, we invariably choose the hardiest variety for the
female parent, being satisfied from experience that the offspring in-
herit much more of the nature of the female than of the male in this
respect ; and when one of the sorts is tender, there is no species that
we know of better adapted to form the basis of a hardy race than R.
Catawbiense, which combines elegant foliage and showy flowers with
an ability to bear any amount of frost that it can be subjected to in
this country, along with a tendency to flower freely in a young state.
It has been largely used by the most successful hybridisers, and its
presence can easily be detected in some of our most useful and showy
hardy hybrids.

R. maximum is also an excellent species for hybridising with
the tender sorts, being hardy and late-flowering, and having fine com-
pact trusses, the florets clear in colour and of a thick wavy texture,
enabling them to resist hot sunny weather better than most sorts ; but
it has the drawback of being a shy bloomer, and is used with greatest
advantage after being first crossed with some of the free-blooming
sorts. Some of the finest varieties have been obtained from its hybrids.

When early-forcing sorts are the objects in view, by far the best is
R. Caucasicum, itself so early as frequently to expand its blush-
coloured flowers in mid-winter in the open air. It is dwarf in habit,
and a most prolific bloomer ; and it has produced many most admir-
able varieties for such a purpose, including Noblicanum and jSTobli-
canum album, first crosses by Arboreum and Cinnamomeum, both of
which are invaluable for conservatory decoration from the middle of
December till the end of February — a season when effective flowers
are neither plenty nor varied.

Hugh Eraser.
{To he continued.)
Leith Walk Nurseries,
Edinburgh.

iSyi.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 9

THE CULTIVATION OF HAHDY FRUITS.

{Continued from 2)age 5i5, for 1870.)

THE FIG.

It may be doubted by some wliether I am justified in calling the Fig
a hardy fruit, seeing that it cannot with safety be allowed to stand
over the winter in our northern latitudes without protection of
some sort or another. Seeing, however, that it is grown out of
doors to a greater or less extent in almost all places of any note
— and in many places extensively and well — it is but right that
it should find a place in these papers. I may be allowed further
to premise, ere the subject be fully entered upon, that in point of
fact the Fig is not a fruit at all, although we generally speak of
it as such. A Fig, in the strictest sense of the word, is a compound
flower, and it will take no great amount of physiological reasoning
to prove it. When a Fig first becomes evident upon a branch of
its tree, it is not in the usual form of a bud, from which a flower
bursts and expands into fragrance and beauty — it appears as a Fig at
once, and continues to swell until what we call the perfect fruit is
reached, without ever producing a flower. Let it be explained in this
way. What is called the fruit is in reality the toi'us or bed upon
which rests the flower and fruit of the plant. The flower is therefore
inside the torus, and blooms and fructifies as really as does the flower
of the Pear or the Peach. The true fruit of the Fig is also inside the
torus, and consists of those small appendages which crack between the
teeth like little nuts, when the Fig is being eaten. This, then, is the
real and true fruit of the Fig, while the great bulk of what we eat is
just the fleshy torus of the plant, and is, in a botanical sense, identical
with the torus of the Dandelion, after the seed has blown away, — with
these differences, that in the one the torus is flat and bears its fruit
externally, while the other is knob-like, and bears its fruit internally.
The torus of the Fig is indeed like the torus of the Dandelion turned
inside out.

The Fig is very easily propagated, and may be increased in many
different ways. The ordinary modes are from cuttings of either the
tops or roots, or by suckers and layers. New varieties, like other
fruits, are only to be obtained from seed; and seeing that there are
great obstacles in the way of artificial impregnation, a deal of time
and patience might be exhausted ere any satisfactory results could be
obtained. All or nearly all our new varieties of Figs, which are not
many, are the results of chance. Those who may desire to raise seed-
lings should choose a fine-shaped and fully-ripened fruit ; the seed

10 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

should be extracted nicely, washed, and dried in the sun, after which
it may be laid past till the end of February or beginning of March.
Pots fdled with the following composition, two parts leaf-mould, one
part sandy loam, and one part pure sand, will answer for the seed very
well. The seed being small, the soil near the surface ought to be very
fine, and the seed ought not to be covered more than the sixteenth part
of an inch. The pots may be plunged in a gentle hot-bed of from 65* to
70° of heat. After the young plants are an inch or two in height, they
may be potted into small thumb-pots, and grown on in a pit or frame,
shifting them from pot to pot as the increase of the plant seems to
demand. Cuttings are usually selected from nicely-ripened wood of
the present year's growth, with a " heel " of the former year's wood
attached. They should be taken off in early winter, before severe
frosts set in, and be kept half-buried in moist soil of some sort in a
cool pit or frame. In March they can be put singly into pots, plunged
into a hotbed, and worked in the same way as directed above for
seedlings. By using the same means they can easily be increased from
eyes in the same manner as Grape-vines. By layers is perhaps the
speediest method of obtaining fruiting trees, as a branch of almost any
age, bent down to the ground, and fastened firmly into good rich soil,
will, at the end of one, two, or three years, according to the size and age
of the branch, be ready to detach from the parent tree. A branch of
three years old, if bent in March, and cut something in the way Car-
nations are usually done, will by the following March be ready to
transplant, and will be as large a tree, and bear equally as well, as a
cutting two or three years old. It is superfluous to say that suckers
are the branches thrown up from the roots, and which are detached
with a small quantity of roots adhering, and planted and grown in the
ordinary way. "Where plants are increased, either by layers or suckers,
it will be found very beneficial to give the roots a good mulching,
especially in the case of layers.

The soil which best suits the Fig is a good and moderately-rich
friable calcareous loam. If the soil be too rich, there is danger that
the trees may grow too much to wood, the natural consequence of which
would be that little fruit would be produced. Where the roots can be
confined within limited bounds, the trees may be richly fed, and splen-
did crops be the result ; but where the trees have the full scope of the
garden to run, the very reverse must be the case. There are three
trees here which produce more fruit yearly than is produced by three
times their number in another quarter of the garden. The latter trees
are planted in the open garden against the south wall, and appear to
luxuriate extremely. They always produce an abundance of fruit, but
these at the setting-period often nearly all drop. The other three to

iSyi.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 11

which I have referred are grown within very prescribed limits. Planted
against a brick wall, they are kept from rambling in every direction by
another brick wall, which I got built for the express purpose three
years ago, and which is only 2 J feet in front of the wall against which
they are planted. Each tree has about 12 feet of a border this breadth,
and 2 feet deep in which to grow ; and so much am I pleased with
the result of my experiment, that as soon as time and circumstances
will permit, all the Fig-trees about the place shall be treated in much
the same manner, as there can be no doubt but that the confinement
of the roots is the principal cause of this profitable change.

The most favourable position for the Fig to occupy is a south or
nearly soiith aspect. Those who are about to plant, we would earnestly
recommend to adopt the plan of confinement advocated above. 4
or 5 feet, however, would be a better width than 2 J feet ; for while it
would confine the roots to a great extent, it w^ould not entail the
amount of labour necessary to feed the plants in the growing season
which we with so small a border are compelled to adopt. We would
have made our borders wider, but the position w^ould not admit of it.
Another thing which requires special attention is proper drainage, for
while the Fig requires a considerable amount of moisture during the
summer months, it also requires but little of it in winter. The tree
being so tender this ought to have particular attention, as the drier the
roots are kept in winter, the less injury the tree is likely to suffer from
frost. To attain this object drains ought to be cut underneath where
the trees are to be planted, and at least 6 to 9 inches of broken bricks,
stones, or suchlike material ought to be placed over this and between
the soil for the trees to grow in. As we have repeatedly afiirmed in
our former papers, as much if not more of the success of fruit-growing
depends upon the formation and proper drainage of borders than upon
any after-management. If things are not done thoroughly and well
at first, it is in vain to expect satisfactory results.

The Fig resembles the Vine in the manner of producing its crops —
that is to say, it produces its fruit upon the wood of the current year,
and under favourable circumstances will ripen it ofi". It is neces-
sary to understand this before the cultivator can hope to be able to
prune and train his trees well. Let us start with a young tree of two
years old. It should possess a main stem about 2 feet tall, and have
two side branches — one on either side — about 12 to 18 inches from
the ground. These side shoots ought to be trained horizontally; and
the leading shoot allowed to grow until it reached about 18 inches
above them, when it should be pinched to induce the formation of two
more side shoots, which are also to be trained horizontally ; and this
practice is to be continued until the wall is filled with young branches

12 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

holding a permanent position, about 18 inches apart all over. These
branches being trained horizontally, in all probability the greater part of
the buds thereupon will start into growth. If so, we would allow a shoot
to start and grow every 9 inches along the branch. Every second shoot,
as soon as it attained the height of 8 inches, ought to be pinched, in order
that it might at once start into fruit. In the warmer counties of Eng-
land this can easily be accomplished in the one year; but, as a rule, the
fruit is formed in autumn of the one year and ripened off in the summer
of the following. If this cannot be done in the one season, then the
pinching ought not to be done till the middle or end of August, when
the shoot ought to be cut back to the height already indicated, when
it will form its small bud-like fruits at the axil of every leaf -stalk.
If the fruit attains a size larger than that of a Green Pea, it never,
in our experience, holds on during the winter ; hence our caution not
to pinch too early in the season, except in the case of having a climate to
deal with which would perfect the fruit in one season. It will thus be
seen that each alternate shoot has undergone the pinching process, while
the shoots between have escaped. Our reason for this is, that when the
pruning season comes round, those which have been pinched ought to be
allowed to remain to perfect the fruit upon them the following season ;
while those which have not been pinched will probably have formed no
fruit, and ought to be removed entirely, leaving only one or two buds at
the base. When the season of growth has again arrived, a fresh shoot
ought to be trained up from the buds left at the pruning season, and
treated in exactly the same manner as has been directed already for the
shoot bearing the fruit this season, so that when the pruning-time again
comes, the shoot which has borne the fruit ought to be removed, leaving
only a bud or two to form a fresh shoot for the succeeding year. By
this method the one shoot is fruit-bearing the one year while the other
is not, and vice versa. This, we believe, is the best mode of cultivat-
ing the Fig, and is far preferable to the thinning and training after
the manner of the Peach which so many practise. It reduces the
training and pruning to a regular system, easily understood and easily
put into practice. The permanent branches being horizontal, it would
be a great addition to the general appearance of the tree if the fruit-
bearing shoots were trained at an angle of 45^ It is of no practical
utility, so far as we are aware, but we recommend it merely for appear-
ance' sake. Trained in this fashion, the fruiting wood is more regularly
dispersed than by any other plan that we know of, while ample space
is allowed for the development of leaves and the thorough perfecting
of the fruit. James M'Mtllan.

{To he continued.)

jSyi.] PLANTS FOR TABLE DECORATION. 13

PLANTS SUITABLE FOR TABLE DECORATIO]Sr.

Plants and flowers have become intimately associated with our every-
day lives. We have recourse to them in seasons of social enjoyment
and in the hours of sorrow. They have long been plucked for the
babe, and strewn on the path of the bride and on the graves of the
dead. They delight the child, and raise the shout of admiration from
its lips. They tax the intellect of the mature and learned, and, as they
come and depart with the seasons, give lessons of wisdom to all. And
whatever may be said for or against the fashion in which the dinner-
tables of the affluent are now decorated with plants and flowers — to a
moderate extent, and tastefully associated with fruits — there cannot
be a question that the effects produced are exceedingly pleasing to the
eye, and calculated profitably to excite the mind. Be this as it may —
I leave that phase of the question — dinner-table decoration with plants
and flowers has become so widely spread and general that you will find it
in the metropolitan mansion, and I have met with it where not much
expected, in the abode of the hill-farmer ; and to the gardener it has
become so "great a fact," that no mean portion of his forethought and
time must be devoted to it; while it has diminished — considerably
diminished — fine art to please the eye in the kitchen ; and very much
eased the arms of waiters. To gardeners, this part of their duties
has assumed an amount of importance that some years ago could not
have been dreamed of.

Fortunately the class of plants — namely, fine graceful-foliaged plants
— which are found so very useful and eff'ective for this order of decora-
tion, has very much increased of late years. Associated on table with
epergnes filled with flowers, they are productive of the most pleasing
effects, — the majority of plants which principally display beauty in
their blooms being less suitable, unless, indeed, they are trained into
forms not natural to them. This takes time and labour in tying and
training ; and more than likely, after being once used, their blooms are
so tarnished as to render the plant of no avail for the season. Besides,
persistent-leaved and some berried plants of graceful habits, are, as a
rule, more effective when set down on a white ground, and associated
with so many things that glitter and shine, and especially when cut
flowers are included in the designs.

It may not be too much to say that the choice of plants often made
is not what it might be, with more pleasure and profit to all concerned.
Fortunately many of the most suitable plants for this purpose are in a
general way easily grown, and not very easily injured by the exposure
to which they are subject. There are, however, some points of import-
ance in growing plants for this as well as for all special purposes, the
aim in this case being to produce plants of some considerable size — hav-

u

THE GARDENER.

[Jan.

ing health and freshness — in smaller pots than are needed or desirable
for general purposes ; and the requirements of some plants are much
more easily supplied than those of others under such circumstances.

Considering how the supply of such plants is yearly becoming much
more of a gardener's duty, it is hoped that the engravings of plants,
taken from photographs, with which it is intended to illustrate and
correctly show the relative size of plants and pots, will from time to
time — along with cultural notes on such plants and their congeners —
prove instructive to some of the readers of the * Gardener.' The plants
for illustration will be selected, not for their rarity, but for their
fitness as table-plants.

FlQ. 1.

The genus Dracaena furnishes some of the most elegant and useful
of table-plants that can be named. D. Cooperii, fig. 1, is the very

i87i.]

PLANTS FOR TABLE DECORATION.

15

best type of the drooping varieties. It has much to recommend it ;
its leaves droop with a most graceful curve, and are broadly striped
and laced with reddish crimson, qualities which give it an easy, grace-
ful, and brilliant appearance on a table, especially when the service is
of silver. This illustration is taken from a plant 24 inches high (not
including the pot) in a 6-inch pot, and is suitable on a large table as
an end plant, with epergnes dressed with flowers, and ferns between
it, and the centre plant, which requires to be dissimilar in habit from
the Dracaenas, and may be a Palm or a Croton. The following are
also excellent dropping varieties, those marked G being suitable for
greenhouse or cold-pit culture, and can be kept in health through
the winter in a temperature of 45° to 50°. Those marked * are the
best of those enumerated : —

* Dracaena Cooperi.
draco.

Dracsena gracilis.
Australis.

Dracsena indivisa.
,, Yeitchii.

Fig. 2, D. rubra, 18 inches high, not including its 4-inch pot, is one

Fig. 2.

of the most handsome of the genus for table decoration, and is the

16 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

most capable that I know of being grown into a large plant in pro-
portion to the size of tlie pot : it may be looked to as the type of
the more upright-growing sorts, among which the following are all
excellent : —

* Draccena rubra,

* ,, ferrea variegata (stricta).

* ,, terminalis.
,, gulfoylei.

* Dracoena regina.

,, nigrescens.
, , tessalata.
, , robusta.

With the exception of gulfoylei and regina, the whole of these can
be purchased at very moderate prices in small pots, and all of them
are very easily propagated and grown. Any who have irt their pos-
session an old or large plant of the stove varieties can, by cutting off
its top in spring, and potting it in sandy soil in a 3-inch pot, and
plunging it in a brisk bottom-heat, convert it into a nice plant in a
short time. The lower part of the stem can be split down its centre,
and each half being cut into nearly as many pieces as there are eyes or
buds on them, and the pieces or buds put in pans, or singly in small pots,
with a little pure sand under them, and a slight covering of sandy soil
over them, plunged in bottom-heat, and kept moderately moist, will con-
vert each bud into a nice little plant in a 3-inch pot the same season.
The soil can be shaken from the roots of the old stump, and large-
growing knobs or points will be found starting away from -the very
base of the stem, each of which knobs, cut off and potted, and managed
the same as buds from the stem, makes a nice plant the same year.
All these young plants, if necessary, shifted into 4 and 5 inch pots
the following spring, grow into handsome fresh young plants, suitable
for the table by the end of summer, and through the autumn and
winter.

The Dracaena is not particular as to soil. It grows well in equal
parts loam and leaf-mould, with a little sand mixed in, but is the
better of a little turfy peat when it can be had. Young plants spoken
of above do best by being partially shaken out in spring. It enables
the grower to give more fresh soil in small compass ; and it is a good
plan to plunge the pots in a bed of sand, or, where such is not con-
venient, the small pot being placed in one a couple of sizes larger, and
the space filled up with sand, answers the same purpose, which is to
keep the balls regularly moist, and the foliage fresh and healthy, with
a minimum of attention in watering.

During spring and summer they enjoy a full, warm, stove tempera-
ture and moisture, with regular syringings and spongings of the under
sides of the leaves, to keep them free from red-spider, to which some
of them are much subject. In winter, of course, less moisture is
needed. They require to be slightly shaded from bright sunshine,

iSyi.] THE FATES OF FRUIT-TREES. 17

but this must not be overdone, or tlie result will be plants too loose in
growth to be suitable for the purpose here referred to. The green-
house varieties do very well plunged outdoors in summer, and, when
so treated, make the most robust and characteristic growths. For
such small plants as are suitable for table, the best way will be to
plunge them in a cold frame, when the lights can be put over them
during boisterous and wet w^eather.

THE FATES 0¥ FKUIT - TREES.

The leading gardeners of this country have never given the orchard-
house system of growing fruit-trees more than a very lukewarm advo-
cacy, perhaps partly because it does not fill the fruit-room, and partly
because it is after all but a fancy, as the growing of Auriculas or the
rearing of pigeons. Hard pinching and root-pruning, like the pinch-
ing-and-peace policy of our Government, seems an experiment which
is about worked out, and, like the milliner's fashions, gives place to
something very strikingly different — in this instance a return to a
more liberal and natural mode of culture. The era of restriction
seems waning fast : our venerable Vines and Pear-trees may yet see a
generation springing up around them to emulate and perpetuate their
fame. There is nothing new under the sun, an adage as old and of
as good authority as the Decalogue. The Chinese grew fruit-trees
in pots, and indeed many other trees, before the venerable Rivers ;
and no doubt the Celestials could show that they did so generations
before our Christian forefather Adam began to dress and keep a gar-
den. Certain it is that they can outdo Mr Rivers's Apple-trees 18
inches high borne down with fruit. Also the extension system is not
a new thing, but a very old system, the advantage of which we have
just " awakened to see," as Mr Cannell has been telling us. There
seems a good time coming for all fruit-trees, when their limbs shall
fear no hook - nosed pruning - knife. Raynor must recognise the
spirit of the age, and turn his pruning-hooks into spears. It is not
many years since we were seriously invited to grow our Grapes on old
snag-headed vines in pots, which were portrayed in all their grotesque
ferocity for our encouragement. Seriously, w^e are glad to hail the
advent of more enlightened notions on fruit-tree management. Good
culture does not consist in cutting and pinching root and branch, but
rather on food and warmth properly provided, watering, manuring,
and protection — like the modern doctor, trusting more to nature, and
assisting her to perfect herself, than to blood-letting and amputation.

B

18 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

We have for a long time been saying in effect to our trees, *' If you
don't bear fruit for us, we shall kill you by inches."

These remarks are written almost within the shadow of an old
Marie Louise Pear-tree, a standard 30 feet high, whose branches cer-
tainly have not felt the knife for many years. Side by side are
equally large and old trees of Brown Beurr6 and Flemish Beauty, and*
many more, with boles 1 2 inches in diameter, mossy standards which
bear bushels of fruit ; but we must say the size would be larger if the
wood and fruit were thinner, and not left just so much in care of
themselves. We believe that culture in every instance does not con-
sist so much in the use of the knife ; and even the quality of soil is
secondary if climate is suitable to the subject — by climate we mean
the average heat and moisture in the atmosphere. Much has been
said and written on the climate of France, as compared with our own,
bearing on the culture of fruit, some insisting that the difference in
climate is nil, but that we fail in England in the matter of training,
pruning, grafting, and pinching. Covent Garden, however, solves the
difficulty, and our orchards improve as they advance southwards
from York to Hereford, through Somerset to the Channel Islands,
and thence to France. We suspect the French will have out-door
fruit in spite of their clever vivisection and training. The chief
reason for growing fruit-trees in pots is, that we may be able to afford
them a southern climate under glass, with the facility of moving them
at certain times when desired. With a climate such as the southern
counties of England and France enjoy, all pruning with a view to re-
striction is undoubtedly wrong and unprofitable. For the same reason
all restriction of fruit-trees under glass is in the end also unprofitable, if
the aim be continued crops of fruit. It is climate, also, which compels
the cultivator to have recourse to budding and grafting, as w^ell as for
the perpetuation of varieties. In America and Australia the Peach
has no need of being worked on the Plum ; it does not require a hardy
foster-parent to supply it with its daily food. The same must be said
of many other varieties of fruit-trees. If this idea was more kept in
view — the idea of the importance of climate over cutting and training
of trees — how much it would simplify the operations of the gardener,
and dry up the fountains of ink which overflow in elaborate diffu-
sion on the mysteries of cutting and hewing the tree from its infancy
to its death ! The all-important ripening of the wood is the effect of
climate. Where such is deficient it is often expedient to root-prune
or periodically remove trees. The check to growth simulates the
effects of heat for a time. The same benefits would often result from
allowing the tree more freedom to expand itself in growth. We have
before us evidence on an unfortunately large scale of the injudicious,

iSyi.] THE FATES OF FRUIT-TREES. ' 19

excessive root-pruning of old wall-trees on a dry bottom and light soil.
It is a final effort between death and life. The constitutions of many-
trees are ruined while young by excessive cutting of root and branch.
It is well known that the most inveterate of weeds, with roots of
strong vital tenacity, such as Horse-radish, the common Bind-weed, or
Ash-weed, will yield to repeated cuttings of the tops ; and if weeds
sufi'er death from continued cutting, it is but reasonable to infer that
fruit-trees may have at least their constitution much impaired by
excessive pruning. The condition of the dwarfed fruit-tree in a pot,
with no pruning at all, is much more natural, and more compatible
with continued health and fruitfulness, than the same tree under the
knife in the open ground. The former is like many a Scotch Pine or
Birch, dwarf and stunted, grown out of the clefts of the rocks or on
an old wall top, healthy and whole in all their parts, though dwarfed
by the conditions of their existence. The oldfashioned and unnatu-
ral system of disbudding away the young wood of Peach-trees is fast
losing favour. This Avas the prolific source of bare and blind wood
in the middle of the tree, especially with certain sorts, such as No-
blesse, which after a time will scarcely make growth except from the
points of the branches, the growth yearly going further from home.
A lot of excellent specimens of this good old system of management
is now under our care. We shall begin with young trees, and give
them ample liberty to extend so far as winter-pruning is concerned,
preserve an abundance of outlet for the energies of the trees by pinch-
ing the foreshoots instead of disbudding them, as well as laying in
sufiicient young wood, also pinching the leading shoots at the proper
time and distance to encourage lateral growth — thus reducing disbud-
ding to a minimum. We sometimes hear of astonishing crops of Figs
secured by allowing the foreshoots to extend at liberty from the
walls ; in the south, however, also of wonderful crops of Morello
Cherries. The same treatment would be found to answer with refrac-
tory old Pear-trees, with the exception that the young wood must be
partially tied in. The philosophy of the fruitfulness of the modern cor-
don on the French Apple of Paradise stock, and Eivers's patent selected
ditto, is, that the knife is not required. So soon as it has to be
brought into requisition disappointment ensues. Our old orchard
standards, such as the Marie Louise before mentioned, innocent of the
knife, are those which fill the market. Let us therefore, on whatever
stock we grow our fruit-trees, whether free or dwarf, do so without
abusing the nature of the tree, give them liberty, and cut with caution.
The fates of fruit-trees are like those of nations — the vicissitudes of
their existence are guided by those who wield the knife. There is
the despotic era, when the subject must be managed by laws as stern

20 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

as those of the IMedes and Persians. No matter what the natural
bent of the tree may be, it must be cut and hewed into order. The
law is laid down to the very bud, and to that bud it must be cut.
But the time comes with trees as with nations, when an enlightened
regime must prevail. Their capabilities encouraged, good fruit of
large size is the result, filling the market as well as the fruit-room.

The chief use to which the pruning-knife should be applied is the
thinning over - abundant fruit -spurs, or overcrowded branches, or
thinning out old wood to making way for young. This is quite
another thing from cutting back and cutting out young wood indis-
criminately ; and while advocating a sparing use of the knife, we can
just as much admire good training, believing that liberal culture and
a well-balanced tree are always accompaniments.

The Squire's Gardener.

THE KITCHEN-GABDEIT.

NO. X.

{Continued from page 66 o/1870.)
SEAKALE.

Seakale is one of our own native jDlants. It is to be found in many
parts of England, Scotland, and the Isles, growing in sandy j)laces
close to the sea. It is about 100 years since it first made its
appearance in our markets as a cultivated vegetable, although the
inhabitants of the shores of England have very long before that time
made use of it as a vegetable, taking it immediately after it showed
itself above ground in March and April. When cultivated and
blanched it has taken a high position among delicate and wholesome
vegetables, and there are few gardens of our "better-to-do" classes in
which it is not cultivated and esteemed. And really fine Seakale in
the depth of winter and early spring is as much worthy of credit as
almost any vegetable that can be produced.

The soil in which it is nearly always found growing is next to —
often is — pure sand mixed with a little vegetable deposit ; and this
alone is a guide to its requirements in the matter of soil. Experience
has shown that the finest Seakale is grown on deep rather light loams,
well manured, and trenched two and three spadings deep. It makes
long tap-roots, sending them down deep in search of food, consequently
the manure should be mixed with the soil rather deeply, and the same
as recommended for Salsafy and other deep-rooting crops. On very
light soils a more liberal amount of manure should be given than on

1871.] THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. " 21

those that are more heavy and tenacious. Guano and weak solutions of
salt are excellent stimulating manures for it when growing. Thorough
drainage is of much importance, and in soils that are clayey and wet
should always he carefully attended to. Besides which, it is well
worth while to take means of counteracting the tenacity and natural
dampness of such soils, by mixing in liberal dressings of either fine old
mortar, gritty road-scrapings, or coal-ashes. A still more effectual
means is to burn the subsoil and mix it with the better portion of the
staple. By this latter process we have grown the very best of Seakale
on soils that have been naturally unfavourable to its gro^\i;h.

Unless it be in gardens of very moderate extent, and where this
vegetable is not forced early, the roots are generally lifted and forced
along with Rhubarb in a Mushroom-house, or in dark heated houses
or sheds. When to be forced in this way, the most convenient
and best way of sowing the seed is in drills 2 feet ajDart and 2 to
3 inches deep, the first week in March being a good time to sow. To
produce first-rate crowns that will force well the first year from seed,
the young plants should not be left thicker in the rows than one every
10 inches. Erom the time the young plants appear, and till they
cover the whole ground, the Dutch hoe should be frequently plied
amongst them, to keep the surface loose, healthy, and free from
weeds.

A very good and generally-practised way of producing Seakale for
forcing with one year's growth, is to save the young roots broken off
at the time of lifting, and preserve them under a sprinkling of damp
soil and some litter till they begin to sprout in spring, when it can
more easily be seen which is the top end, and the buds can be reduced
to the strongest at the top to form a single crown. These pieces,
about 6 inches long, are planted firmly with a dibble the same dis-
tance apart as recommended for the growth of seedlings, covering the
crown to the depth of an inch or so. During their season of growth
all attempts at producing flowers should be prevented by cutting them
off as soon as they appear.

Forcing can be carried on in any dark place where the roots can be
laid in light rich soil with a temperature of 55° to 60°. Of course,
when fine blanched Seakale is required before Cliristmas, it is desir-
able and necessary to have a proper place in a Mushroom-house, or
along with Rhubarb in a place by themselves. Generally the leaves
are easily separated from the crowns by the middle of x^ovember, when
the necessary number of roots can be lifted and packed firmly in soil
over a bed of leaves, which afibrds a gentle bottom-heat, and causes an
earlier and better growth. It is not necessary to preserve the long
straggling roots. A foot or 10 inches of the strongest stems, when

99

THE GARDENER. [Jan.

they are forked, is sufficient. If packed firmly in rows 6 inches apart,
and ahnost as close as tliey can be put in the rows, a very small
space holds a great many roots, and the best way to keep up the
supply in good condition is to put in a quantity according to demand
every eight or ten days. To blanch it properly absolute darkness is
necessary ; if a ray of light gets to it Avhen growing, it will colour it,
and make it rank in taste. It is better to begin forcing early, and to do
it gently at a moderate temperature, than to delay and force it rapidly,
which latter produces weak and comparatively worthless crops.

Seakale can be successfully forced early by packing a number of
roots in large pots, plunging them in a bed of leaves with a gentle
heat, covering the pot with another of the same size, and throwing
some litter and a few old mats over all to completely exclude light.
To force after the old-fashioned way with cans and fermenting leaves
and stable litter in the open ground is attended with much more labour
and trouble ; and to pounce upon the crowns that are in the best
state for the table is of course not so easy ; so that this method is only
to be recommended for later crops requiring next to no forcing, and
consequently less covering. We have often wondered that farmers who
have so good a command of litter do not more generally supply them-
selves with fine Seakale in the spring months in this way.

Market-gardeners who grow extensively for the market generally
force it in trenches 5 to 6 feet wide and 2 deep, where they grow
Cucumbers in the summer months. When the Seakale is ready to
lift, they clear out the old material on which the Cucumbers were
grown, fill the trenches with stable-manure, and cover it with about
9 inches of light soil, in which to put the roots in rows about 6
inches apart, and as close in the rows as they can lay them. In lifting
the plants they break off all the roots, or, as they call them, thongs,
carefully saving them for planting for next year's crop, as they
rarely ever raise it from seed. All small side-crowns they carefully
cut off, which should always be done where they are allowed to grow,
leaving just the one main crown, knowing that one good head of Kale
is worth more than several slender ones. They cover over the crowns
with 8 or 9 inches of straw, then hoop over the trenches, cover with
mats, and over all with a good covering of straw. In this way some
of the great market-gardeners have been in the habit of forcing well on
for 100,000 crowns annually j and sinq^le as are the means, their produce
is second to none ; but they are in most cases much indebted to their
deep alluvial soils, which not many gardens can command. It is now,
however, becoming more common for market growers to force their
Seakale and Rhubarb in long heated sheds, which no doubt they find
less laborious and more convenient.

1871.] GARDEN SUPERINTENDENCE. 23

Seakale is in its fittest state for using when 7 or 8 inches high.
When allowed to grow longer it loses in thickness what it gains in
height, and becomes tough and stringy. D. T.

GARDEN SUPEKINTENDENCE.

To have everything that may be wanted and of fair general excellence,
and everything in general good order, is the true test of a good prac-
tical gardener in the average garden establishment ; where, as a rule,
the means are limited, and the gardener's ingenuity taxed pretty
severely. But where men and material are allowed without stint,
something more is, and ought to be, expected. In the latter case, an
ordinary man will probably content himself with discharging the every-
day duties of his situation — his aspirations not extending beyond the
garden-walls ; while an energetic man, who is fond of his business,
would think he had failed if he did not accomplish a great deal more
for the benefit of horticulture generally. This is the right man in the
right place, and there are not a few such who have given horticul-
ture a visible lift in our time — men who form the front rank of
the profession ; behind comes a motley company of talkers and workers,
the former not unfrequently jostling their way to the front, pushed on
by the mere force of circumstances, like

" Things that we know are neither rich nor rare,
But wonder how the d 1 they got there."

I fancy, if all gardeners were tried strictly by the test I have indi-
cated, many a verdict would be reversed. Horticultural exhibitions
bring out prominent features, but the best prizes do not always indi-
cate the best gardeners. Indeed, prize-schedules do not often afi'ord
the opportunity. The prize ofi'ered by the ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' pro-
prietors at the Royal Horticultural Society's Provincial Shows, is a
step in the right direction ; and here, by the way, I would beg to sug-
gest that the ' Gardener ' put in an appearance at Nottingham this
year, having its worthy Editor to concoct a nut for exhibitors to crack.
But to return to our subject, and to begin at the beginning, I would
say that the first step towards a successful career is for the beginner
to get into a first-class establishment, where everything is done, and
done well. In nine cases out of ten he will probably never have an
opportunity of doing things as he has been accustomed ; but it is a
great matter to know in what perfection consists ; and perfection ought
always to be his aim. I am, of course, assuming a young gardener to
make the best of his opportunities ; but with every inclination to view

24 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

their shortcomings leniently, it must be admitted that very many show
a deplorable want of discretion and good sense in their first outset as
master-gardeners, not only in managing an establishment, but quite
as frequently in managing their relations with their employers, and
everybody with whom they are necessarily thrown in contact. Many
a one has lost a good situation through no want of ability as a gar-
dener, but solely through stubbornness, or inability to conform to cir-
cumstances over which he has no control. Scotch gardeners, more so
than English, have very high notions concerning their prerogatives,
perhaps because they are generally better educated than Englishmen
of the same class, and have more pride of craft about them, which
sometimes takes the form of conceit with young men from large estab-
lishments, but generally destined, sooner or later, to get a " fearfu'
settler."

A large share of self-confidence is, however, necessary in a gar-
dener who wishes to push ahead, but it must be accompanied with
energy and resolution. Work does not end with the journeyman's
career. I do not mean that the master is to make a navvy of himself,
or take the spade along with his men. There are some places where
a large share of work devolves upon him, but in establishments worthy
of the name, where an ordinary staff is employed, a sensible employer
will leave the matter to the discretion of his gardener, and he can
employ himself to much better purpose by thinking for, and arranging
the work for, those under him. As a rule, the ordinary workman
takes but a limited interest in his duties, some none at all, and it
requires all the superintendent's watchfulness and attention to details
to prevent the waste of energy that would thereby result. The study
of his men, and their various capabilities, is not the least important
duty of the master, and a little tact in this way will often save much
trouble and annoyance. Frequent changing tells against a garden
very much, and he does well who realises this at the beginning. In
all cases authority must be maintained, but there are various ways of
doing this, and much depends upon circumstances. We know places
in England and Scotland where a whole locality sometimes depends
upon one man for employment, and where heads of departments can
do pretty much as they please ; but in the great centres of industry,
and perhaps among a rude population, where high prices are paid for
unskilled labour, a gardener has to contend with some difficulties in
securing and maintaining a permanent staff, which good wages do not
always overcome. This is a fact which gardeners from north of the
Tweed very often realise. The English labourer is a willing, but a
very independent, individual; and the condition of his funds — often
low enough — is no barrier to the exercising of his independence to its

1871.] GARDEN SUPERINTENDENCE. 25

fullest extent, though his pride does generally sustain it for a great
while. But to come nearer the question in hand, let us imagine a
young man leaving a subordinate situation in an establishment, where
everything has been kept in that trim order which he has been accus-
tomed to regard as necessary to his peace of mind, to take charge of
another, where, in addition to an inadequate squad in a chronic state
of mutiny, he finds everything suffering from long-continued misman-
agement and neglect — houses in a state of chaotic confusion, great
encouragement for painters and glaziers, and particularly for car-
penters, though there may be an easy-going colony over the way, upon
whose staid habits our young friend's energetic representations fail
to make any perceptible impression. In the kitchen-garden things
are on a par — walks, the outlines of which are here and there indi-
cated by vestiges of extinct edgings, he finds to serve both for pur-
poses of traffic and main-drainage, becoming small mountain-torrents
after a thunderstorm, which, following the well-worn barrow-tracks,
turn in at the first door of a range of sheds, where, after filling up the
inequalities of the floor, they find their way to a Mushroom cellar, which
they traverse, eventually finding their way through a hole in the wall,
knocked out with an eye to expediency, and pouring like a small
waterfall into a deep stoke-hole on the other side, drawing forth, at the
same time, a very emphatic commentary from the superintendent of
these regions, who nevertheless displays great engineering ability in
contending with an element so unfavourable to his operations, the cir-
cumstances never failing to set him a-cogitating on a grand drainage
scheme that is for ever to emancipate him from his troubles. As
regards vegetables, let him imagine some crops tolerable, some very
bad, with here and there large tracts bearing marvellous crops of
Groundsel and Sow-Thistle ; Espaliers contending for very existence
with long rows of ancient Gooseberry-bushes planted in front of them,
and everything else in the same cheerful order. In such circumstances,
great reliance has been placed upon a field of Turnip-tops for furnishing
a second-course dish; and for bedding-stock, &c., an extensive acquaint-
ance with friends better off has been found of great advantage. In
addition to all this, a civil understanding with a number of important
individuals who entertain the most innocent ideas concerning the
capabilities of a garden has to be kept up, not to speak of employers,
whose hobbies the gardener must adopt as his own, until such time as
he can modify them at his discretion. Now, this, though a tolerably
bad case, is no imaginary picture ; the great consolatory feature being,
that there is plenty of room for improvement. A young man placed
in such circumstances is very likely to be the subject of what a certain
class of individuals would call " salutary reflections." His self-esteem,

26 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

unless of an unusually elastic description, would be likely to collapse,
and lie would rather that the indefatigable editor of the ' Directory'
had left his name out of the list, or that, at least, he had added a 2
to the cipher that indicated the accessibility of his whereabouts from
the station. At first, ideas of a moonlight flitting will probably occur
to him ; on second thoughts, he will resolve on making energetic
representations to the proprietor ; lastly, he will probably decide, and
wisely, to make the best of things as they are, until his success with
the means at his disposal encourages him to expect greater facilities.
A year's experience of a place and its capabilities will often induce
one to alter many plans that perhaps may have suggested themselves
sooner ; besides, employers do not care, and are not to be expected, to
launch into expense at the suggestion of one of whose ability and
reputation they have had as yet no practical confirmation. It is at
first a puzzle to one, who has been accustomed to ample assistance
in the shape of men and means, to know how he is to make ends
meet when these are altogether inadequate, and very probably the same
results expected. He will have a few lessons to unlearn, probably;
means will have to be stretched, and a strict line drawn between what
is essential and what is not; little superfluities — nibbling, trimming,
and dressing — must be given up when not likely to offend the eye
greatly, for good gardening is compatible with a certain amount of
untidiness. Under any circumstances, good tools are indispensable,
and should be found, otherwise work cannot be accomplished. Every-
thing ought to be thought out previously by those in authority, and,
as far as possible, every detail foreseen. An incalculable loss of time
is the result of want of method — a very general failing. A foreman
who is deficient in this quality is a complete stumbling-block to a
master, and the sooner they part the better for both. Some men lack
in a remarkable degree that sustained energy necessary for a gardener,
and either fail altogether or content themselves with following some
particular hobby — perhaps it is Orchids, perhaps Roses, perhaps Grape-
growing, or something else — while everything else is a complete muddle;
and yet such people often get elevated into great horticultural autho-
rities.

A note-book should be the constant companion of master and fore-
man, and everything should be noted down as it occurs to the memory,
and this should always be referred to in arranging the work for the
following week or day. By doing this nothing is likely to be forgot,
and everything is likely to have its legitimate share of attention.

I find I could carry the subject farther than space allows, and I will
conclude by enumerating the three things essential to success in a gar-
dener— they may be food for discussion among your readers ; the first

iSji.] BORDERS FOR WALL-TREES. 27

is a love for the profession for its own sake ; the second, energy ; and
the "third, skill : have the first, and the rest will be added unto you.

JSTORTH OF THE TrEXT.

MAKING BOKDEKS FOR WAIiL-TIlEES OK"
BAD SUBSOILS.

Ox an entire renovation of the garden being made here, and when
starting to take out the foundation for the wall, we had to go to the
depth of 6 feet before a solid foundation could be got. After 20
inches of soil on the top, all the rest was loose red sand. I decided
to concrete both sides of the wall to the width of 14 feet. AYhen the
wall was finished, the little good soil on the top was removed to the
garden quarters, the sand wheeled right away to the depth of 30
inches at the wall below the ground-level, and 33 inches at the out
edge, so that there is plenty of fall for water to run off ; and along the
front a drain was cut, 8 inches deep, and the width of a spade. Being
all ready for the concrete, there was brought nice-sized gravel, laid in
quantities of about 4 tons, and 1 ton of coal-ashes, to which was
added 1 ton of lime fresh from the kiln, which had as much water
thrown on it as make it fall ; then it and the gravel were mixed
together, covering all over with the ashes. After letting it lie in this
state for twelve hours, it was well mixed by turning it over several
times, adding more water if required, but keeping it rather adhesive
than otherwise (as it sets quicker when not too free), and laying it on
at once to the depth of 3 inches all over, beginning at one end, so
that there is no treading on the concrete until perfectly dry. When
smoothing it down, if found too firm and not smoothing well, have a
watering-pot with a rose, and sprinkle a little water over it, but no
more than will enable the operator to level it properly, bearing in mind
to let it have the same fall from the wall to the outside as the founda-
tion of sand in which it is laid. It must now be let alone until it is
thoroughly hard, which will be in about ten days if the weather is
fine and dry, when some nice round boulders were put all on the top,
to the depth of 4 inches, and filling up the drain in front at the same
time to the same level. Then a good thick sod, with the grass side
downwards, was laid all over the drainage, before the regular filling up
with soil was commenced, which, when done, was raised 6 inches
higher than the natural ground, to allow for subsiding, keeping it
always a few inches higher at the wall — giving it a gentle fall to
the box-edge. From the nature of our subsoil here, I have found
these borders, through the very dry season which we have had, to

28 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

contain more moisture tlian other parts of the garden -wliicli are not
concreted.

Not wishing to sj^oil the wall by nailing, which has several objec-
tions, studs with eyes were put in between every third line of bricks,
standing about an inch from the wall, having stronger ones at the
ends to act as stretchers ; and after the wire, which is galvanised,
was passed through all but the end ones, and drawn tight ; a 9-inch
in length piece of small rod-iron, with an eye at one end to fasten the
wire to, and nearly all the length, had a screw-thread worked on,
when the wire had been fastened to the other end, put through the
end stud ; then a screw-nut was put on, so that all was made as tight
as required. The first outlay may be a little more than the yearly
bills for nails and shreds, but a very few years would soon cover the
first expense, as a few mats go a long way in tying. Trees trained to
the wdre here, in a general way, don't bloom so soon in spring as when
close to the wall, and the fruit is cleaner and more regular in colour ;
and as for insects, there is no harbour at all for them.

From the success attending the above operations, I am induced to
send them to your valuable periodical, knowing that where such a sub-
soil exists, if followed, the results will be equally successful as here.

A. H.

Thoresby Park Gardens.

[The young wall-trees at Thoresby are models of health and fruitfulness.] — Ed.

GIiORIOSA SUPERBA.

This fine old climber — one of the best and most showy we have — is
not so often met with as its merits deserve. It is a tuberous-rooted
plant which dies down every autumn. When it has been strongly
grown, the tubers are forked, and about 6 to 10 inches in length.
When at rest, the tubers should be shaken out of the mould, and
stored in pots of dry sand, and kept dry and w^arm during the winter
months. I generally place them under the first shelf of the stove, a
little distance from the hot-water pipe, and standing on an inverted
flower-pot to prevent damp from rising to them. In early spring they
are potted, and in doing so the tubers are reversed or turned upside
down every year, because the young tubers with roots and stems are
formed not from the crown where the previous year's stems spring
from, but from the opposite end. The young tubers exhaust the
parent, which dies every year.

The soil used is a rich fibrous loam, with vegetable mould and
sand or grit blended or mixed together. After potting they do best

iSyi.] GLORIOSA SUPEPvBA. 29

if plunged in bottom-lie at, without which they take a long time to
start into growth. They require but little water till iairly started.
As the growths increase the water is increased ; and when in flower,
a liberal supply is necessary; and being a rank feeder, occasional
waterings with manure-water are beneficial.

As soon as the plants grow and root sufficiently to require a shift,
they are put into their blooming-pots and subjected to a more mode-
rate degree of heat, air, and moisture, and not over-much shade, which
weakens them. They throw up one stem from each point of the
tuber, from 5 to 8 feet or more in height, and form a branching head,
or rather a panicle of flowers, and continuing to yield flower after
flower for many months in succession, each bloom remaining a good
while in perfection, and resembling the Turk Cap Lily, each petal beino-
beautifully twisted and crisped. At first they are a rich orange-and-
scarlet, changing to crimson before they fade.

This Gloriosa is a plant I would recommend for exhibitions, of
which the cry is heard that they do not bring together much variety
from year to year. This plant would not only be a rarity at shows,
but could not fail to attract attention. It would form an excellent
companion for Stephanotis floribunda, the Allamandas and Dipla-
deriias. In order to make fine specimens, many tubers should be put
into a pot ; and, if required early, they may be potted in autumn, using
rich soil, and in other respects managed as already directed. Each
stem should have a stake, and be frequently tied, as they should not be
allowed to get entangled the one with the other, for at the end of each
leaf they are furnished with a tendril which clasps everything it comes
into contact with. When the flower-buds appear, the stems should
be all untied and carefully supported round the pot, while a suitable
trellis is being fixed to the pot in training, to which great care is neces-
sary, as the growths are brittle. In training or tying the shoots to
the trellis, the flowers should be arranged so as to make the plant as
well furnished and conspicuous with them as possible when they are
in bloom. The panicles themselves should not be trained. When in
bloom, and particularly if in not very large pots, the supply of water
and stimulants must be constantly attended to with care.

When the plants are done blooming, and showing signs of going to
rest, gradually withhold water, and cease to give any when the stems
decay. When dried off, store them away as already described. The
time at which they are required to bloom must regulate the starting-time.
For early flowering they should be started in autumn, and a succession
can be kept up till late in autumn by starting a few tubers in succes-
sion till late in spring. Altogether this is a much-neglected plant,
and worthy of much more countenance than it receives. A. B. T.

30 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

HINTS FOR AMATEURS.— JANUARY.

At this season of tlie year, perhaps more than at any other, garden
operations depend on the state of the weather ; and when there is frost
and snow, work under cover should be found. There is much can be
done now which would be of advantage if completed before the busy
season arrives. Some of the more important work is preparing and
harvesting soil ; if under cover, so much the better, but if ex-
posed, thatching it after laying the whole on a ridge would keep
the rain from washing its virtues out. Where nothing better can be
had for potting plants, the surface of some of the best garden-soil can
be taken in when frozen, which will be tolerably pure and free from
insects : and when dry, and mixed with a little sand, it will be useful
for many purposes. Washing pots, and "sizing" them for the various
plants to be potted ere long, may be seen to — the keeping of each size
of pots by themselves prevents breakage and saves extra trouble :
break up old broken pots for drainage, keeping out the dust, and plac-
ing the sizes by themselves ; the smaller are useful for surfacing extra
drainage in large pots. Perfect drainage is one of the agents of suc-
cess with all kinds of plants. Wash, repair, and paint glass lights,
clean plant or fruit structures, whitewash walls and everything to
destroy the nests of insects, &c. A cleanly appearance is one of
the pleasures in connection with every branch of gardening. Mats,
if used, should have the loose ends tied securely ; stakes may be
made, or fresh pointed ; roots and tubers of all kinds in store may be
looked over, decaying fruits picked out, seed cleaned (if any have
been saved), tying them up in dry bags and kept free from damp,
frost, and heat ; the leaves of plants sponged to cleanse them, care-
fully removing scale or mealy bug. Any plants which are soft in the
foliage require to be handled carefully. The "hints" given last
month by W^. P. A. should be kept in view by all who are anxious to
have healthy and vigorous plants in their structures.

All pruning, except Peaches and Nectarines, should be finished as
early as circumstances will allow, keeping in mind the " hints " pre-
viously given. The renewing of trees and bushes, by yearly supplies
of young wood being left to take the place of what old branches may
be taken out, keeps up health, vigour, appearance, and finer supplies
of large fruit. The neglect of this is often the cause of premature
decay ; and while we advocate lifting and judicious pruning of rank
roots to stop watery growth and cause fruitfulness, we also recom-
mend the use of good rotten manure over the surfaces of roots, where
growth is deficient and exhausted soil is apparent. Rasps and Black
Currants especially require liberal supplies, but the collars of bushes

iSyi.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 31

and dwarf-trees of all kinds should be left free, as suckers would soon
be troublesome. All Apples, Pears, and Plums require to be examined
to keep them clear of suckers from the stocks. It may be well to re-
mark to beginners that there is nothing gained by crowding trees with
young wood — a practice which often causes short supplies and inferior
fruit. Old Pears on walls should have their spurs thinned where they
have been allowed to grow straight out and get crowded. Those close
to the wall are likely to be most productive, especially in cold northern
localities. If there is any uncertainty about flower and fruit buds (by
the inexperienced) on Pear-trees, it may be safe to leave them till next
month, when the swelling flower-buds are more easily distinguished from
the pointed ones, which are to produce wood only. Nail and tie all
trees when weather will permit ; see that the branches are not likely
to be injured by pressing on the nails, and remove all ties which are
likely to become too tight. Natural spurs, where they are close to
the wall, should be retained, as they generally fruit freely. This ap-
plies very much to Plums and Apricots, as the annual supplies of young
shoots are often not well ripened. The fastening of young trees may
only be done in a temporary way till the soil settles down, keeping
their roots well protected with litter, &c. Keeping the bark of trees
free from insects, moss, &c., should have attention if healthy trees are
desired.

Wherever improvements, renovations, or alterations of any kind are
to be carried out, no time should be lost in completing the work. Drain-
ing is very essential in every garden, and in connection with every
dwelling, pipe or stone drains, when substantially made, last a long
time : rain-water from roofs, when not wanted for domestic purposes,
should be led into a well-built tank under ground, or where it would
not be in the way, and yet where it could be serviceable for watering
plants of every description that required it. Walk-making can be
done when weather will allow. If the subsoil is heavy, drains may be
required to take off the surface-water ; where the bottom is sand or
gravel, open material (such as stones and broken bricks) placed for
foundation of walks, will allow water to pass off freely. A walk when
finished should be smooth, firm, and free from any holes in which
water may lodge after heavy rain or snow. Such holes may be observed
in wet weather, and should have gravel placed in them and made firm.
Edgings for walks may be formed in open weather : where turf is
desirable, and can be used, edgings of it less than 2 feet have a mean
appearance, and they are easily destroyed when very narrow. In laying
turf, the ground should be made level and thoroughly firm ; the turfs
should then be fitted neatly, and well beaten or rolled flat, and the
edges next the walks or borders may then be evenly cut to the proper

32 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

width ; but till frost is over, the edges are likely to crumble, and may
be only trimmed in a temjiorary way till April.

Laying of Box can be done any time between September and May
with every chance of success — that is, if all things are suitable to its
wellbeing. First of all, for Box, the line that is to be formed should be
well broken up with spade or pick, and freed of all stones likely to be
in the way. The soil is then well trodden down and made level by
adding or taking it off as may be necessary, and beating smooth with
the spade : the garden-line is then placed and pegged if necessary, a
neat cut is taken out along the mark made by the line, drawing the
soil to the path. Gravel, if any, should be taken from the edges to
keep it clear of soil, &c. The Box should be ready prepared, which
is separating it into small pieces, and trimming the tops and roots ;
it is then planted evenly, with the tops 1 inch or a little more above
the edge, keeping the plants in their place with the back of one hand,
and placing the soil with the other. The edgings should be made
firm by carefully treading the soil against the roots : clear away any
unnecessary earth, then replace the gravel, roll and finish it smoothly.
Stachys lanata. Lemon Thyme, &c., may be used with good efi'ect as
edgings. The former has a fine appearance in winter, and is easily
trimmed, but it requires poor soil to grow in.

Hedges may be cleaned at the roots and trimmed : where repairs
are necessary, allow plenty of space for the young plants, and place
fresh healthy soil with their roots. Rose stocks, if they are required
for budding, may be placed where they are to remain all next
summer. Have all suckers taken clean from the roots, and plant them
so that any one can work freely among them. Pruning of Roses may
remain till February, March, or April, The later in the season, success
is the more certain. Ranunculus beds should be prepared by throwing
them up roughly, and well exposing the soil to frost and air. All
bulbs should have protection from severe frost. Hoops and mats
may be used to protect favourite Pinks or Pansies. Auriculas,
Carnations, and Picotees, wintered in frames or pits, must be kept
free from damp. Dryness at the root at this season is necessary, and
fresh air should be given on every favourable opportunity. Cloves
which may be wintering, attached to the stools of the old plants,
may have dry sand or fine coal-ashes, an inch thick, placed round and
among the layers. We often have them do better in this way than when
well cared for in frames, (fee. They lift nicely with balls in spring ;
and when planted with free healthy soil, they grow and flower
freely. Pots of cuttings will require careful attention while the
weather is dull and damp, keeping all bad leaves picked off", and the
surfaces clean and open. Washing the pots, if green, is very import-

iSyi.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 33

ant to tlie health of tlie plants. All plants, whether tender or hardy,
under glass, will require great care with watering, airing, and firing at
this season. Water should always be at least as high as the temperature
of the structure, and only given when necessary, and then enough to
moisten all the soil in the pots. Air, to greenhouse plants, may be
freely given when the thermometer out of doors stands above 40° ;
but cold currents of frosty air passing through plants of any sort,
under glass, is very injurious. In close damp weather, structures
should be opened at top only. Where fire-heat can be safely applied,
the difficulty of keeping plants is almost done away ; but firing
should only be used as a " necessary evil," sufficient to keep up the
required heat, or to dry off damp. Chrysanthemums done flowering
may have the old tops trimmed off, and the pots plunged in ashes
under the protection of a frame, to be kept from frost, so that cuttings
may be had in time. Hyacinths in flower may have plenty of manure-
water, especially if the pots are small, and several bulbs in each.
Roman Hyacinths, now past, have done good service here since the
second week of iSTovember. Lily of the Valley, brought forward in a
Mushroom-house till the flowers appeared, is now useful. Rhododen-
drons and Lilacs, in flower now, are very telling in rooms. Azaleas,
Deutzias, Cytisus, Acacias, Cactuses, Crocuses, Snowdrops, and a
number of common things, are now useful here ; they had the heat of
an early vinery to bring them on till ojoening of flowers, and then were
carefully taken where more light and air can be given. Frames
placed on the manure-heap, and well banked round with leaves, &c.,
are turning in useful " odds and ends." Violets, in pits, are giving
supplies, but not large ; pots brought forward on the back shelf of a
stove are more useful. Cinerarias in flower may have manure-
water. Heaths, whether in flower or otherwise, may have abundance
of fresh air. The collars of the plants kept sodden wdth wet will soon
destroy them : any which are pot-bound, and become accidentally too
dry, should be placed in a tank or pail of water, and well soaked till
the soil is moistened through.

Amateurs with fruit-structures in their possession often have to turn
them to " houses of all work ; " — Vines, Peaches, and Figs often have
to be grown where plants are in flower, or being grown for room-decora-
tion. Rhubarb, &c. , is forced in vineries. This often meets with a mea-
sure of success when the principal objects of the structure are kept in
view. Much can be done, and is done, both in private and market
establishments, by turning the Vines outside of the house, first tho-
roughly moistening the rods and carefully bending them outside,
placing them in a wooden case and packed with straw, or wound
round by straw ropes or some other contrivance to keep the Vines dry

c

34 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

and protected from the weather. If there is not forcing of plants,
Strawberries, Vines in pots, French Beans, or other things requiring
heat, the taking out of the Vines is not necessary, as ordinary bed-
ding or greenhouse plants can be kept, and are extensively, when the
crop of Grapes is cut and the foliage not close enough to exclude
all the light. Of course this practice may be termed a " necessary
evil," and the most careful attention is required to keep the house
cool, dry, and airy, not to start the Vines prematurely, and at the same
time to keep a suitable temperature for the plants. During the next
few months is a good time to prepare for the erection of new vineries
and the planting of young Vines. Most practical men do the planting
between March and June, either before the young Vines start into
growth or when they have grown a little and the soil is warmed by the
sun, and growth can go on uninterrupted with little artificial help.
Opinions as to time of planting are still in a great measure divided,
but both systems have proved very successful. If Vines, which did
well once, have of late years done poorly, we would advise that the
extremities of the roots should have an examination, and it may be
found that they have grown out of the good soil which may have been
prepared for them, and are starving in poor sand, or something un-
suitable. They should be lifted back till the good soil is found, and good
fresh loam placed in the opening at front. If turfy loam cannot be had,
some of the best of the garden soil may be taken, and the front of the
border filled up with it. It is often a matter of surprise why Vines
which have done well in some places for years, have suddenly become
infested with mildew, subject to red-spider, the foliage small, fruit in-
ferior, keeping badly, and shanking. This in very many cases (we
could mention many) could be traced to the " active feeders " being far
a-field of the fine made border, and not having a chance of getting into
good kitchen-garden soil, but finding their way into a miserable subsoil,
to starve or rot. Many of the best Grapes in the country are grown from.
Vines which find their way into good garden-soil, where they can luxuri-
ate at leisure. We give this hint so that amateurs and others who have
not the means of getting good loam from old pastures, &c., can have
fair success by using good garden-soil placed on suitable drainage,
thus keeping the feeders right — as the best a^jplied top-dressing, the
most careful watering, and attention to the most ably written calendar,
will be labour thrown away if the extreme points of the roots have not
pure and wholesome food to feed on. This principle applies to all
fruits. M. T.

1871.] ABOUT THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 35

ABOUT THE CHRYSANTHEMUM.

About the first thing I do when the ' Gardener ' arrives is to read
the article by M. T., which appears as regularly as the 'Gardener'
does itself at the beginning of every month. In the May number,
1870, M. T. says something about Chrysanthemums, which, in my
opinion, is very far from right. He advises the plunging of the pots,
" so that the sun will not burn the roots." Now, as the Chrysanthe-
mum is a favourite of mine, and as my confreres in Scotland do not
generally give it the attention it deserves, I should like, with your
leave, to say a little in its favour, or rather to tell a few truths about it.
It does not require being said that the Chrysanthemum is the best
early winter-flowering plant we have. At the same time, a great pro-
portion of gardeners know absolutely nothing of the perfection to
which it can, with very little trouble, be grown. In the large-flower-
ing section, some of the incurved flowers rival either the Dahlia or
Hollyhock in size and symmetry of bloom. The Japanese varieties
are equally worthy of attention for their curious and eff'ective flowers ;
and the Pompons, whether Anemone-flowered or the more common
Chusan Daisy and its hybrids, quite as much deserve attention from the
fact of its being possible to train them any way that the fancy of the
grower may suggest, and for the beauty of their little flowers. In the
south of England, February is quite early enough to commence propa-
gating for general purposes ; but in Scotland the beginning of January
should see as many cuttings in of the various sorts as will be required
for the conservatory or greenhouse in December. Always get your
plants from cuttings, and never put in slips with roots attached. For
plants which are wanted for quality of flowers the strong-growing
points are best ; and those wanted for specimen plants, either large-
flowering or Pompons, ought to be stubby cuttings, as they are more
free in growth than the growing points. Insert one cutting in a
3-inch pot, and place them in a cool house, such as a greenhouse,
as near the glass as possible. If it can be managed to place a
frame over them, so as to keep them close, so much the better. Do
not, on any account, allow the soil to get dry. Keep it constantly
moist. • They will be rooted in four or five weeks, after which they
should not be checked, but must be kept growing. As soon as all
danger from the February frosts is past, they may be moved to a
cold frame or pit, and every precaution taken to keep frost from them;
for although they can stand a good deal of frost, still it checks the
growth, and therefore ought to be guarded against. Some ought to
be grown for quality of the flowers, and should never be pinched ;
but the side-shoots ought to be taken off. However, if there is any

36 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

danger of the plants becoming too tall, let the side-shoots grow till
late in the season, then take them off. The large-flowering varieties
and Pompons wanted for plants ought to have the growing point
— and nothing more than the point — taken out when about 5
inches high ; and throughout the season, when pinching, take no more
than just the point, as the shoots burst out from the point more freely
and in greater quantity than when pinched carelessly back. By the
middle of April they may all be shifted into G-inch pots, and kept in
the frame till the middle of May. However, only use the lights in
case of hard weather, and keep the plants well syringed in mild sunny
weather. Select some sheltered position, on which, after having made
all secure from worms with coal-ashes, stand your plants, giving them
plenty of space to grow. See they are secure from the effects of wind,
and keep on pinching those intended for plants as rsquired. Shift the
large-flowering specimen plants into 9-inch pots about the middle of
May, and by the middle of June have all shifted into their flowering-
pots — those for single flowers into 9-inch or two into 10-inch pots.
Japanese varieties may have the same treatment ; those shifted into
9-inch pots in May put into ll's now, and the Pompons into 8J-inch
pots. Have done pinching by the middle of July at the very latest.
A fortnight before that would be safer in Scotland. They will require
tying into shape now ; and if they have been gently trained from the
beginning, the better the plants will be. Great care must be exercised
in bending the shoots, so as not to break them, as they are exceed-
ingly brittle. In the beginning of September go over them again ;
for the last time in the end of October. In the case of Pompons,
the buds ought to be sparingly thinned, whilst in the large-flowering
sorts one flower to a shoot is quite enough to leave. Those grown
for quality of the flowers may be allowed to carry nine, three shoots
being allowed to grow about the end of August. Three flowers
to each of those shoots is sufficient. It is a good plan to place the
specimen plants on bricks about the middle or end of August, as it
gives the shoots a better chance of ripening thoroughly, without which
first-rate plants need not be expected. As soon as frost may be ex-
pected get them safely housed and out of danger. Be sure that they
never once suffer for want of water, as if they do all your labour will
be to a great extent lost. Give the Pompons weak manure-water from
the beginning of August, watering them with it whenever they are
dry ; only be sure that it is weak. The large-flowering varieties may
be watered with manure-water from the beginning of September. The
compost ought to be free and rich. It does not matter much about
this part of loam and the other part of well-decomposed manure. The
cuttings ought to be placed in a light compost, with a little silver sand

1871.] HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 37

at top to keep away damp. The manure-water may be composed of
mixtures of cow-dung and soot, or guano and soot. The best varieties
may be gathered from the reports of Chrysanthemum shows ; but a
few good varieties are better than a great many of doubtful merit. In
conclusion, the grower of this plant need have no fear of his stock get-
ting their roots burned up if he keeps them well supplied with water.
Two or three years' experience will soon enable him to grow the
Chrysanthemum as it can and ought to be grown. And the object of
this paper will be gained if it causes some to give this beautiful gem
of winter a fair and unbiassed trial. Teetotaller.

Ilford.

P.S. — The Chrysanthemum, like other flowers, has insects peculiar
to itself. A little insect of a greenish colour and without wings comes
out in the greatest strength. Dustings of snuff do for them most effec-
tually. Another is a dark-brown insect about a quarter of an inch
long, which, if not looked after, eats over the growing point. Hand-
picking is the best method of getting rid of it. Earwigs must be
looked after too. T.

I3"OTES ON HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS.

{Continued from j^agc^ 537 of 1870.)

Gentianaceae.

A VERY handsome order of plants, and mainly herbaceous, though
not all hardy. Gentiana is the principal genus, and the type of
the order. In it there are some of the most beautiful and brilliant
of hardy subjects, over which the true lover of plants becomes enthusi-
astic, and regards as his horticultural gods. The same may be said of
Spigelia, of which only one species is occasionally observed in cultiva-
tion : a lovely plant, but always difficult to keep, and requiring too
peculiar conditions, perhaps, ever to become popular; for without
peculiar treatment it refuses to yield its charms, or live for any
length of time. Menyanthes and Limnanthemum or Villarsia are
the only two other genera in the order that, besides Gentian and
"Wormgrass, yield hardy ornamental subjects. These are both aquatic
plants, and each furnishes only one species known at present to cultiva-
tion out of doors. They are handsome plants, adapted to ornament
the margins of ponds or lakes, or other still shallow waters, and both
are found in greater or less frequency in the natural lakes or ponds of
Britain and Ireland, though not so often in those that are artificial

38 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

as might be expected, considering their great beauty, elegance, and
fragrance.

Gr. acaulis — Gdiitianella. — A very lovely plant, familiar in most gar-
dens. It is so well known that description would be superfluous ; and
its uses as an edging plant for walks, beds, or alleys, and for planting
in masses upon banks or in rounded slightly-raised patches in the
mixed border or on rockwork, and its brilliant beauty in any or all of
these positions, are too well known and appreciated to need remark or
recommendation. It has long been a favourite with cottage and ama-
teur gardeners, and it is one of those gems that should be in every
garden — it is so easily cultivated, and does so very generally well in
all parts of the country. Yet accusations of fastidiousness, as regards
soil and situation, have been brought against it often, and, as I think,
undeservedly. I have seen the plant in every imaginable aspect and
position, and in a great variety of soils, and very generally doing well.
But it has likes and dislikes — and very few plants that I know have a
better right to protest in its own way against ill-usage ; they do not,
however, amount to fastidiousness. It dislikes two extremes of soil —
brick, clay, and sand ; and it likes solidity, depth, moisture, the latter
especially during late spring and early summer, when it is making its
growth, but at all times perfect drainage is also liked ; and if these
very ordinary and reasonable conditions are attended to, the plant will
amply reward in April, May, and June by the brilliancy and profusion
of its deep-blue flowers. I would repeat that solidity of soil is of the ut-
most importance to success with this, as with every, Gentian ; and deep
moist loam it likes best. There is a variety having the tips of the
segments of the corolla coloured greenish white ; as a novelty it has
some merit, but for simple decoration it is inferior in effect to the
normal blue. The plant is a native of mountain pastures in many
parts of Europe.

G. asclepiadea — Sivallowwort-leaved Gentian. — One of the most
accommodating of Gentians. A native of bushy pastures on the Alps,
the Vosges, and Apennines. It grows 1 foot or 2 feet high, erect and
graceful ; the stems are well clothed with stalkless egg-shaped leaves,
narrowing much towards the point, and distinctly five-veined. The
flowers are produced in rather close spikes, usually in pairs, and almost
stalkless, and are deep purplish blue. A free-flowering handsome bor-
der-plant, succeeding best in deep rich sandy loam. There is a fine
white-flowered variety which is equally easy to cultivate, and both
may be used on rockwork, only it must be remembered that the soil
should be deep and moist.

G. cruciata — Crossioort Gentian. — Unlike the two last and the
majority of Gentians, this species has the corolla divided into four

1871.] HAEDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 39

instead of five segments, giving tlie appearance of a cross when open,
liencd the significance of the name ; but it is farther descriptive of the
arrangement of the leaves, which are rather closely packed in four rows
along the stems. The flowers are deep blue, arranged in whorls or
clusters in the axils at the upper ends of the stems. Height about 9
inches or 1 foot. Flowers in June and July. Native of dry moun-
tain-pastures on the great ranges of central and southern Europe.
May be cultivated without much difficulty in any moderately good
garden loam in the open border or rockwork, and is handsome and
distinct.

G. gelida — Pale-hlue Siberian Gentian. — A very beautiful species
growing about 1 foot high, with rather diffuse stems and lance-shaped
leaves. The flowers are bright pale blue, rather openly bell-shaped,
produced in clusters in the axils of the upper leaves, appearing in June
and July. Native of Siberia. Succeeds well in border or on rock-
work in moist peaty loam, sandy and well drained.

G. lutea — Large yelloio Gentian. — The roots of this species supply
the greater bulk of bitter Gentian of the druggists. It is the largest
and most bulky of the Gentians known to cultivation, reaching the
height of 3 or 4 feet, with erect strong stems. The leaves are broadly
egg-shaped, and ample. The flowers are produced in dense whorls in
the upper part of the stems, the full inflorescence having the appear-
ance of a long whorled spike ; they are yellow, and appear in June and
July. Native of high mountain -meadows in central and southern
Europe. It is a striking border-plant, both on account of the broad
ample leaves and the inflorescence, which, though not so showy in
colour as that of many, is very distinct. Very deep, rich, moist loam
suits it best.

G. pneumonanthe — Marsh Gentian. — A British species, though not
common. It grows about 9 inches or 1 foot high. The leaves are
oblong, lance-shaped. Flowers long, deep blue, lined on the outside
with green, produced in the axils in the upper part of the stems, and
appearing in August and September. Flourishes best in rich, peaty,
sandy loam, moist, but weU drained, and succeeds in either border or ,
rockwork. It is a very common plant in moist pastures in hilly coun-
tries throughout Europe and Northern Asia.

G. punctata — Yelloio -spotted Gentian. — A strong-growing plant
about 2 feet high, with erect strong stems. The leaves are oval,
on short stalks. The flowers are produced in clusters at the extremi-
ties of the stems, and are pale yellow, spotted with purple. Flowers in
June and July. The plant is a native of high alpine pastures on the
great mountain-ranges of Europe. It succeeds well in the mixed bor-
der in deep sandy loam.

40 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

G. pyrenaica — Pyrenean Gentiav. — This is one of the high alpine
species. It grows only a few inches high, with branching spreading
stems. The leaves are narrow, lance-shaped. The flowers are deep
blue, divided into ten segments, each alternate one being smaller and
more angular than the principal or representative five. They appear
in June and July. Native of lofty stations on the Pyrenees.

G. Sa:onaria — Soajnvort-Ieaved Gentian. — A good and accommo-
dating border plant, growing 1 or 2 feet high. The stems are ascending,
and clothed with broadly lance-shaped leaves. The flowers are stalkless,
in rather close heads at the extremities of the stems ; they are blue and
barrel-shaped, being almost closed at the mouth, which is cut into ten
nearly equal segments. They appear in August and September.
Native of N. America. This is one of the most easily cultivated
species, thriving in any ordinary garden soil.

G. septemfida — Crested Gentian. — A very handsome species,
suitable only for culture on rockwork, except where moist peaty
borders exist, when it may be successfully grown on the level ; but
it delights most in peat, or sandy loam and peat, whatsoever sta-
tion it may occupy. The plant forms tufts about 9 inches high. The
leaves are lance-shaped, rather broadly so, and distinctly three-veined.
The flowers are large, bright blue, with a white -and -blue spotted
throat, and the smaller alternate segments are finely cut. Flowers
in August and September. Native of the Caucasus.

G. Verna — Vernal Gentian. — One of the smallest and most beautiful
of Gentians. It grows only an inch or two high, and has the same
close matting style of growth as G. acaulis, but is even more dense and
compact than that plant. The leaves are hard, small, and oblong in
shape. The flowers are borne on short stems often barely carrying the
whole length of the tube of the flower above the mat of leaves ; they
are funnel-shaped, and divided at the mouth in five spreading rather
broad lobes, having intermediate and smaller lobes slightly cut or
crested between. They appear in April and May. The plant is a
native of high alpine pastures, and is often coddled and vexed to death
in cultivation. Although a tiny plant, it requires a deep, rich, cool,
sandy loam to grow in, and a good open exposure, and, like all or
nearly all Gentians, water in abundance is necessary during the grow-
ing season. The rockwork is the best place for it, where, if the
natural soil is not what it flourishes best in, a suitable compost may
be provided for it ; but if suitable, it may be tried with every confid-
ence in the open border.

Limnanthemum nymphseoides, syn. Villarsia nymphseoides. — An
elegant aquatic plant, found in many parts of Britain and Ireland, but
supposed to have been introduced, and not native. It forms widely

iSyi.] . HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 41

extending immersed stems, rooting freely below and branching at the
extremities, the branches ascending to the surface of the water, and
terminating in a tuft of leaves deeply heart-shaped, on long stalks, and
floating on the surface. The flowers are large, bright yellow, on long
stalks, appearing above water in June, July, and August. It may
easily be introduced into pieces of water, natural or artificial, by pro-
curing divisions and immersing them, and otherwise treating them as
described already for Water-Lilies ; and seed, if more handy, may be
treated in precisely the same way, taking care to sow them as soon
as ripe.

Menyanthes trifoliata — Buckhean or Marsh Trefoil. — This is a
beautiful and fragrant plant, and a common native of Britain, in
shallow streams or pools and very wet marshy ground or bogs. The
plant forms strong creeping rooting stems in deeper water, often
floating. The leaves are trifoliate on long stout stalks, the leaflets
large, oval or oblong. The flowers are borne on stout stalks varying
in length with the depth of the water from 6 inches to 1 foot or more;
they are arranged in handsome racemes, and the corolla is deeply cleft
into five lobes and beautifully fringed ; on the inside it is white suf-
fused with pink outside. It will be found easy to establish wherever
the necessary conditions of its existence — shallow water or bog — are
available, by introducing pieces of the stems, and securing them till by
the emission of roots they have secured themselves.

Spigelia marilandica — Perennial Wormgrass. — This is a lovely
plant, very rare in cultivation, and difficult to keep unless the circum-
stances are most favourable. It is a native of moist v/arm woods in
N". America, ranging over a considerable extent of the country, and
luxuriates in the rich deep vegetable mould formed by the decomposed
annual clothing of many generations of trees. The nearest approach
to this that we can make in cultivation is a mixture of peat and loam
with abundance of sand. Considerable depth of soil is required, and
it should be well drained, but well supplied with water during the
hot months of summer. The plant likes a warm position and also a
little shade, but if so placed on rockwork as to enjoy a screen for an
hour or two during the hottest part of the day, it will be quite suffi-
cient. Shelter also is required from cutting winds, and the means
adopted to secure this, whether by planting in hollows protected by
either ledges or bushes, may be so adjusted as to afford the necessary
amount of shade. Propagation may be effected by carefully dividing
the roots, but it is one of those subjects which, when doing well,
should not lightly be disturbed. The plant grows about 1 foot or 18
inches high, with numerous erect simple stems. The leaves are very
broadly lance-shaped or acutely oval. The flowers are long, tubular,

42 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

brilliant scarlet externally and yellow within, but little of this is seen
except on close examination, the external colour being that which is
conspicuous, and the tube is divided at the mouth into five acute
segments ; they are borne in small clusters in the axils of the upper
part of the stem, and a2)pear in July and August.

THE GLADIOLUS.

Hybrids of Gandavensis must be classed amongst the very foremost of
autumn flowers, and we ought not to forget that we are indebted for
nearly all of those beautiful varieties to our neighbours across the
Channel. Notwithstanding the disturbance in France, another batch
of new varieties has been harvested in good condition, and will be
sent out yet if the state of aflfairs permit. M. Eugene Verdier Fils aine
catalogues twenty new varieties for 1870-71. The Gladiolus is indis-
pensable in the autumn flower-garden ; it is the most effective object
on the exhibition table ; and the plants are useful and effective orna-
ments in the greenhouse and conservatory. They can be placed in
positions where the spikes are seen amongst the green leaves of other
plants not in flower, or amongst ferns. This plant is also well adapted
for cuttings to place in vases, where the flower-spikes will continue to
develop themselves ; and some of the varieties will be more beautiful
than if allowed to remain on the plant.

I will treat first of the culture of Gladiolus in beds out of doors.
It is best to plant them in beds, placing the bulbs 1 foot apart each
way, four rows in each bed. The ground will thus be laid out in 4-feet
beds, with 18-inch alleys. A light sandy loam is the most suitable
for them, and for such soil cov\^ manure is the best. A stiff loam is
not suitable for them, but it can be made so by using stable manure
or rotted hotbed or stable manure and leaves, with the addition of
leaf-mould, sand, or some loose material. As to position, it ought to
be sheltered, especially from the west and north : there are generally
furious gales from the west about the first week in September, and at
this time the beds are in full beauty. The preparation of the ground
is most important. This ought to be attended to early in the autumn,
before the ground is drenched with rain. It should be trenched not
less than 2 feet deep, working in plenty of manure, but none of it
ought to be nearer the surface than 9 inches, as the bulbs have a
strong aversion to close contact with manure of any sort. During
winter and early spring it should be lightly forked over when the sur-
face is dry. It cannot be forked over too often, but do not touch it
in wet weather or just after rains.

iSyi.] THE GLADIOLUS. 43

The Gladiolus lists are generally issued with the seed catalogues in
December, and the bulbs should be ordered as soon after as convenient.
Most cultivators agree that the small bulbs throw up the best spikes ;
but I leave the nurserymen to send out what size they like, -only they
must send them sound and healthy. A large bulb will throw up two
or three spikes, and your stock is increased for the next season ; and
in new sorts this is important. I will give a list of the best sorts at
the end of this article. As soon as the roots are received, place them
in a dry airy place, free from frost, until it is time to plant them out.
For succession, a planting should be made every two or three weeks
from the 1st of March to the end of May. The bulbs should be planted
about 3 inches deep, with a little sand under and over them. When
the plants are about a foot high, the sticks should be put to them :
they are very easily injured by the wind, and the roots will not be
injured so much if the plants are secured to the sticks at this early
stage of their growth. Waterings and mulching the beds with manure
ought to be resorted to as soon as dry weather sets in. The ground
being highly manured, there is some danger of over-watering, therefore
great caution is necessary here. A few years ago I saw some large
beds containing hundreds of the best French varieties in the most un-
healthy condition. The soil in which they were planted was some-
what heavy, but not unsuitable. The beds had not been mulched,
and I felt no doubt, on examining the soil, that over-watering was the
cause of failure. If the leaves cannot be kept of a healthy dark green
colour, there will be no very good spikes. As the flowers continue to
develop themselves they ought to be watched for a small green maggot,
which will be found devouring the yet undeveloped flowers. The best
time to dig up the roots is about the end of October, cutting them
over at the same time, and laying them out in a dry airy place to dry
before wrapping them up in paper, in order that they may be stored
in boxes until the spring. One peculiarity of the Gladiolus is the
manner in which the plants die off suddenly when in apparently luxu-
riant health, and it very often happens at the time when you are ex-
pecting to be repaid for a whole season's care and anxiety. The first
signs of anything being wrong is the spike drooping in the sun. On
examining the roots, the young fibres will be found dead or dying.
Very often I have found manure in close contact with the bulbs.
Blanks will be made in the beds from this cause, and also from bulbs
which, although to all appearance healthy when planted, throw up only
a few sickly leaves, and ultimately perish. I grow a reserve in pots
to meet such accidents. Pot-culture may be disposed of in a few
words. A good compost for them consists of three-parts sandy loam,
one of leaf -mould, one of rotted manure, and one of sand. I use 5 and

44 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

6 incli pots for the first potting, shifting into 7 and 8 inch as soon as
the plants are 6 inches high. Plunge the pots in a cold frame, covering
the pots over to secure them from frost. I use cocoa-nut fibre refuse
for this purpose, and I know of nothing better for plunging all sorts
of pots in. The pots must be examined occasionally, and as soon as
the plants are seen above the surface of the mould the material cover-
ing the pots should be removed, and as much air as possible admitted
to the frame. Some time in May the plants are removed to a sheltered
position out of doors, until the first flowers show signs of opening.
They may be removed to the greenhouse, or they can be retarded by
placing them behind a north wall.

The Gladiolus may be propagated by taking care of the spawn or
very small bulblets which cluster in greater or less numbers round the
base of the large bulbs : some of the varieties will only give three or
four of such small bulbs, others a hundred or two. A well-known
cultivator told me the other day that he counted 200 from one plant
of Orphee, one of the best new ones of the present season. When
they are found in such large quantities, the best way is to draw drills
and sow them out of doors. The more scarce varieties should be potted
— a dozen bulblets planted in a 6-inch pot. The bulbs obtained from
the spawn will each throw up a fine spike the following year.

The best new varieties of the autumns of 1868-69 are — Armide,
Delicatissima, Homere, Horace, Madame Desportes, Madame Dom-
brain, Marie Stuart, Michel-Ange, Monsieur Legouve, Orphee, Robert
Fortune, Rosa Bonheur, Schiller, Virgile. These were all raised by
Souchet. Julia, sent out by Kelway, is a first-class flower. The best
of the older varieties are — Adolphe Brogniart, Etendard, Eugene
Scribe, Fulton, Galilee, Imperatrice Eugenie, James Veitch, La Favor-
ite, Le Titien, Madame Furtado, Marechal Vaillant, Marie Dumortier,
Meyerbeer, Moliere, Newton, Prince of Wales, Princess of Wales,
Princess Mary of Cambridge, Princess Clotilde, Reine Victoria, Ros-
sini, Shakespere, Ulysse. The above named is a select list, and I
have grown and flowered all of them except La Favorite, but which I
have seen very fine in Mr Kelway's stands. It is rather tender. I
have omitted other fine sorts which are delicate in constitution, or at
least do not succeed with me. J. D.

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIOJNTS.

The Royal Horticultural Society of London, — The last meeting for 1870 of
the Fruit and Floral Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society was held on
Wednesday, December 7. It was a very successful meeting. Not many Orchids
and tender plants were exhibited, which could hardly be expected, as the weather
was very unfavourable.

iSyi.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 45

Prizes were offered in class 1 for 24 cut blooms of Japanese and large-flowering
Chrysanthemums. Mr Douglas, gardener to F. Wbitbourn, Esq. , Loxford Hall,
Ilford, was 1st with, amongst others, good examples of Miss Marechaux, Princess
of Teck, Virgin Queen, Blonde Beauty, Lord Derby, and Plutus, amongst the
large -flowering sorts ; of Japanese, Dr Masters, the Mikado, and Comet. ]\Ir
Goddard, gardener to H. liittle, Esq., Cambridge Park, Twickenham, who was
2d, had some very pretty Japanese varieties — Mandarin, a fine bright yellow,
the Sultan, the Daimio, Avirantium, and Ne Plus Ultra, were the best of them.

Class 2. Collection of Hardy Evergreens bearing berries. — Messrs Standish &
Co., Ascot, exhibited a veiy effective collection, consisting of scarlet-aud-yellow
berried Hollies ; some fine specimens of Aucuba covered with berries, which will
be more effective a month hence, as not many of the berries were ripe; a fine
Skimmia oblata ; and a plant with black berries, Raphiolepis ovata. Mr Standish
neglected to enter his plants, which would have been awarded the 1st prize : they
were deservedly awarded a special certificate.

Class 3. Collection of Herbaceous Plants suitable for outdoor winter decora-
tions.— The 1st prize was awarded to Messrs E. G. Henderson & Son, St John's
AVood, who were the only exhibitors. They had compact little plants of Thymus
strictus, T. citriodorus aureus, Achyrocline Saundersii ; and very conspicuous
amongst them was Lilium candidum aureo variegatum — in all about two dozen
plants.

Class 4. Collection of Endive and other Salads. — Mr Hepper, gardener to C. P.
Millard, Esq., the Elms, Acton, was 1st with a good collection put up on plates
neatly garnished with Beet leaves and curled Kale. He had Cucumbers, Aus-
tralian and curled Cress, Lettuce, Onions, red and white Celery, three sorts of
Endive, Beet, &c. Mr Gilbert, gardener to the Marquess of Exeter, Burghley
Park, Stamford, was 2d, and had his collection neatly set up in a new box
specially made for exhibiting salads by Mr Chapman of Landudno. A deep tin
trough 2 inches wide sown with Mustard and Cress made a neat fringe round the
inside of the box, which was divided into suitable compartments for the larger
salads. The Fruit Committee had their attention drawn to this box, and it was
highly approved of by them.

The most notable objects before the Fruit Committee were three new seed-
ling Grapes from Mr W. Paul of Waltham Cross. One of them, which was named
"VValtham Cross, received a first-class certificate. The berries are amber, long in
proportion to their width, resembling in shape the Morocco, very large. The flesh
is firm, flavour moderately rich. It was thought to be a good late-hanging Grape.
Messrs Lucombe, Pince, & Co. sent a new white Grape, Mrs Pince's White Mus-
cat. As shown, the Muscat flavour was not perceived ; the berries were medium-
sized. It was not considered worthy of a certificate. From G. F. Wilson, Esq.,
Heatherbank, Weybridge, came a magnificent dish of Josephine de Malines Pear.
The fruit was the produce of a plant which had been kept under glass when in
blossom and until the fruit was set, when the pot was removed out of doors un-
til the fruit was gathered. Mr Wilson grows most excellent Pears and Plums of
the finer sorts in pots in this way, and it is deserving of attention from those who
have not got a large extent of wall-surface. A special certificate was awarded.

Mr Turner, of the Royal Nurseries, Slough, sent a Pear named International, of
exquisite flavour ; it had previously received a certificate. A very fine dish of
Cortjish Aromatic from the same exhibitor had a special certificate. Messrs
Rutley & Silverlock sent very fine examples of improved white Spanish (.)nions
grown at Banbury. They received a special certificate for superior cultivation.
Messrs Carter & Co., High Ilolborn, sent Red-skinned, Flourball, and American

46 THE GARDENER. [Jan.

Red Potatoes for comparison. In appearance, when cut open, they are very simi-
lar, and some cooked for the Committee were not sufficient to settle the distinc-
tion : it was suggested that they be planted side by side before a definite conclu-
sion could be arrived at.

Floral Committee. — White Nun seedling perpetual Carnation from Mr W. Lee,
Arundel, Sussex, received a first-class certificate; Maiden's Blush, a very dis-
tinct flower of large size, had a second-class award. Mr Goddard received a first-
class certificate for a very beautiful and distinct purple Cyclamen named Cycla-
men persicum purpureum. Selaginella albo-lineata is a very beautiful plant, and
well deserved the first-class certificate awarded to it. Mr Berkeley stated at the
"general meeting" that its great beauty was brought out under a gleam of sun-
shine. It was sent by Messrs Perkins & Son, Park Nursery, Coventry. A collec-
tion of Orchids came from Mv Williams of Holloway, and a number of compact
little plants in 5-inch pots of Solanum hybridum compactum ; they were 10 inches
high and as much through, covered with beautiful large scarlet berries. A special
certificate was awarded. Mr Green, gardener to W. Wilson Saunders, Esq.,
Hillfield, Reigate, received a first-class certificate for a variety of Mormodes Car-
ton! ; the flowers were a deep red, but in a young state they were stated to be
orange. Capsicum Yellow Gem, from Mr Ptobins, gardener to Sir E. Kerrison,
Bart., was awarded a special certificate ; the plant was trained as a dwarf standard,
and will be useful for decorative purposes. Messrs W, & A. Brown, florists,
Hendon, had seedling Cinerai'ias, and 12 plants of an excellent strain of Chinese
Primulas. The plants were compact, and the flowers very brilliant deep red,
A special certificate was awarded. Mr Wiggins also received a special certificate
for a very fine collection of Primulas in variety.

At this meeting Mr Bateman offered a prize of £5 for a collection of cut Catt-
leyas. As there was no exhibitor, the prize will be again offered in two prizes of
£3 and £2 on January 18th. It was also announced that the Rev. G. Kemp
had offered prizes of £3 and £2 for a dish of Grapes consisting of 6 bunches
grown in the open air against a wall without any protection, to be awarded at the

J. D.

©aUn&ar*

[By request of some of our correspondents, we will give a Calendar monthly.
Of course, it is not consistent with our space to relate garden operations with all
their minuteness. Our object, therefore, will be to touch on the principal
points of the culture of the most important things. The Kitchen - Garden
Calendar will be written by the author of "Hints for Amateurs," and that is
tantamount to saying that the department will be well done. The Forcing de-
partment we intend to attend to ourselves, while miscellaneous matters will be
so embraced in " Hints for Amateurs " that we refer to that department for such.]

KITCHEN-GARDEF.

Where labour is at command, and I deeply (so long as bad soil is not brought
much extra work not on hand, kitchen- up) or frequently ; but this work has

garden operations will be well advanced.
Vacant ground will be well ridged up
to be exposed to frost, having been
trenched or dug. Trenching can hardly
be overdone, either by being done

too often to be neglected for other pass-
ing duties, or from scarcity of labour
employed. Where crops are soon to be
cleared off the ground, manure may be
wheeled on to any empty space adjoin-

i87i.]

CALENDAR.

47

ing, already cleared, to be turned down
in the process of trenching, keeping
rank material at the bottom, and extra -
rotten stuff may be kept under the top
spade only. Where Kale or similar
crops are almost finished, what are left
may be lifted to a spare corner, and the
roots laid into the soil. They will do
well till used up, and allow the more
important quarters to be turned up as
desired, thus keeping order in the gar-
den, and helping forward with the work.
Keep all standing crops free from decay-
ing leaves, which will be plentiful after
sharp frost. If Spinach has been trod-
den much between the rows when the
leaves have been gathered, let the hoe
or fork be carefully applied to open the
surface-soil. Cover Celery with litter
in severe weather ; but to prevent it
rotting, it should be exposed when
weather is fine ; or the crop, where
means are abundant, may be lifted to a
shed or open outhouse, and placed up-
right in sand. This is only necessary
where climate and soil are very wet.
Peas, for first or succession crops, may
be sown on a warm border, covering the
seed with warm dry soil ; protect those
through the ground. Peas of an early
kind may be sown in boxes, pots, turfs,
&c., and brought on slowly, to be
planted out in March. They can be
brought on quickly by heat, and hard-
ened off afterwards ; but the slow, hardy
method is the best. Beans may be
treated in the same way. Radisiies and
early Horn Carrots may be sown in
frames ; the Radishes sown with the
Carrots will be ofi" before the latter are
up, thus having two crops from one
bed : little heat is required. Potatoes,
if already sprouted, may be planted in
good light loam, placed on leaves, or
any other gentle -heating material, in
pits or frames. Frost and cold winds

should be kept out, but a close dark
structure will only give long tops and
"little root." Cauliflower, Lettuce,
and other vegetables under protection,
must have plenty of air and light, and
be kept free from damp, stirring the
surface-soil frequently. Cauliflower-seed
may now be sown in healthy light soil,
to be brought forward with plenty of
light and air; boxes and pans answer
well for this purpose ; they can be re-
moved to suitable positions as may be
necessary. Tomatoes recently taken
from pots, and not quite ripe, may be
taken to a dry position, where there is a
little warmth. When there are suitable
structures, these can be had all the
year round, growing them in pots for
first and last supplies. Some use pots
all the year through, plunging them iu
summer. The pot system is perhaps
the oldest, and extensively carried out
by market-men around London, where
this useful fruit can be grown almost as
simply as Potatoes. Supplies of Sea-
kale, Asparagus, and Rhubarb will come
in quickly now, and require mild forc-
ing, lifting as many roots at each time
as the demand requires. Rhubarb and
Asparagus require plenty of light and
air, where high colour and fine flavour
are objects. Rhubarb covered with
manure is inferior to that which has
more natural treatment. Supplies of
Parsnips and Jerusalem Artichokes may
be taken up in open weather, to have
plenty when frost and snow prevail.
Salads of all kinds, such as young
Onions, Mustard, Cress, Chicory, may
now be abundant. Weekly sowings in
boxes or pans will keep up fresh sup-
plies. Chicory will do well anywhere
in the dark, and answers well when
Lettuce are scarce ; and Dandelion
sprouted in this way is no mean salad.
M. T.

FORCING DEPARTMENT.

Pines. — Where ripe Pines are required
in May and June, no time must be lost
in getting the reqviired number started
into fruit. For this purpose, select
those Queens that have completed their
growth early in autumn, and that have
been rested by being comparatively dry
and cool : give them a night tempera-
ture of 70°, except when the weather is
very cold, when a few degrees less will
be sufiicient. The bottom heat should
range from So" to 90°, but never exceed
the latter degree, or the roots are likely
to sufi'er. If the soil be dry, give suffi-

cient water at 85° to moisten it, and
keep it regularly in a medium state of
moisture, and gradually increase the air
and moisture as the days lengthen and
light increases. When the temperature
exceeds 75° with sun, give a little air at
the highest part of the pinery, and shut
up early in the afternoon. Keep all
succession stock quiet. The night tem-
perature should range as steadily at 60°
as possible. A few degrees less during
hard frost or a high wind are safer than
a few degrees more than 60°. 75° to 80°
is sufficient bottom-heat for those. Avoid

48

THE GARDENER,

[Jan.

giving more water at the root than just
eufl&ces to keep the plants healthy, if
the pluDgitig material be leaves and tau
without hot-water pipes beneath them.
We have frequently liad Pines in the
most Batisfactory condition without
being once watered from the beginning
of November to the mi Idle or end of
January. All young stock in low pits,
that can be covered from dusk till dawn,
should be covered in preference to firing
hard to keep up the temperature ; and
whenever the temperature exceeds 65°
by sun heat, give a small amount of air
at a number of openings instead of much
at a few.

Vines. — Give every attention to late
Grapes still hanging, in the way of keep-
ing a steady temperature of 45° and a
dry atmosphere. Instead of opening
ventilators on mild foggy days, keep
them shut, and embrace the opportvin-
ity afforded by clearer weather of giving
a little increase of heat and air. The
former practice fills the house with
moist air, while the latter expels it.
Go over every bunch twice a-week, and
remove all decaying berries before they
communicate their rottenness to others.
Prune all Vines from which the fruit
has been cut, and that have shed their
leaves. Wash every inch of inside sur-
face, not even excepting gangways ;
paint the hot-water pipes and wood and
wirework, if they require it ; and if the
Vines have been infected with red-
spider last year, wash them also with
a solution of Fowler's insecticide, and
coat them over with a mixture of clay,
cow-dung, sulphur, and a little soft-soap
of the consistency of thick paint ; after
which remove 2 inches of the surface-
soil from the inside border, aud if the
roots are inside the house, top-dress
■with 2 inches of horse-droppings or
other short manure, and cover it over
with an inch of loam. In a few in-
stances early-started Vines will be set,
and in some cases thinned. These, if
required as early as possible to succeed
the late Grapes, must be pushed briskly
along, but let the forcing be done by
day principally. Sixty-five degrees is
sufficient temperature at night, unless
in very mild weather, when it may rise
to 70°. Avoid an excess of moisture,
especially in dull weather, and give air
on all favourable opportunities, and
always in the earlier part of the day,
shutting up early in the afternoon. If
this crop be in pots, great attention
must be paid to waterin^r, keepiug the
oil regularly moist. Vines in bloom,

require to be freely aired, avoiding cold
currents as much as possible. Thin tlie
bunches to the desired number im-
mediately they are well set, and then
the berries as soon as they attain the
size of Radish seed. Stop the growths
of late Vines two or three joints beyond
the best bunch, and carelully tie them
down hy dejjrccs for fear of breaking the
tender growth.s, and avoid the crowding
of wood and foliage. Start succes-sion-
houses, the borders of which, it is pre-
sumed, have been well covered with
leaves or litter, or both, some time iigo.
It is a good plan to have a ridge of hot
leaves and manure on the inside border,
to be turned over every ten days or so.
Such keep up a fine atmosphere for
breaking and starting Vines. Begin
with 45° to 50° at night, gradually in-
creasing the heat to 6o° by the time the
buds have all fairly started. If they
show symptoms of swelling the buds at
the top much in advance of the bottom
ones, bend down the tops of the Vines
into a cooler part of the house till the
bottom buds advance. We are not an
advocate for much syringing in vineries,
and prefer keeping up the moisture by
evaporation from steaming-troughs and
floor-sprinkling. But after leaves are
formed, an excess of this, with too little
air, breeds wartiness on the under sides
of the leaves, and checks their expan-
sion, and impairs the whole system of
the Vines. Put in a sufficient number
of eyes for growing into Vines required
for another season. Either put them
singly in 3-inch pots, or a number in
lai'ger ones, to be potted ofi" when their
roots are an inch long. Use a light
turfy loam, with a little sand mixed
with it, to start them in.

Peaches. — Should the weather be cold
and dull, be cautious in the application
of fire-heat, unless it be in the case of
trees in full bloom, to keep up a circula-
tion of dry air : go over the blooms at
mid-day with a camel-hair brush, and
impregnate especially shy-setting sorts,
such as Noblesse. Do not exceed 55°
at night till the fruit has set and begun
swelling freely. On fine afternoons
syringe all trees not in bloom ; but when
dull and cold, be content with sprink-
ling the floors. Prune and tie later
houses, cleaning and dressing them as
recommended for Vines ; and if the
borders be dry inside, give a good soak-
ing of water after they are top-d reused
with manure. Top-dretsing with manure
in the case of young trees in new borders
is not desirable, as they have a tendency

i87i.]

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

49

to grow too strong. Disbud the growths
early. We prefer the mixed system of
both disbudding and pinching, and have
observed that blooms on ?purs are not
80 subject to drop oflf, and generally set
better than on long young growths —
especially if not well ripened. In forc-
ing, begin with a low temperature — -45°
during cold nights, increased to 55°
when in bloom, is sufl&cient, with 10°
more by day with sun, and give air on
all favourable occasions to strengthen
both wood and bloom buds,

Figs.— Where early Figs are grown in
pots, now is a good time to start them.
They do best when plunged in a bed of
warm leaves, giving a bottom-heat of
about 80°. The temperature of the air
should be the same as that recommend-
ed for Peaches. Keep them regularly
moist at the root, and syringe them
every fine afternoon, and otherwise keep
the atmosphere moist. Should any of
the plants require larger pots, shift them
when put into heat; and those which
have been for a few years in large pots
will be the better for being turned out
of them, and the crocks removed from
among the roots at the bottom; the roots
cut back sufficiently to allow of 3 inches
fresh soil at the bottom of the pots,
and top-dress the ball with horse-drop-
pings. Brown Turkey and Raby Castle
are excellent early-forcing varieties.

Strawberries in pots.— A number
of these, according to the demand and
space, should be put into heat every
fortnight. Keep them near the glass,
and begin with a temperature of 45° to
50° at night, increasing it to 55° by the
time they show their trusses of bloom.
Early-started crops now in bloom range
from 55° to 60°, according to the weather.
Give them a liberal supply of fresh air,
but avoid currents of cold air passing
over them. In all stages Strawberries
require to be kept moist at the root, but
are best not placed in saucers till the
fruit are set, when they will do well
with saucers under the pots, and a tem-
perature of 65° at night, with 75° to 80°
with sun by day.

Cucumbers. — Those that have been
bearing through the winter require a

night temperature of 65° to 70°, accord-
ing as the weather is cold or mild. If
in low pits in houses, cover the glass at
night iu preference to hard filing ; give
more or less air daily, according to the
state of the weather ; and keep the soil
moderately moist, increasing the supply
of water and the moisture of the air as
the days lengthen. Do not allow the
leaves and young growths to become
crowded, nor the plants to bear too
much fruit at one time. Sow seed for
succession crops in a temperature of
70°. Keep them near the glass as soon
as the young plant appears. A good
way is to sow two or three seeds in a 4
or 5 inch pot, half-filling the pots with
light loamy soil, and as soon as the plants
grow above the rims of the pots, to earth
up the planrs : in this way no check is
sustained. If to be grown on trellises,
they should not be stopped.

Melons.— Sow for early crops in the
same way as recommended for Cucum-
bers, using a heavier loam. If intended
for being grown in the old-fashioned
way, in pits without trellises, stop the
young plants as soon as the rough leaves
are expanded ; but if to be trained to
wires like Cucumbers, which is the best
way, do not stop them.

French Beans. — Water those in full
bearing with guano and manure-wa-
ter alternately. Keep the atmosphere
moist, and give air when the tempera-
ture exceeds 75°. The night tempera-
ture is sufficiently high at 65°. Sow
for succession crops. A good plan is to
sow in 3 or 4 inch pots, and to shift
them into 8-inch pots. Managed in this
way, they generally come earlier into a
bearing state than when sown in large
pots partially filled with soil, and
moulded up after they have grown
considerably above the mouth of the pot.
They can be sown thickly iu boxes, and
transplanted, five and six into 8-inch
pots, in which to bring their crops to
maturity ; and where room in heat is
scarce, this is a good plan. In all cases
keep them near the glass, and watch for
red-spider, which must be kept in check
by the usual ways of syringing and sul-
phuring. D. T.

^0tu£S io C0rr^sp0nir^nt^.

[The Editor begs to thank those friends who have favoured him with their
communications, and regrets that want of space compels him to postpone the
publication of some of them till February. It will further oblige if all matter

D

50 THE GARDENER. [Jan. 187 i.

intended for publication, and questions to be replied to, be forwarded by the
middle of the ujonth, written on one side of the paper only, and addressed as
directed iu the ' Gardener ' for December, It is also requested that writers forward
their name and address, not for publication, unless they wish it, but for the sake
of that mutual confidence which should exist between the Editor and those who
address him.]

Adam Davidsox. — The following are excellent fine-foliaged plants for the
ordinary system of bedding : —

Centaurea Rigusina, silvery, will stand 10° frost, 1 to 1| foot,

,, gymnocarpa, silvery, ,, 1 to 2 feet, according to age.

Cinerarea maritima, silvery, ,, 1 to 2 feet.

,, acanthafolia, silvery, ,, ,,

Achyrocline Saundersoni, silvery, ,, ,,

Santolina chamsecyparissus, silvery, hardy, ,,

,, incana, silvery, hardy, 6 to 9 inches.

Dactylis glomerata variegata, variegated, hardy, 1 foot.

Chrysanthemum Sensation, variegated, har.ly, 2 feet.

Polemonium cffiruleum variegatufn, variegated, hardy, 9 inches to 1 foot,

Pyrethrum Golden Feather, gohien, hardy, 6 to 8 inches,

Stachys lanata, silvery, hardy foliage, 4 inches,

Euonymus radicans variegatus, varit-gated, hardy, height according to age.

Cerastium tomentosum, silvery, hardy, 3 to 4 inches.

Arabis alpina variegata, vat legated, hardy, 3 to 4 inches.
,, lucida variegata, golden variet^ated, 3 inches.

Artemisia argentea, silvery, hardy, 6 to 8 inches.

Ajuga reptaus rubra, dark purple, hardy, very dwarf.

Oxaiis corniculata rubra, dark chocolate, hardy, 4 inches.

Alternathera, various, very dwarf, but tender.

Amaranthus melancholicus ruber, dark red, 1 to 2 feet, tender.

Coleus VerschafiFeltii, dark crimson, 2 to 3 feet, tender.

,, various sorts, which thrive outdoors for two or three of the warmest
months.

Dell's Beet, dark crimson, 9 inches to 1 foot, very effective and hardy.

These are the cream of the more dwarf-foliaged plants for bedding. Of subtropi-
cal plants likely to suit your locality, the following are good : —

Aralia papyriCera, height
according to age.

Cannas in variety.
*Nicotiana Wigandioides.
*Polymijia grandis.
*S lauum robustum.
*\ViDrandia Caracasana.

Dracaena Draco.
Ficus elastica.
Ferdinandia eminens.
Phormium tenax.
*^Ricinus in variety.
Seaforthia elegans.
Corypha Australis.

Caladium esculentum.

Acacia lophantha.

Ai^ave Americana.

Chamserops Fortunii.

Cordyline indivisa.

Cycas revoluta.

Dracicna Australis.

These are all hardy enough to be outdoors for four or five months in summer,
and can be wintered iu a greenhouse. Their height is according to age. Those
marked * can be easily raised from seed, and the Cannas can be lifted and kept
under the greenhouse stage.

D. M'C. — Your suggestion has, as you will see on second page of Cover, been
acted upon.

Statice Rattrayana is synonymous with S. profusa : it was raised at Salton
Hall, near Haddington, and is the finest and most useful of all the greenhouse or
stove Statices. It is a hybrid between S. Holfordii and S. puberiola.
Sandt. — Your Vine-stems should be at least 6 inches from the pipes.
L. (A Subt^criber). — Your young Vines appear to have made good progress in
the time you name, and if you have no special reasons for cropping them, we
would advise you to cut them down within 2 feet of the front lights, and take
only a bunch or two from each at the most. This will be the most satisfactory
course iu the end. Many young Vines are crushed in their youth by cropping
them too greedily. We should prefer inarctiing the Madresfield Court on the
Lady Downes rather than on Black Alicant. Your estimate of Madrcsfield Court
is no doubt correct. White Lady Downes has all the good'qualities of Black Lady
Downes, as a robust free cropper and good keeper, and colours like a well-
ripened Muscat.

THE

GARDENER.

FEBRUARY 1871.

BEDS OF SUCCULENT AND CURIOUS -LOOKING
PLANTS.

T has been a little amusing to notice the frantic attempts
that have recently been made to bring into contempt the
flower-gardening which has been popular in British gar-
dens for a long time now. So furious and ultra has
been the character of these efforts, that there is some difficulty
in believing that those who have made them possess the know-
ledge and skill necessary to properly appreciate the best features
of the flower-gardening to which we refer. A correspondent has
remarked that, like John Barleycorn, the more loudly popular flower-
gardening has been abused, the stronger it has grown. Be this as it
may, we are certainly of opinion that any fashion of flower-gardening
that has continued for more than a quarter of a century, and that is
likely to continue for an equal period to yield so much pleasure to
the public at large, scarcely deserves all the hideous epithets that have
been hurled at its existence, in some cases by those who evidently do
not understand it, even admitting that rejoicings could be indulged in
over a superior and more refined order of things. While we thus
write, we disavow any sympathy with stereotyped forms of any branch
of horticulture, and would tender thanks to those ultra opponents of
gay flower-beds for their assistance in introducing interesting features
into our gardens. At the same time, we cannot extend our sympathy

E

52 THE GARDENER. [Fee.

towards their attempts to rear even desirable features on the ruins of
others equally, or even more, desirable.

There is no more reason, surely, why we should show all gay groups
of flowering plants to the garden-gate, in order to so exclusively accom-
modate another feature, however desirable, than there is for tearing the
glowing works of a Eaphael or Michael Angelo from our picture-gal-
leries to make room for the quiet sky gradations of a Claude, when
there is room for both ; and should there be room for both, it can be
no proof of good taste to exclude either — it may be proof that " pre-
judice runs, w^hile reason lags behind."

Flat surfaces, with great flaunting daubs of colour, -without any
toning down, or mingling of graceful objects, we have long waged
war against, both by pen and practice ; and the step in the right
direction, by the more liberal introduction of plants less remark-
able for bright colouring than for elegant forms, deserves to be hailed
with heart and hand. No man can stand still, no man cares to stand
still : where jDrogress ceases, retrogression commences. It is so in
everything, flower-gardening included, which, if it does not progress
and accumulate fresh charms, must retrograde and fall short of serving
its true end and purpose. All hail, therefore, to all that is not merely
new, but worthy of the name of progress and increased interest, and
among which we class "beds of succulent and curious-looking plants."

This is a style of grouping which is beginning to attract a consider-
able share of attention. The plants that come under this designation
are singularly distinct from such as have absorbed so much of the
gardener's care and resources ; and beds of them are so distinct in
character, and so interesting, that they have much to recommend them
to popular favour. They are, moreover, from their singular, in some
cases grotesque, appearance, scarcely admissible in the same beds with
ordinary bedding-plants remarkable chiefly for their profuse and bril-
liant flowers. Unless, indeed, it be in some cases as edgings to flower-
beds, it is more appropriate to devote a few beds to themselves, both
because they thus become a feature all the more distinct and appreci-
able, and, to our mind, are not appropriate for mingling up with
flowering plants. There is so much character and singularity of
appearance about these plants, that, when nicely arranged, they never
fail to prove interesting, and to attract a large share of attention.

Their characters are most distinctly displayed when they are planted
rather thinly on a carpeting of many of our singular-looking and per-
fectly hardy alpine plants ; and in small gardens, for which they are
specially to be recommended, and where, perhaps, only one or two
beds can be devoted to them, the more natural way of grouping them
is to be recommended. What we wish to be understood by this is, that

iSyi.

BEDS OF SUCCULENT PLANTS.

53

a select assortment be planted in a bed according to their heights and
habits. Take, for instance, a circular bed, such as that shown on the
plate, which has been engraved from a photograph of a small bed in-
tended for gardens of limited resources : here are afew varieties of striking-

looking plants of diverse habits arranged in a simple manner, and which
made a much more interesting-looking bed than it is possible to repre-
sent on paper. The bed is considerably raised above the ground-level.

54

THE GARDENER.

[Feb.

The centre plant is a variegated American Aloe, and it is surrounded
by Echeveria metallica, the ground betwixt which was covered with
Sedum azoideum variegatura. The plants surrounding this centre group
were chiefly composed of Echeveria secunda glauca, with a few Patchy-
phytums mixed in; while the edging is a line of the pretty hardy Saxi-
fraga rosularis, the whole surface of the ground among the dwarf
Echeveria being densely covered with the quaint rosette-looking Sem-
pervivum Californicum, which the photograph has failed to reach,
but which formed quite a feature when the bed was looked down upon.

Fig. 3. — Sempervivum Giganteum.

The bed looked natural and easy, giving variety and uniformity com-
bined in a small space, and consequently the manner of its make-up
we recommend for small resources.

For larger gardens that can afford to grow such plants by the score
or hundred, a series of beds set apart for this order of grouping could
not fail to be interesting. Each bed might contain a few varieties in
greater numbers of the taller of these grotesque-looking plants, while

iSyi.] BEDS OF SUCCULENT PLANTS. 55

each could be carpeted over with an undergrowth of a suitable colour
and habit, so as more conspicuously to bring out the different hues
and habits of the plants used. The low-growing snowy Antennaria
tomentosa, the close glaucous Sedums and variegated Saxifrages,
would bring out the dark-green colour and strikingly sturdy appear-
ance of such as Sempervivum giganteum, fig. 3, p. 54, which is also
engraved from a photograph, or it would display itself to great
advantage dotted over an undergrowth, the mossy Mesembryanthe-
mum cordifolium aureum, or even the common Cerastium tomentosum.

The fine dark grassy-green carpeting of Sedum lividum brings out
both the character and glaucous hue of Echeveria glauco metallica, fig. 4,
p. 53. Many of the Sempervivums grow to a considerable height, having
strong stems surmounted with a large table-looking rosette of beauti-
fully-formed leaves, and can therefore be associated, the dark greens
with groundworks of the more dwarf and glaucous Echeverias and
Sempervivums ; and carpeting for the more dwarf varieties can be
formed of glaucous Sedums and silvery Saxifrages,

Some of the ioniums are exceedingly interesting-looking plants,
and very effective for this order of gardening. ^Eonium ciliare, fig, 5,

Fig, 5. — ^Eonium Ciliare.

is one of the most interesting-looking of the dwarf varieties, and looks
well on a carpeting of such as Saxifraga rosularis or Sedum hispanicum.
These figures will, we hope, suffice to show the interesting character of
these plants to those who are not acquainted with them.

All the dwarf hardy Sempervivums, Sedums, and Saxifrages multiply
themselves rapidly by offsets, and by being divided frequently a large

56

THE GARDENER.

[Feb.

stock is rapidly got up. The tall Sempervivunis and ^l^oniums are
multiplied from young side-slioots, which strike freely at any time of
the year in a gentle heat. Most of the Echeverias can be raised from
seed as easily as any tender annual ; while some of them, such as
E. secunda, make offsets freely. Plants of E. metallica, E. secunda,
kept in and impregnated when in bloom, swell seed-pods rapidly; and
if the seed is sown in early spring and pushed forward in heat, fine
plants can be had the same season. Agaves are increased more slowly
by offsets or suckers formed round the base of stronger plants. All
these fleshy plants do best when kept comparatively dried off in the
winter, except when it is desirable to keep them in heat to increase
them, when they grow more freely Avhen kept moderately moist.

In order to still further illustrate the way in which the following list
of plants may be effectively grouped in a different way, and especially
when only one large bed can be conveniently devoted to them, we give
the following fig. G, and ways of planting it : —

The broken line — 6 — if made up of small plants, Patchyphytum
bracteatum, would look exceedingly well ; or the finishing plant to 4

1S71.] BEDS OF SUCCULENT PLANTS. 57

4 and 5 5, can be extended to meet opposite the centres of the four
circles : 7, made up of Echeveria secunda glauca, \\dth a Patchyphytum
every 2 feet, makes an interesting line ; 8, a dense line of Sempervivum
Californicum ; and 9, the outer line, of Saxifraga pectinata.

The groundwork — 10 — can be of two distinct plants; the one ex-
tending from the centre outwards to touch the inner points of 4 and
5, and the other filling up the remainder of it. The inner half might
be of the pretty variegated Aubrietia, or the still more common
Cerastium kept dwarf — while the outer half may be of a dwarf dense
Saxifraga or Sedam ; or the entire groundwork may be of one plant,
in which case we recommend it to be of some glaucous Saxifrage or
dwarf Sempervivum, or some silvery close-growing plant, such as An-
tennaria tomentosa.

If planting after this manner be too much for a garden's richness in
these plants, then let a groundwork be formed, according to fancy or
taste, of the dwarf Sedums, Saxifrages, or Sempervivums, and let a
few specimens be dotted over it, and finish the bed with two or three
lines of some dwarf hardy plants.

1. Centre plant, Agave Americana variegata, surrounded with large plants of

Echeveria metallica, the outline being formed of Sempervivum Bolli.

2, 2. Large centre plants of the massive dark green Sempervivum giganteum,

surrounded with dwarfer plants of Rochea falcata, finished with Eche-
veria glauca metallica.
.3, 3. Large centre plant of the interesting Sempervivum robustum, surrounded
with Sempervivum Canariense, and finished with Echeveria retusa
glauca.

4, 4. Large centre plants of ionium arboreum, surrounded with Patchyphytum

bracteatiim, and finished with Echeveria atropurpurea.

5, 5. Centre plant of Kleimia ficoides, surrounded with Echeveria pulverulenta,

and finished with Echeveria secunda glauca major.

We do not recommend the mixing in of these curious-looking plants
with flowering things. Were we to make an exception, it would be in
favour of Mesembryanthemums.

A circular bed of this sort can easily be traced out into many dif-
ferent patterns ; but in this, as in all flower-garden arrangements, we
advocate simplicity and ease. All intricate angularities, especially
when attempted within a circular bed, we regard as little better than
a confusion of things, ,and as lessening the chances of successfully
accomplishing the end in view.

Select List of Curious-looking and Succulent Plants that require Greenliouse
Temperature. Those marked * are stemless.

iEonium arboreum. ionium ciliare.

^Eonium arboreum variegatum. ^Eonium glutinosum.

iEonium arboreum atropurpureum. * Agave Americana.

ionium arboreum vittatum. * Agave Americana medio lineata.

58

THE GARDENER.

[Feb.

* Agave Americana medio picta.

* Agave Americana medio variegata.

* Agave Americana dealbata.

* Agave Americana filifera.

* Agave Americana geminiflora,

* Agave Americana schidigera.
Cotyledon pulverulentum.
Crassula arborea.

* Dasylirion acrotrichum.

* Dasylirion glaucum.

* Doryanthus excelsa.

* Echeveria agavoides.

* Echeveria atropurpurea.

■* Echeveria glauca metallica.
■* Echeveria navicularis.
Echeveria metallica.

* Echeveria nuda.
Echeveria gibbiflora.
Echeveria pulverulenta.

* Echeveria pumila.

* Echeveria retusa glauca.

* Echeveria secunda.

* Echeveria secunda glauca.

* Echeveria secunda glauca major.
Fourcroya long;eva.

* Haworthia clariperta.
Kleimia ficoides.
Kleimia repens.
Patchyphytum bracteatum.
Rochea falcata.

* Sempervivum bolli.
Sempervivum calycinum.

* Sempervivum canariense.
Sempervivum dorame.
Sempervivum repens.
Sempervivum rubricaule.
Sempervivum robustum.
Sempervivum polystichon.
Sempervivum tabrilare.
Sempervivum urbicum.
Sempervivum giganteum.

Select List of Plants suitable for Cover ing Beds, and forming Groundicorks
for the foregoing Plants.

AcfBna microphylla, brownish green.

Achillea umbellata, silvery.

Ajuga reptans rubra, almost crimson.

Antennaria tomentosa, silvery white.

Arabis albida variegata, creamy varie-
gated.

Arabis lucida, shining green.

Arabis lucida variegata, golden varie-
gated.

Artemisia frigida, silvery.

Aubrietia deltoidea, green.

Aubrietia deltoidea variegata, white
variegated.

Cerastium tomentosum, white.

Mesembryanthemum cordifolium varie-
gatum, golden.

Oxalis corniculata rubra, chocolate.

Santolina incana, grey.

Saxifraga aizoon, glaucous green.

Saxifraga aizoon minor, green.

Saxifraga aizoon retusa, green.

Saxifraga crustata, silvery-edged leaves.

Saxifraga crustata hybrida, silvery.

Saxifraga recta, silvery.

Saxifraga hirta, green.

Saxifraga Hostii, silvery-edged leaves.

Saxifraga hypnoides, green.

Saxifraga incrustata, silvery.

Saxifraga intacta, silvery.

Saxifraga intacta minor, silvery.

Saxifraga longifolia, silvery - edged
leaves.

Saxifraga oppositifolia, purplish rose.
Saxifraga pectinata, silvery - edged

leaves.
Saxifraga rosularis, silvery-edged leaves.
Saxifraga rocheliana, silvery - edged^

leaves.
Saxifraga Rhei, silvery-edged leaves.
Sedum brevifolium, glaucous green.
Sedum dasyphyllum, glaucous green.
Sedum Ewersii, glaucous green.
Sedum glaucum, glaucous green.
Sedum Hispanicum, pale green.
Sedum lividum, rich dark grassy green.
Sedum pruinosum, green.
Sedum rupester, reddish leaves.
Sedum saxfidum, green.
Sedum Sieboldii, green and variegated

varieties.
Sedum caeruleum, glaucous pale green.
Sempervivum montanum, dark green.
Sempervivum arenarium, green.
Sempervivum arachnoideum, green

curiously netted with white hairs.
Sempervivum Funkii.
Sempervivum tectorum, green.
Sempervivum Californicum, dark green

tipped with brown.
Sempervivum globiferum, green.
Sempervivum soboliferum.
Thymus Corsicus, green.
Thymus montanus albus, green.

»-«-»^^^-2-ft~

1871.] NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS. 59

NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS.

NO. II.

Notwithstanding their superlative claims upon all who have an in-
terest in horticultural pursuits, and their admitted value as decorative
plants, whether as arranged in masses in the flower-garden or shrub-
bery, or singly as specimens on lawns, it is somewhat remarkable that
as yet Rhododendrons are neither so extensively nor so carefully
cultivated as they deserve. In many establishments where they might
be expected to be found occupying a prominent place, they are either
absent altogether, or have the most inferior position assigned to them ;
and their sickly, stunted appearance too often contrasts most un-
favourably with the more robust and less fastidious shrubs with which
they are associated.

This state of things, we are convinced, arises not so much from a want
of appreciation of their merits, as from a popular mistake as to the
difficulty of providing the necessary soil and conditions for their
successful cultivation. Peat is not found in every garden, nor even in
its immediate vicinity, and in many places the expense of procuring it
in sufficient quantity is considered an insuperable barrier to the intro-
duction of even a limited collection. That peat, or a combination in
which the elements of which it is composed are largely present, is their
natural soil, and that all known Rhododendrons thrive luxuriantly in
peat, is undoubted; but that, at the same time, it is possible without
it to create an artificial soil containing all the constituents which it
supplies really necessary for their growth and development, and this
with materials to which most gardeners have ready access, has been
again and again demonstrated.

On examining the root of a Rhododendron while in active growth,
we find that it consists of what is commonly termed a ball or mass of
roots, netting in a quantity of the soil in which it has been growing.
Round the outside will be seen an innumerable quantity of short hair-
like fibres, white and transparent, so extremely soft and brittle that
it is difficult to handle them without breaking some off" : these are the
young roots, and the only feeders by which the plant imbibes its food.
If growing in peat, they are found pretty equally diff'used over the
ball ; but if in mixed soil, they are invariably in greatest abundance on
that side which is most in contact with any fragments of peat or other
decomposed vegetable matter. Incapable from their extreme delicacy
of penetrating stiff hard soil, and peculiarly susceptible of injury from
dryness, particularly while in a state of activity, these fragile rootlets
soon wither and die when so exposed, entailing a serious loss upon
the plant, and that at a time when it requires all the assistance it can

60 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

get to enable it to perfect its growth, and form flower-buds for the
succeeding season. From these facts, as well as from experience
of results, it seems obvious that a soil to be suitable for Rhododen-
drons must be soft and spongy in its texture, capable of retaining
moisture, and possessed of a large percentage. of vegetable matter.

Supplying all that is necessary for their sustenance, as far as soil is
concerned, peat should invariably be used when attainable, in prefer-
ence to any artificial compost ; and when a choice can be had, w^e
prefer that which is found in bogs or heathy moors, as being less
decomposed, more fibry, and consequently richer than that from
higher and more exposed situations. The surface-turf only should be
taken, cut not deeper than 6 inches, and chopped down with the spade
sufficiently fine to allow the largest pieces to pass through a 3-inch
sieve ; after the addition of a moderate allowance of manure, which
has been laid up at least twelve months — say 1 ton to 6 — with a
similar quantity of clean sharp sand, the w^hole turned over and
thoroughly incorporated, it may at once be transferred to the beds,
and the planting commenced forthwith.

As we have already indicated, a limited supply of peat, or even its
entire absence, need not deter any one from attempting the cultiva-
tion of Rhododendrons ; the materials for forming an artificial com-
post which will adequately supply all their requirements, exist in a
separate state, and may be found in abundance in every district in the
country. Loamy turf from old pastures, cut just deep enough to include
the fibre, of which it cannot have too much, with about one-half of its
bulk of rotten leaves and old cow-dung, and more or less sand, according
to the character of the loam, the whole mass chopped down with the
spade, not too fine, and well mixed together, will form a compost which
any Rhododendron will duly appreciate, and grow in with the greatest
luxuriance. Charred garden refuse — such as prunings, weeds, and old
tan-bark — forms a valuable supplement to such a compost, and may be
used liberally, when it can be had, with great benefit to the plants. In
no other form should these substances be introduced, as unless they are
so thoroughly decomposed as to be scarcely distinguishable from fine
mould, they are not only worthless, but highly pernicious. This applies
specially to old tan, which has sometimes been recommended. We have
never seen the young roots working freely amongst it in any state; but
very often when the decomposition was but partial, the ball was found
to be covered with white fungus, and the plant in a sickly condition.

In connection with the making up of such composts, it may be
noticed that, from some cause which we have never heard satisfac-
torily explained. Rhododendrons have the greatest repugnance to cal-
careous soil, and refuse to grow where lime or chalk is in immediate

iSyi.] NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS. 61

contact with the roots. Along with suitable soil, much depends for
the successful cultivation of Rhododendrons upon the selection of a
proper situation. Although the great majority of what are termed
hardy sorts can bear any amount of frost they are ever subjected to in
this country, they should invariably be planted in sheltered situations,
as, particularly during the flowering and growing season, they are
liable to damage from cold dry winds. When so exposed, their ex-
tremely delicate flowers become prematurely blighted, and the tender
growths so much injured, as not only to prevent the formation of the
buds, but often to cause a second grow^th, which is generally destroyed
by autumn frosts.

Shade and drip from trees should also be avoided ; for while the
plants will grow vigorously provided they have sufficient moisture,
they require a full exposure to the sun to enable them to ripen their
wood sufficiently to withstand the w^inter's frost, and to form flower-
buds. Even when they do flower in such circumstances, they develop
neither their form nor colour to perfection. In preparing the beds for
the compost, the best plan in most cases is to remove the old soil alto-
gether, particularly if it is either stiff hard clay or worn out by long crop-
ping. It is not requisite that this should be done deeper than one foot,
as the tendency of Rhododendron roots is to spread out near the sur-
face rather than downward, when the subsoil is stiff and retentive :
nothing more is required than to fill in the compost ; but in cases
where it is loose and gravelly it is of importance, with a view to pre-
vent its absorbing the surface moisture too quickly, that two or three
inches of peat or leaf-mould should be forked in, and afterwards beat
down firmly.

Although it is possible to transplant successfully all over the year,
not even excepting the flowering and growing seasons, we would re-
commend that it should be confined to the autumn and winter months,
beginning in October, by which time the buds are developed, and the
young wood ripe enough to bear removal without injury. They should
never be planted deeper than to allow the top of the ball being covered
with about two inches of soil, which should be trod as firmly over and
around it as possible.

In excessively dry summ.ers, such as we had last, a slight mulching
with short grass manure, or some similar material, will be found bene-
ficial, by preventing evaporation and keeping the roots cool ; while an
occasional copious watering during the blooming and growing seasons
will contribute largely to the vigour of the growth, and assist mate-
rially in the formation of large, sound flower-buds.

Hugh Feaser.
{To he continued.)

62 THE GARDENER. I Feb.

VINES AND VINE-BORDERS.

In my paper of last month I called attention to a set of circumstances
which I think unfavourable to the prolonged fruitfulness of the Vine,
and I believe they are such as have come under the observation of
many of my readers. That Vines make relatively fewer roots in rich
borders than in such as are not so rich, and that they get across the
border much quicker in the former than the latter case, will readily be
admitted ; and when they do so, it is, in nine cases out of ten, to enter
some material that is not suitable for them, I indicated that I con-
sidered the present system of preparing young Vines for planting had
a good deal to do with the early declension of the fruitfulness of the
Vine, and I now proceed to give a sketch of the method I adopted in
the spring of last year for preparing something like 1500 young
Vines, half of which were intended for my own planting. On the
7th of last February I placed a layer of very fibry turf over the pave-
ment of a Pine-pit, under which were pipes for giving bottom-heat. On
this turf I laid 4 inches of fine turfy loam ; made small holes in it at
about 6 inches apart — these were filled with white sand — and a Vine
eye was placed in each, so as to be just covered. They started in the
usual wa}^, and grew rapidly, throwing out strong roots from the eye.
When these roots had begun to interlace each other, and the Vines were
from 6 inches to 9 inches high, they were cut round by a strong knife,
so that each A^ine was isolated on its own piece of turf. The points of
their rcots being cut, they flagged for a few days, but soon threw out
scores of small active roots from every large one that was cut. When
this had taken place, a small trowel was run under each square, and
the plants lifted and placed on a similar bed of turf, but this time
from 9 inches to 12 inches apart, and filled in round about with soil of
same character as at first, avoiding manure of any sort. Here they soon
began to grow rapidly again ; and when they had attained the height
of 3 feet, and the borders were ready for them, they were cut round
as in the first instance, and allowed to stand till a fresh set of young
roots were just started, when they were raised on a spade, with ball
quite entire, and placed in their new borders. This operation was
easily performed, and they received not the smallest check, but grew
rapidly at once; and when cut back — some to 10 feet and others
to 3 feet — just eleven months from the day the eyes were placed
in the sand, their average girth is from 2 to 3 inches ; and they
are ripe, close-jointed, and solid as hazel-sticks to the apex of the
houses — some 22 feet. Those that were not required for planting
were potted ; and for this purpose I can as strongly recommend the
system as for planting. AVhen Vines prepared thus come to be turned
out of their pots in the process of planting, there is no occasion for

1871.] CALANTHE. 63

breaking up the ball, for there are no coiled roots in it to disen-
tangle— they are more like those of a Box or Privet bush than a
Vine, as usually seen ; and when planted, they begin by taking their
work before them, instead of running away out of the border.

So much for the Vines. And now as to what may be done with
a view to retaining this tendency to a multiplication of small active
roots right across the border. Just make up 3 feet of it inside and
3 feet outside the house the first year. In April or May of the
second year, fork down 1 or 2 inches of the face of this bank of
soil, both inside and outside the house ; and against the roots that
will there be found, some of them taking the lead, place a section
of sharp river or pit sand, or gravel, at least 4 inches thick. As
soon as the roots enter this poor sharp material, they will branch
into a thousand small active roots, and enter the layer of new soil
that has been subsequently laid against this sand or gravel. This
may be repeated at every addition to the border, and the result will
be that, instead of a few long, straight, naked roots, the whole bor-
der will be full of a class of active woody roots, that survive the
cold and wet of winter infinitely better than those great snake-like
ones formed in rich soil. These perpendicular sections of sand or
gravel have the additional advantage of acting as drains to draw off
superfluous water. Wm. Thomson.

Dalkeith Park.

CALANTHE.

A FEW HINTS ON THEIR CULTIVATION.

I AM often at a loss to account for the little use that is made of some
of these free-growing winter-blooming Orchids. Certainly it is not
that they require any extra amount of skill to grow them success-
fully ; and I know of no winter-flowering plants that are more useful
or beautiful for either cutting for glasses or mounted for bouquets,
or for ordinary stove decoration. And this must be evident to the
most casual observer, when it is considered that one spike, from the
time it commences to bloom to the finishing up, takes from three
to four months, and there are generally from 10 to 120 flowers out
at a time ; and if the spike is cut, it will keep good in a warm
room for a month. There is not another plant that I know so useful
for a constant supply, and that of a superior class of flowers ; but I
intend confining myself in these observations to what I grow for
autumn, — I may perhaps, Mr Editor, with your permission, have
something to say about the spring-blooming varieties another time.
Those that I use are chiefly C. vestita rubra oculata, V. lutea ocu-

G-i THE GARDENER. [Eed.

lata, and I have a few of C. Veitcliii, and a splendid variety it is.
The system I pursue in the cultivation of them is most simple, and
as successful as it is simple, which may be judged when I say I have
No. 2 pots with from 20 to 25 spikes, and have 70 flowers to a spike,
and some of the spikes are upwards of 3 feet long. Now, to com-
mence, you must have some well-matured bulbs, and about the 1st of
February I get a good clean piece of friable loam, which has been kept
just sufficient time in a dry airy shed to kill vegetation ; this I pull
into pieces about the size of hen's eggs, and add one-third good dry
cow-dung that has been kept dry sufficiently long to kill all traces of
worms. I find this to be a most excellent way of keeping both dung
and soil free from worms. The other third is composed of charcoal,
broken small, so that it will pass through a J-inch sieve or riddle, sil-
ver-sand, and a handful of half-decomposed leaf -soil. This is all well
mixed together, and with clean pots, thoroughly dry, you are ready
for potting ; and be sure and see that they are thoroughly crocked.
This is too often left to a lad in the shed, who throws them in any-
how. No labour can be better spent than seeing this most carefully
done ; and place a good piece of moss over the crock, about J an inch
in thickness, then press it down well. Select the roughest part of the
compost, and place over the moss ; then half -fill, and give the compost
a good ramming — the soil and dung you cannot make too firm ; then
fill up and repeat the pressing. Place your bulbs about 4 inches apart
all over your pot. I put as many as from twenty to thirty into some.
Let the bulb be about one-third in the soil ; make them firm so that
they will not get knocked about. Give water most sparingly until
you see signs of roots and foliage, which will be very soon. Put them
into any house in which you can command a temperature of 75° by day
and 65^ at night. Then give them an abundance of water, and keep
them constantly well syringed and watered up to the time they com-
mence to show signs of maturing their leaves ; then gradually with-
hold water, and remove them into a much lower temperature — 45° to
50° at night is quite high enough — and you will be rewarded most
amply by one of the most beautiful winter-blooming Orchids in a most
creditable condition. When they commence to bloom, little water is
required ; but the soil must not be allowed to become dusty dry. Any
person possessing a cucumber-house, pine pit or stove, may grow them
to the greatest perfection. T. Speed.

The Gardens, Chatsworth.

[Any remarks Mr Speed can find it convenient to favour us with about the
spring-blooming varieties, we are sure will be most acceptable to the readers of
the 'Gardener.' His commendation of these winter varieties of Culanthe is
quite within their merits. We have some very indifferent spikes before us
which were cut three weeks ago, and are now quite fresh and charming. — Ed.]

1871.] SEEDLING PINE -APPLES. G5

SEEDLinSTG PIHSTE - APPLES.

I BELIEVE there are not many gardeners who have had much experi-
ence in raising and cultivating seedling Pine-apples. It is a subject
seldom spoken of or commented upon in the horticultural press. It
so happens that I have thirty -four distinct varieties of seedlino-s
under my care at the present time. In many instances their charac-
ters are very distinct from each other, and easily detected at first sicrht
by cultivators of the Pine -apple. One of thera is likely to become
the tallest and most robust in cultivation, while at the same time it
forms a plant of handsome proportions, its leaves being as straight as
an arrow and covered with an unusually dense and light - coloured
bloom, the spines being wider apart than in any other variety with
Avhich I am acquainted. This plant has been grown under great
disadvantages, as I never was able to keep the bed in which it was
plunged more than at 'a temperature of 60°, in consequence of the hot-
water pipes settling down late in the autumn — and, owing to circum-
stances, they could not be raised to the proper level till the folio win o-
spring. The sucker from which the plant was grown was weak,
having been taken from a sickly plant which had to be stripped of
every leaf, and scrubbed and otherwise cleansed to get rid of scale.
The small sucker made its appearance from this roughly-handled stool
late in the autumn of 1868; and on the 2d of January 1870 I cut
a fruit from it weighing almost 7 lb. On the same date I cut a smooth
Cayenne 5| lb. weight, and sent them both to the dessert on the same
day. When the seedling was cut, the juice flowed from it, covering the
bottom of the plate as if a sauce had been poured over it. The
smooth Cayenne, in comparison with the seedling, was dry and juice-
less. True, the latter grew in the row of plants next the outside of
the bed, and probably had even less bottom-heat than the seedling.

I may state that the dwarfest of the seedlings does not measure
more than 1 2 inches in height, and it is expected to show fruit very
soon ; so that in one batch of seedlings we have the extreme of stature
at least, showing that the Pine -apple from seed is as variable as anj'-
other fruit. So far as I am aware, the Pine -apple in a cultivated
state seldom forms a perfect seed ; but exceptions in this case as in
all others occur now and then. The fruit the seed was taken from
in this instance was a Montserrat grown by my predecessor here.
Thirty-four varieties became strong enough to be pricked off, grown on,
and fruited by the late Mr Stevenson. The Montserrat fruit in ques-
tion was cut in 1860, and was pronounced bad, or not in good condition,
and when shown to Mr Stevenson he discovered the seeds and sowed
them. Many fruit of their first produce he sent to the London Fruit

(5G THE GARDENER. [Fer

Committee. Of some of them favourable reports were given, but a
good many of them were pronounced indifferent, wliile others were
considered to be in cultivation before; but I do not think the fruit
committee had a good chance of forming a fair decision, as the charac-
ters of the seedling produce were not fully developed, some of the
fruit weighing only 1^ lb. and the heaviest 4^ lb. Some may con-
sider that time has been lost in planting these a second time ; but
when all the leaves have to be sacrificed, and the stumps only kept to
raise a clean stock, loss of time is accounted for. I hope to fruit
more of these seedling varieties this season, when a little more about
them may be made known. 'T. Hunter.

Lambton Castle Gardens.

[We regard this as an interesting communication. If a more hardy Pine-
apple could be raised it would certainly be a great object gained. The strong
variety seems to thrive better in a low temperature than the smooth Cayenne.
We shall be anxious to hear what sort of a fruit the dwarf one throws ; a com-
pact Pine with a good fruit would be an acquisition. — Kd.]

— S'^^^f^^^-es —

THEPHLOX.

Amongst hardy plants suitable for the adornment of the flower-garden
in autumn the Phlox holds a high position ; and yet, notwithstanding
its hardiness and striking beauty as a border-plant, and also, if grown
in pots, as a decorative plant for the greenhouse or conservatory, there
is seldom a fair amount of attention bestowed on the culture of it.
The Phlox is well adapted for the mixed flower - border, where it
is frequently planted and often badly managed, the plants being
allowed to remain in the same position year after year, a score or
more shoots being allowed to grow from a plant which suffers from
deficient moisture in hot dry weather in summer, until the weak
shoots are overcome by the stronger in the struggle for existence ; and
Avhat few shoots there are with flowers upon them are denuded of
leaves, and give no idea what sort of plant the Phlox is for decorative
purposes. A few hints on the cultivation of this flower may be useful,
and perhaps be the means of extending its culture. To grow it in any-
thing like perfection the Phlox should be planted in beds, and the
ground specially prepared for it. I have found it succeed in both
light and heavy loam ; but of whatever nature the soil is, it ought to
be trenched 2 feet deep in the autumn, and well manured. My
method of preparing the ground is this : if it is not loose on the sur-
face, it is first forked over ; and as soon as the ground is dry, a trench
is taken out at one end 2 feet deep and 3 wide ; a layer of cow or

1871.] THE PHLOX. 67

stable manure is placed in the bottom of the trench — if the ground
is light, the former ; and if heavy, the latter — the part that is to be
trenched is marked off in 2J-feet spaces ; a man with a close-pronged
steel fork digs a spit from this space, another follows with a shovel
and throws the loose earth over on the manure ; another layer of
manure is placed on this ; another spit and shovelling is thrown out,
the bottom of the trench is forked up, and the same process is repeated :
if there is sufficient depth of good soil, we take three spits, three
shovellings, and have three layers of manure. It is very desirable that
the operation of trenching be performed before the ground is saturated
with the autumn rains ; during favourable weather in winter the
ground may be lightly forked over to the depth of 3 or 4 inches. If
the weather is favourable, plant about the end of February or beginning
of March four rows in a bed and 20 inches betweeif the plants : when
the shoots have grown 2 or 3 inches they should be thinned out, allow-
ing only from three to five on each plant : in an early stage of their
growth the sticks should be placed to them, as the shoots are easily
damaged by the wind, which breaks them over close to the surface of
the ground. The beds ought to be well watered during the summer
months if the season is dry, and occasionally with liquid manure.
Immediately after the first watering, mulch the beds with rotted frame-
dung to prevent rapid evaporation ; succeeding waterings will also
wash the nourishing properties down to the roots, which are in abun-
dance near the surface. To keep up a succession of good plants a
fresh lot should be propagated every year ; the cuttings should be put
in as early as they can be obtained in the spring, the superfluous shoots
which are thinned out being used for this purpose : the best way is to
insert one cutting in the centre of a 60-sized pot : if the pots are
plunged in a hot-bed in a gentle bottom-heat, the cuttings will soon
strike if the frame is kept rather close. When the young plants show
signs of growing,\dmit air more freely, removing the plants in a
fortnight to a cold frame : the strongest plants should be reserved for
pot culture, the others, after being hardened off, may be planted out
about the end of April or beginning of May : those reserved for pot
culture should be shifted into 6-inch pots about the same time in a
compost consisting of four parts turfy loam, one leaf-mould, and one
rotted manure, with the addition of a little silver sand. The best posi-
tion for the plants during summer is out of doors, fully exposed to the
sun, and yet sheltered from driving winds : the aim of the cultivation
is to obtain dwarf sturdy plants, and this will not be accomplished if
they do not have air and sunshine freely admitted to them. If the pots
are plunged, less water will be required for them : when the plants are
well established in the 6-inch pots, manure-water twice a-week wiU be

F

G8 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

very beneficial; tliey will require little attention, except placing a stick
to the plant and tying tlie shoot to it as it grows. The plants should
be removed to the greenhouse as soon as the first flower on the spike
is fully expanded, where they will continue in beauty a long time.
After the flowering is over the plants should be removed to a cold
frame, where they should be kept during winter and planted out in
the spring, as previously recommended ; or they may be shifted into
larger pots (8 or 9 inch is a good size), and grown a second year in that
way. Finer spikes will be obtained, and opportunity afforded to
retard or accelerate the blooming period, by removing them to the
north or south side of a brick wall, or any similar convenient position.
The varieties of Phlox suffruticosa flower earliest; this section has
been much improved by cultivators in Scotland, and contains many
beautiful varieties. In the neighbourhood of London the varieties of
decussata or late-flowering are considered the best ; they are of a
robust and hardy nature, and the improvement of this section is even
more marked. Those who are intending to grow a collection should
procure some of each sort, as the season will thereby be much pro-
longed. The following list of sorts has been supplied to me by one
of the most distinguished florists, and may be depended upon. New
varieties of Suffruticosa : — Elvina, lona, John Watson, James Mitchell,
James Neilson, Miss Ainslie, Pladda, Robert Hannay, The Queen,
Waverley, William Blair. Of older sorts — Duchess of Sutherland,
George Wyness, James Laing, John Gumming, Miss Lucy, Hope
Johnstone, Mrs Duff, Othello, William Linton, The Deacon, William
M'Aulay, William Shand, W. W. Piatt. The following list contains
decussata or late-flowering varieties : — Aurantiaca superba, Aurore
Boreale, Comtesse de Chambord, Liervallii, Madame Barillet, Madame
Billy, Madame Domage, Mdlle. Hermine de Turenne, Mdlle. ]\Iarguerite
de Turenne, Mons. Joseph Heim, M. Muret de Bort, Mons. W. Bull,
Mons. Malet, Mons. Yeitch, Mons. Delamare, Mons. Hugh Low,
Mons. Marin Saison, Mons. C. Turner, Mons. Linden, Premices du
Bonheur, Queen Victoria, Roi des Roses, Souvenir des Ternes, Venus.

James Douglas.

WEATHER-WISE.

We shall not be wrong in assuming that the minds of the gardening
fraternity have for the last three weeks been more concentrated on
the weather than on the war. Our atom of mind has and still can think
of nothing else but frost and its effects, and the means of defence in
the way of coke, mats, and litter. We have no special gift of weather-
wisdom, but have certain beliefs, among which the moon has no share

1871.] WEATHER-WISE. 69

whatever, with one slight exception ; and that is, during the time of a
solap eclipse which we lately experienced the temperature sank
several degrees. The great bulk of our rustic meteorologists, however,
credit the moon with great influence; or rather, because she has entered
certain of her quarters, certain other effects must follow to the weather,
but the reason why is not made clear. When there is such a prepon-
derating amount of weather-wisdom in rural parts, whether the moon,
old Moore, or the newer Dietrichen be the authorities, it is no matter
of surprise if some shrewd and true and infallible observations have
been arrived at by dint of experience rather than of reason, and there-
fore more likely to stand good, and chiefly as regards the winds of the
locality. It is wonderful how meteorology as a science is being de-
veloped, and how such capricious things as winds and clouds and rain
are being understood. We wish we were read up in the subject : IMr
Buchan's book is one we long to read with a poor gardener's longing, but
for the prohibitory number of shillings and sixpence, who do (not) place
it within the reach of everybody. What irony is contained in these few
commendatory words !

I daresay most of our readers have seen a great cotton-mill or
engineering works or tweed factory, and wondered at the variety of
intricate and compound and apparently contradictory motions there in
action. However heterogeneous these motions be, and diverse in their
various applications, there is only one source of all the activity, the
engine ; or, strictly speaking, the coal-fire under the boiler. Now the
weather appears to us to be just the motion of a great and complicated
system of machinery, this motion originating in the sun as the engine,
and air, vapour, condensation, evaporation, heat and cold, are the parts
of the machine through which this motion makes itself felt. Now though
the source of this motion is well known, it is difficult to trace the con-
nection of every outlying and remote motion through the parts of the
machine to that source ; it is difficult to believe that it forms part of
a harmonious whole, what is the immediate cause of all the shiftings
and eddyings of the wind, which we see every day at present, right
round the compass in twenty-four hours. Part of this intricate motion
of the machine, no doubt, is produced by the friction of very large
streams of air at different temperatures, moving in oblique or contrary
directions, like the eddies produced in water by the motions of con-
trary currents : still we are so far in mystery that we cannot anticipate
local changes, nor great changes of the wind and weather, except so
far as the barometer enables us to guess. W^e live and carry on our
operations in the midst of the motions of this machine; the gardener's
work is entirely controlled by its influence ; and while we must defer-
entially bow our acknowledgments to old Sol as the prime turner of

70 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

the handle, one of our beliefs is that his aides-de-camp the winds have
more to do with the weather in these islands. We grant him the im-
mediate superintendence of the tropics, which he does very satisfac-
torily, while we, in these temperate climes, receive our share of
weather second-hand through the agency of the winds. We grumble
at our variable climate, our sudden and extreme changes, but meteoro-
logists tell us we have no right geographically to such good weather
as we get, except now and then : at Christmas we are reminded of our
deservings, and were it not for our insular position, stuck up in a great
bath of warm water, we should be no better off than the Esquimaux
of Labrador. We must acknowledge, again, that the sun sends us our
bath of warm water by the Gulf Stream as he sends us our south-
westers; yet we repeat, the winds are our chief weather-breeders. Our
coasts take their character so far from the winds to which they are
most exposed, the cold dry eastern haurs of the east coast biting
shrubs and blossoms, the damp winds of the west verdant but crypto-
gamic ; and any wind requiring the prefix north to express it savours
of barrenness, though not as a rule. It follows, then, that the winds of
a coast determine very largely its vegetation.

We read of the Broccolis in Cornwall being killed by IS'' of frost,
comparatively a very small amount of cold ; on the dry east coast we
have seen them stand half as many more without injury. The explana-
tion may be that up to within a week of the frost the moist south-west
wind was blowing over a gradually cooling country, which condensed
deluges of warm rain, making Broccolis and all Greens soft and sappy —
the worst possible condition to stand severe frost. Evergreen shrubs
escape, because the summer growth, being early made, became hardened
by the heat and drought of the season, so that Sweet Bays and ever-
green Magnolias and Camelias withstand 20° without injury. The
southern counties of England are in character moist, from their more
immediate proximity to the waters of the Gulf Stream, This is observed
even during severe frost, from the amount of hoar precipitated on the
trees and the foliage of shrubs, which, no doubt, at the same time acts
as a protection. The success of tender shrubs would indicate a climate
approaching that of Japan, and might suggest at Penzance, or, at any
rate, Cork or Killarney, the establishment of a Royal Japonica nursery
for the out-door growth of all those broad shining-leaved moisture-lov-
ing plants with Japonica to their names, and many more from the
same green country. The more tender of the Hybrid Rhododendrons,
whose foliage also indicates the choice of a moist atmosphere, might be
added ; also the lovely Lapageria, the prince of conservatory climbers,
with its broad shining leaves tapering to a point to shoot off the falling
rain, might also succeed wholesale out of doors, coming as it does from

iSyi.] PASSIFLORA QUADRANGULARIS. 71

the Patagonian slopes, where there is much frost and snow, but also one
of the heaviest rainfalls in the world. This Japan climate, however, has
its disadvantages when the winds are so uncertain. In the north and
east coasts the precipitation falls more in the shape of snow, which
protects herbaceous vegetation from the effects of frost, and much
severer frost than without snow. The Cornish Broccoli-grower would be
puzzled to protect acres of Greens when the north winds come down on him.
In case of war with America, the Yankees very wickedly threaten to
dam up the Gulf of ]\Iexico, and starve us out by stopping the Gulf
Stream ; but they could not stop the winds, and even the stream itself
might come in bigger volume by some other way. Out-door Grapes
have been plentiful on the south coast the past season, but with con-
siderable mildew. Our next-door neighbour is never without plenty
of English Grape-wine, but is utterly oblivious of all the literary mys-
teries on the growth of the Vine and the making of wine. If our
memory is not at fault, we have seen an old Vine which occasionally
bears crops of black Grapes out of doors at Garscube on the Clyde,
which speaks much for the mildness of the climate of St Mungo. None
will more readily admit the importance of the winds on the climate of
this country than those who have to contend with the sea-blast in rear-
ing plantations : the plants which will flourish almost on the top of a
cliff on the south coast, say at Bournemouth, would not exist on the
Northumbrian coast. Shelter is the one thing needful in such circum-
stances. In the whole range of sea-coast plants, nothing at all comes
near the Sea Buckthorn for shelter : it is a real breakwater for any sea-
coast wind. If we ever had anything to do with sea-coast planting,
we should throw up a breastwork of that sturdy plant, which in a few
years would become dense enough to shelter anything inside it, pro-
vided the situation were not absolutely a hillside. After a practical
knowledge of his profession, the next most important study for the
young gardener is meteorology. The minds of the great majority, how-
ever, are not alive to this fact. Indeed, to be called weather-wise is gener-
ally but a doubtful compliment. We venture to say there is no
more fascinating study, and none more calculated to entertain the mind
and excite its wonder. The Squire's Gardener.

PASSIFLORA QUADRANGULARIS.

This plant is not surpassed by the Vine for fruitfulness under
ordinarily favourable conditions ; and it is a mistake to suppose that
it will not set its fruit without being impregnated with pollen from
P. edulis, as has been asserted on several occasions by some writers.

72 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

In December 18G9 we bought two plants from the nursery — newly-
struck cuttings in 3-inch pots, each about 9 inches high. They were
taken out and potted both together in a 14-inch pot as one plant, and
plunged in a Pine-bed. The Pines were started gently in February,
and the Passiflora was allowed to grow on along with them. It soon
began to grow freely, and was trained up a pillar and along a narrow
space under the apex of the span-roof close to the ventilators : seven
or eight shoots were led away from the stem at the top of the pillar,
all others being cut clean out as they appeared, allowing those that
were retained to grow as much as they pleased. By August each
shoot had attained a length of about 18 feet, and began to show
flowers along their whole length ; and all expanded nearly simul-
taneously, for in three days one hundred blooms were set successfully,
with the exception of two or three — some places three and four in a
cluster on short spurs. All the fruit attained the size of pigeon-eggs,
when, out of sheer inability, I suppose, of so young a plant to bear
such a crop — exactly about one-half of the fruit suddenly shrivelled and
dropped off, particularly where set in clusters. From this time also
the plant ceased making more wood, and the fruit swelled fast, and
began to ripen about the beginning of November, filling the house at
the same time with a peculiarly strong aroma. Being all set about
the same time, the fruit were nearly all alike in size, the biggest
weighing J lb. each. Throughout the summer the heat of the Pine-
bed, into which I found the Passiflora had rooted, ranged from 85° to
90°, top heat the same. A few days ago the shoots were shortened
back, and the roots, which had found their way through the bottom of
the pot, were cut off, but the leaves are yet vigorous and green.

The edible part of the fruit consists of the seeds and pulp inside, and
has a peculiar and refreshing flavour. When eaten, a slice is taken off
the side of the fruit, a slit made in the tough sack which contains the
seeds, a little madeira sherry poured in, and the contents supped out
like an egg. J. Simpson.

WORTLY.

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS.

THE FIG.
{Coiitinxied from 'pCKje 12.)
There are few, if any, of our fruit-trees about which cultivators are so
much divided regarding their pruning and training as the Fig. In
looking over the pages of several of our best horticultural writers, not
only do we find that not two of them are agreed upon these points,
but that each and all of them refer to authorities of high standing

iSyi.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 73

who differ in many material points from the method adopted and re-
commended by the author himself. Now while we have given an idea
of the method we think best suited for the cultivation of the Fig, it is
perhaps due to the readers of the ' Gardener ' — who are a discriminat-
ing and intelligent portion of the community, and quite able to select
from any given number of methods recommended the one which is
best suited to their own circumstances — to refer in a few sentences to
some of the various modes of training recommended by some of our
best horticulturists. This is all the more required, seeing the diversity
of opinion that exists regarding the matter. Mr Knight, in Vol. iii.
of the * Horticultural Transactions,' p. 307, recommends the horizontal
main branches, while the fruit-bearing shoots, he says, ought to be
trained in a pendent form. The following are his own words : "Let
the stems — if there be, as usual, many within a narrow space — be gradu-
ally reduced to one only, and from the top and parts near it of this,
let lateral branches be trained horizontally and pendently in close con-
tact with the wall. Under such treatment all troublesome luxuriance
of growth will soon disappear. The pendent shoots will not annually
extend more than a few inches, and few or no more leaves will be pro-
duced than those which the buds contain before they expand. The
young wood consequently ceases to elongate very early in the season,
and hence acquires perfect maturity ; while, by being trained close to
the wall, it is secure, or nearly so, from injury from the severest frost."
The late Dr Lindley was in favour of horizontal training, because " it
checks luxuriance, and by this means adds materially to the ripening
of its wood." Harrison, who also approves of the horizontal mode of
training, further recommends that the fruit-bearing shoots ought to be
trained either erect or pendent, according to the luxuriance of the
tree; and entering more particularly into detail, he says: "When a suffi-
ciency of lateral-bearing shoots is not produced, they may be obtained
by attending to the following directions : — When the spring shoots
have done growing, which will generally be by the end of May or be-
ginning of June, let each shoot where wood is required be stopped by
pinching the end betwixt the finger and thumb — so hard as to feel that
the shoot gives way to the pressure, but not so as to break it. This
will cause shoots to push below where it was stopped. If a shoot thus
desired to be stopped be a long one, let it be bruised or broken nearly
in two about the middle, or a piece of string be twisted very tightly
round it, and the end of the shoot above the string be brought nearly
parallel down by the side of the remaining part of the shoot, and
this will cause shoots to push where desired."

Mr Thompson, in his ' Gardener's Assistant,' recommends starting the
Fig much in the same way as the Peach — that is, starting with one

74 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

clean stem and two horizontal side shoots. From these side shoots he
recommends that "two other subdivisions should be encouraged. But
these must be trained widely apart, in order to admit of successional
bearing shoots being trained between them. ... In general, 15
inches will not be too wide. Along these branches, at distances of
about 8 inches, shoots for bearing ought to be encouraged, and it is
most desirable that all of them should be as nearly as possible of equal
vigour. A similar equality ought to be maintained between the re-
spective leading shoots. . . . The bearing shoots — those produced
along the leading branches — should be trained at full length. In
autumn every alternate one should be cut back to one eye ; at the same
time, those not cut back must be trained at full length. In the follow-
ing summer the latter should bear and ripen fruit, and then be cut
back in autumn to one eye, and shoots from the basis of those cut back
the previous autumn should be trained for succession.^' The above
recommendations, it w^ill be observed, are much the same as our own,
with the exception that the foundations of Mr Thompson's trees are
on the fan principle, whereas those recommended by us are on the
horizontal; and, again, he recommends training the fruiting shoot at full
length, while we have found pinching in autumn to be of much use in
inducing fruitfulness. We might quote many more authorities to show
how much men are divided in mere matters of detail, and yet each and
all of them are pressing towards the goal of excellence, and each may
be pursuing the method best adapted to the circumstances in which
he is placed. No writer can be expected to lay down a rule which
will be the best suited to the circumstances of every one who may
read his essays. What Mr Harrison recommends in his admirable
treatise as the method he found to suit best at Wortley, is not what
Mr Thompson found to be most suited at Chiswick; and so cultivators
are divided and authors are divided, and yet each in his own peculiar
circumstances may be correct.

As we have already hinted, the protection of the Fig during severe
weather is absolutely necessary, if we wish success to attend our
labours. No doubt we may read of cases where Fig-trees have stood
very severe frosts without any injury to the trees being the result, but
such cases are few and far between, and the cultivator who wishes to
succeed must have recourse to the general practice, and protect his
trees. We are not of the number, however, who would fix a date upon
which this operation must be performed, and fix another upon which
such protection should be removed. Our advice is, adapt yourselves to
circumstances — protect in the day of danger, and remove when the
danger is over. This, however, we would recommend — have your pro-
tecting material, whatever it may be, in readiness for use before the

iSyi.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 75

end of November, so that, should the enemy come upon you "as
a thi'ef in the night," then you may be proof against his assaults,
and come scatheless out of the fight. Where expense is not so
much an object as thorough defence against frost, there can be
no doubt but that woollen netting, such as we recommended for the
protection of the Peach and Apricot, will be found the best if put on
two or three ply. This will, however, be attended with considerable
expense, as the use of such protection will be necessary for two or
three months during the worst part of the season. If the netting
should get wet soon after being put on, there is little chance of its get-
ting thoroughly dried till after its removal in spring, so that it is obvi-
ous that two or three seasons at most will be all the time it is likely to
last before it becomes useless and rotten. Taking all this into consid-
eration, we cannot recommend netting for general use. The next best
material for this purpose is Spruce branches or Silver Fir branches,
either of which, but especially the former, will be found to answer the
end in view remarkably well. As soon as there is danger of severe
frost, let the whole of the surface of the Fig- wall be covered with them,
fixing them in as simple a manner as possible, either to nails or studs
in the wall, or, what would be better, to a framework of paling-rails
placed against the wall. If the latter is used, it may be constructed
something after the following plan. Place uprights, at distances of 5
or 6 feet apart, reaching from' under the cope to 2 feet from the bot-
tom of the wall. These having been fixed, nail rails horizontally upon
them at distances of H to 2 feet apart. This finished, begin by fixing
the branches upon the lowest rail, and continue the operation from the
bottom upwards until the whole is finished. The branches used ought
to be about double the length of the spaces between the rails, so that
there may be a good overlap, and that each branch may be securely
tied to two of the rails, that there may be no chance of a storm dis-
placing them, or — what would be worse — laying the whole in ruins. If
branches cannot be procured, the next best thing is dried Ferns, which
may be thatched on in the same manner. Russian mats, or mats made
with straw, may and are sometimes used, but are not nearly so good
as the branches of Spruce or Silver Fir. After all danger of severe
frost is over, the covering, of whatever material it may be, may at once
be removed, the trees pruned and nailed, and afterwards managed as
tecommended already.

So far as we are aware, the Fig is liable to no diseases in this country,
so that the cultivator has nothing to fear in that way. The same might
almost be said with regard to insects. It is seldom that it sufi'ers
even in this form, the only two enemies being the Coccus hesperi-
dum, or brown-scale, and the Acarus tellarius, or red-spider. Where

76 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

the forjiier enemy puts in an appeanince, the best plan is to thoroughly
scrub the stem and branches with a good hard brush, using at the same
time tepid water and soft soap. If this be done once or twice, and
the branches afterwards painted with a mixture of soft soap and tobacco-
water, using soil, soot, or any other suchlike material, to give it consist-
ency, the chances are that you will have effectually destroyed the col-
ony. The presence of red-spider is a sure proof that the tree has been,
or is, too dry at the root. The best preventive is to keep the trees
always well watered, especially in very dry weather, giving them a
good syringing two or three times a-week ; and if this be attended to,
there is little to fear from the attacks of red-spider. Should it, how-
ever, have established itself upon the tree, flour of sulphur should
either be used in the water for syringing, or shaken over the branches
with a sulphurator. James M'Millan.

{To he continued.)

HINTS FOR AMATEURS.— FEBRUARY.

In the fruit-garden all arrears should be brought forward, and as soon
as possible all nailing, pruning, mulching, clearing off moss from bark,
dressing the wood with Gishurst compound, &c., to keep dow^n insects,
cuttings of bushes, such as Currants and Gooseberries, finished, so that
cropping and other important work may not be interrupted. Peaches
and Nectarines are often left from the walls by some leading cultivat-
ors as long as can be done without danger from destroying the flower-
buds. An old friend we lived near, in the east of England, never
pruned before March, and only tied up the shoots as the flowers were
beginning to open. He could boast of never having a failure for
more than twenty years. When the bearing-wood is thinned, enough
should be left to carry plenty of fruit, but so that the leaves will have
plenty of space to develop themselves. Disbudding can be done
freely, to give room, but it is not necessary to give so much labour for
no purpose ; crowding of wood is seldom attended with success, as its
ripening is very much prevented. If roots of Peaches and Nectarines
are extending beyond healthy soil, and an addition of it cannot be
given, it is better to shorten back these robust growers, and give a
limited space, feeding from the surface. In front of the roots, stones
and loam may be rammed thoroughly firm, and the best results will
follow ; fibre will cling and grow round the stones till it becomes matted.
This practised to a late Peach-house here, 100 feet long, has been very
satisfactory. Figs on back wall of same structure, treated in same way,
have been kept in very fruitful condition for years, and no amount of

iSyi.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 77

manure-water or other feeding ever seems to cause rank growth. The
gross-growing Castle Kennedy and Brunswick are as sturdy by this
treatment as Brown Turkeys and Black Ischias. Some cover 25 feet
of a high wall, others only 6 feet, but are equally serviceable. If cut-
tings of bush-fruits are to be made, they should be shortened to 1 foot
or 14: inches long, and cut clean under a joint : strip off with a sharp
knife all the buds except three at top, and place the lower ends firmly
in rows to form bushes. Trampled ground, whether among trees or
flowering-shrubs, should be well forked up, keeping clear of the roots.
This will let in air, and leave a tidy appearance where tying, &c. are
finished. If covering such as canvas or frigidoma is used for protect-
ing fruit-blossoms, it should be got ready for use ; much more good
can be done by keeping sun from bringing on the rtower-buds too early,
than by keeping them back after they are out.

Every part of the ornamental garden should now be clean and fresh ;
and where winter and spring gardening are practised, all the plants
should be kept free from decaying leaves, the ground well stirred and
free from weeds. Roll lawns after rain, top-dress them where grass is
thin and weakly ; a little good soil and manure well mixed with fresh
lime may be added if moss is abundant and objected to. By a few
moss is encouraged, but it is seldom satisfactory. Grass-seeds may
remain unsown till April; all flower-beds which have been turned up
to sweeten by frost, &c., may be (at any time when dry) turned over
and well broken with a fork. This is very essential to heavy soils.

Ranunculuses for early summer flowering should be planted soon ;
to grow them well they require good rich loam. As they like a cool
bottom, cowdung is a most suitable manure. They are generally
planted in drills of equal depth, and the roots covered with 2 inches
of soil ; 6 inches apart is enough. All bulbs planted out, however
hardy, are the better of protection in severe weather. Spruce branches
or coal-ashes are less unsightly than many other kinds of material
used. All hardy plants in frames, such as Pinks, Pansies, &c., must have
air on every favourable opportunity; confined damp is very destructive.
Good rich loam, well examined for wire-worm, should now be un-
der cover, to be in order to pot Carnations and Picotees where they are
grown as pot plants. Auriculas with their pots well filled with roots
may be fresh surfaced with rich stuff, first clearing off the wasted soil
without injuring the roots. Clear drainage is of great importance to
that tribe of plants. Some kinds of Roses may be pruned soon,
such as Moss, Summer, and China : the latter should only be thinned,
and very little shortening attempted. Liliums, if not already done,
should be potted, using good loam and a little sand. Dahlias to be
increased may be placed in warmth, so that shoots may sprout from the

78 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

old roots to be propagated. Like most kinds of plants at this sea-
son, a brisk heat is necessary to propagate them. Lobelia, Cineraria
maritima, Perilla nankin ensis, Tagetes, and a number of other use-
ful plants for bedding, may be sown soon. They require heat and nice
light soil to vegetate in ; they grow rapidly and are very useful. In
hot southern localities Lobelia and Perilla may be sown next month.
They will, by being late, last in good condition late in the season.
Bedding plants of all kinds may be propagated forthwith. To make
success more certain, the cutting plants should be growing vigor-
ously in w^armth ; w hen they are put into well - drained pots or
pans filled with sandy light soil, they will never stop growing, and
can be afterwards potted or boxed, and hardened ofif by degrees
when they have taken hold of the fresh soil. Geraniums, Petunias,
Salvias, Heliotropes, and a few of any other flowering plants, may be
potted on if a display is wished early in the season. Healthy soil,
and the plants kept free from cold draughts, are necessary to vigorous
growth. "Stage" and "fancy" Pelargoniums with their pots full of
roots may be repotted in good turfy loam mixed with a little charcoal
and sand. A little bone-dust in the soil suits well. Many little plants
may be potted on where specimens are w^anted, but it is simply absurd
to fix dates for potting or real size of pots, as this can only be regulated
by the size of plants required, the time they are wanted in flower, and
the present state of the roots. A growing plant should not be allowed
to become pot-bound, and overpotting is a great evil, as roots crammed
in a potful of soil are very difi'erent to what they are growing in nat-
ural ground. Chrysanthemums may be propagated in a frame with little
heat, but abundance of air allowed when growth commences. Some
growers propagate as early as December, but the most vigorous speci-
mens may be had when growth receives no check. Good little plants
are got from cuttings put in in May ; and those with no glass in their
possession may have fair success by dividing the roots in April, re-
taining the finest growths. Epacris, winter-flowering Heaths, Acacias,
&c., may be cut in when done flowering and rested for a time.

M. T.

ON GRAFTING.

What is the theory of grafting, at least in so far as the nature
and affinity of the stock and scion in relation to each other are con-
cerned 1

We know there are some families of trees, including a goodly num-
ber of species, and even genera, w^hich take readily on each other, —
for instance, Plum stocks of various sorts ; yet all Plums are used

iSyi.] REMARKS ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 79

for Apricots, Peaches, Nectarines, and many others, including all the
Almond tribe ; while Crab and White Thorn are used as stocks for
large numbers of trees in the natural order Rosacea. In all these
cases there is more or less relationship or affinity between stock and
scion, and it does not seem at all surprising that union should take
place. But in the case of ordinary forest-trees, such as Beech and
Elm, we fail to trace affinity, — the nature and grain of the timber are
so very different, Beech being so close and compact with a smooth
bark, whilst Elm is of a coarse grain with an exceedingly rough bark,
generally ribbed and cracked even to the liber. Yet divergent as
these two trees are, we lately found them growing on each other. The
Beech was the stock, and Elm the top. We confess we had to see these
trees before we could believe such a case possible. But see them we
did, two or three dozens of them forming a small avenue in a rather
thick plantation. The trees are perhaps fifty years old. The object in
working them would appear to be simply curiosity. They are worked
from 2 to 3 feet from the ground. There was an unusually large
rough ring at the point of junction, in which in many cases could be
traced the tongue of the graft. These trees have grown freely, and
had they been allowed room for development, would no doubt have
been large trees. We see no practical utility in the practice ; we
record it simply as a curiosity in arboriculture.

W^hilst on the subject of grafting allow me to mention another case.
In the kitchen-garden where we live is a pond, on the bank of which
grows a large bushy Quince tree now partially blown on one side.
On one of the limbs of this Quince a graft of Jargonelle Pear had
been put some years ago. It grows freely, and produces perhaps as
fine fruit as one often sees of this favourite variety. What we wish to
draw attention to is not the fact of the Pear on the Quince — that is
common enough — but the fact of the Pear growing so vigorously on
the Quince, and in its turn causing the particular limb on which it is
worked to increase in proportion. Here we have a vigorous growth,
which in its turn reacts on the stock, each acting to the advantage of
the other. g. X.

REMARKS ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM.

I HAVE to thank " Teetotaller " for his criticism of my " Hints " on the
Chrysanthemum in May 1870. At first sight I feared that I had
committed some great blunder, deserving the censure of the numerous
class for which said " Hints " are written. Of course they are not for
exhibitors, or those whose aim is sensational culture, whom I would
rather prefer to be my preceptors. We choose subjects (for brief

80 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

cultural details) which are met with more or less in the gardens of
those who have to manage their own gardening with the help of a
" man-of-all-work," &c. Therefore language and instructions are
given in their most simple form ; so that any who can read English may
not be at a loss — the Chrysanthemum being one of the most easily
and generally cultivated plants we have (and it is often on our list).
We think what is successful with ourselves (using as little labour and
expense as possible) should be the same with amateurs, at least those
who have little or no glass, and not much experience. Why we say, in
IMay " Plunge the pots to keep the roots from being scorched by sun,"
we consider is answered by "Teetotaller" (see page 37 of January
1871), who says, ^' The grower of this plant need have no fear of his
stock getting their roots burned if he keeps them well supplied with
water."

During the past season, both in England and Scotland, there has
been a severe drought, and three-fourths of the gardens in the country
have suffered from scarcity of water ; and where roots of plants, out
of doors especially, have been plunged, much water and labour must
have been saved. Surely under these circumstances it is right to
recommend what gives least labour or attention. But we will go
further, and recommend not only to plunge Chrysanthemum pots, but
everything that is exposed to either frost, sun, or air ; and to keep the
roots of the most hardy plants right in frosty weather, they should not
be exposed above ground.

In the terrible winter of 1855, we remember a good collection of
Chrysanthemums living through the severe weather with the pots
plunged in coal-ashes, and some of same material thrown over their
crowns. This was in the lower part of Wilts, where the thermometer
was frequently under zero. With Camelias, Heaths, Acacias, Epacris,
Cytisus, and many other things for autumn and winter flowering, we
plunge their pots, and place the plants full in the sun, using a slight
shade for Camelias only. The result from this practice is all we could
wish. Hyemalis and Autumnalis Heaths which were plunged have
been in flower since October, and have done excellent service for
cutting — their shoots being from 15 to 20 inches high. Many plants
are often placed in the shade to keep them healthy, because exposing
their pots and foliage to sun at the same time would finish them,
though their natural quarters may be on the face of hills and moist
rocks. Keep the roots of any kind of plants from scorching, and they
will stand a good deal of sun.

If we are " far from right " regarding the Chrysanthemum, we are
in good company — ^as that champion grower, Mr Hignett (who, I
believe, has grown some of the finest specimens the world ever saw).

iSyi.] IPOM^A HORSFALLI^. 81

plunges his pots almost from the beginning. But not to waste space,
we would refer to Mr Hignett's remarks in the ' Gardener,' October
and November 1867, also January and February 1868. At page 72
he says ''cuttings or suckers struck in February;" and further on he
writes — " about the middle of May they should be shifted into their
blooming-pots, and placed in the open air in a southern aspect, plunged
in soil or coal-ashes."

We might say much on the simplicity of Chrysanthemum culture
(but time and space do not allow) from notes taken from the eastern,
southern, and western counties in England, also Ireland and Scotland
too, which would show how that useful flower might be easily manao-ed
and had in good condition by every cottager, as any plant which
stands the London smoke so well as the Chrysanthemum may be
turned to good account by the greatest novice. At one time when we
took an active part in laying out some of the London squares,
Chrysanthemums were used in quantity, and were purchased from
some of the leading growers in tufts, and planted in the ordinary soil
— and they made a fine display under the most unfavourable circum-
stances. A grower for Covent Garden (with whom we were employed)
grew Chrysanthemums by the thousand. Most of them were propao-ated
late in May or early in June. They were never under glass, and kept
plunged in tan all through the summer, fully exposed to the sun,
and in autumn they were fine plants loaded with flowers such as
would delight any amateur. We think that the Chrysanthemum is
as successfully cultivated in Scotland as England, except near some of
the larger English towns, where exhibitions give encouragement to
grow fine specimens. There is little done in Scotland to encourage
its cultivation by public exhibitions ; and for private use it is not
appreciated for room-decorations either as plants in flower or as cut
flowers — the scent being so objectionable. We like the Chrysan-
themum so much that we cultivate yearly from four to five dozen in
pots with very little trouble ; and they carry from 200 to 350 flowers
each. Attention to " Teetotaller's " or Mr Hignett's instructions, and
one season's practice with proper means at command, would enable
any one to grow specimens equal to the best seen around London.

M. T.

IPOM^A HORSFALLI^.

Where there is a great demand in autumn and winter for cut flowers,
either for mixing with other flowers in vases, or for what has now
become very fashionable, small hand-bouquets for the dinner-table, this
grand old stove creeper is one of the most useful and effective plants

82 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

that can be grown ; and I find a great demand for it as an ornament
for the hair.

Being a native of the East Indies, the plant stove, or a house where
it can have a high temperature and a plentiful supply of moisture, is
most suitable for it. To have it fine, and to be seen in all its beauty,
it should be planted out in a bed of soil and be allowed plenty of
space to run, and under such treatment I question if even the lovely
Lapageria rosea in the conservatory can rival it for usefulness and
beauty. The Ipomcea comes into bloom at a season when scarcely
any flowers of the same colour are available, and it continues a long
time in bloom. We have had it in bloom here since October, and not
producing a few flowers only, but hanging in large and numerous clusters,
more than fifty of which have been cut at a time ; and now, the 13th
January, we are still getting a plentiful supply, with every appearance
of a succession for six weeks to come, and all from the same plant.

Having grown it several years in pots, but not to my satisfaction,
when "looking over" our stove plants last March, a pit 3 feet square
and 18 inches deep was taken out at the corner of the centre bed in
the stove, 6 inches of drainage was put in the bottom of the pit, with
a layer of rough soil over it to keep it from getting choked. The
pit was filled up with one part fibry peat, not broken too finely ; one
part turfy loam, with the fine part of it separated from it by passing
it through a |-inch sieve ; with this was mixed a little charcoal,
broken to from the size of a bean to a pigeon's egg, and a sprinkling
of silver sand. This Ipomsea is very impatient of stagnant water, and
at the same time requires a copious supply of water when growing
freely : good drainage and an open soil are indispensable, otherwise the
leaves turn yellow and drop off. The plant was carefully turned out
of its pot and planted in the pit of soil above described, was trained
so far up the end of the house and over above the division door and
over the path along which it has been trained. It soon started into
growth and progressed rapidly, and by the middle of August it had
run the whole length of the house — 30 feet long and 3 feet wide — at
the same time covering several of the rafters. All through the grow-
ing season the shoots should be carefully tied in, as it blooms in large
bunches from the ends of the shoots. It grows all the stronger if occa-
sionally watered with manure-w^ater, and it should be liberally syringed
till the blooms make their appearance, which is generally in October.
When it stops growing and begins to bloom, less water is required ; for
if too liberally supplied, its flowers and leaves drop off prematurely.
This creeper cannot be too strongly recommended wherever there is
a plant stove. Here it has been the admiration of aU who have visited
the gardens. A. Henderson.

Thoresby Gardens.

1871.] NOTES OF EXTRA-FINE BEDDING PLANTS. 83

nsrpTES OF A FEW EXTRA-FINE BEDDING PLANTS,
MOSTLY OF RECENT INTRODUCTION.

Ageratum Imperial Blue. — Lively lavender, with more of a dash of
blue in it than has the real lavender colour, which renders it more
lively and effective. Eight inches high. Produces its immense bunches
of flowers in the greatest possible profusion — so much so, that it covers
a bed with a perfect sheet of its pleasing colour. It is a most valu-
able plant for masses, scroll-work, edgings, and for forming ground-
work in panel-planting, or for pincushion beds. Since the introduction
of Lobelia erinus speciosa and Gazania splendens into our parterres,
we know of no other plant so serviceable as this. It deserves more
said in its favour than was said of it when brought before the public ;
and the coloured plates we have seen of it do not do it justice, and this
is not generally applicable to new plants.

Heliotro2:>e Surprise, — What Imperial Blue is among Ageratums this
is among Heliotropes. A lively purplish blue. Grows about 9
inches high, and having a first-rate habit. In some localities, where
for the last few years purple Verbenas have, owing to the drought,
not been satisfactory, it has been decided to substitute this Heliotrope,
the effect produced being similar. This may apply most to dry soils.

Iresine Lvndenii. — This is a very decided improvement on I. Herb-
stii, being of a brighter colour and much better habit ; less lumpy and
ungraceful-like, from its being dwarfer, more twiggy in growth, and
from the more pleasing outline in shape of its leaves, which are acu-
minate or taper-pointed. When sent out, we got a character with it
of much more hardiness than I. Herbstii ; we think it slightly more
hardy, but not much. It has the same liking for moisture and rich
soil, is as easily propagated, requires intermediate heat to keep it
safely over the winter, and tobacco-smoke to keep it free from green-
fly. More than likely it will supersede I. Herbstii. It bears pinch-
ing well for edging, and for dotting in light groundwork of such as
Pyrethrum Golden Feather (a most useful plant, likely in great measure
to cause a decrease in the number of Cloth-of-Gold and Golden Chain
Pelargoniums) and Allysum variegatum, &c. Excellent also for con-
trasting-lines to yellow Calceolarias, Centaurea Eagusina, Cineraria
maritima, and C. acanthafolia.

Cineraria acanthafolia. — The same beautiful silvery whiteness as
C. maritima. Fully more compact in growth, the leaves being in
shape intermediate between C. maritima and Centaurea Eagusina.
Grown with a stem a foot high, this is a very handsome plant, beauti-
ful either for panel-plants or for dotting. To some extent this should
supersede the Centaurea, being much more easily wintered, and quite

G

84 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

as if not a raore handsome plant. It is an excellent dinner-table
plant. In hardiness it is the same as C. maritima, but we have not
found it so easily propagated. It can be raised easily from seed, but,
like its companion, we suppose it will scarcely attain its full coat of sil-
veriness the first year. We have not yet had experience of it from seed.

Scnccio argentcms. — From what we have already seen of this plant,
we regard it as the finest silvery-foliaged plant for general usefulness
outdoors that has ever been introduced. When it can be said of it
that it is a hardy perennial, and a miniature as near as possible of
Centaurea Ragusina, forming lovely compact specimens G inches across,
with compact stiff leaves as white as those of the Centaurea, and like
them in all respects except size, little more need be said in its favour.
It was brought from the Pyrenees by Messrs Backhouse of York, who
sent a special expedition for it, who seem to think it does best in loamy
soil, though it grows wild in a loose shaly soil. It multiplies itself by
its " woody stem branching and rooting as it travels on.'^ At present
our stock of it is in pots, and from what can be seen of it in that state,
and from what we have heard of it outdoors much farther north, it
cannot fail to be a great favourite.

Pelargonium Vesuvius. — Brilliant scarlet ; flowers produced in larg-
ish trusses in wonderful profusion. Habit compact and dwarf ; lively
green leaves slightly zoned. We regard this, from our experience of
it in two different soils and localities, as, taken as a whole, the most
useful Pelargonium that ever came under our notice. It has not a
fault that can be named. It is brilliant, free in growth, and for
keeping up a continuous profusion of telling blooms we have seen
nothing in the Pelargonium way to equal it for bedding. It is
excellent for pot-culture, and in intermediate heat blooms profusely
all the dull months of winter. At present we have a quantity of it in
a temperature of 55° to 60"", that were lifted out of the beds in Octo-
ber, and since the middle of November they have been studded with
bold trusses of bloom ; and this in the case of plants that were late in
September denuded of every growth that would make a cutting. The
more vigorously it grows, the more blooms are produced.

P. Glorious. — This for beds is second only to Vesuvius. It is more
of a crimson scarlet, and not so lively a colour for distant effect, but
in all other respects it is the equal of Vesuvius.

P. Grand-Duke. — This w^ell deserves its name as a pot-plant, in
which condition only have we yet proved it. But we have its charac-
ter from a reliable friend in the midland counties of England as one
of the most effective of bedders. It belongs to the nosegay section,
and has immense trusses of orange-scarlet blooms on very stout foot-
stalks. Habit compact.

1871.] ON PEACH-TREE TRAINING. 85

P. Fire -King. — Bright scarlet. Immense truss; free and fine
bedder.

P. Lucius. — Very bright rose ; very large trusses in great profusion.
We have not proved this variety on an extensive scale, but from what
we saw of it last season, and heard of it at Kew and in the midland
counties, it must prove to be the finest of all our rose-coloured bedders,
and in a pot it is splendid.

P. Jean Sisley. — This is a fine zonal variety, its form and substance
being much like Lord Derby, with a richer colour. Much is expected
of this variety.

P. Bayard^ William Tliomson, Douglas Pearson., and Dr Murat. —
These are crimson varieties, of which we think very highly as bedders,
more especially the two first named, which are both excellent in habit,
having immense trusses produced very abundantly. Bayard's charac-
ter is well established, and William Thomson, though we had only two
plants of it planted out this year, we think quite equal to it.

P. Blue Bell. — Bluish-lilac ; very pleasing colour ; large truss ; mode-
rately-profuse bloomer ; well worth growing in beds on account of its
lively colour. Should be plunged in 6-inch pots, when it flowers more
freely. Fine pot-variety and late winter-bloomer.

P. MoM of Kent — Have not proved this variety, but from reliable
authority learn that it has been superior to Christine — to which class
it belongs — in England these last dry summers. It has not run so
much to seed as Christine ; but for wet seasons and northern districts
we suspect Christine is not easily conquered.

From among numerous varieties we have selected several other sorts,
of which we prefer not to speak confidently at present.

Growers who do not possess Glow and Violet Hill, the former a
scarlet, the latter a dwarf rose-colour, should add them to their collec-
tions. Glow is a very fine bedder, and Violet Hill the best dwarf Rose
we have ever seen. D. T.

December 12, 1870.

ON PEACH-TREE TRAINING.

My attention has been accidentally drawn to Mr M'Millan's strictures
(page 541) upon my remarks on the above subject in the November
number of the ' Gardener,' which call for a word from me. Inten-
tionally or otherwise, Mr McMillan thinks that I claim to be the dis-
coverer of the system I advocated ; to show that such is not the case,
I recommend him to a more attentive perusal of my first paper. He
warns your readers that, at the end of a few years, trees trained in the

86 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

way I described will have nothing but long bare stems, perishing, accord-
ing to his experience, at the age of fifteen years, through over-exertion
in youth. Now I beg to assure your readers that I find no difficulty in
originating as many shoots as I please all over the trees down to the
base, and could have hundreds more than are wanted, and I can
point to the trees in confirmation of what I say. Their present
appearance disproves Mr M'Millan's anticipations. He may rest
assured -he has got on the wrong side of the hedge with his over-
exertion theory. No plant was ever yet killed from being allowed to
develop its energies to their fullest extent, root and top, where
favoured by a suitable soil and climate ; for it must be borne in mind
that my remarks referred to Peaches grown under glass, or in a posi-
tion where the wood would be likely to get thoroughly matured to
the extremities. Early maturity means early death throughout all
nature, and if constant root-pruning and pinching (allowable under
some circumstances) is not hurrying life, I don't know what is. A
close study of nature never taught any one to use such means to
prolong life or vigorous health. I don't know what Mr M'Millan
means about adopting unnatural means in Peach-tree culture, and
counteracting means to keep the same in order. For further infor-
mation on this matter I would refer Mr M'Millan to a sensible lead-
ing article in the 'Gardeners' Chronicle' of November 19, on the
"Rule of Thumb," having a direct bearing on this subject, and in
which some of the oldest Peach-trees in the kingdom, including the
Chatsworth trees, are pointed to as examples of the extension system
in early youth. Mr M'Millan should see the Chatsworth trees,
and when he is in the neighbourhood I shall be pleased to pro-
cure him opportunities of seeing the extension system of wall-tree
culture carried out on a grand scale, and also a day's recreation in
Sherwood Forest, where he may safely be left to commune with the
Oaks that were ancient when they sheltered Robin Hood and his bold
yeomen, and perhaps he v/ill afterwards tell us how far restriction
has promoted their long life and vigour. I will not follow Mr
M'Millan in his remarks upon this subject, which he concludes by
the remark, that "to be old-fashioned and successful cannot be
a crime, but to be new-fashioned and fail must be a crime."
A tremendously serious and discouraging aspect of the question,
which should put experimenters to their P's and Q's if ever such a
law should be put in force ; and which seems simply to mean, that
success is a virtue, and failure a crime, or that if we debouch out of
the usual beaten track, for the purpose of experiment or improvement,
and fail, we should be sent to Botany Bay. J. Simpson.

■WORTLY,

1871.] CULTURAL NOTES ON PELARGONIUMS. 87

Cultural notes oisr tricolor and bronze

PELARGONIUMS.

{Continued from p. 548 o/1870.)

As summer approaches, the demands of our favourites will be con-
siderable, what with training, potting, and other requisites, this
being the period when the bulk of their growth is made. Water must
be administered copiously, never once allowing the plants to flag
through a deficiency of it.

In my experience I have found great benefit to the plants derived
from the practice of inverting small pots over the holes in the bot-
toms of those intended to put the plants into. These small pots are
covered over with broken crocks, then a portion of rough fibry turf,
thereby securing perfect drainage. Drained in this way, any amount
of water can be given without danger of souring the compost ; and
it is astonishing to see how fast they form masses of greedy sucking
rootlets in this covering of the drainage. This system of draining
with small pots is commenced when the plants are of dimensions suf-
ficient to occupy pots 8 inches in diameter.

Should any plant indicate symptoms of stuntedness, lose no time
to have the same shaken from its soil, washing the roots by repeated
immersions in tepid water ; cut back any decayed roots, and repot in
lesser pots amongst a compost of equal proportions of silver-sand and
well-rotted leaf-mould. Insert the pots in mild bottom-heat, and
keep the roots moist ; by this change the conditions of such plants
will be greatly improved.

Training. — No form of training can cope with that of the pyramid-
ical ; it is imposing in the highest degree, especially when the plants
have attained respectable dimensions, with well-clothed sides of foli-
age. Supposing this form be the aim, the first object is to establish a
good foundation by guiding half-a-dozen growths towards the margin
of the pots, at equal distances, having selected the most vigorous
growth to take an upright direction, to be retained as a leader. Pro-
ceed next to secure these shoots in their proper positions by tying each
to a light stake, detaching with the fingers only the very extremity of
the shoots when they have made four or five joints, according to the
habit of the variety.

By this method of stopping, the plants will sustain no check to their
progress, but will shortly start out a succession of new wood, which, in
its turn, will require to be directed to its proper place, and sup-
ported there temporarily by stakes. On no account let there be any
scruples about pinching, which must be repeated as often as is neces-
sary to maintain the intended form.

88 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

Colouring. — In a cool season no difficulty attends tlie accomplish-
ment of this ; not so in a summer like the one just past. Too strong
sunshine has a bleaching tendency, even to the extent of evaporating
the colour along with the sap of the leaves, and in numerous instances
burning the tissue on the leaves into brown spots. This is especially
the case with plants turned out of a warm close atmosphere.

AVhile the slightest shade prevents colouring most effectively both
in and out of doors, an open airy situation, on the other hand, pro-
duces and accelerates it rapidly. The richest colour I ever witnessed
on any tricolor was shown on a plant of Lady Cullum, and this was
brought about by the following conditions : After being grown over
the summer in a cold pit, open night and day, but shaded from the
sun a good portion of the day by a wall which stands opposite, this
plant was placed along with others in the full sun, with no other pro-
tection than a sash-frame raised above them upon brick piers erected
beneath each corner. ^Meantime the breezes of the most airy situa-
tion of the garden were allowed to circulate without restraint.

While the colouring process is being accomplished, water ought to be
afforded them in more limited quantities than previously ; but do not
allow them to flag for want of it, always supplying the water in the
evenings, and syringing overhead at the same time after strong sun-
shine.

BRONZES.

These are gifted with a stronger constitution than the tricolor
section, and are thereby more qualified to rough it in winter. With
few exceptions the same conditions favourable to the growth of
the common zonal will suit them ; but, notwithstanding this, where
ample accommodation is at command, I should allot them a place by
the side of the tricolors, and otherwise treat them the same, with only
this difference — viz., add one part more of loam to their compost, and
a small portion of guano to their water, while they are finishing their
growth.

The following list of sorts we annex ; they are all first-rate : Golden
tricolors — Lady Cullum, Sir Robert Napier, Mrs Turner, Miss Watson,
the Moonston, Jetty Lacey, Sophia Dumaresque, L'Empereur, Queen
of Tricolors, and Lucy Grieve.

Silver Tricolors — Italia Unita, Silver Cloud, Glow-worm, Burning
Bush, Lass of Gowrie, and Charming Bride.

Bronzes — Crown Prince, Mrs Grimond, Goldfinder, Duke of Edin-
burgh, Black Knight, Sybil, Prima Donna, Lady Musgrave, Ebor, and
Countess of Kellie. A. Kerr.

iSyi.] ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 89

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

A SEVERE bail-storm with thunder and lightning on Monday, a wet day Tuesday,
with the appearance of more on the 18th, led me to fear there would be but a
poor show. I was agreeably disappointed ; there never was a better meeting in
January. At the farther end of the council-room, occupying nearly the whole
stage, were collections of Orchids from Messrs J. Veitch & Sons, of the Koyal
Exotic Nurseries, Chelsea, and from the gardens of Lord Londesborough, Grim-
ston Park, Tadcaster, to each of which a special certificate was awarded. The
collection of Messrs Veitch was relieved and much improved by the judiciovis
introduction of a few elegant Palms. In Lord Londesborough's collection was
(amongst other fine things) a plant with three fine spikes of the beautiful winter-
flowering Saccolabium giganteum.

Mr B, S. Williams, Victoria Nurseries, Holloway, exhibited a miscellaneous
collection, comprising a number of fine plants of his useful Solanum hybridum
compactum, a fine plant of Genetyllis Hookerii in flower, and a handsome speci-
men of Yucca filamentosa variegata ; a special certificate was awarded. Mr Charles
Turner, of the Ptoyal Nurseries, Slough, received a special certificate for a very
fine collection of green-leaved and variegated Aucubas, neat little plants trained
in the form of dwarf standards in small pots, bearing as many as from 200 to
300 berries in large handsome clusters. A collection of Orchids from the
Society's gardens, in which was a very fine plant of Lycaste Skinnerii, and numer-
ous collections of Chinese Primulas and Cyclamens showed how useful and
eflFective they are for winter decoration. From J. Lowe, Esq., Highfield House,
Nottingham, came a collection of very interesting new forms of Scolopendrium
vulgare, and several other varieties of our native Ferns. First-class certificates
were awarded to Adiantum capillas-veneris, var. Admirable, one of the most
distinct and graceful forms ever exhibited ; to Scolopendrium vulgare, var.
consummatum, with thick rigid fronds curiously tasseled. Messrs Veitch re-
ceived a first-class certificate for Cypripedium vexillarum, a very interesting
and beautiful cross between Fairiecanum and barbatum ; and a second-class certi-
ficate for Mormodes Colossus, a singular and showy stove epiphyte with long
loose racemes of reddish buff flowers. A second-class certificate was also award-
ed to Messrs A. Henderson & Co., Pine-apple Place, Edgeware Road, for Ficus
lanceolata, with bold showy foliage. A special certificate was also deservedly
awarded to ]\tessrs Backhouse & Son, York, for a splendid variety of Loelia aut-
umnalis named grandiflora, and to Messrs J. Brooke & Co., Nurserymen, Fairfield,
Manchester, for the first branched spike of Odontoglossum Alexandree ever exhi-
bited. It was 2 feet 2 inches long, 1 feet 4 inches across, with flowers 2^ inches
in diameter.

A collection of American garden-tools was exhibited by Mr Pobinson, of no
particular merit apparently ; the same exhibitor also sent a coarse - looking
Potato, resembling the Bovinia or cattle-feeder ; it was said to be much esteemed
by the Mormons. The best of the American Potatoes are not nearly so good as our
own proved English varieties ; most of them are only fit for cattle. There
were specimens of admirably preserved fruit, both in bottles and dried, some pop-
corn and a cornpopper, and also dried specimens of a new species of dwarf-
flowering alpine rock Shrub from the summit of the Rocky Mountains. All the
above, I believe, were brought by Mr Robinson from America.

The following special certificates were awarded by the fruit committee : To Mr
J. Meredith, The Vineyard, Garston, for Muscat of Alexandria Grapes ; bunches
large, berries large and well coloured. To Mr W. Ewart, Apethrope Gardens,

90 THE GARDENER. [Feb.

Wansford, for two dishes of Easter Beurrd Pears. To Mr J. Clark, the Gardens,
Rochampton, for a fine dish of Glou Morceau Pears. Also to Signor Doinenico
Piccirillo, of Wigmore Street, Cavendish Square, London, for a fine box of Spanish
Chestnuts grown in Italy, called Naples Giant.

A very fine dish of a new kitchen-Apple, named Galloway Pippin, was sent
by Messrs J. Backhouse & Son ; it was ordered to be cooked, and a sub-com-
mittee to report on it.

Prizes were offered in Class 1 for nine Ivies, in pots, distinct (open). Mr Tur-
ner, lioyal Nurseries, Slough, was first with handsome pyramids of Hedera
helix aurea, H. latifolia maculata, H. maculata, H. grandiflora pallida varie-
gated, and others with green leaves. Several collections were exhibited, all
in the pyramid form.

Class 2. — 9 Hardy Conifers, distinct (open).

Class 3. — Kitchen - Apples, 3 dishes, distinct (open). Mr Turner was first
with fine specimens of Alfriston, Golden Noble, and Blenheim Pippin ; second,
Mr T. Parsons, gardener to R Attenborough, Esq., Fairlawn, Acton Green.

Class 4. — Kitchen Pears, 3 dishes, distinct (open). Mr Turner was again
first with very fine dishes of Uvedale's St Germain, Catillac, and Vicar of
Winkfield; second, Mr Gardiner, Eatington Park, Lower Stratford - on - Avon.
The competition in fruit was very spirited, especially in Apples, some eight or
nine collections being staged. J. D.

METROPOLITAN FLORAL SOCIETY.

The Committee of this Society met in St James's Hall on January 3, in order to
form their Schedule for the present year. It was decided to hold another Autumn
Show at the Palace, and also to offer prizes for neglected Florists' Flowers during
the present year. The following prizes to be offered for Auriculas at the meeting
of the Royal Horticultural Society, April 19: —

6 Auriculas, distinct in pots (amateurs), 40s., 20s., lOs.

1 Green -edged Auricula (open class), 7s. 6d., Ss., 2s. 6d.

1 Grey-edged do. do. do.

1 White-edged do. do. do.

1 Self do. do. do.

At the meeting on July 19 —

12 Cut blooms. Carnations (amateurs), 30s., 203., 10s.

12 Cut blooms, Picotees, do. do.

At the Crystal Palace in May the following first prizes are offered, the second
and third to be given by the Palace Company : —

36 Pansies, cut blooms (open), 40s.

24 Pansies, cut blooms (amateurs), 40s.

12 Fancy or Belgian Pansies (open), 203.

36 Tulips, dissimilar (open), 40s.

12 Tulips, dissimilar (amateurs), 40s.
At the June Show, if the Palace Company decide to hold one —

24 Pinks, cut blooms (open), 40s.

12 Pinks, cut blooms (amateurs), 30s.

24 Eanunculus blooms (open), 30s.

12 Ranunculus blooms (amateurs), 20s. J. D.

P.S. — Further information can be obtained by applying to the Hon. Sec, Rev.
H. H. DoMBRAiN, Westwell Vicarage, Ashford, Kent.

The following report was read to the meeting : — " In submitting their first re-
port, the Committee desire to express their gatisfaction at the success which has

i87i.]

CALENDAR.

91

already attended their efforts, and they cannot but hope that an vindertaking so
auspioiously commenced will be carried on with energy and vigour. They have
long felt that the flowers which they specially desire to encourage have not of
late years received that attention which they merited, and that the complaints
made of the decline of the taste for Florists' Flowers were only so far true in that
they were not brought forward as in former days, and that it needed only liberal
encouragement to show that they were still as much in favour as ever. isTo flower
had, for example, been more persistently run down than the Dahlia, as if it were
now utterly out of date, yet few who saw it will readily forget the wonderful sight
of upwards of two thousand blooms exhibited at their show at the Crystal Palace ;
and if the eSbrts of the Committee be only seconded, as they hope to see them,
they anticipate a complete revival of Floriculture properly so called.

" Their movements for the ensuing year must depend greatly on the amount of
support they obtain ; it is their wish not only to hold the Autumn Show at the
Crystal Palace, but also to offer prizes for the other flowers named in their pro-
spectus at some of the metropolitan exhibitions, and they therefore earnestly
appeal to all lovers of Florists' Flowers to support them : they have already
received numerous promises of aid, and will be glad to receive the names of any
gentlemen who may wish to become members, and also any ofi'er of special prizes,
as has already been done in the case of Dahlias."

[We have pleasure in publishing this report, and in indicating the prospective
operations of the Society. We wish it all success in reviving a, taste for these
grand Florists' Flowers, — Ed.]

©aUnftar*

KITCHEN-GARDEN.

The present season will bring its own
labour, even although every attention
has been given during the last few
months to forward all manner of ground-
work. The cultivator whose aim is
success will for some time be fully
occupied. Where a little attention to
protecting early-sown seeds is no objec-
tion, and turf -pits or other contrivances
are not at command, a border sheltered
and exposed to sun may be prepared
for a few early crops, such as Horn
Carrots, Radishes, Round Spinach (this
crop is often sown between Early Peas),
and Bath Cos Lettuce. However, a
box sown with the latter will go a far
way if it can have a position in an airy
glass structure, with plenty of light and
no check given. When the soil is dry and
well worked, shallow drills will answer
well for sowing the seed in; old dry soil,
for covering small seeds, is of great
advantage. The seed, though ever so
good, may be sown more thickly now
than later in the season, but not to

come up matted. Red-lead will keep
birds in check : it requires to be thinly
dusted over the seeds before covering
them. If there are no south bor-
ders, a ridge sloping to the sun is a
good substitute. Xewlj'-sowu seeds,
which do not stand frost well, may be
covered, till growth appears, with straw,
fern, or any dry material, and kept in
its place with branches, or ties and
pegs. The labour of covering and un-
covering is the principal barrier to early
seed-sowing. Peas may be sown twice
in the month, if demand requires. For
second sowing Dickson's Favourite is one
of the best. Some prefer them sown
only 4 feet apart in the rows ; others &ow
them widely, and use the ground be-
tween for the main sowings of small
seeds. The rows of Peas, when stak-
ed, give good shelter. Any coming
through the ground should be staked
at once, and cold frosty winds will be
less severe on the young tops. Mice
will now be on the alert, and two of

92

THE GARDENER.

[Feb.

their favourite morsels at this season
are Peas and Crocuses. Beans may
be sown as demand requires. Early
^Mazagau is often used as first crop, but
the beans are small.

Ground will soon require to be ready
for Onions. After the usual preparation
of the soil, a line, dry, well- broken sur-
face is necessary. Onions do best on
firm, rich, and deep soil which has been
well turned up. This being an im-
portant crop in most gardens, every
little matter at seed-sowing should have
attention. "With many this crop is a
failure, and in some cases it would be a
wonder if it were otherwise. The end
of the month to middle of March is a
good time to sow either in Scotland or
England. In the latter country we
have had fine Onions sown as late as
]\Iay, but few cultivators would run
such a risk if it could be avoided.
Drills drawn from 8 inches to a foot
apart (according to richness of ground)
answer well for Onions. Soot and red-
lead dusted over the seed before cover-
ing it helps for some time to keep off
vermin ; but free vigorous growth is
the best security for Onions. On heavy
wet land it is a useful practice to leave
every sixth I'ow unsown, which saves
treading among the rows. Broadcast
sowing for any seeds is wasteful both of
seeds and labour. Parsnips, where large
roots are wanted, may be sown soon
after the Onions. Good deep soil, well
broken and in good condition, but not
incorporated with rank manure, will
suit. If manure is necessary, it should
be thoroughly rotten, and placed two
spades or more deep. Parsnips may be
sown in drills about 2 inches deep, and
15 to 20 inches apart. (We often find
2 feet not too much.) Some roll or
tread the ground as for Onions, but
that depends much on its nature. Heavy
wet land, when trodden, is not suitable
for Parsnips. Parsley, when severely
picked in winter, is very slow at start-
ing into growth, and often runs to seed
before it is of much use. To have early
plants to keep up a supply, a good
sowing should be made soon, and every
attention afterwards given to encourage
free growth. A sowing in a frame or

box, for planting out when it is well
hardened, is a good practice. Celery
may now be sown in heat, and brought
forward steadily ; sudden changes will
cause it to "bolt." Cold water should
not be used till the plants are advanced
and pi-icked out, then the hardening
process will be going on ; thus early, a
box, seed-pan, or pot sown will do for
any ordinary demand: it requires plenty
of light and air wdien weather is not
severe. Frosty winds should be guarded
again.st for all tender seedlings, and they
should never be sown so thickly as to
destroy one another. Capsicums may be
sown now, if good-sized plants are
wanted : when grown early, hardened
carefully, and planted out in a favour-
able position, either in or out of the
pots, they bear plenty of fruit with
little trouble. In cold northern districts,
however, this system is not so easily
carried out. Tomatoes sown now will
require careful attention to keep them
from being drawn up weakly. All
Salads in pots or boxes should have
plenty of air for some time before they
are used ; supplies may be regular, if
timely sowing is attended to. Potatoes
for planting in cold frames or pits may
be sprouted by placing the tubers on 2
inches of soil. To have Potatoes large,
the tops should be kept thin, and plenty
of space left between the plants. Much
planting of Potatoes, Cabbage, and other
things, is done this month ; but except
where circumstances are favourable, it is
well to let the soil be warmed by sun ;
and ]\Iarch is generally early enough.
Seakale, Rhubarb, Asparagus, and other
vegetables which are forced, require
little labour and attention now, com-
pared with the last few months, as
growth is so easily excited. Keep up
supplies by taking roots into heat, or
covering them in quantities not likely to
give a glut at one time and scarcity at
another. Where manure for heat has to
be used, it should be kept steady and
not high. If Eadishes and Carrots
come up thickly, let them be thinned
as soon as they can be handled, or
large tops and small roots will be the
result.

M. T.

FORCING DEPARTMENT.

Pines. — Every gardener who has to
keep up an unbroken succession of ripe
Pines knows how desirable it is to atten-
tively care for all Pines that show fruit
from October onwards throughout the

winter months. All such stock may
now be pushed on at an accelerated
pace as the days lengthen and the sun
gains in power. The temperature at
night should range from 70° to 75°,

iSyi.]

CALENDAR.

93

according to the state of the weather,
and by day with sun-heat to 80° before
giving air. Shut up early in the after-
noon ; and where all are out of bloom,
moisture should be increased in the
same ratio as heat. The bottom-heat
for these should be at a maximum,
namely 85° to 90°. The state of the
soil must be carefully watched, and
water given to keep it in a medium
state of moisture, avoiding mealy dry-
ness on the one hand and wetness on
the other. Do not exceed a tempera-
ture of 70° at night in the case of those
intended to start in the course of this
month, unless it be in very mild
weather, when a few degrees moi-e is
safe enough without hard firing. And
do not be over-liberal with water till
the fruit shows itself. There is a
danger, especially in the case of plants
that have not well filled their pots nor
matured their growth sufficiently in
autumn, of their starting into growth
instead of fruiting, if they are too freely
supplied with water and moisture in
the air. Look over them occasionally
and examine their centres ; and when
the fruit can be discerned emerging
from amongst the leaves, see that the
plants so started have sufficient weak
guano-water given to moisten the soil
through and through. Supposing the
early batch to have shown fruit by the
end of the month, increase the heat a
few degrees. Let it range to 75° on
mild nights. Do not much increase the
air moisture till they are out of flower,
and give air a few hours a-day as weather
will permit. Examine succession plants
in small pots, and see that they do not
become too dry, and give water enough
to prevent their suffering without in-
ducing much growth yet. The night
temperature still continue to range at
60°. If it so happens that they are
strong and well rooted, or if any portion
of them are such, it will be better to
shift them into their frixiting-pots by
the end of the month than to run the
risk of their becoming pot-bound, and
consequently more likely to fruit pre-
maturely. Later plants are best not
shifted till March. Take oflf and pot
any suckers that may be on plants of
winter-fruiting sorts from which the
fruit is cut ; pot firmly, and do not
water till the roots appear at the sides
of the pot. We will treat of soil next
month in time for general potting.

Vines. — Attend to Grapes still hang-
ing as directed last month. Prune all

Vines as soon as the fruit is cut from
them, and dress all cuts made after this
season with styptic to prevent any
chance of their being weakened by
bleeding in spring. Wash and other-
wise clean and dress vineries and Vines
as described in Calendar for January.
Thin the bunches and berries of ad-
vancing crops as soon as they are ready.
This is an operation often deferred
too late, and the crop and Vines suf-
fer in consequence. The superfluous
bunches should be removed from all
free-setting sorts as soon as ever it is
apparent which are best to leave ; shy-
setting sorts are best left till it is easily
seen which are set most perfectly. In
leaving bunches to come to maturity
select the most compact and symmetri-
cal, with short strong stalks, in prefer-
ence to long straggling bunches, which
are not so likely to swell such fine
berries, and are more likely to shank
than the smaller and more compact
ones. Should the weather be cold,
avoid hard forcing, which in dull sun-
less weather only debilitates and defeats
the end in view. Vines in bloom should
be kept steadily about 65^ at night, with
a rather dry atmosphere. Shy-setting
sorts may be impregnated by drawing a
dry clean hand over the bunches and
tapping the Vine stems at mid-day, or
a bunch of some free pollen-making
variety may be rubbed or shaken among
the blooms of shy sorts. Take advan-
tage of forcing on bright sunny days
if time is important, shvitting up with
sun-heat at 80°. Where the early crop
is from pot Vines, and now swelling off
freely, water regularly with manure-
water, and the heat for such may be a
few degrees more than is desirable for
permanent Vines. Air-giving should
be carefully attended to wherever
Vines are started, and in all progressive
stages a close stagnant atmosphere is
ruinous to Vines : the growths become
weak, the leaves thin and warty, when
kept too close and moist. Stop the
growths as directed last month, leaving
only one leaf to each lateral, and not
allowing them to make long growths,
and then remove them. While we thus
direct in the case of laterals in fruit-
bearing shoots, we are opposed to the
close stopping of these shoots them-
selves. In our opinion, whether Vines
are grown on the one rod or the three
or four rod system to one Vine, the rods
should never be closer than 3^ to 4 feet
apart ; and the lateral shoots should be

9i

THE GARDENER.

[Feb.

allowed to p;row three or four joints be-
yond the bunch, or till they meet the
shoots from their neighbour rods right
and left. Start succession vineries in
the manner directed in January, and
see that all Vines now started have their
roots, if outside, properly protected
from heavy falls of snow and rain, if
not covered with litter and leaves to
try and warm them. We thiuk this
old-fashioned practice is perhaps at-
tended with more good and less evil
than some have recently saddled it
with. It may perhaps not throw much
heat into the border, but if put on
sufficiently early in autumn it prevents
at least the escape of heat and throws
off rains, while, if the surface of the
border be first loosened and dressed
with 2 or 3 inches of open soil,
such a warm covering has a tendency
to entice the roots nearer the top,
which is desirable. Put Vine-eyes into
heat, and start them gradually, as in
the case of Vines themselves.

Peaches. — Still continue to force
with caution if the weather be cold.
Do not much exceed the temperature
recommended last month for the vari-
ous stages. Gently syringe with tepid
water when the fruit is set, giving a
vigorous syringing or two to free those
just set from their old blooms. Pay
particular attention to inside borders,
and see that they do not become too
dry ; and except in the case of young
vigorous trees, manure-water may be
given to them after the fruit is formed.
Trees in bloom that require a circula-
tion of dry air must at the same time
be so ventilated as to prevent strong
currents of frosty air, which so fre-
quently prevail at this season, and which
are fatal to the fructifying organs, and
injurious to the tender young leaves.
Where there is a great superabundance
of young fruit formed, thin off a por-
tion of the smallest regularly all over
the trees ; but let this be done by de-
grees, leaving the final thinning till the
fruit stones and all danger of its drop-
ping off" is over. Prune late houses,
and in doing so avoid leaving too much
wood to crowd the trees and render
fine mature growths for next year more
uncertain. Dress them over with a
mixture of sulphur, cow-manure, soot,
and a little soft soap, especially on soils
that are productive of red -spider —
namely, dry gravelly soil. Complete
the planting of young trees as soon as
possible now ; and in cutting young

trees back avoid the too-common prac-
tice of cutting "hard back," which
simf)ly retards the trees for twelve
months at least. It is best to cut back
no further than to mature wood, and
to regulate and balance the growths by
summer pinching and disbudding where
such are required. Disbud and pinch
forward trees as soon as the growths
are an inch or two long, and do it by
degrees instead of all at once.

Orchard- House. — The inmates of
this structure will have been kept dry
at the root throughout the late severe
weather, and their pots protected at
the same time from severe frost by being
plunged or covered with some dry lit-
ter. In those days of cheap boilers and
cement jointings the expense of keeping
frost from such structures is trifling,
while many ends are gained by hav-
ing them heated in winter, and all risks
of injured blossoms by sudden severe
frosts further on in the season avoided.
The trees in winter can be stowed away
closely at one end of the house, and
flower-garden plants wintered in the
rest of it ; or it may be used for winter-
ing Lettuce, &c. The trees should
early in February be topdressed with a
mixture of loam and horse-droppings in
equal proportions, and be plunged in the
positions in which they are to stand for
the season, giving all that are dry suffi-
cient water to moisten their balls. In
plunging them see that the bottoms of
the pots stand so that water can freely
escape from them. Apricots, Pears,
Peaches, &c. &c., will soon be on the
move if the weather be mild ; and
where it is desirable to force them
gently, let it be very gently, for the
present, simply applying heat to keep
the temperature from falling below 4.5°.
In unheated houses it is best to keep
the trees back in most localities, for if
brought early into bloom the danger
from severe late frosts can never be left
out of the count ; hence it is desirable
to heat.

Figs. — Continue to put last month's
directions in force ; increasing the heat
a few degrees as the plants begin to
break freely into growth, and increase
the moisture in the air as light and heat
increase. Look well to the regular sup-
ply of water at the root, and keep the
bottom-heat steady at 80°.

Strawberries. — In some instances
fruit may be sufiBciently early to be
colouring by the end of the month, in
which cases it is necessary to keep a dry

iSyi.

JOTTINGS ON THE POTATO.

95

warm atmosphere, with a circulation of
air to secure good flavour. Cease giving
manure-water at the root as soon as the
first signs of colouringare noticed. Where
fruit is swelling, and it is desirable to
have them ripe as early as possible, the
night temperature may be kept 65° to
70° with impunity, and 10° more with
sun-heat by day. Carry out last month's
directions as to the starting of succes-
sion plants, and the temperature in
which it is best to start them. Do not
expose any very early plants, from which
the fruit may be gathered at the end of
the month, suddenly to cold ; but har-
den them off and otherwise care for
them till they can be planted out. They
will yield fine early runners for potting
for early forcing, and make fine stools
for cropping outdoors next year.

Cucumbers. — Those that were sown
last will be ready to plant out by the
middle of this month. Cucumbers like
a rather light rich loam, with a third
part of well-rotted mushroom-dung or
leaf-mould, sifted finely and well mixed

with the soil. If to be grown on trel-
lises near the glass, plant a plant every
2-feet run of the house. Plant deep,
up to the seed-leaf, and train the leader
without being stopped ; but stop the
lateral growths at each joint, where a
fruit, and in some cases two, will ap-
pear and swell. Water always with
water at 80° to 85°, and keep the night
temperature at 70°, giving more or less
air daily to prevent spindly growths.

Melons. — Plant out in a heavier and
less rich soil than recommended for
Cucumbers. Train them in the very
same way, and they will show fruit on
the second growth. Grow them with
less water than is required for Cucum-
bers, or they will be more subject to
make wood, and be more shy in flower-
ing than is desirable. Keep the tem-
perature the same as for Cucumbers,
and air regularly to prevent a thin de-
velopment of foliage and weak flowers.
Sow for succession crops.

French Beans. — See last month's
"Calendar." D. T.

JOTTINGS ON THE POTATO.

Must I plant large, middle-sized, or small Potatoes ? is a question often
asked by amateurs and the uninitiated ; and it is not to be wondered
at, considering the diversity of opinion held by practical men. You
will be told by one successful cultivator, large Potatoes are best for
sets ; another cultivator, whose authority on the subject may be quite
as weighty, will tell you not to plant large Potatoes, or your young Pota-
toes will be robbed of a great amount of nourishment when they most
require it. I have seen good crops of Potatoes from all kinds of sets ;
so I have come to the conclusion that soil and cultivation have more to
do with the proper development of the Potato than anything else, pro-
vided the season is favourable. We had very good crops of Potatoes
here last season — 800 lb. of Red Eegents from 96 square yards was
the largest and heaviest lot. We had also a splendid crop of Patter-
son's Victoria. The ground upon which they were grown is very black
and heavy. It was trenched in the autumn, and vegetable soil spread
over it when the Potatoes were planted. Middle-sized Potatoes were
used as sets for the Eegents, and large Potatoes for Patterson's Vic-
toria. They were planted about 6 inches deej), 2 feet between the
rows, and 18 inches between each plant. I noticed where there was a
particularly fine root, an extra quantity of vegetable soil was sure to
be near it. What I call vegetable soil is leaves and all kinds of rub-

96

THE GARDENER.

[Feb.

bish thrown into a lieap, gas-lime being mixed with it. We used gas-
lime for the first time three years ago ; since then, the crops of Pota-
toes have been much larger in size and quantity.

K. L. M. PtINGWOOD.

REPORT OF THE WEATHER. 1870.

Lambton Castle Gardens, Durham.

Januarij. — Rainfall, 1.93. Barometer Mean, 29.84. Thermometer Mean, 34

on the 27th.
Highest, 44 on the

Highest, 61 on the
Highest, 76 on the
Highest, 77 on the
Mean, 57.9. Highest, 81 on the 22d
T. Mean, 62.4. Highest, 87 on the

T. Mean, 39.2.
T. Mean, 48.5.
T. Mean, 52.6.

Highest, 45° on the 5th, 8th, 9th, 16th, and 18th. Lowest, 15

Fehriuiry. — 'SiaxnisW, 1.93. B. Mean, 29.96. T. Mean, 33.6.
4th and 8th. Lowest, 21 on the 25th.

Jf«rc/t.— Rainfall, 1.32. B. Mean, 29.99.
21st. Lowest, 22 on the 14th.

^^riV.— Rainfall, 0.S3. B. Mean, 30.09.
21st. Lowest, 27 on the 3d and 6th.

j/ay.— Rainfall, 1.29. B. Mean, 29.97.
31st. Lowest, 30 on the 5th.

Jtt«,e.— Rainfall, 1.47. B. Mean, 30.43, T
and 23d. Lowest, 39 on the 28th.

Jw/y.— Rainfall, 0.29. B. Mean, 29.99.
24th. Lowest, 42 on the 6th.

Axigust.—R^m^SiW, 2.23. B. Mean, 29.99. T. Mean, 57.4. Highest, 80 on the 6th
and 7th. Lowest, 36 on the 27th.

&p?e?ft&er.— Rainfall, 0.27. B. Mean, 30.07.
21st and 29th. Lowest, 29 on the 15th.

October.— Rainfall, 4.04. B. Mean, 29.58.
24th. Lowest. 28 on the 15th.

iVovemZ-e;-.— Rainfall, 3.6. B. Mean, 29.79.
1st. Lowest, 23 on the 8th, 15th, and 17th.

i)ece»i6er,— Rainfall, 4.8. B. Mean, 29.85.
19th. Lowest, 2 on the 31st.

Total for

T. Mean,

T. Mean, 47.0.
T. Mean, 38.5.
T. Mean, 31.6.

Highest, 70 on the
Highest, 68 on the
Highest, 57 on the
Highest, 55 on the

1870.

Rainfall, 24.44. B. Mean, 29.87. T. Mean, 46.3.
July. Lowest, 2 on the 31st of December.

The Rainfall here in 1869 was 25.76. B. Mean, 29.85. T.
89 on August the 29th. Lowest, 18 on December the 28th.

It would be interesting to hear of it from any other correspondent

Highest, 87 on the 24th of
Mean, 47.3. Highest,
J. H.

[The Editor begs to thank those friends who have favoured him with their
communications, and regrets that want of space compels him to postpone the
publication of some of them till March. It will further oblige if all matter
intended for publication, and questions to be replied to, be forwarded by the
middle of the month, written on one side of the paper only, and addressed as
directed in the * Gardener ' for December. It is also requested that writers forward
their name and address, not for publication, unless they wish it, but for the sake
of that mutual confidence which should exist between the Editor and those who
address him,]

R, L. M. I., George M 'Donald, G. Donaldson, R. Mackellar, J. Hammond, W.
Hinds, — Many thanks.

Errata. — In page 17, January Number, 10th line from bottom, read " Saynor "

1871.] NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 97

for "Raynor." In 12 th line from bottom, page 50, read "puberula" for "pu-
beriola."

Notice. — Double or triple price will be given for January number of ' Scot-
tish Gardener ' for 1866, if any one will forward the same to the Editor.

C. K., Pruning Vines Although we feel that the source of information to

which you refer is ample, we gladly accede to your request. Prune your Vines
immediately they have cast their leaves. As a rule, the spur system of pruning
is the best — that is, to cut back to one or at most two eyes from the main stem.
There are few exceptions to which this rule may not be applied in the case of
properly-ripened Vines. "VVe have not excepted even the Barbarossa, to which
your enclosed quotation applies. If well ripened, we have found it fruit freely
by close pruning. But we are under the impression that this Grape is more in-
fluenced as to its fruitfulness by soils than almost any other Vine — so much so,
that we have at times thought that there are varieties of it just as there are vari-
eties of Muscats and Hamburgs. The long-spur system — that is, the leaving
three or four eyes of young wood — may produce you larger-formed bunches than
closer pruning, but they will not be so compact and useful. As a rule, long
loose bunches do not make such large berries, have generally longer and more
slender stalks, and are more subject to shank and shrivel. Within two miles of
where we write are a set of Vines, including Muscats, Lady Dovvnes, Muscat
Hamburgs, Frontignacs, &c., that have yearly been so closely pruned that it
would be most difficult to discover even the vestige of an eye left, and these
Vines have produced and perfected magnificent bunches of the sorts named. If
Vines are not properly ripened, of course the chances of a crop are increased by
leaving two or three eyes instead of one — and that is all we feel disposed to say
for so pruning ; and in time Vines become exceedingly unsightly with long " cow-
horn " snags. The loose bark is best removed from Vines, because the crevices
afford shelter for insects ; but avoid scraping to the quick or tender live bark.
Your query was too late to be replied to in January,

J. S, C. — The following will suit your purpose : —

Palms. — Areca lutescens, Chamserops excelsa, C. Fortunii, C. humilis, C. pal-
metto ; Corypha australis, Seaforthia elegans, Thrinax parviflora, Latania bor-
bonica, Phoenix pumila.

Flne-foUaged Plants. — Araucaria excelsa, A. Cookii, Bambusa Fortunii varie-
gata, Coprosma Baueriana variegata, Centaurea ragusina, C. argentea plumosa,
C. gymnocarpa, Cineraria acanthafolia, Drac^na australis, D. indivisa, Coronilla
glauca variegata, Phophalia corcovadensis, Polemonium ceruleum variegatum,
Veronica Andersonii variegata.

Pelargoniums. — All the tricolor and variegated sorts ; none better than Man-
glesii properly trained.

Flowering -Plants — Heaths. — The more upright and compact growers, such as
Erica hyemalis, gracilis, ventricosa, Wilmorei, Cavendishianum, &c. ; Epiphyllums
of sorts ; Coronilla glauca ; Cjtisus, various ; Epacris of sorts j Azaleas of sorts ;
Clianthus Damperii, Libonia floribunda, Statice profusa, Fuchsias of sorts, Fairy
Roses, double-flowering Myrtle, Dielytra spectabilis, Deutzia gracilis, D, crenata,
Solanum capsicastrum, red berries ; Aucubas, red berries ; Skimmia japonica, red
berries; Otaheitian Oranges.

Ferns. — Adiantum cuneatum, A. affine, Alsophila australis, A. excelsa, Cheil-
anthes elegans, Davalia canariensis, Dicksonia antarctica, Gleichenia decarpa,
Lomaria gibba, Pteris argyrgea, P. cretica alba lineata, P. scaberula, P. longifolia.

Many of the British Ferns answer admirably.

98 THE GARDENER. [Feb. 187 i.

A Reader. — Cucumbers — Sion House Improved, Volunteer, Telegraph.
Melons, red-fleshed — Scarlet Gem, Malvern Hall; green-fleshed — Bromham
Hall, Golden Queen, Cocoa-nut, Onion, Dr Hogg.

Mr M'Kenzie. — Your questions embrace very wide subjects. The cause of
canker is generally considered to be a cold wet subsoil. Keasoning from these
premises, thorough drainage and planting on slightly-raised mounds of earth to
increase the temperature of the soil is the remedy. Some sorts of fruit-trees are
much more subject to canker than others, and such varieties as thrive best in any
such soil as referred to above, should predominate in forming a collection. Crown
and whip grafting are the best methods of grafting Pears and Apples.

A Workman. — If you cannot exclude frost from your frame, you cannot do
better than turn your attention to hardy spring bulbs for spring flowers, such as
Snowdrops, Crocus, Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissus, Primroses, &c. These would
keep your frame gay in spring, and to replace them in summer you could
perhaps manage to keep over winter, inside your window, such as Fuchsias,
Pelargoniums, Hydrangeas, Lily of the Nile, which, mixed with some of the
curious-looking succulent plants treated of in our pages this month, would
make your frame interesting in summer.

Maiden Pear-Trees and Pansies. — As you wish your trees to grow into
pyramids, train quite upright the main shoot, shortening back at once to where
the wood is well ripened and firm, and shorten back the lateral shoots at the base
to six or eight buds.

Pansy Box (Old Subscriber). — A Pansy Box to hold twelve blooms should be
134 inches long x 9^ inches wide, and the case for holding the stand, with a
cover to fit after the blooms are placed, should measure overall ih inches at back
and 3i inches in front. The box should be in two parts. The part on which the
blooms are laid should be made separate from the box that holds the stand, and
on a level with the rim of the outer case, the holes to be 3 i inches each way dis-
tant, and to be of an oval form, and the tubes for holding the water should be
If deep, and of a circular form and soldered to the bottom of the oval holes. Care
should be taken that the tubes should have a good slope to front at the bottom,
and not to be filled more than two parts of water when the blooms are put in.

Alexander. — Shorten back your Vines to about 3 feet at once, and two days
after dress the wounds with styptic, to prevent a chance of their bleeding. To
cut down to the weak buds, under your circumstances, is not to be recommended.
Your Vines should be left sufficiently long to reach to the top of the fruit-sash of
your vinery.

Education of Gardeners. — We do not see our way to open our pages to
tbe discussion of this subject, just now at any rate. There has been a deal of
nonsense uttered anent it ; and all that we have heard said about it of recent
years, we consider greatly inferior to what Mr Loudon wrote about it many
years ago.

Subscriber, Cambridge. — If your Lily of the Valley has produced foliage and
no bloom, the crowns must have been too weak and immature. Grow it on care-
fully this season, and if the crowns and leaves are very thick in the pots, thin out
the weakest of them and top-dress with rotten manure. AVhen well hardened off
plunge the pots outdoors in a sunny place, and attend carefully to their water-
ing, and keep the foliage healthy as long as possible ; and unless it is now very
weak indeed, it will make fine blooming crowns for next year. Do not expose it
till all danger from frost is past.

i

%

THE

GARDENER.

MARCH 1871.

PICTURESQUE BEDS.

LTHOUGHitis our desire by all means to avoid heap-
ing ridicule on the tastes of any, or to join in the hue and
cry against even the most feeble attempts at any style of
flower -gardening, we are, at the same time, of opinion
that the too exclusive application of garden establishments to one
phase of flower-gardening, beautiful and desirable though we hold
that phase to be, has been attended with detrimental effect. The
skilful grouping of various - coloured flowers and foliage is much
to be admired, and we have contributed our mite of assistance in
making it popular. At the same time, we were among the first to
point out its defects, and to attempt breaking up its monotonous out-
lines and flat surfaces. Like Chinese paintings and Chinese women, it
wanted what painters call "chiaroscuro," and was chargeable withtame-
ness and vapidity in everything but colour. It must therefore be
desirable to foster a taste for the more picturesque grouping and dis-
tribution of such graceful plants as are now within our reach, in very
considerable numbers and variety, suitable for outdoor embellishment
in summer and autumn.

To group such plants as Palms, Dracaenas, Yuccas, Agaves, Ficus,
&c. in dense masses, and in tame or formal beds, by way of breaking
up the monotony of our flower-gardens generally, might to a certain
extent remedy the evil complained of. But such a manner of dispos-

H

100 THE GARDENER. [March

ing of these plants can never do full justice to their own beautiful
outline. To mass such plants as are now referred to, hides their beauty
to a great extent, and would not be much less chargeable with the same
evils complained of in massing flowering-plants. They can exhibit
their peculiar grace and beauty of outline only when set in bold relief
to plants of different habit and of dwarfer stature than themselves.
There can scarcely be a doubt that more of an artist's skill is required
to carry out this style of planting effectively, than has been brought
into play by most of the colour massing that has yet been attempted.
It not only involves the cultivated arrangement of colours, but, what is
of most importance in this instance, the arrangement of outline also.

Although a great deal has been said about copying nature as the
desirable style, it is our impression that it is not easy to take up the
free and careless-looking ways of nature, and to apply them amidst the
formal outlines and surfaces forced upon us in the majority of gardens.
It may not be unjustly said of some attempts to copy nature, that they
are a sad burlesque and libel on the unerring hand that guides nature
in all its ways. "We think a garden should be a garden, and not a
glade or copse ; and think it is about as seemly and appropriate to
catch the clodhopper in his "high-lows," with hands like legs of mutton,
and send him to cope with courtiers, as it is to fix the locality of the
Rhubarb-and-Burdock style of plants where some would have them.
Most gardens are surrounded with plenty of nature's inimitable arrange-
ments and selections of plant life; and for the sake of variety we
want something different inside our gardens, to mingle its beauties
appropriately with the smooth velvety sward of green grass, the glit-
tering walk, the statue, and the vase, and that shall at the same time
relieve the vapid tameness to which at the outset we have referred.

It is our opinion that, to work out graceful and picturesque effects,
forms and combinations of beds different from those generally met
with in flower-gardens are not only desirable but indispensably
necessary. Oblong, and all beds approaching that shape, cannot be
considered well adapted for the style of grouping which it is our present
object to illustrate. Circular beds are capable of being made interest-
ing, but still not in themselves sufficiently removed from what may be
termed tameness to meet the want. The plate, which has been engraved
from a photograph, will do more towards illustrating what we want
to be at, perhaps, than much writing. The body of the bed is
what is sometimes contradictorily described as a hollow square, ter-
minating, with a sweep, into a circle at each of its corners. The whole
bed is considerably raised above the ground-level, and its surface is
shaped to correspond with its ground -plan. The four circles are
raised sphere-shaped, and from their junction with the body of the

iSyi.] PICTURESQUE BEDS. 101

bed, the ground sweeps away like a wave inwards and upwards to
the centre, where stands a large plant of Chamserops Fortunii, round
the base of which is a dense circle of Sedum spectabile, with its
glaucous foliage, and late in autumn its reddish-pink flowers. In the
centres of the four circles are match-plants of Yucca aloifolia vari-
egata. These five plants alone give a more bold and distinct aspect
to the bed than the photograph brings out ; and they are placed
so as to display their own characters to the very best advantage. To
intrude upon them with plants having lines and statures to compete
with them, would destroy the effect of both. A little inwards from
the junction of the circles with the body of the bed are single dwarf
plants of Corypha australis ; further inwards, and about 3 feet from
the margin in each side, are moderate-sized ISTew Zealand Flax; and a
few Ficus and other plants, thinly put in, give outline to the bed.
Round each Yucca there is a group of large Echeveria metallica. The
whole surface of the body of the bed is made up of Iresine Lindenii
and Centaurea Ragusina alternately. The margin all round consists
of two rows of the beautiful and most useful Pyrethrum Golden
Feather, which, from the bright golden-yellow of its ferny-looking leaves,
gives distinctness to the ground-plan of the bed when viewed from a
distance. The bed stands on a circular piece of smoothly-kept grass,
and forms the centre of a very extensive group of beds on grass, inter-
sected and surrounded with broad gravel -walks. The four circle-
terminating corners of the bed point to the centres of four very broad
gravel- walks which converge upon the circle of grass.

It will be remarked that in clothing this bed with foliage there is
not any attempt at minute and elaborate design or detail. Such
would not harmonise with the extreme simplicity yet boldness of the
position of the plants which give character to the bed. We have
never yet seen elaborate designs in planting a single bed that did not
appear a mere confusion when viewed from a distance. We consider
it much more desirable to dispose of a few telling and picturesque
specimen plants in this fashion, than to crowd a quantity of them to-
gether in given spots. The plants used from year to year may be
varied. We have used large plants of the fountain -like Dracaena
australis where the Chamaerops stands in this illustration, dwarf
plants of Dicksonia antarctica in place of the Coryphas, Phormiums in
place of the Yuccas. At other times we have such as large plants
of variegated American Aloes alternating with less rigid -growing
plants in the four circles, thus increasing the variety. A handsome
Chamserops in each of the circles, with a Dracaena australis in the
centre, and Agaves in place of the Coryphas, with Dracaenas in the
body of the bed, would be very effective. For carpeting the surface,

102 THE GARDENER. [March

lower-growing plants of diverse habits are most desirable. In the
warmest and most-sheltered parts of the country many of the more
tender Palms and Dracaenas, Crotons, Musas, &c., can be plunged out-
doors in similar beds with good effect ; especially such as may be
getting too large for the accommodation may be made to do duty in this
way for a season at least. On the other hand, there are hardy plants
available to those who cannot afford room to winter such plants as
those named above. They can fall back on the Gynerium, Arundo
conspicua, Phormium, and Yuccas, &c., and command variety without
having recourse to less persistent things, that are very well in their
proper positions, and which assuredly is not in beds like this.

We have seen attempts at mingling flowering-plants in beds like
this, but to produce effective combinations by such means must be
one of the matters yet to learn. Of course, this in individual cases
will, like most other things, be ruled by taste. But it is conceived that
beds of a character to ;^come under our heading require to be com-
posed of peculiar forms rather than of gay colours, especially as the
object of such beds is to throw more grace and beauty of outline where
it is conceived there is already more than enough of colour in propor-
tion to those features. To the single central specimen in the centre of
a large group of flowers we would make no objection, but in beds
where the object is to bring out all that is possible of the striking out-
line of a number of plants in one bed, we would certainly exclude
flowers if there were any other place for them.

Besides the bringing out of the individual features of such plants, there
is another reason why they should be planted in select variety at easy
distances ; namely, that there are few gardens indeed that can afford
space to grow and shelter them in sufiicient numbers to plant in denser
groups. There can be no question as to the bold and massive appear-
ance, in large grounds, of masses of Palms, Aralias, Yuccas, Caladiums,
Dracsenas, &c. Where there are resources sufficient to warrant such a
style of planting, few features are more desirable and noble-looking.
At the same time it would be simply ridiculous to introduce them
into cramped and unsheltered gardens. Then, again, few plants look
more forlorn than these if not in rude health. A few in good condi-
tion and more thinly planted are better fitted to please the eye and
relieve formal flower-gardening.

iSyi.] NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS. 103

NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS.

NO. III.

With a situation sheltered, yet fully exposed to the sun, a competent
supply of suitable soil, a good amount of moisture, without wetness,
and an occasional watering when exceptionally dry weather occurs
during the growing season, Rhododendrons will grow vigorously
enough for all practical purposes without being stimulated with manure
in any form. Over-luxuriance is neither necessary nor desirable. On
the contrary, when the primary object is abundance of bloom, it is
rather prejudicial than otherwise, causing them to devote an undue
amount of energy to the formation of mere wood, to the detriment of
the flower-buds — and often inducing a second growth, which seldom
ripens in time to escape damage from early frosts. Any tendency of
this kind, whether arising, as is frequently the case, from excessive
moisture at the root, or the soil being too rich, should be checked
when the young shoots are sufficiently advanced to make it desirable
that they should ripen and form their buds ; and this may be effected
by simply removing the soil from round the ball for a few days, or
pruning the roots moderately with the spade.

All the varieties, however, delight in rich manures, and in cases in
which the plants, by their weakly growths and sickly appearance,
indicate a deficiency of the supply of nourishment, an inch or two of
rotted manure, either forked in among the roots or laid on the surface
as a top-dressing, with a slight covering of sand or light soil, in the
course of the winter or early spring, will be found most beneficial ;
while the occasional application of a dose of liquid manure of medium
strength, when the roots are in an active state, and even when the
flowers are expanding, will work wonders in promoting their health
and enabling them to make robust shoots and fresh well-developed
leaves. We have seen a large collection, in which the plants had been for
years in a most unsatisfactory condition — rarely flowering, and producing
puny attenuated shoots — materially improved by such means. It may
at the same time be observed that such a state of things will not be
permanently remedied by mere stimulants, seeing that it is the result
of either an exhausted or unsuitable soil ; and the only effectual cure
consists in lifting the plants and completely renewing the compost.

Considerable diversity of opinion has prevailed among cultivators as
to which mode of propagation is best calculated to insure permanently
handsome and healthy specimens. Some have contended that plants on
their own roots, either obtained from seeds or layers, are superior to
such as are grafted. We believe, however, that no universal rule can
be laid down on the subject. All the species are easily raised, and

104 THE GARDENER. [March

make admirable plants from seed, but liybrid varieties will not thus
reproduce exactly the same characters as the parents ; while layering,
except in the case of the few sorts that are naturally dwarf and branch-
ing from the roots, such as "Caucasicum" and ^'Noblieanum," is at once
a tedious and expensive process, necessarily limited in its application,
and possessing few, if any, advantages over grafting. The plant so
operated upon is sacrificed, or at least hopelessly disfigured ; and, after
all, the product in young plants is at the most so trifling, as to afford
no compensation for the years of care necessary to make them present-
able in the permanent beds among other specimens. There are, more-
over, some of the richest-coloured and most attractive varieties which
on their own roots have a rank, robust habit of growth, and consequent
shyness in flowering, unfitting them for a place in general collections,
but which are modified by grafting, and rendered all that can be
desired.

The best and most commonly-used stocks for grafting are free-grown
seedlings of the robust form of the common Ponticum, and the future
wellbeing of the plants depends largely upon their being well selected.
If they are weakly and stunted to begin with, failure and disappoint-
ment will be the sure result, and no amount of cultural skill will ever
make them effective or creditable specimens. For the first two or three
years after grafting, the stocks, if healthy and vigorous, have a tendency
to throw up suckers from the root. These materially weaken the graft
if allowed to remain, and should be carefully removed ; and as it ac-
quires strength to absorb all the sap the root can supply, they will
gradually disappear. The finest specimens are produced from plants
on single stems, entirely clear of branches for at least 6 inches above
the root ; when they are intended to stand singly in prominent situa-
tions, even 12 or 18 inches will not be found, after a few years' growth,
too much. The lower branches soon bend down sufiiciently to clothe
the stem, while the head acquires a symmetry and uniformity of out-
line always pleasing, and which can never be attained by plants with
an irregular mass of stems emanating from the root. In ordinary sea-
sons, most of the varieties set their seed freely; indeed, almost all the
capsules will be found full ; but unless wanted specially, it should never
be allowed to ripen, as it entails a severe and unnecessary tax upon the
strength of the plant ; and the best course is, immediately after the
blossom is decayed, to pinch the trusses off, which at that early stage
may easily be done with the finger and thumb.

For forcing, to decorate the conservatory in winter, Ehododendrons
occupy an important place, and one for which it would not be easy to
find substitutes. A great many of the sorts are available for this pur-
pose j and by a judicious selection, along with skilful management, a

1871.] NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS. 105

constant succession may be secured from December till the genial
warmtli of spring and early summer tempts those that are outside to
expand their blooms. They should be potted as soon as possible after
the flower-buds are fully formed, and placed in an open sunny situation
out of doors until severe frost (to which they ought never to be ex-
posed) necessitates their removal to more comfortable quarters. The
earliest lot may be introduced into heat about the beginning or middle
of December, according to the time they are wanted in flower, or the
amount of heat that can be applied. From two to three weeks will
generally suffice in an ordinary plant-stove temperature to expand the
earliest varieties, while those that are later will require longer periods,
according to their natural season of flowering when out of doors.

In potting, the balls should never be reduced more than is absolutely
necessary. It should always be borne in mind that every root cut off
inflicts an injury upon the plant, and though they will expand their
blooms after being considerably mutilated and cramped into unnatur-
ally small pots, the evil effects of such treatment will be seen for years
after.

While forcing, a moist atmosphere should be constantly maintained,
the plants twice a-day syringed overhead, and the roots abundantly
supplied with tepid water, with an occasional dose of w^eak liquid man-
ure after the buds begin to swell. After the flowers are fully ex-
panded, and not a day before, as they will be completely checked and
make no further progress with a sudden change of temperature, they
may be transferred to the conservatory, where the more they are shaded
from the sun, the longer they will continue in perfection, adding to
its attractions, and eliciting from even the most unimpressionable of
its visitors the warmest expressions of admiration.

Forced plants, after their blooms are decayed, should be kept under
glass till such time as they can be put outside without danger of suf-
fering from frost, to which, after the heat they have been subjected to,
they are peculiarly susceptible ; and as they very rarely set a sufficient
number of buds the first season to make them eligible for the
following winter's work, they should be replanted in the borders
as soon as the weather is mild enough to permit its being done with
safety.

While all the varieties are available for forcing, and may be induced
by strong heat to flower considerably earlier than their natural season
out of doors, the subjoined list of the earliest flowerers comprises a
selection of the best sorts for forcing, to come in early in winter, or
for potting for the decoration of the conservatory in spring, with no
other heat than is necessary to exclude frost : those in the first division
are most effective in the open air in mild springs, but so early that they

106 THE GARDENER. [March

can never be depended upon ; the others, though blooming in May, in
ordinary seasons escape damage from frost.

FinsT Division— E A r.LiEST Varieties.

Albertus superb — Light pink, changing in strong heat to an almost pure white ;
a free-blooming easily-forced variety.

Caucasicum — Straw colour, changing to white when under glass ; of a dwarf
bushy habit ; a very profuse bloomer.

Caucasicum grandiflorum — Slightly darker in colour, and more robust in habit
than the above.

Ciliatum — A very dwarf hardy Himalayan species, pure white, resembling
Azalea Indica alba ; a most profuse bloomer.

Cinnamomeum — "White, with black spots ; flowers freely when grafted.

Cinnamomeum hybridum — Pure white, dark spots, dwarf bushy habit.

Dauricum — Rosy purple, very profuse ; a deciduous species, admirable for very
early flowering.

Dauricum atrovirens — Deeper in colour, semi- evergreen ; otherwise like the
species.

Diadem — Clear pink, habit of Caucasicum.

Noblieanum — Dark damask, in some varieties light pink ; of dwarf bushy
habit ; forces with great facility ; a well-known and popular variety, not yet sur-
passed for early forcing. »

Noblieanum album — White, with dark spots ; similar in habit to the above.

Proecox— Lilac, in appearance like Dauricum, of which it is a hybrid, but more
compact in habit ; a profuse bloomer and a first-rate forcing variety.

Proecox rubrum — Rosy-lilac, same in habit and general appearance as the pre-
ceding.

Venus — Pale silvery blush, dwarf and bushy in habit, and free in flowering.

Second Division — Later Vapjeties.

Alta-Clarense — Dark scarlet, finely spotted ; a free bloomer when grafted.

Alstrcemeroides — Bright rose, spotted on all the petals.

Campanulatum^ — Delicate blush, dark spots.

Campanulatum hybridum — "White, reddish spots; dwarfer in habit than the
species.

Caucasicum pictum — Blush, beautifully spotted with crimson, fine foliage,
dwarf habit, and free bloomer.

Comet — Fiery crimson.

Eclipse — Dark crimson.

Gloire de Gandavensis — "White, finely spotted.

Jacksonii — Light rose, dark spots ; profuse bloomer.

Lavinia — Rose.

Medora — Light rose, intensely spotted.

Princeps — Light crimson ; free bloomer.

Regalia — Crimson, large flowers.

Russellianum — Scarlet, robust habit.

Russellianum superbum — Dark scarlet.

Smithii elegans — Fine scarlet, black spots.

Venustum — Light crimson ; free bloomer.

Verschaffeltii — Blush, much spotted. Hugh Feaser.

iSyi.] STRAWBERRY FORCING. 107

STRAWBEKRY FORCING.

A WOED about varieties in the first place. Up till six years ago we
imagined Keen's Seedling could not be surpassed for forcing pur-
poses. At that time our experience was confined principally to Mid-
lothian. Since then it has lain in Yorkshire, and Keen's Seedling
has proved to be truly the very worst kind we have tried, either for
forcing or outdoor cropping. In 1865 we propagated 1000 plants
of Keens for forcing from the stock we found here. They were
prepared early, and made splendid plants, with crowns like one's
thumb, broad massive leaves, and the pots almost bursting with roots.
We anticipated nothing less than an extraordinary crop, but not more
than thirty or forty plants showed flower, though forced gently under
advantageous circumstances. It was such a disappointment as we
should not like to experience again. Thinking that the stock from
which they were derived was probably run out, we bought an entirely
new lot of Keen's Seedling from a trustworthy source — Prince of
Wales, Black Prince, Sir Harry, and other kinds, — planted them early
in spring, and propagated plants from them for that season's forcing,
being careful to have four or five varieties, including 200 Keens.
The result was exactly the same. Out of the above number about
a dozen fruited ; but the crops from Prince of Wales and Black Prince
were all that could be desired. Since then we have stuck to these
two sorts principally, and we have found no others that we have
experimented with to approach them for sure bearing ; not one in a
hundred misses. We tried Keens under diff'erent conditions outdoors
for three seasons, with no better results ; and so we discarded it alto-
gether, as we afterwards found others in this neighbourhood had done
for the same reasons. Under these circumstances, we cannot advise
any one on this point, but will leave them to be guided by their own
experience, or the experience of others in the district in which they
are located.

Earliness is everything in preparing Strawberries for forcing ; and
for this reason we layer our plants the moment we can get hold of the
point beyond the first runner. Layering the runners in small pots,
according to the common practice, is perfectly needless. Indeed, we
are inclined to think it is a bad plan ; at all events, it is a waste of
time and material to no purpose whatever. We therefore just lay a
flat ridge of sharp light soil between the Strawberry rows, and layer
the runners on this, and water them frequently in dry weather, which
causes them to root and grow quickly, and gives fine plants at potting-
time, that soon fill the pots with roots. When ready for potting, they
are taken up with a trowel. They come away with nice balls, and

108 THE GARDENER. [March

take to their sliift just as readily as if they had been transferred from
small pots, for we have tried them both ways, and side by side. Many
err in using too largo pots for Strawberries. They should never be
less than -ii-inch size, nor larger than 6-inch, according to the variety.
In potting, the soil should be made very firm about the plants, and
particularly under them, which will prevent the roots from congre-
gating chiefly among the crocks at the bottom of the pot.

The fruiting-time is the most interesting, and also the most import-
ant, stage in the culture of Strawberries in pots. A fine crop of fruit
in March and April, and onwards, is an object worthy of any gar-
dener's ambition, and covers other deficiencies. Some gardeners lay
great stress upon having Strawberries very early — say in January or
February — and will sacrifice both plants and crop to accomplish such
a feat ; but barring the fact that they are ^Strawberries, such early fruit
are the most insipid morsels any one can eat, and require a powerful
efi'ort of the imagination, and a considerable quantity of sugar, to realise
that you are eating Strawberries at all.

People must of course be guided by circumstances ; but, as a general
rule, it will be found more satisfactory, where Strawberries are forced
in quantity, to bear two things in mind : the first is, never to send
Strawberries to table till they are fit to eat ; the second, never to send
them till you can follow up with your reserves at least two or three
times a-week, and as soon as possible every day. With these two
ideas before us, we never attempt having ripe fruit till after the
middle of March ; and to insure a good and continuous pulling, we
always introduce 300 plants into heat at a time. If they come in too
fast, they can easily be kept back in a cool house, and with great
advantage to the fruit. The practice of placing saucers under the
pots to hold water is not to be commended. The water will stand in
the saucers, and the Strawberry, not being an aquatic, will sufi'er ; the
roots rot, the soil in the pots gets sour and sodden, and complete
failure is the result. To avoid these evils, we get our saucers made to
order, with a small hole in the bottom of each like a flower-pot.
When we are about to introduce a lot of plants into heat, we first get
the required number of saucers, lay a small crock over the hole in
the bottom of each, fill them level full of good loam, set them upon
the shelves in the Strawberry-house as close together as they will sit,
and set the pots upon them. Even before the flower-scapes are up
the roots will have taken possession of the soil to such an extent
through the bottom of the pot, that the saucers will cling to them
when the pots are lifted up. Any one may guess what a marvellous
effect the fresh supply of soil has upon the berries and general health
of the plants. As very little of the soil in the saucers is exposed to

iSyi.] TABLE AND ROOM DECORATION. 109

evaporation, it retains the moisture twice as long as the soil in tlie
pots, and the plants seldom require to be watered more than once in
the twenty-four hours, even in the driest w^eather. Black Prince
swells off extraordinary crops with us under this treatment. The fruit
is not much less in general than good- sized Keen's Seedling ; in fact,
we rely upon it for a fill-basket, adding a score or two of Prince of
Wales as "toppers," as it swells to a large size.

Forcing should be commenced at a temperature of 45°, rising gradu-
ally to 60^ or 65°, when the plants come into bloom, allowing it at
times to run up 10° or 15° by sun heat. Every berry will set, even of
the earliest batches, if the flowers are impregnated with a camel's-hair
pencil, which well repays the trouble. Unformed berries, so often
seen in forced Strawberries, are the result of imperfect fertilisation,
and represent so much loss of fruit, sometimes a great deal. Unless
every pip is fertilised, the fruit will be deformed more or less, just
like a Pine-Apple in which some of the pips have missed setting.
We once saw a whole house of Pines, which, in consequence of a
check they had received at the blooming period, had missed setting
generally about the middle of the fruit. They had an imbecile look
about them that was altogether comic ! The later batches of Straw-
berries set with less difficulty. An occasional good syringing with
clean water during fine weather helps to insure a good "set." We
practise this Avith Peaches also, and Muscat Grapes, with the best
results. From the time a Straw^berry plant is first potted until the
last fruit is pulled it should never be allowed to flag for want of
w^ater. J. Simpson.

WOETLEY.

TABLE AND EOOM DECORATION.

Perhaps of all plants for winter decoration, as far as colour is con-
cerned, there is not one to be compared with the Poinsettia pulcherrima
for effect ; it is a stove weed for facility of management, easily propa-
gated from the young wood, easily grown, and easily accommodated
when at rest. Plants of it can be had in bloom from 4 inches to 10
or 12 feet high. It is a gauky plant, but we like it for its gaukiness ;
its habit is a protest of nature against torturing into the dignity of a
specimen — that is, what are usually known as specimens.

We have about nine dozen natural specimens struck about the first and
second weeks of August last and onwards, and dozens of them have
flowers 16 inches across in pots from 4 to 9 inches diameter, and have
been liberally top-dressed with all but raw sheep's manure. For de-
coration of large stands they are grand, or with a common white Azalea

110 THE GARDENER. [March

in the middle, surrounded by a band of Poiusettias and edged with Eran-
themum pulchellum, a rich combination of colour is made. About this
same Eranthemum, a very old-fashioned plant, it is a gem for winter
decoration liberally managed, and withstands, or rather enjoys, the
heat of rooms. With plenty of light, it is grown as easily as a Geranium
into an orthodox specimen of any size as round as a bee-hive. Small
plants also struck in August and grown strong give beautiful balls of
bloom in January, and are easily had in quantity. It associates well
with Crocus, Snowdrops, Tulips, and Primulas, as edgings for baskets,
stands, or groups, and beats Scillas for colour. A much-neglected old
plant for winter decoration, and one of the richest in colouring, is
Justicia formosa : liberally treated, and grown in the full sun to ripen,
it will continue for months a dense sheet of blossom, and can be had
from 4 inches to as many feet.

Euphorbia jacquiniflora should be grown planted out for cutting from.
The back wall of any warm pit or house, and not necessarily warm at the
root, will suit it well. Three little plants about 1 foot high each in 4-inch
pots were planted out against a cold wall of a Melon-house last August ;
the single shoot, bent down horizontally, very soon broke at every eye.
Now those plants have six to eight branches 4|- feet long, and a thick
mass of flowers for 18 inches of their length.

A few old planted-out plants trained to a wall will supply quanti-
ties of bloom in winter. The peculiar bend in the spike of bloom
makes it awkward to fit into bouquets ; but we find it makes a rich
edging to baskets and vases by bending it round the margin, and peg-
ging the long bow-shaped spikes to a bed of moist moss. It makes a
brilliant scarlet wreath to the edge of a basket. This Euphorbia is
second only to Poinsettia for pot-culture for winter work.

Cuttings of Salvia splendens taken from plants grown in the open
air in September, and struck in large sixties, will flower profusely in a
little heat all winter, and are most valuable for combination in stands
or vases. Imperial blue Ageratum can be managed in the same way,
and will supply neat little potfuls of blue flowers all winter in a little
heat. These are all very common things, but none the less useful for
making pretty combinations for effect in winter — quantities of small
plants giving greater facilities for change than a few large specimens
of the same things.

The common stove Ferns, such as Adiantums and Pterises, can be
readily raised in quantity from seed. These can be made useful for table
decoration and small shallow vases by mixing them in shallow pans
or flower-pot flats with rooted bits of Poinsettia in September ; and
grown on a little, they can be turned out like a sod, and appropriated
in many ways.

iSyi.] TABLE AND ROOM DECORATION. Ill

How to decorate a dinner-table is a question not easy to answer in
words, so much depends on the utensils used and other accessories; but
it will be found a very simple matter generally with a liberal supply
of materials. Miniature flower-borders made of tin troughs from 1
to 2 inches wide, filled with sand and flowers, and of every variety of
shape, have become very fashionable of late years for table decoration.
However toyish they may be, they are very elegant and pretty when taste-
fully arranged, and a light description of plant used for the middle of the
table, such as Cyperis alternifolius. Cocas Weddelliana, or the narrow-
leaved Dracaenas. Eor fringing these little borders, besides Ferns we flnd
the flat sprigs of Cupressus Lawsoniana very useful, and nothing more
pretty in winter when materials are scarce. The leaves of the various
varieties of Coleus, such as Queen Victoria, Baroness Rothschild, or
Duke of Edinburgh, are also very pretty as margins. Each section of
the design should have a character of its own, and should be balanced
like a well-planted flower-garden.

When a table is of sufficient size, a great variety of design can be
made with a plateau of glass, covering the whole of the middle of the
table, on which lakes and lawn and rock work can be produced in
miniature, to imitate a landscape view. Small Ferns and Lycopods are
indispensable for this sort of work, which must not be attempted
without a great variety of small plants specially got ready for the pur-
pose— Lycopodium densum and L. denticulatum grown in broad shal-
low patches, so as to be easily turned out in match pairs and healthy
tufts in small pots for filling in. We have seen designs of this
description repeatedly arranged on the table-cloth, and they have a
very novel and pretty eff'ect by candle-light.

In arranging cut flowers in stands, vases, or glasses, the tastes of
gardeners and of employers differ. If the latter, the gardener must fol-
low suite. We sometimes see flowers made up to a compact face, and
close like a Covent Garden bouquet, as round as an inverted basin or
pyramidal as a loaf of sugar, with the flowers arranged to contrast in
geometrical uniformity — as, for instance, different varieties of Verbenas
arranged according to their colours, or Chrysanthemums, in winter.
We think this a very material or mechanical taste. Colours in a vase of
flowers should certainly be blended with an eye to their contrast and
effect ; and no eye of real taste would tolerate an ill-balanced, mis-
shapely vase of flowers ; but we think it should be done with something
of nature's freedom, light and graceful. The necessity of the case
may be sufficient apology for the packing and building expended
on a hand bouquet, but there is no such excuse for the table bouquet
arranged on moss or sand ; indeed, many of the best of flowers of
a spikate habit, such as Liliums, Calanthes, Hyemalis Heaths or

112 THE GARDENER. [March

Hyacinths, defy tlie packing process. Flowers should, therefore, be
cut with as long stalks as possible ; even Geraniums, however averse
we may be to the sacrifice, ought to be cut with a piece of the
wood and foliage. Tliere is nothing more easy than to overdo
the decoration of the dinner-table ; the butler thinks of the exhibition
of his gold and silver, the gardener is expected to put in his best
appearance — the conflicting elements combined often result in some-
thing like an attractive stand at a bazaar. Since the fashion of table
ct la Russe was imported, and dining-tables no longer groaning under
the weight of roast-beef, nothing should be introduced out of keeping with
the companionship of the dessert. The view from the level of the eye,
when the guest is seated, should be uninterrupted; so that specimen or
bush plants, however well grown or flowered, should be confined to the
drawing-room, unless grown as standards — then small plants of Azaleas
or Rhododendrons are admissible, Roses, and such things as Cytisus,
drooping Acacias, and standard Geraniums, of whatever sorts, but
especially the cut-leaved sorts, as the old Lady Plymouth, or the new
variegated Ivy leaves. The Squire's Gardener.

HINTS FOR AMATEURS.— MARCH.

There should be little work left to be done among fruit-trees this
month ; but often a press of work elsewhere prevents some from doing
what is required at the proper time. We have often planted late in
April with tolerable success, but would not recommend it to be done
if it could be avoided. Mulching, to keep out drought, instead of
doing it to keep the roots dry and free from frost (as in autumn plant-
ing), will have to be carefully attended to, and watering done if soil
should become very dry. Give one good soaking and have done with it :
this, when mulching is used, is generally enough. Young trees should
not be fastened tightly to walls, tfec, until they have sunk asfar as the
soil will allow them ; and they should be examined frequently to see
that the ties or shreds are not injuring the bark, as they are sure to
do if the trees sink much. Give protection to fruit-buds with canvas.
Spruce branches, or whatever may be used. "Wide copings of boards
are much in favour with some, and when they are made to move
easily off and on, they give little trouble, and are useful, when fruit is
ripe and ripening, for throwing off wet. Figs on walls, wrapt up in
straw, &c., may be only partially uncovered, as severe frost may yet
be experienced. Bush fruits, left unpruned to keep them safe from
birds, may now have attention. Dustings of lime and white threads

iSyi.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 113

crossed over the bushes is practised by some to keep off birds. No
hard unbroken surfaces should be left, either among bushes or fruit-
trees. If Apricots or Peaches flower very freely, careful thinning of
the flower-buds will be of advantage to let the best-placed ones
expand freely. On weakly trees a good crop is rarely had when
flowers are extra thick.

Lawns, flower-beds, and borders may require a little extra attention
this month. Beds requiring manure may be better if supplied with
some fresh earth instead. A quantity of road-scrapings, and the par-
ings of walk or road edges, often make a healthy dressing. Deeply
working and exposing ground for flowers is quite as necessary as doing
it for vegetables. By way of illustration, we have received from a
neighbour a quantity of stuff, which was taken from ttie bottom of an
old pond, a few inches of which has been spread over the surface of
the beds in the flower-garden, which were previously turned up to the
weather. The dressing, which was laid on the surface in frozen
lumps, is now broken down like powder, and will be forked evenly
into the flower-beds. Though we have plenty of old hot-bed manure
on hand, this fresh dressing will act more beneficially, being less
likely to give rank growth and few flowers. Heavy soil may be
much improved by adding to it a little sand, burnt earth, and vege-
table mould. Shrubs should have all dead branches cut out. Limbs
taking the lead should be cut within bounds, and where specimen
shrubs or trees are wanted, they should be kept well clear of each
other. Clipping is now wisely avoided by most cultivators, but a
knife unskilfully used is nearly as bad. When young tops are con-
tinually lopped off, the shrubs become matted and stiff, with quanti-
ties of dead wood in the hearts of them. Cut well into the stronger
wood, which will shoot out with vigour, and the bush or tree (except
where cutting right down is done) should not appear as if it had been
touched. Gravelling and turning of walks should now be done with-
out delay. Keep them smooth and firm with the roller. Every part
of the garden or grounds now should have a cheerful and tidy appear-
ance.

Roses may now be pruned : as a rule, weakly growers should be cut
well back, and, if desirable, the stronger shoots layered for rooting to
make fresh plants ; besides this old practice of layering, the strong
wood of Roses forming masses in the beds gives them a grand appear-
ance when they are in flower. Stronger-growing kinds do best with
thinning and little shortening ; all surface dressings may be forked in
at convenience. Roses (with the view of keeping them late) are often
pruned as late as the middle of April : stake standards and pillar Roses
securely. If annuals are wanted early in summer they may be

114 THE GARDENER. [March

sown soon, but for a late display late in April is early enough. Hardy
annuals coming in flower should be kept free from weeds, the surfaces
of the beds kept open, and the plants prevented from becoming
matted together, as they would rot in wet weather. Mignonette and
Sweet Peas, and all kinds of hardy perennials, may now be sown.
Pansy, Polyanthus, Auricula seed, may now be sown — if under a glass
light, so much the better. Cover lightly and dust with small coal-
ashes, as slugs soon find out the young seedlings. All bedding plants
may now be propagated without delay. Harden those rooted carefully
and by degrees, pot the rooted cuttings and keep them growing
steadily with as much sun as they will bear, and when well established
they may have the lights drawn off in mild weather. Guard against
sudden changes ; and when plants are wet they suffer more quickly
from cold than when they are dry. Carnations, Picotees, Pansies,
and similar plants to bloom in pots, may be shifted when the roots
have well filled the soil. Topdressing with rich healthy stuff and
liquid manure in a weakly state may be given to all gross feeders.
Hyacinths, Lily of the Valley, Tulips, and similar plants flowering
in pots, will consume quantities of healthy liquid manure. Plants for
windows, greenhouses, and frames will now require attention ; boxes
for windows, if empty, should be well washed, drainage holes exa-
mined, and paint used for the outside if necessary. Stocks, Mignonette,
Nemophila Insignis, Petunias, Pelargoniums of the Tom Thumb class,
Gazanias, (Enotheroe, Heliotrope, are among some of the leading
favourites for windows, and all are easily grown ; good healthy
loam and a little sand suits them ; some of the artificial manures
used as directed on their cases is of great service to amateurs,
especially those in towns. Greenhouse plants may all be over-
hauled now that the growing season has commenced. Those
which were previously cut back and breaking out fresh may be
shifted into larger pots, or the roots reduced and placed into the same
size or smaller ; Azaleas, Heaths, Epacris, and a number of similar
plants, require peat, sand, and charcoal, with little or no loam ; many
others do well with half loam and peat, and sand to keep the whole
open ; Acacias, Cytisus, Pimeleas, and Camelias are among this class —
the latter does well in turfy loam and charcoal. As a rule, beginners can
judge what soil is required by turning the plants out carefully from
their pots, and examining the soil they have been growing in, and if
there is health and vigour in the roots, fresh material of the same kind
may be given if necessary. Keep foliage clean by washing and syring-
ing when it can be safely done, and water with great care after newly
potting the plants. Making the soil sodden is destruction to most
plants, especially those with fine roots. When potting is done, plenty

1871.] VINES AND VINE -BORDERS. 115

of drainage should be placed in the bottoms of the pots compactly,
and a little moss can often be used over the drainage. Place some of
the rougher part of the material at bottom, and add it round the ball
of the plant, leaving no vacant space ; plenty of room should be left
for watering. Plants grown in peat alone require firm potting and
plenty of drainage. If loam is heavy, extra drainage will be required.
Water all plants under glass with tepid water, at least as warm as the
temperature they are growing in. Give moisture in the morning till
nights are warmer. Give air early to all plants requiring it. Firing
should only be given when its absence cannot be dispensed with.
Use stakes only as necessary evils, and hide them by the branches they
are tied to, as far as it can be done. Compactness without stiff for-
mality is desirable. Decaying leaves and dirty pots are very injur-
ious to the health of all plants. When small seeds are sown, little
covering should be given, and rather fine soil allowed. Balsams,
Cockscombs, Stocks, Asters, Rodanthes, Primulas, and Cinerarias are
among those small seeds which will now or very soon require careful
sowing, and placed in warmth. M. T.

VINES AND VINE-B ORDERS.

I AM glad Mr Wm. Thomson has again brought the subject of Vines
and Vine-borders under the notice of the readers of the ' Gardener.' I
agree with him that there is yet much to be said on the subject of
border-making and the after-management of Vines.

In reference to that part of his paper which treats of the usual mode
of raising young Vines, it cannot be doubted that the system he de-
scribes is opposed to the future w^elldoing of the Amines.

Growing Vines during the earlier stages of their existence in rich
soil, wdth the addition of bottom-heat, is a practice that cannot be too
soon done away with. Then, as stated by Mr Thomson, the crowding
of the canes during the growing season precludes the possibility of
their acquiring the conditions necessary to constitute " strong planting
canes."

That Vines grown under such circumstances are made to assume,
through a liberal application of fire-heat, the appearance of being ripe,
I admit. But are they so? or in a condition to fulfil the end in view?
are questions I answer in the negative.

Nurserymen have recourse to this mode of treatment that they may
produce in the shortest possible time canes that in point of thickness
will satisfy their customer. But, other conditions being wanting, the

I

116 THE GARDENER. [March

strength of a cane is no test whatever of its fitness to become a thriving
permanent \'me. However, I would not reject a cane on account of its
strength, providing it possessed what I consider other essential qualities;
that is, a number (the more the better) of well-ripened roots. The
roots require ripening as much as the canes. When they are not
ripened the result will be as described by Mr Thomson ; nine-tenths
of them, unless specially protected, will perish during the winter.
Eyes should be plump and large in proportion to the strength of the
canes ; the latter thoroughly ripened, short-jointed, and exhibiting a
small proportion of pith. AVhen these conditions are present, be the
thickness of the cane what it may, it presents to the cultivator a sound
subject to begin with.

I will now give a short account of a set of twelve Vines which I
planted some years since, nine of which were raised as follows : The
first week in January the eyes were put into a box filled with a com-
post similar to that used for striking Geraniums and other soft- wooded
l^lants, and placed on a shelf near the glass in the propagating-pit.
When they had made roots 2 inches long they were carefully trans-
ferred without injury to the roots into 9-inch pots, the pots being care-
fully drained and filled with a compost consisting of one-half road-
scrapings and one-half chopped turf that had lain for about eight
months in a heap. No manure of any description was used. They
were kept in the propagating-pit for eight days, when they were re-
moved to the front stage of a light span-roofed compartment, where the
temperature averaged about GO''. Here they remained until they had
finished their growth ; no stopping of either leading shoots or laterals
was resorted to, there being a sufficiency of room for them to develop
themselves in. At the end of the season they had made leaders from
7 to 9 feet long, and ripe to almost the very points, with fine plump
eyes ; but the thickest portion of any of the canes did not measure over
J of an inch in circumference.

The following spring, to make up the required number, three Vines
were ordered from a first-class nursery. On their arrival our home
growth looked small indeed by the side of the new-comers.

The border, &c., being in readiness to receive the plants, they were
turned out of the pots and the soil washed from their roots. This
operation gave ns the best possible means of seeing the difference
between the roots of the respective canes. Those of the new-comers
were few in number, but of considerable length, free from fibres, they
having disappeared in the process of washing.

The home-grown canes exhibited a mass of small fibrous roots hard
in texture, and few of them over 3 feet in length. Now for results.
All received exactly the same treatment. The purchased canes, so far

1871.] THE PRUNING OF FRUIT-TREES. 117

as looks were concerned, had the advantage for the first two months
after ' planting, but from that time it ceased, and for the next five
years, — the time I had charge of them, — the small, well-rooted canes
exhibited their superiority by a more vigorous growth, the wood less
pithy and easier ripened, the bunches generally compacter and shorter
in the foot-stalks. Now here was an instance showing the importance
of having thoroughly-ripened, well-rooted canes to begin with. Had
aU of them been of the same description as those which only partially
succeeded, the failure would in all probability have been attribut-ed to
some fault in the materials of which the border was made,

J. H.

THE PRUNIISTG- OF FRUIT-TREES.

Fruit-trees, when well trained, either on walls or as standards, are
quite a feature in any garden. They are at all times pleasing, when
pruned, in flower, and in fruit. The taste for hardy-fruit culture is
greatly on the increase, if we may form an estimate by the thousands
of handsome trees annually sent out by our leading nurserymen, and
that find their way, in no small numbers, even north of the Grampians.
We are frequently asked by farmers and amateurs to give them the
names of a few good Apple-trees, and to tell them how they should be
pruned; for they add, " we do not like large trees." Should this come
under the notice of any similarly situated, we advise them to order
any or all of the foUoAving sorts : Stirling Castle, Lord Suffield, Hill's
Seedling, Cellini, Maiden's Blush, Ecklinville, Potts' Seedling, Manks
Codling, Yellow Ingestrie, Winter Nonsuch, Oslin Pippin, and London
Pippin. The above-named kinds are well worth growing : they are
hardy, healthy, and free-bearing. The amateur should order the trees
early in the autumn, and be particular not to plant them deep ; give
each a panful of water to settle the soil about them, and avoid tramp-
ing round their roots. Now, as regards pruning, we say, do not spare
the knife. If you want your trees well furnished to the ground, cut
back every shoot of the present year's growth to 6 inches. If you wish
your trees to develop themselves outward, cut to an outside bud ; if
there is a vacant space on the right or left hand side, then cut to that
bud accordingly. Clear away all growths having an inward tendency ;
do not allow any shoot to come in contact with or cross over another ;
keep the centres of the trees or bushes open, and in a few years they
will assume a circular form, and may be grown to a considerable height
according to the taste of the cultivator : when so treated, the fruit is not
liable to be shaken by an untimely wind. If the soil is of a loamy

118 THE GARDENER. [March

nature, and the trees make strong growths (in the autumn), partly lift
their roots, but do not cut them back unless they have sustained some
injury in the taking up; spread them carefully out and cover nicely up
again. The result (the following season) will be short growths, with
abundance of well-swelled fruit-buds. If the soil is poor, a dressing
of rotted manure covered with soil will be found beneficial to the roots.
We do not recommend summer pinching or jiruning for standard trees ;
we leave it all till winter, when the trees are dormant and do not sulfer
from such operations. We believe there are more fruit-trees spoilt for
want of the knife than with it (this does not apply to orchard-house
trees). The above remarks are not our theory only, but our practice. From
where we write there are between three and four hundred fruit-trees
under the knife. They are not all treated alike, different kinds of fruits
and modes of training being considered ; but as a rule we are careful to
cut to a bud, and hold that where there is no rule there is an absence of
regularity ; therefore we protest against indiscriminate pruning. We
have even gone so far as to count the branches on each side of some of
our wall-trees, and wlien not equal have sacrificed the extra numbers; we
have also made use of a stake to raise a pyramid to its perpendicular,
therefore we must confess that we admire symmetry of outline and
systematic training ; nevertheless it is a fact patent to fruit-growers
that the great bulk of fruits sent to our markets are gathered from
unpruned trees ; but quality is not one of their characteristics. This
subject has been referred to recently in a leading article in a contem-
porary, and followed up by your intelligent correspondent, "The
Squire's Gardener."

It is not for argument's sake we ask the question. Are unpruned
fruit-trees admissible in a walled garden 1 We should be pleased to
see this honestly discussed in the ' Gardener ;' for ourselves, we should
as soon advocate a hay-crop in the flower-garden, on the score of
economy, as allow fruit-trees in a walled garden to form themselves
into hedgerow timber sjpecimens. G. Donaldson.

Keith Hall.

SUCCULENTS.

Those who have been in the habit of visiting Battersea Park, South
Kensington, Ivew, and other places around London, including some of
the large nursery establishments, during the last two years or so,
cannot have failed to notice the evident symptoms of what I may call
the "succulent fever ; " and if they have come away without catching
the infection themselves, their horticultural constitution must have

1871.] SUCCULENTS. 119

been in a vigorous condition, and free from all predisposing causes in
that way. I leave your readers to turn this into a compliment or
otherwise as may suit them.

But, really, one can hardly form any idea, from a single specimen, of
the adaptability of this class of plants for bedding purposes. The
unique, entirely novel, and rich effect which they produce, either
mixed or arranged in figures, must be seen to be understood and
appreciated, after which no end of possible combinations and arrange-
ments will occur to the mind.

With the smaller kinds of Echeverias, Sempervivums, Sedums, &c.,
a miniature style of bedding has been originated, very suitable for
some places ; while for rockeries, either on a large or small scale, they
are particularly adapted. jSTo doubt many of your readers may have
noticed examples of the above kind, during the last summer, at South
Kensington, Messrs Yeitch's nursery, and other places; while the large
circle at Kew afforded a good example of what could be done on a
larger scale with the same materials, though in this case the details
were rather overdone. In the Succulent-house at Kew we also noticed
many things that are likely to be yet added to this class of bedders,
though scarce and expensive at present. Those who wish to make a
selection should, when they have an opportunity, visit Mr Parker's
nursery, Tooting, where a wonderful collection of Succulents has been
accumulated of all the present available kinds, including some hybrids
of the Echeveria class that are likely to prove grand acquisitions by-
and-by. The following kinds are what we have selected for ourselves
at different times, and are amongst the best and most effective of the
class, though by no means exhausting the stock. Those marked * are
the best of the kinds named : — '^Echeveria metallica, '^E. secunda
glauca, *E. grandiflora, E. retusa glauca, *E. secunda glauca major
and E. glauca metallica, two hybrids ; Aloe lingua ; '-'Eochea falcata ;
*Sempervivum canariense, S. urbicum, S. hirtum, *S. globiferum, S.
arachnoideum, S. sulphureum, S. montanum, S. tectorum, '^S. cali-
fornicum, S. repens; '-'Sedum brevifolium, "^Sedum hispanicum, Sedum
luridum; ''^ Patchy phy tum bracteatum; *^onium arboreum,^.atropur-
pureum, '"^^E. variegatum ; Saxifraga pectinata ; "^Klemia repens. To
these may be added Yucca variegata, Y. quadricolor, and others, with
good effect ; the different kinds of Aloes, Crassulas, Gasterias, Cactus,
Saxifragas — in fact, few of the succulent tribe come amiss that will
stand out-doors ; but they must be kept by themselves, for they ill
assort with the ordinary class of bedding-plants — I mean in intimate
combination, though some of the forthcoming hybrid Echeverias are
likely to prove grand things in the way of flowering- plants.

All the Echeverias are easily propagated by seed, though the larger

120 THE GARDENER. [March

kinds make plants but slowly in this way. The " Secunda " varieties
produce offsets abundantly, "Metallica" more sparingly; but either
oflfsets or cuttings root freely in a temperature of 55° or 60°. Cut-
tings of E. metallica and grandiliora and other large kinds should be
put into 4 or 5 inch pots at once, singly, and supported with pegs,
and left undisturbed till rooted. Tops of old plants may be cut off
and treated in this way without fear of failure, and if the stumps are
kept in a growing temperature — say a warm greenhouse — they will
continue to sprout and afford stock for more cuttings. If allowed to
stand in a cold house they will damp off irrecoverably. The Semper-
vivums are easily propagated by offsets, and most of the others
succeed by cuttings. All want planting thickly, however, in bedding-
out, and a large stock is therefore required for a few beds. The
Sedums I have named are good for carpeting small beds, and form
an effective groundwork for dotting the larger Succulents over. E.
metallica makes a noble bed, particularly when the flower-spikes get
up in autumn ; and an edging of E. secunda glauca sets it off to
advantage. Nothing, however, we think, surpasses a mixed bed of all
varieties, w^hen judiciously done, and in certain situations ; while
those who have ample materials and other accessories may try their
hand at miniature alpine scenery, but such attempts need to be
carried out with great taste and judgment, or a paltry caricature will
be the result. For small window-rockeries, however, all the smaller
Succulents are beautifully adapted, and will succeed almost anywhere,
and require very little attention. In fact, as I said before, they are
adapted for many different situations and designs, and those who
have not already got a stock of - them, I would advise to set about
accumulating one at once, for it will be some time before they get up
a quantity. J. Simpson.

WORTLEY.

[This paper was written for the ' Gardener ' for February, but kept back on
account of the space taken up with our illustrated paper on the same subject. —

Ed.]

FIGS.

Your correspondent, Mr James ]\I'Millan, in his treatise on hardy
fruits last month, gives a lengthy description of the cultivation of the
Fig j still the few following remarks I have felt desirous of making
may perhaps be of service to some of your readers.

The first house of Figs that ever I saw cultivated in a first-class
manner was at Sion House about five j^ears ago. It was a lean-to

iSyi.] FIGS. 121

structure about the size of an ordinary vinery, say 50 feet long by
about 18 feet wide. Trees were planted out in it in front and trained
up a trellis like Vines ; and trees were also planted, if I remember
right, at the back wall, and trained up to the top and down the roof
again to meet the others. The shoots were all trained at free-and-easy
distances apart without any fixed rule to go by ; the principal thing
seemed to be to give them all an equal share of light and air. The
points of the young shoots in this case were all bruised at the fourth
or fifth leaf instead of being pinched, as is usually done, which was
considered a better plan to prevent so much bleeding. Such a
crop of Figs I certainly never before heard of or expected to see ;
and when in the house I could not imagine whether it mostly pro-
ceeded from the soil or from the other superior management. Un-
doubtedly both must have played their parts well, but I could not
see anything particular in the way of training, or anything else to
account for the result ; yet the fruit was so plentiful that literally
they appeared to be strung in some places with the first and second
crops like ropes of Onions all along the branches. The soil certainly
must have been most favourable to the highest culture. It was a
rich friable loam ; and the other management must also have been
thoroughly adapted to produce the most successful results, and which
was said to be very similar to that usually given to Vines. Well,
shortly after seeing this example of most successful management, I was
placed in charge of, among other things, a house of Figs. It was a
lean-to also, similar in length, though not nearly so wide, as the one
mentioned. Figs were planted out and trained up the back wall as be-
fore ; but the arrangement of the house otherwise was so far different,
that a row of plants went along the front in large pots instead of being
planted out. The treatment of this house was in every particular as
good, as we thought, as could be, being always attended to as far as
temperature, watering, destroying red-spider, &c., was concerned: yet,
strange to say, no fruit in quantity could be got. The plants showed
plenty of fruit at first, and for some time afterwards, but as soon as
they came to be about the size of pigeons' eggs they always fell off.
This happened for several successive years, though everything was tried
that could be thought of to prevent it. However, still yet another plan
presented itself for adoption. That was to allow a more vigorous and
rampant growth to the branches. The plants, therefore, for a season
were all allowed to grow almost wild ; and, strange to say, the first year
afterwards fruit in abundance was produced. The soil used, I may say,
was of a heavy, sometimes irony-looking loam, being that of the neigh-
bourhood ; and the kinds were such as the Brown Turkey, White Mar-
seilles, Lee's Perpetual, Early Violette, a first-rate kind, &c.

122 THE GARDENER. [March

Daring a short stay last autumn in the Isle of Wight, I had the
pleasure of seeing, in an old kitchen-garden, an old Fig-tree Avith per-
haps the finest crop of fruit on it I ever saw. It had once been trained
to a wall, from which for years its branches had got quite away. The
crop was plentiful, rich in appearance, and pleasant to the taste.
The rampant character of the branches forcibly reminded me of the
Figs I have just described. lioBERT Mackellau. ,

PLANTS SUITABIjE POE, WINTER DECORATION
AT MESSRS VEITCH'S.

Business called me to London in the first week of the new year, and I thought
I would try and glean some information that would be useful to the readers
of the ' Gardener' : with this object in view, I paid a visit to ]\Iessrs Veitch's
Eoyal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea. To give a description of these extensive nur-
series is not my intention ; I merely made a few notes of some of the most
useful plants for decorative purposes at this dull season of the year, and with-
out any further preface I place them before your readers.

"What are called "foliage plants" have been introduced in large numbers of
late years, and of this class the Palm holds undoubtedly the first place. They
ai-e just as useful in winter as they are in summer, and are adapted for the small-
est as well as for the largest houses, and for table decoration they are- always
ready when wanted. There is a very large and select collection here ; some
of them, can also be obtained at a cheap rate.

Of the most desirable Palms there is Areca lutescens. Plants of this can
be grown 3 feet high in 5 -inch pots; it has elegant pinnate leaves, and is a
fine table variety. Areca Verschaffeltii is a noble and graceful Palm, the leaves
beautifully arched and pendulous. Geonoma Scottiana is another fine variety
well adapted for table decoration.

Of fan-leaved Palms there is Livistonia altissima and L. rotundifolia, both very
beautiful. Stephensonia grandifolia and Verschaffeltii splendida are majestic-
growing plants, with very large entire leaves, and are only adapted for large
houses. There is here a most beautiful specimen of Cocos Weddelliana. The
plant is in an 11-inch pot, is 5 feet high, and as much through the spread of the
leaves. This is certainly the most graceful and elegant Palm yet introduced to
English gardens ; the stem is slender, leaves pinnate and beautifully arched.
Messrs Veitch's plant is now throwing up three flower-spikes.

Of Palms that succeed in a greenhouse temperature, there is Chamserops ex-
celsa, Fortunei, and humilis ; of these, Fortunei has proved to be hardy in some
parts of England. There is also a variegated form of the well-known Eaphis
flabelliformis, introduced froai Japan, where it has long been cultivated for orna-
mental purposes. Seaforthia elegans is a well-known and very beautiful Palm :
S. robusta, or Areca Bauerii, a very noble greenhouse variety.

The Yucca is another plant which forms a distinct and striking feature in the
conservatory. There is a large house, light and airy, built on the ridge-and-fur-
row principle, entirely devoted to this class of plants. Conspicuous in the back-

iSyi.] PLANTS SUITABLE FOR DECORATION. 123

ground is a noble specimen of Phormium tenax variegatum. This is a variegated
forna of the well-known New Zealand flax. The leaves are distinctly marked with
broad stripes of creamy yellow. This plant is 6 feet high and 9 feet through.
Phormium Colensoi is of smaller growth, with the variegation more distinct. Of
Yuccas the most desirable is Y. aloifolia variegata. This forms a special feature
in the conservatory in winter, and is much used by exhibitors at the London
exhibitions in collections of " foliage plants. " Y. quadricolor is not often seen
of a large size, but it will supersede the other when it is more plentiful. It has
a dull-crimson band running down the centre of the leaf. I find the colours are
brighter and deeper if the plants are growing close to the glass, and air freely
admitted around them. There is also a fine variegated form of Y. filamentosa,
the leaves broadly edged and striped with pure white. Y. alba-spica, with very
distinct narrow filamentose leaves ; Y. filifera, with broader leaves in the same
way.

Of stove-plants with ornamental foliage, lately introduced, there are numerous
fine examples ; notable amongst them is a new Pandanad — Pandanus Veitchii.
This, I am inclined to believe, will be a grand exhibition plant ; it is of vigorous
habit, and the leaves are handsomely striped with pure white. Croton undula-
tum ; the leaves of this, when full grown, are glossy purple, blotched and spotted
with crimson. In a young state the ground-colour of the leaves is yellow.
It is well adapted for table decoration, as the colours have a fine efi'ect by
night.

Of the new Dractenas, D. Macleayi is a very ornamental broad-leaved sort,
of a robust compact habit, dark bronzy-brown in colour, with a rich metallic
gloss. D. regina, another variety with broad leaves ; the colour is green, with
half the leaf edged and variegated with creamy white. D. Guilfoylei is a very
fine species, with narrow leaves, striped with white and bright rosy-red. This
is certainly a highly ornamental variety, and succeeds in a cool house. "

The Nepenthes is largely grown at Chelsea, and no stove-plant house, where a
temperature of fx'om 60° to 65° can be maintained during winter, should be
without a few of them. Cultivated in baskets, they are very novel and effec-
tive. A span-roof house, 30 feet by 16, is filled with them. Nepenthes Eafiles-
iana is a general favourite ; it has large beautifully - coloured pitchers, which
will hold a pint of water when full grown. N, Hookeri ; even in small plants,
the pitchers are highly coloured. N. hybrida maculata, a cross between N.
distillatoria and a small Bornean species, forms pitchers more freely than any
of the others. N. Sedenii, a very pretty hybrid to be sent out in the spring.
In all, there are about a dozen species and varieties cultivated. Nearly all the
Nepenthes require a high temperature. N. phyllamphora is an exception ; it
is a very free-growing species.

There are not many stove-plants in flower. I noticed a very, pretty Begonia
named insignis ; this is the best of the winter-flowering sorts. Aphelandra aur-
antiaca Roezlii : of this there are some nice plants in 5-inch pots from 8 to 12
inches high, with from three to four heads of beautiful bright orange-scarlet
flowers. Urceolina aurea is also in flower all the winter ; its umbels of pretty
drooping flowers, golden-tipped with white and green, have a charming appearance.
Anthurium Scherzerianum, with its singular inflorescence of the most brilliant
scarlet colour, is a special feature in our stoves during winter. I have had
flowers which lasted in beauty for three months: there is said to be a white variety;
it is a rara avis, if such a plant is in existence in this country : at all events, there
are two varieties of the scarlet form of A. Scherzerianum ; one is superior to the
other.

124 THE GARDENER. [INIarch

The paucity of flower in the plant-stoves is quite made up for by the beauty of
some of the winter-flowering Orchids. Foremost amongst them was a fine spike
of Saccolabium giganteum introduced by the ^Messrs Veitch from Rangoon. I
well remember the delight of Mr Ijateman when it was exhibited at one of the
Royal Horticultural Society's meetings in December. This is the only winter-
flowering Saccolabium; it is also deliciously scented. The beautiful little Sophro-
nitis grandiilora is now in full beauty, as also is Odontoglossom pulchellum ;
this has white flowers, and is held in high estimation by the ladies. Barkeria
Skinnerii is nearly over. Liulia albida, L. acuminata, L. anceps, and L.
Dawsonii, are now in flower. There was also a fine spike of Odontoglossum
Alexandra3. This is perhaps one of the most useful Orchids in cultivation : it is
easily cultivated, and may be had in flower every month in the year. Dendrobium
nobile is a well-known useful species ; and coming into flower were plants of
Dendrobium crassinoda, a very remarkable Dendrobe, with singularly-formed and
naked stems on which are borne upwards of two dozen most distinct and beautiful
flowers. These are 2 4 inches in diameter, white, tipped with purple, with a dark
orange lip tipped with rosy purple. There are also some immensely large plants
of Coelogyne cristata ; this is a grand Orchid in flower between now and March.
Lycaste Skinnerii, and its variety alba, are fine cool-house winter-flowering Orchids.
A fine plant of Angraecum sesquipedale was coming into bloom, with its bold,
singular-looking, waxy-white flowers ; it requires a large amount of heat and
moisture.

Flowering in a greenhouse temperature are some fine specimens of Lapageria
rosea and L. alba : of the last named there are fine specimens trained to umbrella
trellises ; the pendulous white flowers hanging from the outer edge of the trellis
are very effective. Linum trigynum is in flower all the winter in a temperature
of 50'^ ; the flowers are a deep orange yellow. In the same house with the Linum
I observed a small plant of Rhododendron Princess Royal, and Mr Dominy in-
formed me that from a large plant a truss of flowers could be cut nearly all the year
round. In one of the cold span-roof pits are a number of small plants of the sin-
gularCalifornian pitcher-plant, Darlingtonia Californica. It can be wintered in a cold
frame. The plants were throwing up suckers very freely, and they were in small
pots, growing in a mixture of peat, sphagnum, and silver sand, with a few broken
crocks to keep the material open. The pots should also stand on a cool damp
bottom. J. D.

January 5.

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS.

{Continued from page 76.)
THE MULBEREY.
Although there are several varieties of this excellent yet much-neglected fruit,
the only one, so far as we are aware, which is in general cultivation in Britain, is
the Morus nigra or black Mulberry. It is very easy of propagation and after-
management, although in certain circumstances it has proved itself to be very
shy in bearing until the tree had attained some considerable age.

The Mulberry may be propagated either from seed, by laj^ers, suckers, or by
cuttings. Budding, grafting, and inarching are sometimes adopted, but as there
are no good or permanent results to be obtained thereby, there is no need to refer
further to these modes of propagation. When young trees are to be raised from

1871.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 125

seed, the fruit should be rubbed between the finger and thumb in a basin of water
until the seed is separated from the pulp. After having been thoroughly washed
it must be well dried, and afterwards laid past in a cool dry situation till spring.
The seed may be sown either indoors in heat or out of doors in a sheltered situa-
tion about the end of April. The former method we consider the best, as by
this means the plants are much stronger and more healthy, and if well managed
will make better trees in a much shorter space of time. The end of February or
beginning of March the seed may be sown in pots in nice rich soil of a lightish
nature, having a good proportion of leaf-mould, and be placed for a few weeks in
an early vinery or gentle hot-bed. As soon as the young plants have reached the
height of an inch or so, they ought to be gradually hardened off, so that by the
time they are 3 or 4 inches in height they will be fit for planting in nursery-
lines — say a foot between the lines, and 3 or 4 inches in the line. During the
first winter they will be all the better for a slight covering to protect them
from frost. In spring they may be cut back to a few eyes, after which the
training will depend entirely upon the taste and form of tree the cultivator
may desire.

The propagation of the Mulberry by layers is a very simple process, and the one
generally practised by nurserymen, as by this means larger trees can be obtained
in a given time than by any other. This operation may be performed almost any
time from October till March, and may be accomplished according to the follow-
ing method : If suitable branches can be obtained near the ground, all that is
necessary is to cut off a piece of the bark of the branch, or, what is perhaps better,
make a ring from which the bark is to be taken, after which the branch may be
bent down and securely fixed into a nice, light, and moderately-rich soil. If the
branch is not more than three years of age, it should be ready for separation from
the parent tree in a year afterwards. If the branch is older than this, then the
longer will be the time before this can be done. After having been cut off from
the tree it ought to be well cared for, and nursed for a year or two, at the end of
which time it may be placed into its permanent quarters, and should begin to
bear when six or seven years of age. As every one knows what a sucker is, suffice
it to say that when detached from the tree it must be planted as already recom-
mended for layers, and well attended to for a year or two.

Cuttings are generally made from the young wood, having a heel of two-year-
old wood attached. Cuttings of older wood will, however, root well enough, but
they require longer time to accomplish it. Cuttings make more symmetrical and
finer trees than layers, and come into bearing much about the same age ; but a
tree raised from a cutting will not be more than half the size at six years of age
of one from a layer. The cuttings, having been made with a nice sharp knife, may
be put into small pots singly, the pot being filled with light rich soil having a
good admixture of river or other sand ; and, if plunged in a gentle hot-bed, will
make nice little plants the first season. Two or three buds at most are enough to
leave upon each cutting; and after they have made a start the strongest one may
remain, and the others be removed. Cuttings made as above directed, and plant-
ed in lines in autumn, will also make good plants in the course of the following
season. It is said that cuttings made of wood of several years' growth will also
root readily ; so that if this be the case, much time and labour might be avoided
by adopting this method.

The Mulberry will grow in any good garden-soil, but succeeds best in a good
rich loam of a lightish texture. It will also be found to succeed best where
there is a considerable amount of moisture and a pretty heavy rainfall ; so that
the cultivator need not be over-particular regarding drainage, if so be that he

126 THE GARDENER. [March

makes sure that the water does not remain in the soil so as to make it sodden
or sour.

With regard to the situation most suitable for the Mulberry, it is only-
necessary to say that that will depend entirely upon circumstances. In the
w\armer and more southern counties of England it does very well as an orchard
standard, but, as a rule, in the more northern counties it requires a wall ;
while in Scotland it is absolutely necessary not only to place it on a wall,
but also to give it a southern exposure if the fruit is wanted in perfection.
In some cases it is also desirable to assist the ripening of the wood with a
little fire-heat, as we find that, placed in similar circumstances with the Peach,
it requires much the same position, and the same treatment with regard to the
ripening of the wood and the buds. Here, in one of the worst counties of
Scotland, we have it planted both as a standard and as a wall-tree, and we
only can get first-class fruit by assisting, not only the ripening of the wood,
but also the fruit itself. For this purpose we apply a little fire -heat about
the beginning of September when the fruit begins to colour; and from that
time till the middle, and sometimes the end, of October, we have a regular
supply of first - rate fruit. It is very different, however, with the standard ;
for although it yearly produces a regular crop of fruit, these invariably do not
attain to more than half-size, are of a reddish-pink colour, as sour as vinegar,
and drop off. Those, therefore, who wish to grow the Mulberry to perfection,
must be guided by circumstances with regard to the position it is to occupy.

The next thing for consideration is the mode of training to be adopted. Of
course if it is to be a standard, all that will be necessary is to form a leader,
which, after it has attained the desired height, may be cut to encourage the
formation of side-branches, to make the tree. After the tree has begun to take
a form, all that will be necessary will be to regulate the branches to prevent
overcrowding — no stopping or pinching of any sort being required. In the
case of a tree for the wall, the horizontal mode of training is the best and
most suitable. Like the Peach, it produces fruit upon the wood of the former
year, and, like the Apple and Pear, upon spurs formed upon the older wood.
In cutting the shoots along the main branches at the pruning season, 2 or 3
inches of wood may be left the first season, which, in the course of a few
years, will form a regular fruit - bearing spur. This may appear to some a
rather rough-and-ready way of obtaining a spur, but we find that, if a short
spur only is left, there are small chances of it soon producing flower - buds.
As already hinted, the leader should in no case be cut back, more especially
in an old abundant - bearing tree, as very often the greater part of the buds
upon the shoot may prove to be flower-buds.

In a former part of this paper we have said that the Mulberry often proves
very obstinate in producing fruit until such time as it has arrived at a certain
stage of its existence. This has been attributed to various causes, amongst
others to over-luxuriance. "Whether or not this be the primary cause we can-
not tell, but the more immediate cause of it is the production of male flowers
and the total want of female ones. The Mulberry being monoecious — that is,
producing the male and female on the same tree, yet in different flowers — it
is very obvious that if only the one sex be produced the tree will be
barren. Those whose botanical knowledge is not capable of distinguishing the
sexes in the flower, can easily understand whether or not this be the case by
attending to the following : If at the flowering-season all the flowers drop, and
none remain to swell into fruit, then the cause is the want of female blossoms;
if on the other hand, a portion of them remain till half swollen, and then

iSyi.] METROPOLITAN FLORAL SOCIETY. 127

drop, the probability is that the cause is something else. It may either be
the want of sunshine, the want of moisture, or a superabundance of it at the
root. The cure for the first is the application of fire - heat ; of the second,
attending to the watering and mulching of the roots in a dry season ; and of
the third, to ascertain whether the drains be in good working order, and that
there be not a superabundance of stagnant water lodging about the roots.

Although not sure, yet we are inclined to think that the cause of the pro-
duction of male flowers only is in a great measure traceable to over-luxuriance ;
for it is found that root - pruning, ringing the trunk or branches, and such-
like, have induced, in a remarkable degree, the early fruitfulness of the tree.
AVe have not practised either of these plans, for we find that fruitfulness is
readily produced by the twisting and bending of the branches. The old tree
on the wall here, covering, as it does, some 700 or 800 square feet, has never,
so far as I am aware, been subjected to either of the above processes, yet my
predecessor informs me that it has been an abundant bearer from its earliest
years. There is not one inch of all the space occupied by it which is not
covered with fruit-bearing spurs, and this state of things was induced by the
twisting and bending process already referred to. In winter, no doubt, the
tree does not present such a pretty appearance as if beautifully trained; but
when summer comes, and the verdant tapestry of green adorns the red brick
wall, what matters it, as the eye of the most searching could not tell how it
is trained ? and then when autumn comes, with its groaning load of luscious
sweet, is it not better that the twisting has been done in preference to the
possession of a barren yet well-trained tree ? Care, however, must be taken
not to entirely destroy the bx'anch. All that is necessary is to gently twist
and slightly injure, without entirely destroying, the cellular tissue, after which
the branch may be trained snake-like fashion — this is by an alternate elevation
and depression without entirely destroying the principles of horizontal training.
I have often thought that if the roots were confined into a very limited space,
something like the manner recommended for the Fig, it might prove of miich
benefit to the tree, by inducing an early and constant fruitfulness. It would,
at all events, be worthy of trial, as if it did no good, it certainly would
do no harm. The pruning of the Mulberry should not be done till well over
in spring, as there is sometimes a difiiculty in distinguishing the fruit from the
flower-buds until they have begun to develop themselves.

So far as we are aware, red-spider is the only insect which ever attacks the
Mulberry, and this only in very rare circumstances ; and as we have so often
already spoken of its cause and cure, there is no need to repeat here what
has been repeatedly said before. With regard to diseases, the Mulberry is
entirely exempt from these in Britain. James M'Millan,

{To he continued.)

METROPOLITAN FLORAL SOCIETY.

We are much gratified to learn that the committee of this Society intend holding
several exhibitions this year; and from the marked success of last year, there is
little doubt but that it will be well supported. There was no question as to its
being a medium for exhibitors much required, as the great number sending pro-
ductions fully proved. According to the schedule of prizes now before us for

128 THE GARDENER. [March

the ensuing year, no one can find fault with the liberal amounts offered; and
■what will please many is that some of our neglected but most beautiful florists'
flowers are laudably included in the list. This we cannot help thinking is,
indeed, a step in the right direction. Who amongst us but remembers the
delighted groups that used to surround the stands of Carnations, Pinks, Dahlias,
&c., in years gone by ?— but there has of late years been a sad falling off among
these old favourites. But we think — as we have reason to know many others do
—that such liberal and energetic measures as the Metropolitan Floral Society
are using, and the cordial co-operation of florists in general, will once more raise
our old favourites to their proper place at our exhibitions. We think it will not
be out of place if we venture to name some of the best varieties of the dififerent
florists' flowers that we know possess every qualification for exhibition pur-
poses.

Auriculas.

Green-edged. — Smith's Lycurgus, Lee's Colonel Taylor, Page's Champion, Hud-
son's Apollo, Headly's Conductor, Traill's General Neill.

Grey-edged. — Headly's George Lightbody, Cheetham's Lancashire Hero, Tur-
ner's Competitor, Lightbody's Richard Headly, Turner's Ensign, Turner's Colonel
Champneys.

White-edged. Heap's Smiling Beauty, Taylor's Favourite, Lee's Earl Gros-

venor, Taylor's Glory, Campbell's Robert Burns, Cheetham's Countess of Wilton.

Sdfs. — jSTetherwood's Othello, Martin's Mrs Sturrock, Turner's Cheerfulness,
Sim's Eliza, Spalding's Blackbird, Turner's Webster.

Carnations.

Scarlet Bharres. — Daniel's Dreadnought, Paxley's William Pitt, Holliday's
Lord Rancliffe, Bunn's Lord Lewisham.

Crimson Bizarres. — Wood's Rifleman, Kirtland's Colonel North, Wood's An-
thony Dennis, Wood's Eccentric Jack.

Pink and Purple Bizarres.— May's Falconbridge, Paxley's Shakespeare, Sealey's
Princess-Royal, Young's Twyford Perfection.

Picrple Flalces.— Foster's Dr Foster, Taylor's True Blue, Sealey's Florence
Nightingale, Elliott's Earl Stamford.

Scarlet Flakes. — Gibbon's Mr Battersby, Jackson's Anuihilator, Wood's William
Cowper, Hedderly's Sportsman.

Pose Flakes. — May's King John, Brook's Flora's Garland, Whitehead's John
Keet, Wood's James Merryweather, __

PiCOTEES.

Red-edged. — Fellowes's Linda, Elkington's Exhibition, Kirtland's Lord Yalentia,
Norman's Colonel Clerk, Taylor's Miss Turner, Taylor's Forester, Turner's Mrs
Reynolds Hole, Norman's Mrs Norman.

Pmyle-cdgcd. — Turner's Admiration, Simmonite's Mary, Simmonite's Mrs
Summers, Read's Frances, Fellowes's Nimrod, Turner's Jessie, Simmonite's
Ganymede, Turner's Lady Elcho.

Pose-edged.— Kirtland's Empress Eugenie, Payne's Purity, Wood's Mrs Rol-
lings, Taylor's Mrs Fisher, Gibbon's Gem of Roses, Fellowes's Pauline, Norman's
Miss Williams, Taylor's Lucy.

Pinks.

Turner's Eustace, Turner's Mildred, Turner's Blondin, Turner's Bertram,
Turner's Sebastian, Turner's Sabina, Turner's Maude, Hooper's Attraction,
Maclean's Device, Battersby's Emily, Kirtland's Invincible, Turner's Lord Her-

iSyi.] MUSHROOM -GROWING. 129

bert, Turner's Marion, Kirtland's Rev, Geo. Jeans, Hooper's Victory, Turner's
Edwin, Harris's Excelsior, Harris's Genevieve, Turner's President, Haclean's John
Ball,' Hooper's Lady Craven, Haclean's Annie, Haclean's Constance, Turner's
Cristabel. John Ball.

[We gladly give these remarks and lists a place in our pages, as we desire to
aid in reviving a taste for these now rather neglected beauties. — Ed.]

MUSH ROOM- GROWING.

I BEG to lay before the readers of your valuable magazine a short
account of a plan by which I have known Mushrooms successfully
grown for the last four years. It may be considered as being after
the style of the French cave-system, described at length by some hor-
ticultural writers lately; but, so far as I am aware, it was adopted,
through suitability of circumstances, in a gentleman's place in one of
the midland counties many years before. The floor of a potting-shed,
which is 10 feet broad by about 40 feet long, was dug out to a depth
of about 7 feet ; it was of a rocky nature, on good natural drainage,
and a wooden floor was substituted, which left underneath a chamber
of which you may have an idea. In forming this sunk apart-
ment, three suitable openings were left on its top, at distances
apart, and by these the prepared manure is taken in for the beds, as
well as the spent material taken out to clear the way. On the flat
below, six good-sized Mushroom-beds are made up in it annually,
which, with the assistance of other two beds made up in an adjoining
storeroom, produce a sufficient supply of Mushrooms to serve the
family all the year round, without any other artificial heat, or, I may
say, any great trouble. The beds are made up according to the usual
directions given for the purpose, only in collecting the manure for use
it is found to be quite unnecessary to gather it so very free from straw,
and in getting it ready into dry condition afterwards ; it is considered
better (and I adopt a similar method) to allow it to ferment in large
heaps together for a few days at a time, and then turning it out and
repeating the same process for a few times, mixing it perhaps with
some dry earth at hand in preference to spreading it out thinly and
turning it over every morning, as is so frequently done. After the
beds have been made up, and their heat falls to a little below 80°, it
is then considered time the spawn was put in. In a few days after
this operation is performed, a coating of common soil 2 inches thick
is put over the beds, and smoothed down firmly with the back of the
spade. In a few days, when the heat of the beds has fallen a few
degrees lower, a good covering of soft hay is placed over them (or,

130 THE GARDENER. [March

what would be still better, straw hurdles upheld on, say, two or three
bricks, as temporary supports, to keep them clear of the beds, and also
perhaps covered with hay), which helps considerably to husband the
remaining warmth. In a little over six weeks the Mushrooms appear,
and in this instance I have seen as good crops of that worthy esculent
produced as in places of far greater pretensions. Therefore it is evi-
dent that there are many other places in the country, that even many
farmers could take advantage of, where, although the convenience
cannot be called first-rate, good Mushrooms may be produced in
many ways after a somewhat similar method.

Robert Mackellar.

REMARKS ON THE CULTIVATION" OF THE
MUSHROOM.

I MEAN to allude particularly to the soil I use in the construction of the beds.
In autumn I select soil from the places where Mushrooms grow most abundantly,
remove it about 6 inches deep, and replace with other turf if necessary. A few
cartloads are sufficient for several beds, and it ought to be protected from frost and
wet. I put about 2 inches on the surface of the beds, mixed with a small portion
of manure, and also mix some soil with the manure in the formation of the beds.
I find the produce more abundant and better in quality since I used the soil from
the places where the Mushrooms naturally grow. S. Koss.

HiGHcr.ERE Castle Gardens, Hants.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT HOLLYHOCKS.

The Hollyhock is not so generally grown as its decorative qualities
entitle it to. When grown amongst shrubs in situations moderately
sheltered, few plants produce a finer floral display during the autumn
months. The great drawback to its cultivation is the liability of the
plants to get broken with the winds; but if secured when 18 inches
high to suitable stakes, this objection is at once got over. At planting-
time give each plant a few spadefuls of rotten manure, and if possible
a little fresh soil ; press the earth firmly round the plants ; and if
the ground is dry, give a good watering. In due time stake each
plant, and as the stems advance in growth, secure them thereto with
strong ties of matting. If the above simple hints are attended to,
the result in most instances will be satisfactory.

When Hollyhocks are grown for exhibition, they must have a plot of
ground devoted to themselves ; let the situation be as sheltered as
possible, but not near to anything that would in the least obstruct the

iSyi.] HAEDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 131

noonday sun or a free circulation of air. To produce spikes such as
are seen at some of our horticultural shows, requires a rich soil. To
secure this, let the ground be trenched in autumn, adding, as the work
proceeds, a liberal supply of good manure. When the trenching is
complete, give the surface a dressing 2 or 3 inches thick of the best
manure procurable ; the winter rains will wash the best parts of it
into the soil, and when planting-time comes, a slight forking is all
that is required to make the bed in readiness to receive the plants.
The plants should not be put out until all danger from severe frost is
past, say the end of March or beginning of April. Let the plants
stand 3 feet apart in the lines, and 5 feet from line to line. AVhen
finished planting, if the ground is moderately dry (which it should be,
as it is a bad plan to plant when the soil is over-wet), make the sur-
face rather firm by giving the whole a gentle treading with the feet.
Place at once over each plant some Spruce or other evergreen branches,
as a protection against frost and cutting winds ; as if they get frozen
to any extent, the spikes are i^ever so fine. As soon as all danger from
frost is past, remove the protection, examine each plant, and see that
all are firm in the soil. Let only one stem rise from a plant, and nip
out all laterals as they appear. JSTever allow the plants to suffer for
want of water ; and as soon as flov/er-buds are formed, mulch the beds
wdth rotten manure. I prefer this to giving manure-water, as the latter,
unless applied with judgment, has a tendency to make the plants grow
by fits and starts, thereby causing irregularity in the build of the
spikes, a fault which neither length of spike. nor- size of blooms wdll
compensate for. In most instances two flower-buds will start from
the axil of each leaf ; nip out the smaller of the two j and in any case
of crowding, thin to the requisite number. During the three weeks
preceding the show^, the spikes must be protected from rain and strong
sun. This in the case of the Hollyhock is not so readily accomplished,
but it is necessary to the production of clean spikes ; and the culti-
vator must not neglect it, as by doing so he will destroy his chance of
attaining the end in view. J. H.

NOTES ON HABDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS.

{Continued from page 42.)

Lilium — Lily. — This is a grand and much-admired genus of bulbous plants.
They are beautiful mixed-border subjects, the taller species being fine back-
ground plants, and the dwarfer ones in fitting positions are equally telling and
desirable in mixed arrangements. The strong growers are also beautiful objects
when planted amongst dwarf shrubs, in such a way as that their inflorescence may

K

132 THE GARDENER. [March

he seen overtopping the shrubs. And they are so easy to cultivate in any position,
that thex'e is no obstacle in the way of their being generally adopted for any of
the purposes indicated. They like light, warm, rich loams best, with a good deal
of slowly-decomposable vegetable matter in them, and do worst in heavy clays
or close tenacious loams and poor sandy soils. They are especially fond of peat,
and when plenty of it is available, it matters little what may be the nature or
texture of the soil if the drainage is good, because a free admixture of peat and
sand will make the compost all that is required for them. The Lilies should be
lifted and replanted every thi-ee or four years, but not oftener than every three
years, for mere cultural reasons ; although, if they are not allowed to lie too long
out of the ground, they may be lifted every year, if considerations of arrangement
or other circumstances should require such a course. The best time for lifting
and replanting Lilies is in the autumn, when the stems have become ripe ; and, as
before stated, the roots should not be allowed to lie about exposed to the weather,
but be replanted as soon as possible. There is a popular notion that bulbs at
rest cannot be injured by being exposed to the sun and air for a length of
time; and so far as bulbs of the type of Gladiolus, Hyacinth, and Tulip are con-
cerned, the notion is well enough founded ; but with bulbs of a scaly nature,
of which those of the Lily are the type, it is different, for they suffer very
much indeed by great and continued exposure ; and hence the frequent failures in
bought bulbs which may have been long and badly stored in the shops. The
bulbs should be planted from 4 to G inches deep, according to the climate of the
locality and the character of the soil. If the climate and soil are wet and cold, the
bulbs should be placed the deeper, and if they are warm and light, they will be
safe at the shallowest figure ; but the greater depth will protect them from any
frost we are likely to experience in this country. Additional precaution may,
however, be taken with the more rare species and varieties, till they become more
plentiful, by laying some protecting material, such as old tan, stable-litter, coal-
ashes, or, where it is available, old peat, to the depth of several inches over the
place occupied by the roots ; but, indeed, even when not required for the purpose
of protection, a mulching of a manurial kind is advisable, as it gives additional
strength to the plants. Lilies are in fact gross feeders, and make a handsome
return for generous diet. They are increased by offsets from the bulbs, which
are in most species freely produced. Certain species also, such as L. bulbiferum
and L. tigrinum, produce bulbils in the axils of the leaves, by means of which
they may be freely increased if they are planted in a rich bed in a well-sheltered
border.

L. bulbiferum — Orange Lily. — A very handsome and well-known plant in
gardens. It has been productive of some good varieties, but the variations, from
a floricultural point of view, consist chiefly in slight differences of stature and
shades of colour ; and those of stature are in some cases at least more the result
of soil and culture than fixed peculiarities of nature. It grows from 2 to 3 or
more feet high. The stems are clothed with lance-shaped leaves disposed rather
irregularly. The flowers are erect, open, bell-shaped, and marked inside with
rough wart-like processes, and are deep orange-red. Flowers in June and July.
Native of southern Europe and the Levant.

L. canadense— Caraarita;i Orange Lily. — A beautiful species, growing 3 or 4 feet
high. The stems are clothed with oval lance-shaped leaves arranged in whorls.
The flowers are nodding or pendulous and bell-shaped, and the segments are
somewhat reflexed ; in colour they are pale orange, spotted with deep purplish
brown. Flow^ers in July and August. Native of Canada.

L, candidum — Common White Lily. — This is one of the commonest species in

1871.] HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 133

gardens. It grows about 3 feet bigli, producing the greatest abundance of its
leaves at the roots and base of the stems. They are broadly lance-shaped, dimin-
ishing in size as they ascend the stem, and are arranged in a scattered alternate
manner. The flowers are pure white, with no warts internally ; are erect or nearly
so, long, bell-shaped, and open, but slightly if at all reflexed at the mouth,
[Native of the Levant. Flowers in June and July. There is a double-flowered
form in gardens under the name L. candidum flore-pleno, and there are two or
three sorts with different styles of variegated leaves, and there is a flowerless
form which produces in the place of the flowers a spiral spike of lance-shaped
pure-white leaves or bracts, which is more curious than ornamental.

L. Catesbsei — Cateshifs Lily. — A very distinct species from Carolina. It grows
about 18 inches or 2 feet high. The stems are clothed with narrow, lance-shaped
leaves, irregularly and alternately disposed. The flowers are erect, large, and
open, with reflexed segments, yellow and spotted with dark brown in the centre,
and shading into deep red towards the extremities of the segments. Flowers in
July and August.

L. chalcedonicum — Scarlet Ilartagon Lily. — This is an old inhabitant of gar-
dens. It grows from 3 to 4 feet high. The stems are well clothed with flat
lance-shaped leaves. The flowers are pendulous, with much-reflexed segments,
and are bright red or scarlet ; they open in July and August. Native of the Levant.

L. dahuricum — Dalairian Lily. — This species resembles L. bulbiferum in its
large, erect, open, bell-shaped flowers, which are deep red, yellowish in the centre,
and dark-spotted. The leaves are lance-shaped, and the plant grows 2 or 3 feet
high. The flowers appear in July and August. Native of Dahuria.

L. longiflorum — Long-flowei^ed White Lily. — This species grows about IS inches
or 2 feet high, with shining lance-shaped leaves. The flowers are large, long,
and bell-shaped, with spreading, but not reflexed, segments ; they are rather dull
white externally, but very pure white inside, and warted towards the base.
Flowers in June. Native of China. There are some varieties of this species
characterised by differences of stature and the size of the flowers, but, so far as I
am aware, there is no variation in the colour.

L. Martagon — Mcu^tagon Lily. — This is another old inhabitant of gardens, and
is pretty well known under the name Turk's-Cap Lily. It grows about 3 feet
high. The leaves are oval, lance-shaped, arranged on the stems in whorls. The
flowers are pendulous, with much-reflexed segments, and are usually purplish red
or livid red ; and there is a white-flowered form also. Flowers in July and
August. Native of Germany, France, and Italy.

L. monadelpliuin — Monadelijhous Lily. — This species grows about 3 feet high.
The leaves are lance-shaped, clothing the stems rather thickly. The flowers are
pendulous, pale yellow, or lemon-coloured, and spotted in the centre with deep
red ; the segments are reflexed. The stamens are, as the name implies, mona-
delphous, or united at the base. Flowers in July. Native of the Caucasus.

L. pMladelpMcum — Philadelphian Lily. — This species grows about 4 feet high.
The leaves are in whorls. The flowers are erect, open, bell-shaped, deep orange
shading to yellow, and becoming spotted in the centre with dark-purple spots,
and the segments taper below into longish stalks. Flowers in July and August.
Native of North America.

L. pomponium— Po??2^9onm?i Lily. — This species grows about 3 feet high. The
leaves are narrow, lance-shaped, blunt below, but becoming shorter and narrower
and sharply pointed above. The flowers are pendulous, the segments reflexed
and warted internally towards the base. Native of Siberia and south-eastern
Europe. Flowers in June.

134 THE GARDENER. [March

L. pyrenalcum— P?/rc?ican Lily. — This species growa about 2 or 3 feet high.
The leaves are narrow, lance-shaped ; the flowers are pendulous, and warted and
dotted internally, and yellow ; the segments are reflexcd and narrow, and bluntly
lance-shaped. Flowers in June and July. Native of the Pyrenees.

L. tenuifollum — Small-leaved Lily.— Avery dwarf species, attaining only 1 foot
or 18 inches high. The leaves are narrow, lance-shaped, and scattered alternately
on the stems. The flowers are pendulous, the segments much reflexed, and bright
red or scarlet. They appear in June and July. Native of Siberia.

L. Thunbergianum— 77uo<6e7Y/'s Li/y. — This is related to L. bulbiferum, and
bears considerable resemblance to it. It grows about 18 inches or 2 feet high.
The leaves are lance-shaped, increasing in length as they ascend the stem, and are
crowded or whorl-like under the flowers. The flowers are large, open, bell-shaped,
with spreading slightly-reflexed segments, are bright orange, but nearly destitute of
the warts that are so conspicuous in the Orange Lily. There are many varieties
of this species, some of which are to be seen in catalogues and gardens under the
specific names, L. atrosanguineum, L. venustum, and L. fulgens, and there are
other varieties distinguished by diff'erent shades of colour, by spots, and the
degrees of prominence in the warts ; and there is a double-flowered form of deep
colour, very handsome, but both it and some of the others are yet rare and
expensive. Flowers in July and August. Native of Japan,

L. tigiiRVim—T i(jer Lily. — This is one of the most common species. It grows
3 or 4 feet high ; the leaves are lance-shaped, alternate, clothing the stem rather
thinly. The flowers are pendulous, and the segments much reflexed, warted
internally, and bright salmon-red with dark-brown spots. Of this species there
are also several varieties, some of which are yet rare and expensive. Flowers in
July and August. Native of China.

ABOUT THE CHRYSANTHEMUM.

In reading '' Teetotaller's " article on the Chrysanthemum, I think his
opinion as far from right as he thinks ]\r. T.'s. In almost any case I
should advocate the plunging of the pots, and I believe the majority of
gardeners adhere to the plunging system with the greatest success. By
exposing the pots to the direct rays of a June or July sun, you are
almost certain to have the roots burned, unless the greatest attention
is paid to watering. Let a plant exposed to a July sun once get really
dry, and mark its future progress ! I saw plenty of this last summer :
about 100 plants were subjected to the above treatment, and a more
scrubby lot of subjects I never saw. Doubtless they occasionally suf-
fered from want of water ; but in a summer like last, where most
gardeners were depending on the use of the water-cart, and a long
distance to draw it, it was quite impossible to give them the required
attention. Chrysanthemums as a rule are placed some distance from
the houses, and run greater risk of being neglected than most other
plants ; consequently I think the plunging has most points in its fav-
our. Upon the whole, I call the plunging the safest system, notwith-

1871.] ABOUT, THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 135

standing the arguments of some, that the plants not plunged are more
ea^ly watered for the inexperienced. I think this a very weak point.
I never saw an established Chrysanthemum plant killed with water in
the summer months : they delight in moisture ; more plants are killed
for want of it than with it. When the plants are ready to be turned
out of doors, decide upon a south aspect. All gardeners believe in
well - matured wood and a stubby growth, and the plunged plants
in a good position reap a decided advantage. " Teetotaller " also says
the flowers of the large-flowering section rival that of the Dahlia. I
should like to see the plants which produce these monster blooms, I
am informed on credible authority that the plants which produce
these blooms are grown solely for exhibition purposes, perhaps from
two to three blooms on the plant, sometimes grown in a cool house
and strongly fed.

I had the pleasure of being present at the Liverpool Chrysanthemum
Show a few weeks ago, and I presume the Liverpool growers are in
advance of any in England. The cut blooms exhibited there were
enormous — perfect models, in fact; but I am inclined to think the
plants from which they were cut would prove no acquisition to a
show-room. The specimens, too, were something splendid. I had never
expected to see the Chrysanthemum cultivated to such a degree of
perfection : the specimens, though confined to 3 feet in diameter, were
so neatly trained, so compact, and so tastefully staged, that the naked
eye could discover nothing but the results of the most careful atten-
tion. " Teetotaller " also says his confreres in Scotland don't give the
Chrysanthemum the attention it deserves. Granting this to be a fact,
do the same inducements present themselves to the Scotch growers'?
There is no Chrysanthemum show held in Scotland, and I think I am
justified in saying that competition leads to efficiency. The Scotch
growers, as a rule, grow their plants for usefulness. Eew gardeners can
afford to grow plants for the sake of two or three blooms, nor even to
train their plants as practised by exhibitors. As regards dates for
shifting, I think they are entirely out of place ; circumstances differ
so widely that it is next to useless to attempt giving them.

Every gardener should know his own circumstances best, whether
he grows his plants for a show to be held on such a day in November,
for the family may arrive home at the time when he wishes his best
display. The Chrysanthemum needs no date for shifting more than
other plants, and the gardener must humour their culture according
to the time he requires them in flower. Next, as to " Teetotaller's "
system of feeding, I should throw dates out of the scales altogether, and
apply liquid manure w^hen the buds are set; there is then no danger
of encouraging over-luxuriant growth, as is too often the case if we

136 THE GARDENER. [March

apply liquid manure to Chrysanthemums before the buds are formed.
Why not treat Camellias, Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, &c., in a similar
vriiy ? However, the use of stimulants has been carried to a wonderful
length lately. I saw with my own eyes last season a head-gardener,
when watering the soft-wooded subjects of a greenhouse, apply it
simultaneously to a few nice heaths at one end of the house. Lastly,
I would advert to the fact that sensational Chrysanthemum-growing is
not carried out at large and general establishments, except, of course, in
some instances. A man superintending a large and general place can-
not afford to make a hobby of a score of Chrysanthemums or a like num-
ber of stove-plants; he means all departments of his place to be in unison.
I know places where you could sling a stone over the whole premises, and
yet the gardeners' names hold a prominent place in the prize-lists of
the season for a dozen Chrysanthemums or a like number of greenhouse
or exotic Ferns, &c. And instead of the Chrysanthemum being brought
to perfection with little or no trouble, I maintain it requires enormous
attention and labour. Wm. Hinds.

Childwall Lodge, near Liverpool,
January \Uh.

SPECIAL PRIZES FOR VEGETABLES.

It is gratifying to notice that an increasing interest and importance are being
attached to the superior culture of vegetables. And it is high time, for certainly
our horticultural societies have given them the cold shoulder most completely,
while they have treated all other horticultural products with a generosity which
they are beginning to find does not pay them. "VVe are therefore gratified to
find that at the great show to be held at Nottingham vegetables are to be an
especial feature ; and the Messrs Carter, Dunnet, & Beal of London ofPer the
following prizes to be awarded at the meetings of the Koyal Horticultural Society
during 1871 : —

All Vegetables to he grown hy bona fide Gentl^men^s Gardeners, or Gentlemen
Amateurs, without forcing , in the open ground.

May 17.— For the best dish of Carter's first crop Pea (1 peck), £1, 10s.

For the best dish of Early Peas, not first crop (1 peck), £1, lOs.

June 7. — For the best three dishes of Peas (to include "Alpha" and
"Invicta"), le., Early White, Early Eound Blue, and Early Wrinkled Peas.
First prize, £2, 2s. ; second prize, £1, Is.

June 27. — For the best collection of vegetables, including Laxton's Supreme,
Carter's Hundredfold, Laxton's Quality, Dwarf Waterloo, and two other varie-
ties of Peas. First prize, a silver cup or £10 ; second prize, £2.

July 5. — For the best six dishes of Peas, to include Laxton's Supreme,
Carter's Hundredfold, and Laxton's Quality. First prize, £2, 2s. ; second prize,
£1, Is.

July 19. — For the best collection of yegetables, to include three dishes of Peas

iSyi.] REVIEWS. 137

(including Carter's Imperial "Wonder and Laxton's Supreme), Carter's improved
Garnishing Parsley, and Carter's Giant White Cos Lettuce. First prize, £2, 2s. ;
second prize, £1, Is.

August 16. — For the best collection of vegetables, to include Carter's Champ-
ion Runner Beans and three dishes of Peas (including Carter's Imperial Wonder
and Carter's Wonder of the World. First prize, £2, 2s. ; second prize, £1, Is.

September 6. — For the best collection of Onions, to include the New Giant
Eocca of Naples, Giant White Tripoli, and Neapolitan Marzagole. First prize,
£2, 2s. ; second prize, £1, Is.

September 20. — For the best collection of vegetables, to include Carter's
Dwarf Crimson Celery, Carter's Dwarf Mammoth Cauliflower, New Giant Rocca
Onion, Kohl-Rabi, three dishes of Peas (to include Carter's Imperial Wonder),
ard Carter's Perfection of Beets. First prize, £2, 2s. ; second prize, £1, Is.

October 4. — For the best collection of American Potatoes, six varieties. First
prize, £2, 2s. ; second prize, £1, Is.

November 1. — For the best collection of Potatoes, to include Carter's Ashtop
Fluke, Cambridgeshire Kidney, Red-skinned Flourball, and Carter's Main Crop.
First prize, £3, 3s. ; second prize, £2, 2s. ; third prize, £1, Is.

For the best dish of Carter's Main Crop Potato. Prize £1, Is.

December 6. — For the best collection of vegetables, to include Carter's Little
Pixie Savoy, Scotch Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Carter's Garnishing Kale, Parsnips,
Scorzonera, Salsafy, and Leek. First prize, £2, 2s. ; second prize, £1, Is.

REVIEWS.

The Garden Oracle. Edited by Shirley Hibbert, F.H.S. Published at the
'Gardener's Magazine' Office, 11 Ave Maria Lane.
This Annual is as interesting and useful as ever. It contains numerous tables
calculated to be of service to gardeners. It is almanac and note-book combined.
Gives select lists of all sorts of trees, Conifera, shrubs, ornamental fruit-trees,
climbing plants, &c., and arranges all these according to the positions and pur-
poses for which they are best suited. It gives a comprehensive garden calendar
for every month, which is interspersed with numerous wood engravings of veget-
ables and fruits, and gives a treatise on the management of small gardens.
Besides information of this sort, it gives lists of all the new plants and fruits, with
woodcuts of some of them that were introduced in 1870 ; and finishes with suit-
able selections of plants and flowers for gardens of various sizes.

The Gardener's Year-Book. By Robert Hogg, LL.D., F.L.S., &c. 'Journal
of Horticulture ' Office, 171 Fleet Street.

Another well-known and much-appreciated Annual, containing a great many
useful tables, an almanac, a comprehensive and well-written calendar, copious
notes on new and notable fruits, with numerous illustrations of the same. Veget-
ables are treated in the same way. It has lists of all the new plants of 1870.
Besides this, and a mass of other useful information, it contains a directory of
gardeners in Great Britain and Ireland, which in itself is a very useful and
interesting feature.

138 THE GARDENER. [March

LONDON INTERISTATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1871.

The buildings in which the Exhibition of 1871 wiU be held have been designed
by Lieut.-Col. Scott, R.E., and are to be of a permanent character. Those per-
sons familiar with the Horticultural Gardens know the long ornamental arcades
parallel with the Albert and Exhibition roads. At the back of these arcades is
a piece of waste ground, some 200 feet wide, extending to the road. On these
strips of laud the two main exhibition buildings are to be built. At the northern
ends, these main buildings will be pLiced in communication with the conserva-
tory of the Horticultural Gardens, and through it with the new Albert Hall of
Arts (the grand promenade of which will be utilised for exhibition purposes, the
educational collection being placed therein) by covered approaches, which are
being made upon the top of the arcades connecting them with the conservatory.
The southern ends of the main buildings will communicate with the permanent
portion of the Exhibition building of 18C2, which forms the southern boundary
of the Horticultural Gardens. By this means the building will completely sur-
round the gardens, to which the public will be admitted at certain times and
under special conditions, which have yet to be decided upon. The buildings are
in the decorated Italian style, with mouldings, cornices, columns, and courses in
buff-coloured terra-cotta ; the brickwork being of the hard red Fareham bricks,
so as to match the garden architecture, and harmonise with the new Museum
buildings which are rising in front of them. The terra-cotta and red Fareham
bricks are more durable against a London winter than even granite. The build-
ings altogether will accommodate 50,000 people. H.R.H. the Prince of Wales
is the president of Her Majesty's Commissioners of the Exhibition ; Messrs Spiers
& Pond are to be the refreshment contractors ; Messrs Chaplin & Home tbe
carriex's; and Her Majesty's Commissioners have entered into arrangements for
the printing and publication of the ofiBcial catalogues by Messrs J. M. Johnson &
Sons, of Castle Street, Holborn, Ijondon.

GRAFTING.

I^S" your last number I notice an article, signed X. S., on Grafting, in
whicli the writer makes a statement to the effect that he has seen two
or three dozens of Elms grafted on Beech, and that they are fifty years
old. Having had considerable practice in this branch of horticulture,
I feel deeply interested in this matter, particularly as it is totally
opposed to all my experience, as well as subversive of all the now
universally accepted theories of vegetable physiologists — all of whom,
to whose works I have had access, agree to the proposition "that plants
on which grafting is practised miist be botanically allied, or at all
events there must be a similarity in the composition of the sap "
(Balfour's ' Outlines of Botany,' p. 414).

Belonging to two distinct and well-marked natural orders, and widely
different in habit and general appearance, it seems to me that no such

iSyi.] ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 139

similarity or affinity exists between the plants in question. The fact
stated is consequently of great importance as throwing new light upon
the subject, and opening up a new field for investigation and experi-
ment ; and your correspondent deserves the best thanks of your readers
for thus making it known. Meanwhile, however, it would be helpful
to such an investigation if he would revisit the trees and make sure that
there is no mistake, and, if convenient, give the locality, that others
may have an opportunity of seeing them, so that the fact may be estab-
lished beyond a doubt. — I am, yours, &c.,

A Reader.

THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

This was a most successful meeting, both as regards the number and value of the
plants exhibited and the attendance of visitors. These meetings of the Society-
are undoubtedly increasing in interest and importance ; and the council- room,
which is not large, nor at all adapted for exhibiting plants and flowers to the best
advantage, was filled with numerous collections of Orchids and other tender plants.
A few prizes were offered by the Society for flowers and fruit.

Class 1.— 6 Chinese Primulas, distinct (open). Mr G. Goddard, gardener to
H. Little, Esq., was first with finely grown and bloomed plants of white and dif-
ferent shades of red single varieties ; Mr C. Edmunds, Hay's Nursery, second,
and had in his collection two plants of the double white.

Cla-^s 2. — 3 Dielytras, in bloom (open). The first prize was awarded to Mr ^Y.
Bvill, King's Road, Chelsea, with very small plants of Dielytra spectabilis.

Class 3. — 6 Lycastes, in bloom (open). There was only one exhibitor in this
class — Mr Denning, gardener to Lord Londesborough, Grimston Park, Tadcaster,
York, who was awarded the first prize with fine healthy sjiecimens of L, Skin-
nerii, averaging 10 fiowers to a plant.

Class 4. — Dessert Apples, 3 dishes, distinct (open). In all 18 collections were
staged, and amongst them many fine examples. Cox's Orange Pippin was very
fine. The first prize was awarded to Mr Garland, gardener to Sir T. Dyke, Ack-
laud, Bart., Killerton, Exeter, for Cox's Orange Pippin, Cornish Gilliflower, and
Pdbston Pippin; second, Mr A. Parsons, gardener to M. J. Blake, Esq., Danes-
bury,

Class 5. — Dessert Pears, 3 dishes, distinct (open). Seven collections were
staged ; Easter Beurre in some of the collections being of exceptionally fine
quality, Mr Garland was again first with fine fruit of Easter Beurre, "Winter
Nelis, and Bergamotte d'Esperen ; Mr G, T, ]\Iiles, gardener to Lord Carrington,
AYycombe Abbey, coming in second. This collection contained a very fine dish
of Knight's Monarch.

The subjects before the Fruit Committee were neither numerous nor important.
The Galloway Pippin, sent to the last meeting, bad been cooked, and was said
to be excellent ; it accordingly received a first-class certificate as a first-class
Kitchen-Apple. Mr Gilbert, of Burghley Park Gardens, sent a collection of
round and kidney varieties of Potatoes, for which he received a special certifi-
cate ; amongst them were particularly fine tubers of the Lapstone Kidney.

140 THE GARDENER. [March

Many special certificates were awarded by the Floral Committee, and were too
numerous to particularise. Mr Denning again staged a beautiful collection of
Orchids, conspicuous in which was a grand specimen covered with flowers of
Coelogyne cristata; several fine and distinct varieties of Cattleya Trianic ; Pil-
umna fragrans with deliciously-scented white flowers, and classed by Mr Bate-
man amongst the Bridal Orchids. A first-class certificate was awarded to Mr
Denning for this plant, and a special certificate was conferred upon the collec-
tion. Mr W. Bull, King's Road, Chelsea, had a very effective group of Palms,
Cycads, Orchids, new and rare plants. A first-class certificate was awarded to a
good and distinct species of Amaryllis named Gastronema flammea. The flowers,
which were two in number, are crimson, with a slight tinge of orange ; they are
3 inches in diameter, and are borne on a somewhat slender stem about 1 foot
high. Mr Bull likewise received a special certificate for his collection.

Messx's Yeitch of Chelsea sent a miscellaneous collection of plants, as well as
collections of Cyclamens, and a number of plants of a good strain of Chinese
Primulas. Amongst the plants sent by Messrs Veitch was a plant of Dendrobium
crassinode, and a small plant with a fine spike, on which the individual flowers
were very large, Odontoglossum Alexandria. Special awards were given to
Messrs Veitch for the collections. Mr B. S. Williams of HoUoway also exhibited
a very good miscellaneous collection of Orchids, some fine Amaryllis, and a well-
managed plant of Tillandsia Lindeni, the flowers of the most beautiful azure blue.
Some cultivators of this plant say it does not flower freely ; this one was throwing
up five spikes, and on the centre spike were two fully-expanded flowers. A special
certificate was also awarded to Mr Williams. Mr T. S. Ware Hale, Farm Nur-
series, Tottenham, also received a special certificate for a basket of succulent
plants and a basket containing an interesting collection of spring-flowering plants ;
Iris reticulata, a dwarf plant with deep-blue flowers, having the scent of Violets ;
and a dwarf pink with flowers approaching the florist standard, which would be
useful for early forcing, named Mrs Pettifer. Mr J. Tomkins, Sparkhill Nurseries,
Birmingham, received a first-class certificate for a very fine strain of Chinese
Primulas named Princess Louise. The young flowers are pure white, and when fully
expanded are tinged with blush ; they are fully 2 inches in diameter, and of great
substance. Mr Green, gardener to W. W. Saunders, Esq. , also received a first-
class certificate for a new species of Agave from South Africa, A. Besseriana
amoena ; it has short glaucous leaves, with dark-coloured spines. Messrs Rolli-
son & Sons, Tooting, also received a special certificate for a very fine collection
of Orchids, and two fine plants of Lomaria Gibba crispa, a very distinct and
interesting form, which seldom throws up fertile fronds ; Davallia clavata, a very
elegant Fern of small growth. Worthy of special mention, and which received
a special award, was a very fine specimen of the green-leaved Aucuba, loaded
with clusters of brilliant- coloured berries, from Mr Kiughorn, Sheen Nursery,
Richmond.

Mr W. Paul, Nurseryman, Waltham Cross, sent a group of very fine specimen
Camellias. They were in the finest possible health and vigour, and well flowered,
leaving nothing to be desired except in the training they had received — only one
plant had been allowed to grow in a natural manner, the shoots of the others
having been bent and contorted to bring the plants into a compact shape. Mr
Paul gave a short lecture on the Camellia, but owing to want of time he could
not enter into details of culture. Mr Paul received a special certificate for his
collection, which also comprised some beautiful plants with brilliant scarlet
flowers of Correa cardinalis. There were collections of Hyacinths, Cyclamens,
Primulas, and other things, which received special certificates, from other exhibi-

i87i.]

REPORTS OF THE WEATHER.

141

tors. Aud last, though not least, a collection of plants from Messrs Veitch
entered' to compete for the prize offered to the exhibitor who succeeds in ob-
taining the greatest number of marks for plants illustrative of the phenomena of
hybridisation. They had specimens of Hybrid Nepenthes, Alocasia sedeni,
Goodyera Veitchii, Cypripediums, and Rhododendron Princess-Koyal. J. D.

BEPORTS OF THE WE ATHER.— 1870.

HiGHCLEEE Castle Gakdens, Hants.
600 Feet aboye Sea-Level.

Thermometer.

Barometer.

Depth of
Rain.

Prevailing
Winds.

Lowest.

Highest.

Lowest.

Highest.

Jan.,

26th 20°

17th 55°

8th 28.60

18th 30.15

2.11

S.S.W.

Feb.,

nth and
12th 18

I 28th 48

7th 29.13

12th 30.02

2.32

s.w.

March,

14th 24

17th 63

1st 29.05

31st 30.05

2.07

N.E.

April,

1st 26

18th 82

Pth 29.25

4th 30.12

0.51

N.E.

May,

4th 30

16th 79

17th 29.10

25th 30.00

1.14

w.s.w.

June,

1st 44

21st 90

10th 29.52

6t.h 30.10

0.13

s.w.

July,

3d 45

22d 92

nth 29.45

21st 29.80

1.15

E.N.E.

Aug.,

22d 41

12th 88

5th 29.42

]. 3th 29.85

1.37

E.N.E.

Sept.,

19th 40

14th 83

7th 29.18

30th 30.12

2.29

S.W.

Oct.,

nth 28

2d 70

23d 28.61

3d 30.09

4.13

s.w.

Nov.,

16th 27

1st 60

15th 29.08

30th 30.10

1.30

s.w.w.

Dec,

24th 11

14th 48

15th 29.04

2d 30.24
Total,

2.61
21.13

N.N.E.

1S66.

1S67.

1868.

1869.

Depth of

Rain,

29.44

28.91

33.42

29.33

S. K.

Possibly it might be interesting to some of your readers for me to remark the
injuries we have sustained by the late severe weather here — in Kent. Our
thermometer (Negretti's ?) registered, on December 24th, 1°, and the following
night 4° below zero. I believe this to be the coldest weather we have experi-
enced since 1860. Our Aucubas, Common Laurels, and Laurustinus are, I am
afraid, quite cut to the ground. On the two latter there is not a green leaf to be
seen : sad will it be to see so many vacant places in our shrubberies. Our vege-
table crops, such as Savoys, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, and Lettuce, are all killed.
I must give a sad account of many of our choice Conifers, such as the Golden "Well-
ingtonia and others of late introduction. Our Araucai'ia imbricata. Deodars,
Norway Spruce, and a fine tree of Pinus insignis, upwards of 60 feet high, have
Buffered very much. Many of our choice Roses will want replacing in our
flower-garden. I am afraid we shall see many things missing. It will be
interesting to know how the weather has been felt in Scotland, but I am afraid
it is general. — I remain, &c.

The Gardens, Kenfield Hall,

February 8th.

EDWARD COVENEY.

U2

THE GARDENER.

[?^Iarch

©aUntrar*

KITCHEN-GARDEN.

The cultivation of vegetables perhaps
never was more popular, and encourage-
ment to exhibit fine produce nev?r mure
liberal, than at present. Among some of
the leading prizes offered to tempt cul-
tivators are several from Carter & Co,
A number of novelties are mentioned,
■which will have to appear in the vari-
ous collections. The London Horti-
cultural Society are also giving more
attention to this useful branch of gar-
dening, b}' encouraging gi'owers to send
collections to their exhibition-tables.
And in every nurserym-m's seed-list we
have received, numbers of novelties are
offered as improvements on Avhat has
been sent out previously. Many of the
*' novelties " sent out during the last
few years we have proved to be good,
if not always new. Careful selections
from old standard kinds are sometimes
honoured with a new name ; but gen-
erally we have been pleased with our
purchases, as one does not regret get-
ting back an old friend which was long
supposed to be extinct. The difficulty
of getting some kinds of vegetables true
(after they have been in the market a
few years) is known to most cultivators.
Broccolis, Cauliflower, Cabbage, and Let-
tuce, are among the most difficult to ob-
tain true to name — at least, according to
our experience. Soil and climate, how-
ever, have often to decide what should
be grown and what may be discarded.
Broccolis have been destroyed in many
places this season, especially in the south
of England and some parts of Scotland.
We have lost some, but those which
have stood best are Lack's Late, Shear-
er's Late, and Carter's Champion ; Lau-
der's Superb and Gordon's Protecting
have stood better than some other kinds
— on poor ground they have stood best
of all. To turn the vegetable garden to
best account wdll require much energy
and forethought during this month and
next. If the weather should be very
wet, much difficulty will be experienced
in making a good start. To sow or plant
in wet and cold soil is often labour
thrown away and good seeds sacrificed.
Therefore, whenever a favourable op-
portunity occurs it should never be
lost, but every effort made to get in
the seeds, and have them covered warm

and dry. Surfaces of soil well sweeten-
ed from having been exposed to the
weathergive comparatively little trouble.
Arrangement of crops, changing them
yearly, keeping the sorts from being
scattered about in small patches aa
much as possible, surfaces kept open
by hoe or prong, absence of weeds,
keeping vermin in check, attention to
regular successions as demand requires,
thinning in time, and not allowing young
plants of any kind to become matted,
are some of the principal objects to be
kept in view for some months to come,
if ground is to be made the best of.
Ground on which Brussels Sprouts,
Broccoli, or Kale have been cleared,
should now be manured and trenched,
or dug up. Keep a suitable piece iu
reserve for Celery, which may remain
at present untouched, except keeping
it clean. Kale and Broccoli may be
taken to a shady corner, lifting the roots
entire, and placing them thickly in the
ground ; late gatherings will thus be
secured, and valuable ground set at
liberty for immediate work. Every
growing crop — such as Cabbage, Spin-
ach, autumn-sown Onions, &c. — should
have the hoe run through among them
as soon as possible, clearing them of
weeds and decayed leaves same time.
Sow the pi'incipal crops of Onions, Par-
snips, and Leeks ; the latter to be sown
in a bed or border, to be planted out
when large enough. Sowing and thin-
ning them like Onions gives little
trouble, but blanching is then out of
the question, Aytoun's Giant (Henry's
I Prize of some) is very large in size,
I but less hardy, and not so firm as the
I True Scotch. Kale, Cabbage, Lettuce,
, Cauliflower, and an early kind or two
■ of Broccoli, should be sown on a shel-
tered border, or ridge thrown up to
[ face the sun. If soil is heavy, the
seeds will vegetate more quickly if the
I drills are filled in with light waste soil
or leaf -mould, free from sticks, &c,
"We have known soil so heavy and tena-
cious that drills had to be made with a
spade, and charcoal -dust used to fill
them in, and splendid crops raised. A
good start for seeds is half the battle,
as when they are enclosed with a cold
battered surface, which excludes sun

iSyi.]

CALENDAR.

143

and air, they are long in coming up ;
then they are weakly and stunted, fall-
ing an easy prey to vermin and drought.
Some sow their main crops of Broccoli
during this month. We have always
found April sowings do best, espe-
cially in the south of England. The
last week of March is early enough
for Scotland ; gross growth with this
tribe of plants seldom gives the
best supplies, as they are easily de-
stroyed by a severe winter. Brussels
Sprouts for first crop may be sown
at once. This is, perhaps, the most
valuable of all winter vegetables, and
should be grown extensively. Savoy
for autumn supply may be sown now —
early Ulm is a useful little kind for first
crop. Radishes, Mustard, and Cress,
may be sown at regular periods, accord-
ing to demand ; French Breakfast and
Short Top are two of the best Radishes.
Turnips may be sown in small quanti-
ties where they can be protected ; they
run quickly to seed at this season.
Carrots for early supply may be sown
on a sheltered border, using sand in
the soil if it is heavy. Early Horn is
suitable for present sowing. Broad
Beans may now be sown for succession,
and every three weeks to the end of May
— Johnston's Wonderful and Taylor's
Windsor are two of the best for main
sowings. Beck's dwarf Gem and dwarf
Fan are useful for borders. The large
kinds require drills 2 to 3 feet apart
(according to strength of growth), and
from 4 to 6 inches between the seeds.
Peas may be sown twice in the month
if required, and those which may have
been raised in boxes, &c., planted out.
Champion of England and Dickson's
Favourite are still two of the best for
present sowing ; single rows kept wide
apart, so that cropping between them
may be carried out, is the most eco-
nomical system of growing them. On
rich ground they should be sown thinly.
Mice will now be troublesome, and will
require to be watched, as a crop is soon
destroyed. Stake any Peas requiring
it before they fall ovei-. Spinach for a
regular supply may be sown in flat shal-
low drills every fortnight or less. Toma-
toes, Celery, Capsicums, and Vegetable
Marrows (for an early crop under glass),
New Zealand Spinach, for planting out
\inder handlights, may now be sown.
The main crop of Celery may be left
till the end of the month. Seedlings,
when ready to handle, may be lifted

and pricked out on rich light soil, — an
inch or two placed on rotten manure
does well ; protection with glass and
careful watering are necessary to prevent
" bolting." Dwarf Incomparable, Man-
chester Champion, Cole's red and white
kinds, are among the best, and go under
many other names. Nearly all kinds
of herbs may be sown this month —
tender kinds under glass. Seakale may
be planted in rows 2 feet apart and 8
inches to 1 foot between the roots, but
wider if intended to be forced on the
ground. Ground for Carrots, to be sown
next month, should be well worked, and
the surface turned over. Lime and
soot are often used against vermin which
attack the Carrot, In some localities
Carrots cannot be grown. We do not
know a single case in this locality where
complete success can be depended on,
and we seldom secure a crop free from
the attacks of grub. Everything we
have seen in print has been tried, but
to no great purpose. Last year was an
exception. Two pieces of ground were
prepared early in March; a quantity of
lime-stones was spread on one plot, and
allowed to remain till it was all down
to powder, and then forked slightly
into the surface. The Carrots were
sown in the usual way, covering in the
seed slightly with wood-ashes and old
potting soil. The Carrots were very
large, and of the finest quality. On the
other plot gas-lime was used, same as
the lime -stones, and the result was
equally good. Exposure to the weather
for a number of weeks rendered this
dangerous material harmless. We once
crippled a crop of Onions by using gas-
lime fresh, Jerusalem Artichokes may
now be planted in rows, either single or
3 feet apart, and 1 foot between the
tubers ; single rows give the finest pro-
duce. Potatoes may be planted with-
out delay, either in drills or by dibber.
If land is heavy, drills answer best; and
if the tubers are covered with a little
leaf- mould or old turfy soil next them,
they will grow more freely : 2 feet
between the rows is a fair width, but
for very strong-growing kinds 3 feet is
not too much; 1 foot or 15 inches be-
tween the tubers is enough. When
sun and air have free access to the
growing crop, the quality is much finer.
The herb -ground should be dressed,
giving a surfacing of manure where it
may be necessary. Some may be lifted
and increased. M. T.

U4

THE GARDENER.

[;March

FORCING DEPARTMENT.

Pines.— Continue to apply the direc-
tions of last month to those that are
startintr, and that have shown their
fruit distinctly. The most important
point in their management this month
is to keep the soil about their roots
moderately moist, especially avoiding a
state of mealy dryness at any time — a
condition which, now that the sun has
more power, and that air has to be more
liberally admitted, will check and stunt
the young fruit. With increased light,
the temperature may safely be advanced
to 70° at night, and to 8.5° for a short
time at shutting-up time, with sun heat;
more moisture in the air is also neces-
sary as light and heat increase. When
the fruit are done flowering, give a very
light dewing overhead with tepid water
through a very fine rose. Where there
are any Pines that are farther advanced,
and which it is a desideratum to ripen
early, these may now be pushed on with a
few degrees more heat than is named
above, especially when shut up with sun
on fine afternoons. Very hard forcing,
requiring highly - heated pipes during
cold parching winds, should be avoided,
and the milder weather as it occurs
should be taken advantage of for push-
ing them rapidly on. Colour the water
with Peruvian guano for every watering,
and pour a little of it into the steaming-
troughs. Later-fruiting stock, that are
intended first to make a growth and
then start, should now be kept moder-
ately and steadily moist at the root, a,nd
air moisture increased in proportion
with a temperature of 65° at night, so
as to encourage a healthy growth, and
prevent any checks that are calculated
to cause them to show fruit prematurely.
These, after making a growth, generally
yield the finest fruit of the season.
Generally speaking, this is the month
when the majority of autumn - potted
suckers require to be shifted into their
fruiting-pots. But we have an aversion
to fixing times and seasons to a week, or
even a month. If the suckers show
plenty of young healthy roots round the
sides of the balls, they are ready to
shift. If they are not in this condi-
tion, and the soil is in a proper state,
leave them till they are. If the soil is
at all wet and pasty, and roots scarce,
the sooner they are shaken out of such
soil and potted in proper soil the bet-
ter. On the other hand, if they are
what is known, in garden phraseology,

matted or pot-bound, then they should
have been shifted last month; and the
chances are, that instead of starting
into growth when shifted, they will
start into fruit. To run the least risk
of this, we advise their being entirely
"shaken out," preserving the roots as
much as possible, and pot them firmly
at once into their fruiting-pots, using
moderately - moist soil, and watering
them sooner after being potted than
would otherwise be advisable, and give
moi-e atmospheric moisture. By such
treatment, any of them that are to start
prematurely into fruit will do so at
once, and then they can be got rid of.
Our own practice is to shift — any time —
into pots a size larger in October, Nov-
ember, December, or January, rather
than run the risk of a matted ball and
stunted plant that is worthless after
being wintered. For Queens, we con-
sider 11 -inch pots sufficiently large.
For Cayennes, Charlotte Rothschild, and
other large-growing sorts, we would not
exceed a 12-inch pot. We have experi-
mented on this point, and found that
11 and 12 inch pots gave better returns
than larger sizes. These sizes will pro-
duce Queens from 5 to 6 lb., and
Cayennes from 8 to 11 lb., weights
sufficient to satisf}'' any requirements.
Crock with ^-inch crocks to the depth
of 14 inch, and cover the crocks with
a thin even layer of the fibre from the
loam, and then dust with a little fresh
soot to keep worms at bay. We con-
sider a brown hazelly loam, neither very
light nor very heavy, taken to the depth
of 4 inches from old pasture, and stack-
ed ten or twelve months in a dry place,
the best for Pine-culture. To this we
do not recommend anything to be
added, beyond an 8-inch pot full of
4 -inch bones or bone-meal, and an
equal quantity of soot to every two bar-
row-loads of loam, the whole being
thoroughly mixed together. Strip off
a few of the bottom leaves, rub the
inert soil from the upper part of
the ball, remove the old crocks, and
disentangle sliL'htlv the roots. In pot-
ting, ram the soil firmly with pieces of
wood made for the purpose. In plunging
them in their growing quarters, avoid
crowding. Queens should not be cl^oser
than 22 inches each way, and larger
sorts 24 inches. The bottom - heat
should range from 80° to 85°, not higher.
Avoid shading much after shifting,

i87i.]

CALENDAR.

145

unless tlie weather be very bright, and
then only shade for two hours in the
middle of the day. During cold March
weather, 65" is heat sufficient for a
maximum at night ; when mild it may
range to 70" till 10 P.M., but allow it to
sink 5° before daylight. Give air in
moderate quantity for the first fourteen
days after shifting ; afterwards increase
it, as the plants begin to grow more
freely. Avoid in all Pine-houses cold
draughts as much as possible.

Vines. — Early crops that have finish-
ed the stoning process, and that are re-
quired to ripen as early as possible, may
be encouraged forward more fi'eely with
an advance of temperature to 70° in
mild weather ; but if cold east winds
prevail, and the days be sunless, it is
better to force more gently, taking ad-
vantage of bright suns to shut up early,
and husband heat for the night with
the least possible amount of fire-heat
compatible with the temperature re-
quired. This rule is applicable to Vines
in all stages. We consider it preferable
to push on Grapes that are required
early in the interval between the ston-
ing and colouring period than to force
hard after the latter process commences.
Nearly all black Grapes colour better in
a moderate heat than in what may be
tei'med maximum or Muscat heat. As
soon as colouring begins, give air a
little more freely and decrease the
moisture. The increase and decrease of
these elements should never be sudden,
but gradual. A small amount of air left
on at night is favourable to good colour;
and a strip of perforated zinc or hexa-
gon netting placed over the openings is
a good plan for preventing strong blasts
of cold air. If the early crop is from
Vines in pots, a constant watch must be
kept to prevent their suffering from
either a deficiency or superabundance
of water. Discontinue watering with
manure -water when colouring com^
mences. Attend to all Vines in late
stages, by timely stopping, thinning,
and tying down shoots as directed last
month. Young and all vigorous Vines
should never have their growths tied
down to the wires at once, or they
will break off at their junction with
the old wood. They often bear the
strain at the time, but give way in
ten or twelve hours ; and t'his applies
to the very best order of growths, so
thatcautious tying-down is a great point
with those who are experienced. With
longer days, more light, and milder

weather, the temperature may range a
few degrees higher at night than for
last month, especially when the houses
can be shut up warm with sun -heat in
the afternoon. Examine inside borders,
and keep them moderately moist with
water at a temperature 8° or 10° more
than that of the atmosphere. Where
there are still late Grapes hanging in
small quantities, it is desirable for many
reasons to cut them, and keep them in a
dry front room. There are many ways
of preserving them ; some do it by cut-
ting off a piece of the Vine with the
bunch, and placing the end of the wood in
bottles of water; others stick the end of
the wood into a Turnip or Mangold- Wur-
zel. Grapes can also be kept packed in
cotton-wool in dry drawers. As soon
as they are all cut, lose no time in prun-
ing the Vines and dressing them as
directed last month. Then the house
can be kept cool and well aired for a
month at least before they begin to
grow. This is a good time to complete
making new Vine-borders and planting
young Vines, though it can be success-
fully done till midsummer. The well-
doing of the Vine depends to a great
extent on the preparation of the young
Vines. This was wonderfully exem-
plified in our own experience last
spring. We planted a quantity of Vines
in March ; some were in large pots, in
rich ill-drained soil ; these had long,
bare, straggling roots with few fibres :
others were grown in 6-inch pots in
light loam, which when shaken out look-
ed for all the world like the roots of a
Box-tree ; so full of small, short, turfy
roots were they, that they seemed to
have licked up even the very soil. The
latter Vines were not half the thickness
of the former, but they were hard as a
hazel rod, with prominent eyes. The
result in autumn was that they made
by far the finest Vines. Vines grown
on in bottom-heat, and Vines too early
exposed to the open air or to drenching
rains before either their wood or roots
are ripe, should be avoided. The
thorough maturing of the roots is a
most important pomt, far too often lost
sight of. In planting let every root be
carefully disentangled and spread out
in all directions : long bare roots are
best cut back to induce them to branch
into fibres nearer t$ie stem ; and if they
have been grown in rich adhesive soil,
give them a good washing in a pail of
water before planting them. After
washing, dash a handful of dry sand

146

THE GARDENER.

[March

about them, to cause them to separate
iiiore freel}', and prepare them for being
laid in the soil. When planted give a
watering with water at 85° to 90° heat.
Allow the Vines to break a few inches
in a temperature of 50°. If started
hurriedly after being planted they will
not start so robustly.

Peaches. — If the weather be cold
and sunlesj!, force with the same caution
recommended last month. To force
Peaches at a high temperature by dint
of hard forcing is never safe, far less so
till after the stoning staixe. Do not exceed
55° to 58° at night until they begin to
take their second swelling ; then, if the
fruit are required early, the heat may
range to 60'' in cold, and 05° in mild
weather, especially when the house can
be shut Tip early with sun-heat. See
that inside boi-ders are kept properly
moist, and syringe all houses where the
fruit are set in fine days. Keep a sharp
look-out for green-fly, and never let it
get a footing ; more especially is this
pest dangerous to trees just budding
into leaf and full bloom. It is easily
destroyed by tobacco - smoke. Last
month's directions can still be carried
out in late and succession houses. All
trees under glass, where there is no
command of fire-heat, should be re-
tarded and kept as late as possible, for
if kept close and forwarded early into
bloom, a risk of losing the crop by late
frosts is incurred.

Figs. — Where the fruit are swelling,
increase the night temperature to 60°,
with 10° more by day. Figs like a
moist atmosphere, and should be
syringed every afternoon, and the air
should never be otherwise than moist.
Give careful attention to the matter of
watering, especially if they are in pots ;
for if allowed to become over-dry, they
will cast their crop ; and stagnant water
about their roots will produce the same
effect. Give air regularly, more or less,
according to the weather, to prevent
the young growths from becoming weak
and the foliage thin and tender. As
soon as the growths grow to five or sis
joints, pinch the points out of them, or
squeeze them firmly between the finger
and thumb to stop growth, without
causing them to bleed. Start later
crops as recommended for February.

Strawberries. — If all has gone on
well, these will now be an interesting
crop, and one that will be most accept-
able at table, as a companion dish to
late Grapes and early Pine-Apples.

Attend carefully to what was said in last
month's Calendar about crops that are
swelling off and colouring. After this
season wo have frequently removed
crops out of the higher temperature into
cooler houses, just as there were two or
three perfectly-ripe fruit on each pot.
The cooler and drier air very much im-
proves their flavour ; and if required to
stand a few days after they are fully
coloured, they keep better in cooler
and drier quarters. Where they are
coming into bloom, on the shelves of
Pine - stoves or Cucumber - houses,
where a high temperature and moist
atmosphere are requisite for Pines and
Cucumbers, it is a good plan to move
the Strawberries into a Peach-house or
Vinery, where the night heat does nob
range above 55° to 60°. Strawberries
set more certainly at that temperature
than with 10° higher ; and when set,
they can be moved back into their
warmer quarters. After they are set, put
successional lots of plants into Peach-
houses and Vineries that are being
started with fire-heat. They are very
subject to green-fly and red-spider in
heat, and those enemies must never be
allowed a footing.

Melons. — Those planted last month
will be gr-owing freely now. Train the
plants up the wires without stopping
them till within 15 inches of the top.
Water sparingly at the roots, and supply
only a moderate amount of moisture
to the air. The night temperature
should not range more than 70°.
Give air on all favourable opportuni-
ties. To grow Melons in spring with
a very high temperatiire, and much
moisture and little air, ruins them, by
causing them to make weak growths
with thin sickly foliage. Plant out suc-
cession crops as previously directed, and
sow more seed both at the beginning
and end of the month.

Cucumbers. — Do not exceed 70° at
night for the present. Cucumbers re-
quire more moisture at the root and in
the air than Melons, and soon suffer if
they are allowed to become dry at the
root. If sudden bright sunshine suc-
ceeds a few days of dull weather, they
will flag, and should not be allowed to
do so ; and some thin material, such as
tiffany, is best for shading with under
such circumstances. Stop the lateral
growths, and they will show fruit at
every joint; but do not allow them to
bear too freely when young, or it will
cripple them, and they will not bear so

i87

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

147

well afterwards. Sow and plant for suc-
cession crops as directed for Melons.

' French Beans. — Water those in full
bearing more liberally, and every alter-
nate time with manure- water made of
guano or sheep's dung. Syringe on fine
afternoons, to keep them clean. French
Beans like warmth, and do well in any
light place in vineries or other forcing-

houses ; but owing to their great ten-
dency to be infested with red-spider,
they should not be placed near the foli-
age of Vines, Melons, or Cucumbers, if
it can be avoided. Sow and transplant
or repot for succession crops. Fulmers'
Early Forcing, Sion House, and Negro,
are all good forcing varieties.

All business communications should be addressed to the Publishers, and com-
munications for insertion in the ' Gardener ' to David Thomson, Drumlanrig
Gardens, Thornhill, Drunifriesshire. It will further oblige if all matter intended
for publication, and questions to be replied to, be forwarded by the middle of the
month, and written on one side of the paper only. It is also requested that
writers forward their name and address, not for publication, unless they wish it,
but for the sake of that mutual confidence which should exist between the Editor
and those who address him. We decline noticing amj communication which is
not accompanied with name and address of writer.

Errata. —At page 55 of February ' Gardener, ' 8th line from top, read " of the
mossy " instead of "the mossy." At page 66, 7th line from top, read " fruiting ''
for "planting;" page 98, 15th line from bottom, read "front-sash" for "fruit-
sash."

A Young Beginner. — Doubtless "North of the Trent" means by "a first-class
establishment " a private establishment, and not a nursery, although it would
be advantageous to all young gardeners to be employed for a time in a nursery
establishment.

An Old Subscriber. — We saw it announced some time ago — in the
' Journal of Horticulture ' — that it was to be a neiv edition. A mere reprint,
without bringing its subject up to the present time, is not at all likely, and
would be quite unworthy of the reputation of its editor. It will be advertised
when ready, and any inquiry in our pages just now would not in any way further
your object.

A. M'Farlane. — Were we constructing a fruit-room, we would build it with
a north aspect, put a slate roof on it, and having the joists deep, lathed and
plastered inside, and built with either thick stone or hollow brick walls. If the
roof were thatched over with straw or heather, all the better — all this to keep
up an equable temperature of 45°, according to the weather. There should be
means of ventilation at the highest point of the roof, but there should be no
currents of air passing through. As to the exclusion of light there are different
opinions. If the window or windows are to the north, and as they should not be
large, it does not, in our opinion, much matter about excluding light. There
should, however, be shutters in the windows to shut at pleasure, to regulate tem-
perature in cold weather, A fruiterer once told us that he found Apples keep
best in a dry cellar in bushel-baskets. In such a place the temperature and the
state of the atmosphere as to moisture would be subject to little fluctuation.

L

148 THE GARDENER. [March 1871.

This is an important subject, for next to growing the fruit, the keeping of it in
good order must always rank in importance. Perhaps some of our readers will
favour us with their ideas and experience in the matter.

A Two Yeaks' Subscriber. — To have Achimenes late in autumn, keep the
bulbs cool and dry as long as possible ; and after starting them strike a part of
them from cuttings, and grow them freely in a rather shady place.

C. K. — Presuming that the water flows from the highest and returns into the
boiler at the lowest point, or level, your pipes may descend gradually from the
one level to the other, and the water will circulate perfectly well. But do not
at any point place the pipes below the level of the lowest part of the boiler.
Thanks for your other matter, which we must reserve for a month.

S. C. — Magnolia grandiflora, M. conspicua, Berberis Darwinii, Salisburia
adiantifolia, Cotoneaster microphylla, Garrya elliptica, Cratsegus pyracantha,
Chimonanthus fragrens, Jasminum nudiflorum, Ceonothus azureus, Spiraea Lind-
leyana, Viburnum tinus. These are all good things for your purpose. For run-
ning along the cope. Wistaria sinensis is most effective ; and if you wish for rapid-
growing effective climbers, nothing can excel Clematis Jackmanii and its congeners.
Then the fine varieties of gold and silver variegated Ivies are very pretty ; or if
you want magnificent foliage in summer, Aristolochia sipho supplies it. Steep
the shoots of whatever your vermin eat most freely in nux vomica, and lay it in
their haunts, and bore pieces of wood full of deep holes, into which they will
creep. Phosphoric paste will also poison them.

D. D. — 1. Woodwardia radicans ; 2. Platyloma flexuosum ; 3. Cyathea deal-
bata; 4. Campy loneuron ensifolium ; 5. Aspidistra variegata.

THE

GARDENER.

APRIL 1871.

.—A-^-S-^P^T-tL^

A PLEA FOR EVERGREEig" OR SHRUB GARDEHSTS.

E EH APS there is no other department of gardening of
which so little has been said in the horticultural press
as that which embraces our hardy evergreens and flower-
ing shrubs, nor a department in which has been ex-
hibited less alteration — to say nothing of decided progress — in
the matter of planting or arrangement. And yet pleasure-ground
and garden scenery is greatly dependent for character and distinc-
tive features on the absence or presence of the fine assortment of
shrubs which have been collected into British gardens. The ever-
green or shrub garden, judging from the almost entire exclusion of
such terms from our garden vocabulary, and from the very few in-
stances where such a garden exists as would warrant such a designa-
tion, does not appear yet to hold that place in our gardens of w^hich,
after a little thought, it cannot fail to be considered worthy. To
do what may be considered justice to the merits and decorative capa-
bilities of shrubs is, to our mind, as yet a department of gardening
that affords ample scope for improved arrangement and effect. And
it is all the more worthy of the genius and attention of gardeners,
when it is considered how wonderfully almost every other matter
connected with gardens has been pushed forward to a point which,
to all appearance, is the extreme confine of improvement. In reply
to this it may justly be said, Go where you will, wherever a villa
or a mansion is reared, you will generally find a profusion of hardy

M

150 THE GARDENER. [April

evergreen and flowering shrubs, showing that they are esteemed as be-
fitting objects with which to clothe the landscape with beauty, in a
measure to shelter from the storm, and to screen from the obtrusive
gaze of the passer-by. In this way, and for this purpose, millions of
shrubs are annually reared and disposed of at a comparatively cheap
rate : so much is this the case, that they are looked upon as the safest
of all hardy nursery stock. This fact must certainly be admitted, and
at first sight it seems to tell against the position taken up by the fore-
going remarks. But look again. While the ingenuity of garden pro-
prietors and gardeners has for many years been taxed to the utmost
to invent and introduce some new arrangement of tender and half-
hardy plants, to add some scarcely perceptible touch of improvement
to some ribbon border, or to alter the nibbling up of a border with
box patterns, and then rush into print to tell of their new thing, like
the Athenians of old, we seldom or never hear of anything new, im-
proved, or praiseworthy in the arrangement of our many beautiful
and more permanent though far less troublesome shrubs.

Almost without an exception they are still to be found planted in
belts and lumpy clumps, and often pellmell, without much regard to
colour and outline. Too often they are allowed to grow into unmean-
ing thickets, merging their individual characters into a tangled mass ;
and in their struggle for existence the more robust and rapid growers
ultimately overpower and kill the weaker, and at last have to be hacked
down, in order that the survivors may have a chance of again growing
up into something like their natural forms and symmetry. We have
no intention of deprecating the introduction of large masses — even
dense and compact — of evergreens into extensive grounds, where such
are in unison with accompanying features, and when not left to show
nothing but a smooth surface, unrelieved of its painful monotony,
especially as such masses are nearly always composed of one or at
most two varieties of shrubs. But in any form such banks or surfaces
of evergreens are even more bearable than the neglected and mono-
tonous mixed shrubbery. At the same time, it would be as appropriate
to call a lawn a grass - garden as to call such lumps of monotonous
shrubs by the name of an evergreen-garden. Indeed, such arrange-
ments of shrubs and other appropriate accompaniments are seldom ever
met with in a style to warrant such a designation ; and it is because we
have the conviction that they are beyond all doubt well worthy of
being constituted into a garden capable of yielding a never-failing
source of enjoyment, that we are anxious to call special attention to
the fact.

We have gardens set apart for Roses ; and although the Rose justly
lays claim to a regal position in Flora's court, a Rose-garden from Nov-

1 87 1.] A PLEA FOR SHRUB GARDENS. 151

ember till April is about the most ungainly-looking garden that can
be imagined. We have parterre-gardens, with their unsurpassed bold-
ness of effect, for four months of the twelve. We have our gardens
for spring bulbs and other spring flowers, with all their charms and
buoyant effect upon the mind. We have our herbaceous borders,
which for half the year present little else than bare earth and labels.
All these we have, and can scarcely afford to neglect any one of them,
without creating an undesirable blank. Eut where shall we look for
our shrub or evergreen gardens 1 True, we occasionally meet with
grass plots in which are planted here and there a few shrubs, surrounded
with a ring of bare earth, and, in botanic gardens, decorated with an
ungainly label. Under such circumstances, each specimen assumes its
natural form, and is tolerably perfect ; but their arrangement can
scarcely be called even a step towards an ideal of a shrub-garden, nor
does it bear any trace of the thought exercised in the disposition of
other classes of plants of much less value, and of much more ephemeral
character.

We have long been under the impression, that to devote a space in
garden-grounds to an evergreen or shrub garden, now that we have so
many and such varied plants with which to furnish it, would be to add
a most desirable and interesting feature. And if half the thought in
laying it out and in planting it were exercised that has been bestowed
on tracing out figures and scrolls on grass, and in planting them with
shortlived flowering -plants, we cannot be far wrong in saying that
something most pleasing and desirable would be the result. It is not
our intention at present to enter into what we may consider the chief
details of such a garden. Locality, soil, and the contour of the grounds
at various places, would, as in other gardens, have to determine the
more minute details of the shrub or evergreen garden. But just by
way of indicating what we are anxious should become more popular
than it is, let us suppose for instance that we have before us — what
is very common — a flower-garden in a sunken panel, surrounded
with sloping banks of grass, and in some cases banks clothed thickly
with the Portugal and common Laurels. These banks are as even and
smooth in surface as a well-trained eye and a deft knife, or a pair of
shears, can make them ; the enclosed design is on as level a surface as
lines and levels can make it ; and the walks and figures are all that
compass and square can produce in formality and uniformity. The
planting is as much unrelieved as are the sloping banks of grass or
tortured evergreens. If this were transformed into an evergreen
garden, we would depart from these principles of construction and
planting as much as such a piece of ground would allow. If the sur-
rounding banks were formally clothed with dwarf shrubs, it would be

152 THE GARDENER. [April

to bring out more distinctly the character and different tints of taller
and easy-growing evergreen shrubs or trees. The enclosure itself we
will suppose laid out in a thoroughly free-and-easy style, and would
banish from its precincts such a formal tracery as box-edgings, and
substitute those beautiful-looking Irises which exist now in nearly
all the colours of the rainbow ; to say nothing of the many other
beautiful dwarf evergreen subjects that make exquisite edgings, such
as hardy Heaths, Cotoneasters, Euonymus, Daphnes, Andromeda, and
scores of others that might easily be named, and all of which in their
turn might be used as carpeting for beds, in which could be planted
at easy distances our most symmetrical and graceful shrubs, so that
each could grow into their natural forms and beauty, and not be subject
to any such knifing or clipping as would destroy their native tendency.
What a bountiful amount of material do Rhododendrons furnish, from
the very dwarf est to the most stately objects ! How beautiful our
variegated golden and silver shrubs would appear at mid-winter, con-
trasted with the dwarfer dark-greens, and vice versa ! What a variety
of surface, both in colour and character, could be produced even in a
very small space, and that, too, while every atom of surface except
the walks would be instinct w^ith life and beauty the livelong year,
and most conspicuously so when winter has stripped other gardens of
their garlands, and caused many, as it were, to creep below the brown
earth till the following summer. With these faint hints as to what
w^e wish to advocate, we for the present leave the subject to our readers,
fully convinced that the shrub or evergreen garden is one calculated to
add a great charm to all gardens, when such can be called into existence.

SETTING OF GRAPES AND PEACHES.

Can any of your readers furnish a good reason for the necessity of keep-
ing Vineries and Peach-houses, for instance, unusually dry w^hile the
fruit is setting ; or explain how the damping of the house, or occasional
syringing of the trees while in bloom, is injurious *? A deeper reason
may probably underly the advice generally given on this jDoint in some
cases, but I question if the majority could supply a better than that
given to us many years ago, at an early period of our career, by the
man in charge of the Peach-houses. To the question w^hy he kept the
atmosphere so dry when the trees w^ere in bloom, the answer was, " Tae
blaw the pollen aboot, tae be sure; " and our instructor, tapping a twig
with his finger to make the pollen fly, showed us how, if it had been
wet and claggy, that it " wadna blaw aboot ava." This explanation

1871.] SETTING OF GRAPES AND PEACHES. 153

and illustration of tlie matter was so apparently indisputable and satis-
factory, that we never questioned the " blaw-aboot " theory for many a
day after ; indeed, from that day to this, we have never heard a more
satisfactory reason given, and till this day the advice continually pro-
mulgated is, " Keep up a dry atmosphere where Vines and Peaches are
in bloom," and the advice is accepted and acted upon as a matter of
faith more than anything else. Now, with all respect for the opinions
of others with greater experience, we venture to think, according
to our own experience, that if a constantly dry atmosphere, aided
by fire-heat from beginning till end of the blooming period, is not a
positive evil, it is at least unattended with any good results. Every
one has noticed how the foliage of Vines and Peach-trees droops under
a bright sun, particularly after a tack of dull weather, and how a dew-
ing with the syringe restores energy again. Is it unreasonable to sup-
pose that the blossom is affected by the same causes, and that the
vitality is thereby impaired at a very critical period? One would
think that a dry sunny day, followed by an arid atmosphere from hot-
water pipes at night, were very unfavourable conditions for plant life
at any time, and about as directly opposed to nature as anything could
be. But if any one will take the trouble to examine a Peach-tree
bloom under these circumstances they will see for themselves; the very
feel of the atmosphere at such times is disagreeable, and smells of de-
struction— a rather vague test of what is suitable for a plant, some of
your readers may think; but I am half a believer in the "bond of sym-
pathy" that some suppose to unite man with nature. At all events,
it was while pondering the matter over in this light, some years ago,
and rather out of conceit with the " high-and-dry " theory, that we
began to experiment in the opposite direction ; and the result is, that
for the last two years or more we have treated our Vines, Peaches,
and other things when in bloom pretty much the same as at other
times, believing that what is conducive to a healthy development
of the foliage must have a beneficial effect upon the flowers and fruit
also. Last season we syringed our early and late Peach-trees regularly
while in bloom, once a-day in the afternoon, and damped the floors at
other times, and Peaches and Nectarines set so thick in most cases as
to be actually troublesome. The fruit had to be thinned three times
bafore stoning, and once after. Our Muscat Vines were also syringed
frequently while in bloom, dewing the bunches over gently, but
thoroughly, with a fine syringe. As a precaution, we were careful
also to syringe our first bunches of Golden Champion, knowing there
was a tinge of the Cannon Hall in it. The set in both cases was
abundant, and better than formerly. The four bunches of Golden
Champion led off first in two classes at a large provincial show after-

154 THE GARDENER. [April

wards — perhaps as fine samples of that much-criticised Grape as have
yet been shown. This season we have continued the practice, and
although the weather during January was most unfavourable, our early
Peaches have set most abundantly.

In addition to the refreshing effect of an occasional dewing upon the
blossom, thereby sustaining the vitality, not only of the flowers but the
pollen also, every particle of which is a living organism, the syringe is
also a better distributor of the pollen than a camel's-hair pencil or any-
thing else. Examine a globule of water after it has been deposited upon
a Peach flower among the stamens, and the minute grains of pollen
will be seen suspended in it, in innumerable quantity; and they, when
the water evaporates, are left attached to the stigma. Presuming,
therefore, that the moisture when not in excess has no injurious effect
upon the pollen itself, but is in all probability a quickener of the vital
principle, we have in the syringe, when discreetly used, one of the best
and most convenient artificial fertilisers we can find. I ofi'er this hypo-
thesis with all diffidence. I know it is not in accordance with the ideas
of some able physiologists, but the facts I have stated I can guarantee,
and if any of your readers have a better explanation to offer it will be
acceptable. Of course, in speaking of the subject of fruit-setting, I do
not wish your readers to forget that the first essential to that end is to
have the wood thoroughly matured the previous autumn, which can only
be accomplished by allowing the trees to carry no more wood or
foliage than can be well exposed to light, and to keep the foliage in a
healthy condition till the end. When these ends are attained, half
the battle is gained ; all we can do afterwards is to aid nature, and
this is only what I mean when I recommend a genial temperature —
neither too wet nor too dry — when fruit-trees of any kind are in
bloom. J. Simpson.

WoRTLEY Hall.

STRAWBEKRY FORCING.

Till the appearance of Mr Simpson's article on this somewhat import-
ant subject, I had felt satisfied that more than thirty years of success
had firmly fixed the character of Keen's Seedling as one of our very
best forcing varieties. I do not question Mr Simpson's statements ; on
the contrary, I feel confident that he has truthfully recorded his experi-
ence : but that this Strawberry will not submit to be forced is what I
cannot admit; so it would be an act of injustice to stand patiently
aside and witness its degradation, without taking the part of an old
and faithful servant.

I believe when I visited Wortley in company with Mr Young of the

1 87 I.J STRAWBERRY FORCING. 155

gardens at Went worth, we saw the Strawberry plants to which Mr
Simpson refers, and it was our united opinion that they were the finest
we had ever seen. No one, however keen-sighted, could ever have
anticipated so fatal a result. Once I found myself in the same posi-
tion, and can sympathise with Mr Simpson ; but my mishap did not
occur from any defect in the forcing property of Keen's Seedling, but
owing entirely to a different cause, which I strongly suspect lay at the
bottom of Mr Simpson's failure. When I came to Tortworth, more
than eighteen years ago, our plantation of this kind was to all
appearance true to name, and I believed there were few rogues among
them. The summer crop was a light one — certainly not more than a
fourth part showed flower — of which I took but little notice, acting on
the supposition that the deficiency might be caused by improper treat-
ment. Indeed there are seasons, as most of us know, when our very
best varieties fail less or more. From these our pot-plants were propa-
gated, the runners were earlier and stronger than usual, and at the end
of the growing season the crowns were thoroughly matured, and, as in
Mr Simpson's case, the pots were well filled Avith roots. But what was
the result? Not ten plants in a hundred showed a flower- truss, and
any that appeared w^ere weak and worthless.

The succeeding year I made a complete change. I purchased a pure
stock, and ever since I have had no difficulty in forcing Keen's Seedling.
Our first gathering is usually during the last week in March or the first
in April. It would be absurd, I think — an interference with the laws of
vegetable life — to affirm that species are inconstant in character ; but
the same cannot be said of mere varieties, as in process of time, unless
renewed by propagation, they degenerate, and become absolutely
barren, or nearly so. By age the constitution becomes feeble, vitality
sinks, and cultivation, however skilfully managed, fails to effect a
remedy. I do not know why, but it is nevertheless true, that none of
our garden fruits are so guilty of running off from the original as the
Strawberry. Propagation from unfruitful plants was the sole cause of
my misadventure, and Ithink it highly probable thatMr Simpson's defeat
originated from the same source. To prevent the repetition of such an
occurrence, I have yearly, while the Strawberries are in flower, all the
unfruitful plants removed, which enables me to depend upon the sound
state of my pot-plants. The heaviest crop and the finest berries I
ever grew were from runners of the preceding autumn, planted during
April in a quarter of the kitchen-garden, lifted during the first week
in August with moderately-sized balls, and potted into 7-inch pots.
However satisfactory such a plan may be, it requires too much labour —
more than most of us can spare, where thousands of plants have to be
prepared yearly.

156

THE GARDExXER.

[April

For many years past I have had our runners laid in their fruiting-
pots, about 5 inches in diameter, which I find to be quite large enough.
The plan, I think, commends itself, as the roots are not subject to damage
during subsequent potting, which certainly checks growth at least
ten days. Alexander Cramb.

ToirrwoRTH.

DINWER-TABLE PLANTS.

PALMS.

For table decoration, few if any class of plants are so useful and
effective as many of the Palms, when in a young state. Being entirely
devoid of anything that approaches to what may be characterised as

Fig. 7. — Akkca Verschaffeltii.

lumpy or ungainly, and possessing almost every feature that is calculated
to please the eye, when viewed either as isolated objects or mingling
their sprayey fronds with other plants or works of art, they occupy the

iSyi.]

DINNER -TABLE PLANTS.

157

very front rank of foliaged plants for decorative purposes. They are,
moreover, easy of cultivation, and can be reared to very suitable sizes
for table-work in small pots, and the texture of their foliage enables
them to stand tear and wear better than most stove-plants,

Areca Verschaffeltii, Fig. 7, is one of the most useful and orna-
mental of its genera. Its leaflets are of a lively-green colour, with
pale-buff midribs ; and as a semi-drooping plant, it has few equals for
furnishing generally, and for the dinner-table in particular. Our figure
is engraved from a photograph of a suitable sized plant for our present
purpose, in a 4-inch pot. It thrives well in two parts loam and one
part leaf-mould in the moist stove, where it can be freely syringed.
A. aurea, "^A, lutescens, *A. sapida, A. rubra, and A, nobilis are all

Fig. 8.— D^monokops MelanocHuETEs.

most useful for the same purposes. Those marked * are more hardy
than the others, and thrive in an intermediate temperature.

Dsemonorops Melanochsetes, Fig. 8, also taken from a photograph

158 THE GARDENER. [April

of a plant in a 5-incli pot, represents one of the finest, if not tlie finest,
table Palms with which we are acquainted. It can scarcely be excelled
for beauty of effect. It thrives under the same treatment as the stove
Arecas. It is scarcely so free in growth ; and when its tender fronds
are ojiening from the centre of the plant it requires partial shade, and
at all times an abundant supply of moisture. D. plumosus resembles
the subject of our figure, and it, as well as the following, are excellent
decorative j^lants : D. oblongus, D. draco, D. Jenkonsianis. From the
vigorous roots that Palms make, and the way in which they coil them-
selves in the pot, they can be easily turned out of their pots for an
occasion without suffering, but they can be kept healthy for a long time
in small pots if well supplied with water. D. T.

HINTS FOR AMATEURS. -APRII..

"Where fruit-trees have received their annual dressing, and are now
properly secured to their places on the walls, ikc, and standards (which
may have been left unpruned to keep a supply of fruit-buds after birds
have done their work) are now dressed, there will be little to do in
that department. However, the advancing season will bring its own
work, and Peaches, Nectarines, Plums, and Apricots will, in early
localities, soon require attention by disbudding, or, it may be, thinning
the flower-buds, as that is often of great service in securing a crop,
especially if the trees are weakly, and a scanty supply of foliage made.
When disbudding is done, all the shoots which are misplaced and likely
to deform the tree should be rubbed off, leaving plenty to supply
fruit another season. The shoots near the base of the old ones should
be left, and a leader to draw up the sap. When a portion of disbud-
ding is done as soon as growth commences, little check to the tree is
given. The tree should never be subjected to having large quantities
of young growths taken off at one time, and the young fruit should
not be suddenly denuded, especially when there is still danger from
frost. All natural spurs placed neatly and close to the wall should be
left, as they are certain fruit-bearers of a superior quality (at least we
believe this, and save them with all care). Where there is abundance
of healthy fibre these natural spurs are also sure to be plentiful.
Strawberries may require a thorough hoeing, but not to disturb the
roots j clear off decaying leaves. Young plants which have been kept
in store through the winter may be lifted with good balls and planted
out in good deep soil — rows 2 feet apart, and 1 foot to 1 J foot between
the plants is generally enough, but we have seen it necessary to keep

iSyr.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 159

some sorts 3 feet apart each way. jMulching to keep out drouglit may
require attention where soil is light and dry. Stable-litter answers well,
and will soon be made pure by the weather, and fit for keeping the
fruit clean in its season. Plants which may have been forced should
be protected, as they do well for planting in the open ground.

Flower-gardens will now be in tidy order, and the grounds ready
for the plants. Where hardy kinds are much used, they could be planted
in their places at once. They will become established early, and give
the garden an interesting appearance at the beginning of the season.
Ajuga, Arabis, Cerastium, Pansies of sorts, Dactylis, many kinds of
ornamental -foliaged shrubs, and a host of useful things, may be
arranged now for edgings, &c. Where Pansies or Yiolas are to be
used for bedding, the soil should be rich, cool, firm, and deep. Sov/-
ings of annuals may be made in borders and beds where wanted.
Herbaceous plants may be reduced and replanted, if necessary. When
digging among them, care should be taken not to spread the roots in
the ground, as confusion would then follow. The same applies to
hardy bulbs j some mark their positions with a piece of wood stuck
beside them. Lawns will now require to be well swept and rolled,
any grass edgings repaired, and neatly cut where necessary ; but while
doing this the edgings should not be reduced, but only parts which
are getting beyond bounds taken evenly off". Walks should now be
smooth and level, frequently rolled. Weeds should not be allowed to
appear where they can be kept down. Box-edgings may be clipped
soon ; if the weather is showery, so much the better. We prefer Box kept
flat in flower-gardens and around flower-borders, but in the kitchen-
garden it suits better to be kept the shape of a wedge, and not too
thin. Tulips and other bulbs may require looking over, pressing the
soil nicely round their necks, and keeping the surfaces of beds neatly
stirred. Hyacinths in flower may require protection from strong sun
and driving rain ; those in pots require plenty of manure-water, and
to be shaded to prolong their bloom, keeping the pots cooL Roses
Tinpruned^should now have attention — suckers should not be allowed to
appear, but be cut clean off. Where soil is light and poor a good
soaking of manure-water will do much to give a "successful bloom."
Drills drawn, not disturbing the roots, and then covered over with the
dry surface soil, is a good method of harvesting the moisture. All
bedding plants will now be getting ready for turning out next month ;
while getting them hardened gradually, sudden exposure to cold is to be
avoided. Plenty of light and air, when weather is mild, will help to
prepare them ; and taking the light off altogether when weather is
suitable will harden them without making them " wiry " and stunted.
Marigolds, Asters, Stocks, and other ornamental plants, may be got for-

IGO THE GARDENER. [April

ward; when fit to handle they do well pricked out in a frame or
under handlights, keej^ing them covered up from frost. Light soil is
necessary for getting up the seedlings strong for planting out ; more
seed may be sown for succession. Dahlias may still be divided, and
young shoots with heels attached placed in small pots of sandy
soil. If Dahlias are grown on steadily to good-sized plants in large
pots, they may be planted out in June, coming into bloom soon
after. The usual way of growing them for a few weeks' bloom in
autumn lessens their value to a great extent. Carnations and Pico-
tees to be grown and flowered in pots will require careful attention
with water, and shifting into larger-sized pots when roots are plentiful ;
thorough drainage is very important. Those to be planted out may
be placed in their quarters soon; well-prepared soil, tolerably rich and
sandy, suits them. Grubs soon find them out, and when established
in the soil are difficult to get rid of. Auriculas may require shading
from sun ; weakly flower-stems may be taken off" to do justice to
the principal flowers ; abundance of fresh air and careful watering are
their chief requirements at present ; worms in their pots, or any
pots, are to be avoided. Chrysanthemums will now require attention,
keeping them growing steadily without any check, topping in the
growths as they require it. tShift to larger pots those which are
filling their present pots with roots; liberal supplies of water will
be required in proportion to the roots which are to consume it, and a
check will cause naked stems, and the pots will not be covered
with large healthy foliage, so necessary to a well-grown Chrysan-
themum. We have a paper sent us by one who grew some of the
most extraordinary specimens ever seen in the west of England, but
as there seems nothing in the treatment which has not been indorsed
by others writing of their practice, we need not insert it here. The
substance of the treatment is — the plants were propagated in April,
kept growing steadily, carefully avoiding any check from any cause,
plunging the pots in a southerly position, choosing the coolest clay-
ground at command, and making holes in it to fit each pot into, and
giving abundance of manure-water after the buds were set for flowering.
Those grown in the open ground may have similar attention. Liliums
will now be making growth. They require plenty of light and air.
Any which may be wanted for late flowering can be kept in a shady
position. We put a dozen or two out in a cool position, plunged
in gravel through the summer. They come in useful in October
and November. Hard -wooded plants will now require plenty of
fresh air, and to be kept free from stagnant moisture. Water them
so that every particle of soil is moistened — dribblings are to be
strictly avoided. Insects, on growing soft-wooded plants, must be

1871.] AUTUMN AND WINTER PLANTS. 161

kept in check. Tobacco for fumigating them is still as useful and
simj)le a method of destroying them as any. Clark's insect-destroyer
stands high with us, both for fruit-trees and plants, it is so cleanly.
Cinerarias and Primulas require plenty of light and air after they
are up, and they should be pricked off into pans or potted in small
pots. Cinerarias require very cool treatment, and not exposed to
broiling sun. Primulas require more encouragement and lighter soil,
in which is plenty of leaf-mould. Balsams, Cockscombs, and Globe
Amaranths do well when sown now. They require bottom -heat
at the beginning, plenty of light and air as they grow into speci-
mens, and may be flowered in cool positions. M. T.

NOTES ON AUTUMN AND WINTER FLOWERING
PLANTS.

I PURPOSE giving a few notes on plants that bloom between the time
when frost generally puts an end to flowers outdoors, and when plants
that bloom in summer and early autumn have done their work, and
the time when what are generally known as spring-flowering things
come in. This is a very important period of the year, for while now-
adays the demand does not slacken, the supply becomes more limited
in both variety and quantity ; consequently the gardener cannot de-
spise the very commonest subject that can aid him in meeting the
demands made upon him for blooms at this season.

ScluzosfyJls coccinea. — This is a most useful plant when properly
managed. It makes a fine show all the autumn months. Being of a
bright scarlet colour, it mixes well among the Chrysanthemums ; and
when the spikes are cut, they, like the Gladioli, expand their very
last bloom, placed in water in an ordinary room. To have it fine in
autumn it should be planted out immediately : all danger from frost
is past in rich soil. If it has been grown in large pots the previous
season, it should be divided into moderate-sized pieces, as it grows
rapidly into large clumps.

In planting, put them rather deep in the ground, pressing the soil
firmly all round them, and giving a good watering when finished. If
at all a favourable season, they will require very little attention, except
an occasional watering with liquid manure ; and if long-continued dry
weather set in, we find a good mulching of an old Mushroom-bed very
beneficial. By the middle of September they will be large plants,
beginning to show their flower-spikes j and whenever they make their
appearance, no time should be lost in getting them all lifted and

162 THE GARDENER. [April

potted into pots a little larger than the balls of the plants, filling all
round with good rich soil. Care should be taken not to break the ball,
nor to injure the roots. After being potted, place them in a pit or
frame, where they can be kept close for ten days ; give a good watering
to settle the soil, and a syringe overhead for a few days, after which
they should have plenty of air. When a succession of flowers is
wanted, a few may be placed in a temperature of G0°, w^hich will soon
start them into bloom. Watering with weak manure-water makes them
send up fine strong spikes. When a quantity of spikes are fairly up
and beginning to open, transfer them to the conservatory, where they
will stand a long time in bloom ; and if strong healthy i^lants, they will
send up several successional crops of spikes. Those that were left in
the cold frame will succeed those forced into bloom very w^ell if not
allowed to get below 45° at night. We have about twelve large plants
in 11-inch pots, on which at one time this autumn we counted sixteen
fine spikes, and many more making their appearance : since the
middle of December they have been standing under a stage of a
Geranium-house, and on looking at them the other day w^e found them
showing signs of beginning to flower again ; we shall induce them to
do so, by placing them in a vinery just starting. When done flower-
ing, and about May, they will be taken out of their pots and divided,
each pot into two, and planted out and treated as above.

The Helloirope. — This is another indispensable plant for cutting from
in winter, and we prefer Standards, for, when fairly established, they
require no tying : on stem.s 30 inches high, and with heads 4 feet
through, they have a fine effect. When Standards are to be grown,
good free-growing spring cuttings should be selected and shifted on as
necessary, never pinching the leader until it has got to the required
height, but pinching all the side-shoots as they make their appearance,
leaving the leaf attached to the stem. About the end of May give
them their last shift for the season, unless they are wanted large in
a short time. Before plunging them out of doors, put a good strong
stake to each to secure them against high winds, care being taken
never to let them suffer for want of water : weak manure-waterings
throughout the summer are beneficial to them, and all flowers should be
picked off as they make their appearance until September, when they
should be lifted and top-dressed ; and put into a temperature of 60"",
they will flower for a long time. We have several here in 14-inch
pots which have had nothing done to them for some years, unless an
occasional surface-dressing. When taken from the open ground they are
either put into the early vinery or Peach-house, as we find space for
them : here they stand all winter, giving plenty of flowers. When
hardened off and danger from frost is over, they are cut hard back
and plunged out of doors again.

iSyi.] AUTUMN AND WINTER PLANTS. 163

The Chinese Primula. — The many varieties of the above make
them interesting, especially when a good collection of the double sorts
are grown along with the single ones. The Fern-leaved varieties, when
in good health, are handsome even when not in flower. To have the
single varieties early in flower they should be sown in August, and when
fairly up and one pair of rough leaves formed, pot them singly into
large thumb-pots in a mixture of peat and silver sand, placing them in
a close frame for a few days until they take with the shift, when air
should be given on all favourable occasions. As the autumn draws on,
and there is any danger from frost apprehended, remove them to a
light airy shelf near the glass, where they may stand all winter, keep-
ing them rather dry than otherwise, but not letting them suffer for
want of water. Here they may stand until the end of ^larch, when
they will have filled the pots with roots : get a lot of 6 and 5 inch pots,
perfectly clean and well drained ; also a mixture of half peat and good
fibry loam, with a little cow-dung, which has been lying for some time,
put through a fine sieve, with some silver sand well mixed, and put
where it can be warmed to the same temperature as the house the plants
are growing in. As the potting goes on a little soot should be sprinkled
over the drainage, which is a good preventive against worms getting
into the pots when standing in their growing quarters. When finished,
place them in a cold frame where they can stand all the summer, keep
the lights close for a few days, giving air according to the state of the
weather, keeping them always close to the glass. When the pots are
filled with roots, a watering with manure-water twice a-week will be
beneficial to them. When the sun gets powerful, shade with a little
whiting and skim-milk mixed to the thickness of paint, adding as
much Brunswick-green as takes off the white appearance. As this is
applied to the glass, strike the surface gently with a soft brush before
it dries; when this is carefully done it has all the appearance of frosted
glass, and gives a fine subdued light to the plants. Here they may
stand all the summer, and will make fine plants ; and by keeping the
frame a little close in the day from August and shut up at nights, fine
heads of bloom soon begin to make their appearance, and continue
flowering until those sown in the spring succeed them.

The Laurestinus. — This is a very useful plant when there is a great
quantity of cut flowers required : and to have it in flower at Christmas,
and standing in the conservatory among other things, it has a good effect.
It forces easily after the plants have had a season or two in the pots.
Standards on 18-inch stems are very effective; they should be plunged
out-doors as soon as done flowering, and attended to through the
summer with water. A. H.

Thoresby Park Gardens.

{To be continued.)

164

THE GARDENER.

[April

NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS.

NO. IV.

The immense array of distinct species and varieties of Eliododendrons
now in cultivation renders the selection of a moderate number, par-
ticularly to those who are unacquainted with them, a task of no little
difficulty ; and with the view of assisting such, we have arranged the
following list in groups, according to their colours. It is necessary to
remark, however, that while all we have noted are really fine, and can
be recommended as hardy late-flowering sorts, they by no means em-
brace the whole, or even a tithe, of those that are worthy of cultivation ;
on the contrary, it would be easy to extend our list far beyond the space
at our disposal, and to name many others in each group equally deserv-
ing. It is therefore to be regarded rather as representative than as
exhaustive, from which a beginner may cull a good nucleus for the
formation of a first-rate collection, blooming in ordinary seasons from
the end of May till the middle of June.

1st — White axd Light-Coloured Varieties.
Album elegans— Blush, nearly white ; I

green

tall erect habit.
Album grandiflorum — "White,

eye, tall grower.
Amethystine — Blush, tipped with puce,

yellow eye.
Blanc superb — Fine white, dwarf bushy

habit, free flowerer.
Candidissimum — White, edged with

the palest rose, broad yellow spot.
Chancellor — White, large truss, yellow

eye.
Coriacea — Pure white, dwarf habit, fine

foliage.
Delicatum — French white, maroon

spots.
Duchess of Cambridge — Fine white,

yellow spots.
Evelyn— Pure white, large fine-shaped

truss.
Empress Eugenie — Waxy white, black

spots.
Hester — Fine white, large truss.
Jean Stern — White, spotted with crim-
son.
Lady Godiva — White, yellow spots.

Lorenzo — White, bold yellow eye.
]\Iinuie — White, very striking blotch of

chocolate spots ; large conical truss ;

remains a long time in bloom.
Mont Blanc — Pure white, dwarf bushy

habit.
IVIrs Hemans — Light, yellow spots.
Mrs John Glutton — Clear white, fine

form.
Mrs Standish — Pure white, yellow

spots, large truss.
Mrs Tom Agnew — Pure white, lemon

blotch.
Multimaculatum — White, red spots ;

the truss ratlier loose, but a distinct

and pleasing old variety.
Rachel — White, light yellow eye.
Ruth — Blush white, finely spotted.
Stanwellianum album — Pure white,

dwarf bushy habit, fine foliage, and

a very free bloomer.
The Queen — Very light mauve, chang-
ing to pure white ; large compact

truss ; fine substance.
Zuleika — Delicate blush, a pleasing

variety.

large compact truss.

2d — Lilac and Purple Varieties.

Black-Eyed Susan — Light purple, heavy Erestium — Dark purple,
dark blotch.

Catawbiense — Light purple, a well-
known species, hardy, and free-
blooming.

Cyanum— Purplish lilac.

Everestianum — Violet, pale green spot,
compact truss ; the florets beautifully
fringed.

Fastuosum pieno — Lilac, large truss of
double flowers, remains long in bloom.

i87i.]

NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS.

165

Fumosum — Dark purple, strongly mark-
ed with dark spots.

Grace Darling — Pale lilac, intense dark
spots,

Grandis — Lilac, dark spots.

Leopardi — Clear lilac, the whole of the
bloom covered with red spots.

Lucidum — Purplish lilac, brown spots.

Maculatum nigrum — Dark purple.

Maculatum purpureum — Light purple,
heavy black blotch.

Nereus — Deep purple, dark spots.
Kero — Eich bright purple, large

truss.
Purpurea magnifica (Kembrandt) — Deep

purple, fine bold truss.
Sir Thomas Siebright — Rich purple,

bronze blotch.
Schiller — Bluish purple, dark ppots.
The Autocrat — Fine purple, dark

blotch.
Vervaneanum — Lilac, double flower.

3d— Rosy and Crimson Purple Varieties.

Alaric (Augustus) — Purplish crimson
or plum.

Atilla — Deep claret purple.

Auguste Van Geert — Light rosy purple,
brown spots.

Blatteum (Sir Isaac Newton) — Claret
crimson, large truss.

Currieanum — Rosy lilac, spotted, com-
pact truss.

Faust — Rosy lilac.

Genseric — Purplish crimson.

Joseph Whitworth — Dark purple lake,
black spots, large truss.

Melanthauma — Purplish crimson.

Murillo — Rosy purple.

j^e plus ultra (Londonense) — Lilac

purple, finely shaded.
Old Port— Rich plum.
Omar Pacha — Dark purplish lake.
Pardolatan — Rosy lilac, finely spotted.
Prince Albert — Rich lake, large shining

foliage.
Queen Victoria — Claret, a very free

flowerer.
Stamfordianum — Claret, black blotch.
Tamerlane — Dark maroon, large truss.
The Maroon— Chocolate, fine form.
Tippo Sahib— Very dark chocolate.
William Downing — Dark puce, blotch

of dark spots.

4th — BicoLORs, or Varieties with the Florets margined with a
DISTINCT Colour from the Throat.

Alarm — White centre, margined with

scarlet.
Brayanum — Rosy scarlet, light centre.
Bylsianum — White centre, margined

with deep pink.
Claude — White centre, margined with

lake.
Concessum — Light centre, margined

with bright rose.
Duchess of Sutherland — White, broad

margin of rosy lilac.
Floretta — White, broad margin of

cerise.

Galbanum — Light, rosy crimson margin.

Helen AVaterer — Pure white, margined
with crimson.

Henry Bohn — Pale, margined with
rosy crimson,

John Spencer — Rose, margined with
deep pink.

Limbatum — Pale blush, edged with
crimson.

Mrs John Penn — Salmon, edged with
lake,

Niege et Cerise — Satiny white, mar-
gined with red.

5th — Light Pink and Rose.

Albion — Rose, fine form.
Amazon — Delicate pink.
Cato — Rosy blush, finely spotted.
Distinction — Rosy crimson,darker spots.
Duke of Norfolk — Clear rose.
Erectum — Deep pink.
Fanny — Delicate rose.
Flora — Rosy blush.
Geranoides — Rose, very dark spots.
Giganteum — Bright rose, large truss.
Gulnare — Pale pink.
Ingomar — Deep rose.
Lady Armstrong — Pale rose, much
spotted.

Clear

Lady Eleanor Cathcart
finely spotted.

Lady Emily Peel — Bright rose, blotched
with chocolate.

Lord John Russell — Pale rose, dark
blotch on upper petal.

Metaphor — Rose, fine form.

Paxtonii — Bright rose, chocolate spots.

Sir Charles Napier — Rose, finely spot-
ted.

Towardii — Rose, spotted.

Prince Camille de Rohan — Pink, dense
crimson spots.

166

THE GARDENER.

[April

6th— Dark Scarlet and Crimson.

Alexander Adie— Brilliant rosy scarlet,

fine truss.
Atrosanguineum — Intense blood-red.
Blaudyaiium — Dark crimson.
Bray an um — Vivid scarlet.
Caractacus — Rich crimson.
Cephalus — Dark crimson, black spots.
Charles Dickens — Dark scarlet, fine

foliage.
Comet — Fiery crimson.
Decorator — Clear bright scarlet.
Dictator — Dark crimson.
Duke of Cambridge — Cerise, black spots.
Earl of Shannon— Rich crimson.
Fleur de Marie — Rosy crimson.
Francis Dickson — Brilliant scarlet.
Gemmatum — Bright scarlet.
General Canrobert— Dark scarlet.
Guido — Deep crimson.
Hector — Bright crimson.
Ignescens — Bright scarlet.
James Bateman— Clean rosy scarlet.
John Waterer — Scarlet, fine substance.
Juba — Fine crimson.

Lord Brougham — Crimson.

Lord Clyde — Deep blood-colour.

Lord Granville — Clear cerise.

Meridian — Dark crimson, black blotch.

Michael Waterer — Bright scailet crim-
son.

;Mrs Fitzgerald — Bright rosy scarlet.

Mrs John Waterer — Bright crimson,
spotted, very fine.

Or'namentum— Ijright rosy scarlet.

Ornatum — Dark scarlet.

Poussin — Crimson.

President Van den Hecke — Crimson,
finely spotted.

Satanella — Rosy red, fine.

Sidney Herbert— Bright carmine, dark
blotch.

Sir Robert Peel — Brilliant rosy crimson.

The Bouncer — Scarlet crimson, dark
eye.

The Grand Arab— (Vesuvius) brilliant
crimson.

The Warrior — Bright rosy scarlet.

William Cowper — Bright scarlet.

7th-

-SoRTs WITH Dwarf Habit of Growth, suitable for Rockwork,
Small Borders, or Edging for Clumps.

Arbutifoliura — Lilac.
Chamoecistus — Pale pink.
Ferrugineum — Rose.
Gemniferum — Pink.
Govenianum — Pale pink, scented.
Hirsutum — Deep rose.

Ilirsutum variegatum — Deep rose.
Hybridum — Light rose.
Myrtifolium — Lilac.
Odoratum — Pale rose, scented.
Waterer's hybrid — Rosy lilac.
Wilsonianum — Rosy lilac.

Hugh Eraser.

THE HERB BORDER

Is not generally neglected in a well-conducted establisliment, but in
many places it is not dignified with a remarkable share of attention,
for what reason I cannot tell ; for the want of some particular kind of
herb, when it is required, though perhaps required seldom, is
frequently as great a source of annoyance to the gardener as anything
else. I have known a particular herb that had never been inquired
after for many years suddenly become indispensable on the advent of
a new cook or housekeeper. It is, therefore, well to have everything
of the kind that is likely to be needed. It is not at all an uncommon
thing either to meet with young men very intelligent on other sub-
jects, and who would probably resent the idea of being considered
unfit for a good foreman's place, who are quite ignorant about herbs
and their uses, and possibly could not pick a particular kind out of a
collection without assistance. Under these circumstances, I think I

iSyi.] THE HERB BORDER. 167

need make no apology for introducing the subject ; and I purpose
giving a chapter or two on the uses and cultivation of those herbs and
other plants that are generally classed along with them in a kitchen-
garden ; and the first thing we have got to consider is the situation
and arrangement of the border. An east or west aspect will do very
well ; and where a wall-border cannot be afforded, a strip off one of
the garden-breaks in a sheltered part will do ; for though hardiness is
a feature of some kinds of herbs, there are others that thrive best in
a warm situation. The extent of ground required will of course de-
pend upon the demand. It should be thrown off into beds or squares
wdth 18-inch alleys between ; and for greater convenience, the perennial
or evergreen kinds, such as Mint, Sage, Thyme, (fee, should be kept
by themselves at one end of the border; and the annual kinds, such as
Sweet Marjorum and Summer Savory, at the other end. As a general
rule, most kinds of herbs will thrive in ordinary soils and situations.
Any exception to this rule I will notice when I come to speak of the
different kinds, which I will treat of in their turn according to their
importance, and shall therefore begin with

Mint. — Three species are generally grown, — Common Spearmint,
Peppermint, and Pennyroyal. The first named is the variety generally
grown in gardens for ordinary purposes. The leaves or tops are used
in soups and salads, and every one knows that the indispensable Mint
sauce is the accompaniment of roast-lamb. Mint is also a popular
stomachic and anti-spasmodic, for which reason it is generally boiled
along with green Peas and some other vegetables, according to taste
or necessity. It is a native of Britain, and therefore hardy, thriving
almost anywhere and in any soil, though it likes a damp situation, and
grows best in wet seasons. It is propagated by division of the roots,
and may be replanted every three or four years, in February or March.
The ground should be dug deeply and manured, and the long runner-
like roots laid in, in rows about 1 foot apart, and covered 2 or 3 inches
deep with soil. When the plants come into bloom, 8 or 10 inches of
the tops should be cut off and dried for winter use. The beds should
then be cleaned and top-dressed, and the plants will make a short
growth before winter, which will afford a supply of green Mint also if
needed. Mint is easily forced ; a few roots coiled round an 8-inch pot
covered with soil, and pushed on in any forcing-house or pit, will keep
up the supply. This sometimes requires to be done in spring. Pep-
permint and Pennyroyal require the same treatment. The first is
grown for distillation chiefly, sometimes extensively by cottagers in
England ; the latter is occasionally inquired for in gardens.

Sage. — Common or Red Sage is the variety generally grown. It is
an aromatic herb, and is used for flavouring various articles of cookery.

168 THE GARDENER. [April

In some countries it is used instead of tea, and also said to be smoked
like tobacco. It was, and still is, a favourite of herb doctors. We can
recommend it from experience, with honey and vinegar, as one of the
best gargles for inflammatory sore -throat. Sage is a native of the
south of Europe, and will succeed in any light well-drained soil, pre-
ferring a warm situation. It is generally propagated by cuttings of
the young shoots, as soon as they can be got, about the beginning of
summer. The cuttings should be inserted in a light sharp soil, under
handlights, and shaded and watered till rooted. When hardened off a
little, the plants should be lifted carefully, and planted out on the
border, about 15 inches apart each way, and watered. The after-cul-
ture consists in stirring the soil about the plants, and keeping it free
from weeds. A little light manure should be forked in about the
plants in spring or autumn. The tops should be cut off before flower-
ing, and dried for winter use. If this is delayed until it is too late
for the plants to make a second short growth before frost sets in, they
will frequently perish, or at least be greatly injured during the winter.
Sage may also be propagated, in an emergency, by seed, and by split-
ting the old plants into pieces, with a bit of root attached to each ; but
by cuttings is the best plan.

Tarragon, Ferennial. — An aromatic herb : a native of Siberia. It
is used for flavouring various dishes. As a cheese herb, with mustard
and cress, it is in request every day in the year. It requires a good
deal of attention to keep up a stock of it, particularly as a good bit
has to be taken up for forcing in many places. It must have a light
rich soil and a warm corner. It is propagated by division of the
roots in spring, when about starting into growth. The ground should
have a good dressing of decayed hot-bed manure, be dug deeply, and
the roots be planted in rows, about 1 foot apart each way. The
crowns must be protected against slugs, which are very fond of the
young growths, and eat them off as they appear. Keep the ground
cleaned and stirred during summer. The stems may be cut and dried
for winter use, but it is seldom asked for in this state when it is forced.
It stands the winter better when the stems are left uncut till spring,
and it is a good plan to strew some litter over the bed in winter
as a protection against frost. Unless Tarragon is taken up and re-
planted frequently — almost every year — it is apt to die off, and it will
be found advisable to keep this in mind when a good stock is required.
Eor forcing, it is better to have a stock in pots two years old, and then
there will be no danger of a blank occurring in the supply in autumn,
when the stems of the out-door stock begin to ripen off and get yellow.
The roots may be lifted in November or December, and potted
amongst good soil in 12 -inch pots. Force gently during the winter ;

iSyi.] PASSIFLORA QUADRANGULARIS. 169

use tlie young shoots, but allow some of the stems to grow, and as soon

as the bed outside begins to afford a supply in spring, harden off the

pot-plants, and set them out behind a north wall during summer. Early

in autumn they should be cut down, and the pots top-dressed, when

they may be again introduced into heat as early as needful to keep up

a supply, and another lot should be lifted in winter to succeed these

the following year, while the older plants may be planted out. If

taken care of, the same pot-plants will do for two or three years.

WoRTLEY. J. Simpson.

{To he continued.)

PASSIFLORA QUADRAWGULARIS.

We are interested in Mr Simpson's article on the above-named plant
(p. 71 of the ^Gardener'). Having grown it for the last ten years,
and failed to produce fruit to any extent, we may simply state that
our plant is grown in a span-roofed cucumber-house, the roots having
a space to themselves, and the benefit of a part of the hot-water tank
at the north end of the house. The shoots are trained along under
the ridge of the roof, and bloom abundantly. The flowers impart to
the atmosphere a pleasing odour, and soon drop off.

The P. edulis fruits freely with us, but the pollen taken from it
exerted no influence on more than a dozen other varieties with which
we experimented. On P. quadrangularis we once had two fruits
effected by pollen from Tacsonia mollissima, and last year one fruit
from its own pollen.

What we are anxious to know, and perhaps Mr Simpson will kindly
state, is. What number of glands are on the footstalk of a full-developed
leaf of P. quadrangularis to which he refers ? We believe they are
characteristic. Are we right in supposing that all the flowers on his
plants were impregnated 1

We may further state, that when in the forcing department at
Taymouth Castle eighteen years ago, the back-wall of two fruiting
Pine - stoves was covered A\dth two plants of P. quadrangularis
inarched on the P. edulis. They produced hundreds of fruits in a season,
which were highly esteemed both for dessert and culinary purposes.
The plants received no special treatment. Their roots were under a
part of the back pathway, consequently they had no bottom-heat ; and
being soft-rooted gross feeders, they were occasionally supplied with
liquid manure when watering the Pines, but the flowers were impreg-
nated with their own pollen.

The two cases coming under my own observation being so different

170 THE GARDENER. [April

in their results, we have changed our pLmt five times, always trusting
to get the true P. quadrangularis, there being more than one sent out
under that name. G. Donaldson.

Keith Hall.

PROPAGATING VINES FROM EYES.

As it has become one of the (juestions of the day whether Vines propa-
gated and grown in the usual way in pots or on turves are best for
planting the same season, or which of the two systems gives the quick-
est results, I venture to give some details of the two systems worked
side by side at this place. On entering on the superintendence of the
gardens here, in the last week of February 18G8, the getting up of a
stock of young Vines for planting was a matter that called for early at-
tention. Having visited Mr Simpson at Wortley Hall early the previous
autumn, I was very much pleased with the appearance of his young
Vines, and was informed by him that they were reared as described
by him recently in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle.' I resolved not only to
adopt the turf system, but to test it against the more common practice
of growing the young plants in pots. The Vines being all pruned on.
my arrival here except Lady Downes, Black Alicant, and West St Peter's,
along with these, I got from Mr Henderson of Thoresby some Black
Hamburgs and Muscats, taken from his cutting-pots ; and the day after
their arrival I put one half of them singly in 3-inch pots, and the
other half in turves 6 to 9 inches square, with a hole in the centre,
which I filled with the same soil used for the eyes in pots. They vrere
placed in a Cucumber-house which is used for propagating in the early
spring months, and their position here was as good as could be desired.
All went on equally for some time, but it soon began to be apparent
that those in pots were pushing with greater vigour ; and they
rapidly outstripped those in turves, and grew more rapidly and vigor-
ously. Waiting for some time, until it became quite evident that
those on turves were not going to do so well, with a measure of
disappointment I transferred them turf and all into pots, but they
never made such fine Vines as those grown in pots from the beginning.
So much for turf versus pots in this instance.

The following spring (of 1869) I had two vineries to plant — one a
Muscat, and the other a mixed house, the greater proportion being
Black Hamburgs; and being anxious to give the planting of newly-
struck plants a trial against those raised the previous spring, in striking
the yojing stock I adopted the pot system. Some were shifted into
6-inch pots, and some into 10 inches, and from these pots they were
transferred into the border. From the enormous quantity of wireworm

iSyi.] PROPAGATING VINES FROM EYES. 171

which had unfortunately found their way into the border in the fresh
turf, the chances were against the newly-struck Vines with their young
fiesh roots, about the destruction of which wire worm I will say a
word by-and-by. Still, the young Vines had the advantage, running
vigorously to the top of the house the first year, and making a great
amount of growth besides; and last year they lacked nothing that could
be wished. To-day, the 13th March, I measured one of the Black
Hamburg canes at its smallest point after being pruned, and find
that it measures 2 J inches in circumference ; and some of the stronger-
growing varieties are stronger in proportion. Very likely, had these
Vines been raised and planted on any other system, their vigour would
have been attributed to whatever that system might be.

I do not wish it to be understood that I am averse to the system of
raising Vines on turf, although it so far did not succeed so well as the
old system with me. I have good reasons for knowing that the way in
which Mr Thomson has raised his Vines at Tweed vineyard is something
gained by horticulture. A young man has recently left here and gone
to a situation in Scotland, where he has just had five new vineries planted
with Vines from Mr Thomson ; and he informs me he never saw such
Vines for roots before : so dense and fibry were the roots that he com-
pares them to those of a Holly or a Box-tree. Mr Thomson's idea of
Vine -roots extending away beyond the borders without benefiting
much from them, strange to say, occurred to me in the early part of
last winter. In our two vineries already referred to, I had the inside
borders turned up to the bottom early last winter, beginning at the
back of the house and working the roots out carefully as we went for-
ward about 6 feet in the border. The roots were pruned back accord-
ing as I thought they required it, with the idea of making them branch
more, and take more advantage of the food supplied them, instead of
running to the back wall and working there. They were all laid care-
fully in the soil, slanting upwards instead of downwards.

It occurs to me that, when Vines are raised on Mr Thomson's prin-
ciple, the sooner they are transferred to the border after they are
rooted the better ; but perhaps the facilities for root-pruning the first
year would thereby be lessened.

A word about the destruction of the wireworm. I first coated the
surface of the borders thickly with rape-dust, smoothed it down, and
covered it with 2 or 3 inches of old ]\Iushroom-bed manure. The
latter material was carefully turned over every alternate morning, and
hand-picked by women, when from three to five hundred of the enemy
were destroyed at every picking, which extended over a good many
weeks. James Hunter.

Lambton Castle Gardens.

THE GARDENER. [April

KEEPING GRAPES, AND STATE OF THE VINE ROOTS.

The system of filling Vine-borders with healthy fibrous roots (as promul-
gated by Mr Thomson), instead of encouraging them to cross rapidly
through the porous soil, will prove beneficial to growers in many ways
not generally recognised. One important fact is, that where fibre is
abundant the quality of the fruit is of the highest order, and its keep-
ing properties are greatly improved. This is not only applicable to the
Grape, but also to the Apple and Pear; and we could give many instances
of certain kinds which have entirely changed their character, both in
appearance and taste, since they have been lifted, and stones packed
tightly in the soil round the extremities of the roots, which have pro-
duced abundance of fibre. A number of Vines here have been lifted
at various times, and stones, &c., been made tight in front of the roots,
to prevent them from getting quickly in among the fruit-tree roots in
front of the borders, and have given much satisfaction. The Golden
Hamburg keeps almost equal to the Black Hamburg, while others of the
golden kind, which have made roots in the usual vigorous way (long,
white, and spongy), are discarded as failures. The only difference that
can be observed between the " failures and successes " is fibry roots
matted in the prepared border, and vice versa. We have tried some
experiments with Grapes, by testing their keeping qualities ; and those
which have been treated so that they produced abundance of fibry
roots, are easily kept in good condition. Among the sorts are Black
Hamburg, Muscat Hamburg, White Muscat, Marchioness of Hastings,
Trebbiano, West St Peter's, Burchardt's Prince, and Black Lady
Downes. These have all been examined and tasted on the 4th of
March, and were nearly equal in appearance and sweeter to taste than
in September. The Muscats, though quite plump, began to fall off the
stalks when shaken. The Hamburgs were a little shrivelled, but
sugary. Burchardt's Prince is a capital Grape, and is not known as
it deserves. The Marchioness of Hastings and Trebbiano are still bright
yellow, and the foot-stalks quite green. The Lady Downes improves
daily. Late-kept Grapes, with nothing more than the novelty to re-
commend them, are not worth house-room ! What we expect in late
Grapes is freshness, good flavour, and colour, which, we think, can be
secured with early and thorough ripening. Abundance of fibre (in-
stead of large white roots) does much to secure this. Brown Grapes,
nicknamed Blacks, and Whites changed to Browns, as if they had
been carried about in a schoolboy's pocket, are offensive, either on a
public or private table. M. Temple.

Balbiknie.

iSyi.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 173

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS.

(Continued from ■page 127.)
THE QUINCE.

This is a fruit which is not very extensively cultivated in Britain. Our horticul-
tural experience extends to several of the best places in the kingdom, and yet,
strange to say, in only one of these places was it in cultivation, and attended to
in the regular course with the rest of the representatives of Pomona's realm. How
this is to be accounted for it is not easy to say, for we find that the Eomans held
it in some esteem, as Columella informs us that "Quinces not only yield plea-
sure but health." The fruit in a raw state is acid and astringent, with a power-
ful odour, and quite unfit for eating. It is used for making Quince marmalade,
for stewing, and for flavouring Apple-pies and suchlike, as well as for making a
nice light wine, which some hold in high esteem. The principal use for which
the Quince is grown is to make stocks for the Pear, but as we spoke pretty fully
of this when writing about that fruity it is unnecessary to say more regarding
it here.

There are four varieties in cultivation in Britain — viz., the common English,
the common Portugal, the Apple-shaped, and the Pear-shaped Quince. The
English is the most inferior of all, while the common Portugal is the best variety,
but, unfortunately, a very shy bearer. The variety which is most generally cul-
tivated is the Apple-shaped, which is a free bearer, and produces fruit about 3
inches in diameter, of a beautiful golden colour. It is the hardiest of all the
four varieties, and consequently the best suited for our climate.

The Quince may be propagated by any one of the following methods — viz., by
cuttings, by layers, or from seed. In propagating by cuttings, nice strong shoots
of the present year's growth, with a heel of last year's wood attached, ought to be
selected, and put in in September or October. They may be planted in rows
1 foot apart, and 4 or 6 inches plant from plant. They will root before next sum-
mer ; and should they make good growths, it may be necessary during winter
to transplant them into rows 2 feet apart and 1 foot plant from plant. Layers
are propagated in the usual way by bending down the branches, and fixing them
in the soil with a peg, until such time as they are fit to be removed from the
parent tree. Another method, and a much better one, is to cut down a Quince-
tree so as to form a stool, which during the following season will send forth a
number of young shoots, which in autumn may be layered in the usual way, cut-
ting back each shoot to within two or three buds of the soil. During the follow-
ing season all these buds may start, but as soon as it is evident which will be the
best shoot, the others should be removed. In autumn of this year, layers done
in this way will be well enough rooted to admit of their being removed into nur-
sery-lines, where they may be planted 2 feet between the rows and 1 foot apart
plant from plant. In France, the general practice is to cut down a young tree
to 8 or 10 inches from the ground, and after it has made its young shoots and
got them well ripened, earth is thrown up into a cone, so that these shoots are
covered to the depth of 6 or 8 inches, and are generally well enough rooted by
the end of the following season to be removed to nursery-lines. The soil being
again removed, the tree will soon produce more shoots, which can be treated after
the same method as before, so that a crop of young trees may be got every second
year for a length of time by a very simple and easily-accomplished plan.

The Quince not being an erect-growing tree, there is some difficulty in getting

174 THE GARDENER. [April

it to form a straight stem, unless it be trained pretty firmly to a strong stake. If
a dwarf tree is wanted, it must just be allowed to grow at will ; but if a stem of,
say, 2 or 3 feet is wanted, it must be attended to until the stem is formed, after
which the management is just the same in either dwarf or standard. At the end
of the first season the shoot from which the future tree is to grow should be cut
back to 15 inches, if a dwarf tree is wanted. From this there will several shoots
proceed on the following year, which shoiild again be allowed to grow at will till
pruniug-time in winter, at which period they may all be removed, except three
or four, which may remain, and be cut back to lengths of 1 foot to 1 4 foot accord-
ing to the strength of each. Year after year the same course may be pursued
until the tree is thoroughly formed, taking care at all times to prevent crowding
of wood, or the crossing of branches over one another — which is a thing very
likely to occur in such a crooked -growing tree as the Quince. The soil best suited
for the Quince is a light, rich, and a naturally moist one, although it will succeed
in almost any soil, except heavy clays and dry sandy soils. The best position for
the Quince is in the orchard, and if a sheltered corner with an exposure to any
point from south-east to south-west can be obtained, there is not much fear of
success. In very cold and uncongenial districts, it might find a place upon the
wall, where it may just be trained as recommended for the Pear in the volume of
the ' Gardener' for 1869.

The insect enemies of the Quince are the same as we find attacking the Pear,
and as they have received their due share of attention when speaking of that fruit
in the volume for 1869 already referred to, there is no need to repeat what was
then said. The only disease to which the Quince is liable — and that very seldom
— is the Pvhizoctonia mali, which is a fungus that sometimes attacks the roots.
Unless it should increase to an alarming extent, it will not accomplish a vast
amount of evil. In such a case, however, the best plan is to grub up the trees
at once. If the trees are young they may be lifted, and, after having all the soil
shaken from the roots, may be dipped in a strong solution of lime-water, and in
a few minutes be washed in clean water and planted into fresh soil.

THE MEDLAR.

The Medlar is another of those fruits not very generally cultivated, and not very
popular, except with those who have acquired a taste for it. It is of a peculiar
habit of growth — very twisting and spreading, and not attaining to any great
height. The largest trees we have seen were not more than 12 feet high, and it
is seldom that it attains even this height. The fruit is quite unfit to eat — being
hard and very acid — until it begins to decay. The flavour is then slightly acid
and astringent, and is eaten raw by those who love it. It is sometimes pre-
served with sugar, but does not make the best of jelly.

There are several varieties of the medlar in cultivation, but the following four
are the best, and are arranged in the oider of their quality. The first and best
is the ]\Ionstrous Medlar, which combines the flavour of the Nottingham with the
size of the Dutch Medlar, and is a very abundant bearer. Next in order is the
Nottingham, which is a small but highly-flavoured variety, and is perhaps the most
generally grown of all. It is more upright in its habit of growth than the rest,
and consequently is not so grotesque in its general appearance. The next in
point of quality is the Dutch Medlar, which is larger in size than the last-named
variety, but not nearly so high in flavour. The fruit of this variety more
resembles an Apple with a very large eye than any of the others. The last variety
we shall name is the Stoneless, which is very small and obovate, without stones, of
a russet-brown colour, and not any larger than a common Gooseberry. It is not

iSyi.] THE PLANTING SEASON. 175

nearly so liigh in flavour as any of the former-named kinds, but, being a long
keeper, is sometimes cultivated on that account.

The propagation of the Medlar is accomplished by cuttings, by layers, and from
seed. Sometimes the Medlar is grafted or budded upon the wild Medlar, the
Quince, the Pear, or the White Thorn — the latter stock being considered the
best for this purpose, especially where the soil is of a dry nature, whereas the
Quince is considered the best in wefc and cold climates. "When the tree is to be
propagated from a cutting, nice strong shoots should be selected, having a heel of
the former year's wood attached, and may be put in during autumn or early
winter, and afterwards treated much in the same way as we have recommended
for the Quince. To propagate by layers, any of the methods recommended for
the Quince will be found to suit the purpose well enough. To propagate by seed,
these should be taken from the fruit as soon as ripe, and sown at once. It will
be two years, or I should rather say a year and a half, before the young plants
begin to show above the ground, the seed usually taking that period to germinate.
As soon as they have attained to the height of 1 foot or thereby, they should be
attached to a strong stake to encourage a straight growth for a stem. They may
at the end of the first or second year's growth be planted out at distances of 14
foot apart or thereby, and all the varieties ought to be trained to a single stem
till they attain to the height of at least 4 or 5 feet, for unless this be done the
trees will branch and twist about upon the ground like a Warrington Gooseberry,
with the single exception of the Nottingham Medlar, which is more erect in habit
than the rest. After the stem has been grown to the desii-ed height, the tree
may be formed in just the same way as an ordinary standard Apple. Greater
care, however, is necessary in the case of the Medlar, so as to counteract as much
as possible that crossing of branches which is sure to be the result in such a
peculiar-growing tree as the Medlar.

The Medlar luxuriates best in a moist and rich loamy soil, although it may
partially succeed in almost any soil. It does not do well either in a too dry or
too moist a soil : the best flavour and the largest fruit invariably are produced
upon such soils as we have above recommended. James M'Millan.

{To be continued.)

THE PLANTING SEASON.

Eefore this appears in- print the planting season will not have gone.
The planting season is really much longer than is generally accepted,
for, with care and judgment, it may be done at any time, except dur-
ing frost. The best time, however, for Evergreens is immediately after
their growth is made for the season, say, as a rule, after August ; for
deciduous plants, just after their foliage has fallen. If planting cannot
be done until spring, it is a good plan to have all the plants moved in
autumn, and laid into loose earth to wait their time. We had occa-
sion to lift many hundreds of all sorts of Evergreens last autumn in
order that the ground they occupied might be remodelled ; now, when
they are being replanted, they are bristling with young roots ready to

176 THE GARDENER. [April

lay bold of the soil. Plants being lifted for the first time do not show
the same precocity.

March is perhaps a less favourable month for transplanting than
either February or April. Moist weather and short days are pre-
ferable to the longer days and dry winds of March, although March,
so far, has been favourable. The earth begins to get warmer in
April and the air moister, and it is probably the best month for mov-
ing coniferous subjects. We have some dozens of Deodars, 12 to 16
feet high, and other trees and Conifers of small size yet to move.
When to plant is, however, generally determined by circumstances :
how to plant is not. The ground, whether for clumps, beds, belts,
or single specimens, should be trenched at least 18 inches deep,
turning down the sod to the bottom ; in the case of single speci-
mens on grass, a much larger site should be trenched than is really
necessary for the spread of the roots, and in this case special care
should be taken not to plant deep. Deep-planting on untrenched ground
is a great evil ; the loose soil is readily waterlogged, which never can
happen in trenched ground ; the roots are also in a box of unstirred
earth which is practically impenetrable, whereas a tree planted high
has the chance and choice of rooting along the surface-soil. Many trees
linger out a stunted life, or die from deep-planting alone. Stays or
stakes of some sort are absolutely necessary to all newly-planted trees
and large shrubs ; dwarf shrubs with balls do not require this precaution.
In the case of specimen trees, three wires stretched equidistant from
a collar of straw, or a piece of an old nail-bag, the other end of the
wires secured to plugs in the ground sunk overhead in the turf, is most
effectual and sightly. In planting, all roots should be laid out horizon-
tally, not in a whorl or layer, but at right angles to the stem of the
plant at the various points of issue ; this to be performed as the soil
is being filled in. We prefer not to tread the soil until the hole is
well filled up, then one good treading is given.

The manner of lifting a tree or shrub is of equal importance, or
really of more importance, in large plants, than the planting of them
with a view to their future success. We lately received two large
batches of Evergreens : the one lot was beautifully lifted, the roots
entire to their extremities, like a newly-made birch broom ; the other
lot had their roots cut short with the spade, as if a turfing-iron had
been shoved along underneath the nursery-row, the object being to
get them out of the ground with the least labour possible, their roots
being like the said birch broom when worn to the handle. It is an
axiom of a friend of ours, largely engaged in planting, that he don't
want a ball to any tree if he gets the roots. What to plant, is a pro-
position somewhat embarrassing, from the wealth of beautiful subjects

TSyi.] THE WEST MEADOWS, EDINBURGH. 177

now at command for all sorts of positions and purposes, whether for
bedding, massing, or specimens. Japan and China furnish us with
a rich variety of Evergreens, shrubby and coniferous. Effects can now
be produced in shrub-bedding for the winter-garden, equal in interest,
if less sho«^y from the colour points of view, to summer bedding with
flowers. Ehododendrons, the hybrid varieties, with their endless forms
and aspects, as well as for their unsurpassing beauty while in bloom,
take the first rank; they grow perfectly in light turfy loam, much
better than in some sorts of peat, which, like old garden-soil, is like
poison to them. Then come Aucuba, Laurestinus, Thujas aurea, Tar-
tarica, and Warreana, and the Colchian Laurel Kalmias. For small beds
and edgings there are the numerous Heaths, especially Mediteranea
and Carnea, Perrettya, Berberis Darwinii, Golden and Silver Queen
Hollies. Eetinospora ericoides has a colour vying with some of the
coloured Kales, and Eetinospora pisifera aurea makes quite a yellow
bed for winter, or for edging. Periwinkles, green and variegated, and
specially the beautiful Euonymus radicans variegata, one of the hardiest
of Japan things. Of berried things for winter there are the Coton-
easters. Eigida is of good size, and will be scarlet with bunches of its
bright berries. Simmondsii, of dwarf er habit and more elegant, shows
itself better than Microphylla.

Of plants for specimens on lawns or shrubberies it would be im-
possible to name more than a few, and these will be favourites ; and
first of all Lawson's Cypress, with its profusion at present of beauti-
ful vermilion blossom buds — we still stick to the old pendulous variety ;
Juniperus Chinensis, a companion plant with its yellowish blossom
buds and fine green foliage ; Libocedros Chilensis and Decurrens,
Thujopsis borealis, and Dolabrata. In the south Auricaria imbricata
will still be planted ; it delights in a bleak position and a sandy peat
soil, or indeed in anything open. On the contrary, Wellingtonia, which
we are not aware has a fault, must be planted in sound moist soil ;
indeed the finest and healthiest growth we ever saw the big tree
make, was on a trenched bed of moist clay well drained and in a
sheltered hollow. Of Pines for specimens, the finest, to our mind,
are Picea lasiocarpa and Pinsapo, and Abies Douglassii.

The Squire's Gardenee.

THE WEST MEADOWS, EDINBURGH.

A PUBLIC GARDEN FOR THE WORKING CLASSES.

Gardening may be well said to be the purest of all human pleasures, in the
knowledge and pursuit of which the professional as well as the amateur
botanist experiences a perpetual secret joy and happiness which is better felt

178 THE GARDENER. [April

than described. Thus the pleasure of walking or travelling in the country be-
comes a double one, as in dilferent places the many diversified gems of Flora are
recognised, growing and blooming in all their native simplicity and beauty.

A true florist will show forth his character by seeking and endeavouring to use
his influence in making others, and especially those around him, partakers of his
happiness, by disseminating knowledge, contributing books, plants, flowers, seeds,
and the like, interchanging the same betimes, knowing by sweet experience the
pleasure thereby derived, more particularly stimulating and encouraging those
of his poorer brethren who have not tasted one of nature's sweets, and know not
of such a blessing within their reach as is experienced in the culture and society
of flowers.

If then such innocent, healthy, and elevating pleasures as are experienced by
many be extended to others, what would it not be if by a united effort of
Queen Flora's dutiful and loyal subjects such advantages and pleasures were
secured to the masses, more particularly the deserving working-classes, where,
in a garden of their own, when their hard day's work is done, they might refresh
themselves by enjoying the pure air, and most agreeably and pleasantly spend
their evenings and Saturday half-holidays by an interchange of thought and senti-
ment with their fellow-men ?

For this pui'pose I would crave your influence, the ' Gardener,' the good
readers thereof, and our esteemed worthy lady allies, in attaining this object ;
while I further crave space in your pages and draw attention to the West
Meadows here, which is being gradually levelled and filled up with all kinds of
rubbish, which to many seems a pity, before determining in what way it is to be
laid out, and perhaps ultimately proving to be so much labour lost, especially as
great advantage could be taken of the undulations on the ground in the way of
landscape-gardening; and I may be permitted to suggest that "the powers
that be" could not do a more pleasing and philanthropic action than by laying
out the West Meadows as a " Southern Public Botanical Garden and Recreation
Ground" — a boon to the countless numbers of pleasure-seekers, especially to
those of the south-side residenters of the town, who, finding the Botanical
Gardens too much out of the way (to their great loss be it said), seldom or never
visit that noble establishment. By such an action our Town -Council would
further promote and foster healthy exercise, innocent recreation, and pleasure.
Unlike other public gardens in the city, such as Princes Street for instance,
where the flowers and shrubs there make a spasmodic efi'ort to live, on account
of smoke and impurity of atmosphere, the West Meadows, possessing as it does
all the essentials of soil and situation, could by a very small outlay be made to
rival that of many gardens in the country.

Let it be far from me to describe the modus operandi in laying out such a
desirable piece of ground; but with the kind indulgence of the 'Gardener'
readers, suppose we draw the cord, lift up to view and reveal a real living
landscape, animate and inanimate, transcending far in lasting solid pleasure and
beauty any transformation-scene ever witnessed on the boards of a city or provincial
theatre. Suppose, then, in the centre of the ground, a large fountain, sporting
in the air and glistening in the sun its silver jet of spray, which, descending like
"gentle dew-drops falling" on the lovely Calla or Ptichardia ethiopica, the crested
Lycopodium formosum, studded with Ferns, &c. ; while here and there out of
some fantastic nooks and crooks some members of the gold and silver finny tribe
bob out and in, as if quite delighted, and rejoicing in their vernal rustic home.
Then fancy a real fairy Fern grotto, specially laid out with taste and care for the
fair ladies, the esquibite tracery of whose fronds, the crosier-like germ of the

1871.] THE WEST MEADOWS, EDINBURGH. 179

bracken with its rich amber colour Dursting forth to view, acts on its beholders
with special magic fasciuation. For the botanist and florist we would have a
long and varied border of choice interesting herbaceous plants, where the student,
with his Balfour, Lindley, or a more elementary author, may saunter along put-
ting theory to practice, finding profitable enjoyment and intellectual food in
every phase of vegetable life there exhibited.

Then let there be quiet retired corners, with seats planted around, which there
would be shrubberies consisting of Rhododendrons, Mahonias, Laurels, &c. &c.,
to shelter and screen the occupier. Then picture having a huge rustic rockery
commanding a view of the whole landscape, and planted on which there would
be alpine plants of every hue and colour, a source of perpetual delight during the
spring and summer months, more especially when

" Spring comes quickly,
To write love's fair alphabet upon the earth."

While to bask and roam on such a spot amongst such sweets, surveying the
whole scene around, while from below there conies wafted up and o'er the per-
fumed air,

" Stealing and giving odour."

Last, and not least, there must be a "Rosarium," and that also worthy of the name,
which would be the goddess of Edina's worshippers, where, when in full bloom, to
look, muse, and meditate, would be the excelsior of bliss and enjoyment ; and

" As the weary sempstress stays her task
That perfume to inhale.
The pale-faced children pause to ask
What breath is on the gale ;
And none that breathe that sweetened air
But have a gentle thought,
A gleam of something good and fair,
Across the spirit brought."

To complete all (space permitting), there would be bowling, quoiting, and
croquet greens, with the addition, perhaps, of a strip round the grounds for the
aspiring velocipedist. Should our Council succeed in bringing into the city a
supply of St Mary's Loch, then surely we might crave a drop here, for having a
skating course round the entire grounds ; while in the future, should we ex-
perience such frosts as in the past winter, by a nominal charge of a penny or two-
pence it might cover the working expenses of the garden for a whole year.

In the ardour of a young amateur enthusiast I have made the foregoing sketch,
while from those readers who may think I have been attempting to "paint the
Lily," in " o'erstepping the bounds of nature," I humbly crave indulgence;
nevertheless, showing in some measure, I trust, what a treat we who, having
gardens of our own, enjoy, and might by a little self-denial and exertion confer on
nnamj of our fellow-citizens (not having the same privileges), by introducing them,
and in having free access to the heavenly, civilising, and refining company of flow-
ers ; and from whose society what good results may not follow ? For who has
not felt the influence of flowers ? — the drawing up, as it were, from this world of
sin, care, and turmoil. What tender memories, solaces, and hopes, may not
be awakened by wandering up and down such a place, I leave for the reader to
judge : gently wooing the vicious for a longing to partake of Flora's purity, and
maybe touching the heart of some who once, like they, grew up in innocence and

180 THE GARDENER. [April

love around tbeir father's cottage-home ; enticing from the beer-shop many of its
victims, thereby giving a healthy tone to the mind and manners, as well as re-
flecting and noticing the wondrous power of God as displayed in the wonderful
construction, beautiful loveliness, brightness, and sweetness of flowerp.

A Lover op Flowers.
M. C, Edinburgh, February 1871.

THE TREATMENT OF HARDY PRIMULAS FOR INDOOR
DECORATION IN WINTER AND SPRING.

Were it not for the practice of forcing spring and early -flowering
plants, our plant-houses, parlours, and drawing-rooms would be un-
cheered by many blossoms in the dull months of December, January,
and February. There are very few plants cultivated that bloom
naturally, say in a greenhouse or a room, in those months, and
those that — either naturally or by means of art — may be had in
flower then are peculiarly valuable. Fortunately there are a good many
hardy perennials, both bulbous and fibrous, which submit to forcing
freely; and there are not a few — such as the early-flowering Scillas —
which scarcely require the treatment implied in that term to bring
them into flower a good many weeks before their natural period. A
little gentle persuasion appears to be all that is needed to stir these
susceptible subjects into unnaturally early activity, if they are well
prepared and early established in pots beforehand. The object of
this paper is to draw attention to three species of Primula that are
most useful for indoor decoration in the dead of winter, but which are
not often seen so used, or for any purpose of decoration whatever. The
writer believes, therefore, that their value is not well known, and that
any addition to the number of plants that may be had in bloom in win-
ter and early spring will be welcomed by all who have to cater for floral
requirements during those seasons. The three species alluded to are
Primula denticulata, P. erosa, and P. amcena, the two former from the
Himalaya and Northern India, and the latter from the Caucasus.
There are many other species of spring-flowering Primulas which may
be found equally useful for winter decoration indoors, but I confine
my remarks to those named, as the treatment to be described will be
applicable to any others which may submit to the process of being
stirred by excitement into premature growth and inflorescence. Those
Primulas are very unlike anything else commonly employed for indoor
decoration in winter. They are pretty, modest things, not loudly claiming
attention, but quietly arresting it by their simplicity and grace and
soft colouring.

My own circumstances compel me to grow them in small pots fitted

1871.] TREATMENT OF HARDY PRIMULAS. 181

to slip into vases for room decoration, 7-incli pots being the largest
that are convenient for our purposes. It might be desirable in some
cases to have larger plants than can be grown in pots of that size, but
large plants are not so easily managed in the dull dark days of the
year in the moist atmosphere of a forcing-house as those that are
smaller, into the centres of which air may penetrate freely and dispel
the moisture that is apt to accumulate there and destroy the umbels
as they emerge from the crowns. The plants are divided into single
crowns in April or early in May. If stock is not plentiful the most
prominent crowns only of the stock-plants are taken off in the shape of
cuttings, and treated precisely as cuttings, putting them singly in
small 60-pots in sandy loam and peat, and keeping them in a close
cold frame till they are rooted. A little shade must be given till they
are established, after which, if they are carefully attended to with
water, no shading will be necessary, but injurious. When the roots
have reached the sides of the pots, but before they become matted,
the plants are shifted into 4 or 5 inch pots, using fibrous loam and
peat and old well-decomposed sheep or cow dung, the latter and the
peat being together equal to about one - third of the mass, and as
much sharp gritty sand should be added as will render the whole
open and porous when compressed in the hand. As soon as the roots
begin to penetrate the new soil, the plants begin to make rapid
development of leaf, especially so in the case of P. denticulata and
P. amtjena ; P. erosa is slower and sturdier, though not less sure than
the others. They should never be allowed to suffer from lack of water
at the roots, but it is injurious to give it over-head at any time — an
occasional syringing in the afternoon of a bright exhausting day will
be found beneficial, but the practice of watering over-head with the
rose, if continued, leads to the destruction of the crowns by damping
at the base of the foliage. About the beginning of July, sooner or
later, according to the progress the plants have made, they are
shifted into their blooming-pots, using the same compost as has already
been described, and well-arranged drainage ; and the plants are treated
afterwards as already directed, giving plenty of air at all times — in fact,
removing the lights wholly except in wet showery weather, and even
then tilting them as high as possible, their use being only to exclude
rain. Towards the end of August the plants are gradually stinted of
water, and are brought to rest by the end of September or beginning
of October. They are very apt to start their flowers in October, or
even in September, if they are not stinted thus, and subjected at the
same time to a retarding process in every way. If the plants have
been previously plunged, they are raised out of the plunging material
and placed upon boards or slates, and are exposed to all kinds of

o

182 THE GARDENER. [April

weatlier except that which is wet. When the leaves begin to decay
and become yellow they should be cut away, and the pots be stored
in the driest and airiest position at command. The forcing is a very
simple matter. As with all hardy plants — it may indeed be said all
plants — forcing should be used, persuading or coaxing into activity.
No creature, whether plant or animal, likes to be rudely shaken out of
rest ; they suflFer either in temper or constitution a ruffling or shock that
recoils in the shape of vexatious failures, if nothing worse, on the hand
that inconsiderately administers it. Those Primulas are no exception
to this rule ; they are natives of high alpine regions, and are con-
sequently easily excited into activity by a slight rise of temperature.
A greenhouse temperature of about 45° is as much as they will bear
up till March, when they will endure and come more quickly forward
in a few degrees higher. Bottom-heat is neither beneficial nor advis-
able, and the atmosphere should be as dry as possible, and the plants
placed near the glass in an airy position. Syringing and watering over-
head are to be avoided, else the umbels are apt to damp, and not un-
frequently the foliage also, if the atmosphere is close and moist, and
the moisture be allowed to remain long about the crowns. They will
continue to bloom for about three weeks after coming into flower, and
may be introduced into heat at corresponding intervals. When they
begin to unfold their leaves and flowers they will require abundant
supplies of moisture, and once or twice a-week they will be benefited
by receiving a supply of liquid manure of a mild nature and clear.
The flower-stalks develop much more quickly than the leaves, and the
flowers are faded and gone long before the latter attain their full de-
velopment. Early-forced plants are not divided till the leaves are full-
grown ; later-forced ones are divided not later than the second or third
week of May ; and the stock-plants are encouraged to make growth after
the crowns are removed, and usually produce a number of crowns,
small, but useful, for dividing early in autumn for the purpose of
increasing stock ; or for flowering, in small pots, in their natural season,
which is about April and May. Those species of Primula are never
likely to be very useful out of doors, in the north at least, but they
are well worth the trouble of cultivating in pots for indoor decoration
in the three first months of the year. W. S.

KEEPING GRAPES THROUGH THE WINTER.

We generally learn something monthly in the pages of the ' Gardener ' about the
cultivation of the Vine ; and from the reliable character of the source, the infor-
mation may be trusted. But although we get full details of the most advanced
principles of growing Grapes, we hear very little as to the best mode of keeping

iSyi.] GRAFTING. 183

them after they are ripe. It is no easy matter to keep Grapes all winter under
circum^-tances like ours, having only two vineries, which are crammed full of
bedding-plants. Every gardener knows the great difficulty there is in keeping
Grapes hanging in a house filled with plants, although there are not a few who
are, like myself, obliged to make the attempt. Perhaps it may be of service to
some if I relate the mode I adopted last winter. On the 20th December I cut
a quantity of the best bunches in the houses, leaving about 10 inches of the wood
adhering to each bunch. The ends of the wood were inserted into bottles filled
with water, and a pinch of animal charcoal put into each bottle. I placed them
in a back shed in a rack made for the purpose. The shed is neither lathed nor
plastered, but it was thoroughly dry when the Grapes were put into it. After
I got them all placed, I locked the place up, determined to let the Grapes take
their chance till winter for the table. About the 1st of February the fruit that
was left in the vineries was all consumed, being the seventh month from the
time they ripened ; and I was glad to see the end of them, for what with damp-
ing and shrivelling and clipping, they were not fit for any table. And I fancy
our perplexity in attempting the keeping of the Grapes and the plants right
together must have equalled Noah's in keeping so many kinds of live stock right
the time of the Flood. I determined then to open up my treasure in the back
shed ; and it was a treasure I Here they were as fresh and plump as the day they
were put into the bottles. " They look excellent, certainly," was the first impres-
sion made on my mind. But I was rather taken aback when I beheld pillars of
ice supporting some of the bunches, and in every bottle the water was frozen,
and in many cases the bottles broken by the ice had fallen away, leaving the ice
to fulfil its duty, which it did equally well, for the Grapes were in excellent con-
dition. This shows how much frost Grapes will stand without injury, although,
for the sake of the bottles, it would have been best to have kept out the frost.

When I sent the Grapes to the table, they were so much admired, that, like
the host at the marriage-supper, I was called to account for keeping the best
till the last. Much more might be said on this subject, but I will leave it for
some of the long-headed men who have had much more experience than I.

W. K.

[No doubt the frost had something to do with the safe keeping of the Grapes, as
it arrested decomposition. The facts stated are interesting and suggestive. — Ed.]

GRAFTING.

I VERY much regret that in my remarks on Grafting, published in your Feb-
ruary number, there is an error. In visiting the trees again to-day, according
to the suggestion of "A Reader" in last number of the 'Gardener,' I found
my memory had been so far treacherous that the stocks proved to be Horn-
beam, and not Beech. I am very sorry for this error, and beg fully to apolo-
gise, for correctness is everything. However, in this case the error does not
alter the fact, or render it less interesting, that Elm should grow on Horn-
beam than on Beech. They are twin-brothers, of the same family and natural
order, and I have a vague idea that both were formerly included in one genus.
A friend of mine, who was with me when I was first shown these trees, pub-
lished the fact in the ' Field ' last autumn. I was told the Editor remarked
that it was an uncommon case. When I wrote for the ' Gardener,' I was not

184 THE GARDENER. [April

aware of this fact, that it had been published before. But there is no secret in
the matter. The trees stand in Lord Petrie's Park, Thorndon Hall, Essex.
Had these trees been allowed room, they would have been large. I measured
one a little better off* in that way than the rest; it was 4 feet 11 inches about
1 foot above the graft, and the stock 5 feet in girth about 1 foot below it.
There is, of course, a rough ring round at the point of junction. I presume
we have yet much to learn on the subject of grafting, as well as on many
other subjects. We are too apt to receive opinions without inquiry. Theories
are propounded, and followed without thought, much less experiment ; few
men have patience to reason out an idea, fewer still to investigate closely;
but where an informed mind is propelled by a strong love of nature, research
will afford rich enjoyment. Dame Nature is more accommodating than is often
supposed. What has she not yielded up to the patience of our hybridisers ?
Should the facts here touched upon lead inquiring readers to ponder the why
and the wherefore, good may follow, which I am sure is the aim of your use-
ful magazine. S. X.

[This correction of the error does not render the case less interesting — rather
otherwise ; for if there is any difference, the Hornbeam is more distinct from
the Elm than is the Beech in the closeness of grain, &c. We have received
from S. X. specimens of scion and stock, which leave no question about the
matter ; and his having named the spot M^here the ti-ees can be seen, botanists
and others interested can see for themselves.]

CALCEOLARIA, GOLDEIQ- PRUSTCE OF ORANGE.

We poor gardeners, among the many other frailties and weaknesses of
human nature, have been denounced by some of the critics for having
been all more or less touched by a yellow, scarlet, and blue mania.
There may be some truth in the accusation, but there is certainly a
great amount of nonsense written on this head. That these colours are
indispensable, I think all will admit ; and to such as require a really
good yellow, I would advise them to try the golden Prince of Orange
Calceolaria. I bedded it last season, and found it most superb in
spite of the drought of summer : when Violas had not a bloom on
them, it was literally a mass of flower, and continued to be so until
the frost killed it. I used it last year, and it was the admiration of
all who saw it; in fact, every one exclaimed, "What a splendid yellow !"
It is very dwarf and compact, quite shrubby in its habit, a free
grower, and has a large quantity of small trusses just raised above the
foliage, and is of a most rich brilliant yellow. I had the centre of
some round beds last summer that you could not have pricked the
point of your walking-stick into without touching the flowers in the
whole bed, it was such a mass of bloom.

Thomas Speed.
The Gardens, Chatsworth.

iSyi.] ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 185

THE KOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

FRUIT AND FLORAL MEETING, MARCH 1.

The following prizes were offered by the Society, all in open classes.
Class 1, — 6 Camellias in pots.

Class 2. — 12 Camellias cut blooms. Mr W. Howard, gardener to J. Brand, Esq.,
Bedford Hill, Balham, was placed first with, a stand containing 36 blooms,
some of which were very fine, particularly Mazeppa, Alba plena. Jubilee, La Reine,
Valtevaredo, Fimbriata, and Imbricata. Mr E. Baxter, gardener to C. Keiser,
Esq., Broxbourne, second. Mr A. Wilkie, gardener, Addison Road, Kensington,
third.

Class 3, — 6 Shrubs in flower, forced or unforced. Mr AVilkie was the only ex-
hibitor in this class, and received a second prize.

Class 4. — Lily of the Valley, 6 pots. The first prize was awarded to Mr
Howard, who exhibited grand masses in pans 11 inches in diameter : each clump
had, on an average, from 60 to 70 fine spikes of flowers. Mr Searle, gardener to
R. C. Steel, Esq., Hammersmith, was second, and Mr Wilkie third.

Class 5. — Early Grapes, single bunch. Mr Tribe, gardener to J. Sharpe, Esq.,
Waltham Cross, received the second prize for a small bunch of Black Hambui'gs.
Class 6. — Late Grapes, single bunch. Mr Sage, gardener to Earl Brownlow,
Ashridge, was first, with a small bunch of Alicante, well coloured, and of ex-
cellent flavour. Mr Bannerman, gardener to Lord Bagot, Blithfield, was second,
with a well-kept bunch of Lady Downes ; and Mr Lynn, gardener to Lord Boston,
Hedsor, was third with Alicante.

Class 7. — Asparagus, Sea-Kale, and Rhubarb, one dish of each. Mr T. Bray,
gardener to E. A. Sandford, Esq., Nynehead Court, ^Vellington, was first; Mr
G. T. Miles, gardener to Lord Carrington, Wycombe Abbey, being second.

Fruit Committee. — A novelty was exhibited by Mr Osman, gardener, Stan-
more Hall, in the shape of a dish of Loquats, Eriobotrya japonica ; the fruit
were small, but of excellent flavour for home-grown fruit. A special certificate
was awarded. Mr Cannell, of "Woolwich, exhibited a hothouse boiler of a very
complicated construction. Mr Smith, gardener to T. Brassey, Esq., Norman-
hurst Court, Battle, also sent a model of a tubular saddle boiler, with hollow fire-
bars. From its construction it must be a powerful one, but would, I fancy, be
quite as liable to accidents as the upright tubular form. The Committee decided
that no opinion could be expressed on any boiler which had not been practically
tested.

Floral Committee, — The following first-class certificates were awarded. To Mr
Pilcher, gardener to S. Rucker, Esq., for Masdevallia coccinea, var. It was
exhibited as Elephanticeps, but the flowers are not so large as that variety is
stated to be. The Masdevallias are cool Orchids, and were stated by Mr
Bateman to grow near the limits of perpetual snow. To Messrs Backhouse &
Son, York, for Odontoglossum retusum latro, with small deep orange flowers.
Also to Mr Denning, gardener to Lord Londesborough, for an unnamed Chelianthes,
with narrow finely-divided fronds; and to Mr C. Turner, Slough, for a basket of
Mr Rutter, Golden Tricolor Pelargonium ; the leaf-colouring was very bright,
and the plants had made an unusually robust healthy growth for the time of the
year.

Special certificates were awarded for Orchids, and for groups of flowering and
foliage plants. Mr Denning had a grand specimen of Dendrobium nobile covered
with flowers, Oncidium splendidum with a fine spike, and Cymbidium eburneum

186 THE GARDENER. [April

■with beautiful pwre-wbite flowers, with a clear canary-yellow spot on the under-lip.
Messrs Veitch had a superb collection, comprising Orchids, Palms, Hippeastrum
pardiuum, Amaryllis, Pancratium fragraus, with a fine umbel of pure-white
flowers, and Lrelia Pilcheri, a hybrid between L. Perrinni and Cattleya crispa ;
also a new Orchid, Mormodes minax, introduced from Chiriqui ; the flowers have
narrow lanceolate sepals and petals, purple colour, densely spotted with dark
crimson.

Mr B. S. "Williams had an effective collection, containing a fine Encephalartos
villosus, and Palms as a background, choice Orchids, and Amaryllis marginata, a
very beautiful variety.

Messrs RoUison & Sons, Tooting, had a nice little group, in which was a re-
markably fine plant of Cypripedium villosum, and a distinct variety of Den-
drobium nobile, D. "Wallichianum. Odontoglossum Rossii from Messrs Backhouse,
and Cattleya Trian^i Lawrenciana from Mr Lawrence, gardener to Bishop Sum-
ner, Farnham Castle, were specially noticed.

A charming collection of spring flowers from Mr Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries,
Tottenham, was much and deservedly admired ; it contained Triteleja uniflora,
Scillas of sorts, Hepatica angulosa, with large beautiful lavender-coloured flowers,
and a pretty plant, to which Mr Berkeley directed special attention, Leucojum
vernum.

Mr W. Paul had six boxes of Camellia flowers, one filled with alba plena, one
flower of Innocenza, pure white, distinct and good.

Mr Knight, Floral Nursery, Hailsham, sent a new climbing hybrid perpetual
Rose, named Princess Louise Victoria ; it is said to be vigorous in growth, and,
it flowers profusely.

FEUIT AND FLORAL MEETING AND FIRST SPRING SHOW, MARCH 15.

A south-west wind, with continued fine weather for the previous three or four
weeks, changed decidedly for the worse on the night of the 14th, with a little
change of the wind to the south by east. At Ashridge the thermome-
ter fell to 19° Fahr. or 13° of frost ; at Fulham there was 7°, and at Ilford,
in Essex, the same thermometer showed 4° only. On the morning of the 15th
the snow fell in continuous heavy flakes, but as the day advanced it cleared oflF,
and a large number of visitors inspected the show. It was a grand show in
every respect. Miscellaneous groups of plants, as usual, formed special features
of the show. Orchids were well represented : the collection from Mr May,
gardener to Lady Louisa Ashburton, Melchet Park, Romsey, was simply magnifi-
cent. The beautiful East Indian Phal^enopsis Schilleriana formed a grand mass
of colour, and seemed to light up the collection ; there were three plants in one
pot with eight spikes, and, as stated by Mr Bateman, no less than 280 fully-
expanded flowers. The Dendrobium speciosum was also vei-y fine. The Lindley
medal, which is only awarded on rare occasions, was most deservedly awarded to
these plants.

Mr Denning, gardener to Lord Londesborough, Grimston Park, Tadcaster, had
a prize awarded for a collection of Orchids : Lalia cinnabarina was conspicuous,
with its very brilliant orange-scarlet flowers. Mr Bull of Chelsea sent Orchids
intermixed with Palms, Cycads, and some nice little specimens of Aucuba,
densely covered with ripe berries ; and as Mr Bateman remarked at the General
Meeting, they are the very best shrubs for town gardens, but that, to have a
large crop of berries, the flowers must be artificially impregnated. Mr Cutbush,
of Highgate, sent a very distinct and beautiful variety, the centre of each leaf

iSyi.] ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 187

being a distinct yellow, the margin of the leaf green and yellow, Mr Speed,
gardener to the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth, sent cut spikes of Amherstia
nobilis ; this was stated by Mr Bateman to be the most noble and beautiful of
all vegetable productions, and to have been introduced from India by the Duke
of Devonshire, who sent Mr Gibson out for this special purpose. Mr Needle,
gardener to H.R.H. the Comte de Paris, York, House, Twickenham, sent a box
containing a number of fine healthy plants of Ophrys tenthredenifera, a very
beautiful and interesting species of the Bee or Mimetic Orchids.

To all the above special aw^ards were voted.

Also in the miscellaneous class there remains to be noticed the splendid col-
lection of Eoses from Messrs J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, comprising the best
sorts in the finest possible health and vigour, and a collection of 150 pots of
Hyacinths, with grand massive spikes, mostly single varieties. There are but
few double Hyacinths adapted for exhibition purposes. Koh-i-noor, Lord Wel-
lington, and Prince of Orange, double red ; Garrick, Van Speyk, and Louis
Philippe, double blue, are nearly all the doubles that are worth growing. The
same firm had a collection of Tulips, which, for the effective way in which
they were set up, and for the freshness and beauty of the individual speci-
mens, have seldom been equalled. Extra prizes were awarded to the Eoses
and to the collections of Tulips and Hyacinths. Mr W. Paul also sent groups
of Hyacinths, Tulips, and Narcissus. His Hyacinths were very effectively ar-
ranged, six plants of a sort in rows of six deep.

There were very few objects before the Fruit Committee. Mr Looker sent
Lettuces and Endive grown under his "Acme Garden-Frame" and "Looker's
Patent Plant Covers ; " the examples were as good as, but no better than, with
ordinary attention, could be grown under any other sort of glass protection.
A collection of five sorts of Grapes was sent by Mr W. Phipps, gardener to
the Earl of Shrewsbury, Ingestrie Hall, Stafford ; there were three magnifi-
cent well - kept bunches of Gros Guillaume, to which a special certificate was
awarded, and a special award was also given to four bunches, one each, of
White Tokay, Trebbiano, Lady Downes, and Alicante ; all were excellent in
flavour, the Tokay being particularly fine. Mr W. Thomson, of Dalkeith, sent
the White Lady Downes; the bunch and berries were large, the shape of the
bunch unmistakably showing the parentage, the berries of a fine golden colour,
but not so good in flavour as the examples of Black Lady Downes or the White
Tokay sent by the other exhibitor. Mr Sage, Ashridge, sent a fine box of
Keen's Seedling Strawberry, very fresh, and of good colour.

Floeal Committee. — On this occasion first-class certificates were very liber-
ally dispensed. The best objects in the room wei-e splendid plants of Hip-
peastrum pardinum and the beautiful and distinct H. Leopoldii, to which a special
certificate was awarded. A first-class certificate was awarded to Amaryllis Chel-
soni, one of the very best varieties ever seen : the petals are very broad, and
of the richest crimson scarlet. All the above came from Messrs Veitch. A
first-class certificate was also given to Mr W. Bull for Areca regalis, a robust-
growing species of Palm.

On this occasion Messrs W. Rollisson & Sons, Tooting, had a first-class certifi-
cate for Davallia clavata, a slender-growing, very graceful species, with fronds
about 6 inches high. E. G. Henderson & Son, St John's Wood, sent a new
species of Asplenium, from New Zealand, with pinnate fronds finely serrated at
the edges. This also had a first-class certificate. Cyclamen persicum (Snowflake)
from Mr Goddard, gardener to H. Little, Esq., with very large pure-white
flowers, had a first-class certificate. The following Hyacinths had first-class

188 THE GARDENER. [April

certificates : Princess Louise, from Mr W, Paul, Waltham Cross, a double variety
with a close compact spike of a deep rosy-pink colour ; George Peabody, from
iMessrs Cutbush, a very bright crimson, but the flowers rather thin on the spike;
Marquess of Lome, single magenta, with a fiue spike of medium-sized bells ; and W.
M. Thackeray, single, deep mauve. A first-class certificate was also given to Mr
H. Bennet, Manor Farm Nursery, Stapleford, for Rose, Marquise de Castellane, a
variety that forces well. It is of a bright rose colour, globular in form, very large
and full, and a great acquisition. Primula Boviana, an Abyssinian variety, from
Messrs Veitch, the young leaves and llower-stalks of which are covered with a
white powder ; the flowers small, pale yellow ; received a second-class certificate.

The Society offered prizes in class 1,18 Hyacinths, distinct, nurserymen. Messrs
Yeitch were first with, if possible, better spikes than in their collection, of double
red. Koh-i-noor; double blue, Laurens Koster; single red, Vurbaak, Macaulay,
Garibaldi ; single mauve, ILayden ; single white, La Grandesse, Alba maxima.
Innocence, and Leviathan ; single blue, King of the Blues, Charles Dickens,
Blondin, Grand Lilas, La Grande Resemblance ; single black, Feruck Khan and
General Havelock ; single yellow, Ida. JMessrs Cutbush, who had also some very
fine spikes, were placed second, and had single red, Von Schiller ; and in single
blue. Lord Palmerston, Czar- Peter, and Marie, very fine.

Class 2. — 18 white Hyacinths, distinct (open). Messrs Veitch were again first
with a fine collection ; La Grandesse is magnificent ; Paix de I'Europe, Mont
Blanc, Snowball, L'Innocence, and Queen of the Netherlands, are the best pure-
white varieties ; Grandeur h, Merveille, Leviathan, Lord Shaftesbury, and Oron-
dates, blush. Messrs Cutbush were again placed second.

6 Hyacinths, distinct (amateurs). Mr Douglas, gardener to F. Whitbourn,
Esq., Loxford Hall, Ilford, was first with good spikes of Koh-i-noor, Marie,
Florence Nightingale, De Candolle, Alba maxima, and Baron Van Tuyll. Mr
Weir, gardener to Mrs Hodson, the Elms, Hampstead, second. Mr J. T. Stephen-
son, 10 Tredegar Place, Bow Road, third.

Class 4. — 6 new Hyacinths, never before exhibited (open). Messrs Cutbush
first, with Robert Lowe, single yellow; Lord Derby, single blue; Marquis of
Lorn, single magenta ; George Peabody, single red; W. M. Thackeray, single
mauve ; and Lelacina, single blue. Messrs Veitch were second.

Class 5. — Collection of Narcissi; Messrs Cutbush were the only exhibitors, and
had a fine collection. The best sorts were Soleil d'or, Perle blanche, Grand
primo, and Bagelman major; a first prize was awarded.

Class 6 — 12 pots Tulips, 3 bulbs in a pot, 6 kinds (nurserymen). Messrs
Veitch were first with Keiser Kroom, Proserpine, Pottebakker, Vermilion bril-
liant. Rose aplatis, and Fabiola ; this was a very fine lot, and contained some fine
blooms ; Messrs Cutbush were second.

Class 7. — 12 pots of 4 kinds (amateurs). Mr Weir was first with good pots,
Mr Searle, gardener to B. C. Steel, Marlesford Lodge, Hammersmith, being placed
second. Crocuses were very poorly represented.

Messrs Cutbush were first in the nurserymen's class, and Mr J. T. Stephenson
first in the amateurs' class.

Class 10. — Double Wallflowers in pots (open). One collection only was shown,
and the flowers were not fully opened.

Class 11. — Group of 12 miscellaneous plants. Mr. A Wilkie was first with
Orchids, Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and other plants ; the second prize being
awarded to Mr Ware of Tottenham, for a beautiful little lot of hardy spring
flowers in pots, Erithronium dens canis, Scilla sibirica, and S. bifolia alba, a
beautiful pot of Muscaria botryoides cserulea, and others.

iSyi.] REVIEWS. 189

Class 12. — 6 pots of Mignonette (open). Messrs Rollissons & Sons, Tooting,
had 6 fine specimens in pots about 20 inches high, and as much through : the first
prize was awarded to them. Messrs Standish of Ascot were third with 6 small
pots.

Class 13. — 3 tree Mignonette (open). Mr R. Laing, gardener to P. W. Hower,
Esq., Furze Down, Tooting Common, was first with fine specimens with a clear
stem of 2 feet 6 inches, and fine pyramidal heads.

Class 14. — Dessert Apples, 3 dishes, distinct (open). Mr Lynn, gardener to
Lord Boston, Hedsor, was first with Ribston Pippin, Scai'let Nonpareil, and Cockle
Pippin ; Mr Parsons, gardener to W. J. Blake, Esq., Danesbury, being second.

Class 15. — Mr Lynn was again first with excellent examples of Wellington,
Golden Noble, and Kentish Fillbasket; Mr Beach, gardener to C. J. Harries,
Esq., St Julians, Seven Oaks, Kent, was placed second. J. D.

UNUSUALLY LOW TEMPERATURE IN MARCH, &e.

On March 15 the temperature fell 25° below freezing at Drumlanrig Gardens,
which is the most severe frost we have any recollection of having occurred in the
middle of March. We will be much obliged for records of the frost at the
above date.

Mr William Thomson has given up his situation at Dalkeith Gardens, and goes
in May next to superintend the large general forcing establishment which he has
set agoing on his own account at Cloven Ford, near Galashiels. He is to be
succeeded in the management of Dalkeith Gardens by Mr Bailey, at present gar-
dener to Earl Fortescue.

Mr John Gavin, who has been 43 years gardener at Donibristle, Fifeshire, has
retired on full pay. This is an instance of long service and kind treatment which
we have much pleasure in announcing. Mr Gavin has been long known as a most
successful Pine-grower and general gardener. He is succeeded by Mr George Muir
from Darnaway Castle.

Mr Gibson, who has earned for himself a name and a reputation in his manage-
ment of Battersea Park, London, has been appointed to the more important charge
of Kensington and Hyde Park. Mr Pvodgers from Berry Hill, near Windsor, suc-
ceeds Mr Gibson at Battersea, and we should say they are both the right men
in the right places.

REVIEWS.

The Wild Gakden : Or, Our Groves and Shrubberies made Beautiful by the

Naturalisation of Hardy Exotic Plants ; with a Chapter on the Garden of

British Wild-Flowers. By W. Robinson. John Murray, Albemarle Street,

London.

This is, as far as we are aware, the first work devoted to the Wild Garden in

which we are happy to meet with Mr Robinson, for he is well versed in all that

190

THE GARDENER.

[April

pertains to the plants by the introduction of which he wishes to enhance the
beauty of wild unkept grounds, and to weed from highly-kept gardens such sub-
jects as he justly characterises as too coarse for such positions. The way to do
this he very copiously, and in his usual terse style, explains at the outset, and
follows up with selections of hardy exotic plants suitable for naturalisation in
woods and groves, pointing out the circumstances and position most suitable for
different plants, and giving descriptive and cultural remarks on the same, and
closes by descanting on the beauty capable of being created in a garden of
British wild-flowers. There can be little diflFerence of opinion of the desirability
of adding the charms of many hardy exotics to our natural grounds and woods ;
and to those who are desirous of making the effort we say, purchase Mr Robin-
son's book ; it cannot fail to be an efficient aid ; and it is, moreover, pleasantly
written and handsomely got up.

Cottage Gardening. By E. W. Badger. Houlston and Sons, London.

This is the Essay to which the Royal Horticultural Society of London awarded
the first prize offered by Mr Edgerton Hubbard on Cottage Gardening, and now
published in the form of a pamphlet of thirty-two pages. It contains very sound
practical instructions on all that appertains to a cottage garden.

CTaltnaar*

KITCHEN-GARDEN.

The necessity of having the soil (in
which seeds are to be sown) in good
healthy condition has been so fre-
quently referred to, it is unnecessary
to say much on the subject now. How-
ever we would, " by way of a reminder,"
say that, whenever weather is dry and
suitable for sowing the numerous kinds
of seeds at this season, let no oppor-
tunity be lost ; the season is advancing,
and when any one is " caught napping,"
it is almost impossible to make up for
lost time. There is no economy in half-
doing the work, and disappointments
are often the fruit of neglect. How-
ever, there are often in the best-man-
aged gardens enemies which are barriers
to success — such as slugs, grubs, insects,
birds, &c. Sliced Turnips placed round
the plots often trap slugs in great num-
bers. Netting is perhaps the most ef-
fectual method of keeping birds at bay.
Dustings of lime, soot, coal-ashes, red-
lead, &c., are means often employed
with success by practical men. To keep
up regular supplies of vegetables, there
should be no glut at any season, other-
wise scarcity may be expected to follow.
Sow regular, and in quantities suitable
to the demand. The main sowing of

Carrot may soon be got in. In late
localities, the earlier in the month the
better. Long Surrey and James's Scar-
let are two of the best for main crops.
Short Horn may be sown closer in the
rows for drawing young. The first two
do well in drills from 1 foot to 16 inches
apart. The nature of the ground alone
can decide distaace. When seeds of
any kind are well sown they should
come up without being matted, and be
free from each other. Timely thinning,
and doing it at different times, may be
necessary. Beet may be sown (for an
early supply) about the middle of the
month. The main crop need not be
sown till May. Moderately rich ground
of good depth, and neither very heavy
nor sandy, suits Beet well ; when grown
on poor dry soil it may be handsome,
but certainly unfit for use — stringy
tough roots are worthless. Sang's
Selected holds its own for fine flavour
with any we have tried. Dewar's is
very handsome. Osborn's is good,
and the best we have seen for foliage.
Scarlet-runners may be sown about the
third week in the month, on a warm
sheltered border, or placed in turf,
and grown under protection till danger

iSyi.'

CALENDAR.

191

from frost is past ; single lines of this
vegetable are most profitable. Edg-
ings to plots, when they are kept top-
ped down, is a good way of keeping up
good supplies : picking off the pods
before they seed will allow the plants to
keep up a vigorous growth and be
loaded with produce till frost takes
them. French Beans may be sown
under protection ; and where Potatoes
are grown in fi'ames, or Carrots forced,
the Beans make a good succession.
When these crops are finished, and when
danger from frost is past, the frame
may be removed for late Cucumbers or
any other purpose — such is our prac-
tice, and we thus get abundance of
French Beans with little trouble till
they are ready out in the ground.
There is not much gained by sowing
very early in open borders. Asparagus
ground may be prepared by deeply-
trenching and thoroughly manuring it
preparatory for the young plants,
which are planted in rows on beds and
covered with a few inches of rich soil.
The young plants should be sprouting
before they are planted. Successions of
broad Beans and Peas must be kept up,
sowing some every two or three weeks,
according to demand. Broccoli, Brus-
sels Sprouts, Cabbage, Kale, Savoys,
and Cauliflower may be sown in quan-
tity, keeping them together on a bor-
der, so that they can be netted and
kept safe from birds. Thickly -sown
plants are always weakly and drawn.
Chervil and Parsley may be sown as
edgings. Lettuce (both Cos and Cab-
bage sorts) may be sown on deeply-
worked soil which has been well man-
ured, to be thinned out to 8 inches or
1 foot apart ; the thinnings may be
placed in a shady position, to come in
as a succession, or a small bed or row
may be sown to be wholly planted out.
Plenty of manure in the ground is
necessary to grow crisp, juicy Lettuce.
Tomatoes should be kept growing, but
gradually hardened off to get them
ready for their fruiting quarters ; more
seed may yet be sown for late work.
Potato - planting should be finished
as soon as possible. Radish, and all
kinds of Salads, should be sown as
demand requires. Birds will speedily
find out the seeds and eat them up if

FORCING D

Pines. — Those that started into fruit
in the early part of winter will this
month ripen and be found very useful

not protected. Rhubarb may be sown
if it is required ; a warm, light border
answers well for sowing the seed. To
blanch Khiibarb, pots and boxes may
be kept over it. Some prefer it blanch-
ed all the season through. Turnips
may be sown, and protected as they
come through the ground with branches,
or hoops and mats. AVood-a^hes and
soot help to keep off the small fly which
is so severe upon them. Vegetable
marrows may be sown soon ; if they can
be kept under glass till they are large
and strong, supplies of fruit would be
had early. The end of the month is
early enough to sow them when there is
no proper protection for early fruiting.
The same may be said of ridge Cucumbers
and Gherkins. New Zealand Spinach
may also be raised under protection. It
is valuable for standing when drought is
severe. For autumn use it may be sown
in a sheltered borderlate in May. Round
Spinach requires to be sown every ten or
twelve days throughout the summer —
thoroughly moistening the soil the day
before sowing the seed^causes it to vege-
tate and grow quickly, thus keeping the
plants longer in running to seed. Gar-
dens should be gone over at this season,
measuring the borders and plot<, and
edging them to their proper limits,
keeping alleys where they are necessary.
The garden at this season is less trouble-
some to keep clean than any other, and
when weeds show themselves they
should be attacked at once with the
hoe. Dry sunny weather will soon put
an end to them when the hoe has been
previously well handled. Every grow-
ing crop should have a well-hoed sur-
face, and no decaying leaves allowed
to stand. If water should require to
be applied to any crops, a good soaking
of it may be given, and dry soil drawn
over the roots which have been water-
ed ; frequent dribblings is a ruinous
practice. If time can be spared, Celery
ridges may be made — either for single
rows by throwing out a ridge a spade or
more wide, building up the soil neatly,
and then placing a quantity of rotten
manure in the bottom and digging it
down ; or 4 or 5 feet wide thrown out
in the same way, manuring it well.
M. T.

EPARTMENT.

when other frviits are generally scarce.
As soon as they show signs of colouring,
give no more water at the root ; and if

19:

THE GARDENER.

[April

there happen to be a few plants con-
Biderably in advance of the rest, it is
best to remove them, if possible, to
another compartment, where they can
have more air and a dry atmosphere.
This allows of a moist atmosphere
being kept up for the benefit of tbose
that may have yet a few weeks between
them and the colouring point ; where
those ripening cannot be removed, a
compromise must take place. Tliose
that started early in February will
now be swelling fast. As April is gene-
rally a changeable month with cold
nights, I do not I'ecommend much in-
crease of temperature over that recom-
mended for March ; 75° when the nights
are mild, and 70° when cold is sufficient.
The forcing should be accelerated by
day with sun - heat. They should be
shut up soon after three o'clock ; get a
gentle dewing overhead through a fine
rose — avoid heavy syringings, which keep
the soil in an unhealthy puddle. The
temperature may rise to 90° for an hour
or two. The fires, which should be low
during day, require to be quickened
early in the afternoon, so as to keep
the heat from falling below the point
named at 10 p.m. Although the sun
has now considei'able power, it is not
desirable to give a great increase of air.
Instead of this, it is better to frequently
sprinkle the paths and walls, and keep
the steaming-trays full. With such
treatment the fruit will swell rapidly.
Watering must be carefully attended to,
aiming at just keeping the soil moist
but not wet; water every time that they
require it with guano -water just col-
oured with guano. The best way is to
mix some fresh guano in a pot full of
water, making it strong, and to put a
little into the water as it is applied to
the plants. Put a little into the eva-
porating-troughs twice a- week. As soon
as suckers appear, remove them all ex-
cept two on each plant ; and if gills or
suckers appear on the fruit-stalk, remove
them all at once. If bottom-heat is sup-
plied to succession stock shifted in March
from tan and leaves, keep a watchful eye
on the ground thermometer ; and if it
goes above 90°, give each pot a shake
from side to side, so as to leave an open-
ing all round the pots for the escape of
the heat. Although the roots may not
have reached the sides of the pots, and
may not be absolutely destroyed with
an over-heat, too much bottom-heat
causes an over-rapid growth early in
the season, which is very undesirable,

and the consequence of which, in the
absence of fall summer light and air, is
an attenuated sickly growth. Towards
the middle of the month it is generally
necessary to water these, as the roots
will be taking possession of the fresh
soil, which will be getting dry. The
inexperienced should carefully examine
the state of the soil, and apply water
when the soil becomes dry a few inches
from the surface of the ball. Rain-
water is of course the best, and should
always be given at from 80° to 85°, As
they show signs of growth give more
air, and always early in the day, so that
sun -heat can be husbanded for the
early part of the night instead of vio-
lent firing. Do not increase the night
temperature much over that recom-
mended for March— 70° at 10 p.m., to
drop to 65° in the morning. When the
days are bright avoid by all means
having the hot-water pipes hot by day
while full air is on. There is nothing
so injurious to Pines as a scorching sun,
a blazing fire, and a maximum amount of
air ; such a state of things drives every
particle of moisture out of the pineries,
and literally dries up the tissues of the
plants.' Keep the steaming-trays sup-
plied with water ; but unless once or
twice a-week in bright weather, do not
syringe over-head this month. Any
young stock that were not found suffi-
ciently rooted to shift in March will
require to be attended to now, and
shifted when moderately well rooted,
concerning which operation see direc-
tions for ]\ larch.

Vines.— Where the earliest crop of
Grapes is the produce of Vines in pots,
they will in many cases be ripe this
month ; and as soon as ripe they require,
of course, a change of treatment. They
will — especially if the pots are plunged
— not require so much water, as neither
the fruit nor matured foliage can make
use of so much. They require just
sufficient to keep the fruit "plump"
and the foliage healthy — a superabund-
ance will give watery Grapes. The
house will require to be kept cooler and
drier than when they were being forced
on ; and while cold currents of air must
still be avoided, a little air must be left
on all night, in amount sufficient to pre-
vent moisture condensing on the fruit.
Crops that have arrived at the colour-
ing point should have a decreasing sup-
ply of moisture in the air, and an in-
creasing amount of air as the colouring
and ripening processes go on. It often

iSyi.]

CALENDAR.

193

occurs that red-spider appears on early-
forced Vines just at the time of colour-
ing, and thiis pest must be sharply
■watched and vigorously put down.
The most effectual remedy is to sponge
the leaves wherever it makes its appear-
ance : an active man with a sponge can
soon go over a vinery in this way. The
pipes may also be coated with sulphur,
and a little extra heat applied for a few
nights in succession. Syringing should
only be resorted to as an extreme mea-
sure, as it is a remedy that* can seldom
be applied without disfiguring the fruit,
to say the least of it. Where the roots
are mostly inside, as should be the case
in all very early-forced Vineries, red-
spider is not unfrequeutly brought on
by the roots being allowed to become
too dry ; and just as the first signs of
colouring appear, a good soaking should
be applied, and a slight mulching of
horse-dung, such as an old mushroom-
bed, applied regularly over the bor-
dei\ Succession-houses that have been
thinned, and in various stages between
that and colouring, may now be pushed
on with much less fire-heat than in the
dull bhort days of very early spring, and
they may therefore be kept somewhat
warmer : 7U° during mild weather, aud
65° when very cold at night, should be
aimed at in the case of Hamburgs and
vineries with a mixed assortment of
Vines. When the days are bright, keep
the fires low, and make the most of the
sun's power by shutting up early in the
afternoon, starting the fires just in time
to prevent the heat from sinking below
the proper temperature at 10 p.m. In
proportion as the days are long, and
with more light and air, the moisture
in the air may be increased, avoiding,
by every means, a damp stagnant at-
mosphere, the evil effect of which will
manifest itself by a rough wartiness in
the under-sides of the leaves ; and if
accompanied with a low temperature, a
far worse scourge in the shape of mil-
dew. Look over the Vines twice a-week,
and remove all lateral growths as soon
as they appear. In case the inexperi-
enced may not understand wi)at I mean
by this, I will so far explain by stating
that the shoots being stopped at two
joints beyond the bunch before the young
shoots are tied down, aud that the late-
ral growths on said shoots are stopped
just at the first leaf. This leaves the
large main leaves on the shoots, and
one leaf on the lateral growths, which
start from every joint of the main

shoots. These give as many leaves as
can find room to grow without too nivich
crowding, and the Vines should not be
allowed to ramble beyond this growth.
To allow them to ramble, and then all
at once remove the growths, is bad
practice, and should be avoided; unless,
indeed, it may be allowed to a limited
extent when the fruit is stoning. Thin
succession-houses as soon as the berries
ai-e about the size of a Radish-seed, at
the same time removing all superabun-
dant bunches and thinning all free-set-
ting sorts sufficiently at the first thin-
ning. Muscats coming into bloom
may have the heat raised to 75° during
mild weather at night, until fairly
set. Cultivators recommend different
courses by way of getting Muscats to
set ; but it may safely be said that a
rather high temperature, with a free
circulation of air when in bloom, is the
most generally practised with success,
and under such treatment I have never
seen a failure. Late vineries should
not be retarded much beyond the first
week of April. Where there are any
Grapes still to cut, they should no
longer be left hanging, but cut and
kept as recommended in last month's
"Calendar," or as recommended in our
present issue by " C. K.," minus the ice
now, we hope. Where the bordei's of
late houses have been kept dry inside,
let them have a good soaking of tepid
water ; the surface being first stirred
up and left somewhat rough, or water
will not penetrate freely nor regularly.
See that newly-planted Vines do not
suffer for want of water, and rub off
superfluous buds as they break.

Peaches and Nectarines. — Crops
that have passed the stoning stage
may be forced on more freely, and the
night temperature raised to 60° and 65°,
according to state of the weather. As
in the case of Vines, make the most of
sunny days by shutting up with sun-
heat early in the afternoon, giving the
trees a syringing with water at 80°.
Do not allow the trees to bring a killing
crop to maturity. It not only weakens
the trees, but the quality of the fruit
will not be so high ; a Peach to every
square foot is plenty for early -forced
trees. Water the inside borders with
manure-water made from cow or sheep's
manure. Tie in the young wood regu-
larly all over the tree, but avoid crowd-
ing in an unnecessary amount. Disbud
and pinch the young shoots in late
houses. Keep a sharp look - out for

194

THE GARDENER.

[April

green-fly, and keep it down, or rather
never let it get a footing at all. The
Peach is fond of moisture ; and the trees
in all houses where there is fire-heat
applied should be syringed every fine
afternoon. Should mildew make its
appearance, put a little sulphur in the
water, and increas-e the heat and air.
In late houses, where the fruit is all set,
give a vigorous syringing to free the
fruit of old blooms. Thin partially
when about the size of Peas, but never
finally till the fruit are stoned.

Figs. — If the early crop be from trees
in pots, great watchfulness is necessary
in the case of watering. If they are ever
allowed to become over-dry, the chances
are that the fruit will fall off. Water
two or three times a-week, alternately
with guano or dung-water, and syringe
freely at shutting-up time, and keep
the air regularly moist. Stop the young
growths at the fourth or fifth leaf.
"Where Fig-trees are planted in shallow
inside borders, mulch with rotten dung,
and keep the soil regularly in a med-
ium state of moisture. Do not allow
the trees to carry too many fruit at a
time.

Strawberries. — Immediately the
fruit is all picked from the earliest
plants, remove them into cold pits to
be hardened properly before exposure.
These plants are worthy of every care,
as, planted out on well-prepared ground,
they not only yield the earliest runners
for forcing next year, but in some cases
fruit again to a limited extent in Au-
gust, and invariably yield tine crops the
following year. Continue to put last
month's directions in force in the case
of those swelling their fruit, and in
bloom, as well as in the case of those
ripening their crop. Put the remainder
of the stock of plants into cold frames,

and into such structures as cold pits,
late Peach-houses and orchard-houses,
so as to keep up the supply of fruit till
the earliest in the open ground ripen.

Melons. — Carefully impregnate the
fruit-blossoms about the middle of fine
days, and stop the fruit-bearing growths
one joint beyond the fruit. Till a full
crop be set keep the air drier, give
more air, and less water at the root.
After a sufficient number of fruit
are set and begun to swell, give a
heavy root-watering and increase the
air moisture again ; and unless where
there are good Melon-pits with the
plants trained to trellises, like Vines, do
not syringe overhead. "With superior
appliances the syringe may be used on
fine afternoons, but not till after the
fruit are as large as hens' eg:gs. Eange
the temperature from 70° to 75° at
night. Plant out succession crops, and
sovF approved sorts for later crops.

Cucumbers. — Increase the tempera-
ture to 75° on mild nights when sun-
heat can be taken advantage of in the
afternoon. The early -planted plants
will now be bearing freely. Do not
allow them to bear too many at a time,
or some of the freer sorts, such as
Volunteer and Sion House, will exhaust
themselves. The disposition to ramble
and grow will decrease as they come in
a full-bearing state. Mulch them with,
rotten manure, and maintain a moist
atmosphere ; and, above all, see that they
do not suffer for lack of water, if in
shallow borders with hot-water pipes
under them. Plant out later -raised
plants as soon as they are established
in 5-inch pots, and train as described
in former "Calendars." Sow for suc-
cession in later crops.

French Beans. — See directions for
March.

All business communications should be addressed to the Publishers, and com-
munications for insertion in the ' Gardener ' to David Thomson, Drumlanrig
Gardens, Thornhill, Drumfriesshire. It will further oblige if all matter intended
for publication, and questions to be replied to, be forwarded by the middle of the
month, and written on one side of the paper only. It is also requested that
writers forward their name and address, not for publication, unless they wish it,
but for the sake of that mutual confidence which should exist between the Editor
and those who address him. We decline noticing cmy communication which is
not accompanied with name and address of writer.

iSyi.]

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

195

"We will be obliged to correspondents who ask for advice as to bow flower-gar-
dens and single beds sbould be planted, if tbey will sbow on tbe plans bow tbey
propose planting tbem. Tbis will give t;s a correct idea of tbe plants tbey bave
at command, and enable us to direct witb more satisfaction tbose wbo seek for
Bucb information.

J. D. — As you do not state wbat plants you can make available for planting
your bed, it is more tban likely tbat tbe directions wbicb we migbt give would
not meet your case. In tbe mean time, we call your attention to tbe Plate and
remarks in our issue for Marcb, Tbe same principle of planting we tbere
attem2)ted to explain is applicable to your bed. Please to forward us your own
ideas of bow it sbould be planted, witb list of plants available, and we will be
happy to suggest wbat we tbink may improve on it. Tbe bed sbould be well
drained, and raised above tbe ground level, say 2 feet at tbe centre, witb ligbt
loamy soil enriched with leaf-mould.

David Evans. — To perform tbe operation of whip or tongue grafting, first cut
over the stock to tbe required height ; then, with a sharp tbin-bladed knife, cut
a slice 3 inches long off the stock, as represented at a of our woodcut. Tbis cut
should be clean and smoothly made, and witb one pull of the knife. Cut a thin
tongue, about half an inch long, half-way down tbe cut. Make the bottom end
of the scion or graft h in the very same way ; only let the tongue be cut upwards

Fig. 9. Whip or
Tongue Grafting.

Fig. 10, Crown-
Grafting.

Fig, 11. Shield-
Budding THE EOSE.

instead of downwards, as in the stock. Then place tbe graft on the stocks, insert-
ing the one tongue into the other, as represented at c. Secure tbe union firmly
with matting, and apply the grafting clay. Be careful that the edges of the bark
of tbe scion and stock are nicely fitted, so tbat tbey meet exactly at both sides.
This is the method generally used when scion and stock are of equal diameter j

196 THE GARDENER. [April 187 i.

and when they are not so, and the bark cannot be adjusted on both sides, then
they must be united at one side. Crown-grafting, as represented in engraving,
is generally practised when old trees are headed down and grafted with young
shoots. The scion, as you will observe, is prepared in the same way as in whip
or tongue grafting, minus the tongue ; and it is inserted between the bark and
wood of stock. It is often necessary in the case of old trees to "slit" the bark
perpendicularly, in order to get the bark to rise sufficiently to admit the scion,
which requires to be inserted far enough to let its shoulder rest on the top of
the stock.

Shield-budding is the method most suitable for budding Cherries and Plums,
and in the case of standard trees they are budded, but very dwarf trees are more
frequently grafted. The engraving will explain to you the operation of shield-
budding.

^jfN. — 1. Such a mutilated morsel of what appears to be a Scolopendrium we
cannot risk naming ; 2. Onychium japonicum (lucidum) ; 3. Poljpodium aureum ;
4, Neottopteris nidus.

Cinerarias. — Having been a subscriber to the journal since its commence-
ment, and having derived much information from its columns, my object in writ-
ing is to remind you of a plant that is largely cultivated amongst your readers,
which has never been alluded to in the Journal, and I wish very much you
would give a few cultural notes regarding its treatment and cause of disease. I
have cultivated the Cineraria for a number of years in succession, but the two
last years the leaves have been infested with a sort of maggot inside the leaves,
that I have had to pick them entirely off to get rid of them ; by being denuded
of the large leaves, they lose that graceful appearance they would otherwise have.
I have never seen any work which made any allusions to the above. "Would you give
your opinion on the matter, along with a few hints on their culture 1 and from
time to time make greenhouse plants the theme of your work, and you will oblige
your humble servant, W. H.

[Will any of our readers or correspondents favour us with their experience ?]

X. Y. Z. would be much obliged if the Editor of the ' Gardener ' would give
him some directions how to get moss out of a lawn. The land is high, but
watery, and moss grows too freely by far.

-^^M

THE

GARDENER,

MAY 1871.

THE WATER SUPPLY OF GARDENS.

HE supply of a sufficiency of wholesome water to our
large towns has become one of the most important
questions of the day. In many instances the supply
of water is insufficient in quantity and deficient in
quality. Although of much less importance from a national point
of view, the same facts which apply to towns apply with equal
force to many gardens, and in numerous cases the water supply
of gardens has become the most pressing question of the day with
the gardeners who superintend them; and the experience of the
last few summers, as well as the fact that our springs in many dis-
tricts are yet unaffected by the rains of winter and spring, is not
at all calculated to cheer many gardeners, nor to assure them that
they will not have to pass through the lamentable struggle with
drought which, in many cases that we could name, rendered satis-
factory results out of the question. That a good supply of soft
water is one of the chief elements towards successful cultivation, no
one can for a moment question ; yet it is quite evident that in the
selection of garden sites the supply of water has never, in many
instances, received that amount of consideration which its great
importance demands. The disadvantages arising from this are now felt
more than ever, because the number of plants which require a daily
artificial supply of water has been multiplied fourfold within the
last twenty- five years.

There is no denying the fact that the gardener who has at his

p

198 THE GARDENER. [May

command a plentiful supply of good water, has a power at his back,
in the matter of cultivation and cleanliness, which gives him great
advantages over those who are dependent on either the stagnant water
of a pond, or cold hard spring water that has to be pumped from
the bowels of the earth. Of course many gardens are so situated
as to locality that a supply of water from a lake or unpolluted stream
is simply an impossibility; but, on the other hand, there are gar-
dens where the gardener has to use water from springs of an un-
favourable character, and from muddy ponds, while a little ingenuity
and outlay would in most cases place at his command an abundant
supply of the very best water for horticultural purposes. We have
ourselves been, in more than one instance, compelled to use slimy
water, with which no plant could be syringed, or else to fall back,
as an alternative, on pump-water, which was not only attended with
immense labour, but with certain death to some plants on account
of mineral deposit ; this, too, while an abundant supply of rain-
water was allowed to run off the roofs of hothouses and other
buildings into the nearest ditches. While we know perfectly well
that instances of this sort are common enough, we are under the
impression that there are few questions connected with horticulture
which require to be more urgently brought before the owners of all
gardens so situated. We are aware that it is a most difficult task
to convince the inexperienced of the almost magical effects that the
different kinds of water have on the health and growth of plants ;
in fact, we ourselves could hardly credit the importance of one kind
of water over another, if we had not experienced in various locali-
ties the different effects produced by the opposite extremes to which
reference has been made ; therefore we unhesitatingly say that we
know of no single appliance which can be of so much advantage to
gardeners and their employers as an abundant supply of soft water.

Where gardens are not sufficiently near to an unpolluted stream or
lake from which to draw a supply, the next best thing is to store in
large tanks the rain-water which runs from the roofs of hothouses and
all other buildings connected with or near the garden. In this way
a supply sufficient for the most important, if not for all purposes, can
be secured. It is a matter of astonishment, when it is thought of at
all, that an element of the very best character, and one of such first-
rate importance, should be so frequently allowed to run to waste, while
at the same time water of positively the worst description is made
use of, at considerable cost and labour. We have known employers
scrupulous to a point that no cinders should go to waste in ash-heaps,
while a tenfold more injurious waste in connection with the water
supply was never thought of.

1871.] THE WATER SUPPLY OF GARDENS. 199

But there is another point in connection with this important question
to which we desire to call attention. There are gardens where the
supply of lake and river water is at its source of such an amount and
in such a position as sends a superabundant supply by gravitation to
the garden ; but the distribution of it and the means of supplying it
are so antiquated and inefficient, that it is not half so useful as it is
capable of being made. Too often it is brought into a tank or two in
or near the garden, and every ounce of water which has to be applied,
both out doors and in, has to be lifted and carried and passed through
watering-pots, when at least three-fourths of all that is required might
be applied with a tenth of the labour. This is what might be described
as a splendid supply bungled in its application. If, instead of con-
structing expensive tanks, main-pipes were laid on along the sides of
paths and walls, to which gutta-percha pipes and hose could be
attached, not only could every ground crop be watered when required,
but — and it is an operation of great importance — every tree and bush
could be vigorously syringed without ever handling a water-pot,
engine, or syringe. The same method of applying it is applicable to
all inside watering and syringing of such as Vines and Peaches ; and
it can be applied in the same way especially to large plants in pots,
and to aU such as masses of bedding plants in pits and frames. A boy
can thus in may instances administer as much water as half-a-dozen
men on the old principle of carrying water in pots — a work of drudgery
well known by all gardeners.

With such means and appliances as this, gardeners would frequently
apply water with great benefit to many crops, to the sufferings of which
they are obliged to shut their eyes, because they cannot afford the
labour necessary to supply sufficient water by sheer force of bone and
muscle. How often would Cauliflower and Celery, Lettuce and
Spinach, be kept from running to seed. Peas from being destroyed
by mildew, and Cabbage from becoming tough and unpalatable ! how
frequently would wall fruit-trees and bushes have green-fly and spider
washed off them, and how much annoyance from red -spider and
shrivelling would often be prevented in Vines, were the manner of
applying water in gardens equal even to that by which dust is laid
with it on the streets of towns !

Turning to flower-gardens, how often does one not meet with newly-
planted things all but perishing, after being planted, for lack of a
decent supply of water 1 and all the while the rain from the roof of
the mansion and stables close by is running away through the sewers,
instead of being stored to meet emergencies, to say nothing of daily
wants. The water supply of many gardens is simply ridiculous, and
we know of nothing so much in need of improvement.

200 THE GARDENER. [May

NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS.

NO. V.
GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATIVE SORTS.

Among the many novelties which, during the last quarter of a cen-
tury, have been introduced into British gardens, none have attracted
greater attention, or obtained a higher place in popular favour, than
the magnificent species of Rhododendrons sent home in the spring of
1850 by Dr Hooker from the Sikkim Himalayas, and a few years
later by Thomas J. Booth, Esq., from Assam and Bhotan.

The high expectations created by the glowing descriptions given by
these gentlemen, on their introduction, of their beauty in their native
habitats, the great diversity among the individuals in habit of growth
from the tiny Heath-like shrub up to the stately broad-leaved Ever-
green tree — the variety among them in foliage, form, and colour of
flowers, and in many instances their remarkable dissimilarity in gene-
ral appearance from any of the sorts hitherto known — have since
then been fully realised; and they have proved invaluable acquisitions
to the long list of these gorgeous flowering-shrubs already in cultivation.
It is scarcely possible to overrate the importance, in a horticultural
point of view, of these brilliant discoveries, either as indoor decorative
plants, for which many of them, from their noble foliage, delicate
colours, and, in some cases, exquisite fragrance, are peculiarly adapted,
or as the parents of a new and distinctive race of hardy sorts ; and
though, considering the length of time they have been in this country,
comparatively little has been effected in this direction, from the difla-
culty of inducing some of the most desirable to cross with the hardy
late-flowering kinds, considerable progress has been made ; and there
are a number of hybrids which, while possessing many of the features
of the Indian species, are at the same time hardy enough for outdoor
cultivation. Much, however, remains yet to be done ; and we can con-
ceive of no more interesting and inviting field for the exercise of the
hybridiser's skill, and in view of what has been already accomplished
with R. arboreum, more likely to yield a rich return for his labours.

Since these first introductions, several no less useful and interesting
species have been added by other collectors from the same and similar
localities, which, together with the varieties obtained from time to
time by hybridising, constitute the now somewhat large group known
as Greenhouse and Conservatory Rhododendrons.

Though the great majority of the species have been found able to
survive .our winters in the open air, and in one sense may be said to
be hardy, they for the most part start too early into bloom and
growth ; and, as a rule, the expanding flower-buds and young shoots

1871.] NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS. 201

are destroyed by spring frosts, and this even in the mildest seasons
and most favourable situations. For the full development of their
beauty, therefore, the shelter of a greenhouse is absolutely necessary ;
and they will richly repay their occupancy of the best place that can
there be assigned to them, as they are undoubtedly the most interest-
ing plants it can contain, especially during the spring months, either
while in bloom or making their new growths, when they are singularly
attractive and interesting.

The conditions necessary for the successful cultivation of greenhouse
Rhododendrons are at once simple and easily supplied, and few plants
are less exacting upon the care and attention of the cultivator.

In common with the outdoor members of the genus, they delight
in a rich fibrous peat soil, which, with the addition of more or less
sharp sand to make it sufficiently porous, alone should be used for
their cultivation in pots.

In the preparation of the soil for potting, the turf should be chopped
down to the requisite fineness with the spade, so as to retain all the
fibre it contains ; and as it must be pressed as firmly round the ball
as possible, care should be taken that it be well aerated, and only used
in a dryish mellow state. To insure perfect drainage, a thin layer of
moss or rough peat should be put over the crocks before the finer soil
is introduced.

The size of the shift must always be regulated by the habit and
vigour of the individual plant, as well as by the state of the roots. In
no circumstances is a large shift desirable ; it is far better that it
should be moderate, and repeated at such intervals as the growth of
the plant and the spread of the roots render necessary. Apart
from the importance of having them in as small pots as is consistent
with their real wants, there is the possibility of the soil, from the
necessity of frequent watering, becoming sour and sodden — a condition
most prejudicial to their health, particularly in the case of such as are
naturally slow-growing and weakly in their habit. In shifting, the
ball should never be disturbed more than is necessary for the removal
of loose soil, and on no account should the roots be torn off or muti-
lated. Of all the seasons of the year we prefer the spring for
repotting, immediately after blooming, and when they are beginning to
give indications of growth ; the roots then at once take to the fresh
soil, and the increased nutriment enables them to make rich luxuriant
shoots, and consequently full and well-developed flower-buds.

During the growing season, the temperature of an ordinary green-
house, except in the cases of a few of the more tender kinds, will be
found amply sufficient; at this period they require an abundant
supply of water at the roots, and a frequent sprinkling overhead.

202 THE GARDENER. [May

Such as have not been shifted, and have any appearance of being
pot-bound, will be benefited by the application of weak liquid
manure once or twice during the progress of their growth. As soon
as the shoots begin to give indications of reaching maturity, water
should be gradually withheld ; and when the growth is complete, they
should have no more water than what is barely necessary to keep them
from flagging, and as soon as possible be removed to a cool situation out
of doors, the great object being to prevent them from making second
growths, to which most of the species have a strong tendency. If
plunged to the brim of the pots in a sheltered situation, little artificial
watering or attention will be necessary during the summer months, at
the end of which they must be housed along with the other greenhouse
plants.

We append a very select list of really desirable sorts, any one of
which is worthy of a place in even a limited collection of house plants ;
and to give a facility in selection, we have arranged them in two
classes, the first containing such as, from their dwarf habits and free-
blooming qualities, are best adapted for greenhouse culture ; and the
second, those that are tall and robust, and more suitable for a large
conservatory.

1st. Greenhouse Sorts.

CiUatiun (Sikkim), a dwarf bushy species, forms a neat and eflfective pot
plant, blooms freely when only a few inches high, flowers when newly ex-
panded, of a blush colour, turning afterwards pure waxy white.

Countess of Haddington (hybrid), with a general resemblance to the pre-
ceding, of which it is a hybrid. This grand variety is more robust in habit and
much larger in foliage and flowers ; colour blush white.

Edgeworthii (Sikkim), a distinct and magnificent species, with large, pure
white, spreading, cup-shaped flowers of exquisite fragrance. The leaves are
dark green, strongly reticulated, and thickly coated with a rusty - coloured
wool on the under side.

Fragrantissima (hybrid), a hybrid from Edgeworthii, which it resembles, of
a dwarfer habit. Flowers pure white, with a slight pencilling of rose on the
outside of the florets. A distinct and elegant variety.

Jasminifloriun, a beautiful species, with white tube-shaped flowers arranged
in clusters.

Javanicum (Java), a species with bright orange flowers, dwarf habit, blooms
freely, requires during winter and spring the temperature of an intermediate
house, and to be kept in the greenhouse in summer.

Formosum (Gibsonii) grandiflorum, a free -blooming variety ; flowers pure
white ; a neat-growing and attractive plant.

Multiflorum (hybrid), a very dwarf profuse-blooming variety ; flowers at the
axils of the leaves ; colour pure white, delightfully scented.

Princess Alexandra (hybrid), a pretty dwarf variety, with long tubed flowers
of a pure white colour, the stamens delicate pink.

Princess Alice (hybrid), a neat compact dwarf variety, with bell-shaped
flowers, white shaded with pink on the outside ; delicately scented.

iSyi.] NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS. 203

Princess Helena (hybrid), a singularly beautiful variety, with long tube
flowers in clusters ; colour delicate pink, streaked with a darker shade. Blooms
freely.

Princess-Royal (hybrid), resembling the last, but sufficiently distinct, the
flowers being of a richly-shaded rose colour,

Virgatum (Bhotan), a species of an extremely dwarf bushy habit ; flowers
prof usely when only a few inches high ; creamy white shaded with rose at first,
afterwards pure white.

Veitchianum laevigatum (hybrid), a very handsome variety, with large white
flowers, yellow blotch in the centre.

2d. Conservatory Sorts.

Arboreum (Sikkim), the grandest of all the Rhododendrons. Flowers bright
crimson or scarlet; its robust treelike habit, however, renders its admission
into glass structures of ordinary dimensions impossible ; but where it can be
accommodated, it is unexcelled.

Arboreimi album, a variety of the last species, mth white flowers.

Argenteum (Sikkim), a tall-growing species, with large heads of white
flowers, somewhat shy in flowering, but much admired for its maguificent
foliage ; the leaves being from 6 inches to a foot long, and from 4 to 5 inches
broad, silvery on under side.

Aucklandii (Sikkim), one of the finest of the Indian species ; flowers snowy
white, of a waxy texture, beU-shaped ; the leaves from 6 inches to a foot long,
and from 2 to 3 inches broad,

Blumeii (Java), a beautiful species, with delicate lemon-coloured flowers;
blooms freely in a young state.

DalhousicG (Sikkim), a well-known and splendid species ; flowers freely when
of a moderate size ; the flowers are white, 3 to 4 inches long, as much across
the mouth, and fragrant.

Fortuneii (China), flowers of a delicate pinky- white colour, vrith a bright -
yellow throat, cup-shaped, from 3 to 3^ inches in diameter; very sweet-
scented.

Falconerii (Sikkim), a noble species, shy in blooming whde young, but
much appreciated for its noble foliage ; the leaves measuring from 1 foot to 18
inches long and 7 inches broad, and beautifully ferruginous beneath,

Longifolium (Bhotan), like the preceding, a fine-foliaged species ; leaves from
1 foot to 18 inches long, and from 3 to 5 inches wide ; flowers at first a deli-
cate primrose colour, changing to a purer white.

Hookeri (Bhotan), allied to Thomsonii, to which it bears a strong resem-
blance ; flowers dark crimson, bell-shaped ; a fine and distinct species.

Thibaudense (Bhotan), a remarkable and handsome species, different in gen-
eral appearance, as well as in flowers, from any other known sx)ecies, except
Keysii, to which it is allied ; the flowers are of a bright-red colour, edged with
yellowish green,

Maddeni (Sikkim) resembles Edgeworthii in its large finely - scented white
flowers, but in foliage quite distinct ; an admirable pot plant.

Nutalli (Bhotan). This noble species, whether as regards foliage or flowers,
is unsurpassed among conservatory plants ; leaves 6 to 10 inches long by 3^ to
6 inches broad, beautifully reticulated ; flowers trumpet-shaped, 4 to 5 inches
long; colour white, with tint of rose red, and yellow at the base ; delightfully
fragrant. Hugh Fraser.

204 THE GARDENER. [May

NOTES ON CYPRIPEDIUMS.

The Cypripedium is, in some respects, the most interesting genus in
the whole family of Orchids. Not the least interesting amongst their
many fine features is their beautifully-marked foliage of every shade
of green, spotted and variegated, from the richest creamy white to almost
black. The beautiful and distinct formation of their flowers also
invests them with an interest all their own. In the few remarks which
I have to offer on their successful cultivation there is no secret to
unfold. What .may be said of Cypripediums in this respect may be
said of every other class of plants — namely, where a true love for the
plants exists, it will, in nine cases out ten, call out the intelligence
and energy necessary to cultivate them with success.

With a few exceptions, w^hich shall be noticed presently, I grow
them all in the warmest or Indian Orchid house, placed on the side-
tables, w^here they are exposed to plenty of light and no draughts. The
temperature in winter ranges from 58° at night to 68° by day; in
summer, from 68° at night up to 75° by day, and of course more with
sun-heat. All the shading found necessary is to screen them from
strong sun. The hot-water pipes are covered with evaporating-pans
kept constantly full of water. The paths, pipes, and stages are damped
as often as the air begins to get dry. So long as there is plenty of mois-
ture in the air, a few degrees extra heat is not injurious. The syringe
is seldom used, being convinced that the method adopted is the most
conducive to good health. The foliage remains longer clean, and
has a fine, glossy, full, plump appearance, which adds greatly to the
general finish of the plants. The material I grow them in consists of
two parts tough fibry peat, one part Sphagnum moss, with a liberal
supply of charcoal and river-sand. The pots should be perfectly
clean ; and their drainage is of great importance. The ^vay
I do it is, to take small pots without the bottoms and invert
them one above the other, sufficiently high for the topmost to form a
rest for the root stem, with the addition of 2 inches of crocks or char-
coal, and over all some of the largest pieces of the material used for
potting. In turning the plants out of the pots, all the old soil is
shaken quite clear from the roots. Everything in the shape of insects
and decay is removed. In placing the plant in its position, the neck
or collar of the plant is kept rather above the level of the pot. When
potted they receive a thorough watering of tepid water. The roots of
the plants are not allowed to remain dry for any length of time, and
the air of the house is kept regularly moist. If this point is neglected
the plants soon show that they are suffering by the thin, hard, dry
look of the foliage, and the peculiar unpleasant odour indicates to the

iSyi.] NOTES ON CYPRIPEDIUMS. 205

experienced that tlie very substance of the plants is being pumped into
the air. All is right when the atmosphere feels as if a fine summer
shower had just fallen. I should hav-e stated that the season for
general potting is the latter part of spring, but I pot whenever it is
observed that the material in which they are growing appears to be
getting out of order.

C. harhatum, C. barbatum nigrum, C. barbatum superbum, and
C. barbatum Veifchii. — These are the best of their class, blooming
freely at different times of the year. They have fine marked foliage,
are free growers, and their blooms last a long time in perfection.

C. bijlorum. — This is a very neat and compact -growing species,
with beautifully-marked foliage. Flowers white and purple ; blooms
in spring.

G. Mrsutlssimum. — This is a very fine species, with long dark-
green foliage and very large showy flowers, the petals being very
large, with purple lamina and green claw, mottled with lively purple.
No collection should be without this.

C. Hookerii. — This is another compact-growing species, with dark
and regularly-mottled leaves. The dorsal sepal is yellowish, sujQfused
with green, and stands very erect. The petals terminate with con-
siderable breadth, which being purple contrast well with the narrower
part, which is green, with small purple spots. Though less showy
than some, it is well worthy a place in every collection, as it lasts a
long time in bloom. Native of Japan.

C. insigne. — An old and well-known useful variety, as it flowers in
winter, and lasts long in perfection, and does best with cool treat-
ment.

C. insigne Maidii. — A much finer form of the last named, having
more white in the dorsal sepal and petals ; lasts long in perfection.

G. JcGvigatum. — This is a splendid species, and the fairest repre-
sentative of the long-petalled species. It has fine shining green foliage,
and from three to four blooms on a stem. The petals are 6 inches
long ; at the base they are green, three-fourths of their length they are
chocolate, terminating in narrow points of pale green. It requires
the heat of the East India House, being a native of the Philippine
Islands. [Our illustration of this magnificent Cypripedium (Fig. 1 2)
is a photograph from a coloured drawing in Curtis's * Botanical Maga-
zine.'— Ed.]

G. Lowii. — This is another majestic variety, bearing three and four
most beautiful blooms on a bold stout stem, and lasts three months in
perfection. It has petals 3 inches long, yellowish, with large dark
spots at their base, terminating with purple.

C. caricinum Pearcii. — A graceful grower; has narrow archiiig

206

THE GARDENER.

[May

sedge-like leaves, as indicated by its specific name. Produces several
flowers on one stem, expanding in succession ; sepals and petals purple,
with a white margin, the petals being narrow and twice the length
of the sepals. It is a native of an elevated and comparatively cool
region of Peru, and thrives best under cool treatment ; requires a good
deal of pot-room.

G. caudatum.— This is one of the most wonderful and singular-look-

Ctpkipedium l^vigatum.

ing of all flowering plants. Foliage a pleasing light green, sepals and
petals purplish brown. The long tail-like petals are often from 2 to
2 J feet long, and this imparts to the plant a most striking appearance.
Caudatum roseum is the finest marked of the two. Blooms in summer,
and does well with cool treatment.

C. concolor. — This is a most distinct species. It has beautifully

1 87 1.] NOTES ON CYPRIPEDIUMS. 207

mottled, compactly-arranged leaves, with pale Primrose flowers, two on
a scape. The flowers are dotted all over with crimson spots. This and
C. Schlimii are the freest bloomers, and last from two to three months
in bloom. The potting material should be very open, and no water
allowed to lodge about the leaves. In its native habitat, Moulmein,
it is said to grow on limestone rock, but it grows and flowers freely in
rough open material.

Ctpripedium villosum.

C. Dayii. — This is a variety with most beautifully marked foliage.
Does well with cool treatment.

G. Fairieanum. — This is a delightful little plant, with flowers most
beautifully marked, the sepals and petals being pencilled and dotted
with green and purple. Lasts long in perfection, and, like C. concolor,
thrives best in very open material.

C. purpuratum. — This is a lovely species, resembling Barbatum.
Flowers large, striped and shaded with purple and red, very showy,

208 THE GARDENER. [May

and flowering as it does in winter : it is a most eftective and useful
plant.

C. Schlimii. — A most lovely species, with green foliage, each stem
bearing three or four flowers. Petals beautifully spotted with rosy
crimson, and the lip having a large blotch of rich crimson. Altogether
this is a very showy plant. It continues to bloom for two months ;
is a native of New Granada. Does well with cool treatmen-t ; requires
very open compost, and dislikes being watered overhead.

C. Stonei and C. Stonei platytinum are two grand Cypripediums,
with strong, massive green foliage ; petals 5 inches long, yellow, spotted
with purple ; an immense lip, purplish veined with red, bears two and
three on a stem, and lasts a long time in perfection.

G. villosum is another noble species, having fine green foliage and
large, handsome, bright, glossy flowers, marked with orange and red ;
blooms ten weeks at a time.

[The illustration (Fig. 13) is from a photograph of a plant which
bloomed at ^layfield last March. — Ed.]

In conclusion, I would recommend as chief points in the successful
culture of Cypripediums, always to shade from strong sun, never allow
the roots of the plants nor the air of the house to be without moisture ;
frequently sponge the leaves of the plants with clean soft water.
Mayfield. S.

[The Cypripediums at Mayfield are second to none as examples of superior
culture. There are plants of C. Lowii with leaves 20 inches long and 1\ inches
broad, and C. Stonei has leaves 20 inches long by 2 inches ; C. hirsutissimum
with leaves 19 inches long; C. villosum, from which our illustration is taken,
20 inches long, with fifteen expanded blooms. This came under Mr S.'s care a
few years ago with just a single crown. C. Veitchii has leaves 10 inches in length,
and C. Fairieanum 8 inches. — Ed.1

VINE-BOBDERS.

Until the publication of Mr Thomson's Treatise on the Vine, it was
a common opinion that the richer the border, the more certain were
the Vines to produce fine Grapes. I suspect the desire to excel in
the production of large bunches must have been the chief reason why
this theory became so general, there being nothing in the character of
the Vine itself to w^arrant the supposition that it specially delights in
a very rich soil.

I am at a loss to understand why large bunches are so much sought
after. No doubt they are by many considered an evidence of superior
cultural skill. But I question if this opinion be quite correct. Me-

iSyi.] ■ VINE-iBORDERS. 209

dium-sized, large-berried, well-finished bunches are, in my opinion,
better indications that the Vines are receiving, at top and bottom, treat-
ment in accordance with their natural requirements. And their
chances of longevity and fruitfulness are more certain than when they
produce bunches of enormous proportions. The fact is, when by any
process we force the smaller and most useful varieties of Grape- Vines
to produce enormous bunches, we are pushing their vital energies be-
yond the limits assigned to them by nature ; and as nature demands
implicit obedience to her laws, nothing but undesirable results can
follow the infringement of them.

The effect of high feeding is the same in plants and animals. In
both it produces unnatural and premature development ; and neither
can live long and remain healthy under a continued course of stimu-
lating food.

That the Vine requires generous treatment we all know, but it does
not follow as a consequence that it has a special liking for the excre-
ment of animals or the offal from the slaughter-house. Yet it is beyond
dispute that some years since — and I fear the practice is not quite
abolished — garbage and the most stimulating manures that could be
got hold of entered largely into the composition of Vine-borders.

But, as previously intimated, gross manures are not natural require-
ments of the Vine ; therefore the introduction of them into the border
is a mistake, leading to the production of strong spongy wood, difficult
under any circumstance to ripen ; and in wet localities, where during
the autumn months clouds and mists prevail, it is next to impossible
to impart to it that ripened character so essential to the production of
good Grapes.

But suppose that by a liberal application of fire-heat we succeed in
ripening such strong growths, will the crop be superior in any respect
to that which wood of moderate thickness will produce ? So far as
my experience goes, the contrary is the rule, as the following will
show : — Some eight years ago I planted in pots six Black Hamburg
Vines, with the intention of fruiting them the year following. I had a
certain reason for wishing them to produce fine Grapes. I therefore
grew the canes extra strong, and ripened them to my satisfaction ; but
I was thoroughly disappointed with the crop, in so far as large compact
bunches were concerned. Of the twenty-four bunches which the six
Vines were permitted to ripen, not one of them was fit to point to
as an example of what, in point of shape, a fine bunch of Grapes
should be.

I therefore came to the conclusion that overstrong growth does not
produce well-shaped, large-berried bunches. However, I may be wrong.
What say some of our first-class Grape-growers ? But to return to the

210 THE GARDENER. [May

subject in hand. If means are taken to confine the roots within the
limits of an over-rich border, strong growth is maintained so long as
the organic portions of the compound are decomposing ; and when large
proportions of rank manures are used, it requires but a few years to
reduce the organic parts of the composition to a pulpy mass, in which
the roots of Vines, or any fruit-tree, cannot exist in a healthy
condition.

Then if precautions are not taken to keep the roots within the limits
of the border, they quickly extend into the materials in front of it,
which generally are of a much poorer character, and unable to afford
the over-fed Vines their usual supply of stimulants ; consequently this
sudden diminution of food causes exhaustion in the whole system
of the Vines, thereby making them an easy prey to any of the various
diseases or enemies to which they are subject.

It is therefore plain that over-rich borders are a mistake, whether
the roots are confined to the border or allowed to ramble at will. In
either case strong growth and "famous crops" are of but a few
years' duration, scanty crops and shanked bunches the inevitable results.
That the system of border-making recommended by Mr Thomson in
the February number of the ' Gardener ' would prevent the evils com-
plained of, there is no reason to doubt. But so long as the craze for
sensational crops exists, means will be taken to produce them, let the
after-fate of the Vines be what it will. It is therefore, in my opinion,
most desirable that we should hear less of monstrous bunches.

J. H.

STAKDAUD - TBAINED MIGNONETTE.

To have nice standard- trained ]\Iignonette necessitates some attention and care
on the part of the cultivator. This is especially the case in the earlier stages of
its growth, when the danger lies in the young seedlings becoming stunted in
their growth as well as woody in substance, a condition most opposed to the
attainment of the object desired, as all depends on getting strong stubby succul-
ent plants out of the seed-bed to commence with, followed up with unremitting
attention as regards water, potting, pinching, and training the upright growth
until the desired height has been reached.

It shall be my endeavour to describe the various attentions required of the
cidtivator, that he may succeed in growing plants to his mind, commencing with

Seed-Sowing.
The soil best suited is a compost of two parts light, rich, fibry loam, one part
leaf-mould, and the other part equal proportions bone-meal and sand. These,
properly mixed and passed through a 4 -inch sieve, are in condition for use. All
being prepared, fill a seed-pan (after crocking liberally), press the soil rather
firmly, sow the seed thinly, cover, and moisten through a fine rose, and now secure
standing-room on an airy shelf near to the glass, prefering an aspect towards the

1871.] STANDARD -TRAINED MIGNONETTE. 211

east, and screened from the mid-day sun, I believe a situation answering to
this description to be the most favourable while the plants are young ; indeed,
until they are well advanced.

The soil should not be allowed to get dry on any consideration, nor be made
suddenly wet, but kept naturally moist by occasional sprinklings until the
seedlings have appeared above ground. The same treatment may be pursued
until they are ready for potting off, with the additional look-out against the
plants shrinking through the influence of an over-dry atmosphere. This must
be prevented likewise by sprinklings of water after hot sunshine.

When the seedlings have made two pairs of leaves, no time should be lost
before getting them transferred singly into thumb-pots, using the same compost
already described for seed-sowing. It is most important to be careful in this
operation ; too much soil cannot adhere to the roots — the more the better, to
enable them to establish themselves in their new quarters and prevent a cessation
of growth taking place. Let the operation of raising the seedlings out of the
bed be performed by the help of a pointed stick, making a roomy hole in the
centre of the soil of each pot to freely admit the root, press the soil gently to the
roots, and after all are potted, plunge their pots in a shallow box among sand
and return them to their former quarters, shading for the first few days, and of
course not neglecting to water well after potting.

For a week or two water will comprehend the main wants of the plants in a
well-aired house, but probably in a few more days their small pots will be full of
roots, when pots of larger dimensions ought to be given them, say those of 4 inches
diameter. After this shift, plunging in boxes may be dispensed with, and in a
short time side-growths will make their appearance ; these must be displaced as
soon as the point of the knife can conveniently reach them without damage to the
foliage. Flower spikes will also soon be formed, and they must be pinched off,
and the nearest side-shoot made to substitute the part pinched as a leading shoot.
Besides supplying each plant with a light stake to support the stems in their
upward growth, continue tying the growths in an upright direction until they in
their turn show flowers, which ought again to be removed, and the nearest lateral
growth taken for a leader.

Throughout this period of time and growth, fresh shoots will most persistently
be thrown out at the axils of the leaves, while the leaves themselves will go on
increasing in dimensions and substance until they arrive at probably four times
their natural size. These leaves, when preserved, make a fine furnishing to what
would be otherwise naked unsightly stalks.

By the end of May it will be advisable to change the plants from the green-
house to a cold frame, where shading must be attended to, so that the foliage
may not be blotched by powerful sun, only allowing the sashes to be brought
over the plants in extremely cold, windy, or rainy weather, and removing them
again when the weather has altered for the better.

Eepot into pots two sizes larger on every occasion that the roots net their balls,
until finally they occupy pots of 10 inches diameter. Further, as regards soil,
let this be given in its rough state (unsifted), using the same ingredients to form
the compound as first perscribed after the second shift.

When the height desired has been arrived at, pinch out the centre of the
shoots and permit laterals to grow, thin only a few inches down the stem while
carefully removing all others as they appear. By the end of August the most
advanced require umbrella-like wire canopies. These frames are quite cheap, and
can be had from any wire-worker; the sizes of those we use are from 18 inches
to 2 feet diameter. As some danger of breaking the stems of the plants attends

212 THE GARDENER. [May

the operation of replacing the first stake with a stronger one to support the
frame, oue must handle the plants with caution.

The work which follows is simple enough, as the branchlets will readily fall
into their places, and only want tying down to the wire frame. An addition of
a little guano to the water in spring, when active growth again commences, will
prove of important service in the formation of strong flower-spikes. Regard-
ing the time to sow the seed, I prefer March, but a month later will do well
enough. The only difference arising from this is, that they are some time longer
in arriving at perfection.

Another consideration which must not be overlooked, is the chance of the
plants getting infected by caterpillars. These in their young state are scarcely
distinguishable from the leaves, both being alike in colour ; and it is only when
the damage is done that their presence and power to destroy can be realised.
This plunderer generally shows his appearance in August, is quite a harmless-
looking little fellow, scarcely worthy the bother of hunting at first, but his
masterly eating powers soon make it apparent what he will do if left to his own
discretion. A. Kerr.

THE HERB BORDER.

{Continued f 7^0711 page 169.)
Thi/me. — Three sorts are cultivated, common narrow-leaved, common
broad-leaved, and Lemon Thyme. The two first are used for the
same purposes — for seasoning stuffings principally — and it is therefore
not needful to grow both. Lemon Thyme is not used so much as the
other, but it is preferred for some purposes. The common Thyme is a
native of the south of Europe, is an evergreen, and perfectly hardy.
It requires a light rich soil, and may be propagated by seed, or by
dividing the plants in spring. By seed is the best way to insure
vigorous free-growing plants, when it is found necessary to raise a
new stock, which is not often, as the same plantation will last for
some years. Eor expedition, the seed should be sown in pans, in
;^^arch, covered very slightly with fine soil, and forwarded in a gentle
heat. When the plants can be handled conveniently they should be
hardened off gradually, and afterwards planted out in rows, 7 or 8
inches apart, and about 4 or 5 inches from plant to plant, and watered
occasionally till they are established. In favourable situations the
seed may be sown at once in the bed in shallow drills, and the seed-
lings afterwards thinned out to the above distances apart. When
propagated by division, the plants should be taken up about the
beginning of April and split up into pieces, and the youngest and
best-rooted branches should be selected for planting a fresh bed. The
ground should be deeply dug, and otherwise well prepared, and the
plants should be watered frequently in dry weather. To insure good
roots, the branches are sometimes layered some time before planting,

1871.] THE HERB BORDER. 213

but we never found this needful. Lemon Thyme is propagated in the
same way as the other. When coming into flower, a portion should
be cut and dried for winter use.

Winte?' Savory. — This is a hardy, low Evergreen shrub, a native of
Italy and France. The aromatic leaves are used in soups, salads, and
other things. It is also sometimes boiled along with beans, probably on
account of its digestive reputation. Both Winter and Summer Savory
have been in repute for culinary purposes from time immemorial. The
directions given for the culture of Sage, in last month's number, as
regards soil, situation, and propagation, apply also to Winter Savory.
It is, however, more generally propagated by division of the plant than
Sage, and the plants do not require to be planted so far apart as the
latter. They should be cut and trimmed in autumn, and a new plan-
tation should be made when the plants get old, and cease to make
sufficient growth to afford a supply of leaves or shoots. Top-dress
between the plants occasionally, and keep the ground clean.

Summer Savory. — A native of the same countries as the other. It
is also used for the same purposes. It is a hardy annual, and the two
are only distinguished by the names of Summer and Winter Savory
in reference to the time of the year in which they are fit for gathering.
Summer Savory requires a soil and situation like the other, and may
be sown at once about April in the bed, in very shallow drills, 1 foot
apart, and the plants afterwards thinned out to half that distance from
each other. In cold situations it may be forwarded in a gentle heat
and afterwards planted out. For convenience, the seedlings may be
lifted out and planted in little tufts, the above distances apart. When
the plants flower in August they should be pulled up by the roots and
dried for winter use.

Sweet or Knotted Marjoram. — This is a native of Portugal, and an
annual, or is at least treated as an annual in this country. The tops
are used for flavouring various dishes like the others. Like those we
have already treated upon, this is one of the indispensable herbs.
We always find it needful here to sow Marjoram in a gentle heat,
and afterwards plant it out. It may be treated exactly in the same
manner as Summer Savory, except that the plants should not be
thinned out or planted so wide as the latter. When about flowering
the plants should be pulled up and dried like the others.

Pot Marjorain. — This is a perennial, and a native of Sicily. It is
used for purposes similar to the others, and will succeed in the same
soil and situation. It is propagated by division of the root, and
should be planted 9 or 10 inches from plant to plant, each way, A
portion may be dried in autumn, but it may be picked in a green
state during the greater part of the year. Two other sorts. Common

Q

21 4 THE GARDENER. [May

and Winter Sweet Marjoram, are known to the garden ; but as they
are never inquired for, it is not needful to mention them here.

Feimel. — A herbaceous perennial, the aromatic leaves of which are
used in the preparation of mackerel and other fish sauces ; they are
also useful for garnishing, and the soft stalks may be used as a Salad,
but they are not in great repute for this purpose. The plant grows
wild in this country, and will succeed in any ordinary garden soil.
To insure a continuance of green leaves, it is best to propagate plants
from seed, which should be sown in March, in narrow drills 18
inches apart, and the plants should afterwards be thinned out to 1 foot
from each other. Let the ground be trenched and manured, and cut
down the stems frequently during the summer, before flowering, tak-
ing care always to leave a portion for picking from. The plant may
also be propagated by division of the root in spring, but it runs to
seed faster when propagated in this way. J. Simpson.

WOETLEY.

HINTS FOR AMATEURS.-MAY.

While there is much pressing work at this season, fruit-trees are often
allowed to take their chance. We always consider this a very import-
ant time to get trees into even growth, and secure the necessary fruit-
bearing wood regularly over the tree : disbudding should have atten-
tion, as formerly advised. Where any strong watery growths are taking
the lead, to the injury of more useful growth, the former should be
taken clean off; or if there is vacant space not likely to be filled up,
" stopping " the strong wood will cause a number of small shoots to
break out, and they may be turned to useful account. Thorough
syringing with water, to dislodge insects and keep the foliage clean, is
of great benefit in securing a healthy tree ; but where there is not
healthy root-action, nothing else will make up for it. Older trees require
less attention than young ones, but if they are left to chance all
the season through, longevity will not be one of their characteristics :
good soakings of manure-water may do much for them. Plenty of
moisture for newly-planted trees may be necessary if they are getting
dry at the roots. Thinning the fruit should be done with caution, as
much of it may turn yellow and drop off. Wet and cold at the
roots, or poverty and drought, may cause failure. Soot-water is
excellent for keeping insects in check, both on fruit-trees and plants of
all kinds. We have kept mealy-bug in check among stove-plants,
Pines, &c., by syringing with soot-water made clear with lime. Bought
mixtures should be used in strict accordance with the directions given.

iSyr.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 215

Newly-planted shrubs may be watered and mulched with grass, &c. ;
soil thrown over it will give a tidy appearance and save much labour.
Timely mowing and sweeping will now be required to keep the plea-
sure-grounds in enjoyable condition. Walks require weeding and
rolling after rain, to keep them smooth and firm.

Flower-borders, where herbaceous and other plants are growing, may
require frequent stirring ; and staking the tall-growing plants should
not be neglected : a battered hard surface should not be tolerated any-
where. Bedding-plants will now be ready for planting out ; but there
is not much gained by planting before the 20th of the month, except
in some favoured localities, and they are not always in the most southerly
districts. We never had so much difficulty in Scotland as in the more
southern parts of England, either with spring frosts or drying winds.
The more hardy kinds should be put out first, such as Calceolarias, &c.,
keeping Dahlias, Heliotropes, and suchlike, till the end of the month
or beginning of June. It is best when the beds are moist but not wet.
It is objectionable to plant in the soil when sodden or dust-dry; and
when it is in the latter state, a good soaking should be given to the
whole bed the day before planting. The soil about the roots
of the plants should be healthy with moisture before they are
turned out : hard dry balls give an early but very short flowering
period. Stir the surfaces of beds and borders when fit after rain or
watering. This is of much importance to free growth. If any borders
are to be planted in vegetable gardens, and the crops not shut out by
fruit-trees, shrubs, or other means, Sweet Peas may be sown, or other
means taken to keep such things as Potatoes, Cabbage, &;c., from view.
Flowers appear mockingly beside rough vegetable crops. Better one
small bed or border of well-kept flowers, free from dead petals, decay-
ing leaves, and the plants kept from growing over the edges of box, grass,
&c., than a score of neglected beds or borders. Roses will now be
growing rapidly, and the usual care with suckers, looking after insects
and grubs, must not be omitted. Although we were to give a chapter
on the Rose in regard to soil, free root-action, moisture, &c., the same
as we gave on the Vine (as an illustration) at the beginning of the
season, it would not now be out of place, as the failures are not so
much from the neglect of usual requirements as the roots getting be-
yond control, and not receiving the benefit of mulching, fresh loam^ and
other necessaries. During a dry season, if soil is at all light, free
from moisture, and watering not liberally done^ the points of
the roots grow downwards in search of moisture till they may get
into poor unhealthy subsoil ; then mildew and badly-formed flow^ers,
which last a short time, may be expected. Carnations, Pinks,
and similar plants, will soon require staking ; watering with soot-water

216 THE GARDENER. [May

gives them vigour, and helps to keep vermin in check. Staking should
be attended to before the flowers fall about. Sow seed of Pinks, Pan-
sies, Auriculas, Polyanthus, &c. — do not bury the seed deeply ; and
prevent the soil from being scorched by strong sun. Slugs, &c., will
also have to be looked after ; a row of lime and soot placed round the
handlights or pans wdll keep them from getting among the seedlings.
Plant out annuals, &c., in borders and beds when safe from frost.
Chrysanthemums require regular attention, with liberal soakings of
water, especially when plenty of roots are made. Watering overhead
in dry hot weather is of much service ; evening, of course, is the
best time to do it. Cuttings may still be struck, and if large potfuls
of foliage and blooms are objects, they may yet be secured by placing a
number of plants in one pot. For exhibition this would be out of
the question. Plants in glass structures should now be kept free
from decaying flowers, seed-pods (except where seed is wanted), and
decaying leaves. Unhealthy surfaces of the soil should be removed
and replaced with healthy stuff. Shifting on growing plants before
the roots become pot-bound is of much importance. Geraniums
coming into flower may have clear manure-w^ater occasionally, or a
small quantity in each supply of water. Fuchsias must not be checked
in any way if good healthy free- flowering plants are wanted. Gladioluses,
Tritoraas, and a number of common plants, may be grown on freely
out of doors in a cool position to supply flowers in Autumn. Salvias
and Heliotropes grown on liberally are excellent late in the season.
Balsams, Cockscombs, and Globe Amaranths, must not be suddenly
checked by taking them from heat to cold. Cyclamens must not be sud-
denly checked in their growth — starving them is an evil to be guarded
against; the plants should be allowed to ripen gradually. Acacias,
Cytisus, and many of the more robust greenhouse plants, make
their flowering-wood strong enough out of doors. If well plunged in
ashes, frequently sprinkled, and (for a time) shaded from mid-day sun,
they will make free growth ; but if the pots are very full of roots, shift-
ing to a larger size will be necessary, or the roots (if not already
done) reduced and potted in same size of pot. No roots should be
allowed to grow through the pots into the ashes or soil ; slate placed
under them will keep them right. Water for the next few months
will be required by free-growing plants in great abundance ; better to
have a iew of them well managed than great numbers half -dead.

M. T.

iSyi.] A FEW WORDS ABOUT CINERARIAS. 217

A FEW WORDS ABOUT CINDER ART AS.

^f^EXT to Chinese Primroses, Cinerarias are perhaps the most useful
winter and spring flowering greenhouse plants in general cultivation.
By sowing the seeds at different times, they may be had in bloom all
the year round, but from November to May is the time they display
their greatest charms, and are of most value to the cultivator. They
deserve better treatment than is generally bestowed upon them,
and few plants better repay a little extra attention to their peculiar
requirements.

Clean well-grown plants remain a considerable time in bloom ; and
where cut flowers are in request, they are very useful for cutting from.
Nice little plants in 6-inch pots look very well in combination with
Ferns, and are handy for filling large vases in entrance-halls, rooms,
&c. The preservation of the foliage in a clean healthy condition is
the only difficulty in their culture. If from any cause the foliage is
destroyed, the plants are useless for decorative purposes. To preserve
it in a healthy state, the plants must never be allowed to suffer for
want of water ; they must be kept clear of insect life, and never ex-
posed to currents of dry hot air rising from hot-water pipes or flues.

Of insect life, thrip and greenfly are the most troublesome. Fumi-
gation with tobacco is the best remedy for their destruction, and as
soon as they are observed should at once be applied, taking care that
the foliage is quite dry, and the atmosphere of the house, or w^hatever
structure the plants are in, is in as dry a state as possible. If this is
not attended to, the foliage is apt to suffer from the efi'ects of the
tobacco smoke.

The maggots alluded to by W. H. in the April number of the
' Gardener ' are some years very troublesome, and, unless their ravages
are stopped, soon destroy the beauty of the foliage. They are partial
to the leaves of healthy, well-grown plants, and infest them in all
stages of their growth. There is no remedy, so far as I know, for
their destruction, but picking them out of the leaves with a common
pin or point of a pen-knife. They are easily seen by turning up the
leaves and examining the under sides of them, and if picked out soon
after their first appearance, they do very little harm.

The common practice at present is to raise Cinerarias from seed,
and some gardeners recommend the first sowing to be made in March ;
but if the plants are not wanted to flower until the New Year, the
first week in May is time enough to sow the seeds. A second sowing
in July will supply plants to bloom in March and April. In prepar-
ing the seed-pan, be careful to have it properly drained. Use loam
and leaf-mould in equal parts, adding as much sand as will keep it

218 THE GARDENER. [May

from getting sour. Fill the pan to within ^ of an inch of the top,
pressing the soil rather firm, and make the surface quite smooth, on
which sow the seeds as evenly as possible. Cover them not more
than i of an inch deep with finely-sifted soil, over which spread a
piece of muslin or blotting-paper, and give a good watering through
a fine rose. When the water subsides, remove the muslin or paper,
and place a square of glass over the pan. Set it in the propagating
pit or frame, and keep it shaded until the seedlings are fairly up. As
soon as they can be handled, prick them out 3 inches apart in boxes,
using soil the same as for the seeds. Place the boxes in a cold frame,
facing the north ; keep close and shaded for a few days, after which
time remove the shade and admit an abundance of air. As soon as
the leaves of the individual plants begin to touch each other, transfer
them into 4-inch pots, using a compost of two parts loam, one part
leaf-mould, and one part old cow-dung, adding as much sand as will
keep it open.

After placing 3 or 4 inches of cinders at the bottom of the frame to
stand the pots on, return the plants to their old quarters. As soon
as they fill the pots with roots, shift into the sized pot you intend
them to bloom in, using soil the same as before. Keep the plants as
long in the cold frame or pit as you are certain you can keep frost out.
Attend to watering and keeping insects at bay, and you will be re-
warded with fine heads of bloom for your trouble. J. H.

STRAWBERRY FORCING.

I HAVE read with great interest the valuable contribution on this
subject by Mr Simpson, p. 107; and on its perusal a few thoughts
naturally struck me, which I send by way of a supplement.

As far as my little experience goes with the kinds of Strawberries,
and their relative merits for forcing in pots, I have more than on one
occasion proved, as Mr Simpson has described, the success and again
the comparative failure of the same kinds in different places. As an
instance, I may here cite my father's experience of them in Bedford-
shire. The best Strawberry he forces there is Marguerite, which
is also, as Mr Simpson has found several others in his neighbourhood
to be, much superior in all respects to the well-known Keen's Seedling.
As a proof of the excellence of this Strawberry as it is grown at Col-
worth, you will find, in the account of the Proceedings of the Royal
Horticultural Society's Fruit Committee three years ago, notice of a
sample as being first-rate, and the fruit of which, I can say, were all

iSyi.] STRAWBERRY FORCING, 219

about 2 Indies across. But the successful production of fruit, in this
instance, is not all I wish to note ; for besides, in tasting the fruit of
the Marguerite and that of the Keen's Seedling, which were both grow-
ing side by side under glass, the former was superior in flavour to the
latter ; whereas, when they were similarly growing out of doors to-
gether, the reverse was the case. As this is an additional feature of
interest, and certainly of importance, if I may yet dare to call it a
fact, I shall be glad to learn if any of your other correspondents
have ever noticed a similar occurrence. It is certain, however, in the
cases of different kinds of plants, and apparently Strawberries in par-
ticular being suited to different places, that it is a matter of the
greatest importance for the gardener to consider.

Mr Simpson, in his mode of preparing young Strawberry runners
for forcing, prefers the laying of some nice soil on the surface of the
ground in preference to the common use of small pots. This plan I
have not yet seen or heard of being tried before largely, although it
is very simple and reasonable. At one place where I was once em-
ployed, about 3000 Strav/berry runners were annually prepared for
forcing. It happened to be my lot on one occasion to lay nearly all
of them. The manner of my procedure was as follows : At first a
good heap of light soil was prepared. A hand-barrow was then
brought and placed near. This I had quickly filled with a lot of
small pots. This done, all the pots were filled with soil with a
spade in a rough-and-ready manner. The soil was smoothed over level
with the rims of the pots with an old rake-handle, as if for measuring
a bushel of corn; then, with a little assistance, the handbarrow
was taken and carried to the place where the pots were to be dis-
posed of. Getting there, with a crowbar I searched, and wherever
I could find good runners I made holes to suit the pots. When
at length I thought I had made as many holes as I had pots for, I
began to plunge them, laying the runners accordingly. This was
the manner I adopted, which will be found to be much preferable
to the more common one of setting the pots and laying the runners
all along on the surface of the ground between the rows of per-
manent Strawberries, where they get dried up and knocked about
anyhow.

Mr Simpson very justly condemns the practice of placing saucers
of water underneath the pots, submitting his own very good and
improved substitute when the Strawberries are being forced. It can-
not be otherwise than injurious in principle, for if the plants are turned
out of the pots, the roots in many cases will be found to be all dead
as far up the ball as the pot stood in the water. No doubt plants of
any kind kept in saucers of water will not dry up nearly so quick as

220 THE GARDENER. [May

those without them ; but this is not all that should be considered, and
especially when the roots perish in the manner described, the system
cannot be otherwise than misapplied. Inverted turf laid all along
the shelves and stages whereon to set the pots is another very good
medium, where it can be conveniently adopted, as the pots so placed
will not dry up nearly so quickly as those set upon the bare shelves ;
and besides, the roots derive considerable nourishment from the turf.

As far as I have seen of the success of forcing Strawberries in
pots, and at one place in one year, I was told that 2 cwts. of ripe
fruit were packed and sent to London alone. The plants, from
the time they are started till the fruit is ripe, should never be
allowed to get a check. As much as possible all through their season
of growth they should be under the influence of something like a na-
tural climate of sunshine and shower, with plenty of air, till the fruit
begins to ripen ; and water should be given but sparingly.

Robert MacKellar.

Elvaston.

PLAITTS SUITABLE FOR TABLE DECORATION.

OfiCHMEA FULGBNS.

Among the many varieties of plants suitable for dinner-table decora-
tion, the Dracaena, as a fine-foliage plant, is worthy to stand first; and
out of a great number of flowering-plants which I have tried, none have
been more pleasing than QEchmea fulgens. Its rich green foliage and
handsome form make it attractive when in its growing state, but when
graced with its spike of coral-like flowers, it cannot but be admired by
all who see it. If you have an old plant by you, it will be very little
trouble to increase the stock ; if not, in making a purchase it is best
to get two plants, no matter how small, so long as they are rooted and
are both the same size. If they have not filled their pots with roots,
allow them to remain in them until they have, but at the same time be
careful not to let them get pot-bound ; then shift them into the size of
pots you use on the dinner-table — 4 or 5 inch are large enough, and
are the size I use myself, but a size larger will do them no harm. The
soil should be two parts peat, one part fibrous loam, one part tho-
roughly rotted cow-dung, with a good sprinkling of silver sand. Let
this be well mixed together, but not rubbed, as the soil ought to be in
pieces about the size of Spanish nuts. It is a good plan to water the
young plants thoroughly, if they are dry, about an hour before you
shift them into larger pots ; and then, after they are potted, let them
stand two or three days before you water again ; and if it is winter-time.

iSyi.] PLANTS FOR TABLE DECORATION. 221

they may stand a week or ten days before they require water. The
pots should either be new or washed clean and well dried, as no plants
thrive well in dirty pots. If the pots are new they should be dipped
in water, as pots fresh from the potteries, if not wetted and allowed to
dry, slightly slack when the plant is watered for the first time, and
this is not good for the roots. The plants will now require very little
water, except what they get by syringing. I have sometimes let them
stand all winter without giving water more than once or twice ; but
as soon as the plant begins to show its flower-stem, it will require
water whenever the soil gets dry ; if not, the flower will be small.
The plant should occasionally be inverted, to let out the water which
is sure to lodge in its heart where the syringe is used. This should
be done by placing the neck of the plant between the fingers, with the
rim of the pot resting on the hand : by this means you will prevent the
soil from falling out of the pot. About the time the plant is in full
flower, young shoots will make their appearance at the neck of the
plant, and when these have grown to about 5 or 6 inches long, they
may be cut off close to the parent with a sharp knife, and placed in
the middle of a thumb-pot, using a mixture of peat, leaf -mould, and
silver-sand, in equal parts, and they will very soon root and make
nice young plants, which can be shifted as soon as they have filled their
pots with roots, using the soil described above. When the old plants
have done their best, they may be thrown away to make room for
young ones ; or if a number of young ones are wanted, they may be
cut down, and they will soon send up three or four suckers, which may
be parted with roots to them ; or cut off and struck, whichever is pre-
ferred. The cuttings will strike in the stove or in a warm dung-frame.

It is a good plan to take three or four cuttings whenever you can
get them, as then you will have plants in flower at different times of
the year. Last year I had plants in flower from the last week of July
until the last week in December. They came into flower in succession,
at intervals of about a fortnight. And now some cuttings that were
struck in May will, I have no doubt, flower by April ; and some more
that were struck in September have grown considerably, and will most
likely flower by May or June ; and plants struck in February and March
will flower in the following August and September. So by taking a
few cuttings all the year round, you may be sure of plants fit for table
decoration almost whenever they may be required. And should they
not be required for table decoration, their beauty, and the length of
time they flower, will amply repay the trouble.

William Nokes.

Blake Hall, Ongar, Essex.

THE GARDENER. [May

NOTES OW AUTUMN AND WINTER
FLOWERING PLANTS.

{Continued from page 163.)

AMARYLLIS.

Here we have a fine tribe of bulbs, wbicli can be had in flower at
any time when they have been previously prepared for it. Now is
a good time to examine them. Any that have got the pots well filled
with roots should have a shift into pots one size larger ; those which
do not require larger pots should have clean ones of the same size,
with fresh drainage. The compost should be good fibry loam, a little
peat, silver sand, and cow-dung which has been lying for some time,
put through a half-inch sieve, and all well mixed together. The potting
should be carefully done, likewise the drainage, for it is a plant which
does not like much shifting from pot to pot. Every other year is
often enough to shift, but we pick away all the surface-soil right down
to the roots, and give a rich top-dressing when we start them into
growth. After dealing with them in this way, let them be placed in
a frame not too far from the glass, where they can have a temperature
of 60°, with a supply of moisture by frequent sy ringings overhead.
By the middle of August they will have made good growths, after
which water should be given sparingly at the roots, and gradually
giving more air until they can stand without the lights when fine
with a good strong sun, which helps to ripen the bulbs. On the
approach of cold weather they can stand in any out-of-the-way corner,
giving no more water than what keeps the bulbs plump. A few can
be taken at intervals of ten days (or as required), and placed in a brisk
bottom-heat of 85°, with top-heat ranging about 65°. If good flower-
ing-bulbs, they will soon show the flower-stalks. When the flowers
begin to open, gradually harden off to the conservatory temperature,
where they will stand a long time. We find them invaluable either
for centres of baskets or singly in vases for house decoration. The
following are a few which we find good and worth a place in any
collection : Ackermanni, Distinction, Delicata, Favourite, formosa,
Glauca, Holfordii, marginata venusta, purpurea, robusta, venusta
grandiflora, vitata coccinea.

LILY OF THE VALLEY.

This is another fine, easily-forcing plant, and a great favourite with
all. When in much request for cutting, a good breadth should be
grown on a piece of rich ground shaded from the mid-day sun, paying

1871.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 223

attention through the summer in keeping it clean. If a long time of
dry weather sets in, a good watering with manure-water will be found
beneficial. As soon as the foliage has faded in autumn a quantity-
may be lifted, all the large full crowns taken and put into a box, pack-
ing them close together in light sandy loam and watering well. AVe
find, by placing them in our Mushroom-house, which ranges about 60°,
they come sooner and better than some we had in a light house with
the same temperature. We let them stand until the flotvers are nearly
full grown before removing them to a shelf close to the glass with
the same temperature. They soon lose the blanched appearance
assumed in the Mushroom-house. By keeping some in pots from
year to year, and treating them in the same way, they make fine plants
for the conservatory. They should never be neglected in watering; it
is a good plan to stand them in saucers of water all the time of bloom-
ing. Nothing is more handsome for button-holes than two or three
spikes put into one of their own leaves. Those grown in pots should
have a good rich soil, with plenty of old cow-dung amongst it. When
done flowering, care should be taken that they get no check by taking
them from the greenhouse and exposing them in cold frosty weather.
After the severe weather is past, plunge them outside and attend well
to them through the summer, when they will make fine plants for
another season. A. H.

Thoresby Gardens.

{To he continued.)

'THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS.

{Continued from 'page 175.)

THE ALMOND.

In a treatise upon the cultivation of hardy fruits it is necessary that all the hardy
fruits known and grown — it matters not to how small an extent — should have a
place. In this position stands the Almond. For there is perhaps none of all
the fruits of which we have already spoken which is cultivated on a more limited
scale. In some favoured localities the Almond is grown for the sake of its fruit ;
but even in these localities the crops are very irregular, and the fruit often of
very doubtful quality. The tree is more generally cultivated for the sake of its
flowering properties than for its fruit-producing qualities. In many places in the
south of England the Almond is one of the finest early spring- flowering ornamen-
tal trees grown. Its beautiful flowers, rivalling the Peach in its modest colouring,
leap to loveliness and life at the early dawn of spring, spreading a freshness and
beauty on the barrenness cf the landscape, and making nature to rejoice at the
early birth of her favoured child. We never have seen the Almond in cultiva-

224 THE GARDENER. [May

tion in Scotland, and we believe there are not more than four or fire places
where it is cultivated in that country. This is to be accounted for from the fact
that the soil and climate are not well suited for it.

The Almond is propagated either from seed or by budding on the Almond or
Plum stock. It is chiefly from seed, however, that it is propagated ; and in some
of our large nurseries it is grown in great quantities as stocks upon which to graft
the Peach and Nectarine, some of our greatest fruit-growers being of opinion that
these, when worked upon the Almond stock, are less liable to the attacks of mil-
dew than those worked upon any of the other kinds of stocks used for this pur-
pose. To raise young trees, the j&nest fruit should be selected at the gathering
season. These should be placed in layers in damp sand, and placed in a cool
room or shed. By the end of March or beginning of April they will have ger-
minated, and should be planted from 1 ^ to 2 inches deep in lines 1 foot apart,
and 4 inches plant from plant, in a nice warm situation, and in soil of a light and
dry, yet rich nature. At the end of the first year they may be transplanted into
soil of a similar nature, allowing 1^ to 2 feet between each plant. In performing
this operation, the chief object in view is to cut the tap-root, to prevent its pene-
trating to any considerable depth. Those roots which may be ramifying near the
surface should be encouraged as much as possible, and every care taken to hurt
them as little as possible in the performance of this operation. In the autumn of
the following year the stocks may be budded, and at the end of the following
year after this may again be ti-ansplanted, either into their permanent quarters or
into nursery-lines 2 or 3 feet apart. Again examine the roots, and remove all those
which have a decided tendency to penetrate downwards, encouragement being
given to all those taking a horizontal direction. When planted they will now re-
quire to get stout firm stakes to support them, as in proportion to the size of the
tree so will be its liability to be tossed about by every wind that blows, until such,
time as it has established itself in its permanent quarters. The tree resembles
the Peach very much in its general appearance and habit of growth, so that the
pruning and training of the Almond are to be performed just in the same manner
as recommended for that fruit.

I have been unable to ascertain how many varieties of the Almond are culti-
vated in Britain. M'Intosh in his * Book of the Garden' says, "The varieties
cultivated are the Sweet and the Bitter Almond ; of the former there are several
sub-varieties, the most esteemed being the Sweet Jordan, having a tender shell
and large sweet kernel. As an ornamental tree the variety Macrocarpa is in
greater repute on account of its splendid and very large blossoms." Thompson in
his ' Gardener's Assistant ' names eight varieties, but whether they are all culti-
vated in this country or not he does not say. Mr M'Intosh says eight varieties
are in cultivation in France, so that the eight varieties named and described by
Mr Thompson are in all probability the kinds grown in France.

Dr Hogg in his ' Fruit Manual ' describes the six following varieties, which are
all Sweet Almonds — viz.. Common Sweet, Large-fruited Sweet, the Peach Almond,
Pistache, Sultana, and the Tender-shelled, which is the true Jordan Almond of
commerce. " Besides these," he says, " there are several varieties of the Bitter
Almond — such as the Large -fruited, the Tender-shelled, and the Amandier
d'ltalie." These, however, never have been in cultivation in Britain, and, as
Dr Hogg says, " are not likely ever to be ; " so it is quite unnecessary to say more
regarding them at present.

The best time for planting the Almond is the end of September or beginning
of October. We have invariably found that all our hardy fruits, by being planted
about this time, become stronger and healthier trees, and that of two trees of a like

1871.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 225

age, if the one be planted in September and the other in March following, the
tree planted in September will for many a year continue to be the largest and
best. As already stated, the very best position ought to be selected for the
Almond, as it is only with great care and attention that it can be got to produce
fruit in this country. If space could be spared against a south wall, this would
be found to be the best position for it ; and if managed as the Peach, it might be
more productive than as a standard. It cannot be expected, however, to be
a profitable speculation, as the prices and quality of the Almonds imported
from the south of France are such as to defy competition. It is merely for
the sake of curiosity that we would recommend their cultivation in Britain
at all.

As the insects and diseases to which the Almond is subject are the same as
those which attack the Peach, and as the cure in every case is the same, we
refer the reader to our papers upon that fruit, where he will find the informa-
tion he may require upon this division of our subject.

NUTS.

The Walnut. — This nut is grown pretty extensively all through Britain, but
it is only in the best parts of the kingdom that the fruit ever gets thoroughly
ripened. The tree succeeds very well in almost any part of the British Isles,
growing as it does to a considerable height, and forming a large and hand-
some tree. Even in Scotland it thrives very well. There is one large
tree here which is a little over 30 years of age, and which is above 40 feet in
height, well furnished and healthy, and yearly produces a crop of fruit ; as a
rule, however, it is only once in two years that it bears a full and heavy crop.
During the period I have been here, I have only once seen the fruit approach-
ing to maturity, and that was in the autumn of 1868. The crop was a large
one, and a considerable quantity of the fruit ripened, yet those which did were
a mere fraction in comparison to those that fell off green.

The propagation of the Walnut is effected by sowing seed in spring, and by
budding, grafting, and inarching for the perpetuation of existing varieties. The
seed should be preserved in sand during winter in a cool room, and in spring
may be planted in light rich soil, in rows 1^ foot apart and 6 inches seed from
seed, placed at a depth of 2 or 3 inches. The seedlings may remain in the seed-
rows till the second autumn, when they may be transplanted into rows 4 feet apart,
and 3 to 4 feet plant from plant. At the end of two years more they may be trans-
planted into their permanent positions, which, if planted together, must be at least
50 feet apart. The ordinary way, however, is to plant them one here and another
there in the best positions in the landscape, so that at once the two purposes are
served of usefulness and effect. The only thing necessary, in selecting a position
for the Walnut, is to see that the soil is not of too light or too wet a nature. If
the soil is very sandy, the best plan is to remove a quantity of it, and have it
replaced with good substantial loam. If the situation is wet, let it be drained;
and if these two things be attended to, there is little to fear from the want of suc-
cess. Budding, grafting, and inarching are seldom resorted to, as there is often
great difiiculty in succeeding in either operation, from physical causes which it is
unnecessary to explain. Inarching the Walnut was first practised by one Boutcher,
a nurseryman in Edinburgh. Mr Abercrombie also practised it, as we learn from
his works. Mr Knight, who was in favour of budding, wrote a long article in the
' Transactions of the Horticultural Society ' regarding it. His remarks are as
follows : — "The buds of almost every species succeed with most certainty when

226 THE GARDENER. [May

inserted in the wood of the same year's growth ; but the AValnut-tree appears to
form an exception, possibly in some measure because its buds contain within
themselves in the spring all the leaves which the tree bears in the following sum-
mer, whence its annual shoots cease to elongate soon after its buds unfold.

To obviate the disadvantages arising from the preceding circumstances, I
adopted means of retarding the period of vegetation of the stocks comparatively
with that of the bearing tree, and by these means I became partially successful.
There are at the base of the annual shoots of the Walnut and other trees, where
those join the year-old wood, many minute buds which are almost concealed in
the bark, and which rarely or never vegetate but in the event of the destruction
of the large prominent buds which occupy the middle and opposite end of the
annual wood. By inserting in each stock one of these minute buds and one of
the large and prominent kind, I had the pleasure to find that the minute buds
took freely, whilst the large all failed without a single exception."

Where grafting is had recourse to, as in France, any of the two following methods
may be adopted — viz., whip or cleft grafting. The stock should be cut over in
winter at the desired height, and the scions ought to be takoi ofi" at the same
time and put in somewhere by the heels until wanted in spring. In cutting the
stock let it be done just above a shoot, and let the scion be inserted on the
opposite side. As soon as the butt of the scion begins to push, pinch the shoot
on the stock to check the flow of sap in that direction, and endeavour to throw
it over into the graft; and as soon as the scion appears to have taken a firm hold,
let the shoot upon the stock be entirely removed. The young tree may after
this just be treated as a young seedling, until it is planted into a permanent
position. After this little or indeed no pruning is necessary, as, if the tree is
left to itself, it is likely to make a finer and equally as productive a tree as if all
the arts of pruning were exercised upon it.

The only enemies to the Walnut cultivator are the Zeuzera resculi, or caterpillar
of the wood-leopard moth, and the Cossus ligniperda, or caterpillar of the goat moth,
which at times attack the tree, and considerably damage the timber. It is seldom
that even these touch it ; and when they do, if the tree is a large one, a cure is not
easily effected. In the case of small trees, hand-picking and destroying are the
best means of getting rid of them. Late spring frosts, extending over a series of
years, and injuring the young and expanding shoots, are said to induce a state of
debility which eventually ends in the death of the tree. James M'Millan.

{To he continued. )

CYPRIPEDIUM DOMINIANUM.

In the valuable article on Cypripediums from the pen of one of their best culti-
vators, reference is made to the beautiful hybrids raised by Mr Dominy at the
Messrs Veitch's establishment, and we are indebted to thp 'Journal of Horticul-
ture' for the accompanying illustration of one of the best of these, which is
described in that publication as follows : —

"This beautiful variety is deservedly named after Mr Dominy, so well known
as the successful cross-breeder of Orchids at the Messrs Veitch's. Mr Dominy
obtained it by crossing C. Pearci and C. caudatum. The chief points in his own
description of this offspring are as follows :—

" 'Peduncle many-flowered; spathe-like bracts half the length of the ovary

iSyi.]

CYPRIPEDIUM DOMINIANUM.

227

ovary rather pilose ; sepals oblong triangular ; petals caudate, ciliated ; lip saccate,
near the mouth retuse. ' It is remarkable that it is in almost every feature an in-

Flg. 14.— CYPRIPEDIUM DOMINIANUM.

228 THE GARDENER. [May

termediate of its two parents. Its flowers have the yellowish-green tint and purple
veins and blotches of caudatum, and, like them, open altogether. Messrs Veitch
find that it is a very free-flowering variety."

C. Harrisianum — a plate of which at our request the Messrs Veitch prepared
for us, but which is, unfortunately, too large for our pages — is another magnificent
hybrid which we owe to the skill and perseverance of Mr Dominy. It is a hybrid
between C. villosum and C. barbatum, and it partakes of the character of both
parents, while perfectly distinct from either, and is altogether a lovely plant.

STRAWBERRY PORCING. - PASSIFLORA
QUADRANGULARIS.

The opinion of a gardener of Mr Cramb's reputation and experience
deserves attention. I quite agree with liim concerning the danger of
propagating from a barren stock ; but in our case I do not think that
was the cause of failure. Our first lot, which Mr Cramb saw, were
certainly propagated from a doubtful stock; not so the next, however,
for we were particularly careful to get our new stock from a fruitful
plantation. These we planted in March, and they bloomed freely the
same season ; and we were personally careful to layer our pot plants
from those that did bloom only, but with no better results, when the
forcing season came round, as regards Keen's Seedling; the other
varieties did well enough. After we had seen that our new plantation
outdoors was disposed to fruit, we picked the blooms off. The jDlants
grew well, and kept showing bloom for a good while, which was picked
off as it appeared. Next year, however, and the next, they were an
utter failure, though they were planted in deeply-trenched well-prepared
ground, and mulched during the summer. Since then we have not
had a Keen's Seedling on the place. I was at one time as much in
love with this variety as Mr Cramb is, but our confidence received a
rude shock at that time. I think Mr Young's experience with Keen's
is similar to our own. Black Prince and a few other kinds have, on
the other hand, quite an opposite tendency, bearing in excess both
indoors and out. In forcing, it has never failed with us, and we have
at the present time some hundreds of feet of shelving filled with plants
of it, in 4J and 5 inch pots, laden with fruit.

Passiflora Qctadrangulaeis. — In reply to Mr Donaldson, I
beg to say, that when we bought our plant from "Fisher, Holmes,
& Co., " of Handsworth Nurseries, Sheffield, Mr Fisher informed
us that it was the true variety, as sent out by Messrs Veitch of
Chelsea, and that was the first time we heard of there being a doubtful
variety in the market. Our plant is now growing fast, and showing
flower-buds, and I have just examined many of last year's and this year's

1871.] LONDON WATER -CRESSES. 229

leaves, and find, that the glands vary in number, but in no instance
have I observed less than two pairs ; sometimes there are three
pairs, and frequently the third pair, nearest the base of the leaf, is
only represented by a single gland on one side. It may be useful to
know, and perhaps Mr Donaldson will be kind enough to inform your
readers, if his plant differs from ours in this respect. From what I
have seen of this Passiflora at different times, it seems to me that the
only conditions needful- to induce a fruitful habit are — a pine-stove
temperature, top and bottom, abundance of light, a limited rooting-
space, careful impregnation of the flowers, and last, but not least, to
be careful, in pruning, to remove vrhat shoots are not wanted entirely,
and allow those that are retained to grow as much as they will during
the season without stopping. This, at all events, has been our practice,
with what results I have already stated. Many gardeners and others
saw our plant, and remarked the heavy crop, considering the age of the
plant — among others Mr Fowler of Harewood, who has long grown
and fruited it also ; and he w^as of opinion that it would still drop
part of its fruit. It did not, however ; and in consequence of the fruit
all ripening about the same time, w^e had more fruit than we could find
use for, and we disposed of a large number of them to a fruiterer.
The flowers were all impregnated with their own pollen : we had no
other Passiflora in bloom on the place. J. Simpson.

liOlSTDOW WATER -CRESSES.

" Water- Cresses ! Fine Water- Cresses ! Four bunches a penny ! Buy them and
try them !" Such is the call of many hundreds who perambulate the streets of
London nearly the whole year round, with a ba>ket on their head or arm ; and
some of the more provident and prosperous of the Water-Cress fraternity get the
length of pressing into their service a costermonger's barrow. The trade in such
a weedy-looking subject as Water-Cresses has swelled to such an extent that few
people in the country have any conception of it. As a salad they are regarded as
among the most healthy in cultivation, and, I believe, the only one allowed within
the precincts of an hospital. London has stich a capacious and all-devouring
appetite, that almost everything eatable finds a ready sale ; and almost every re-
sident of the mighty metropolis becomes the patron of the Water- Cress merchant.
Even the bargemen and coal-heavers, who seldom ever see a green field, have this
Cress to grace and relish at their tea-table. Water-Cress growing is quite an
extensive, and in many cases lucrative, business. And although much of the
London supply is conveyed from long distances in the country from their native
streams, they are artificially cultivated closer to London, and in some cases in
most unlooked-for places, including many an old brick-field, where the ground has
been dug out 6 and 8 feet, and, in some instances, 20 feet deep for brick-making.
One of these Cress-beds I will briefly describe, where the clay was used for bricks
to the depth of 16 feet. A spring of wholesome water was found well suited for

K

230 THE GARDENER. [May

Cress-culture, and the ground being almost a dead level, a judicious arrangement
in forming the beds gave them a slight incline, so that the water is kept
in motion, stagnant water not being suitable.

The beds are formed from 4 to 5 yards wide, having banks between them 4 feet
wide and 2 feet high, tapering to 2 feet wide at top. Over the surface of these
beds was placed a little loamy soil, it being more suitable than the natural clay-
mixed with brick earth. Three or four of the beds described in some cases join
lengthwise, according to the space of ground there is to occupy. Where there is
not a suflBcient quantity of water to send in a supply by the end of each
bed, the beds are so arranged that the stream flows along one set of beds, and
returns by another. The depth of water is regulated by simply placing in or
removing from an opening in the bank a lump of heavy soil. In the winter time
the beds are emptied of water, and all last season's plants are cleared off, and about
the end of March a new supply of plants is obtained from some approved Water-
Cress runs in the country districts. Before planting, the water is allowed to stand
or rather run over the beds for a short time to soften the mud, and at planting
time the water is not more than 2 inches in depth. A strong plank is laid across
the bed from bank to bank, on which the planter supports himself, resting on his
knees or side. In planting, the operation is commenced at the end of the bed
where the water enters. The planter takes the Cress plant, about 6 inches long,
singly in one hand, and with the other pushes the root end slightly into the mud.
As Water-Cress beds are meant to pay, they are planted thickly, the rows about 3
inches apart, and the plants touching each other in the rows, which run in the
same direction as the course of the water. Great care is exercised to keep the
beds free from the disturbing influence of frogs. When the crop is fit to gather
the work takes place on planks, the same as in planting. The beds are gathered
very regularly, only pinching out the strongest heads. In gathering, and while
gathering, all those not quite old enough that may be standing up out of the water,
are niuibly pushed back into it again till ready for market. Men and women
generally gather, while boys and giils take them away and bunch them ready for
market. They are tied with pieces of rush about the thickness of a knitting-needle
into difierent-sized bunches, which are sold at two andfour bunches a penny, accord-
ing to size. Gecrge Dawson.

KEVIEW.

Handbook of Hardy Herbaceous and Alpine Flowers. By Wil-
liam Sutherland, Gardener to the Earl of Minto ; formerly Man-
ager of the Herbaceous Department at Kew. William Blackwood
& Sons, Edinburgh and London.
If any proof were required that Mr Sutherland has made the very
best possible use of his excellent opportunities for acquiring an intimate
and minute knowledge of the family of plants of which he treats in
this volume, we have only to consult its pages in order to see clearly
that he is a perfect master of his subject. The work throughout is
simple, both in its design and execution, and of course on that account
it is all the more likely to be useful and instructive. In sixty-five
pages of introductory remarks he makes out a just and powerful plea

1871.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 231

for a more extensive use of herbaceous and alpine flowers, and points
out the advantages to be derived from so doing. He treats compre-
hensively and clearly of their general culture, their propagation, and
the positions for which they are most suitable. The rest of the vol-
ume, extending to more than 300 pages, he has devoted to a descrip-
tion of over a thousand of the best species, which he arranges, very
properly we think, in their natural orders. His descriptions are thor-
oughly popular, and well calculated, as the author thus puts it, " to
impress on the mind of the reader the general character and value of
the plants from an ornamental point of view." And while he has thus
aimed at practical usefulness in his descriptions to those who wish for
showy and interesting selections, these descriptions are at the same
time so comprehensive that they are eminently calculated to assist in
identifying species. Peculiarities in culture required by particular
genera and species are pointed out while treating of each that could
not well have been embodied in his introductory and more general
remarks. We regard the work as calculated to be of great use to those
who wish to learn all that is possible, in a popular and decorative point
of view, of hardy herbaceous and alpine flowers ; and to young gar-
deners and amateurs who wish for the most substantial and reliable
assistance in this very interesting branch of gardening, there exists no
better book that we know of. It cannot fail to become a standard
work on the culture of the plants of which it treats, and it deserves a
wide circulation.

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS.

The Royal Horticultural Society, April 5. — Cyclamens and Cinerarias were
the principal subjects invited at this meeting : it is too late in the season for the
former, and the latter were shown in second-rate order only, so that they were of
minor importance to the numerous fine collections of Orchids and other plants,
and to the magnificent groups of Roses in pots sent for exhibition. Also growing
in a large tub, and placed in the centre of tbe Conservatory, was a grand specimen
of Rhododendron arboreum, upwards of 20 feet in height, and covered with fully-
expanded trusses of its striking deep blood-red flowers. Roses were sent for ex-
hibition by Mr W. Paul of Waltbam Cross, Messrs Veiteh of Chekea, Paul &
Son, and Lane & Son ; all of them had healtby well-grown plants. Messrs Paul
& Son sent their new climbing Rose, Victor Verdier, and the first-class award
given to it at the Royal Botanic was confirmed here. Of varieties which ought
to be universally grown I noted the following :— Marquise de Mortemart, delicate
flesh, shading to white. Mr W. Paul had it very fine, but it is not generally of free
growth. Madame Creyton, very beautiful ; Francois Treyve, dark shining scarlet ;
Madeline Nonin, a fine globular Rose ; Marie Ducher, extra fine Tea; Pjincess
Christian, an immense rosy peach flower, with great breadth and substance of
petal; Souvenir de Poiteau, Hippolyte Flandrin, and Paul Neron, a fine dark

232 THE GARDENER. [May

rose flower, but has a tendency to show the centre in old flowers. Mr Needle,
gardener to the Comte de Paris, York House, Twickenham, sent thirty pots
of Orchids and Ophrys, natives of Spain, Italy, and Sicily, The plants were in
luxuriant health, and flowering profusely ; certainly a nacre interesting and at-
tractive little group of plants has never before been exhibited : and the Lindley
Medal could not be more worthily bestowed than on the cultivator of these little
gems. The Floral Committee recommended to the Council that it be awarded to
them.

The collections of plants were too numerous to be indicated separately. In the
collection of Messrs Veitch was a plant of Anthurium Scherzerianum from Costa
Rica, with the largest and most brilliant-coloured flower-spathes yet seen. Mr
W. Bull had a fine Palm for dinner-table decoration, named Diemonorops cinna-
monica, and "Welfia regia, an equally desirable variety for general decoration. Mr
^Yilliams of Holloway exhibited Chamiedorea Ernesti-Augusti in flower; the
inflorescence resembles the catkins on the "Willow. Mr Noble of Bagshot sent a
collection of new Clematises ; nearly all of them possess vigour of growth, and the
flowers are of good form and substance, possessing at the same time many distinct
shades of colour; the best are — Miss Bateman, creamy white; Albert Victor,
bluish lilac ; Princess Mary has a distinct rosy-pink shade. Lord and Lady Lon-
desborough are also fine ; they must certainly be well adapted for greenhouse and
conservatory decoration. Thus early in the season, Mr C. Turner of Slough had
collections of alpine and show Auriculas ; they will doubtless be shown better at
the next meeting. The plants on this occasion were not so good as they are gene-
rally shown. I hear the Auricula is not doing very well "down south" this
season.

Fruit Committee. — Messrs Carter & Co. of High Holborn sent a seedling Cu-
cumber named Marquis of Lome, evidently presuming that size was the
main point of merit : it measured 28| inches long by 8 inches in girth. As exhi-
bited, it can hardly be said to be an acquisition. The same firm sent examples of
Sandringham Celery, much the same as Turner's Incomparable White. Mr Cadger,
The Gardens, Luton Hoo, also sent a brace of seedling Cucumbers, but they were
too old to judge of their merits. So-called seedling Cucumbers are shown in
abundance, difi"ering little from existing varieties. As a smooth Cucumber, both
for winter and summer use, there is none better than Telegraph. For exhibition
purposes, as a white Spine take Pearson's Long Gun, and Turner's Blue Gown as
a black Spine variety ; but it is not easy to get a true stock. Mr Lockie, who is
the raiser of Blue Gown and the best grower in these parts, keeps his stock true
from cuttings.

Floral Committee. — Some very interesting subjects were sent to this
meeting. Messrs Veitch were specially awarded for Darlingtonia californica,
the North American Pitcher-plant in flower, the first time it has bloomed in
Europe; the whole plant is of the most curious construction; the flowers droop,
and are of a greenish-yellow colour streaked with dull red : it is, I believe, quite
hardy in England. A special certificate was also voted to Messrs BeU & Thrope,
Stratford-on-Avon, for a remarkably fine plant of Ehododendron Jenkinsii ; it
seems to be related to R. Dalhousiae ; it was bearing numerous trusses of fine flow-
ers. Messrs Rollisson & Son received a first-class certificate for Torenia auric-
ulaefolia, a charming little plant, with ovate leaves forming a tuft, from the centre
of which its small flowers are thrown up; they are of a pleasing light-blue streaked
with white. The same award was given to Mr J. Atkins of Painswick for a
perfectly hardy succulent plant named Cotyledon spinosa, a very neat compact
thing, with prettily -rounded spines ; also for Saxifraga valdensia^ a very pretty

1871.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 233

species with pure-white flowers, which are borne on slender stalks 1 inch in
height. Mr B. S. Williams of Holloway also received a first-class certificate for
Amaryllis Prince Henry ; it has well-formed flowers of a large size, creamy white
streaked with crimson.

Mr W. Lee, florist, Arundel, sent cut flowers of a new forcing Pink named
Princess Louise, with large full flowers of a bright-red colour; it will be a great
acquisition, and would doubtless have received a first-class certificate if the
Committee had been assured that it was not a Carnation, Mr Lee not having sent
a plant or foliage.

Prizes were off'ered by the Society in Class 1 for six Odontoglossums, distinct.
Mr Bull was the only exhibitor, and received the first prize ; his plants were very
small. He had a good variety of 0. Alexandrse, 0. gloriosum, 0. triumphans, 0.
cordatum, 0. nebulosum, and 0. luteo-purpureum.

Class 2.— Collection of Cyclamens. Mr Goddard, gardener to H. Little, Esq.,
Cambridge Villa, Twickenham, was first with a fine collection containing many
beautiful and distinct varieties ; Mr C. Edmonds, Hayes Nursery, second ; and
Mr James, of Isleworth, third.

Classes 3 and 4 were also for Cyclamens, the same exhibitors taking the
prizes.

Class 5.-9 Cinerarias, distinct. Mr Lacey, gardener to C. S. Mortimer, Esq.,
Wigmore Park, Dorking, was first, and Mr James second ; the plants exhibited
being very inferior to those exhibited some years ago, the heads of flower measur-
ing only 15 inches across.

Class 6.-6 Amaryllis, distinct. Mr Baxter, gardener to C. Reiser, Esq., Brox-
bourne, Herts, was the only exhibitor, and was awarded first prize with seedlings
of his own : he has not only succeeded in raising some very fine varieties, but he
also grows them well.

Class 7.-6 Hardy Primroses, distinct. A second prize was awarded to Mr
Ware, of Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham. A deep-yellow free-flowering variety,
with flowers in trusses, was very pretty.

Class 8.— For 6 Bulbous Plants in Flower, Mr Ware was again the only exhibi-
tor, and received a first prize with Narcissus juncifolius, Muscaria botryoides,
Triteleja uniflora, Fritillaria pyrenaica, and Crown Imperials.

Classes 9, 10, and 11 were for braces of smooth, white, and black spined Cucum-
bers. Mr Lockie, gardener to F. W. Berger, Esq., Court Gardens, Great Mar-
low, was first in all the classes with Telegraph smooth, Gillet's Recruit white
spine, and excellent examples of Blue Gown black-spine variety, although they
are not nearly so good as he has shown it in previous years. Mr Douglas, gar-
dener to F. W^hitbourn, Esq., Ilford, was second in the smooth and black-spine
classes.

Class 12.— Forced Salading, collection of (open). Mr Hepper, gardener to C.
P. Millard, The Elms, Acton, was first with a large and varied assortment, forced
and unforced, set up in plates, garnished with leaves of Mrs Pollock, Coleus, and
variegated Kale. Mr Record complied with the terms of the schedule, and sent
a collection, all forced, for which he was placed second.

Royal Botanic Society, March 22d and 23d.— The chief attraction of this
Show was the collections of Hyacinths. Messrs Veitch, of Chelsea, and Mr W.
Paul, of Waltham Cross, each had excellent groups of new varieties, and the best
of the old sorts. I noted a few of the best new or little-known sorts which were
shown on this occasion and at Kensington, probably as fine as they can be grown.
Really double varieties of the type of Lord Wellington, D. R., and Prince of

234 THE GARDENER. [May

Waterloo, D, "W., are not at all adapted for exhibition, as the bells are so thinly
placed at the top of the spike. Koh-i-noor, a variety with a perfect spike of semi-
double salmon flowers, is very distinct, and fit to be placed in the most select
collection. Of single varieties — Albert Victor has rich dark-crimson bells, with
a well-arranged spike; Vuurbaak, crimson scarlet, and Gaiibaldi, dark reddish
crimson, are really grand ; La Grandesse is unapproached by any other pure-
white sort for its bold massive spike ; Snowball has the best-formed bells, but
the spike is too short for exhibition; it is inferior to older sorts. L'Innocence,
blush white, immense bells, and massive spike ; King of the Blues, dark blue,
large bells, and handsome massive spike, a grand exhibition variety ; Czar Peter,
porcelain, fine large bells ; the best black blue is General Havelock, but it has
the fault of nearly all the black varieties — the stalks of the bells are too slender.
Ida, clear primrose, and Bird of Paradise, yellow, are the best of this section.
Of.new varieties not yet sent out, Mr W. Paul had Princess Louise, D. R, and
Messrs Veitch had Princess Louise, S. W. ; both had first-class certificates awarded
to them. Mr Paul's flower had a first-class award the previous week at South
Kensington. The single white variety exhibited by Messrs Veitch, had very large-
eized bells, but they are too far apart ever to form a symmetrical spike.

In the class for 12 Hyacinths (nurserymen), Messrs Veitch exhibited 12
distinct sorts, staging similar varieties to those which gained the first prize at
Kensington ; they were again awarded the first prize.

In the similar class for amateurs distinct sorts are not required, and one of
the exhibitors had as many as four plants of one sort.

The Cyclamens were a fine show in themselves. Mr James, gardener to W.
F. "Watson, Ejiq., Isleworth, was awarded the first prize, with 12 large com-
pact specimens. The flowers were of large size, and produced in the greatest pro-
fusion, some of the specimens having no less than from 300 to 400 fully-expanded
flowers upon them. Mr Goddard, gaidener to H. Little, Esq., Twickenham,
was second with excellent specimens, having a greater number of distinct sorts ;
Mr Edmondf, Hayes Nursery, being third. The last-named exhibitor also
showed two small plants with very large flowers of Cyclamen persicum var.
giganteum, with rosy-purple flowers, and grandiflorum with pure-white flowers
and a rich purple base : they each received first-class certificates.

In the class for Roses in pots, Messrs Paul & Son were awarded the first prize
with four handsome well-flowered specimens. Celine Forestier had two dozen of
very fine flowers, good enough to put in any exhibition-stand ; Elie Morel, Dr
Andry, and Duke of Edinburgh, were also fine. They also staged a collection in
which was a new climbing variety called Climbing Victor Verdier. The flowers
are of the same form and quality as Victor Verdier, but of a darker rose ; as a
climbing Rose it must be an acquisition. It was awarded a first-class certificate.
Messrs Veitch also staged a large bank in small pots, which were well arranged
and exceedingly eff'ective.

Messrs Rollisson of Tooting had a fine collection of plants, Orchids, &c.

Mr B. S. Williams of Holloway had a miscellaneous collection of plants,
Aucuba luteo-carpa, with large pale-yellow berries, had a first-class certificate
awarded to it.

Messrs Lane & Son of Great Borkhampstead received first prizes in the classes
for hardy forced shrubs, Greenhouse Azaleas, and Deutzias : in the last-named
class they had very fine plants of Deutzia gracilis, 2 feet in height and as much
through, and the flowers were of large size.

Tulips were shown very fine by Messrs Veitch, and some excellent pots were
staged in the class for amateurs.

iSyi.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 235

Chinese Primulas were not well represented. When prizes are olBFered, the
ordinary single varieties are put up : the double varieties, which require careful
attention as regards culture, seem to be going out of cultivation altogether. Mr
W. Paul had a basket containing four plants of a splendid single variety, Wal-
tham White ; the flowers are pure white with a greenish-yellow eye, of large size
and great substance. A first-class certificate was awarded to it.

First-class certificates of merit were also awarded to the following subjects : —
To Messrs Rollisson for their pretty little Fern, Davallia clavata ; to Messrs Hen-
derson & Co. for Ficus lanceolata ; and to Messrs Veitch for Primula Boveana
and a species of Acropera, also for their beautiful new hybrid Amaryllis Chelsoni,
which had first honours at South Kensington ; A. Leopoldii, which had a first-
class certificate at Kensington last year ; A. maculata, lighter in colour than
Chelsoni, and more profusely spotted ; A. Brilliant, a perfectly-shaped flower of
a decided scarlet shade. All these fine flowers have been raised through crossing
the Amaryllis with Hippeastrum pardinum ; they are far in advance of anything
yet exhibited; the petals are of great substance, and in shape the flowers approach
the true florist standard. No better proof could be afforded of their merit than
the fact that all the four had first-class certificates awarded to them.

Second ISpking Snow, April 12th and 13Lh. — Prizes were offered on this occa-
sion for greenhouse plants in flower, forced hardy shrubs, herbaceous plants in
flower, Rhododendrons, Roses in pots, &c. As usual, the most valuable and efi"ec-
tive collections were staged in the miscellaneous classes. The productions sent
for competition, according to the terms of the schedule, were in some cases of
very indifferent quality ; this was the case especially in the amateurs' classes of
Ruses and Cinerai-ias. In the nurserymen's class for Roses in pots, Mr C. Turner
of Slough staged nine very fine plants in 11-inch pots, the individual flowers
on which were remarkably fine, and averaging three dozen to a plant— Miss Ingram,
La France, Princess Mary of Cambridge, and Celine Forestier being the best : the
first prize was awarded to them. Messrs Paul & Son, Cheshunt, were second, and
had also a fine lot of plants. The beautiful Tea Rose, Madame de St Joseph, had
upwards of fifty fine flowers, and was awarded a special certificate for excellence
of cultivation. Messrs Lane & Son were first in the class for six Azaleas, with
well-bloomed pyramids ; Princess Alice, a very fine pure-white flower, was con-
spicuous.

In the class for 12 greenhouse plants, Mr G. Wheeler, gardener to Sir F.
Goldsmid, received the first prize with ordinary specimens. In the class for
Rhododendrons, Messrs Lane & Son were awarded the first prize for 12 plants,
not of large size, but well bloomed. In hardy herbaceous plants, Mr Ware of
Tottenham was again to the front with a dozen fine plants. Primula cortusoides,
lildcina, and intermedia are very pretty varieties ; and the variegated Lily of the
Valley, with its leaves handsomely striped with yellow, is a very useful decora-
tive plant.

The first prize for Amaryllis was awarded to Mr Baxter, with similar flowers to
those shown at South Kensington ; the same exhibitor also taking the first place
for Roses in the class devoted to amateurs. Messrs Paul & Son likewise re-
ceived the first prize for a collection of cut Roses, with varieties that have been
already noticed, except Mons. Woolfield, a flower of a bright-red colour, of great
depth and fine form. Fine collections of Roses came from Mr W. Paul and
Messrs Veitch ; Mons. Furtado (Tea), adeep-yellow flower of fine form, and Madame
la Barrone de Rothschild, were most lovely.

In most of the collections of plants, different species of Palms were introduced,
and in all cases 'they were exceedingly effective. Messrs Rollisson had Chamce-

236 THE GARDENER. [May

dorea graminifoHa and Geonoma Shottiana, fine table Palms, The same firm had
Euterpe antioquensis, also a slender-leaved Palm ; and Sillandsia argentea, a
plant with silvery-grey gracefully-recurved narrow leaves. First-class certificates,
were awarded to the two lat>t-named plants. The same award was also given to a
very fine plant of Acer polymorphum palmatifidium from Messrs Veitch ; it is
very elegant in appearance, and has deeply-cut light-green foliage.

Mr Goddard, gardener to H. Little, Esq., also received a first-class certificate for
Cyclamen persicum (Snowflake) ; as did also Messrs A. Henderson & Co., Edgeware
Road, for Malortica speciosa, a variety with entire leaves, but not very ornamental.
Mr B. S. AVilliams of Holloway received the same award for Amaryllis hjbrida
gigantea; it was stated to be a hybrid between an Amaryllis and Lilium giganteum.
The flowers are fragrant, and have the long slender tubes of the Lily, and are of a
creamy white feathered with bright crimson. J. Douglas.

PtOYAL Caledonian Horticultural Society. — This Society is certainly to
be congratulated on the magnificent exhibition which it held in the Music Hall,
Edinburgh, on the 5th April. It was the unanimous opinion of all that there
never w^ere so many, nor, generally speaking, such a fine spring show of flowers
and fruits held iu Edinburgh before. The only thing to be regretted in connec-
tion with it is, that this Society should be compelled, for want of a more capa-
cious place, to huddle so many fine plants into a space so small. The conse-
quence of this is, that individual plants are seen to great disadvantage. There
were sufficient fine jjlants brought together on this occasion to occupy three times
the space afforded them. The sjjring meeting of this Society has formerly been
designated the Hyacinth Show, from the fact that they were generally a most
prominent feature. They are now% however, so much out of proportion, that on
this occasion they were completely thrown into the shade by the mass of other
flowering and fiue-foliaged plants which crowded the room on every hand.
The whole sides of the room were crowded with nurserymen's tables ; and it
is another new feature that a Glasgow firm should send a collection all the way
in vans by road, and carr}^ off the leading prize, w^hich Messrs Thyne's table
certainly deserved, — their plants being so choice and well grown that it was
no discredit to those who stood second and third in relation to them. It is
most creditable to the nursery firms of Edinburgh that nearly every one of
them put in an appearance with tables of well-grow^n plants. The orchestra
was filled with a magnificent group of fine Coniferae, Palms, Ferns, &c., arranged
in a masterly manner for effect, by the Messrs Lawson. We have seen the
Hyacinths both more numerous and fully better grown, but there was a marked
improvement in almost every other class of plants exhibited. The Orchids,
Heaths, Azaleas, Eoses, Ferns, Cyclamens, &c., were all a decided advance on
former occasions. The Pines, Grapes, and Ajiples were simply magnificent
for the season, or indeed for any season. We could wish to notice in detail the
various subjects which formed the individual groups, but having so many shows
to notice, we must content ourselves with appending the prize-lists.

Judges :— James Henderson, Cawden Castle; John Cowe, Luffness ; Alex.
Anderson, Oxenford ; Thomas Lees, Tyninghame; Mr Shearer, Yester ; Mr
Eoss, Preston Hall ; Mr M'Farlane, Kingsmeadows ; Mr M'Leod, Newbattle ;
Mr Gumming, Amisfield.

gardeners and amateurs.
Twelve distinct Hyacinths — L Mr
Gordon, Niddrie House ; 2, John Cur-
rie, Parkside Lodge ; 3. Duncan Kerr,
Glencorse.

Nine distinct Hyacinths — 1. Mr
Mattocks, Niddry Mains ; 2. Mr Paul,
Gilmore Place; 3. Mr Colville, Brae
Lodge.

Six distinct Hyacinths — 1. Mr

i87i.]

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS.

237

Walker, Rosehall House ; 2. Colin
Macfarlane, Moredon ; 3. Mr Robert-
son, Seacote House.

Six distinct Hyacinths (amateurs) —
1. Mr W. Young, assistant-secretary
to the Society ; 2. Mr Paul, Gilmore
Place.

Three distinct Hyacinths (amateurs)
— Mr Young.

The finest single Hyacinth in the
room — Messrs Downie, Laird, & Laing,
Edinburgh.

The finest Double Hyacinth in the
room — John Currie.

Six Ferns (varieties)— 1. William
Thomson, Dalkeith Gardens ; 2. John
Currie ; 3. Mr Milne, Logan Bank.

One Tree Fern— 1. Mr Gordon, Nid-
drie.

Four pots or pans, not exceeding 8
inches diameter. Polyanthus Narcis-
sus, sorts — 1. John Currie ; 2. Mr Wa-
terson, Pestalrig.

Six pots or pans, not exceeding 8
inches in diameter, Tulips, sorts — 1.
Mr Paul, Gilmore Place ; 2. Colin
Macfarlane.

Four Pots Crocus, varieties — John
Currie.

Three Rhododendrons, varieties, in
pots or tubs — John Paterson, MiU-
bank.

One standard Azalea — 1. John Cur-
rie ; 2. Mr Waterson.

Four Azalea Indica, varieties — 1.
John Paterson ; 2. Mr Marshall, King-
ston Grange ; 3. ]\Ir Waterson.

Two Azalea Indica, varieties — 1.
John Currie ; 2. D. Marshall.

Three Azalea Indica, varieties, in
pots not larger than 8 inches — J. Pa-
terson.

Two Azalea Indica, varieties, in
pots not larger than 8 inches— D.
Marshall.

One plant Azalea Indica — 1. J. Pa-
terson ; 2. Mr Gordon.

Six Stove or Greenhouse Plants, in
flower, excluding Azaleas — 1. J. Pater-
son ; 2. Wm. Thomson ; 3. D. Mar-
shall.

Three Greenhouse or Stove Plants,
in flower, excluding Azaleas — 1. John
Currie; 2. P. Milne.

Two Greenhouse or Stove Plants, in
pots not exceeding 9 inches in diam-
eter, excluding Azaleas — 1. John
Paterson ; 2. D. Kerr.

Four Foliage Plants, excluding Ferns
— 1. William Thomson ; 2. John Cur-
rie ; 3. John Paterson.

Two Foliage Plants, in pots not ex-

ceeding 9 inches in diameter, exclud-
ing Ferns— 1. John Paterson ; 2. James
Gordon.

The finest Foliage Plant— 1. John
Paterson ; 2. R. Colville.

The finest Stove Plant in flower—

1. John Currie ; 2. John Paterson.
Two Epacris— 1. Colin Macfarlane;

2. D. Kerr.

Two Cape Heaths— 1. John M'Kay;
2. John Paterson.

Two Deutzia Gracilis — 1. James Gor-
don ; 2. George Greig.

One Deutzia Gracilis — 1. Jas. Gor-
don ; 2. Jas. Hannah.

Two Herbaceous Plants, in flower —
1. John Paterson ; 2. George Greig. _

Three Cinerarias, sorts — 1. Colin
Macfarlane ; 2. John Currie.

Six Camellia Blooms, of sorts — 1.
Colin Macfarlane ; 2. P. Robertson.

Six Rhododendron Trusses, of sorts
— 1. Wm. Pirrie, Dysart.

A Hand Bouquet of Flowers — 1. R.
Milne; 2. John M' Kay.

A Table Bouquet of Flowers (open
to all) — 1. Downie, Laird, & Laing ; 2.
Dickson & Co.

Two Standard Mignonette— 1. Dun-
can Kerr ; 2. Alexander Gibson.

Two pots Mignonette— 1. Duncan
Kerr ; 2. Alexander Gibson.

Three pots Violets— 1. Colin Mac-
farlane ; 2. James Gordon.

Three pots or pans of any size Lily
of the Valley — 1. John Paterson ; 2.
James Gordon.

Three pots or pans of any size Lily
of the Valley, not exceeding 8 inches
in diameter— 1. John Eraser; 2. D.
Marshall.

Four Forced Roses, in pots — 1. John
Paterson ; 2. James Gordon.

Two Single Chinese Primulas, varie-
ties—1. James Hannah ; 2. R. Milne.

Six pots Hardy Double Primroses,
not less than three varieties — Colin
Macfarlane.

Two Early Forcing Geraniums — 1.
John Currie ; 3. James Gordon.

Twelve Cyclamens, not less than six
varieties— 1. J. Currie; 2. J.Gordon.

Nine Cyclamens, not less than six
varieties — James Gordon.

Six Cyclamens, not less than three
varieties— D. Marshall.

One Pine-Apple, in pot or cut — 1.
A. Henderson, Thorsby Park; 2. Ro-
bert Fowlis, Fardell.

Thirty Strawberries— 1. A. Ander-
son, Oxenford; 2. John M'Kay, The
Glen.

238

THE GARDENER.

[May

Two Bunches of Grapes — 1. Mr Tem-
ple, Biilbiruie ; 2. C. M 'Taggart, Ar-
uistou.

Twenty-four Apples, cooking, six
sorts — 1. Jolin Cuuiming, Amistield ;
2. John Bruiiton, Gilmoreton.

Twelve Ap[»les, dessert, three sorts
— 1. John dimming ; 2. James Gillon,
Ormiston.

Twelve Pears, dessert, three sorts —

1. J. Camming ; 2. J. Brunton.

The best collection of Vegetables,
eight sorts, excluding Cucuaibers— 1.
James Gordon ; 2. Mr Temple, Bal-
birnie.

Six heaviest stalks Pthubarb — 1.
John Fraser, Belmont ; 2. J. H. Por-
terfiehl, Hermitage.

Six head Sea- Kale— 1. J. H. Porter-
field ; 2. James Gillon.

Three Broccoli — 1. James Gordon ;

2. Alex. Anderson, Ilatho.

Six Leeks — 1. James Hannah, Burn-
head ; 2. A. Anderson.

A Pint of Mushrooms— 1. William
Thomson ; 2. Colin Macfarlane.

Three Cabbage — 1. Gumming, Amis-
field : 2. Alex. Gibson, Edmonstone.

Two Cucumbers — George Grcig,
Craigend Park.

NURSERYMEN.

Eighteen distinct Hyacinths — 1.
Downie, Laird, & Laing; 2. Thomas
Methven & Sons.

Six Rhododendrons, varieties, in
pots or tubs — T. Methven & Sons.

Six Camellia Blooms, varieties —
Messrs Dickson & Co.

A Hand Bouquet of Flowers — 1. T.
Methven & Sons ; 2, Dickson & Co.

For the best - assorted Table of
Plants, in flower or foliage, not ex-
ceeding 30 by 3 feet— 1. J. & R.
Thyne, Glasgow ; 2. T. Methven &
Sons; 3. Dickson & Co. ; 4. Dickson
& Sons.

CERTIFICATES FOR SEEDLINGS.

Variegated Beet— Certificate of Me-
rit to Mr Clark, gardener, Parson's
Green.

Seedling Rhododendron, Duchess of
Buccleuch — Methven & Sons, First-
class Certificate.

Viola lutea pallida — Certificate of
Merit to Dickson & Co.

Glasgow and West of Scotland Horticultural Society. —This pros-
perous Society held its Spriug Show in the Glasgow City Hall on the
29th March. The early morning was characterised by an unusually severe
frost for the season, and exhibitors had to take great precautions against its
effects on the tender plants which they brought forward on this occasion.
The day, however, proved auspicious, and the number of visitors who crowded
the hall and side-rooms throughout the day was more than usually large. The
exhibition, as a whole, was very creditable to all concerned. The Hyacinths,
Tulips, and other spring bulbs were very robust and fine, especially the
Hyacinths. So were the Azaleas, Deutzias, and fine-foliaged plants in the
miscellaneous collections. Our space forbids us to notice the individual plants
in the numerous classes. The following are the awards of the judges, who
were : —

On Plants (gardeners) — Mr George Johnstone, Glamis Castle ; Mr William
Currie, Hamilton Palace; Mr David Henderson, Wemyss Bay. On Plants
(amateurs)— Mr William Thomson, The Gardens, Dalkeith Palace; Mr David
Thomson, The Gardens, Drumlanrig Castle ; Mr John Methven, The Gardens,
Blythswood. On Hyacinths (gardeners and amateurs)— Mr John Downie,
Edinburgh; Mr James Thomson, Summer Place, Edinburgh ; Mr William
Paton, Partick. On Crocus, Primulas, &c. — Mr James Forbes, Overtoun ;
Mr William Dickson, Crossflat Nursery, Paisley; Mr James M'Millan, Ers-
kine Gardens,

OPEN to all.
Collection of Plants— 1. Messrs J. &
R. Thyne, Buchanan Street; 2. Jas.
Graham, gardener to Sir George Camp-
bell, Garscube; 3, John James, gardener
to Mr George Duncan, Shettleston.

Collection of Dutch Bulbs, in bloom
— Peter M'Kenzie, Gordon Street.

Six Plants for Table Decoration— 1.
Messrs J. & R. Thyne ; 2. John Craig,
gardener to Mr John Reid.GlenHuntly,
Port-Glasgow ; 3. Robert Blair, gar-

1871/

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS.

239

dener to Mr Wm. Hay, Eddington
House, Laugside.

Four Azaleas, varieties — 1. Wm.
Boyd, gardener to Mr Thos. Findlay,
Easterhill ; 2. Robert Caskie, gardener
to Mr Adam Graham, Thornwood,
Partick; 3. Thos. Hogg, gardener to
Mr Drivid Tod, Ironbauk, Partick.

One Standard Azalea — James Gra-
ham.

Three Rhododendrons, varieties — 1.
Jas. Graham; 2. Alex. Walker, gar-
dener to Mr Thomas Hill, Meri-ylee.

Six Trusses Rhododendrons, varieties
— 1. James Graham; 2. Alex. Walker.

One Specimen Plant Deutzia — 1.
Alex. Walker; 2. Wm. Boyd; 8. John
Ingram, gardener to Mr John Gordon,
Aikenhead.

Three Amaryllis, varieties — 1. H.
W.Lewin, gardener to Col. Buchanan,
Drumpellier; 2. Jas. Graham; 3. Wm.
Boyd.

Three Lycopods, varieties — 1. John
M'Nab, gardener to Mr James Wilson,
Trinidad Villa.

Two Camellias, in flower and pot —
1. James Graham ; 2. George Robert-
son, gardener to Mr George Adam,
Woodside, Greenock; 3. Alex. Walker.

Six Cyclamens, in flower and pot —
1. H. W. Lewin; 2. Allan Cameron,
gardener to Mr A. Stewart, Ranclitf
Lodge, Langside ; 3. Thos. Hogg.

Best Hyacinth (Macaulay) in the
Exhibition— JamesBuchanan, gardener
to Mr Alex. Miller, Busbv.

A Hand Bouquet — 1. Robt. Taylor,
gardener to Captain Stirling Stewart,
Castlemdk ; 2. Wm. Chrystal, gar-
dener to Mr Wm. Whyte, Bankhead ;
3. Jas. Milne Ramsay, Helensburgh.

FOR NURSERYMEN AND FLORISTS.

Eighteen Hyacinths, distinct varie-
tes, in pot— 1. Peter M'Kenzie ; 2. J.
& R. Thyne ; 3. J. & A. Cairncross,
Hamilton.

FOR GARDENERS AND AMATEURS.

Twelve Hyacinths, distinct varieties,
in pot — 1. Wm. Boyd; 2, JamesBuch-
anan; 3. Matthew Miller, gardener to
Mr Thos. Leadbetter, Alderbank, Both-
well ; 4. Geo. Irvin, gardener to Mr
Thos. Blackwood, Woodhall, Port-
Glasgow.

Six Hyacinths, distinct varieties, in
pot — 1. James Forbes, gardener to Mr
James White of Overtoun ; 2. Mat-
thew Miller ; 3. A. Cameron.

Six Single and Six Double Hya-

cinths, distinct varieties, in pot— Geo.
Irvin ; Wm. Boyd (extra).

Three pots Polyanthus Narcissus,
sorts — 1. Jas. Buchanan ; 2. Wm.
Boyd ; 3. John Marshall, Parkhead.

Six pots Tulijis, sorts — 1. Wm,
Boyd ; 2. Thos. Hogg.

Three pots Tulips, sorts— 1. Angus
M'Intyre, gardener to Councillor
M'Culloch ; 2. John Marshall; 3. Wm.
Boyd.

Three pots Crocus, sorts— 1. Wm.
Boyd ; 2. Geo, Ba^ichope. gardener to
Mr Wm. Mann, Ingletield House ; 3.
Wm. Cunningham, gardener to Mrs
M'Causland, Gartcraig House,

Three Azaleas, varieties — 1, Robt.
Caskie; 2, Jas. Buchanan; 3. Wm.
Boyd.

Two Azaleas, varieties — 1. James
Buchanan ; 2. George Bauchope ; 3.
Robt. Caskie.

One specimen Azalea, in flower and
pot — 1. Wm. Boyd ; 2. Jas. Murray,
gardener to Mrs Crum, The Rouken.

Three Stove Plants, varieties — 1.
Jas. Buchanan ; 2, Thomas Hogg.

Three Greenhouse Plants, varieties
— 1. James Murray; 2. Ptobt, Caskie;
3. Thos. Hogg,

Two Camellias, varieties, in flower
and pot — 1. Alex. Walker ; 2, Peter
M'Lellan, gardener to Mr Henry J.
Taylor, Springbank, Parkhead.

Three Ferns, varieties — 1. John
Craig ; 2, Thomas Hogg ; 3. John
James.

Three Cinerarias, varieties — 1. Neil
Glass, gardener to Mr J, C. Bolton,
Carbrook ; 2. Andrew M'Lachlan, gar-
dener, Dungourney House, Greenock;
3, Neil Campbell, gardener to Mr
James Couper, Holmwood, Cathcart.

Two Epacris, varieties — 1. Robert
Blair; 2. Angus M'Intyre; 3. Alex-
ander Campbell, gardener to Colonel
Latham, Seafield, Greenock.

One Specimen Plant Dielytra Spec-
tabilis— 1. William Boyd; 2, Angus
M'Intyre ; 3. Alexander Walker.

One Specimen Plant Mignonette —
1. Allan Cameron ; 2. Andrew M 'Lach-
lan; 3. James Buchanan.

One Standard Mignonette— Andrew
M'Lachlan.

Three Pans Lily of the Valley — 1.
Wm. Boyd; Jas, Graham (extra).

Four Chinese Primulas — L Neil
Campbell; 2. Robt. Blair; 3. Andrew
M 'Lachlan,

Six Blooms Camellias, varieties — 1.
Alex. Campbell ; 2. Geo. Robertson ;

240

THE GARDENER.

[May

3. James Cant, gardener to Mr Robt.
Cuthbert, The Craigs, Greenock.

A Hand Bouquet — 1. James ^libie
Kamsay ; 2. Hobt. Vallance, foreman,
Overtoun Gardens ; 3. Ilobt. Taylor ;

4. Geo. Russell, gardener to Mr J. 15.
Mirrlees, Great Western Road.

FOR AMATEURS.

Six Hyacinths, distinct varieties, in
pot— 1. Wm. Robertson, Albert Gar-
dens ; 2. And. Wilkie, Hutcheson-
town Gardens; 3. Robt. Robertson,
Albert Gardens ; 4, Josej)h Harris,
Ruthergleu.

Six Hyacinths, distinct varieties, in
water— 1. James H. Sharpe, 108 Pol-
lok Street ; 2. Charles Rennie, Mungo-
land, Falkirk; 3. John B. Wilson,
tertius, 14 Moray Place ; 4. Joseph
Harris.

Three Hyacinths, distinct varieties,
in pot — 1. Wm. Currie, Thornbank,
Bothwell ; 2. John Gardner, 73 Ab-
botsford Place ; 3. Wm Robertson.

Two Pots Polyanthus Narcissus, var-
ieties— 1. Wm. Robertson ; 2. John
Marshall ; 3. Andrew Wilkie.

Two Pots Tulips, varieties — 1. James
Fleming, Old Man's Asylum ; 2. Wm.
Robertson ; 3 John Marshall.

Two Pots Crocus, varieties — 1. John
Marshall; 2. William M'lntosh, St
Mungo Gardens.

Two Stove Plants, varieties — 1.
Robert Robertson ; 2. John B. AVilson,
tertius ; 3. Wm. Robertson.

Two Greenhouse Plants, varieties —

1. William Wright, Annfield, Airdrie;

2. William Robertson; 3. John B.
Wilson, tertius.

One Azalea — 1. John B. Wilson,
tertius ; 2. David Coghill, Hutcheson-
town Gardens,

One Camellia, in pot and bloom — 1.
Wm. Wright; 2. John Marshall; 3.
R. G. Stirling, Woodburu Cottage,
Cathcart.

One Amaryllis — 1. Wm. Wright; 2.
Wm. Robertson.

One Specimen Deutzia— 1. R. G.

Stirling ; 2. Peter Fox, Victoria Gar-
dens ; 3. Jas. F, Mills, Hutcheson-
town Gardens.

One Fern — 1, John B. Wilson, ter-
tius ; 2. Richard Cameron, Stewarton;
3. Peter Fox.

One Pan Lily of the Valley — Wm.
;M 1 ntosh.

Two Pots Chinese Primulas — 1. Peter
Fox; 2. Wm. Robertson; 3. Jas. F.
Mills,

ladies' competition.

Six Hyacinths, grown in water, and
shown in glasses — 1. Mrs Jas. H,
Sharpe, 108 Pollock Street; 2. Miss
Cook, 47 Clarence Street ; 3. Mrs
John Wilson, 14 Moray Place.

Three Hyacinths, grown entirely in
water — 1. Mrs James H. Sharpe; 2,
Miss Cook ; 3. Mrs William Robert-
son, 120 Nabnrn Street.

EXaiBITED.

John Clasper, florist, Stewarton —
small stove and greenhouse plants and
seedlings ; highly commended.

Wm. Montgomery, nurseryman,
Haghill — stove and greenhouse plants;
highly commended,

William Thomson, The Gardens,
Dalkeith Palace — Grapes (white Lady
Downes) ; highly commended.

John Methveu, The Gardens, Blyths-
wood — two bunches Grapes (Lady
Downes) ; commended.

Andrew M'Lauchlan, Dungourney
House, Greenock — bunch of last year's
Grapes and Cucumbers ; commended,

James Ollerhead, The Gardens, Kil-
lermont — table bouquet ; highly com-
mended.

Robert S. Low, Cowgate, Kirkin-
tilloch— flower - case and aquarium ;
commended.

Robert Brown & Son, Ferguslie Fire-
clay Works — splendid collection of
vases, &c.

Hugh M'Kellar, ironmonger, 73 Ar-
gyll Street— iron flower-pots, &c.

Alexander Grant, 168 Trongate—
magnilicent display of artificial flowers.

KEPORT OF THE WEATHER.— 1871.

On March 14th we had 8° of frost ; on the 15th, 12° ; and on the 16th, 7°. Our
thermometer is self-registering, and hangs 5 feet from the ground, against a
north wall. The garden lies high, with a considerable incline to the south, and
well sheltered from the north.

1871.] REPORT OF THE WEATHER. 241

On April 6 th we had 12°, when Apricot and Plum blossoms suffered under
double covering tiffany. In former seasons we have proved that a single covering
of No. 2 tiffany will repel 4^° of frost when the atmosphere is dry.

Keith Hall. G. Donaldson.

On March 15th, at Meldon Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, the thermometer
registered 15° or 17° below freezing. Mean temperature for March, min. ther.
34°. 2, max. 53°. 3. Rainfall, .68.

At Hintlesham Hall, Ipswich, there were 8° frost on March 14th, 4° on the
15th, 10° on the 27th, 10° on April 6th, 11° on April 8th.

The frost on the 15th of March in the neighbourhood of Leith : — At 6 o'clock on
the morning of that day the thermometer stood at 10°. My thermometer is hung
outside the window of my cottage, and about 7 feet from the ground, and I
found the ice in a tub in the garden | of an inch thick at the above hour.

By recourse to my note-book, 1 find that the thermometer on the 22d of March
1870 stood at 12°, and the ground frozen to the depth of 2 inches. M. K.

At Castletoun, Carlisle, there were 23° of frost on March 15th.

March was characterised by an unusually low temperature, with the exception
of a few days in the fore end of it, which were as unusually high in temperature,
especially on the 4th, when the thermometers showed 55° in the shade ; after
■which, the temperature gradually fell until the 15th, when it fell 12° below
freezing in Keithock Gardens. In the immediate neighbourhood the frost
ranged from 12° to 14° and upwards below freezing, according to climatic cir-
cumstances, such as clayey subsoils or river-sides; and down to the end of the
month we scarcely had a night free of frost, with a cutting cold north-east wind
all the time, and an occasional slight fall of snow. Such barren weather could
not fail to be most detrimental to vegetation in general, and garden crops in par-
ticular. Although March dust in most cases is desirable, and especially so to the
agriculturist, still it has been in cases of very light sandy soils to an almost
damaging degree. The beginning of April brought little or no improvement on
the preceding month's weather. On the 6th the temperature fell 10° below
freezing, and in neighbouring places to as much as 12° and 14°. Again on the
11th the thermometer fell 8° below freezing. Cauliflower under mats had their
leaves nearly all destroyed, burned now by the sun like a withered Bay-leaf.
Rain fell heavily a few hours on the night of the 12th, refreshing things very
much, and changing the weather into a more mild April form, which is to be
hoped will continue now.

The finer class of Coniferse are now beginning to show the damaging effect of
the severe frost in January last, more especially those that were autumn shifted.
In some cases even Bays and Laurels have suffered. A. Kemp.

Keithock Gardens, Aj^ril 13, 1871.

At Welford Park, Berkshire, the temperature on the 15th March fell to only
7° below freezing, on April 8th to 11° below freezing.

At Castle Newe, Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, on Dec. 23, it was 2° below zero.
March 15th, 12° ; and April 6th, 17° below freezing.

We registered 24° of frost on the 15th of March, which was the most severe in
my recollection at this season. Vegetation seemed to suffer more from it than
from the 28° we had at the end of December. A. Kerr.

The Gardens, Netherby.

242

THE GARDENER.

[May

etaUnKan

KITCHEN-GARDEN.

The work in this department will be
increasing rapidly, so much will now
require attention at once. Surface-
etirring, planting out crops as soon as
the plants are of proper size (or prick-
ing them out into ground to keep them
dwarf and sturdy), is an excellent prac-
tice. Thinning of crops will require
attention in due time. If they are al-
lowed to become matted, much injury
will be sustained. Parsnips, if not al-
ready done, may be thinned from 1 foot
to 16 inches apart. We often have
them 2 feet each way. This root, like
Beet, is best for use when the ground
is neither extra rich nor poor, but deep
and free by working. Beet may be
thinned to about a foot apart. The
leaves should not be crowded when of
full size, otherwise bad-keeping roots
are the result. Another sowing may be
made. Turnips may be thinned a few
inches at first, to be gone over after-
wards. They will not stand long at
this season before running to seed ; fre-
quent sowings should be made. Cai--
rots may be gone over twice or of-
tener, and the smaller early kinds left
thick for drawing young. Onions
may also be thinned by degrees, if
there is likely to be any danger from
grubs ; bat where there is no danger,
and bulbs of a good size are wanted, 8
inches apart is a fair distance ; but
many are contented with 4 or 6 inches.
Dustings of soot and guano in showery
weather are beneficial to growth, and
strengthen the plants against vermin.
Lettuces, if on good rich soil, may
be thinned out to 1 foot apart each
way, and the strongest of the thinnings
planted in a shady position for succes-
sion; more seed should he sown to keep
up supplies. Plant Scarlet Runners and
French Beans in well -prepared soil ;
single rows of the former yield best
crops, and ai'e useful for ornament in
places where anything unsightly may
be objectionable. Edgings of them
kept dwarf and topped yield heavy
crops. It is years since we grew them
on any other system. Sow Peas two or
three times in the month, if required ;
if the ground is dry, the drills should
be well watered before sowing, and
mulching would do much to aid suc-

cess ; deep, well-manured soil, and the
seed not sown too thickly, seldom fail
to give plenty of good peas. Single
rows dividing oflf other crops are econo-
mical and more manageable. Dwarf
kinds, such as Tom Thumb, &c., may
be sown on any spare ground, bor-
ders, &c. Spinach must now be sown
frequently; rich well -moistened soil
will keep the crop longer from run-
ning to seed. We often, to economise
ground, keep up successions by sowing
the seed between rows of other crops,
such as Cauliflower, Cabbage, &c. Sow-
ings between fruit-bushes and Rasps,
where ground is good, will do much to
keep up supplies. Radishes, and all
salads, will now require to be sown
frequently. To keep Radishes crisp and
mild, abundance of water is necessary,
and a cool position. A little Endive
may be sown towards the end of the
month, if required early ; but it runs
quickly to seed till later in the season.
Premature seeding at this season is
caused chiefly by a check from drought
or haid surface - battered soil. Sow
more Cabbage and Caulifliower, and
plant out any which are ready ; the
former 1 foot apart each way, and every
alternate one to be cut out when fit for
use. Where ground is plentiful such
close planting is unnecessary. Cauli-
flower, if the ground is as it should be,
may net have less than 2 feet each way.
Drawing drills for all the Brassica tribe
is a good system ; and when the hoe is
pushed through among the plants, they
get "earthing up" enough. This ap-
plies to Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts,
Savoys, Kale, and other autumn and
winter vegetable-", which all should be
planted before they get drawn up weak-
ly, or become stunted in the seed-bor-
ders. Where grubs are troublesome, a
little wood - ashes placed in with the
roots while planting is useful. Pud-
dling the roots and stems in soil, soot,
and a pinch of red-lead mixed in water
immediately before planting, is often
followed by good results. Prick out
Celery on a few inches of rotten man-
ure, covered with an inch of light earth ;
protect from sun for a time, and shelter
from cold winds. Water liberally as
the plants become established ; allow

iSyi.]

CALENDAR.

243

the roots to be placed in the bed full
length. Early plants may be placed in
the ridges, when they are ready ; a
check of any kind causes premature
seeding. Celery ridges at this season
are useful for many purposes. Keep
ground well loosened between Potatoes,
but not injuring the young roots. If
the stems have come up very thickly,
they may be thinned, and the tubers
will be larger. More autumn and early
winter Broccoli may be sown; in south-
ern localities this may be done to the
first week of June. Tomatoes should
now be well prepared before planting
cut on walls, ridges, &c. (In the south
of England they require little better

positions than Potatoes.) Capsicums
well established in pots may be planted
out in favourable positions, but pro-
tected with hand-lights, &c., for some
time. In northern localities a frame
may be necessary all the season through.
Ridge Cucumbers, if not already sown,
may be got in at once ; they often do
well when sown in light rich soil on the
ridge, giving protection till all danger
from frost is past. Gherkins may be
treated in a similar manner. Basil
and Sweet Marjoram may be sown at
the base of walls or other sheltered
positions. If the plants are establish-
ed first under glass, they will be more
useful. M. T.

FORCING D:

Pines. — Early-started fruit will now
be swelliug rapidly towards mature size;
and when it is an object to get them
ripe as soon as possible, they may now
be pushed on with a high temperature,
but let it be principally derived from
sun-heat. May is one of the best, if
not the very best month in the year for
swelling off Pines well and quickly.
Generally it is not so hot and scorching
as the succeeding summer months, and
less air is required, and the pineries can
be shut up earlier, be freely supplied with
moisture, and a high temperature for
a longer period in the afternoons, than
is practicable in the hotter part of the
season. Taking advantnge of these
circumstances, the heat may run
up to about 100° for an hQur or two
after 4 p.m. There must be a corre-
sponding amount of moisture supplied
to the air, sprinkling the plants and
fruit ; but syringing must not be carried
to excess, or the result will be tall un-
sightly crowns. When the fruit begins
to change colour, withhold water at the
root, and keep the air drier. At this
season, and especially when more Pines
begin to colour at the same time than
is sufficient for the demand, I have fre-
quently removed them into a vinery
where Grapes have been colouring,
which retards them without severely
checking them ; and the additional air
required by the Grapes is also favour-
able to good-flavouring Pines. Plants
just showing fruit require careful at-
tention in the way of watering, and
must not be allowed to get too dry at
the root, otherwise a serious check will
be the result. See that they are
supplied as steadily as possible with

PARTMENT.

a bottom-heat of 85° to 90°. Smooth
Cayennes, and other winter-fruiting va-
rieties that have been encouraged to
grow since the early part of March and
that are now strong, and having well
filled their pots with roots, may, towards
the end of May, be kept cooler and
slightly drier to mature their growth
and rest them for a time before starting
them. In applying these conditions, it
is better to shade lightly for a few hours
in the heat of the day than to air more
freely, which, in summer, is apt to
brown and stunt the plants, instead of
resting and concentrating their energy.
By the middle of the month succession
stock, shifted two or three months ago,
will be growing freely and wi.l require
great attention. Increase the moisture
in the air in proportion to the increased
light and progress of the plants ; but
avoid heavy syringings, which have a
tendency to induce a soft weakly growth,
as well as to keep the soil in a puddle.
The latter evil is one of the most fatal
and common enemies that Pines have to
contend with. The soil should be care-
fully watched and kept moist, but not
wet. Do not allow the temperature to
run up too high before putting air on in
the morning, and thenputonfuUairallat
once. This subjects the plants to the
violent fluctuation from a hot vapour-
bath to a cud ent of cold dry air. In
bright mornings put on a little air at 7
o'clock, and gradually increase it with
the rising of the sun till 12 o'clock.
Let the shutting up be gradual too —
reducing the air early instead of leaving
it full on till later in the day. Keep
the fires low on sunny days. Hot pipes
and a scorching sun should never go

244

THE GARDENER.

[May

together in Pine-culture. In a general
way shadiug succession Pines is not de-
sirable. It is t-ouietimes necessfir}',
especially in the cape of Cayennes when
growing fast ; and after a continuance
of dull weather, it is better to shade
lightly for an hour or too than to allow
the leaves to get browned and wiry.
When, as is frequently the case, very
dull weather is succeeded by very bright
weather, th*^ air should be more plenti-
fully supplied with moisture than at
any other time, as a preservative of the
dark-green hue which is always so de-
sirable to be seen in Pines.

Vines. — In early houses where the
Grapts are ripe, the atmosphere should
be dry and cool. It is, however, pos-
sible, for the wellbeing of the Vines, to
carry the drying process too far, espe-
cially when most of the roots are inside.
A starving process may be carried on
by extreme aridity. The border should
be examined, and, if becoming too dry,
let it be watered in the early part of
the day after the full air is on, so that
moisture may not condense on the
bunches. After watering, mulch with
some loose dry dung, such as an old
mushroom-bed. This prevents evapo-
ration, and keeps the necessary moist-
ure about the roots with less frequent
waterings. If red-spider sets in after
the crop is ripe, it must not be allowed
to have its own way. Where pure soft
water can be had, it is better to syringe
a few times to check it than to allow
the foliage to be prematurely destroyed.
If there is no unsightly deposit in the
water, the mere syringing will not de-
stroy the bloom, if performed in fine
days when the bunches dry quickly.
Hand-sponging each lewf where spider
appears, if the time can be aflForded, is
the best remedy. In later vineries,
where Grapes are swelling off, keep up
the temperature with as little fire-heat
as possible — that is, rather shut up
early in the afternoon to make the most
of sun-heat, instead of leaving the vinery
open later in the day, and then have re-
course to violent firing to maintain the
maximum night temperature. Under
such circumstances as we are recom-
mending, the night temperature can be
kept to 70° till far on in the evening
without heating the pipes much in the
early part of it ; and with such treat-
ment. Muscats, in bright weather, may
range as high as 75° at 9 p.m., falHng
to 70° in the morning. With increased
light, and the more liberal ventilation

necessary, moisture, from sprinkling
the border and paths, must also increase
in all cases, except where the Grapes
are colouring and ripe. As soon as suc-
cession-houses are set, and have their
berries about the size of Radish-seed,
lose no time in getting them all thinned.
Avoid heavy cropping as perhaps the
greatest evil that can be perpetrated on
tlie Vine : it defeats its end in all ways.
The Grapes cannot be so fine, and it is
the surest way of breaking down the
constitution of the Vines. See last
month's "Calendar" in reference to
stopping, disbudding, and tying down
late Vines. Vines planted in March
and April will ivquire careful attention,
as their roots have not yet much hold
of the border. See that they do not
get too dry at the root, especially if
planted near the hot- water pipes. Tie
their young growths carefully to the
Vines, and allow them to make as
much growth and foliage as will cover
the roof. If there are temporary Vines
planted among those that are to be per-
manent, the former require to be dif-
ferently managed. One or two leaves
to each lateral growth is enough to
leave on them. As soon as they reach
the point to which it is intended to
fruit them next year, stop the main
fchoot, and then allow it to start and
grow again for a time; for if it and the
laterals be kept closely stopped, the best
of the main buds which should fruit next
year will start, and the object in view
will to a great extent be defeated.

Peaclies. — Peaches now ripening re-
quire a free circulation of air, or flavour
will be deficient. Put aside all leaves
that shade the fruit, so that the sun can
lay on that mellow rich colour which
is peculiar to the Peach, and without
which they look insipid. Syringe freely
on fine afternoons later crops that are
swelling off, and pay great attention to
the state of the border where it is prin-
cipally inside. Give heavy waterings of
manure-water when required, and mulch
with a light coating of finely-disinte-
grated manure. In tying in the wood
and disbudding all the latest houses, let
no more be laid in than there is ample
room for ; or, in fact, no more than is
needed to furnish the trees with bearing
wood for next season. Thin the fruit
by degrees, but not finally till after they
have stoned. Keep green-fly and red-
spider from gaining a footing. Daily
syringing is the best way to keep the
trees clean. Pinch any shoots that

1871.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

245

make rampant growths in young trees,
or they -will rob the weaker ones of sap,
and destroy the balance of growth
which is so desirable. Trees that have
been planted two or three years in new
borders are apt to grow undesirably
strong. A good way of counteracting
this tendency is to crop them rather
heavily.

Figs. — These will be swelling their
crop rapidly, and require to be well
supplied with manure- water, especially
if they are old plants with their roots
limited either to pots or borders of
comparatively small dimensions inside
the house. Syringe freely every fine
afternoon, and frequently sprinkle the
paths and surface of the border through
the day; but gradually withhold moist-
ure from the air as the fruit bhow signs
of ripening, and increase the ventilation,
otherwise the fruit will be insipid.
"When the second crop is forming in
early houses, thin them out in time. A
fair crop of large, well-swelled fruit is
worth twice the quantity of small,
skinny produce. Attend to stopping
and tying down shoots in later houses,
and avoid crowding in too much wood
and foliage.

Melons. —Sow and plant out for
succession crops both at the beginning
and end of the month. Attend care-
fully to the tying and stopping of
those planted in April, and impregnate
the blooms, performing the operation in
the middle of the day. The depth of
soil for Melons should now be more
than for early crops, as it is very unde-
sirable to be obliged to water often
when the fruit is swelling. It frequent-
ly causes the fruit to burst. A greater
depth of soil prevents the crop from
suffering without being so copiously
supplied with water ; and a few heavy
waterings enables them to perfect their
crop, especially if the surface of. the
bed be mulched. As soon as the fruit
begins to ripen give more air, and no
more water at the root.

Cucumbers. — Plant out for late
summer and autumn supplies. Those
now in full bearing will require copi-
ous supplies of water, and if from
long - continued bearing they should
show signs of flagging energy, top-dress
the bed with well-decayed manure ; old
mushroom-bed manure they do well
with. Keep thrip, green-fly, and red-
spider at bay by the usual preventives
and remedies. Those that have been
in bearing all winter may, if others are
sufficiently advanced to keep up the
supply, be torn out and their place
occupied with Melons, or, if required,
planted again for Cucumbers.

Strawberries. — Those will now be
very troublesome with red -spider should
the weather be hot, and particularly if
the plants are standing on shelves, and,
except when ripening, will require to
be regularly syringed on fine afternoons.
To half-fill 6-inch pots with rich soil
and stand the pots in these, is the best
way of nourishing and swelling fine
fruit that we have tried. While they
are thus supplied with a feed of fresh
soil, their pots are also shaded more
fully from the sun than when standing
in shallow pans of water, or even when
such pans are filled with. soil. All
plants that are now done bearing may,
after being properly hardened, be plant-
ed out in well-trenched and manured
soil, to give runners for another year's
supply, and also to bear out-doors next
year, for which they are invaluable.
As a general rule, Keen's Seedling and
Prince of Wales are best for early
forcing.

French Beans. — A quantity of these
should now be turned out into beds of
soil, in frames, to keep up the supply.
This is, however, best deferred till to-
wards the end of the month in most
localities. Those bearing in pots must
be well syringed and watered with man-
ure-water everyday, and turned out
immediately they cease bearing.

We deeply regret that, owing to press of matter, several communications of
great interest are unavoidably postponed.

All business communications should be addressed to the Publishers, and com-
munications for insertion in the ' Gardener ' to David Thomson, Drumlanrig
Gardens, Thornhill, Drumfriesshire. It will further oblige if all matter intended
for publication, and questions to be replied to, be forw^arded by the middle of the

246 THE GARDENER. [^Iay 187 i.

month, and written on one side of the paper only. It is also requested that
writers forward their name and address, not for publication, unless they wish it,
but for the sake of that mutual conlidence which should exist between the Editor
and those who address him. We decline noticing anu communication which is
not accompanied with name and address of writer.

Errata.— l\i the article on Passiflora Quadrangularis, page 169, line 10, instead
of " exerted no influence on more than a dozen other varieties," read "exerted no
influence on P. Quadrangularis, more than a dozen other varieties."
Page 152, five lines from top, read ''Ivies'' for ''Irises."

^y. HORNCASTLE.— "The Forester," by J. Brown, LL.D., Blackwood &
Sons, is the best work on the subject of Forest Trees.
]Sr. King. — Many thanks. We are already supplied.

"A Young Reader" is very anxious for a chapter on the management of Ste-
phanotis floribunda. Will any of our correspondents oblige by giving their
experience of its culture ?

A Subscriber. — Unless we could see your vines and examine the soil, we can-
not pretend to give a satisfactory reason for your failure. There are two ways by
which the side-shoots come to drop off. If they are tied down to the wires too
soon, or all at once instead of gradually, they stand the strain at the time, but in
many cases drop off" a few hours afterwards ; or they may drop ofi" by the force of
their own weight, if not tied in proper time. We suspect the latter of these is not
the cause in your case. Get some experienced gardener to look at them ; a fourth
part muck, as you term it, is far too great a proportion for a vine-border.
D. J. — Received with thanks.

W. W. — Sow the seed at once in light rich soil in ordinary seed-pans, using a
compost of equal parts peat and light loam, and place in a temperature of 60°.
When large enough to handle freely, prick off in pans or boxes, or pot singly in
small pots ; harden off when well established, and grow in a cold frame through
the summer. If they do well, they may throw a single flower the third year.

A. Simpson. — Canavalia gladiata is one of the Leguminosse, a native of East
Indies and tropical Africa, and consequently requires warm stove treatment.

J Q., B. — You are doubtless right in your views of the remorseless way in which
the Lapwing is destroyed, and of its value as an insect destroyer ; but so long as
there exists such a demand for them by the rich there will be boys to carry on
the work of destruction.

W. Hinds. — We are much obliged.

J, D. — Your arrangement for the centre is very good. We would prefer to
have 9 and 11 both with the same plant ; either Wigandia or Ferdinanda. Next
to these centre plants it would be advisable to have a row or two of some
taller plant before beginning with the Pyrethrum. Two rows of Iresine would do
very well, or next the tall green centre plant a row of Cineraria maritima, then
a row of Iresine, filling up with the Pyrethrum. 8 and 10, seeing that in all other
respects the group is complimentary, should also be of the same plant. 6, 6, we
should rather have of variegated DactylisorvariegatedPolemonium,either of which
are much more easy and graceful-looking plants than Gnaphalium for such a bed.
With these alterations the group would look very well.

Maggot in Cineraria Leaves. — Like your correspondent W. H., I have
grown Cineraria in large quantities from seed some years, but never saw the maggot
he speaks of until last year, when it bored its way through the inside of almost
every leaf, making a sort of irregular white-looking network. Sometimes I found
three or four at work on one leaf — in fact, for fear they should get on the other
plants, I was obliged to cut what flowers were out, and throw the plants away.
Notwithstanding this precaution, they attacked the leaves of the Chrysanthe-
mums in the same manner just before flowering, which necessitated the removal
of all leaves infested, much to the injury of the plants, both in appearance and
flowering. I have about sixty plants of Cinerarias just coming into flower this
year, but I have not seen anything of the maggot yet.

If, through the medium of your very practical journal, any means of destroy-
ing this pest without injury to the plant can be given, it will much oblige,
yours respectfully, Amateur.

THE

GARDENER.

JUNE 1871.

HEATING ANI> VENTILATING.

T would be difficult to name two more important or sternly
practical operations connected with Horticulture, than
those represented by the couplet with which we have
headed these observations. Heat and air are two of the
most subtle elements — if we may term the first named an
element — with which man can intermeddle. Yet the success of
the Horticulturist in the cultivating of many plants and fruits
depends to a very great extent on the way in which they are applied
and regulated. Hence we venture to say that there is probably more
anxiety and irritation arising from these two sources, in the case of
those who have to manage ranges of hothouses, than from all others
put together. Those who act in the capacities of stoker and ventilator
are generally not long in finding out, from a fastidious superintendence,
that their hottest tests arise, in more senses than one, from the stoke-
hole, and their coolest judgment must be exercised, and sometimes
overruled, in the matter of ventilating. We feel certain that we have
just written down what many an under-garden er and their super-
intendents can fully endorse. The dangers arising from potting and
watering, stopping and training &c., are nothing in subtleness as
compared to those which often follow in the train of injudicious
firing and air-giving. This may perhaps sound strangely in the ears
of the novice and unexperienced, but a little consideration will serve
to show that we have not drawn upon fancy or imagination for such
a statement.

248 THE GARDENER. [June

Exotic flowers and fruits in forcing-houses and pits are in circum-
stances so thoroughly artificial in respect to two such important
conditions as those of heat and air, that the appliances which are
necessary to regulate these conditions are the very sources from which
danger and harm to delicate plants arise. It is not possible by any
known means to produce and regulate that amount of warmth
required by exotic plants of the most tender description, without
enclosing a volume of air in a transparent glass house, and heating it
by artificial means, in order to compete with the rigorous variableness
of our climate. True, at certain short intervals we could, as it were,
entrap within the limits of our glass cases as much or even more heat
for a short time than is required ; but even in the height of our best
summers this would be most uncertain and fitful, and therefore the aid
of fire-heat, unnatural as it is, becomes indispensable. Yet it is from
the proper use or balancing of these two sources of heat that the most
thoroughly satisfactory results, in what is generally termed forcing, to a
very great extent depend. The more sun-heat that can be made avail-
able, and the less fire-heat that is made use of to keep up temperature
to a proper degree, the better is it for the wellbeing of plants, and
vice versa. Of course the horticulturist has no control over clouds and
sunshine ; nevertheless he can very efi'ectively store up the sunbeams,
and save his coals, while he is at the same time doing the very best
on this point for his crops. It is well known to all experienced
cultivators how much better plants thrive when he can command his
maximum temperature with a minimum or entire absence of tire-heat.
It is equally well known how injurious it is to have these two sources
of heat in vigorous activity at the same time, and how, at certain
seasons especially, it is most difficult to hold the one in proper
abeyance while the other does the work. True, with a well-constructed
hothouse and an efficient heating apparatus, heat under certain cir-
cumstances can be measured out to the atmosphere almost to a
degree ; but capricious sunshine outwits the most careful calculations
and management of the fireman ; and we are far from envying the
person who is placed between a hot fire, a hot sun, and a hot-tempered
superintendent all of a sudden !

How often, after a cold night and a still colder dawn in April, is it
not found necessary to add a little coal and stimulus to the fire, in
order tp prevent a sudden and injurious depression of temperature !
and presently the sun suddenly and unexpectedly throws his power
into the scale with hot pipes, and we have a combination the most
undesirable and injurious. To counteract the evil efi'ects of a parch-
ing heat, the fire and ventilating apparatus call for immediate atten-
tion. The one must be smothered up and beaten down firmly, &c.,

iSyi.] HEATING AND VENTILATING. 249

and the other must be opened to keep down tlie temperature, and to
prevent absolute scorching. To be able to manage this firing and
air-giving is no small garden-accomplishment. It requires a great
amount of watchfulness and "gumption" to work the shovel and
ventilators ; and so difficult is it at times to secure the conditions
required, that we have often wished we could let heat off or on into
hothouses the same as water is let into a cistern, by merely turning a
tap, or at all events, that means could be devised by which fire-heat
could be withdrawn in the presence of sun ; but we suppose this is not
possible.

It is, however, quite within the limits of the possible to avoid the
evils arising from a strong fire and a strong sun more than they fre-
quently are avoided. Our coldest nights in March, April, May, and
June, are generally succeeded by the brightest days ; and under these
conditions we usually have the greatest amount of the evil arising from
hot pipes, a bright sun, and fully-opened ventilators combined. Now,
to fix a night-temperature, and order it to be worked up to through
cold and windy nights, so that at sunrise a certain degree of heat
must be indicated, irrespective of violently-heated pipes and a rising
sun, cannot be regarded in any other light than a mistake. Much
sounder practice do we regard it to fix a maximum and a minimum
heat, the one for mild and the other for cold nights ; and to avoid
high night-temperatures, taking the example so universally afforded us
by nature. Management the reverse of this gives more highly heated
pipes, just at a time in the morning when such is not only unneces-
sary, but most injurious when accompanied with sun, and calling for
ventilation to an undesirable extent, simply to keep down the heat
within reasonable limits. It is from this state of things that the evils
we are anxious to impress upon the minds of the unexperienced arise.
Take, for example, a pit of succession Pines in a bright May morning
after a cold night, with the pipes thus heated, a bright sun, and a full
flow of ventilation, and what are the consequences 1 Every particle
of moisture which rapid currents of dry warm air can lick up is rush-
ing out at the ventilating openings, and the young plants are being
subjected to a rush of dry parched air, which is pumping the very life
out of them. This state of things is not easily counteracted if
there be no access to the pits — no paths nor vacant surfaces that can
be frequently sprinkled with water to diminish the aridity. We
need not tell experienced cultivators that the plants are thus exposed
to an ordeal which, if it is prolonged, is sure to ruin them. They
soon begin to look dejected and parched-like. Their leaves assume
the half-circle fold, and look wiry and stunted, the end being that
they show fruit prematurely, and are lost. In the case of Cucumbers,

250 THE GARDENER. [June

Melons, or Vines, it soon tells a similar tale, and red-spider pounces
on them and helps to complete what a cruel war from the stokehole
has been the chief instrument in beginning.

Of course, when such conditions as we have been condemning are
forced upon us, as they sometimes are, action must be taken on their
first signs of approach. The fire must be as summarily dealt with as
possible. The ventilators should be opened a little and a little more
at intervals, and before the heat gets very much too high, and not
neglected and kept closed too long, and then more extensively opened.
The latter practice allows the moisture inside the pit to be taken up
by the atmosphere in suspension, and the plants are first subject to a
vapour-bath much too hot, and w'hen full ventilation is given all at
once, then to a violent reaction, which goes on, as has already been
noticed, till they have to contend with a rush of dry killing air.
Especially after some successive days of dull cold weather is this state
of things most injurious, from the fact that a growth made in a more
moist and dull atmosphere is more tender and sensitive. Under such
circumstances, it is best to partially shade when suddenly overtaken
with brilliant sun, and to give less air than would otherwise be neces-
sary. In houses which are accessible, every available spot, except the
plants, should be damped occasionally, and the plants themselves
dewed over at "shutting-up time," to counteract so sudden and
violent a change. And by anticipation of such ordeals, all hothouses
and pits should have more or less air in the dullest of weather for a
short time every day, not only to change the air, but at the same time
to prevent as much as jDossible a thin flabby growth, and to counteract
the mere attenuation of tissue which takes place in the comparative
absence of light. Under such circumstances most especially, a maxi-
mum night-temperature is to be deprecated. A high night-tempera-
ture and sunless days cause growth, certainly, but growth of the most
useless and undesirable kind, and which is sure to suffer under the
circumstances we have been describing. When sun-heat can be stored
by shutting up early in the afternoon, evening and night growth is
then desirable, but should be so looked upon and encouraged only in
proportion to the extent that it can be promoted with as little fire-heat
as possible. Regarding the points we have touched upon as of great
importance in horticulture, we should be glad to have the views of
our correspondents regarding them, for we are certain few, if any, of
the daily operations of the garden rank higher in importance, or play
a more important part, either for good or evil, in the culture of tender
flowers and fruits.

iSyi.] NOTES ON HARDY "AMERICAN" SHRUBS. 251

NOTES ON HARDY "AMERICAN" OB
PEAT -SOIL SHRUBS.

NO. I.

Though the term "American plants" has long ceased to be a cor-
rect one in its indiscriminate application to the great family of hardy
ericaceous shrubs cultivated in this country, seeing that America con-
tributes a comparatively small proportion of its numerous members, it
is nevertheless still used conventionally to designate that group which
includes the Rhododendron, Azalea, Andromeda, Erica, with many
others which require to be grown in peat soil, and perhaps not alto-
gether inappropriately, as commemorative of the fact that from that
continent were first introduced into British gardens some of those
grand representatives which, notwithstanding the rivalry of more re-
cent introductions from other quarters of the globe, still maintain their
position, and are as extensively cultivated as ever.

The order Ericaceae, to which these plants either belong or are
closely allied, is remarkable for the great extent of its geographical
distribution — stretching to the utmost limits of vegetation in both
hemispheres — and is interesting to cultivators from the great diversity
of the forms it assumes in the various sections into which it is divided ;
while the uniform beauty of flower, and, in most cases, elegance of
foliage, give it an importance in horticulture unsurpassed by any
known family of plants.

Before proceeding to notice more particularly some of the more pro-
minent of the genera, we may premise that, as far as culture is con-
cerned, there is little to add to what we have already said in former
papers in reference to Rhododendrons, their requirements both as to
soil and general management, with some special modifications which
we shall advert to in the course of our notes, being very much the
same.

AZALEA.

Possessing many features in common with the Rhododendron, to
which they are so closely allied, that, with the single exception of our
native species Procumbens, the older botanists classed them in that
genus, — the Azaleas are, beyond all question, in the front rank among
hardy flowering shrubs. Though less vigorous in their habits of
growth, and lacking that imposing grandeur so much admired in the
Rhododendrons, they recommend themselves by their remarkably pro-
fuse blooming qualities, and by the exquisite richness and variety of
the colours of their flowers, embracing, as they do, all the shades of
crimson, rose, pink, orange, yellow, and white ; and these, in the se-
veral sorts blotched and striped in so many different combinations,
give an interest and beauty to the American garden in May and early

252 THE GARDENER. [June

in June, whicli is at once peculiar and striking, and wliich must be
seen to be adequately realised.

All the really hardy Azaleas are deciduous, and, with the exception
of Pontica, which was sent home from the Levant about the end of
last century, the few species that have formed the parents of the great
majority of the now almost innumerable varieties are natives of North
America, and though introduced into Europe at intervals between the
years 1734 and 1818, little was done for a long time by way of pro-
ducing new varieties by hybridisation — the variations being chiefly
sports or natural hybrids, the result of the different sorts being grown
together. About thirty years ago, however, some of the Continental
cultivators took up the matter systematically, and the brilliant varie-
ties known as Ghent Azaleas, a term now popularly api^lied to all the
hybrids, were the fruits of their labours. This work of improvement
has been since steadily carried on, both on the Continent and in this
country ; and in later years the Chinese sj)ecies Sinensis has been
judiciously intermixed with the hardy sorts, the result being seen in
the increased size, improved form, and clearer colours of the flowers
of the newer varieties. So far, indeed, have the original American
species, such as Calendulacea, viscosa, nudiflora, and speciosa, been
eclipsed and superseded by their progeny, that they are now almost
out of cultivation in their normal state.

The Oriental species are for the most part too tender for outdoor
culture in Britain. Though one or two of those introduced a few years
ago from China have been found equal to our winters in the open air —
such as "obtusa," and " amoena" — they bloom and start too early
into growth to escape damage from spring frosts, precluding them
from being so extensively used as outdoor plants, and from receiving
that prominence to which, but for that unfortunate drawback, their
beauty and profuse blooming qualities so richly entitles them. Amoena
is one of the hardiest and most showy of the group, producing its rich
rosy crimson blossoms in April, and forming a neat dwarf round bush,
densely furnished with small dark-green leaves, rendering it, apart from
its flowers, a useful marginal shrub for clumps or beds of plants of
taller growth, and well worthy of a place in the American garden, even
though it should sometimes require a little attention during its flower-
ing season, in the way of protection at night from frost. It is worthy
of notice that it is a superb conservatory plant, and may be forced into
flowering at Christmas with great facility, and if moderately shaded,
remains a long time in perfection ; for this purpose they must be
potted early in November, and placed at once under glass, and intro-
duced into the forcing-house from time to time, as they are wanted in
flower.

iSyi.] NOTES ON HARDY "AMERICAN" SHRUBS. 253

The arrangement and distribution of Azaleas in the American ground
must always depend upon the taste and convenience of the cultivator.
Under ordinary circumstances, they require neither artificial watering
nor more shelter than is usually afi"orded to other ericaceous plants. They
are found growing naturally in dry situations, and prefer gritty fibry
peat ; and though, in common with Rhododendrons, they require a good
amount of moisture while making their growth, which may be supplied
them with the greatest advantage when the weather is exceptionally
dry during that season, they will not thrive in a wet swampy position
w^here the soil is continually saturated with water during winter ; in
such a condition the roots soon decay, and, as a necessary consequence,
the plants lose their vigour and gradually die. In preparing ground
for their reception, therefore, care should be taken to have it sufficiently
drained to prevent the possibility of stagnation ; and in the case of re-
tentive clay soils, it is a good plan to raise the beds considerably above
the surrounding level. When a choice can be had, preference should
be given to a west or north-west aspect, as they are there protected
from the full glare of the sun, and less apt to sufifer from continued
drought, while the partial shade keeps the flowers longer in perfection.
They may be transplanted any time between the autumn, after they shed
their leaves, till they begin to show signs of activity in early spring ;
in this operation the roots should be carefully preserved — the less the
ball is mutilated the better, and more likely to secure success.

Azaleas, being so distinct in their general appearance from the rest
of American plants, give a pleasing variety, and appear to great ad-
vantage, when associated with Rhododendrons and other evergreens in
mixed borders or beds ; or when, as is very frequently done, grouped
in masses by themselves, they have a most magnificent efi'ect — their
elegant foliage, richly coloured and in some cases fragrant flowers,
produced in such profusion, amply compensating for that naked
appearance in winter which is sometimes urged as an objection to this
mode of planting.

In the following list are a few of the finest varieties in cultivation —
all of them thoroughly hardy, profuse bloomers, and with efl'ective
colours : —

Adelaide.

Calendulac

ea crocea.

Alba flavescens.

»>

triumphans.

Ardens.

j>

punicea.

Aurea speciosa.

j>

, , rosea.

Aurantia major.

incarnata.

Aurantiaca cuprea.

Criterion.

,, elegans.

Cruenta.

Bicolor grandiflora.

Cuprea eximea nova.

Calendulacea coccinea.

, , grandiflora.

„ ignea.

Corusca.

„ flammea.

Compte de Flandre.

254

THE GARDENER.

[June

Coccinea major,
Cliviana,
Coronaria.
Delicata nova.
„ rosea.
Duchess of Parma.
Empereur de Russie.
Elector.

Elegans Mortierii.
Fulgena.
Gloriosa.
Genio Mortierii
Gloria muiidi.

,, patriae.

,, triumphans.
Incomparabilis.
Imperatrix.
Ignescens.
Leopold I.

Lutescens grandiflora.
Lateritia striata.
Nudiflora carnea.

Odorata albirans.

,, pallida.
Prince Frederick.
Pontica.

,, alba.

,, fliimmea.

,, multiflora.

,, Waterii.

,, tricolor.
Pictarata.
Regina Belp^ica.
Reine Louise.
Saltatoria.
Siphonantha.
Scintillans.
Speciosa.
Taylor's Red.
Tricolor Wolff.
Tricolor Gandaveusis.
Viscosa floribunda.
Venusta.
Zenobia.

Hugh Fraser.

THE HERB BORDER.

[Coyitinued from page 214.)
Basil. — Two varieties of this are grown, common Sweet and Bush
Basil. Both are natives of India, where they and other varieties, we
read, are in great repute — the leaves and seeds being used in various
forms, medicinally and otherwise. The two sorts we have named are
tender annuals. The leaves have a peculiarly strong aromatic smell,
resembling cloves, very agreeable to some persons, and quite the reverse
to others. They are used for seasoning principally. Both kinds re-
quire to be sown in March or April, on a slight hotbed, or in boxes,
and pushed on in a temperature of 60° or 65°. Some attention is
needful in watering till the plants are fairly up, as they are very liable
to damp off. The seedlings may be thinned out if too thick ; and
when the plants can be handled properly, they should be hardened off
a little, and afterwards pricked out in a cold frame, if that can be
afforded ; if not, in a warm sheltered corner — using light rich soil, and
inserting the plants 6 inches asunder. But the final planting should
be delayed if the weather is at all cold, as the plants will be apt to go
off. As a rule, it will not be found safe to plant out in the open bor-
der till near the end of May or the beginning of June. When a frame
can be afforded, it may be done sooner. Water frequently in dry,
warm weather, but sparingly at other times, and take the lights off
altogether after a while if a frame is used, as Basil, when grown soft,

iSyi.] THE HERB BORDER. 255

shrivels up to notliing in drying. When the plants begin to flower, a
portion should be pulled up by the roots and dried in the shade for
winter use. As Basil is generally preferred in a green state, it is
sometimes needful to sow successional batches, and to force it during
winter. In the latter case the seed should be sown in boxes and
pushed on in a vinery or pine-stove, and afterwards transferred to a
rather drier and cooler temperature. A box of good plants will serve
a good while. Take care to sow as often as needful.

Borage. — This is an annual supposed to be a native of England. The
flowers are sometimes used for garnishing, and it is also used as a pot-
herb, but it is chiefly for cool tankards or cups that it is in demand,
for which purpose a bunch of the tops are employed. Borage, like
some other things, is a plant that will generally keep its own footing
when once it gets established in a garden — it seeds so freely. It may
be sown at any time, when it is needful to take this trouble. When
the young leaves are wanted frequently, it should be sown at intervals
during the summer. Water when needful, and thin out the plants to
9 inches or 1 foot apart. It will grow in any soil.

Burnet. — A perennial, and a native of Britain. The young leaves
are employed in soups and salads, and also in cool tankards like
Borage. It will succeed in any ordinary light garden-soil, to which a
little lime-scrapings may be added. It should be sown in March in
shallow drills about 10 inches apart, and the plants may afterwards be
thinned out to 6 inches asunder in the row. It may also be propa-
gated by divisions of the roots in spring, planting the pieces as above
stated. Keep the ground cleaned and stirred during the summer, and
cut off the flower-spikes as they appear.

Marigold {common). — This is a hardy annual ; a native of the
south of Europe. The flowers are used for culinary purposes, but the
plant is not generally cultivated in England as a herb. The seed may
be sown in April, in a bed of light rich soil, and the plants should
afterwards be thinned out to 1 foot from each other. The flowers
should be gathered as they expand, dried in a shed, and put away for
winter use. Marigold flowers put into soups were at one time sup-
posed to have a soothing efi"ect upon the mind or spirits.

Balm. — A hardy perennial ; a native of the south of Europe. The
leaves have a strong lemon scent ; it is used chiefly for making Balm-
wine and Balm-tea. It propagates freely by division of the roots in
spring, and will succeed in any ordinary garden-soil : before blooming,
a portion may be cut and dried.

Hyssop. — This is a low, aromatic, evergreen shrub ; a native of the
south of Europe. It is pretty generally grown, though not much used,
except medicinally ; it is a specific in some kinds of chest diseases

256 THE GARDENER. [June

and pulmonary complaints. It is not to be confounded with the
Hyssop of Scripture, which is quite a different plant (the Caper).
Hyssop prefers a light and somewhat dry soil. It may be propagated
by seed sown in ]\Iarch, by division of the plant in spring, or by
cuttings like winter Savory, to which it is allied, and otherwise treated
in the same way.

Chamomile. — A well-known and popular medicinal herb ; a native
of Britain. The flowers only are used, generally infused like tea.
The single-flowered variety is the best, being the most powerful. It
is propagated by division of the plant in spring. It requires a moder-
ately dry soil, and the pieces should be planted 8 or 10 inches asunder,
and watered. It will soon cover the ground, and the flowers should
be picked off as they open, and dried in the shade, and stored away in
drawers. J. Simpson.

WORTLEY.

HORTICULTURAIi BREAKERS.

I THINK it was the younger Stephenson who was taught by nature her-
self the practical axiom, never to contend directly with nature, but to
speak her fair and stroke her canny wi' the hair. In constructing one
of his railways on the Welsh or Lancashire coast, he made his em-
bankment too near the full force of the breakers, and had the morti-
fication of seeing it repeatedly washed away, when, if it had been
constructed a little more inland, the force would have been expended
on an inclined plane of sand. A beach of soft sand will remain un-
changed for centuries, while a great rock, like Hoy or Heligoland,
is fast crumbling away. There are many more of nature's breakers
which are quite as irresistible as those of the ocean, and it is just as
hopeless to contend with them ; but meet them half-way, present them
with the principle of the inclined plane, and they exhaust themselves,
or do a service even. All nature's forces are powerful to build or to
destroy, and the more minute and quiet their action the greater seems
the effect produced. Consider the result produced in one season by
the growth of grass alone ; it far exceeds the operation of the greatest
of the earth's volcanoes. The gardener has got entirely to deal with
nature's minute forces, and he finds it always better to guide than to con-
tend with them. For instance, one of nature's most powerful forces is
the growth of vegetation, as we have just said : by allowing the branches
of the fruit-tree to extend, we allow the rush of vital force to exhaust
itself, breaker fashion, on the sand, and our aim is attained with more
benefit to the cultivator and to the tree. Determined cutting is like

iSyi.] HORTICULTURAL BREAKERS. 257

Stephenson's building, it teaches a practical lesson in the long-run.
Insect-life is one of nature's destructive forces, from the gardener's
point of view. We need not wander from home to instance the locust —
we have abundance of the genus aphis attending the east winds in
spring, and flies of various denominations and colours — red-spider and
thrips, those sjDry and diminutive gentry, altogether more formidable
than the corpulent and dignified green-fly. Then there is the armour-
plated scale — there is really nothing new under the sun — and its woolly
cousin the mealy bug, the most irrepressible of all. It is a wonder that, in
those days of the division of labour, some enterprising individual does
not start business in some horticultural centre as a mealy-bug catcher.
The war that is made on those multitudinous pests by the gardening
fraternity is of a very savage character : we stifle them, as Lord Dun-
donald proposed to do the Russians, by smoke or small dust ; or we
bathe them in some treacherous liquid, and half shirk ghastly blame by
calling it an insecticide. Is there greater mischief still a-hatching for
the enemy in the new and mysterious phytosmegama 1 the very name is
terrible. We fear that, after all, we shall be beaten in the direct con-
test : even the best insecticide we are acquainted with, industry and
plenty of clean water, will not prevail unless otherwise applied. Every
gardener knows how difficult it is sometimes to battle with red-spider,
thrips, scale, or fly even, with syringe and tobacco-smoke— how they
will be put down to return again ; the former involves much labour, the
latter much expense.

We are satisfied the principle of health in the plant has altogether
to do with parasites — the principle of the strong destroying the vreak,
one of nature's destructive forces. Alderman ISIechi, some years ago,
got laughed at for advising that all the borders of fields adjoining
game covers should be highly manured, and better cultivated than even
the central parts, as the best protection against rabbits and ground
game. This advice being quite contrary to the usual practice, it was
considered one of his agricultural eccentricities ; but he was quite right.
The rabbit cannot endure soft rank food — it thrives best on hard dry
grass on sandy downs ; sheep also suffer in spring on the soft young
grass and turnip-tops, if they have not some dry hay or chafi" to qualify
it : even the ox and horse in the field is seen to avoid the rank
coarse grass which has grown on a former deposit of manure, and
will nibble at some bare sweet patches where there is scarce a
mouthful in preference ; and a certain way to protect a young planta-
tion from game in winter is, to spread the lopped-off branches of trees
about, which will be stripped of their bark in preference to the fresh
plants. Just the same principle holds good in insect-life — neither red-
spider nor thrips will attack a plant if that plant be sufficiently supplied

258 THE GARDENER. [June

with water and food for its healthy growth ; let the foliage get starved
for a very short period from whatever cause, and those parasites appear
directly, as if spontaneously. Get the suffering plant into healthy
condition, and the pest is checked and the cleaning process easy ; this
is the true inclined plane to break the force of this formidable breaker.

Another instance where the gardener often contends with nature
and finds disappointment is in the matter of training. Take fruit-trees :
some Pears are almost fastigiate in their habit of growth; the branches
shooting upright and close together, it is found more difficult to fill up
a wall with those horizontally on walls or espaliers, while other varieties
are spreading or even pendulous in habit, and are easy to train : of
the first, ISTe Plus ]\Ieuris, or Beurre de Capiaumont are good examples;
of the second, Beurre Pose, Hessel, and Marie Louise ; so that, natur-
ally, some varieties are more adapted to fan training than to horizontal.
The same thing occurs among the varieties of the Peach. It is in the
case of flowering plants, however, where training is so much performed
in defiance of nature's will. To our mind there is a failure in training
an Allamanda, Bougainvilloea, or Cissus, in innumerable coils round a
balloon ; but trained espalier fashion, with the sprays at liberty to
stretch themselves out on either side or over the roof of a house, and
we have a specimen worth seeing. Would it not be possible to adopt
a standard of training that all could adhere to, having in view the
natural capabilities of every individual plant, so as to introduce variety
into exhibitions, and to get out of the old rut of training everything
whatever into globes and pyramids ? After all, cultivation is more or
less a contention with nature on the one hand and an encouragement
of her on the other. We court the sun himself in making an artificial
climate, and immediately we contend with him by shading. The soil
is put into a high state of cultivation for the production of vegetables,
and those conditions are the most favourable for the growth of weeds.
Fruit-trees and Roses, and many things besides, are grafted on hardy
stocks for the encouragement of nature, but there must be a sharp look-
out for suckers, else we are soon beaten — a suckerless Manetti is not
yet patented. We improve the quality of fruits, and immediately the
birds and wasps find them out, and good judges they are.

In all our dealings with nature, remember she is feminine, and re-
member Stephenson. The Squire's Gardener.

STRAWBERRY FORCING.

I HAVE read the interesting articles on the above subject in your March
and April numbers, by Messrs Simpson and Cramb. I do not lay claim
to near the experience of either, but, as far as mine goes, it proves that

1871.] STRAWBERRY FORCING. 259

Keen's Seedling is one of the best forcing varieties we have for our
early crops. I generally force from 500 to 600 of that variety, and
can fairly say with satisfactory results. Like Mr Cramb, I find it neces-
sary to go over the beds yearly and root out all the barren plants, which
are easily distinguished by their gross habit and more upright growth.
We have a plantation now made from forced plants in 1869, and al-
though selected with great care as to weeding out all barren ones, I be-
lieve there is a sixth part of them that will not fruit much this season.
With these drawbacks, I still am of opinion that in most places it
would be unwise to discard an old favourite altogether. About ten days
ago we removed from a leaf- pit 140 plants, and out of that number
we only had occasion to throw away six or seven as unfit to go to
the shelves in our Peach-house, and at this time the same plants are
perfect masses of flower, many of them having no less than five trusses
of bloom. We have also a shelf of Keen's in a Cucumber-pit, contain-
ing about sixty-five plants, from which we picked 2 lb. of fine fruit
to-day; and I have no doubt that we shall be able to get 4 lb. more
within ten days from this time, many of the plants having from ten to
a dozen good-sized fruit on them.

I find that, if grown in a close moist pit, this variety is apt not to
pack well, unless removed for a few days as soon as they are ripe into
a cool temperature. Like your correspondent Mr Cramb, I saw the
stock of plants that failed with J\lr Simpson, and (with the exception
of a batch I once saw in Coombe Abbey, in Warwickshire) they were
the finest-looking lot of "Keen's" I ever saw, either before or since ;
and on calling at W^ortley again in the spring following, I was much
surprised to hear of their turning out so bad. Our other forcing sorts
are — Sir Charles Napier, Rifleman, and La Marguerite, which latter, for
fine showy fruit, is a first-rate one. Many persons object to Sir Charles
as being too acid, but otherwise it answers well with us. I am of
opinion that, in places where British Queen does not do well. Rifleman
will be a good substitute. We have 100 plants just throwing up their
bloom-trusses, and they are looking remarkably strong and free. We
have grown a small quantity in previous years which turned out satis-
factorily. I may mention that this variety is one of our best outdoor
varieties.

My friend Mr Wildsmith of Heckfield forces a variety called Pre-
sident very largely. He told me to-day that he had been picking two
dishes per week for the last six weeks — one good trait in its character
is its being such a free-setting sort. I had the pleasure of seeing some
of his crops last spring, and tbey certainly were very fine. Not being
able to command a supply of saucers, we adopt the old plan of laying
an inverted turf on the shelves, giving the turf a good soaking with

2G0 THE GARDENER. [June

manure-Wcater after it is up, being careful to keep it continually
moist by watering at the same time the Strawberries are watered. On
the whole, we find it answers our purpose well. There is this drawback
to it — viz., that if necessary to remove the plants during the time they
are swelling, they are liable to be checked by the roots which pass
into the turf being broken, which is not the case with saucers. Our
practice is, to set the fruit in a bed of leaves, then thin and place on
the shelves on turf, and not again to remove them until ripe. We find
it necessary to give the pots a lift once or twice while in the leaf-bed,
so as to prevent their rooting through too much. Last season we tried
an experiment by putting a quantity in boxes after the fruit was set
and placing the boxes on shelves, the same as pots : we did this to
save w^atering ; on the whole, it answered well. Should we ever have
any more boxes made for Geraniums, I will have a quantity made the
proper depth and width to suit Strawberries, after the Geraniums are
2:)otted in early spring. An active man would soon box off 100 plants,
simply turning them out, rubbing the thumb round the top of the ball,
placing them in the boxes as close as possible, and filling in with some
light rich soil. AVe found it necessary to run a small stick through the
ball in two or three places, so that the water might find its way through.
Ours did not require water oftener than every second day, which is
a great consideration in hot dry weather, and when placed on shelves
that are difficult to get at.
North Hants, April Gth.

HINTS FOE, AMATEURS.— JUNE.

Stone-fruits will now require much attention. To keep the foliage
clean and growths regular, frequent syringings, judicious disbudding,
and stopping are necessary. An active hand accustomed to the work
will do much in a few hours. The best shoots near the main branches
should be selected, and most of the others taken off or stopped, leav-
ing the top one to grow longer. Those which are selected for next
year may be stopped at the length they are to be pruned back to, and
allowed to grow on again. Crowding is injurious to the present crop,
and much against next year's supply. If tying and nailing is objected
to, the old practice of placing small twigs (such as willows in lengths)
with their ends under the main branches across the young growths
answers very well, and may be done neatly and very quickly. Many
old practices are often unnecessarily despised. Watering at the roots,
when necessary, should not be neglected. The collars of the trees are

1871.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 261

often drenched while the feeders are starved. This practice is pro-
ductive of many evils, besides wasting time. When watering is done,
the surface-soil should be well broken up, to let the moisture enter
freely. Pears, Apples, and Cherries (except Morellos, which require
young wood renewed annually) should be gone over at intervals,
taking off the stronger laterals. The tops of the trees (or where the
stronger wood is) may be gone over first, then the middle, and lastly
the bottom. Some pull the shoots off altogether, which is not so
objectionable on trees with little vigour ; but this practice with robust
growers is liable to cause the buds which should fruit next year to
start ; better to have some shortening back in winter. Thinning of
all kinds of fruits should have attention by degrees. Over-cropping
gives quantity of little value, except for kitchen purposes. Peaches
from trees, where the crop is too heavy, are insipid and unfit to eat.
Colour is very desirable, and is generally accompanied with good
quality. Deep-red or crimson next the sun, and more or less yellow
or yellowish green near the stalk, are two important features on well-
managed Peaches. Fruit -bushes and standard trees might be im-
proved (where time can be spared) by thinning out the stronger and
crowded shoots. Rasps are not easily injured with mulching or water
at the roots.

Bedding-plants, when placed in their proper quarters, may require
a good soaking of water. This is generally less needful by Geraniums
than Verbenas and other plants ; free well-broken surfaces will do
much to save watering. Dahlias and other robust plants do well with
manure-water. After they are once started into free growth, it is
difficult to overdo them if soil is well drained and not very heavy.
Annuals should be planted out in the mixed borders, arranging the
colours with taste, and keeping the taller kinds at back. Stocks and
Asters may now be planted out in good ground. More Stock-seed
may be sown for blooming late, and potting for winter. Every
portion of the flower-garden should now assume an orderly and clean
appearance : well-rolled walks kept smooth and clean, grass regularly
mown and swept, edgings trimmed, and all the plants kept regular to
height, are operations which will require very frequent attention,
where high keeping is desired. Syringe Roses frequently before they
are in flower ; water thoroughly at the roots, and look after suckers on
the budded and grafted plants. The work in greenhouses and other plant
structures will now be abundant — watering, syringing, shifting growing
plants to larger pots as they require it, which is easily known by the
pots getting filled with roots. Balsams, Cockscombs, Asters, and
similar plants, should not be allowed to become pot-bound, as they
would stop growing and flower prematurely. The starving system is

262 THE GARDENER. [June

seldom practised now by experienced plantsmen. Stake, top, and tie
out specimens for autumn blooming. There is little required by j^lants
coming into bloom except plenty of water, fresh air, and being kept
clean. Azaleas, Epacris, Camellias, and the earlier- flowering Heaths,
(such as Hyemalis, Autumnalis, etc.), require to be more freely aired
and hardened, preparatory to turning them out. Other kinds of
Heaths do best in cold pits or frames turned to the north, and tilted up
above ground, so that abundance of air may pass among them at all
times, the lights being only used to throw off heavy rains. If mildew
should make its appearance, dusting sulphur over it will be a preven-
tive. Primulas may be repotted as they fill their pots with roots ; light
soil, such as leaf-mould, sand, and a little loam, suits them. Keep
them near the glass, water carefully, avoiding too much damp, and
shade from strong sun. If seed is wanted from Cinerarias, the best
kinds only should be kept — named kinds should be kept growing to
get cuttings from. Young early plants should be kept cool, and not
exposed to much sun. Liliums should be regularly staked as they
grow, and abundance of water given. Auriculas will now require to
be kept from heavy rains. Pinks, Picotees, &c., in pots, will require
attention with stakes, surface-stirring, &c. ; a damp unhealthy atmo-
sphere would soon destroy them. Window plants will now be growing
freely, and will require plentj?- of water, sprinkling them overhead to
wash off dust, fresh surfacing as the soil gets exhausted. Prepared
manures are excellent for this kind of gardening. M. T.

NOTES OlSr AUTUMN AND WINTER '

FLOWERING PLANTS.

(Continued from page 223.)
MIGNONETTE.

To have Mignonette in flower all through the winter adds greatly
to the charms of the cut-flower basket; and when in handsome
plants, intermixed among other things in the conservatory, sending
out their fragrance, it forms a feature which is enjoyed by all. To
have the plants in bloom by the month of November, the seed should
be sown about the end of March. We use both pots and seed-pans.
If sown in pans, the strongest plants can be selected, but we find little
difference between the two ways. If sown in pots, about the 3-inch
size will be large enough to begin with, having them perfectly clean
and well drained, wdth a little moss on the top of the crocks ; sprink-

1871.] AUTUMN AND WINTER PLANTS. 263

ling a little soot over all will be beneficial in keeping worms from
getting into the pots. This should be done at all the shif tings into
larger pots.

The soil should be rather free, and passed through a half-inch sieve.
When sown in pots at first, they should be nearly filled, the soil
gently pressed down, and a few seeds placed in the centre of each,
covering them over with soil to about the thickness of the seed. Give
a good watering, and place the pots near the glass in a temperature
of 60'' j if the surfaces of the pots are shaded until the plants make
their appearance, so much the better, as I find the fewer waterings
Mignonette gets at this stage the better ; it thrives and grows stronger
afterwards.

As soon as the plants are large enough to show which is the strong
est, all the others are taken away, putting a small stick to the one
left : to this it is tied as it grows, in order to keep it from breaking
at the neck, which they are very liable to do. W^hen about 6 inches
high it will require another shift into a 6-inch pot, observing the
same care as before in regard to drainage : the soil should be only
chopped with a little leaf-mould, a good sprinkling of sand and a
little soot should be added, and the whole well mixed together.

We find 11 -inch pots large enough for either trees or pyramids.
If trees are wanted, the leading stem should not be stopped until it
has reached the height required, and then the six top side-shoots will
be found enough to make a fine head, if properly attended to in
regard to pinching and tying down to a small trellis made of wire, the
shape of an umbrella. In pinching out the side shoots a pair of
Grape scissors will be found the best, as they do not injure the leaf
attached to the stem, which must be taken great care of all through.
By growing in a temperature of 60"^ near the glass, giving manure-
water twice a-week after they have filled the pots with roots, with
daily syringings overhead, they will by the month of November
amply repay all the labour bestowed upon them. Other two sowings
at intervals of a month between will keep up a supply of plants
in flower until it can be had out of doors. The same treatment
applies to pyramids, only none of the side-shoots must be pinched
away.

HYACINTHS, NARCISSUS, AND TULIPS.

I class these altogether, as the in-treatment is much alike. To have
them early, the bulbs should be potted as soon as possible in light rich
loam, with a little sand and cow-dung which has been lying in a heap for
some time, all well mixed together. Before potting, it is advisable to
sprinkle a little soot over the drainage, which helps to keep worms at
bay, as they are very apt to get into the pots when covered up.

u

264 THE GARDENER. [June

When potted, give a good watering, letting them stand over a
night before covering up, to get them dry all round the bulb ; if covered
up at once, when damp, it induces them to rot. If required early, make
up a hot-bed — which must not be at all violent — some little time pre-
vious ; then place about 4 inches of ashes all over, making it level,
so that the pots stand solid. Before covering all overhead, it is a good
plan to take a pot a size smaller than those the bulbs are in, and in-
vert one on each pot ; this keeps all clear and free from slugs, neither
are they so liable to damp. Then cover all over to the depth of 6
inches. The bed should be regularly examined that the heat is not too
strong, as a gentle heat of 60° makes the roots start earlier than if
placed on a cold bottom.

If all goes well, in about six weeks many of them will require to be
removed to another situation, which should be close to the glass where
a temperature of 60° can be maintained at night. They wiU soon
begin to grow, and throw up their flower-spikes. If taken from this
house into one with a temperature 10° lower, just when the flowers are
beginning to open, for a few days before taking them to the conserva-
tory, they stand longer and have a richness which they have not if
hard forced all along.

Other two or three lots should be potted at intervals of three weeks,
receiving the same treatment, dispensing with the little bottom-heat
which the early ones received. We find that, by procuring the various
colours separate by the dozen, and placing three in a 6-inch pot, they
make a finer display than a single bulb in the same sized pot.

They stand rougher treatment than is generally supposed of them.
Having some water-tight zinc flower-trays for dropping into baskets, a
lot of Hyacinths, Narcissus, and Tulips when in full flower were taken
out of their pots, most of them having all the soil removed from the
roots, and arranged to colour and height ; a little soil was put amongst
them, and after a good watering, they were mossed all over, when they
stood for about three weeks. The white Roman Hyacinth should not
be neglected for early work, as it comes in early, and is invaluable for
cutting ; and if the small bulbs are put into a 6-inch pot almost touch-
ing each other, they mix in weU along with other things. A. H.

Thoresby Gardens.

SEMPERVIVUM URBICUM AND S. CANABIEK"SE.

Although we have already and recently called attention to succulent
plants, and to beds composed of them, as a most interesting and desir-

iSyi.

LARGE BUNCHES OF GRAPES.

265

Sempervivum Canariense.

able feature to add to decorative gardening, we feel anxious still fur-
ther to recommend them to
the notice of those of our
readers who may not yet have
devoted their attention to so
interesting a class of plants.
In February we gave illustra-
tions of some very effective
Sempervivums, &c. Our jQg-
ures in this instance are taken
from, photographs of two very
attractive and to some extent
representative plants. Sem-
pervivum canariense is a very pleasing plant. Its leaves are very
beautifully arranged, and are of a soft pea-^reen, covered over with
a very fine downy hair, and ter-
minating in an abrupt nipple-
looking point. Altogether the
plant has a soft and pleasing
appearance, and contrasts well
with the polished bright bronzy-
looking foliage of Sempervivum
urbicum. The leaves of the latter
assume a chestnut colour in sum-
mer when exposed to full sun,
and they are beautifully and very
finely toothed in the same way as
the Pine-Apple leaf, but much more finely and densely set with a
fringe of minute teeth. These are two plants which should be in
every collection.

Fig.

16.— Sempervivum Urbicum.

LARGE BUNCHES OF GRAPES.

Though we have not been able hitherto to produce monstrous bunches
of Grapes, nor yet what could justly be called very extraordinary bunches
as regards size, considering the variety, still we frankly confess our
admiration for a large bunch, when well finished in other respects.
Nor, though our acquaintance extends to not a few Grape-growers of
eminence, have we ever found any one who had a great objection to
large bunches, provided they could secure them. I think he would be
a bold judge, not to say unjust, who would dare to disqualify a bunch
of Grapes simply because it was big. Fancy the grimace of the unlucky
exhibitor who discovered that his big bunches had been disqualified

266 THE GARDENER. [June

as an "infringement of the laws of nature." So long as we are able
to supply the dessert with good Grapes, no matter how large the
bunches are, neither employers nor gardeners are likely to trouble their
heads hugely as to how the laws of nature have been violated in their
production. We must be careful how we apply general principles.
Nature is only intent on perpetuating its species, but the farmer and
horticulturalist conduct their operations with a different object. Now,
however, that " J. H." has broken the ice, and condemned large bunches
of Grapes as an infringement of the laws of nature, we are quite pre-
pared to see others following in his wake, and on the same reasonable
grounds condemning big Pines, big Peaches, big Turnips, and big
Potatoes. We wonder in what light "J. H." regards Paterson's ''Bovinia"
or " Cattle-feeder" — would he be disposed to hand the raiser over to the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 1 Does he cultivate
such abortions as Cauliflower, and would he prefer a crab to a Resuick
Codlin for culinarypurposes 1 If he is consistent, as I doubt not he is, he
never indulges, we suppose, in a succulent steak from a stall-fed ox,
or a chop from a plump Southdown. What horrid practices we horti-
culturalists are up to in trying to bend Nature out of her track ! Con-
template a Carrot, for instance, or a Drumhead Cabbage ! and fancy
poor Nature's struggle before she was subdued into such obese types of
race. I daresay " J. H." will tell us he never intended to go this
length, and we may believe him, but he might have done so on equally
good grounds. With much that he says in his suggestive paper no
one can disagree. Carrion borders have been condemmed pretty
generally ever since the subject was ventilated so much over the Raby
Castle Vine-borders many years ago ; but large bunches of Grapes are
not necessarly connected with carrion or otherwise too rich borders —
this we can testify from our own observation. Your correspondent
"J. H." doubts if large bunches are an evidence of cultural skill, but
would prefer " medium-sized, large-berried " bunches. Now the con-
nection between large berries and large bunches is so intimate, and
the conditions that produce both are so much alike, that we doubt very
much if any one could point out the distinction. We could refer to
instances where the size of the bunch was entirely due to the size of
the berries — increasing the height by nearly a half. There may be a
limit to size, beyond which perfect finish cannot be attained ; but
hitherto this has not been proved. Spongy growths are induced by
spongy borders without doubt, and such growths no amount of fire-
heat will properly ripen, and such always produce miserable samples ;
but strong growths that carry their solidity along with them are a
different thing, and it is these that produce the large, well-finished
bunches we sometimes see ; and I cannot see any reason to doubt that

iSyi.] AMERICAN WILD-FLOWERS. 267

such vigour may be retained by proper treatment. At all events,
unless we are to look upon good Grape-growing as an accident alto-
gether, size of bunch will always command its share of admiration as
an evidence of cultural skill. J. Simpson.

THE GAYEST OF AMERICAN WILD-FLOWERS.

I AM going to write an account of the members of the American Flora
which are famous for beauty and fit for British gardens. At the pre-
sent time, when herbaceous and alpine plants are fast becoming fashion-
able, and the ordinary system of bedding is giving up part of the pro-
minent position it held a few years ago, I feel sure that any information
regarding the fresh candidates for admiration will be welcome to many.
My remarks will all be the result of observations taken amidst the living
realities just as these occur in their native haunts. It may take a long
time for me to accomplish this undertaking, but if I am spared I shall
proceed steadily until my task is finished, and always endeavour to do
my work faithfully.

In Kentucky, one of the earliest of the flowers of spring is Claytonia
virginica, or Spring-beauty, or Glad-tidings. It may be in England or
Scotland, but I never saw it there ; and yet it should be grown every-
where, for it is one of the most perfect little gems imaginable. No
spot comes amiss to it, and it is the Daisy of this region. Woods, in
which the soil is a rich deep loam, furnish all it desires, but it is not
in the least afraid to take the open pastures where the soil is as hard
as a road, and it is quite plentiful on cultivated ground. Claytonia
perfoliata and Claytonia sibirica are common in European gardens, but
they have the misfortune to be annuals. This species has the great
advantage of being perennial ; and the corm which enables it to be so
is sometimes buried 2 inches underground. The leaves are linear-
lanceolate, and have a good deal of succulency about them. A speci-
men which is 5 inches above the ground may be considered rather
more than the average size. The stem bears at its apex a considerable
raceme of flowers, and a little way down are a couple of opposite
leaves. The corolla is about as large as that of an ordinary scarlet
Pelargonium, and the petals are very neat and spreading, white, or
between white and a delicate pink, with a little yellow near the base.
The veins of the petals are rose-coloured, and then the blossoms glisten
when the sunlight plays upon them. The anthers are of a rich red
tint. I cannot describe the charm which this little plant gives to the
places in which it abounds.

By the side of the preceding grows Viola cucullata, and it, too, is at

268 THE GARDENER. [June

its gayest late in March or early in April. This is none of your modest
Violets retiring and hiding in the shade, and the sun shines on no
brighter or richer blue than that of the corolla of this plant. Out in
the meadows, amongst the pure green young leaves of Poa pratensis,
this has no peer at this time of year. In my efforts after the applica-
tion of generalisations, I remember how I used to spoil this lovely plant
when I had charge of it at Kew. Along with many more requiring the
same sort of treatment as this, I put it beneath the dark shadow of an
ugly screen, and indulged in a lot of other foolishnesses, such as putting
many little stones about its roots. This last, however, was performed at
the bidding of another. I am going to be very candid and tell my mis-
takes, feeling certain that this is the best way to put others on their guard.

Martinsla virginica. — It is now early in April, and this plant is at
the zenith of its beauty. Often, as I wander along through the woods
in which it is found, I wish that some of my friends in Britain— any
lover of herbaceous plants, like Mr Niven of Hull, or Mr Sutherland
— could be with me to enjoy so rich a treat as that which is afforded
by a quantity of this in full flower. I have referred to it as a forest
plant, but I may add that it stands exposure well. I got ample proof
of this the other day. In a little garden in the vicinity of Lexington
I saw a bed of it in full bloom, as healthy as could be, and quite open
to the sun during the whole day. And this is not by any means a
small plant. It rises 2 feet above the ground, and is therefore, when
other things are taken into account, admirably adapted for a mixed
border, and would look glorious anywhere. I am not certain that it
would care about much shifting — a practice I have heard lauded with-
out stint. The leaves have all the delicacy of tint of Funkia grandi-
flora, and they are quite as large as those of that plant. The stem,
bearing at its summit the raceme of flowers, has foliage all the way up.
I feel certain that I cannot do anything like justice to the corolla. It
is about 1 inch long, and comparatively narrow for the greater part of
its length ; it widens towards the mouth, and ultimately becomes a
quarter of an inch across, and cup -shaped, whilst throughout it is
almost transparent, and of an exquisite blue or pink colour. In con-
clusion, I believe that this must be a scarce plant in England, and it was
not in Kew Gardens in 1870. I need hardly add that, being a native
of Kentucky, it is certain to be quite hardy in any part of Great Britain.

When Viola cucullata begins to decline, Viola striata starts to ex-
pand its cream-coloured blossoms. The stem of the former species
never rises above the ground, but it is otherwise with the stem of this
one. Though not so gay, nor yet so capable of i3roducing a large
quantity of flowers as the earlier kind already referred to, still it well
deserves attention wherever a pleasing variety is maintained by means

iSyi.] AMERICAN WILD - FLOWERS. 269

of well-marked species. In short, no lover of good hardy herbaceous
plants can afford to be without this. The same may be said of Yiola
pubescens, which is produced sparingly hereabouts, and may be known
immediately from any other American Viola by its yellow corolla, re-
minding one of a small form of Viola lutea. The two species now
under consideration have not yet been found by me out of woods in
which the soil is a rich loam, as deep as you like, and without a stone.

One evening, early in April, I went out on a short botanical excur-
sion, and was rewarded by finding any quantity of Trillium sessile, and
a considerable amount of Phlox divaricata, and both in full blossom,
and growing in a wood without much shade ; although I have observed
that the vitality was by far the greatest where protection most abounded,
and indeed I have not been able to meet with these plants on cleared
lands.

Trillium sessile, like all the members of the curious and beautiful
genus to which it belongs, has first three leaves in a whorl, then three
sepals, next three pistils, afterwards come six stamens, and finally three
carpels forming the pistil. The flowers, the leaves, the sepals, and the
petals of this species are all sessile ; and hence the trivial name is sound,
inasmuch as it is descriptive. The leaves of this, in addition to being
sessile, are ovate, and very often marked with large black spots, such as
occur on Arum maculatum. The petals grow erect, or nearly so, are
lanceolate, about an inch long and of a dark purplish colour, and this
last is also true of the inner side of the sepals, the outer side of these
being nearly green. The specimens which I saw were never above 7
inches high.

Well deserving of every attention as Trillium sessile is, it is not
nearly so lovely a plant as Phlox divaricata. This was a great favourite
with me, even when I knew it endeavouring to grow in a pot half full
of drainage, and having the soil dried off in the winter-time. It is,
however, an undeniable fact, that to be admired as it deserves, it should
be seen springing freely and faultless from its native soil, and sur-
rounded by, and mixed with, its appropriate associates. What a gem
this would make for a rockwork ! It should have a nook into which
the extremely intense rays of the mid-day sun never go, and it could
hardly fail to do admirably if set out in a plantation, and cared for
until it took root. It is not a tall plant, as I have not observed any
above 1 foot high. It may be known from any other perennial Amer-
ican Phlox by the corolla, the lobes of which are notched at the end,
and by the leaves being remote. The corolla is of a pale lilac or bluish
purple colour, and about as large as that of the common Texan annual
Phlox Drummondii. John Duncan.

Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.

270 THE GARDENER. [June

NOTES ON WATERING.

Some one, of high standing in the gardening profession, has said that
a great number of the gardeners of the present day require the erron-
eous ideas ''pumped out" of them before they can be really useful
and clever members of the profession. We will not attempt to
discuss this question here, but rather proceed to notice what ap-
pears to be, if not an erroneous idea, a practical mistake of the
greatest importance to those engaged in the plant-growing. Probably
there is not one who reads these lines but knows it to be a funda-
mental principle, both of animal and vegetable physiology, that the
chief means for supplying food to the system of either is by the
agency of water. Just as nothing which is insoluble in water can be
taken up by the absorbent system of the animal, so with the vegetable.
Everything in the shape of plant-food must be first dissolved in water,
and taken into the cellular tissue in a fluid state ; hence the importance
of keeping the soil in which the absorbent system or the roots of the
plants are, continually in a moist condition. If this simple fact
were acted on, as a matter of practice, by all gardeners, there would
be a marvellous diminution in the quantity of plants which, if not
miserable, are most miserable-looking. Who does not remember
the consumptive appearance of the different sections of Geraniums,
popularly so called, at those places where this starving-for-want-of-
water system is carried out? Peter Grieve would be apt to be
overlooked as such by that gentleman, whilst Queen Victoria and
Prince of Wales are like anything but themselves ; Leonidas is
shorn of his glory, the Clipper appears a misnomer, and Grand-Duke
a caricature ; the praises of Luna seem all moonshine ; Sceptre
d'Or's gold has become tarnished, and the blushes have vanished from
Her Majesty's face ; Victor Lemoine looks the shadow of himself,
whilst all his brethren keep silently yet eloquently appealing for their
"bread and water." They want their meals regularly, and in time, but
they are regularly "put off" till they suffer for the want of it ; then,
when the roots are desiccated, and the spongioles for the time being
annihilated, water comes in profusion, but only to make matters
worse, for the large quantity required to thoroughly moisten the soil
becomes hurtful, on account of the roots being unable to perform the
functions of absorption — and thus they are treated, now with their roots
in dust, and anon in a puddle. Or turn to the Chrysanthemums, and
those bare stems, leaves shrivelled up, and "growing points" seem-
ingly undecided on remaining contentedly in the position they have
gained or on trying to attain a higher, tell the same tale of faulty
watering. Look at those Melons, with leaves eaten up with red-spider,

iSyi.] NOTES ON WATERING. 271

and fruit which may rival a white stone Turnip in flavour, though not
in juiciness, and " give me water, else I die," is silently repeated there.
You may carefully inspect everything artificially grown in such a place,
and, except in species where little water is required, there is evidently
a struggle for life. Perhaps some one will say we are going too
far : we can only answer with sorrow that it is simply the truth.
We have seen the original of the pictures just drawn — we have seen
Grape-vines checked time after time through want of water when re-
quired, crops of Grapes more like good-sized Currants than the name
of the variety would lead one to expect, with thrip and red-spider
constantly at work on the foliage, as the result of such treatment.
We have seen Verbenas " struck " in autumn, in quantity doubly
sufficient for the wants of the place, and yet in spring a system of
"cadging" has to be resorted to, in order to get as many as would
barely fill the beds for which they were wanted, the simple reason
for all this " labour in vain " being, that the soil was allowed to get
dry before watering, and damping was the order of the day, and every
recurring neglect left a continually diminishing quantity of plants for
propagating purposes in early sj^ring.

On visiting a garden last year once famous for its Pine-Apples, we
saw a very striking illustration of the baneful eftects of keeping Pine-
Apples short of water. They looked a most wretched lot of plants, taken
as a whole. The young man who had charge of them imputed the
greater portion of blame to the construction of the pits ; however, that
could not be the " loose screw," as first-rate examples of Pine-growing
used to be constantly seen there when we visited it in former years.
We had our own thoughts as to the probable cause of this state of
matters, so the inquiry was made as to how often they were watered.
" Oh, it could not possibly be in the watering ; he watered them regu-
larly every eight days, so it could not be that.'^ When told that we
watered our plants two times for his once, he appeared rather scep-
tical about receiving it as quite authentic. He never had had any-
thing to do with Pines before taking charge of these, and he seemed
to have imbibed the idea, so very prevalent, that Pines do best kept
dry at root, and thus made a mistake of the greatest importance for
the successful growing of this fruit. It appears, in our estimation, to
be one of the grossest errors horticultural writers fall into — the con-
tinually advising of carefulness in watering, and being sure not to
water plants till they are dry. This teaching is in direct opposition
to that of nature. The rain does not wait till the earth is dried before
saturating it — nothing of the sort : any one can find out this for himself
by examining the soil at regular intervals during the year, and, except-
ing in the hot summer weather, no great depth need be gone to before

272 THE GARDENER. [June

finding moist soil. It used to be the most troublesome question we
had to solve in former days, when, on looking over our plants, there
were those which, though not dry, yet were not wet ; and the fear of
doing something terrible in its consequences debarred the plants from
receiving the water they required, till drooping leaves caused a double-
quick rush after the watering-pot. We feel no fear now, when we
come across a plant in this condition of moisture, to supply it with
water. We don't like to see the soil get dry before watering ; and
with a plant in growth, with heat, air, and light, the dread of killing
it with too much water may be dispensed with, to the advantage both
of plant and cultivator. Of course it is quite easy to give too much;
but judgment and a little experience will be the best guide to the
time when water ought to be given. Generally speaking, when the
particles of soil are in a state of non-cohesion, no harm will accrue from
giving water, even though the plant does not seem to require it, only
water ought to be withheld till the same non-cohesive property is
noticed in the soil. Plants watered thus never suffer a check from
want of water. In the case of fruits grown in pots, such as the Yine,
Peach, &c., in flowers such as Cinerarias, Calceolarias, and others, unless
treated thus, satisfactory results need not be looked for. We know
perfectly well that plants extract moisture from the soil when to all
appearance there is none in it ; but this is only a power for the preser-
vation of life, common to animals as well as plants. No one will say
that it is impossible for animal life to be preserved for days without
food, but as little will any one say that such a state is conducive to
healthiness. It is just the same in the case of plants. Allowing them
to become dry deprives them of the means whereby they procure sus-
tenance ', and, though not killed, if this style of watering is persisted
in, the penalty will be stunted plants, and flowers and fruit deficient in
quantity and quality, besides an unlimited host of insect pests to keep
under, and a larger quantity of water required to moisten the soil,
besides what escapes between the shrunken ball and the pot. The
quantity of water required at one time for a plant is well worthy of
attention. When the soil is constantly kept moist, it will be found
that very little is needed to thoroughly wet it. Any more is prejudicial,
inasmuch as every drop of water which drains through the bottom
of the pot has dissolved its share of the goodness in the soil, and
carries it with it.

As to the rationale of supplying plants with manure-water, we always
consider it full time to use it when a plant has well-nigh used up the soil
in the pot in which it is intended for flowering or fruiting. A great many
gardeners abstain from using it till the buds are set, and supply it to
the plant one, two, or three times a- week. Why it should not be used

1871.] STEPHANOTIS FLORIBUNDA. 273

for watering every time the plants require it, is not very clear to us.
Giving weak manure-water continually when the soil is exhausted,
appears, to say the least of it, a more reasonable mode of using it than
the plan of using it stronger and occasionally. Some people make a
point of faring almost sumptuously on Sundays, and going on " short
commons " during the remainder of the week ; and giving manure-
water in this manner bears some resemblance to it. We know that the
plant will not use more in one day than sufficient for its wants, leaving
the remainder for future use ; still, little and often we believe to be
best. Our ideas on this part of the subject are, give manure-water as
soon as a plant has filled its blooming-pot with roots ; give it every
time water is required, taking care that it is very weak at first, though it
ought to be of a stronger nature as the roots increase in quantity and
the plant in size. Treated thus, there is a certainty of giving enough
food ; but as the buds expand and the flowers develop, feeding ought
to be dispensed with, and water pure and simple used.

We hope it will be understood that these Notes do not apply to
orchidaceous nor cryptogamous plants, nor to any species whose
natural habitat is a dry one at root. R. P. B.

STEPHANOTIS FLORIBUISTDA.

It is not my intention to give your correspondent golden rules respect-
ing this most useful climber, but simply to state how it has been
treated here, and with what success, leaving him to judge for himself
whether to be guided by it or not. About six or seven years back we
had, I should think, by all appearance, a very old plant standing in a
very low stove in a number-one pot : it grew freely, but flowered
little ; accordingly, we took off a cutting and struck it under a bell-glass
in the stove. The next year the low stove was pulled down to make
room for a larger one, and our old friend the Stephanotis was removed
to the greenhouse — a large old-fashioned house — where it remained
till autumn, when it fell a victim to the cold. The next February we
filled a clean number-one pot to within 3 or 4 inches of the top
with the following soil — peat, loam, leaf-mould, well-rotted dung, and
silver sand, in equal parts, using good drainage. In this we planted
our young Stephanotis, then a year old, and growing in a 6-inch
pot. The young plant was then placed in the stove on the slates ;
a stake was put into the soil to conduct the stem up to the glass,
w^hich is about 4 feet from the slates, where wires were already
stretched from end to end ready to support it. At the time this
was done the plant had only one shoot, but without pinching it

274 THE GARDENER. [June

soon sent out two more. The old one was then pinched back, which
made it send out three more shoots, making five, equal to the num-
ber of wires we had for training them on. Each shoot was loosely tied
to a wire, then nature did the rest, twisting itself round the wires in
the same manner as a Scarlet-Runner Bean, and growing almost as fast,
and of course very soon reached the end of the house, which is only
25 feet long : the end of each slioot was then pinched out, and it was
allowed to go no further. About the end of May and June it flowered
nearly up each stem. In the winter, each shoot was cut back
nearly all the way : this I consider now to be too much for it, as it did
not flower quite so well the next year, although the growth was the
same. The last two or three years we have only cut back the main shoot
a little way, but have cut the laterals back much the same as we do a
Grape- Vine ; and it does better, flowering pretty well in May and June,
with a few flowers in the autumn. We have also an old plant that
has stood for years in a large box in the conservatory trained up the
back wall, but it flowers very little compared with the one in the stove.
Some time back a friend remarked that the best way to manage the
Stephanotis was to grow it in the stove till flowering-time, and then
remove it to a greenhouse, where it would remain in flower a long
time ; and this is what I would recommend. About the last week of
February 1870 I took off a short stubby cutting and struck it in a
dung-frame. As soon as it had rooted, I placed it in the stove : it had
two shifts during the summer, giving a size larger pot each time. By
February this year it had grown considerably, when I shifted it into
an 11-inch pot, training it round a balloon-shaped wire, which is about
3 feet high. It is now a handsome plant, with an abundance of flowers
just making their appearance at nearly every joint. About the first of
June I shall remove it to a greenhouse. I consider the Stephanotis
to be a strong grower and a gross feeder, and when growing it should
be watered with liquid-manure twice a-week. W. JSTokes.

GRAPES AT PITCAIRLIE.

Three years ago we gave a brief memorandum, of the Grape-houses
at Pitcairlie, and the prodigious crops which had been produced for so
many years. Some thought we had, on that occasion, "thrown the
hammer ! " but those who visited the place and saw for themselves,
thought we were far within the mark. It is not our purpose now to give
details, as it would in every way be going over the same ground — as
the Muscats, Lady Downes, Hamburgs, and other kinds are as fine and
as promising as ever, and the Vines equally strong, if not stronger

iSyi.] CULTURE OF THE CINERARIA. 275

than ever. A house we referred to, which was in preparation for
planting new kinds, is now worthy of inspection. Among them are —
Madresfield Court, Golden Champion, and Mrs Pince's Black Muscat.
The two first named, since the first time we saw them (which was at
the great show held at Leicester), have stood high in our estimation,
and it is with pleasure we see them holding their own at Pitcairlie.
The Vines are strong, short-jointed, foliage like leather, and some of
the lateral shoots almost like walking-sticks, one of which was near the
pathway, and measured 2J inches in circumference. The bunches of
these two kinds were numerous, and would weigh when ripe from 4 to
6 lb. weight each. Mrs Pince is vigorous enough, but with Mr Laing (the
gardener at Pitcairlie) this sort holds a secondary place ; what bunches
there were were large enough, but shabby in appearance. However,
we trust it may yet redeem itself ; but many who have grown it are
casting it off as speedily as they can. We would here remark that it
is a too common practice to discard useful Grapes because they require
different treatment from the Black Hamburg. I do not suppose Mr
Laing will be so hasty ; he may probably graft it on some other kind,
and give all manner of justice to the delinquent. In a large span-
roofed house, a Golden Champion was grafted on a Black Hamburg,
and, though only on a side shoot, was making a fine rod. This will
give a double chance to this fine Grape. When we last reported on
this span-roofed house, it was just planted ; the rods grew strong, right
over the house ; the following season it was cropped heavily, and each
season since (this included) the crops have been enormous. We put
little value on heavy bunches when not accompanied with large berries,
fine colour, flavour, and compactness. But these points are all, in a
great measure, produced at Pitcairlie. M. Temple.

HINTS ON THE CULTURE OP THE CINERARIA
PROM OFFSETS OR CUTTINGS.

In response to the Editor's solicitation, I venture to detail my treat-
ment of the above ; and in doing so, I do not mean to think that I
will write anything that will be new to the bulk of your readers, but
if it prove of any service to " W. H." and such as he, my purpose
will be so far served.

The Cineraria forms a feature in our conservatory for at least five
months out of twelve, and they seem to be always acceptable. We
remove them from the conservatory as soon as they are nearly done
flowering, cut them down at once, and take them to a cool shady
situation, behind a wall, where the sun does not see them except in

276 THE GARDENER. [June

the morning and evening. There they are regularly supplied with
water. If young plants are required from the old roots in autumn,
they require as much attention in watering as when they were bloom-
ing in the conservatory (indeed, any stint of water will make shorter
work of their leaves even than the maggot). The plants soon begin
to push new leaves, and make nice stools for selecting young plants
from in autumn. We divide them as soon as we can get plants.
We pot them singly in 3-inch pots. I don't believe in smaller pots,
as they are apt to get dry too quickly unless they are plunged. A
very good way is to plunge them in ordinary wooden cutting-boxes,
where such are at command. After potting, w^e place them in a cold
pit, keeping them close and shaded until they begin to move again,
when air is admitted gradually until the lights are drawn off entirely
through the day, putting them on and tilting them well up during the
night if the air is not frosty they cannot get too much of it. We
keep them in the cold pits as long as there is no danger from very
severe frosts. They are afterwards taken to a light airy part of the
greenhouse, where they get a shower overhead every fine morning.
They are kept in a group by themselves, as many of our other plants
in the same structure do not care for a shower in winter. But the
Cinerarias are greatly benefited by it ; their leaves, as well as their
roots, delight in moisture. When the weather admits of sufficient
ventilating to dry up the moisture, w^e do not syringe them if the
weather is unfavourable. As soon as flowers begin to develop on
them, they are distributed among the other subjects of the conserva-
tory. We always endeavour to shift them when the roots are entering
the drainage. This may be ascertained by placing one hand on the
top of the soil in the pot, then turning it bottom upwards and lifting
the pot off, replacing it again without disturbing even a crock ; it
will settle into its pot again by a single rap on the stage. The soil
I use is good turfy loam and old hot-bed manure, consisting of half
leaves, half stable-manure. We use this and the loam in about equal
quantities, adding sufficient river-sand to keep it open. I may add
that good drainage is as essential for the Cineraria as for any other
class of plants. The above treatment being carefully carried out, we
have seldom been troubled with maggot. We keep a very sharp look-
out for them, and whenever we see one, we destroy them by placing
the forefinger below the leaf, and bringing the thumb nail to bear on
them from above, with little, if any, damage to the leaf. By thus
checking every appearance, they have never given us much annoyance.
We have always abundance of leaves ; in fact, we generally thin them. I
am of opinion that if something like the foregoing treatment is strictly
attended too, pests of every description will give very little trouble.

iSyi.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 277

I have every reason to suppose that the maggot or grub proceeds
from the root; therefore, if placed in such circumstances as " W. H.,"
I would turn the whole stock into the rubbish heap, and procure a
fresh supply from a clean stock.

In closing this paper, I will say a few words about seedlings ; and
although we have not yet discarded the named varieties, I must say
that the quality of the seedlings we have grown for some years back
would compare favourably with the named ones. We sow none but
Wetherill's prize strain, j^rocured direct from B. S. Williams. We sow
in April and May. Their treatment does not differ in any material
point ; but they are, if anything, less troublesome, and can be got to
flower much earlier than the named sorts ; at least, such has been my
experience of them. D. I.

THE CULTIVATIOISr OF HAHDY FRUITS.

NUTS.
{Continued from page 226.)

The Filbert. — The Filbert, which is just the common Hazel-Xut of the woods
in a cultivated state, is not in very general cultivation throughout Britain, although
it has been indigenous therein for a very long period. It is, however, more cul-
tivated in the southern counties of England, especially Kent, than in any other
portion of the British Isles. In the north of England and in Scotland the Filbert
is only cultivated in some of the more extensive places, and that in many instances
more for the name of the thing than for the sake of the yield of crop. In the south
of Europe, and more especially Spain, this forms an article of commerce of con-
siderable importance, the export trade from some of the Spanish ports being very
large. The Kuts imported from Spain are decidedly superior both in flavour and
size to any grown at home. This is to be accounted for from the fact that the
soil of Spain is very well adapted to its cultivation, and that with a brighter sky
and a longer summer the Filbert is more thoroughly developed and better ripened
than it is ever possible to obtain it in this country.

There are several varieties of the Filbert in cultivation — M'Intosh, in his ' Book
of the Garden,' enumerating eleven sorts, while in Thompson's ' Gardener's Assistant '
there are described twelve d ifferent kinds, all of wh ich are highly recommended as well
worthy of cultivation. The propagation of the Filbert is effected either by seeds,
suckers, layers, or grafts. Like everything else where new and improved kinds
are wanted, this can only be accomplished by the sowing of seed. For this pur-
pose the finest Xuts should be selected from the varieties from which it is intended
to raise seedlings. The Nuts should be sown in autumn in lines 1 foot apart, and
from 3 to 6 inches seed from seed. The lines may be about the usual depth
made for Peas ; and as rats and mice are very apt to attack them in the seed-bed,
the best method to repel their advances is by thoroughly rubbing every Xut over
with a thick coat of red-lead at the sowing period. AVhen the seedlings have
arrived at one year old, they ought to be transplanted into lines 2 to 3 feet apart,
and 14 to 2 feet plant from plant in the row. They may remain in these lines
for 2 or 3 years, according to the progress they make, and by the end of this time

278 THE GARDENER. [June

they should be ready for their permanent position. When the seedling comes tip
it ought to be trained as straight as possible till it arrives at the desired height
at which the head is to be formed. Some grow dwarf-stemmed bushes, others tall-
stemmed, but 3 feet we would consider a very good height at which to form the
head of the tree. Should the seedling make a good growth of 4 or 5 feet, then at
the transplanting time let it be cut back to the height indicated, and let all buds
be removed except four or five at the top. These buds will in all probability
all start into growth the following spring. From these, then, the head may be
formed much in the way we have already recommended for the Apple and Pear.
It is very seldom, however, that the Filbert is propagated in any other way than
by layers. The late Professor Lindley considered the propagation of Filberts by
layers not only to be the easiest of accomplishment, but also to be the best and
most rapid means of obtaining established young trees. Regarding this matter
he observes : " If the laying them down has been properly performed, the layers
will be well rooted by the end of the year, when they should be taken up and
planted into nursery-rows 3 feet apart, and 1 foot from each other in the rows.
Previous to their being planted they should be pruned, leaving only one, and that
the best shoot, shortening it to 1 foot or 18 inches, according to its strength.
As the plants grow up they should be trained with single stems of 18 inches to 2
feet high, which will allow room to clear away any suckers the plants may after-
wards produce." Suckers do not answer nearly so w^ell as layers, because we find
layers produce better stems than suckers, and they are not nearly so apt to pro-
duce suckers again. It is by layers that nurserymen genei-ally produce their
young stock of trees where they have respect to the quality of their stock, but
where quantity is more an object than quality the general practice is by suckers.
The soil best suited for the growth of the Filbert is a good medium yellow loam,
more inclined to be light than heavy, and if containing a large amount of veget-
able matter, so much the better. If there be a deficiency of this in the loam, it
may be added in the shape of leaf-mould, or suchlike. While the Filbert likes a
soil rather moist than otherwise, it must at the same time have good drainage. If
it lacks good drainage, then let the cultivator at once have it attended to. The best
position for the cultivation of the Filbert is in the orchard, where it may be
planted in any position well exposed to the sun, and yet where it may be sheltered
to some extent from the withering blasts of winter, and especially early spring.
"The boundary of an orchard," says Mr M'Intosh, is a very proper place for a
plantation of Filberts, and if well managed will give an abundant and useful re-
turn. Much, however, depends on a proper selection of sorts and on a judicious
mode of cultivation — two matters very seldom thought of. The best time for
planting the Filbert is in autumn, any time from the beginning of September.
October is perhaps about the best month of the whole year for performing this
operation, although it may be done at any time the whole season till the middle of
March. If the tree seems over-luxuriant, let it be root-pruned and managed in
every respect as has been already recommended for the Apple and Pear. As the
Filbert is not a large-growing tree, from 10 to 12 feet will be found quite sufl&cient
distances at which they may be planted apart. The Filbert is seldom in a fruitful
condition until it has reached the age of eight or ten years. The Filbert being
moncecmis, it is generally found that young and vigorous trees produce a prepon-
derance of male flowers, while old trees are very apt to be the reverse. The
female flower is very small, and of a bright pinkish colour, while the male flowers
are easily recognised by their pendent catkins, from 2 to 4 inches long. Where
these catkins are awanting on the trees let an examination be made, and if there
are plenty of female flowers thereon let a branch with male flowers be cut and

iSyi.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 279

hung ia the centre of the tree so soon as the pollen appears ready for fertilisation.
As the female flowers are mostly produced vipon the points of the branches, it is
a good plan to take a bunch of male flowers and draw them gently over the sur-
face of the bush any time when the pollen is in a dry condition.

So far as we are aware, there is no disease which attacks the Filbert to any great
extent in this country, and the only insect enemy known to do the crop injury is
the Balaninus nucum, which pierces a hole through the shell of the Nut while yet
in a young state, and deposits an egg into each cavity made. Here is hatched a
maggot, which, as soon as it springs into active life, devours the kernel of the
Nut. After the Nut is finished it eats its way out and buries itself in the ground,
where it remains all winter, changing in spring to a chrysalis, from which at
length is produced the perfect weevil. The best method of destroying these pests
is by shaking the trees about the end of August, when those Nuts which have
been attacked will be easily recognised by the hole in their shells, and which
must at once be taken up and burned, so as to destroy the enemy.

Spanish or Sweet Chestnut. — This variety of Nut is not grown very extensively
in Britain for its fruiting qualities. It is, however, pretty generally grown as an
ornamental tree. It is very pretty and very graceful, especially when in flower
in spring, but does not form either so handsome or so picturesque a tree as the
common Horse-Chestnut. The propagation of the Spanish Chestnut ie generally
accomplished by sowing seeds, and by grafting or budding, where it is wanted to
perpetuate any given variety. "Where seed is sown, the best time to do so is in
October or November, sowing in drills 3 or 4 inches deep, 2 feet apart, and 6
inches seed from seed. At the end of the first year the young trees will be fit to
transplant into nursery-lines 3 feet apart, and 2 feet plant from plant, where they
may be nursed for a year or two, after which they may be planted into their per-
manent places, either in the field, the forest, or the outr^kirts of the garden. If
trees are wanted for their fruit, it is best to have them either grafted or budded,
the former being perhaps the best method to adopt. If the scions are taken from
old fruit-bearing trees, and grafted in any of the ordinary methods upon a seedling
of two or three years old, the probability is that the young tree will produce
flowers the succeeding year. If the seedling has been well attended to, having
its tap-root cut back when it was transplanted, and if afterwards the tree be regu-
larly attended to by having a biennial root-pruning, there will be little danger in
having a regular flowering-plant every year after grafting.

The soil which best suits the Chestnut is a light yet moderately rich sandy loam,
with a thoroughly dry subsoil, A wSt soil, however, is more injurious to its well-
being than any particular soil. For while it will live and look well in almost
any soil which is dry, it will only linger out an ignoble existence if placed in a
wet and cold position. As has already been hinted, there is no position in the
garden suited for its cultivation, on account of the size to which it attains. It is
therefore better suited for planting about the garden boundary or on the open
pleasure-ground, where it proves an interesting object of admiration. The prun-
ing of the Chestnut has perhaps received less attention than any other of our hardy
fruits, yet we are inclined to think with Mr M'Intosh, that if it is to be grown
for its fruit, it must at least receive as much attention as any other of our hardy
fruits— "root-pruning, combined with grafting and budding, would have the effect
of bringing them into a much earlier habit of fruit-bearing, and limit their size to
that of an ordinary Apple-tree." The fruit is not fit for use until it has fallen from
the tree of its own accord, when it may be separated from the husk and laid away
in a cool dry fruit-room until required for use. James M 'Millan.

{To he continued.)
X

280 THE GARDENER. [June

A TEW WORDS ON GROWING BROCCOLI WITH THE
OBJECT OF CAUSING IT TO STAND THE WINTER.

The general Tvay is to plant it about 2 feet apart each way, and
then to lift and lay it in autumn. I find it stands far better Avhen
planted 4 feet between the rows, and 3 feet between the plants in
the rows ; in this way the plants get more air and light, and con-
sequently do not become drav/n and tender, and, of course, they
are in a condition better fitted to stand severe frost. Crops of Let-
tuce, Spinach, &c., can be grown between the rows, so that the
ground is not wasted. Alexander Gibson.

Edmonston Gardens, Liberton.

NOTES ON HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS.

Con'.inued from iiarje. 134.
Aroidese. — This natural order is one of singular interest. The majority of the
species are herbaceous, but some form considerable stems, both thick and long,
of perennial duration, yet of herbaceous texture ; and in the moist, shady forests
of the tropics certain species of the genus Philodendron and other allied genera
climb a great height on the trees by means of their long aerial roots. The flowers
of the Aroids are destitute of beauty from a floricultural point of view. They
are rarely, in fact, visible, being usually included and concealed within the bract,
or spathe, as it is technically called, which in one form or another accompanies
and is characteristic of the inflorescence of the order. But even when visible,
the individual flowers are far from being imposing; stamens and pistils are the
only organs produced, and they are crowded together promiscuously or separately
on the sides of the ckib-like or spike-like body which occupies the centre of the
spathe, and is called the spadix. The spathe, however, is in some cases a very
beautiful and conspicuous object in the inflorescence of Aroideai — so beautiful,
indeed, as quite to compensate for the deficiency of the flowers in that respect.
Calla (Richardia) scthiopica may be pointed to as a well-known and charming
example of the ornamental character of the spathe in some Aroids. In this case
it rivals driven snow in its pure white colour, while its elegant form and the
beautiful yellow spadix present a combination of charms scarcely surpassed in
subjects having a higher development of strictly floral organs. The members of
the group are more remarkable, however, for the beauty or singularity of their
leaves than for any beauty they are possessed of in regard to inflorescence. The
picturesque Caladiums, the lattice-leaved Philodendrons, and the hard, rigid
leaves of certain species of Anthurium, suggesting, as they do, the idea that they
are cast in bronze, or have at some period of their existence undergone a process
of petrifaction and yet retained life, excite mingled feelings of wonder and admira-
tion in the mind. The group, in the main, has a strange old-world or pre- Adamite
aspect about it, which is fascinating in an intense degree. Certain species vaguely
associate themselves in the mind with the terrestrial and atmospheric conditions
of some bygone epoch, when earth-heat was greater than it now is, and the atmo-
sphere a vapour-bath ; when, according to the evolutionists, man was yet — we
dare hardly guess what or where — without a dream of either descent or destiny
perhaps had not even assumed a tail or aspired to living in trees. The greater

1871.] HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 281

bulk of the order inhabits the warmer regions of the world, and cannot, therefore,
be made available for out-of-doors gardening in this country. Some, however,
are found in the temperate and northern latitudes, and amongst these we shall
find a few subjects worthy of culture for one purpose or another in our gardens.

Acorus Ca.lSimus—S wect-Jlag. — An elegant, sedge-like plant, very well adapted
for introducing to the margins of lakes and streams of some size. It is indigenous
to some parts of England, and has been introduced, but is not regarded as indi-
genous, to Scotland. It grows about 3 feet high, in tufted masses, and extends
itself rapidly wherever the conditions are favourable to its existence, and is not,
therefore, well adapted for introducing to small pieces of water, which it would
soon overrun and choke up. The roots are highly aromatic, and in the dry state
form the calamus of the shops, which, notwithstanding the plant is very abundant
in the fen districts of England, is all imported from the Levant. The leaves are
linear, bright green, and there is a good form with variegated leaves. They also
are aromatic, and were used in districts and countries where the plant abounded
for strewing the floors of dwellings in place of rushes, before advancing refinement
introduced carpets into use. In Poland, even recently, it was usual for distin-
guished visitors to be received with a strewing of fresh calamus leaves. The
flowers are simply curious, in cylindrical greenish spikes, accompanied by a green
spathe, which does not, however, enclose the spike.

A. gramineus — Grass-leaved Sweet-flag. — A neat-growing tufted plant, with
linear leaves, growing about 9 inches high. It is not so dependent on moisture as
the last species, and may be grown successfully in any soil not subject to extremes
of drought. There is a handsome variegated form, well worth a place in collec-
tions of hardy variegated plants. The flowers, like those of calamus, are greenish-
yellow, and possess an interest only for the curious. The plant is a native of
China and Japan, and my experience of its hardiness is limited to the district of
London, where it is quite hardy. Both this and the preceding may be increased
by division in autumn and spring.

Arum. — Of hardy Arums there are not many species. The spathe is always a
conspicuous feature in the inflorescence of the genus, but not always an ornamental
one. The spikes of fruit in some species, composed as they are of large red berries,
are undoubtedly ornamental, however ; and as they assume their greatest beauty
in autumn and early winter, they are of some importance where colour is desir-
able out of doors at that season. These berries have a special value besides their
ornamental quality. Those of A. maculatum are, according to Curtis, greedily
eaten by pheasants, and it is also said that the roots are relished by them. A.
italicum, which is nearly allied to, and closely resembles in berry and roots,
maculatum, would probably be equally welcome to those birds. The whole order
is remarkable for possessing acrid, burning, and poisonous properties ; a few
species, such as calamus, are exceptions, being aromatic and harmless. The
species of Arum are all acrid and poisonous in the fresh state, but the poisonous
qualities are dissipated by the process of drying, and the roots of several of the
species form a wholesome farinaceous food when dried and cooked. Those of A.
maculatum were in former days used to make starch, when not only ladies but
gentlemen also thought it becoming to bedeck their necks and wrists with rufis
and frills. Gerard says it was "the most pure and white starch, but most hurtful
for the hands of the laundresse that hath the handling of it, for it choppeth and
blistereth and maketh the hands rough and rugged and withal smarting." The
roots are also manufactured into "Portland sago" by the inhabitants of the
island of that name, in which the plant is very plentiful. Arums are fit subjects
for introducing into shrubbery borders in moist, partially-shaded places. They

282 THE GARDENER. [June

are easily cultivated, and where the conditions are favourable they are even apt
to become troublesome as weeds, and should not therefore be placed in the neigh-
bourhood of anything more choice than themselves. They are useful also for
introducing into woods, if not too close and shady ; for though shade-loving plants,
they do not thrive long under dense shade. Increase by division of the roots.

A. Dracunculus — Dragon A. — A very singular subject, worthy on that score
alone of a place among cultivated plants. It grows about 3 feet high. The leaves
are dark green, deeply palmately divided, and the stalks are marked and spotted
like the belly of a snake. The spathes are blackish brown, showing themselves
clear above the foliage. The flowers have the unenviable distinction of being
among the most offensively-odorous of flowers : they are equal to, if they do not
actually surpass, carrion itself, in the effluvium they emit. ISTative of S. Europe.

A. italicum— /;r///«?i Cuckoo-jnnt. — This species grows from 1 foot to 18 inches
high. The leaves are broadly arrow-shaped, veined, and often also spotted with
white on a bright shining green ground. The berries are scarlet, in close spikes,
supported on stout erect stalks, appearing at their best in late autumn and early
winter. It is worthy of a place among choice and curious plants in shady
borders. ISTative of Italy. It is a curious fact in connection with this plant,
and perhaps with others of the family, if it is not general, that at the time of
opening the spadix evolves a quantity of heat not only sufficient to affect the
thermometer, if placed within the spathe, but to be distinctly appreciable to the
hand also. AVhat purpose this heat may serve in the economy of the plant, or
whether it is a result rather than any agency, are points I believe not yet clearly
settled. Lamarck was the first to point out the fact.

A. maculatum — Spotted Cuchoo-2nnt. — Besides the popular name just given,
the following have been applied to this plant at different times and in different
localities : Starch-ivort, Wale Robin, Friar's Coui, Lords and Ladies, and Priest's-
2nnt. It grows about 9 inches high, with leaves of the same form as those of
italicum, but smaller. The berries are similar to those of that species also, but
both they and the spike are smaller : they appear about the same time. The
usual colour of the spots, in the indigenous form, is black or blackish brown on
a shining green ground ; but there is a variety, peculiar to the Isle of Wight, in
which the colour of the markings is the same as those of italicum. Some hold
that it is that species naturalised, and somewhat altered by peculiar conditions.
Mr Bentham, a most reliable authority, is of opinion that it is a peculiar local
form of maculatum.

Calla palustris — Bog C.—A beautiful and interesting plant — an excellent subject
for planting in shallow pools or bogs, but unfitted for deep water. It extends
itself rapidly in quaggy or marshy ground that is always more or less moist,
throwing out its creeping stems in all directions^ rooting and establishing itself
as it pushes out. The leaves, on short stout stalks, are broadly heart-shaped,
terminating in an abruptly-attenuated point, and dark shining green. The spathe
is pure white, the same in form as the leaves, but scarcely so broad ; and they
are flat, not cuccullate, as in the ^Ethiopian Calla. The flowers appear in summer
and autumn. Native of N. Europe and N. America. W. S.

— '^-s-J^itsi-<^ -Ms

CHRYSANTHEMUMS.

It was with feelings of surprise I read Mr Hind's article on the Chry-
santhemum in the ' Gardener ' for March. Seemingly he has entirely

iSyi.] CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 283

misconstrued tlie purpose for which the article on the same subject in
the January part was written. Sensational growing never entered my
mind whilst penning that article, ^Ir Hignett having three years since
gone into "sensational" Chrysanthemum-growing in the most exhaus-
tive manner. The brief remarks offered to the readers of the ' Gardener '
by me were intended to produce a desire in the young men who have
charge of the plants, (fee, in the Scotch gardens, to give more of
their attention to the Chrysanthemum than is, in most cases, given
at present. In visiting several gardens in Scotland last autumn, I saw
the Chrysanthemum subjected to neglect and abuse in every garden
where I saw it grown except one, where some nice plants were to
be seen.

If the remarks I offered on its cultivation be carried out in practice
(as a matter of course, allowances will and must be made to suit cer-
tain cases), the result will be plants and flowers worth looking at twice,
without being disgusted with their bare stems, twisted about in all sorts
of ways, displaying, if nothing else, a good deal of ingenuity in that line
on the part of the cultivator (?). Let the hundred scrubby plants
cited by Mr Hmd be a warning never to grow more than can be pro-
perly cared for. If instead of a hundred, thirty or even fifty plants
had been grown as they ought to have been, how different would have
been the results, and that with less labour and water !

How plunged plants, even when deriving the benefit of a sunny
aspect, can reap a decided advantage in maturer wood and stubbier
growth, I am at a loss to conjecture. It is quite clear to me how
plants with roots having full benefit of the warm, healthy air, whether
they be soft- wooded, like Chrysanthemums, or hard-wooded, like Heaths,
do and must of necessity " reap a decided advantage " over those with
the least iJossiUe chance of either sun or air, because, comparing the roots
of plunged with those of unplunged plants, the more wiry and hardy
character of the roots of the latter over those of the former does, as a
matter of fact — and facts are very stubborn things — give shoots stubby,
with little pith, and therefore easily ripened, and leaves stronger and
less liable to attacks of insects and mildew, the result of the whole
being flowers of the best quality. It is altogether impossible that
giving plants (treated as thus recommended) manure-water should in-
duce over-luxuriance. Speaking from experience, they ought to be
watered thus, as soon as the roots have filled the " blooming " pots,
for if withheld, they will become, to use a Scotticism, " set on. " If a
plant from 3 to 4 feet high, clothed with beautiful healthy leaves from
the base of the stem upwards, and surmounted with nine "blooms"
from 3 to 5 J inches in diameter, be not worth looking at, tell me what
is ! With but little extra Avork, two plants can be grown in a 10-inch

284 THE GARDENER. [June

pot, thus giving eighteen blooms. In the case of the Japanese varieties,
I would not advise this number to be exceeded ; but in the large-flower-
ing (incurved) section, free-blooming varieties, such as Mrs G. Eundle,
Aurea multiflora, Eotundiflora, Sec, a greater quantity may be left on
without deterioration of flower-quality.

It were mere folly to advise the training of plants for general
purposes as if for exhibition — the time would be wanting in the
great majority of cases for such work ; however, it takes but little
time to go over them at regular intervals, training them in the
shape most suitable, which will be that which is the most natural. I
may inform Mr Hind that, according to Mr Castle (see ' Journal of
Horticulture' for January 1871), the time of potting has little to do
with the time of flowering in this genus, but the time of pinching has
everything to do with it. Well-grown shapely plants and beautiful
flowers can be grown with a minimum amount of trouble and labour.
Allow me to advise those who require small plants to try the plan
advised by M. T. — strike or layer shoots or branches from June till
August (the Pompon section is meant) ; be very kind to them, and they
will repay the extra attention paid to them. Teetotaller.

KEVIEWS.

The Orchid-Grower's Manual. By Benjamin Samuel "Williams, Victoria
Nurseries, Upper HoUoway, London. Fourth Edition, Enlarged and Re-
vised, with Illustrations.
We welcome Mr B. S. Williams in this fourth edition of his valuable Orchid
Manual, The character of this work has been determined by its object — namely,
to be especially useful to amateurs. The author is known as a very able man
among Orchids, and he has here given select lists of this noble family of plants,
with cultural notes couched in a plain and sensible style ; popular, and free from
all that is not thoroughly practical. To all who want to know not only how to
grow, but what sorts of Orchids to select, the work canot fail to prove of great
value; and there are few cultivators, however experienced, who will not find this
handsomely-got-up volume instructive and useful. It has the rare merit of giv-
ing all the cream of the subject of which it treats, without compelling the reader
to wade through pages of words in search of it.

An Illustrated Natural History op British Butterflies. By Edward
Newman, F.L.S., F.Z.S.
This is a handsomely-got-up volume, with most beautiful illustrations of all
the butterflies of Britain. The author seems deeply in love with his subject,
and treats it with an enthusiasm and an amount of cheerfulness that, apart from
its value as a work on Entomology, must render it pleasant reading to the most
apathetic ; while nothing connected with the life-histories of the different but-
terflies appears to be forgotten. The illustrations, as we have said already, are
exquisitely got up.

iSyi.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 285

KOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

FKUIT AND FLORAL MEETINGS.

Show of Azaleas, Auriculas, &c., April 19tb. — With the exception of Messrs
Lane & Son, Great Beikhamstead, the collections of Azaleas staged for the
Society's prizes were of an inferior description. In the open class for 9,
in the nurserymen's class for 6, and in the open class for a single specimen, they
obtained all the first prizes. In the amateurs' class for 6, a second prize was
awarded to Mr G. "Wheeler, gardener to Sir F. Goldsmid, Bart., of Regent's
Park. Of President Huraann, Messrs Lane had a fine pyramid, 5 feet high,
covered with flowers of large size.

In the open class for 6 forced Rhododendrons, Messrs Lane were again first
with well-bloomed plants of Minnie, Maculatum grandiflorum, Exquisite, Levia-
than, Sir Isaac ISTewton, and Sir Charles Napier ; Messrs Standish & Co. of Ascot
were second with good plants — a very distinct variety, named Miss Briscoe, white,
with dai'k spots, was noteworthy. For 12 cut trusses, Messrs Lane again obtained
the first prize ; Messrs Standish and Mr J. "Woodward, gardener to Mrs Torr,
Garbrand Hall, Ewell, being placed equal second, the last-named exhibitor also
receiving a third prize for 6 plants.

For 12 show Auriculas, distinct, Mr C. Turner of Slough was awarded the first
prize with Trafalgar, green-edged, Colonel Champneys, and Competitor — two fine
new grey-edged varieties raised by him — Miss Giddings, Unique, and Morning
Star, also grey edged, Mrs Sturrock and Miss Martin, selfs. Mr James, gardener
to F. W. "Watson, Esq., Isleworth, was second with a very creditable collec-
tion. In the class for 6 (amateurs) Mr James was first, and the Rev. H. H.
Dombrain, "Westwell "Vicarage, Ashford, was second.

There was also a class for 12 Alpine Auriculas, Mr C. Turner was first with
fine healthy plants, and some of the latest introductions — such as Queen Victoria,
of a dark violet shade, and Defiance, crimson maroon — show a great advance in
this class ; Mr James was second. The Metropolitan Floral Society offered prizes
on this occasion ; there was quite as good a competition as could have been ex-
pected, and for the season, the quality was excellent. For 6 distinct varieties,
the Rev. H. H. Dombrain was first with George Lightbody, a very fine grey edge,
Metropolitan, Mrs Sturrock, Conqueror, Miss "Willoughby, and May Flower. Mr
H. Little, Esq., Cambridge "Villas, Twickenham, was second. For single plants
the competition was very close in some cases : in green-edged Mr James was first,
with Lovely Ann ; second, Mr Turner, with Prince of Greens. Grey-edged —
first, Mr Turner, with Richard Headly ; second. Rev. H. H. Dombrain, with
George Lightbody. White-edged — first, Mr James, with Ne Plus Ultra ; second,
Mr Turner, with Earl Grosvener. Selfs — Mr Turner, first, with Bessy Bell ; Mr
James, second, with Miss Smith.

Prizes were also oS'ered by the Society for 9 Pansies in pots. Mr James was the
only exhibitor, and received the first prize ; his plants were very fine, the follow-
ing especially so : Rev. H. H. Dombrain, dark self ; Lady Baxter, white ; Beauty,
yellow ground ; and Mr Addison, white ground. As usual, the miscellaneous col-
lections were the most interesting and varied. Roses from Messrs Veitch and
Mr C. Turner were excellent. Orchids from Messrs Veitch were worthy of note,
Odontogiossum niveum, a beautiful plant, and a grand specimen of Cypripedium
Isevigatum. Mr Denning, gardener to Lord Londesborough, also showed a fine
lot of Orchids, the somewhat rare Cypripedium Lowii, with two spikes, and a fine
specimen of Phaius Wallichii. Mr Stalker, gardener to the Right Hon. G. Hardy,

286 THE GARDENER. [June

Hemsted Parle, Staplehurst, exhibited a grand specimen of Dendrobiuni densi-
florum, with numerous fine spikes.

Fruit Committee. — On this occasion a first-class certificate was awarded to
]\[r Cadger, the Gardens, Luton Hoo, for Cucumber Luton Hoo Seedling, a smooth
variety resembling Telegraph ; the fruit was about 18 inches in length, rather
thick in proportion. Mr C. Turner sent a plant of Turner's Prolific Black Spine ;
it is a very useful variety; the fruit was about 1 foot long ; it received a special
certificate for good culture.

Mr Rivers of Sawbridgeworth seut a collection of Apples in excellent preserva-
tion ; Spring Kibston Pippin, Claygate Pearmain, Lord Burghley, and Duke of
Devonshire, were of superior flavour. A special certificate was awarded to this
collection, and one to an excellent collection of kitchen sorts.

Floral Committee. — Some of the productions sent were of very superior quality,
and well worthy of the distinction of the first-class certificates awarded to them.
The Cypripedium niveum sent by ]\Ir G. Ward, gardener to A. D. Berrington,
Esq., Pant-y-Goitre, was exceedingly beautiful ; the flowers, which are freely pro-
duced, are pure white, like fine porcelain, spotted externally with purple.

Mr "W. Bull sent Azalea Marvel, a small-flowered semi-double variety of the
Amoena type, with purple flowers. JMessrs Veitch sent Acer japonicum ornatum,
with copper-coloured leaves, and Acer dissectum, with similar leaves, which were
deep green, and formed a striking contrast to the first-named species ; both are
highly ornamental. Rhododendron Bride, from ]\Ir G. Fairbairn, gardener to
J. T. Xoakes, Esq., Brockley Hall, Lewisham, a very fine variety; the flowers
measure 4 inches across, and are well shaped ; it was raised by crossing R. Edge-
worthii with R. Gibsonii. Mr W. Denning sent Odontoglossum odoratum, a
species of no great beauty. Maxillaria luteo grandiflora, from Mr B. S. Williams ;
a species with long sepals and petals, yellow-tinged buff, is very ornamental. A fine
plant of Tea Rose Belle Lyonnaise came from Mr C. Turner; it is one of the new
French varieties of last year, having all the good qualities of Gloire de Dijon, but
being quite distinct in colour, which is a deep lemon. Mr Turner also sent Alpine
Auriculas, Marquis of Westminster and Sultan ; the flowers are very similar in
colour, crimson maroon with bright-yellow paste, very flat and circular.

Mr W. Lee showed two plants of his fine scarlet Pink, Princess Louise, which
was noticed last month.

M. Louis van Houtte of Ghent, Belgium, sent Azaleas, Marquis of Lome, a
very bright salmon-red flower of fine outline, and a decided acquisition ; Comtesse
de Beaufort, bright rose, with dark upper petals ; George Loddiges, salmon-scarlet,
with deep crimson spot on the upper petals ; President de Ghellinck de Walle,
a very fine semi-double deep rose ; and Alice, another semi-double rosy-crimson
variety. All the above-named productions had first-class certificates awarded to
them. The same award was given to a plant of Anthurium Schertzerianum, var.
Dixoni, which was shown in the Conservatory with a collection of plants from
Mr Dixon, nurseryman, Beverley; it diff'ers from the ordinary form in the
duplication of the spathes, which are less than is usual.

Fruit and Floral Meeting, May 3d. — Roses in pots were the principal feature
at this meeting, besides the collections of miscellaneous subjects. The Rosea
which were put up for competition in the open classes were magnificent examples
of skilful cultivation. Classes 1 and 2 were for 9 and 6 Roses in pots, the size
of the pots unlimited. Messrs Paul & Son were first for 9, and Messrs Veitch
first for 6, with equally well-grown plants to those of Messrs Paul, but smaller in
size. In the class for amateurs 3 plants are required, and Mr James, gardener to
W. F. AVatson, Esq., Isle worth, was awarded the third prize. Class 4 — 12 Roses

iSyi.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 287

of 1868-69-70 in lOinch pots. This was an interesting class, as it brought out
the best of the new Roses. Messrs Paul & Son were again first, Mr C. Turner
of Slough occupying the second place, as he did in the class for 9. The best of
the Roses which have not been previously noticed were — Noisette Reve d'Or,
Comtesse d'Oxford, Dupuy Jamain, Duke of Edinburgh — the most brilliant Rose
shown, Edouard Morreu ; Charles Lawson is a grand pot Rose ; Marie Baumaun
was also very fine — it is also a very constant variety ; President, fine Tea, and
Paul Verdier.

Classes 5, 6, and 7. — Show and Alpine Auriculas. Mr C. Turner was first in the
open classes, and j\Ir James second, the last-named exhibitor taking the first place
in the class for amateurs, and the Rev. H. H. Dombrain second. Richard
Headly, Smiling Beauty, Jessica, and a new variety, which received a second-class
certificate, sent by Mr Turner, and named Alderman Wisbey, were the best show
varieties of Alpines. Queen Victoria, Mercury, and two unnamed seedlings in
Mr Turner's collection, were very fine.

Greenhouse Azaleas were again far behind the mark. Messrs Dobson & Sons,
Isleworth, were second in' the open class for 6 : and in the amateurs for 3,
Mr Baldwin, gardener to B. Drew, Esq., was first ; Mr Woodward, gardener to
Mrs Torr, Ewell, second ; and Mr G. Wheeler third.

Six Exotic Orchids (open), Messrs Rollison of Tooting were first, and Mr W.
Bull second. In this collection was a very fine plant of Cypripedium caudatum
Buperbum with two fine flowers.

For 6 Herbaceous Calceolarias, Mr James was first with an excellent strain of
Beedliogs, the flowers being very large, but not very perfect in shape.

Miscellaneous collections were as usual very fine : Messrs Veitch had a grand
specimen of Dendrobium Devonianum with three spikes of flowers 3 feet in
length; an equally remarkable Cypripedium lasvigatum with five spikes, four
and five flowers on each. The beautiful filmy Tree-Fern Leptopteris Wilkesiana ;
Pandanus Veitchii, the leaves handsomely striped with white : this will be a grand
plant both for decorative purposes and for exhibition.

Mr C. Noble, Bagshot, had a very attractive group of his new Clematis in fine
condition ; Duke of Buccleuch had very large flowers of a purplish slate ; Mr
W. Bull had an etfective collection, in which was a basket of the Primula
japonica, introduced from Japan by Mr Fortune : this plant created quite a
sensation, it is so entirely distinct from any other; the leaves resemble strong
examples of the common Primrose, from the centre of which the spikes resem-
bling those of a Phlox are thrown up ; the flowers also resemble those of the Phlox,
are in whorls of a pleasing carmine purple, with a deeper-coloured eye.

Fruit Committee. — A seedling Pine- Apple was sent by Mr Green, gardener to
Mrs Honeywood, Marks Hall, Kelvadon. The leaves are smooth and broad
like the Cayenne, with a greater number of prickles at the points of the leaves :
the fruit weighed 3 lb., is quite distinct, abundantly juicy, and of excellent flavour
— it will be seen again.

A new Cucumber was sent by Mr Douglas, gardener to F. Whitbourn, Esq.,
Ilford. It is a smooth free-bearing variety ; the examples sent were very hand-
some, and were 2 feet in length; it was named by the committee "Tender and
True," and received a first-class certificate.

Extraordinary examples of Biggareau and Black Eagle Cherries were sent by
Mr Stevens, gardener to the Duke of Sutherland, Trentham ; a branch loaded
with fruit of the largest size, and two dishes besides. An extra prize was
awarded.

Floral Committee. — Some very interesting subjects were sent to this meeting;

288 THE GARDENER. [June

the Primula japonica and its variety lilacina, both sent by Mr W. Bull, received
first-class certificates. The same award was made to Messrs Veitch for Croton
Johannes, an erect-growing species with long narrow recurved leaves, having a
deep golden variegation ; also to Agave festiva, a distinct species with erect-grow-
ing leaves and dark spines. The same award was also given to Leptopteris
Wilkesiana. First-class certificates were also given to Mr B. S. Williams for a
species of Sobralia, and also for Amaryllis marginata perfecta, with distinct
scarlet flowers streaked with white. ]\Ir Green, gardener to W. W. Saunders,
Esq., sent Dyckia brevifolia, a species with deep- green Yucca-like leaves, also
Elisena longipetala, a rather curious bulbous- rooted plant with white flowers
from Peru : both received first-class certificates. A similar award was made to
Messrs Rollison for a very fine Gloxiuia with drooping flowers of a brilliant
crimson with distinct purple spots on the throat; it was named Rev. H. H. Dom-
brain. Messrs Downie, Laii'd, & I;aing received first-class certificates for Iberis
gibraltarica, a large-flowered species with pink-tinted florets; and for Tropaiolum
Mrs Bowman, a variety with perfect-shaped flowers of a light-orange scarlet.
Mr R. ^Yood, gardener to W. B, Kellock, Esq., Stamford Hall, received a first-
class award for Gasteria nigricans, with a singular-looking spike of glossy-red
flowers. A first-class certificate was also given to Mr Masters, gardener to the
Earl of Macclesfield, Sherburn, for Bougainvillea speciosa variegata, having well-
marked yellow variegations ; and one of the second class for perpetual-flowering
Clove Miss Jollifi'e, a very desirable flesh-coloured variety. Tea-Rose Earl of
Eldon, in the way of Madame Falcot, but a better flower, from Messrs Paul &
Son ; and Rose Princess Beatrice, light Rose, full and beautifully cupped, and
promises to be a fine exhibition variety, — both received first-class certificates.

Royal Horticultural Society, May 17. — On this occasion an improvement
was evident in the general efi'ect of the exhibition, from the show being held in a
large tent, and the plants staged on turf banks instead of in the conservatory.
Pelargoniums, Heaths, stove and greenhouse flowering and foliage plants were
the principal subjects invited.

Class 1 and 2, for nine and six show Pelargoniums in 8-inch pots. — Mr "Ward,
gardener to F. G. Wilkins, Esq., Lay ton, was first in both classes with truly mag-
nificent plants, the foliage and flowers being very fresh and clean ; a splendid
specimen of Rose Celestial was 6 feet across. Other fine and distinct flowers w'ere
Madle. Patti, Empress Eugenie, fine white, Alabama, Exhibitor, Rob Roy,
very brilliant, and Maid of Honour, a distinct lilac flower. Messrs Dobson &
Sons, Isleworth, were second for nine, Mr James, gardener to W. F. Watson,
Esq., Isleworth, being in the same position for six.

Class 3 and 4. — Six Fancies (Amateurs and Nurserymen). Mr Weir, gardener
to Mrs Hodgson, Hampstead, was first, and Mr James second in the former, and
Messrs Dobson first in the latter class. The best varieties were Helen Beck,
Crystal Beauty, and Princess of Teck.

Class 5. — 6 Clematis. Mr C. Noble, the celebrated grower of Bagshot, was
awarded the first prize. He claims for his flowers a robust constitution, beauty of
texture, and an increased number of petals, combined with fine form. The varieties
were Miss Bateman, Harry Richmond, Lady Londesborough, Jackmanii, &c.

Class 6. — 6 Palms, distinct. Mr B. S. Williams, of Holloway, obtained the first
prize with noble specimens of the broad-leaved species VerschafFeltia splendida,
Phcenicophorum seychellarum ; of the fan-leaved species Chameerops humilis,
Latania borbonica, and Corypha australis, and the date-leaved species Phoenix
sylvestris : Messrs Rollisson, of Tooting, were placed second.

iSyi.J HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 289

The next three classes were for Cape Heaths. Mr Ward occupied the first place
for eight and twelve, Mr Carr, gardener to P. L. Hinds, Esq., B\ fleet, being first
for six. Messrs Jackson & Son, of Kingston, were second in the open classes for
eight and twelve distinct varieties, and ]\Ir Ward second in the amateurs' six.

Class 11 and 12, for Stove Ferns.— In the amateurs' class Mr Carr was first; Mr
B. S. Williams taking the same position in the nurserymen's class. Mr Carr had
Dicksonia antarctica, Platyceriumgrande, and the beautiful Adiantum Farlevense.
Mr Williams had Gleichenia speluncae and rupestris, Cibotium Schiedei, a grand
specimen, Todea africana and superba, and Neottopteris australasica.

In the classes for Stove and Greenhouse plants in pots not exceeding 12 inches
in diameter there was a very interesting exhibition. In the open class for twenty
distinct sorts Mr Ward was first with a fine collection, comprising the best Cape
Heaths, the pretty white-flowered Dracophyllum gracile, Anthurium Schertzeri-
anum, Statice profusa, Hedaroma tulipifera, &c. Messrs Jackson, of Kingston,
was second, and W. Kemp, gardener to the Duke of iSTorthumberland, Albury
Park, Guildford, third.

For nine plants Mr Carr was first, and ia this collection was a very fine well-
flowered specimen of Chorozema cordata elegans and a fine Erica propendens.
Mr Wheeler, gaixlener to J. Phillpot, Esq., Stamford Hill, was second.

Class 15. — 20 fine-foliage plants, distinct, in pots, not more than 12 inches
diameter. Mr W. Bull, Chelsea, was first with a collection containing a large
proportion of Palms; he had also a fine plant of Dractena regina. Mr Williams
was second; he had a fine plant of Phormium tenax variegatum, Sarracenia
Drummondi, and a fine Cordyline indivisa. Messrs Bell & Thorpe, Stratford-on-
Avon, were third.

Class 16. — Forced fruits, 8 distinct dishes. Mr Miles, gardener to Lord Car-
rington, was the only exhibitor, and received the first prize ; he had a good
Providence Pine-Apple, Foster's Seedling, and Black Hamburg Grapes from pot-
Vines, Golden Gem and Scarlet Gem Melons, excellent Black Circassian and
Elton Cherries, Dr Hogg and Sir C. Napier Strawberries, and a dish of Brown
Ischia Figs. Messrs Carter ofi'ered prizes for Carter's First Crop Pea, and also
for another early sort. Mr G. Brown, gardener to E. ^lackenzie, Esq., Fawley
Court, Henley-on-Thames, was awarded the first prize in each case, Little Gem
and First Crop being the varieties. They were sown on turf, November 23,
and planted out under a wall on March 6.

Fruit Committee. — Mr Standi^h, of the Pioyal Nursery, Ascot, sent several
bunches of his new Grape Royal Ascot Frontignan ; along with them was a bunch
of Black Hamburg from the same house, which was only showing signs of colour-
ing, to show how much earlier it is than that variet}' ; it has a very fine Frontig-
nan flavour, and this with its early ripening qualities led the Committee to award
it a first-class certificate. A dish of a new Kidney Potato named Prince Teck
was sent by Mr Pottle, Wordbridge, Suffox, but when cooked the quality was
not first-rate.

Floral Committee. — Mr J. Lindon, of Brussels, sent Masdevallia Lindeni, one
of the loveliest of the species, of a beautiful mauve colour ; it was awarded a first-
class certificate. Mr Denning, gardener to Lord Londesborough, received the
same award for Cattleya Reineckiana, a large white species, with a yellow-and-
purple lip. The same exhibitor also sent a magnificent plant of Vanda teres, with
nearly a score of its beautiful clusters of flowers. The Lindley medal was awarded
to it.

Mr Thomson, of Ispwich, also received a first-class certificate for Collinsia viol-
acea, a free-flowering blue and white variety from California.

290

THE GARDENER.

[June

!Mr "Williams, of llolloway, sent Adiantum asarifolium, a species with simple
orbicular fronds 3 inches across ; this also received a first-class certificate.

The same award was also given to ^Ir C. Turner, of Slough, for Kose Paul Neron,
H. P., a magnificent flower ; golden tricolor Pelargonium Baroness Burdett
Coutts, and silver tricolor Mrs Rousbj', with a very bright red zone, also for Azalea
Comtesse de Flandres, a variety with very large well-shaped bright rose-coloured
flowers. A first-class certificate was also awarded to Mr G. Smith, of Hornsey
Koad, for a very good free-flowering Intermediate stock named Mauve Queen.

A second-class certificate was given to M. Dalliere of Ghent, for Azalea La
Peine, a very pretty striped variety. The same exhibitor sent, among other fine
things, a magnificent plant of Anthurium Schertzerianum, with more than a
dozen fine spathes of the largest size. J. Douglas.

REPORT OP WEATHER.— 1871.

On March 15th the temperature fell 23° below freezing ; on March 28th, 10° of
frost ; on 29th, 12° ; on April lltb, 8" ; and this morning May 17th, we had 11° of
frost ; the result being that Asparagus, Potatoes, and many other things, are
killed to the ground. We will this season have little or no fruit of any descrip-
tion. Many of the Beech and other trees are quite black from the effects of this
morning's frost. I can see some of the distant hills covered with snow, and to-
day has been like one of the bleak December days. J. W.

Eden Grove, Carlisle.

©aUnUar^

KITCHEN-GARDEN.

Before filling up eveiy portion of
ground (with the view of having abun-
dance) it may be necessary to look in
advance of the present time, so that
the necessary space may be left for
crops which come and go quickly.
Among these are Spinach, Lettuce, and
Turnips. Spinach and Lettuce often
do well between winter crops, and are
off without doing much harm to the
latter. Where ground is scarce, many
a makeshift has to be made to keep
up the necessary supplies. Arranging
kinds together which are likely to be
used up at the same time, will simplify
the management materially. For in-
stance, late Celery and Leeks adjoining
each other, Brussels Sprouts and Kale,
late Broccolis kept separate from early
kinds, and so on, give large breadths
of ground which can be worked all in
a piece — of course changing the crops j
to fresh ground as far as can be done.
Main crops of Brussels Sprouts, Kale,
Broccoli, Savoys, and Cauliflower may
be planted as they become fit. Those i

pricked out will lift with nice fibry
roots, and be more manageable than
others left to take their chance in seed-
beds. Sow Cos Lettuce in larger
breadths, and if the ground is well pre-
pared with manure they will do well
thinned out to a foot or 15 inches
apart. Cabbage Lettuce is used chiefly
for culinary purposes, but with many
Cos kinds are used for all purposes,
and are very superior to the Cabbage
kinds for salad. Rich, moist ground,
and in a measure shaded, is the only
way to secure fine produce at this sea-
son. A good breadth of cabbage may
now be planted for autumn use. Where
the early supplies are cut and left to
sprout, it will improve them much by
having the ground well broken with a
fork, manure allowed (if plentiful), and
a good soaking of water given. Fre-
quent planting gives the most tender
produce. Celery may be planted in
the ridges as soon as the plants are
ready. Lifting as much soil as the
roots will carry is not labour lost, and

iSyi.]

CALENDAR.

291

often prevents "bolting." The roots
squeezed into hard round balls is an
evil to be avoided. This plant can
hardly be overwatered, especially if
pond water is used. Liquid manure is
not necessary till the plants are grow-
ing, and then it may be given freely.
All crops should be thinned in time,
and judiciously, as formerly advised.
"When planting is done, the roots
should be moderately fastened instead
of the collars of the plants, as is often
done by inexperienced hands. Sow
more Peas at regular intervals as de-
mand requires. It is better, for late
sowings, to use earlier kinds ; they
come in more quickly. Mulching and
watering may now be necessary, espe-
cially on poor shallow ground. Timely
staking should have attention, and top
in those which are growing vigorously
above the stakes. Longpod and Broad
Windsor Beans may still be sown if
required. French Beans and Scarlet
Runners may be sown on a sheltered
position. If early frosts should set in
during August, the crops are less liable
to injury; this is more applicable to
northern localities. Radishes and all
other salads should be sown every few
weeks, and well watered and shaded by
mats till they are above ground. Early
Horn Carrots and Onions for drawing
young may be sown as demand requii-es.
Endive may now be sown for a full crop.
Batavian and White Curled Mess are
very useful kinds. Use the pronged
hoe or fork freely among Potatoes. If
"earthing up" is practised, it should

be done before the tops are likely to be
broken. Covering over any tubers
which are too near the surface is all the
"earthing up" we give. It will soon
be time to plant retarded Kidneys or
other kinds which are to give a supply
of young Potatoes from November to
February. They should be planted in
good ground which can be protected
from frost at the proper time. We
have found the middle of June a good
time for this system of Potato culture
in Scotland, and the middle of July in
the south of England. Some of the
finest Potatoes and the worst ever seen
are produced in this way. To have
them dry and mealy, glass lights, can-
vas over hoops, or some other means to
keep them dry late in the season, are
necessary; and when the tops are
down, dry litter will keep them right
till dug up as they are wanted. Covent
Garden growers generally allow them
to take their chance, and cover them
when cut down with frost, but their
produce is seldom first-rate. Plant,
train, and regulate Tomatoes, and ridge
Cucumbers as they grow; mulch and
water the roots with tepid water as
they require it ; expose them from j^ro-
tection gradually to air ; stop the
Cucumbers when strong enough, and
regularly above the fruit, and prevent
them from becoming matted. Weeds
and hard unbroken surfaces f-hould be
seen nowhere, and every crop, when
done with, cleared off, turning the
empty space to account at once.

M. T.

FORCING DEPARTMENT.

Pines. — Succession stock will now
have well taken with their shift, and
make rapid progress, and will re-
quire careful management to prevent
them from making a soft watery growth
on the one hand, and on tlie other from
a wiry weakly growth. The former of
these conditions is brought about by
too much water, and syringing to ex-
cess overhead, and too little air ; and
the opposite extreme produces the lat-
ter condition. Give just enough of
water to keep the soil regularly moist
without being bloppy ; and instead of
syringing the plants heavily overhead
and about their centres, rather damp the
surface of the plunging material, and
just dew the plants gently overhead
through a fine rose. They may now
be more freely aired, opening the ven-

tilators and shutting them gradually,
as directed last month. The fires may
be allowed to go out, or nearly so, in
steady hot weather, but always kindle
or set them agoing in time to prevent
the thermometer from falling below 70°
at 10 P.M. AVhere bottom-heat is de-
pendent on leaves and tan, see that the
material does not shrink away from
the sides of the pots. This leaves the
pot very little better than if it were
standing on the surface of the bed;
and the tan should be pressed firmly,
and made up to the rims of the pots.
Plants intended to yield an autumn
supply of fruit should show fruit this
month, and if they have been grown in
light pits, and are stocky, and have
their pots well filled with roots, there
will be little difficulty in getting them

292

THE GARDENER.

[June

to do so. They shoultl have a bottom-
heat of from 85° to 90°, and a moii-t
atmosphere and higher temperature
applied to them immediately, and such
conditions will cause them to throw
up their fruit, if all others be favour-
able. Stock intended for winter supply
should now be kept rather cooler and
drier to cause them to rest for a
few weeks previously to their being
forced into fruiting a month hence.
Those that are swelling off iheir fruit
should now be encouraged with a high
temperature and a plentiful supply of
moisture, both in the soil and in the
air. Shut them up as early in the
afternoon of fine days as it is safe to do
so, running up the heat from 90° to
100° for a short time. See last month's
directions regarding those that are col-
ouring and ripe. Look over all plants
that are in fruit, and which are throwing
up suckers, and remove them all but
two or three on each plant ; and wher-
ever gills are discovered on the fruit-
stems, remove them at once. Liquid
manure, in the way of guano, soot-
water, or dung-water, may now be ap-
plied in a weak state every time Pines
are watered. We prefer this to giving
stronger doses every second or third
watering.

Vines. — Where established Vines
are now swelling off full crops, pay
careful attention to the state of the
borders, particularly inside. An excel-
lent plan is to mulch them lightly with
old Mushroom-bed dung, and give a
heavy watering of soft tepid water
about the time they are stoning, and
again just as they show the first signs
of colouring. The outside border, if
the season be dry and hot, should be
treated in the same way if possible.
We believe we should have far less
annoyance from red-spider and shank-
ing and shrivelling, were more water
applied to Vine-bordei'S in the heat of
dry summers, always presuming that
the drainage and border are, as they
ought to be, sufficiently open. In
calm hot weather it will now be neces-
sary to give front ventilation to all
Vines, but not to such an extent as to
create violent draughts on windy days.
The front ventilation should be shut
up entirely as soon as the sun begins to
decline in power. Put air on at the
top of the houses early in the morning,
to prevent moisture from condensing
overmuch about the foliage. Indeed
a little should be left on all night ; and,

as recommended in the case of Pines,
the ventilation should be increased by
degrees to the maxiujum by 12 o'clock,
and again gradually reduced, but always
shutting with a high temperature from
sun-heat to prevent much llring at
night. Let Vines from which the fruit
is all cut be kept cool, and their foliage
well syringed occasionally, to keep
them fi'ee from red-spider, and their
foliage in health as long as possible.
Thin all Grapes immediately they are
fit for the scissors, as fruit advance so
quickly at this season that they soon
get larger and thicker than they ought
to be when thinned. See last month's
directions regarding Grapes that are
colouring, newly planted Vines, &c.
If not already done, pot Vines intended
for fruiting early next year should be
shifted into their fruiting-pots — 11 and
12 inch pots are large enough. Three
parts loam and one part horse-drop-
pings, and a little bone-meal, is an ex-
cellent compost for them.

Peaches. — Where the early crop is
all gathered, give the trees a thorough
washing with clean water through the
engine, and continue to syringe or en-
gine them two or three times a-week,
to keep the foliage fresh and free from
insects throughout the heat of summer.
If the border is dry, let it also have a
good watering, and keep everything
connected with them tidy and clean.
The starving of early-forced trees with
the idea of ripening them is injurious
to them. Keep them cool by giving
an abundant supply of air at front and
top. Where fruit are swelling off, con-
tinue to syringe the trees on the after-
noons of fine days, shutting them up
early and keeping the tempex'ature to
65°, as a minimum, with as little fire-
heat as possible. See last month's
directions regarding fruit that are ripen-
ing. Tie in the growths and thin the
fruit of later houses, and wherever fire-
heat is applied, keep up atmospheric
moisture in pi^oportion.

Figs. — So soon as the first crop is
gathered from early trees, give them a
heavy watering with liquid manure and
mulch with short dung, so as to sup-
port the second crop now showing.
Avoid cropping too heavily, for two
heavy crops in the season, to say no-
thing of some third, are hard work for
them. Syringe freely on fine after-
noons, and sprinkle the border and
paths frequently in course of bright
days, for the Figs delight in a moist at-

iSyi.]

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

293

mosphere. Top-dress those in pots now
swelling their second crop, and water
freely with guano-water, and syringe the
trees vigorously to keep down red-spider.
Melons. — Plant out a quantity for
August supply. Give them a good
depth of soil ; a heavy loam with a
very little old cow-manure mixed with
it is best, especially after this season.
Make the bed of soil firm, but not too
smooth on the surface, or it will become
caked, and not easily penetrated with
water when it is applied. If planted
to be trained to the roof of the pit or
house, see former directions as to the
mode of training and stopping. If
planted in an ordinary hot-bed frame,
plant two plants in the centre of each
light, and train three shoots from each
plant at regular distances over the
surface. Stop them when they reach
within 8 or 9 inches of the side of
the frame, and the lateral growths will
show fruit. Stop the latei-als one joint
beyond the fruit, and avoid overcrowd-
ing with wood and foliage. Sprinkle
advancing crops on fine afternoons at
shutting - up time, except where the
fruit are setting. Keep those that are
ripening dry, and give plenty of air, so
as to get the fruit as high-flavoured as
possible. Sow at the beginning and
end of the months for successional and
late crops.

Cucumbers. — Now is a good time
to plant out a quantity of plants for
late summer and autumn supply. In
England they do well enough in frames
after bedding-plants are turned out,
but in Scotland it is necessary to have
them where there is a command of arti-
ficial heat, or mildew will ruin them.
For further directions see former Cal-
enders.

Strawberries in Pots.— These will
now be nearly over, and any that are
now to ripen may be removed to cold
pits and frames, where they can stand
on a cool bottom, otherwite red-spider
will not be easily kept in check. As
soon as runners can be had, lay the
necessary stock for another year's forc-
ing. They can either be laid in small
pots or in soil laid between the rows of
the parent plants. The finest runners
are got either from early-forced plants
or from runners pricked off in rows the
previous autumn. At one time we
pricked out a quantity every August
for this purpose, and found these threw
out the strongest and most healthy
runners for laying the following June,
For early forcing, make a point of hav-
ing them shifted into their fruiting-
pots the first week of July, and avoid
large pots — 5-inch pots are large enough
for the early crops.

— --s-s^s^^^^^e.^ —

AYe regret that, owing to press of matter, several communications are unavoid-
ably postponed.

All business communications should be addressed to the Publishers, and com-
munications for insertion in the ' Gardener ' to David Thomson, Drumlanrig
Gardens, Thornhill, Drumfriesshii'e. It will farther oblige if all matter intended
for publication, and questions to be replied to, be forwarded by the middle of the
month, and written on one side of the paper only. It is also requested that
writers forward their name and address, not for publication, unless they wish it,
but for the sake of that mutual confidence which should exist between the Editor
and those who address him. We decline noticing any communication which is
not accompanied with name and address of writer.

Errata. — In the 'Gardener' for May, page 232, bottom line, for "valdensia"
read "valdensis." Page 236, second hne from top, for "Sillardsia" read "Till-
andsia." In the last clause of article on Strawberry Forcing, page 220, for "and
water" read "and then water,"

Henry Mason, — 1, Sedum rhodiola ; 2, Diptolaxis tenuifolia variegata ; 3,
Fritillaria nigra; 4, Pulmonaria officinalis; 5, Spirtea filipendula ; 6, Yiburnun
prunifolia, AVe cannot always, and should not be asked to, name plants of which
leaves only are sent to us, as in the case of the second and fifth of the above.

294 THE GARDENER. [June 1871.

J. P — The excrescence on the under sides of your vine-leaves is an enlarge-
ment of the cellular tissue, and perhaps in your case the low damp position of the
border has something to do with the derangement. It is, however, caused by too
much moisture in the air and insufficient ventilation in many cases. Other causes
in abundance have been assigned. And while we will undertake to bring on the
derangement in a very short time by the cause we have named, we do not say
that there is no other, although we know of no other cause.

J. F. — Thanks for your suggestion, which shall be considered.

International Horticultural Exhibition. — We are sure that it will be
gratifying to many of our readers to know that the Glasgow and \yest of Scotland
Horticultural Society intend to hold a great International Show in 1872 similar t
those so successfully held by the Royal Caledonian Society in Edinburgh in 1 865 ana
1869. Another opportunity will then be afforded to horticulturists from all parts
to meet in friendly rivalry, and we feel sure that such a meeting will have the
effect of advancing horticulture, and of causing horticulturists from places far
apart to I'espect each other more and more. And there can be no doubt that the
great metropolis of the west of Scotland is in a position to offer the very best of
encouragement to exhibitors,

W. T. — What you suggest has often been talked of, but the Edinburgh Council
seem perfectly apathetic about horticulture, hence the town has fallen sadly be-
hind in gardening for the people.

Inquiries having been made for a somewhat fuller definition of the meaning of
the phrase, "any branch of British Economic Entomology," used in the
announcement of a prize of £5, offered by the Royal Horticultural Society for
"the best miscellanous collection of any branch of British Economic Entomology,"
we are requested to state that it relates to such departments of Economic Entomo-
logy as concern forests, fields, or gardens ; as also to insects injurious to manu-
factured articles, &c., but that it is not intended to include useful insect pro-
ducts, such as honey.

The Royal Horticultural Society at jSTottingham, June 27. — Allow me
to intimate through the medium of the ' Gardener' to those who purpose visiting
this great Exhibition, that to insure the comfort of gardeners and exhibitors, I
have made arrangements with the proprietor of one of the first hotels in Notting-
ham, whereby they will be provided with bed, breakfast, dinner, and supper
in the best hotel style at 10s. 6d. per day ; less, of course, if all the meals are not
taken. Those who wish to avail themselves of this arrangement may do so by
signifying their desire to me not later than June 20, when the necessary pass-
ticket will be forwarded to them. Already some of the leading exhibitors and
gardeners have bespoken accommodation. Wm. P. Ayres.

ToosT Road, West Nottingham,
llthMai/ 1871.

A Subscriber. — Try and put some temporary division between your two lots of
plants ; then you may be able to treat them differently. If those that have not
started are growing freely, keep them rather dry at the root, so as to check their
growth. If they are making suckers and not growing much fiom their centres, as
is sometimes the case, remove the suckers and stimulate them by a brisk bottom-
heat and moisture, and more than likely they may start. But they are very obstin-
ate sometimes. Sheep's droppings and soot make excellent manure-water for
Pines. Deluge the haunts of the ants with boiling water, and molest them in
every possible way, and more than likely they will shift their quarters. They can
be poisoned with arsenic in anything they are fond of.

THE

GARDENER.

JULY 1871.

GRAPES.

AS it ever occurred to our readers, that the largest, and in
nearly every respect the finest, examples of Grapes that
have appeared at our Horticultural shows, have not come
from those districts where the rainfall is least, but, on the
contrary, from those that are generally termed wet 1 If this has been
the rule, it has of course, like every other, not been without exception.
Yet we are inclined to think that there is some force in our question ;
and if so, it must have a bearing more or less in showing what the
most favourable conditions are to the finest development of the pro-
duce of Vines. "We do not think we are far wrong in saying that
our most Eshcol-like productions have made their appearance from
districts where the rainfall is above the average, and not under it.
Those who can cast their eye back for the last twenty-five years, and
can in memory scan our exhibition-tables, will be able to form some
opinion as to the correctness of the question here raised, and from
them we should be glad to have a verdict.

It is a fact that the most gigantic bunch of Grapes ever produced in
Britain appeared last year at Edinburgh from one of our wettest Scot-
tish counties. This may simply be a coincidence, and the efi'ect of a
combination of circumstances entirely apart from the one now assumed.
Do not let it be supposed that we are under-estimating the skill which
must necessarily exist in the production of superior Grapes. Still we
have an impression, almost amounting to a settled conviction, that
certain districts are immensely more favourable than others to the
production of fine Grapes, independent of all the skill that can be
brought to bear in assisting the process. We were first impressed

T

296 THE GARDENER. [July

"svith this idea some ei^^lit years ago, while out on a horticultural tour
extending to some thirteen or fourteen counties. On that occasion
the finest Grapes we saw were in two of the wettest and coldest coun-
ties of Scotland, and the worst in two of the warmest and driest. We
are not now singling out exceptional cases, but speaking generally.
Reasoninc: about the matter, the conclusion was arrived at that it was
not so much the want of skill, or the possession of it, that led to
such results ; and on this account the peculiarity of climate, and to
some considerable extent soil, forced itself on our mind. Certainly
the finest Black Hamburg Grapes, for bunch, berry, colour, and
weight of crop, met with on this particular occasion, was in one of the
coldest and wettest spots of our midland counties ; and such crops, we
know, had been sustained by the same Vines for many years in suc-
cession. The soil of which the border consisted was of a very much
more heavy and tenacious character than is generally considered desir-
able for Vine-culture. The finest Muscats were found also in a county
where the rainfall is scarcely second to any in Scotland ; but in this
instance the climate was mild. In one of the southern counties, which
registers a very low temperature and a great rainfall, were found some
young Vines extraordinary for both size of bunch and berry and
general vigour. In this instance the soil was a strong loam, naturally
mixed with small stones. In these cases we were also struck with
the singular dark green of the foliage, and the entire immunity from
red-spider, although in some cases the culture might to a critical eye
have been pronounced in some points careless. Passing into two of
our very driest counties, we were confronted with red-spider, smaller
berries, and less vigorous Vines ; and this, too, while in several in-
stances the management seemed careful even to scrupulousness. Sub-
sequent thought and observation, we must say, have not weakened the
impressions here indicated ; and since then we have found the finest
Muscat Hamburgs (on its own roots) and Muscats we have ever seen
in a district where the rainfall averages 50 inches of rain per annum,
and under management which had no pretence to efficiency. So much
for Scotland.

Have the premier Grape-growers of England made their appearance
from the driest counties, such as Kent and Surrey, or from such as
Lancashire, Staffordshire, and other counties where the rainfall is above
the average, and the climate in other respects in no way particularly
genial ? This question we leave to the consideration of other observers,
and should be glad to hear what their ideas are ; for if there be any
force in these reflections, our wish is that they should be turned
to practical account. If it be a fact that the finest Vines and Grapes
are to be met with in districts where the soil is not only heavy but the

iSyi.] GRAPES. 297

rainfall heavy too, then certainly the fact is contrary to much-expressed
opinion, and should be of import to all interested in Vine-culture.

It is a generally recognised fact that Vines in full growth and bear-
ing have a great capacity for water, and unless it be stagnant about
their roots, that they are not easily injured with a supply of it. Efforts
have been pushed to the extreme in the other direction, as many are
aware, with results by no means satisfactory. In the Royal Horticul-
tural Society, under the superintendence of Mr Hoare and Dr Lindley,
pillars were built and stuffed with lime- rubbish, flints, and bones, and
Vines planted in them. The effects were such as every practical horti-
culturist would have predicted — the Vines were simply " roasted alive."
Of course such an extreme every sensible horticulturist would avoid,
just the same as they would fly the other extreme of planting a Vine
in a puddle, making it semi-aquatic. But that the Vine has an im-
mense capacity for water is well known to all who have cultivated
Vines, especially Vines in pots. Let a Vine growing in a 12-inch pot
be 6 to 8 feet long, bearing, say, ten bunches of Grapes, have its
foliage exposed to a clear summer sun with more or less of a current
of air playing about it, and it may be asked what other plant will take
up and make proper use of so much water with its roots'? or what
plant v/ill sooner show in many ways unmistakable symptoms of dis-
tress and disaster if in this respect it be neglected for a few hours.
At the same time, a Vine will suffer with equal severity if more water
is supplied to it than it can take up ; that is, if water is allowed to
stand about its roots.

There can be no objections to elevated and thoroughly-drained bor-
ders, for a great portion of the year they cannot be otherwise than
safe. That they are without their evils we are not prepared to admit.
Proof of this need not be sought for afar. We have only to look at
such borders as are frequently met with in the heat and drought of
summer in very dry districts, inadequately supplied with water by arti-
ficial means, and the evils attendant on such conditions are so obvious
that it does not need much A^ine lore to point them out. Just at the
very time when the Vine is carrying on its tug of war, its commissariat
runs short, and its whole structure and constitution suffers in conse-
quence— the immediate result being an attack in front and flank by
red-spider, shrivelled and shanked berries; and if this were all, it would
not be so bad, but the Vine is left to enter on the campaign of next
year in an enervated condition, so forcibly termed once in these pages
" vegetable leanness " by our able coadjutor " The Squire's Gardener."
The Vine is, in fact, placed on short rations when it ought to be in cir-
cumstances the very reverse. Hence the reason, we apprehend, why
Vines growing in districts where long steady droughts are less frequent

298 THE GARDENER. [July

and less severe carry finer Grapes than those carry which are subject to
long summer droughts and do not receive sufficient artificial watering.
Here, then, is the practical lesson of these reflections if they are
correct.

Much has been written about the Vine growing on rocky terraces
and hill-sides, as on the Rhine, and arguments drawn from such posi-
tions urging the avoidance of moisture about the roots of Vines. But
from whence are the roots of such Vines drawing their supplies 1 We
should like to know how deep down they may be, away from the effects
of the scorching sun, and whether there may not be more moisture
available in the crevices of such rocky positions than is taken into
account. More than this, the heaviest vintages of Grape-growing
countries are not got from these scorched positions, but from the
alluvial plains.

"Whether in many instances it would not fare much better with
many Vines if they had double the amount of water they receive
during their active season, is a question well worthy of consideration.
Many Vines may be, and no doubt are, injured by too much wet while in
a dormant condition ; but it is questionable whether the other extreme,
during their season of active growth, is not equally pregnant with evil,
if not more so.

Perhaps the sewers at Hampton Court — if it be correct that the
great Vine there has its roots in a sewer — may have more to do with
its long-sustained career, of which we have heard so much, than the
extension system, for we apprehend the " sin of limitation " has been
long ago perpetrated on it. The nature of the soil may have as great
a share in the results that can be pointed to as extraordinary. There
can be nothing more surely established than that the Vine likes a real
loam with some body in it, apart from mere vegetable fibre. A light
gravelly soil, it is well known, will give great results while the fibre
lasts and keeps on decaying, but when that process terminates the soil
is poor and hungry — far too much so to sustain Vines for any length
of time vigorously. In such soil their knell may be sounded generally
when those in a soil with a good solid loamy body will scarcely have
attained their prime.

NOTES OK" " AMERICAN " OR PEAT - SOIL SHRUBS.

ANDROMEDA.

In this fine genus we have a rare combination of some of those quali-
ties which are most valued in outdoor flowering shrubs. The uni-
formly neat habit of growth, elegant foliage, and the singularly graceful
beauty of the flowers of the various species, have long been appreciated,

iSyi.] NOTES ON '^AMERICAN" SHRUBS. 299

securing for them an important place in most collections of American
plants.

Most of the species are thoroughly hardy in this country — forming
dwarf bushes, densely clothed with leaves — with very few exceptions
evergreen — and producing in early spring and summer their lovely
wax-like blossoms with the greatest profusion, uninjured by the severest
frosts.

As regards their culture and general management, little more need
be said than that, along with a moderate allowance of peaty soil, they
should have a larger amount of root moisture than most other Ameri-
can plants. They luxuriate in a marshy, swampy situation, in which
Rhododendrons and Azaleas could not exist for any length of time ; it
is therefore important to keep this peculiarity in view when it is in-
tended to plant them in beds or clumps by themselves — a mode of
planting which, though not very generally adopted, is nevertheless
very effective, from the great diversity in foliage, heights, and general
appearance of the plants.

This preference for a damp situation need not, however, deter any
one from associating them in mixed borders with the other peat-soil
shrubs; they adapt themselves to such circumstances w4th the greatest
facility, though their vigour will be promoted, and they will flower
much more freely, if supplied with water when the situation is natu-
rally dry, or in cases of long droughts, especially during the growing
season.

All the known species being interesting and well worthy of cultiva-
tion, it is somewhat difficult to make a selection of what are usually
termed the most desirable varieties ; and while the following may be
regarded as really fine and distinct, we would recommend those who
intend planting, and who have the means and the necessary accommoda-
tion, to grow as many of the sorts as they can procure, fully assured
that no more ornamental and pleasing hardy flowering-shrub can be
introduced into a garden or pleasure-ground than an Andromeda,
under whatever name it may be known : —

SELECT SPECIES AND VAEIETIES.

Cassincefolia. — A native of the swamps of North Carolina, where it
is found in great abundance. This is a fine deciduous species, with
snowy-white bell-shaped flowers, produced in large racemes from the
points of the branches. Blooms in May. Grows from 3 to 4 feet
high.

Calyculata. — A native of North America, from Canada to Virginia j
in mountain bogs and swamps ; found also in Siberia and other coun-
tries of northern Europe. Forms a neat round bush, from 2 to 3 feet

300 THE GARDENER. [July

liigli, producing its pretty white flowers freely in April and May. A
fine variety named Latifolia is much admired, differing only from the
species in its broader leaves, larger flowers, and more robust habit of
growth. Both are evergreen.

Catcshoii. — Also from North America, and found distributed over a
very wide range of country. Is a fine dwarf evergreen species, rarely
exceeding 2 feet in height. Flowers white. Blooms in May and
June.

Florahunda. — From Georgia and other mountainous districts in
North America. Is unquestionably the finest of the genus, and one
of the most showy and beautiful hardy evergreens. Of dwarf compact
habit, seldom exceeding 4 feet. The foliage handsome, and flowering year
after year with the greatest certainty and with remarkable profusion,
commencing to develop its snow-white waxy bells early in January, and
continuing till April. Rarely affected, even in the slightest degree, by
frosts. A bed of this superb plant, margined with the early-flowering
Erica herbacea, or its darker-coloured variety Carnea, is a sight in the
spring months not easily forgotten.

Formosa. — From Nepaul ; is a superb hardy evergreen species, with
bright green Myrtle-like leaves and beautiful bunches of white flow-
ers ; it forms a pretty dwarf shrub, very dense in its habit.

Polifolia. — Found wild in several of the moorland districts of Eng-
land and lowlands of Scotland, in various of the northern countries of
Europe, and over a very extended area in North America; is a pecu-
liarly interesting, very dwarf evergreen, seldom growing higher than a
foot. The flowers, which are of a delicate rose-colour, are produced abun-
dantly in May and June. This is one of the most effective plants for
margins of American beds, and is easily cultivated. There are a num-
ber of varieties more or less distinct from the species, the most desir-
able of which are rubra, major, and minor, — their names indicating
sufiiciently their peculiarities.

Pulverulenta. — From North America; a handsome deciduous species;
grows about 3 feet high. Its flowers, which are produced in June and
July, are large and showy, pure white ; the leaves and stems are
thickly covered with a fine white dust, giving the whole plant a novel
appearance, and contrasting well with the dark green of the plants
with which it is usually associated. The variety pulverulentissima
partakes much of the character, yet is so distinct as to form an interest-
ing companion to the species.

Rosmarinifolia. — A native of Newfoundland and Labrador ; — one
of the prettiest of the species ; a dwarf dense bush, rarely exceeding IJ
foot in height. The flowers, which are of a delicate pink colour, are in
perfection early in June ; the leaves are of a linear-lanceolate shape,

iSyi.] MELONS. 301

slightly convex, and white beneath, having a fine effect in early sum-
mer. This, though a common species, is a perfect gem, and ought to be
in every collection.

Tetragonia. — A native of Lapland, Siberia, and northern regions of
Canada; is a small heath-like shrub of about 6 inches high ; the leaves
are densely imbricated in four rows, giving the plant a peculiar appear-
ance ; the flowers, which are of a pure white colour, are not very con-
spicuous. It is worth growing, however, and is interesting as an edging
plant. Hugh Feaser.

SEVERAL CROPS OF MELONS ON THE SAME PLANT.

All the Cucurbitacese have the same habit and mode of growth ; some
climbing, however, but mostly trailing, gross-feeding, rapid growers,
impatient of checks, or stopping in consequence, producing their fruit
in continuation as they grow — Gourds, Squashes, Marrows, Cucumbers,
and Melons, with ripe fruit, half-swollen fruit, and fruit just set on the
same plant. We have here Cucumbers bearing continuously for two
years, and there is no reason why the Melon should not do the same
thing if it were profitable and convenient to do so. It is usual, how-
ever, to treat the Melon as a very shortlived plant, to secure the set-
ting of a certain number of fruit per plant, and after they have suffi-
ciently swelled, to withhold water in order to ripen and flavour the
fruit. This practice is, in our opinion, a great mistake, and probably
the reason why such heaps of trashy Melons are seen at flower-shows.
A Melon will not be roasted into flavour. The flavour of a Melon,
more than perhaps any other fruit, depends on how it has been grown.
On our early Melon plants, generally planted about the beginning of
February, we always allow a few fruit to set as soon as they will, even
though the plants be but small — say one or two fruits to a plant. Al-
though the plants continue to grow, no more fruit will set for a time
until these have nearly ceased swelling, which they do very rapidly ;
then four to six will set together, according to the size of the plant.
By the time the first are ripe, these next are half-swollen, and so on in
succession so long as the plants are kept in health with water and ven-
tilation, with occasional doses of guano-water. A house, span-roofed,
was planted in February of this year with four plants — one Queen
Emma, two Royal Ascot, and one Heckfield Hybrid ; the first. Heck-
field, was cut the last week in April, weighing 4 lb., which was the
first set ; a fortnight to three weeks later four more were cut, averag-
ing 3 lb. each. The third lot set consists of one fruit, which will
weigh not less than 8 lb., and another 6 lb., and two others 4 lb. There
are others now swelling on the same plant like pigeons' and hens' eggs.

302 THE GARDENER. [July

The foliage is green and healthy, and scarcely a sign of spider. The
two large fruits were accidentally set out of sight on the flow-pipe, and
have been allowed to remain on it ; they, of course, are subjected to
great heat from the pipes occasionally, but we believe that is the sole
cause why they have swollen so much heavier than the usual run of
the variety. We have observed before that INIelons resting on a hot
surface swell much heavier than those on soil or suspended ; and it is
only what might be expected, from a consideration of the climates of
which they are found natives. The Royal Ascots have yielded fruits
from 2 to 4J lb. ; one of them had to be cut out after swelling its
first four fruits, as it became attacked with fly at an early stage, which
could not afterwards be subdued. The Queen Emma, a delicious
Melon, has rivalled the Heckfield in every way except in the size of
the fruit. Both plants now look as if they would go on indefinitely ;
they have scarcely had any thinning, and very little stopping, being
allowed to extend. They are planted in inverted Seakale-pots, which
stand on other Seakale-pots mouth to mouth, both packed full of soil,
with pipes for bottom-heat ; the bed filled round the pots with leaves,
into which the Melons have rooted in a limited way, something after
the manner of a Peach-tree rooting into the border through the hole in
the pots. The Seakale-pots stand on stone flags.

We do not wish it to be supposed that the above is considered any-
thing new or uncommon, only we think it may be an instance of how
several crops of Melons may be had from one plant. We think it only
natural for the Melon to go on fruiting continuously, like a Vegetable
Marrow, if it be allowed to do so. The Squire's Gardener.

HINTS FOR AMATEURS.— JULY.

It will be seen now, or before this, that v/here the best promise for a
crop of fruit was observed in early spring it will now be very moderate.
Where flower-buds were unusually thick and the trees in a position
which exposed them to the cold rains from the east, the crop will, in
many cases, have given disappointment. " The syringing " theory may be
very well where heat and air are under control. It has never been my
experience to have a fine set of fruit on open walls or standards when
the fruit-blossoms have not been dry for days together. At the
present moment I can point to Pears, Cherries, and Apricots which
escaped the severe rains, which are in a mass of fruit, and will re-
quire much thinning ; and the same kinds of fruits, equally promising,
but which were seldom dry during their flowering period, are very
thinly set with fruit. Gooseberries and Currants are no exception to

iSyi.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 303

this rule. Again, referring to syringing trees in flower under glass,
which is by no means a new practice, but much older than my garden-
ing career, it may do no harm under certain circumstances, but I would
be sorry to adopt the system under all circumstances. A letter in a
contemporary, from Mr Taylor of Longleat, is one as full of common-
sense on this matter as anything I have read. This subject, with
several other old ones, is being ventilated; and this, no doubt, will lead to
good results. Extreme views often take the place of moderate practice,
such as deep drainage and shallow borders for fruits, which are rapidly
becoming things of the past ; and the old system practised by Mr
Crawshaw with his famous Vines in Norfolk, which were grown in
borders 5 or 6 feet deep and drained in proportion, leaving the front open,
and adding 3 feet of soil piecemeal, just as the roots were ready to
consume it. Many others famous for Vine-culture followed this prac-
tice, and my old comrade of the spade (Mr Speed of Chatsworth,
whose success in gardening generally is so well known) follows this
practice so far as he can. The nature of the soil, position, and locality,
must, however, be the guide in many of these matters, as no one
would take the same liberty with heavy clay -land in Cheshire,
which is a damp county, as they would with light sandy loam in Nor-
folk; and as this applies to one fruit, we believe it applies to others.
With ourselves both ends of the garden here cannot with propriety be
treated alike. The syringing of Peaches when in flower, except in one
instance, has never been practised by me; and it is years since I had
not large quantities to thin, especially from the fruit set in January
and February. In one case this year a tree of good size was planted
on a back-wall in an early Peach-house. It remained dormant till the
fruit in front were stoned ; it then began to grow and flower abundant-
ly. The syringing never ceased, as fruit was no object. The set of
peaches was very thick, and required thinning. The first time I ever
heard of the syringing system was in 1854. A young gardener came to
a fresh place in the west of England, who had only lived in one situa-
tion before, and he spoke of syringing his Muscats to set them, and
was much surprised to learn that it was not the practice throughout the
country, as his old master had practised it with Muscats all his life ! but
never used the syringe, except then, after his Vines were broke an inch
or 2 in length. Syringing cannot be overdone on wall- trees during
this month, either morning or evening ; but young trees growing very
luxuriantly will not require much moisture either to foliage or roots :
a little careful lifting of roots and a little pruning on one side of over-
luxuriant trees, might now be very serviceable. We have practised
this with the best results in July and August on Apricots, Cherries,
Peaches, Pears, and Plums. Where strong roots are allowed to run

304 THE GARDENER. [July

deep into cold soil, badly-ripened wood, which will suffer from a damp
cold winter, may be expected. Keep all suckers from fruit-trees, and
thin wood by degrees, leaving in supplies of fruit-bearing wood for
next year, as formerly advised. Grubs on Apricots can only be entirely
destroyed by hand-picking. Clarke's insect-destroyer is the cleanest
and most effectual remedy for red-spider. Figs should not be allowed
to become crowded ; and where they are grown on spurred trees, they
may be stopped at the fourth or fifth leaf. Squeezing the top bud
before it becomes tough prevents bleeding. Where thinly-trained
leading branches are placed so that the side-shoots are laid in yearly,
it is well to get the shoots tied in while ripening weather remains, and
avoid crowding. Where there is much pruning required on Figs, little
fruit may be expected, and the roots will require attention. The Fig,
when not in deep cold soil, requires heavy soakings of tepid water :
where growth is not vigorous, plenty of liquid manure will do wonders
in producing large fruit.

Eoses will now require abundance of water at their roots. The
neglect of it will give a short flowering season and plenty of mildew.
Where there are single shoots taking the lead, they may be cut well
back, and a number of shoots will break out, which will flower freely
late in the season. The free use of the hoe will now be of much ser-
vice among bedding plants, the open surface of loose soil acting as a
natural mulching, and keeping out drought. Dahlias require good
stakes, which will support the plants against wind. Earwigs and other
pests are troublesome; rings of soot and lime, and other unkindly ma-
terial, placed round the plants, may keep them from venturing on
them. Weakly shoots which are getting crowded may be cut out.
The finest flowers are had from plants with single stems, and the side-
branches kept regular and free from crowding. Carnations and Picotees
may have the number of their flowering-stems regulated and tied up
neatly. Propagation of these favourites may be done either by bend-
ing down the bottom shoots, if they are long enough for layering, or
pulling them off for piping, and placing under hand-glasses ; if on a
gentle bottom-heat so much the better : piping is taking off the bottom
leaves and cutting at a joint. Pinks are generally done in this way.
Layering (we mention the operation in detail as usual for beginners) is
cutting the bottom leaves off, leaving those on three or four upper joints.
On the bottom of stem, between two joints, draw the knife gently up-
wards through the next joint, half severing the plant; a quantity of light
sandy soil is ready, and placed under each layer, and the half-severed
shoot is placed on the soil upright, taking care not to separate it from
the plant, and is pegged to keep it in its place ; more soil is thinly
placed over, and water given to moisten the whole. Pots may be used

iSyi.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 305

for pegging the plants into, when growing in pots is to be the system
of culture. Annuals growing too thickly may be thinned, and the
young plants placed in suitable positions, if necessary ; they require
plenty of water, and shading for a time is beneficial. Auriculas must
have the drainage of the pots frequently examined, keeping them clear;
dead leaves should not be tolerated. Seedling Pansies, Wallflowers,
Rockets, Canterbury Bells, and all similar plants, should be planted out
before they become stunted in seedbeds. Divide and plant Polyanthus
in cool rich soil. Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissus, &c., which were
flowered in pots, may be planted out in borders for next season's
flowering ; a quantity may be retained in boxes of sand, to be planted
thickly in pots and boxes for early flowering. Flowers come small, but
often this practice saves hard forcing of good kinds. Violets should
have plenty of water, and, if growing too freely, the soil may be hard
trodden round the plants, and an open surface maintained. Propagat-
ing of bedding-plants will soon require attention ; scarce kinds, as they
can spare a few cuttings, should have attention. Well-drained pots or
pans should be in readiness ; single pots for rare Geraniums answer
well, using sandy soil. Top Chrysanthemums as they require it ; the
end of June is late enough for Scotland and colder districts, but the
middle or later in July is not too late for the south of England.
Watering overhead and at the roots should not be neglected ; I mean
thorough soakings. Surface dribbling is one of the greatest evils in
practice, and annually kills thousands of valuable plants. Drainage
choked up is another great evil, and will in time kill plants which
naturally require abundance of water. A cool wet autumn, or one dry
and hot, will make much difl'erence on both time of flowering and quality
of them. To plants of Chrysanthemums which are to flower in small
pots, and these pots becoming filled with roots, liquid manure will be of
much service ] but for larger specimens, in big pots, manure-water for
some time may be withheld. Stake and regulate the shoots ; compact
bushes without stakes are handsome.

Plants in structures will now require much water, dead flowers to be
kept off, and manure-water may be given to vigorous growers, such as
Fuchsias, Pelargoniums with pots filled with roots. Heaths and Epa-
cris will be improved by frequently sprinkling them overhead, and if
standing on dry ashes, moistening the surfaces will be of service. Let
no plants stand on surfaces from which worms can enter the pots by the
drainage. Lights of glass structures may now be easily repaired and
painted. Plants flowering under glass should show their individual
merits ; as masses of flowers are plentiful out of doors, it requires some-
thing more to give interest under glass at this season. Climbers should
be kept within limits, but not tied in bunches or crowded in any way.

30G THE GARDENER. [July

Thrips are fond of establishing themselves on Azaleas ; laying them on
their sides and thoroughly syringing them with tobacco-water, or soft-
soap water mixed with tobacco-powder, will keep them oft' : fumigating
two or three nights in succession with tobacco will keep them down.
Cinerarias and Calceolarias are liable to the attacks of green-fly, and
require timely attention. M. T.

THE HERB BORDER.

[Con'.inued frovi jMge 256.)

Hue. — A low, hardy, evergreen shrub ; a native of the south of
Europe. The leaves have a disagreeable smell and a bitter taste ; if
rubbed on the skin, it raises blisters. It is also called Herb of Grace^
which in some parts of England is corrupted into Yerh-a-Grass. Rue
was formerly held in great esteem, and is to this day in popular use,
being in great repute with mothers for nearly all kind of infantile
diseases. It will succeed in common soil if not too wet or too rich.
It may be propagated by seed sown in pans, and forwarded in a slight
heat, or sown at once in the bed in April. By cuttings, however, is
the common plan. They should be taken off in May, and inserted under
handlights, and shaded and watered till rooted, and afterwards j^lanted
on the border in rows 1 foot apart, and the same between the plants.

Worinii'ood {common). — A perennial, and a native of Britain and
the Continent. The leaves are bitter, and the plant has a strong and
disagreeable smell. It is cultivated entirely for medicinal purposes.
An infusion of the leaves allays pain, and swellings arising from bruises.
We have known it applied with success in dangerous cases of this kind
when other things had failed. It is also said to be, to some extent, a
substitute for Peruvian bark in some diseases. AVormwood is easily
cultivated, and may be propagated by seed sown in spring, by cuttings,
or by division of the plant. It prefers a light dry soil, and will
succeed for years in the same situation without much attention.
Another variety, called Roman Wormwood, is also cultivated — both
have the same properties. A portion should be dried for winter.

Soutliermrood. — This belongs to the same genus as the above, but,
unlike Wormwood, it has a peculiarly agreeable smell, which has long
rendered it a popular favourite in any cottage-garden. It was formerly
cultivated for its medicinal properties also. It is a hardy Evergreen
shrub, and a native of the East. It is propagated by cuttings in spring,
and will succeed on any soil.

Horeliound or Catmint. — A perennial, a native of Britain, and re-
markable for the curious eff'ect it has upon cats, which are fond of it,
and love to roll themselves amongst it, and to chew it. The leaves

iSyi.] PROTECTION OF FRUIT-TREES. 307

infused are a popular and valuable remedy for colds, and have been
known to remove stubborn and severe coughs when more expensive
cures had failed. An ordinary but rather dry soil suits it best. It
may be propagated by seed sown in spring, or by division of the plant,
which is the most convenient plan, and it will thrive in the same situa-
tion without transplanting for years.

Lavender. — This is an aromatic Evergreen shrub ; a native of south-
ern Europe and the north of Africa. It is a medicinal herb, but it is
chiefly for its flowers that it is cultivated, which are much used for
putting into drawers and wardrobes. It is also grown extensively near
London for distillation. It prefers a light, warm, and w^ell-drained soil,
and is propagated by slips, which should be detached from the base of
the plant with a bit of root to each, and planted in rows about 2 feet
apart. This should be done in April. The flower-spikes should be cut
off and dried a little while before they are fairly over. Keep the ground
cleaned and hoed, and prune the plants in when they get straggling.

Rosemary. — An aromatic, hardy Evergreen shrub. It is found
abundantly in those countries bordering on the Mediterranean grow-
ing on hills, and in dry rocky places. As an herb, it is cultivated only
for medicinal purposes. It is very commonly used to prevent baldness,
for which purpose an infusion of the sprigs is employed for bathing
the head. It is propagated by cuttings of the tops of the shoots in
the usual way in spring, but commonly by slips, like Lavender; or the
lower branches may be layered, and when rooted they should be planted
•where they are, and remain 2 J feet apart, and watered frequently till
established. Keep the plants within proper limits by pruning occasion-
ally. It may also be trained as an ornamental shrub on a wall.

I here conclude my remarks on the Herb Border. Had they been
intended as anything more than a brief practical summary of the uses
and cultivation of the common kinds of herbs generally cultivated in
the garden, I should have deemed it proper to treat the subject in a
more methodical manner; but it is hoped they will, to some extent,
meet the purpose for which they are intended. J. Simpson.

WoPvTLEY.

OW THE PROTECTION OY FRUIT-TREES FROM
LATE FROST.

A VEEY large number of gardeners deem protection of some sort
necessary ; a few declare against protective measures in any degree,
and not very fairly comparing small things with great, class them in
the same category with corn-laws and protective tariffs. The difi'er-
ences of individual experience are sufficient, no doubt, to account for

308 ■ THE GARDENER. [July

some divergence of opinion as to the extent of protection necessary; but
the ahnust universal prevalence of frost, or equally destructive winds,
up till a late period in spring, should leave little room for doubt as
to the expediency of the practice to some extent. Perhaps too much
protection is as bad in its results as no protection ; and thus the non-
protectionists may find some justification of their views in the failures
of those that coddle their trees, under the impression that they are
retarding them, till they become unnaturally sensitive of every change
that occurs in our fitful spring weather. It is quite possible to pro-
tect overmuch as it is possible to clothe ourselves overmuch. The
Hibernian gentleman who put on his entire wardrobe, consisting of
three suits and an overcoat, and yet felt cold, neither succeeded in
making himself more comfortable nor in bracing himself up to a
better state for enduring cold. So with our fruit-trees ; we may
clothe them to the extent of frustrating our own object, and weaken-
ing their powers of endurance. Much ingenuity has been displayed
in devising fabrics for the purpose of protecting fruit-trees. Some of
these fabrics are wel], others ill, adapted for the purpose ; yet each
has its advocates. Some prefer a dense or heavy covering, such as
canvas or frigidomo, along with the attendant labour and trouble of
daily removing in the morning and putting it on at night. Others
think the lighter kinds of protecting materials, such as Haythorne's
hexagon netting and the thinner kinds of tiffany, the most effective
protectors for either blossom or fruit. Perhaps no kind of material
in use for the purpose meets all the requirements. Haythorne's
netting, the least dense and most elegant of all, is, I believe, too
thick, too obstructive of light, and too bad a conductor. The object
of protection should not be to increase artificially the temperature
around our trees, but to prevent excessive loss of heat by means of
radiation or blasting winds. A much slighter covering than any in
use is sufficient to eff'ect this. It is no uncommon thing to find a
tender Peach or Apricot under an overhanging leaf quite safe, while
those exposed directly to the action of radiation are destroyed. The
thin leaf, with its tissues charged with moisture, is a pretty good con-
ductor, yet it is quite suificient protection for the fruit it shelters, and
the fact is suggestive. Some apply their protection long before their
trees are in any danger, and believe they are retarding them. The
use of this it is difficult to see ; for supposing that it is possible with
safety to retard trees that are stirred into activity, say in February or
early March, by the slight increase of the mean temperature of day
and night that takes place so early in the year, is the application of
protection, as soon as they are suspected to be on the move, the
proper means to adopt in order to accomplish this object? I am not

iSyi.] PROTECTION OF FRUIT-TREES. 309

satisfied that it is so, for having had some experience of most of the
materials commonly used, I have observed that they all tend to increase
the mean temperature of the day by raising the actual temperature of
the night, while they have much less influence in depressing that of the
day than is generally supposed. The weather itself is perhaps the
most effectual retarding agent we could wish in spring, north of the
Tweed at least. But granting that the application of the most ap-
proved protecting fabric acted so as to retard the activity of the
trees, what, it may be asked, is the good gained by the practice 1
Not much that is very apparent. Could we retard them for a month,
which is impossible, we should not then be able to pronounce them
past danger ; for there are not any grounds for assuring ourselves that
the more tender kinds of fruit — such as the Peach and Apricot —
are safe till the middle or end of May. It is from March till the
middle of May that danger to our fruit crops is most to be appre-
hended from frost ; and it is pretty clear, I think, that it is imprac-
ticable to retard the action of the trees to any considerable extent,
so as to tide them over the critical period in greater safety. Any
covering, be it light or heavy, if it is composed of non-conducting
material, will have the effect of surrounding the subject protected
by it with a more equable atmosphere, less liable to fluctuations of
temperature than the outer air. Every cultivator knows that such a
condition is the most favourable for steady progress in vegetable
activity, and that plants accustomed to such a condition are much
more susceptible of injury from any sudden decrease of temperature
than those that are subject to greater variations. Those, therefore,
that practise that system which is named retarding, practically ex-
tend the period of danger by hastening its commencement, for there
is no possibility of correspondingly shortening it at the other end,
and they also increase the danger by rendering their trees more sus-
ceptible of cold when extreme occasions arise. My own experience
is all in favour of the thinnest possible protection, to be put on
only when it is no longer safe to postpone doing so, and to be kept
permanently fixed as long as protection is thought necessary. In
my own case, circumstances leave me no choice between old her-
ring-nets and nothing. During the past three years they have been
used only in part for the purpose, there not being sufficient of other
fabrics to cover all subjects deemed worthy of, or in need of, pro-
tection, but during the present year nothing has been used except
old herring-nets. We use them twofold ; and scanty protection though
they may appear to be, we have proved them quite capable of carry-
ing safely through as good crops as there are agoing this year of
Apricots, Peaches, and the better kinds of Plums, &c. Yet we were

310 THE GARDENER. [July

not exempt from the exceptionally severe weather that prevailed from
March till the beginning of the second week of June : on the 15th
March we had 17° of frost; on the 7th, 8th, and 9th April
we experienced G°, 9°, and 12° of frost each night respectively; and
again, on the IGth May, we had 10° of frost. On these very severe
mornings, and others less severe, but still frosty, which preceded and
followed them, we, in addition to our preventive measures, employed
also restorative means in the shape of cold water from the garden
engine ; the trees were kept drenched from peep of day till the sun
had warmed the atmosphere. I believe this did much good; I am
persuaded, at least, that it did no harm. Our thinnings of Apricots
would have furnished the trees twice over with fair crops. Peaches
will not bear thinning, but there is a respectable sprinkling on most
trees. Plums are fair crops, and Cherries also are fair ; Apples and
Pears, neither of them protected, are exceedingly thin crops.

This subject of the protection of fruit in spring is interesting as
well as important, and to many, I have no doubt, it would be ac-
ceptable to see it fairly discussed from various points of view.

W. Sutherland.

MiNTO Gardens.

ISrOTES GIST AUTUMN AND WINTER
FLOWEIIING PLANTS.

{Continued from 'page 264.) ■

THE CHRYSANTHEMUM.

Thls is another fine autumn flower, and well repays all the labour be-
stowed upon it. Where there is a great demand for them in long suc-
cession, it is advisable to put in a batch of cuttings in November, then
another in February or March, if only for decorative purposes. Put
these cuttings into a 3-inch pot, in equal parts of loam, leaf-mould, and
sand ; place them in a close frame until rooted ; then they may stand
in any light place where the frost is just kept from them. This is
applicable to the November cuttings, always looking closely after them,
so that they never get pot-bound, and shifting them into larger pots as
the roots get to the sides of the pots. If properly attended to, the
earliest lot will be ready for their blooming-pots about the end of May —
11-inch pots are large enough — giving them good rich soil. It can
scarcely be made too rich for them, looking carefully after the drainage;
if this gets wrong, when so much water is being given them, they get
yellow leaves and become unhealthy, which tells on them when the
blooming period arrives.

When finished potting, if a piece of ground can be got to plunge

iSyi.] AUTUMN AND WINTER PLANTS. 311

them where the sun, for about four hours in the middle of the day, did
not strike on them, it would be all the better (although we have seen
them do well in an open quarter in the garden). It is a good plan to
put three small pots inverted in the bottom of the pit, to set the pots
on. If the soil is carefully put round the pot, the triangle within the
three pots will be left hollow : they will grow very fast after this, and
will soon need to be stopped. If wanted early, they should not be
pinched after the middle of August. Watering should be regularly
attended to, and when the pots are full of roots, give manure-water
about three times a-week, with good syringings overhead every evening
after a bright day. If a handful of soot be put into a watering-pot
filled full of water, and well stirred, and sprinkled over the plants
through a rose the last thing in the evening, being careful that the
whole of the foliage is thoroughly wet, and repeating the same thing
the first thing in the morning with clean water, it gives the plants a
healthy hue.

The same treatment is required for spring cuttings, but we do not
put them into such large pots, and leave them about fifteen days later,
pinching them the last time. We have a small white one, which was
in bloom with us in the beginning of September, and, by having suc-
cession plants, it continued flowering until Christmas. It is the best
for cutting purposes we know of.

HOTEIA (sPIE^a) JAPONICA

Can scarcely be had in large enough quantities where there is
great demand for cut flowers, and its foliage is a good substitute for
Fern-leaves when they are scarce. It also stands long in the conserva-
tory when properly and gradually hardened off, but it soon decays if
brought at once from a moist and high atmosphere. Its treatment is
much the same as the Lily of the Valley. It should not be too often
disturbed at the roots. When done flowering, care should be taken
that they do not receive a check in the growth and ripening of their
foliage by exposure to frost or cutting winds in spring. They should
be placed in a pit or frame, about the same temperature as the house
in which they stood while in bloom. Here let them stand until all
danger of frost is past, when they can be plunged out of doors. Never
let them suffer for the want of water. When the earliest begin to
show signs of the foliage changing colour, lift them and place them
in a cold frame, giving no more water than keeps them from flagging ;
and let them have all the sun possible, keeping the lights rather close
for a short time, which will help to ripen them better. Before start-
ing them, we generally take them to the potting-bench, examine the
drainage, remove all the loose soil from among the crowns, but not to

z

312 THE GARDENER. [July

injure the roots, giving a top-dressing and watering, placing them in the
Mushroom-house, where they come quicker and finer than any other
place when early forcing is required.

THE CINERARIA

Cannot be dispensed with; there is such a diversity of colour
amongst them, that they have long held a high position, and will
continue to do so. For their cultivation, I would refer those who are
going to try for the first time to the able article of J. H. in May
number. As we can fully endorse all he says of them, we do little or
nothing with named sorts. From carefully-selected seed we get them
sufficiently good for all purposes, unless for exhibition. A. H.

Thoresby Park.

LARGE BUNCHES OF GRAPES.

It is always pleasing to a writer on any subject to know that his pro-
ductions are taken notice of, and I feel somewhat flattered that a
gentleman possessed of the horticultural knowledge of your corre-
spondent, Mr J. Simpson, should have thought my paper on Vine-
borders in the May number of the ' Gardener ' worthy of his notice.
Friendly criticism, when moderately administered, is very encouraging.
In the present instance, however, I am almost disposed to find fault
with him for his generosity.

Just glance at his bill of fare ; here it is : succulent steak from a staU-
fed ox, chop from a prime Southdown, big Potatoes, big Turnips, abor-
tive Cauliflower, Carrots and Drumhead Cabbage, with big Pines, big
Peaches, Keswick Codlins, and Crabs for dessert. Truly your corre-
spondent's admiration is for big things in general, and it is much to be
regretted that he has " not been able hitherto to produce monstrous
bunches of Grapes, nor yet what could justly be called very extraordi-
nary bunches as regards size." But no doubt he will do so, and the
horticultural world may reasonably expect ere long a surprise in the
shape of enormous bunches of Grapes. I admit he would be an un-
just judge who would disqualify a big well-finished bunch; but it is
only sometimes we see well-finished big bunches ; and I maintain, size
of bunch receives from many judges an undue share of consideration.
Then Grapes are not grown principally for the exhibition-table, and
your correspondent is aware when they are grown for that purpose, the
smaller bunches are in most instances sacrificed in order that their big
brethren may have a better chance of perfecting themselves. If I was
wrong in condemning, as an infringement of the laws of nature, any pro-

iSyi.] LARGE BUNCHES OF GRAPES. 313

cess by which we force the smaller-bunching varieties of Grape-vines
to produce enormous bunches, surely it did not require such a big
list of big vegetables and big fruits to prove that I had made a big
mistake. The Codling-and-Crab question might have sufficed to settle
the point. I will answer it by asking Mr Simpson if he is aware of
any process — except the natural one of cross-breeding — by which nature
can be bent so far out of her track as to make the Crab assume the
size of the Codlin. Will Golding's manure, the extension system, cor-
don training, or any " horrid practices we horticulturists are up to,"
lead to that result 1

That the hybridiser has assisted nature in giving us improved var-
ieties of vegetables and fruits, both as regards size and flavour, is too
well known to need mentioning. But nature received only assistance
in a path she already was disposed to go ; had she refused her co-opera-
tion, art could never have subdued her " into such obese types of
race." Does Mr Simpson consider obeseness in fruits and vegetables
of more importance than flavour 1 Is it not a fact that large coarse-
grown vegetables are inferior in flavour to those of medium size 1 It
would appear that rabbits — and they are not very particular as to what
they eat — reject coarse herbage for that of moderate growth. Does
not strong-grown Celery lose the nutty flavour so much prized in
that vegetable ?

Is it not a violation of natural laws to force, by any cultural process,
medium-sized types of race into obese types 1 Do we not lose some
important natural quality for the sake of superabundant fatness,
which I take to be the meaning of obeseness? The very word sounds of
bad flavour. To come to the big-bun ch-of-Grapes question ; would
Mr Simpson prefer a bunch of Syrian to a bunch of Muscat of Alexan-
dria for dessert? or suppose a Black Hamburg cane 14 feet long, having
upon it 30 lb. of Grapes, would he prefer that weight represented by five
bunches 6 lb. each, or by ten bunches 3 lb. each? and would he prefer
the former to the latter for general purposes? and, keeping in view the
longevity and continued fruitfulness of the plants, does he consider
the former the better system of cropping ? I prefer the latter, for this
reason, medium-sized bunches generally swell finer berries both in size
and flavour : they keep better than the large bunches ; they are more
handy when they come to be dished for dessert ; they look better on
the dining-table ; and, finally, the Vines will continue to produce them
without becoming exhausted for a longer period. J. H.

[The question at issue between our correspondents is one of importance, and
well worthy of temperate discussion. — Ed,]

:314 THE GARDENER. [July

A FEW REMARKS ON THE CULTURE OF THE
CinSTERARIA FROM SEED BY AN AMATEUR.

It is now two years past in ^larcli last since I became the proud pos-
sessor of a small greenhouse 10 feet by 10. For a year previous to
that I had a one-light frame, and although I found it a good deal
better than to have nothing in which to try and preserve a few of
those garden plants that are too tender to endure with impunity the
icy embrace of stern winter, yet I determined to give a little scope to
ambition, and the result was the greenhouse above mentioned.

Having got this, I next made preparations for having a slight hot-
bed in which to sow seeds of such things as Cineraria, Calceolaria, and
even Cockscomb. Having got a pit dug 2 J feet deep the size of my
frame, I sent to a tanyard in a neighbouring town and obtained two
loads of bark that had been for a short time out of the tan-pit, and
that, consequently, w^as not very hot. Having put it in the pit, and
set the frame over it, I considered that all things were now ready for
sowing seed and making an attempt to raise a few plants for the shelves
of my small greenhouse. One of the seed-pans I sowed with Ciner-
aria : and I now proceed to record my experience in the growth of this
plant ; and I have to crave the indulgence of any " practicals " who
may read these lines for any mistakes I may make, begging them to
remember that I am giving the results arrived at by an amateur.

The soil in which the Cineraria-seed was sown was composed of
well-decomposed leaf-mould, a little well-rotted stable-manure, mould
from rotted turf, and some sand — all mixed together, but not in any
particular proportion. In a few days after sowing the seed, I had the
pleasure of seeing the young plants breaking through the soil, and day
by day I watched with eager eyes their development. When water
was required at this early stage, it was given by means of a syringe
with a very fine rose, and so used as to make the w^ater fall in a very
gentle shower on the tiny seedlings. By-and-by, as soon as these had
four leaves, I pricked them out as carefully as I could in another pan,
and kept the frame pretty close for a few days. In a very short time
the plants had acquired sufficient strength to be potted off singly in
small pots in soil the same as was used for sowing, but with the addi-
tion of a little more of the rotted manure. In this soil they grew very
fast, and as soon as the roots had reached the sides of the pots the
plants were shifted into a size larger. Occasionally a little weak
guano-water was given, which had the effect of making the plants
grow very vigorously and with leaves of a large size. With this
treatment they were, by the month of August, in their blooming-pots,
and some were pushing for bloom. All this time (from the end of

iSyi.] CULTURE OF THE CINERARIA. 315

March) they had been kept in the frame, but they were now transferred
to the shelves of the greenhouse.

Now began my acquaintance with green-fly. I soon found that these
insects are most partial to the foliage of the Cineraria, and that if strin-
gent measures are not taken to keep them in check, they soon make a
handsome plant — the pride, it maybe, of the amateur's heart — a thing
to be looked on only with disgust. I now had recourse to fumigation
by tobacco to get rid of the unwelcome intruder ; and so, having pro-
cured a small quantity of shag-tobacco, I took a flower-pot, and, having
put a few red-hot cinders in the bottom, I put over them some of the
tobacco, andj using a pair of house bellows to keep the tobacco burning
by a puff or two of air occasionally, I soon managed to fill the house
so full of smoke that I was glad to beat a hasty retreat into the open
air. This smoking was done in the evening, and next morning I made
my way as early as possible to see the effect of the fumigation, and was
very well pleased indeed to find the greater part of the enemy either
dead or dying. Some few days after this I noticed a few of the largest
bottom leaves withered-looking, which I attributed to the smoke, and
which subsequent experience has proved to be the case. But here I
must say that the same thing may be caused by neglect in giving water
when the plants require it, and in the full vigour of their growth they
require a good supply to support their abundant foliage.

After having got rid of green-fly, I found there was another enemy
at work on the large leaves of some of the plants. The path he had
taken was marked out by the green colour of the leaf being completely
gone, leaving a seared and withered track. This enemy, being perhaps
aware of the smoking the green-fly had got, was found to have taken up
his station between the upper and under surfaces of the leaf, and could be
seen by transmitted light. When seen, instead of removing the leaf
altogether, that part where the grub was, was subjected to a good squeeze.

Notwithstanding these drawbacks, I had soon the satisfaction of
seeing my plants come one by one into bloom, and delight the eye by
their beauty, and the sense of smell by their fragrance. It was the
month of April in the year following that in which the seed was sown
before the last plant had done blooming, and I considered that the
satisfaction I had had, and the pleasure in seeing the fine heads of
bloom, amply repaid me for the attention I had to bestow upon them.
I have never wanted Cinerarias in my little greenhouse since that time,
and I find that the treatment I have described above answers com-
pletely. When the plants are done blooming they are consigned to
the manure-heap, as the strain is now so good that sufiiciently good
plants for general purposes may be got from any packet of good seed.

Ety Glad.

31G THE GARDENER. [July

SETTING GRAPES.

Till I had the pleasure of seeing Mr Simpson's article in the ' Gar-
dener ' of April on the " Setting of Grapes and Peaches," I was under
the firm conviction that keeping the vinery in a dry state during the
time of flowering was an established system ; but with every respect
for ^Ir Simpson's recently-adopted method, and having every confi-
dence in his veracity, there are two cases that came under my observ-
ation which tell against his system, and which I will give in detail.
The first is in an early vinery, heated by hot- water pipes. Since
the Vines were planted, seven years ago, they have given the utmost
satisfaction. They are pruned on the spur system, and the young
wood required regularly tied in ; the syringe has never been used,
and all the moisture they receive is from steaming-trays laid on the
hot pipes, and the paths occasionally damped, but this entirely
omitted during the time they are in flower. At the end of the
house there is a Black Hamburg Vine growing over a water-cistern;
half-way up the rafter a shelf projects about 2 feet, and is used for
holding bedding- plants. Above this the Vine also extends. Im-
mediately over the cistern the third of the berries never set; but
as soon as it passes above the shelf, and is thereby protected from
the moisture arising from the cistern, they set so thickly, that if not
taken in time it is almost impossible to get them properly thinned,
the bunches below requiring no thinning. The second case is a Wil-
mot's Hamburg growing in a late vinery. Both houses are conducted
on the same principle, with the exception that this house receives no
forcing. The Vine in this case also grows over a cistern, and dur-
ing the time of setting requires to be regularly shaken to free the
bunches of any moisture adhering to them ; and if this is not done,
they never set properly. Now, will ISIr Simpson or any of the in-
telligent readers of the ' Gardener ' be kind enough to give me their
opinion as to whether the Vines are ajBFected by the damp rising
from the cisterns, or whether their not setting is a proof that the
vinery should be kept in a dry state during the time they are in
flower 1 Subscriber.

[Mr Simpson's practice and the circumstances detailed by " Subscriber " are not
identical. Mr Simpson, no doubt, allows his Vines to become thoroughly dry be-
tween the intervals of syringing ; while in the case of Vines over a cistern of water,
from which moisture is constantly evaporating and being condensed on the Vines,
they can seldom or never be free from damp. We dislike open cisterns in vineries
on that account. — Ed.]

1871.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 317

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY FHUITS.

( Continued from page 279.)

THE GOOSEBERRY.

The Gooseberry is perhaps the most popular of all our hardy fruits. It is in
every sense of the word the poor man's fruit, as it finds a place in every garden,
no matter how small. The poor man rejoices as much in the quality of his Goose-
berry, and the health and vigour of his bush, as does the rich man in the size and
quality of his Pine. In many a poor man's garden the Gooseberry and Currant
are the only representatives of our hardy fruits ; and even in some cases where the
Currant is denied a place, there will be found a Gooseberry bush or two. While
thus it is a favourite with the poor, it also stands in high estimation with the
great. From the middle of July till the month of October, no dessert-table is
complete without a dish of Gooseberries ; and in our humble idea there is not a
finer fruit than good Hedgehogs or Warriugtons at this or any other season
of the year. The pity is that their season could not be prolonged till
Christmas or the New- Year. We have no doubt, however, that one day this,
or even greater things, will yet be accomplished. We are very apt to fancy that
what we and our fathers have accomplished has been the means of bringing things
to perfection, and that beyond the point which we have reached there is no
means of getting. Such, however, is not, cannot be the case ; for while time
lasts, and while men are born into the world with minds to guide and hands to
work, things will go on improving. For, as Tennyson says,

" Yet I doubt not through the ages one increasing purpose runs,
And the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the suns."

The purposes for which we were created can only thus be accomplished. It is
to work in the truest sense of the word — work not only to accomplish things in
the old and ordinai-y way of our fathers — work not as we have been taught by the
rule-and -plummet system of some, it may be, first-rate men in their own way —
but work so as to bring our experiences of the past into contact with the circum-
stances of the present, and making the whole to harmonise with what we know
of the laws of nature. In this way will we progress stage after stage, still reach-
ing nearer to the goal of perfection, and still in every stride perceiving the infinitude
of the distance that lies between us and our desired haven.

In our moralising we had almost departed from the subject of our present paper.
We, however, return to the Gooseberry, which is almost invariably propagated by
cuttings, except where new varieties are wanted. This is accomplished only by
seed. The other means of propagation are by layers and by suckers. Neither of
these methods, so far as our own experience goes, are preferable to the raising of
young plants from cuttings. The cuttings should be taken off in winter at prun-
ing-time, and stuck in by the heels until such time as they are inserted into the
nursery-bed, which may be at any time from February till the end of March.
February is, in our estimation, the best time of the whole year, though
many high authorities are of opinion that autumn is the best. Cuttings put
in in autumn, especially early in autumn, are apt to callous over before winter,
and even in some cases to attempt to push roots. Where this is the case there is
great danger that severe frost in winter will materially damage if not entirely
destroy them, by casting them out, or in other ways exposing them to the severity of
the weather. When put in in early spring there is no danger from any of these
causes ; and even suppose the autumn-planted cuttings escaped all that I have said,

318 THE GARDENER. [July

we never have found any advantage from the method. The cuttings, when taken
ofT the parent bush, should be broken off by a gentle twist, so as to take with the
cutting what is known as a heel. If thus taken, the cuttings root much more
quickly, and are consequently far better young bushes. Any size of shoot will
do, but the best pieces are the strong healthy shoots which grow up out of the
heart of the bush, and which are from 12 to 18 inches in length. These cuttings
ought to be cut so that there will be at least 9 inches of clean stem above the
ground, and 3 to 4 inches undei'neath. All the buds along the stem must be
removed, except from three to five, according to the length and strength of the
cutting. These buds, being left at the top of the cutting, will the first season form
the foundation for a young bush. The best place to plant them is in any spare
piece of ground moderately rich, and net too much exposed to the influence of the
sun. In such a position they may be planted in rows 1 foot apart, and 6 inches
cutting from cutting. The trench may be thrown out 6 inches deep, and before
the cuttings are placed into position, an inch or two of sand and leaf-mould placed
in the bottom will prove of much benefit in expediting the rooting process. The
end of each cutting may herein be inserted, the soil filled into the trench, and
the whole made firm with the foot. Nothing more is necessary, save keeping
clean and watering, should the season prove dry.

The raising of new varieties from seed is accomplished by selecting the finest
and largest fruit from some first-class variety, if there has been no artificial
impregnation, in which case the fruit so impregnated ought to be used. The
seed, having been washed from the pulp, may be laid out before the sun to dry
upon sheets of paper, after which they may be sown upon a piece of prepared
ground containing a good deal of leaf-mould or vegetable matter, and of rather
a sandy nature than otherwise. The seed may be sown in drill, much in the same
manner as sowing onions, and in the following season they ought to make nice
young plants fit for transplanting in autumn into their places in nursery -lines,
much in the manner already recommended for cuttings. After remaining here
for a year, if they have done anything well, they should be nice young plants
similar to cuttings, and requiring much the same treatment as they require dur-
ing the second year of their growth. This being the case, we will now speak of
cuttings at one year old and seedliugs at two as one and the same thing, as the
management of both now and for all time coming will be exactly the same. The
cutting will have made from three to five shoots, according to circumstances, the
first year ; these at pruning-time ought to be cut back pretty near home, when
during the following year they will make at least twice as many shoots, which
the following autumn or winter ought to be cut back to about 6 inches long. At
this time they ought to be planted into lines 2 feet apart and 2 feet plant from plant.
The pruning the following season will consist only in removing any superfluous
shoots, and leaving all the best placed and nicest shoots at 2 or 3 inches less than
their natural length. This shortening back is to encourage the branching habit so
necessary to the furnishing of a well-managed bush. All the branches of a Goose-
berry ought to stand out at regular distances, the whole forming a nice hemis-
phere much like what we have seen well-grown Pelargoniums. Some kinds are
easily managed in this way, others are not nearly so manageable, but by a judicious
handling of the knife some approach to it can be made in every case.

The Gooseberry ought to be fit to plant into its permanent position at four
years of age from the cutting. It ought then to be a nice bush over 2 feet in
diameter, and bearing a nice little crop of fruit. As it is necessary to prolong
the season of the Gooseberry as much as possible, various positions must be chosen
for it. For the earlier varieties a situation having a fine southerfi exposure ought

tS/t.] cultivation of hardy fruits.

319

to be chosen. The soil ought to be of a nice light rich character, free from all
superabundance of moisture, and yet accessible to all the showers that fall. In
such a situation first-class fruit of the highest quality ought to be grown, and
should come into season at the" earliest possible time. For late and long-keeping
varieties it is necessary to consider two things; first, what are the best varieties
for this purpose, and where the best position. To the first of these questions
the answer is, the Ironmonger and AYarrington. To the second question the
answer is, on the northern exposure of a southern wall. For the growth of these
varieties we have often noticed that soil of a heavier and even richer nature is
necessary than for the earlier kinds. It is well to bear this in mind, and prepare
borders accordingly. A good arrangement is to plant the late Gooseberries under
the wall where the Morello Cherries are grown. The soil which grows this Cherry
well is admirably adapted for the Warrington Gooseberry. By thus planting them
upon the one border a deal of labour and expense is obviated in protecting from
the ravages of birds. A net stretched from the cope of the wall over the border
and bushes to the box will cover more than double the fruit it would have done
had the two crops been separate. Thus by adopting this or some such plan there
is a deal of practical utility. In the planting of a Gooseberry plantation a con-
siderable amount of care and forethought must be exercised. The distances
between the plants will depend upon whether the plants grow vigorous and
large, or, as is sometimes the case, but sparingly. If the latter, then 4 feet
apart may be enough; if, however, they grow large, then 6 feet may not
be too much. A very good distance is 6 feet-lines and 5 feet bush from
bush. It is seldom the Gooseberry requires more than this, and these distances
are wide enough to give plenty of room without wasting any space. The holes
may be made 3 feet in diameter and 1 foot deep. Into these may be placed
4 or 5 inches of good rotten dungj raising the centre of the hole into a convex
shape, over which an inch or more of the soil may be placed. Upon this may be
placed the roots of the bush, and after they have been well spread out they may
receive a good covering over with soil to the depth of an inch or two; Over this
may be placed another layer of 2 or 3 inches of manure, the whole finished over
with the remaining soil. A stake should be put into every bush at planting-time
to keep it steady, as they are very apt to be tossed about by the wind, especially if
the stems are long, as we have recommended them to be.

There is just one other thing which I would desire to notice regarding Goose-
berry cultivation, and that is summer pruning, which, if judiciously done, is of
much advantage. The best time to do this is towards the end of June, when
they have in a measure completed their growth. All terminal shoots and those
needed for vacant spaces must be left at full length, all other shoots may be re-
moved, except from 2 to 3 inches. The shoots then cut are intended to be cut
back to the regular pruning length in winter. These will form fruit-bearing
spurs, and by being cut back in this manner in summer they will be better ex-
posed to the action of light and air, and consequently will form firmer and finer
buds. Besides these advantages, there will be less trouble in the fruit-gathering
season, as the fruit will be more easily reached and more quickly pulled. The
only disease to which the Gooseberry is liable is the dying-ofi" of branches, and
sometimes whole bushes, without any apparent reason. This, however, chiefly
occurs in localities not too favourable to the culture of this fruit, and from hunger
and starvation in poor soils. To obviate this the best plan is to be particular in
giving them the best soil and position at the cultivator's command.

Of insect enemies there are several. The Neraretus Kibesii, or saw-fly of the
Gooseberry and Currant, is one. In early spring it deposits its eggs upon the

320 THE GARDENER. [July

under surface of the leaf. In about eight days the larva is hatched and begins de-
stroying the leaf, which in the course of time is all devoured save the petiole.
"When about full grown it descends to the earth, where it forms a cocoon — then
changes into a fly, from which succeeding generations immediately spring.
Gathering and destroying the leaves upon which the eggs are deposited is a very
good plan. Another and equally as good a method is to syringe the bushes of
an evening, and have them dusted with one of either of the three following things ;
viz., lime, soot, or sulphur.

The Abraxus grossulariata, or magpie moth, is another very destructive pest,
depositing its eggs also upon the foliage, which in September produces a hairy
cream-coloured caterpillar, having orange stripes along each side and slightly
spotted with black. Its destruction is done much in the same manner as the saw-fly
already described. Its ravages are committed, however, both in autumn and
Bpring. In ]\Iay or June it changes into a pupa, and in three weeks it forms the
perfect insect. The only remedy is to hand-pick the caterpillar, or burn the
leaves upon which the eggs are deposited. A decoction of hellebore applied to
the bushes is perhaps the speediest and most effectual cure.

Another caterpillar, that of the Phaloena vanaria, is also very destructive to
the Gooseberry. It is of a bluish-green colour, about 1 inch in length, and more
distinctly spotted with black than in the former case. Unlike the last it, under-
goes its transformation in the earth, and begins to prey upon the young leaves as
soon as they begin to develop. To prevent its ravages a good plan is to sprinkle
lime in winter around the roots of the bushes. If it ascends to the bushes, the
only plan is to remove them by the hand or destroy by hellebore. It changes
into a pupa about the beginning of June, and in July comes forth the perfect
insect. James M'Millan.

{To he continued.)

PASSIFLORA QUADRAISTGULAKIS.

I HAVE to thank Mr Simpson for liis courteous reply to my inquiry
anent the glands of his P. quadrangularis, and in return have to state
that our plant in the Cucumber-house — which, we trust, will carry fruit
this season — has from four to six glands on a leaf -stalk. Last year we
removed a plant with small leaves, on which we never observed more
than four glands on a leaf-stalk. As a climber, it was grand with its
hundreds of bluish or lilac-rayed and sweet-scented flowers, which it
produced in early spring and late autumn. We had it also for P. quad-
rangularis. We have grown the Buonapartea and Billottii ; with us
they produced large flowers, but few of them. We have fruited the
P. edulis for a number of years, and we would advise those who have
a spare wire in a plant-stove or intermediate house to give it a trial.
The flowers which it produces are not sensational, but the dark purple-
coloured fruit look well on the plant, and are highly esteemed by
some for dessert. G. Donaij)SON.

Keith Hall.

iSyi.] PEACH-TREES ON EXTENSION SYSTEM. 321

CYPRIPEDIUM CONCOLOR.

This is one of the most distinct and beautiful of the Cypripediums, and
one which ought to be in every collection of this interesting genus of
orchidaceous plants. Our illustration, which is from a photograph of
a beautiful coloured drawing which appeared in Curtis's 'Botanical
Magazine ' a few years ago, and which was taken from one of the first
specimens which flowered in this country, will serve to show its distinct-
ness and very neat compact habit. It is described in the ' Botanical

Fig. 17. — C\PRiiii>iLM Conculou.
Magazine ' as " differing entirely from all the species of that extensive
genus at present known. Its leaves are compactly arranged, and being
beautifully mottled on their upper surface, and of a rich reddish purple
below, they contrast agreeably with the pale primrose tint of the flowers,
two of which are borne on a short hairy scape." It is a native of Moul-
mein, and grows on limestone rock ; but it thrives well in rough fibry
peat and Sphagnum. For further cultural notes we refer to the excellent
paper on Cypripedium culture which appeared in our May number.

PEACH-TREES ON THE EXTEK"SION SYSTEM.

It is worth while to discuss whether it is better to encourage strong
vigorous growth on young Peach-trees under glass and early cropping,
or little or no crops at all and hard pruning, in order to lay the foun-
dation of a good tree, as is laid down as the rule by some. We advo-
cate the former plan, and instance a case in our own experience.

322 THE GARDENER. [July

Last Ararcli two Peach-lionses were planted with standard and dwarf-
trained trees, beaded back until tliey represented something like a man's
wrist with hand and fingers spread out, each finger being something like
6 to 9 inches long. Four or five shoots were started from each tree, the
other buds being rubbed off, and every side-shoot was pinched hard
back up to the middle of July, which caused the main shoot to lengthen
fast and gross, the houses being kept close and moist at the same time —
the intention being, we understood, to head those shoots half-way back
at the winter-pruning. But it so happened that there was a change of
management after that time. The first thing the new gardener did was
to stop all those strong gross main shoots or branches, encouraging the
growth of all side-shoots necessary to fill up without crowding : the
houses were thrown open night and day. The season being unusually
hot in a southern climate, the ventilation and evaporation were rapid,
but plenty of river- water being at command, the trees had a liberal supply.
The foliage consequently grew very large and green, the wood short-
jointed and strong. The result at the end of the season was, that those
trees had covered the wire-trellising closely, with a radius 6 to 9 feet
from the starting-point — a great deal of that young wood measuring
f of an inch in diameter near the base. The winter management was
simple enough, — merely the undoing of all ties ; there was no winter-
pruning at all, or very little indeed ; none of the shoots were shortened,
and the trees were a little regulated and tied up again.

Xow for results. The trees were studded with strong blossom-buds,
but would they behave well on such young trees and on such strong
wood ] One of the houses was forced a little, and in the middle of
May a heavy crop is swelling a second time. Having set thickly the
whole length of the branches from the base to the points, both Peaches
and Nectarines sticking like knobs on the J -inch wood, as well as on
the twigs, we expect them to carry the crop well to the finish. The
trees are making the same vigorous growth, which we shall endeavour
to ripen for another year's crop.

The chief magician in securing those results has been the water-
pot, together with a hot sun and abundance of ventilation, and giving
the trees liberty to extend in all directions. The question is, whether
those trees will go on as they have begun, and by allowing them to
extend so rapidly will they get bare near the base 1 They have not
been disbudded in the usual way, only to a limited extent ; but where
young shoots were not wanted the growth has been pinched to two or
three leaves, which will form spurs, and on which we shall also have fruit
next year, as well as on the shoots. These spurs also help to maintain
the vigour of the trees, and equalise and distribute their strength, and
always secure a supply of young wood wherever wanted. Three
trees, and ultimately two, will be amply sufificient for a house 60 feet

iSyi.] STRAWBERRY FORCING. 323

long, by 16 feet rafter. We shall only add, that after the fruit is

gathered the wood will be thinned, and regulated for the ripening

process. The Squire's Gardener.

[Will any of our correspondents explain why Peaches should not be pruned on
the long rod and spur system, like a Plum or Pear, instead of being furnished, as
is the case so often, with young wood, to be annually hacked out again ? — Ed.]

STRAWBEBRY FORCING.

I SHOULD not again have recurred to this subject were it not owing to
certain statements made by Mr Young, of the Gardens, Wentworth, in a
private letter received some weeks ago. What Mr Young has said is
an entire confirmation of Mr Simpson's statements. There does
appear to be a veritable difficulty in that locality of cultivating some
kinds of the Strawberry. Mr Young says, " I have been obliged to
dismiss Keen's Seedling as quite useless for any purpose. Rivers's Eclipse
produced splendid crops for a few years, and also Elton improved, but
now are worthless. The Black Prince is the only variety that holds
its own with me, and the one upon which our supply depends."
It would be an inherent absurdity to doubt the evidence of two such
respectable men, and little short of heresy to attribute their failure to
want of skill in the hands of such excellent gardeners. We admit
the effect ; and now it is the duty of these gentlemen diligently to
trace out the cause for the benefit of their fellow-labourers, as it is by no
means likely to be confined to one locality, I have no means of knowing
the geological formation of the soil at Wentworth and Wortley, but
have a strong suspicion that it is entirely of the same character, as the
two places are only a few miles apart, which no doubt accounts for the
unity of results. I quite believe that the cause of failure is to be sought
in the mineral constituents of the soil ; else why should Keen's Seedling
do so well in one place and not in another 1 We cannot for an instant
suppose that the atmosphere exercises any influence in this matter. Soil
has a greater effect on the growth and fructification of j^lants than some
of us are willing to admit. While urging strongly the necessity of
properly-selected soil, we have also to consider its physical basis as of
equal importance. In confirmation of what I have said, I may notice
that, when situated on the Wiltshire Chalk, I could never, with every
imaginable contrivance, produce a satisfactory crop of Strawberries, till
I happened accidentally to select a pure silicious loam, after which I
had not the slightest difficulty with my forced crops. Here our soil
is composed of nearly the same constituent, and year by year Keen's
Seedling fruits abundantly. Alexander Cramb.

TORTWORTH.

[The difiFerent effects of different soils are almost incredible to i)ersons who have
not practised in various parts of the country. — Ed.]

324 THE GARDENER. [July

STEPHANOTIS FLORIBUNDA.

Your correspondent, Mr Nokes, having given his experience of this
valuable stove-flowering climber, p. 273, perhaps a few additional notes
concerning a fine plant we have had here this year may not be unin-
teresting. It is a young specimen, say about three years old, planted
out in a place built for it in the bed of the plant stove. Under these
circumstances, there being a few hot-water pipes in the bottom of the
bed to supply bottom heat, with the same treatment, as far as atmo-
sphere is concerned, as the other plants in the house, the plant has
bloomed magnificently. It made vigorous growth last year, and con-
tinued growing all winter. Early in the year we observed, from the
many little prominences, I may say hundreds, that showed themselves
near the axils of the leaves, that we were going to have a good show
for flower. As the season advanced, the plant kept pace accordingly ;
and it happened on the 3d of April that w^e cut our first Stephanotis.
Since then we have been cutting at it ever since, more or less every day
or evening, still having some left ; and I believe that, had it not been
that we cut it so freely, the plant could hardly have perfected all its
blossom. As it was, the plant showed the effects of an over-weaken-
ing power by the young shoots getting very spindly, the young leaves
not developing fully, and suchlike ; but we hope that it will soon push
away again in renewed vigour, and give us some more flowering in the
autumn. The plant lately has had frequent waterings with manure-
water, a good top-dressing, and the soil it grows in is composed of
turfy peat and loam, with a slight mixture of sand. I may say that
the plant covers about half the area of the roof of a house about 30
feet long by 18 feet wide. Robert Mackellak.

June 10.

GBAFTING.

Allow me to call the attention of your readers once more to this sub-
ject— not this time as an experiment in vegetable physiology, or to
show what unnatural subjects may be made to unite together, but as
a natural, though not very generally practised, process for attaining a
very desirable end.

Take the case of fancy-leaved Geraniums, for instance; it is of
importance that anything out of the usual way should be got into a
large state as quickly as possible. To give an example : Calling on
a nurseryman engaged in this branch of trade, I was shown a large
plant of a fine variety, of quite recent introduction. I could not ac-
count for it until let into the secret, that the principal branches on an

1871.] CURE FOR CANKER IN APPLE-TREES. 325

established plant of some common scarlet had been tipped each with a
cutting or scion of the new favourite. Being in a gentle heat, the
union was quick, and the clever propagator soon had the tops off for
farther use.

What nice standards of some of the higher-coloured fancy-leaved
sorts could be got in this way ! Many of them are weak growers, but
by being worked on vigorous stocks — a scarlet seedling, for instance —
strength would be imparted, and a plant of beauty and usefulness
would be the result. But, better still, what famous weeping Geraniums
could be made by working any of the pretty Ivy-leaved varieties on
tall stems ! They could be grown like small Weeping Willows, and for
conservatories, or anywhere indoors — for out of doors rough winds
would smash them ; but where they would be sheltered, I fancy few
plants would be more effective. There are many other plants besides
Geraniums on which grafting might be practised with advantage — but
with these hints I leave the subject. S. X.

CURE FOR CANKER IN APPLE-TREES.

On taking charge of the gardens here in the autumn of 1842, I
found many of the Apple-trees in a very bad state from canker. Not
knowing very well what to make of them, but, like many a young man
on first entering a situation for himself, I concluded to do something
that would be taken notice of ; so during the winter I set to work and
had many of the worst taken up. They were good-sized trees, that had
been planted twenty years, more or less ; however, I thought I would
rather want the fruit they might produce than have the ground taken
up by such unsightly objects. In order as far as possible to partly
replace those dug up, I determined to make a beginning by planting
a few healthy young trees wherever there was room for them, without
coming too near to where the others had stood ; and as concreting the
bottoms of borders for fruit-trees was at that time in vogue, and
having fully made up my mind that the subsoil (a ferruginous gravel)
was the cause of all the mischief, I set to work in earnest, and had the
site where every tree was to be planted thoroughly concreted. After
allowing the concrete time to dry, about 4 inches of broken stones
was put over it, and on the stones some rough turf, so as to render
the drainage as perfect as possible ; then proceeded carefully to plant
the trees, giving to each a cart-load of the best turfy loam I could
procure, thinking that all had been done to insure success, and that
in a few years I would have trees as free from canker as any in
this part of the country. Judge of my disappointment when at the

326 THE GARDENER. [July

end of the third year I noticed my enemy beginning to show itself
on some of the young shoots. I was now at a loss how to proceed, as it
could not be from any bad effect of the subsoil ; neither had pruning
been neglected, as I do not happen to be one of those who think
Apples more than any other sort of fruit-trees under cultivation ought
to be left without pruning. A few years went on, and canker was not
any better. At last (about twenty years ago) I determined to try what
effect "heading-over" would have. Several of the oldest trees that
were most cankered were subjected to that process, cutting away
every branch 3 or 4 inches above where they had been grafted ; they
were all Dwarf Standards, with stems from 12 to 18 inches above the
ground. The season following they made excellent wood, which during
the summer was well thinned out, but not stopped. At the winter-
pruning they were all shortened a little. For several years after,
without showing the slightest symptoms of canker, they produced
splendid crops of fruit. Owing to some alterations, they had to be
taken up ; but others that have since then undergone a similar of)era-
tion are perfectly healthy, and when the seasons are favourable
produce excellent crops of fruit, although it is several years since they
were cut over. In none of the cases have the roots been interfered
with ; neither do I attempt to say how "heading-over" happens to be
efficacious in curing canker ; I merely relate facts, and hope they may
prove useful to some of the numerous readers of the ' Gardener,' from
which, on many things, I have received much valuable information. I
may also state that, on cutting over some of the largest trees, I had
the surface of each wound thoroughly covered over with the following
composition — two parts of bees-wax, and one each of tallow and rosin,
melted slowly by the side of a fire, and laid on with a brush while
warm. This, I think, prevents the wounds being injuriously affected
by atmospheric changes. R. Bowie.

Chilltngham Gardens.

BANUWCULUSES.

I HEREWITH send for your notice a plant of double Ranunculus in
flower. We have a good-sized bed of them here (5 feet by 24) at the
west end of a south border in our kitchen-garden, and to see them at
mid-day, when their petals are all gaily expanded to the beautiful
sunlight, they produce a very brilliant and pleasing effect. Their col-
ours are various, but that of the one I just send you is the boldest and
perhaps the most showy. Referring to my note-book, I find it
was about the middle of February when the roots were planted.
They were inserted in drills about 8 inches apart, and a little over an

1871.] A WORD ON BALSAM-GROWING. 327

incli below tlie surface, each crown having a little sand put round
about it before being covered in. We prepared what we thought a
good place for them, for we raised the soil of the border several inches,
with a mixture of rotten dung, leaf-mould, river sand, and wood-ashes
from the rubbish-heap, all of which were well incorporated together with
the soil. Since the roots were put in they have given us no further
trouble than perhaps an occasional hoeing or weeding to keep them
clean, and now they have produced better results than we at first ex-
pected. The flowers last long when cut, and such things would be
well adapted for transmitting to great distances, as there would be no
great danger of their being much injured by the journey.

Robert Mackellar.
Elvaston, June 5th.

[The specimens received were magnificent. — Ed.]

A WORD ON BAIiSAM-GROWING.

This is a plant of which we hear little ; indeed, we do not remem-
ber to have seen a word on its culture for some years (if our memory
does not betray us). Whether, like the Fuchsia and some more of its soft-
wooded allies, it has lost its popularity amongst our great plant-growers,
we cannot say. Of late years, Orchids, Ferns, and the hardwooded
greenhouse tribe, have thrown most of our old favourites into the shade.
A specimen Fuchsia or Balsam is lightly looked at nowadays by the
young enthusiast plant-grower. There is doubtless a deal of labour
for a short period of bloom — this we consider the greatest objection to
specimen Balsam-growing ; but what lover of flowers can wish for a
more pleasing sight to feast the eyes upon than a well-arranged green-
house, here and there dotted with a well-grown Balsam 1 As before
suggested, time is of great importance ; and we are well aware it is no
easy matter to spare much time for Balsam-growing in the months of
April and May, the very time they are most impatient of attention.
Where perhaps a foreman and one or two lads have thirty thousand
bedding-plants to raise, and the other ordinary duties of a general
forcing and plant establishment to look after, it requires all the
energy a young man can command. The head and hands must be busy
at all times to meet the exigencies of the case ; and we advise the youth
so situated to throw aside his paper-collars, and have nothing to do with
riflemen. A great many young men complain of the overtime movement
connected with indoor work. This we consider (in most cases) to be a
necessary evil ; the persevering youth must blot such notions out of his
vocabulary altogether. Compensation must never be looked at — many a

2 A

328 THE GARDENER. [July

hardworking foreman must feel satisfied with a shake of the hand, and a
certificate consisting of half-a-dozen lines, for two or three years' such
service. [All overtime should be paid for. — Ed.]

We had almost wandered from what we intended to be our
subject, but shall now recur to it, and begin with sowing the seed.
As it is necessary to make two or three sowings for sake of succession,
we think it useless to fix any date : the seeds may be sown in almost any
soil (if it be of a light nature), and plunged in a mild hotbed. In a few
days the young seedlings will appear. Great care must be taken to have
them near the glass. As soon as they are fit to be handled, select a number
of deep thumb-pots, and a quantity of soil consisting of leaf-mould and
loam — the same temperature as that from which they were taken. They
should be potted as deep as possible, not to cover the leaves. Now is the
most critical period of their growth. The best plan will be to have a
small hotbed prepared for them : there is then no difficulty in treating
them as they should be. Little shading is necessary — the less the better, as
they are so inclined to run upwards. As before remarked, they cannot
be too near the glass, if they do not come in actual contact with it. A
little air is necessary on all occasions, as it tends to stubby and sub-
stantial growth. By the next shift the growler will see if he is to have
nice plants : as soon as the bottom-shoots are got hold of, there is no
difficulty in growing fair plants. When long enough, they must be
pegged down, and every after-shoot must be kept down by means of
pegs, or ties of Japan flax. The Balsam is even more brittle than the
young shoots of Vines, and the trainer must exercise considerable cau-
tion in tying or pegging. Some people feel satisfied with an 8-inch pot
for their largest plant, and we believe this to be the most economical
and most useful system. Very nice plants, loaded w^ith bloom, can be
grown in 8-inch pots with very little trouble ; but to grow specimens
is a very different consideration — an 11 or 12 inch pot will grow a
specimen 3J feet in diameter, and this we consider a fair specimen. If
plunged in a spent hotbed, with the sashes tilted to admit as much air
as possible, and every bloom picked off as it appears, they will grow
like Willows ; and w^hen the roots have thoroughly searched through the
soil and exhausted it, they will stand any reasonable amount of feeding.
The best Balsams we ever saw grown were at CuUen House by Mr
Milne in 1868 ; and being one of ^Mr Milne's assistants, w^e had the
advantage of seeing their treatment. The plants alluded to were
trained as we generally see show Pelargoniums. A trellis was formed
of green-painted sticks and dark cord, so that every shoot could be
pulled down by means of soft flax ties, at the same time hidden from
the eye. By the month of August the plants were all that could be
desired ; certainly their appearance in the show-room at Cullen could

1871.] PRESENTATION TO MR W. THOMSON. 329

not but satisfy Mr Milne for all his trouble as regards the training.
Will you, Mr Editor, or any of your correspondents, be good enough
to state which is the proper mode of training ? "VVe saw Balsams at
different shows in Lancashire last summer trained as Chrysanthemums
are in Scotland, and we think the system highly objectionable, as they
look unsightly unless they are shouldered up by a Geranium or two to
hide their bare legs. Wm. Hinds.

Child WALL Lodge, Liverpool.

DINNER AND PRESENTATION TO MR THOMSON,
DALKEITH GARDENS.

Ox the 31st May a complimentary dinner was given to Mr W. Thomson on the oc-
casion of his leaving Dalkeith Gardens to superintend his extensive vineyards on
Tweedside ; and a presentation was made to him of 200 sovereigns, and a hand-
some service of silver plate, richly chased, and bearing Mr Thomson's initials.
The silver plate bore the following inscription : — " Presented, along with a purse
of two hundred sovereigns, to "\Vm. Thomson, Esq., on the occasion of his leav-
ing Dalkeith Gardens to superintend bis extensive vineyards on Tweedside, by a
number of attached friends in Scotland, England, and Ireland, to mark the high
regard in which they hold him — on personal, professional, and public grounds ;
and the warm wishes they entertain for his future success and happiness. May
31, 1871." The meeting was held in Waterloo Hotel.

The Chairman said — I come now to the toast of the evening — the health
of our esteemed and respected guest. The propriety of the course we are now
taking need scarcely be pointed out, for I have met with no one to whom this
very course did not suggest itself the moment Mr Thomson's purpose of leaving
Dalkeith became known. It could not be otherwise. The position Mr Thomson
had so long occupied in Dalkeith, the many friendships he had there formed, and
the numberless obligations he had conferred on the town, rendered it indispens-
able, not only that there should be some such public leave-taking as the present,
but that he should carry with him to his new home some visible and tangible
expression of the affection with which he was regarded in the home he had left.
Nor were these feelings confined to Dalkeith. Before the friends there had taken
any forward step towards the result we now witness, application was made to
them by friends in Edinburgh asking to be allowed to take part in any demonstra-
tion that might be resolved on, calling attention to the fact that Mr Thomson's
friends were not confined to this county, or even to this island, and suggesting
that these warm and widely-scattered friends should be made aware of the move-
ment that was in progress. It has been the aim of the committee to give efiect
to this suggestion, and the result may be very briefly stated. The testimonial
about to be presented is the joint-contribution of 300 individuals, resident in
Scotland, England, and Ireland ; and it is but right to say that the value of these
contributions has been much enhanced by the friendly and affectionate terms in
which, when transmitting them, they have referred to the character and claims
of Mr Thomson. The subscriptions handed to the treasurers amount to £330 ;
and this amount, partly in gold and partly in silver plate — deducting, of course,
the necessary expenses and the gifts for the Misses Thomson — it will be my privilege,

330 THE GARDENER. [July

before sitting down, to present to Mr Thomson. The inscription on the testi-
monial bears that it is presented on personal, professional, and public grounds ;
and in this combination of claims on the part of our guest consists undoubtedly
the real significance of the movement and the real value of the gift. I know how
irksome it must be to Mr Thomson to have these matters referred to in public,
and in his presence ; and therefore, in discharging the duty now assigned me, I
will be as brief as I possibly can. Every one present will, I am sure, expect mo
to refer to the unvarying courtesy and manifest desire to oblige shown by Mr
Thomson to parties visiting the gardens under his care, and which, with the great
beauty of these gardens themselves, have made them for many years the chief
attraction to strangers visiting Dalkeith. Equally necessary is it to acknowledge
the generous alacrity with which Mr Thomson has all along placed his own skill,
the labour of his assistants, and the treasures of the gardens, at the free service
of all classes of the inhabitants when assembled publicly for social enjoyment, or
for the promotion of any useful or benevolent undertaking. I can scarcely recall
a single soiree, or banquet, or distribution of prizes to volunteers, or loyal, or
patriotic, or benevolent public gathering, that was not more or less indebted to
the friendly assistance and artistic skill of our esteemed guest. An appeal to Mr
Thomson was included in the programme of eveiy such gathering. That appeal
■was never made in vain ; and hence the removal of our friend from Dalkeith will
be felt as a chill and a discouragement to the social life of the community. I
cannot speak with the same authority of the strictly professional claims of Mr
Thomson, nor can that be necessary in the presence of so many skilful horticul-
turists. These will be readiest to acknowledge that Mr Thomson stands, and has
long stood, at the very head of bis profession ; that he has done incomparably
more for gardening in this country than any other man ; and that, while he has
elevated the social and scientific condition of the gardener, he has at the same
time, by his urbanity and helpfulness, by his recognition of practical merit and
his readiness to promote and reward it, won for himself in a remarkable degree
the esteem, confidence, and gratitude of his professional brethren. An interest-
ing illustration of tbis occurred a few years ago, when nine of Mr Thomson's old
foremen — then resident at a great distance from him and from each other —
joined in presenting him with a handsome and valuable testimonial, expressive of
the esteem and gratitude which they continued to cherish towards their former
chief. That proceeding, we must all feel, was highly honourable to both paities
— to the master, as evincing the genuine kindness of his rule ; and to the fore-
men, for their grateful recollection of his free and improving service. It is
gratifying to add that most of the names inscribed on that earlier testimonial
occur again in the list of subscribers to the testimonial of tbis evening — a circum-
stance which will no doubt enhance its value in the estimation of Mr Thomson,
showing, as it does, that kindly relations once establiched in Dalkeith Gardens
remain unaffected by change of residence and by lapse of time. It only remains,
in a closing sentence, to refer to those public services of our esteemed guest, of
which, no less than of his personal and professional merits, these testimonials
must be regarded as the recognition. There are few departments of public use-
fulness in which, during his sixteen years' residence amongst us, Mr Thomson
has not taken a prominent place. In all movements with a view to social or
sanitary improvement, to the spread of scientific education, or to the expression
of public sentiment on matters of benevolent, loyal, patriotic, or national interest,
Mr Thomson might always be counted on for warm sympathy and important
practical service. And hence the alacrity with which the friends who have been
associated with him in public labours have united with those related to him only

iSyi.] PRESENTATION TO MR W. THOMSON. 331

by personal and professional ties in expressing their high esteem for his charac-
ter, and their grateful sense of the value of bis services. Permit me now, Mr
Thomson, in name of the friends present and absent who have contributed to this
testimonial, to ask you to accept of the same, and to receive from me, in their
name, the assurance of our cordial esteem, our grateful sense of the services you
have rendered to the community, and our warm and friendly wishes for your
success and happiness in the extensive and important enterprise in which you are
about to engage.

The presentation was made amid great cheering.

Mr Thomson rose amid loud cheers to reply. He said that he had now for a
long course of years followed an arduous pursuit — a pursuit requiring great
mental and bodily exercise— and he certainly had to-day received an unexpected
reward for his labours. He had only had two employers in his lifetime, and he
had every reason to believe that he received and retained their confidence. That
of itself was a sufficient reward for anything he had been able to do. He had
received unexampled kindness from gentlemen in various ranks of society ; and
to be in contact with many of these and associate with them, would be a suffi-
cient reward to any man for any extra labour he might take in promoting what-
ever science he might be connected with. His esteemed friend Mr Mitchell,
■with whom it had been his lot to associate in many matters since he came to
Dalkeith, and for whose private and public character he had the most profound
respect — he said a great deal about him which he could hardly accept for him-
self. That he had been useful in some degree to the inhabitants of Dalkeith in
those social gatherings to which he had referred, he was ready to admit. In
doing all that he simply took a keynote which was struck by his noble em-
ployers when he entered their service. He had no doubt that many would
imagine that one like himself, coming, a comparative stranger, to take the
management of such a place as he had occupied, would receive a great many
orders and commands, but all that the Duke of Buccleuch said the first day he
walked through the grounds with him was of a very general character. His
Grace touched very lightly on anything that affected himself; and the only de-
cided and emphatic order he gave was that he had not long before given the
Dalkeith Cricket Club permission to exercise their noble game on his lawn, and
he wished that he (Mr Thomson) would constantly keep it in good order for them.
When he saw the Duchess of Buccleuch a few days previously in London, she
gave him some general orders, and said that although they were not always at
Dalkeith, they wished the grounds round the palace and lawns kept in nice order ;
for although they were not always thei'e to enjoy them themselves, they wished
the public to enjoy them and see them in good order. He therefore felt that he
was fulfilling their desire when he did what lay in his power to add to the enjoy-
ment and elegance of any little gathering held in Dalkeith. He believed that
anything he had done in that way had had their Graces' consent, and that there-
fore any thanks were not so much due to him, and to anything within himself, as
to the liberality of those whom it was his honour to serve. As to his connection
with horticulture, and especially to the men under him, he believed that they
had numbered between two and three hundred ; and he was happy to say that,
out of his own family, his greatest pleasure had been in his contact with his men.
Of all that number, as far as he could remember, he had not had occasion to
dismiss above three or four for any misconduct, and not one of them was ever
guilty of a crime that came to his knowledge. Many of them were occupying
the first positions in the kingdom in the calling they followed. One of them was
with the Queen at Frogmore, another with the Duke of Devonshiie ; his brother

332 THE GARDENER. [July

was at Drumlaurig; and Mr Knight at Floors Castle. lie could mention a long
list of noblemen to wbom be had supi»lied gardeners; and he believed that in
every case tliey had given satisfaction. Jf he had accomplished nothing more in a
comparatively long and arduous life than the training and bringing into good social
position in the calling they followed of so many excellent men, he would have
felt that he had not laboured in vain. No man could occupy the position he had
so long filled — for nearly thirty-fcur years now as master — without doing some-
thing towards the promotion of horticulture as a science. He had done what lay
in his power to advance that noble art ; for, after all their flights of fancy and fine
philosophies, they must return to the earth for their sustenance. He held that
horticulture was the pioneer of all successful cultivation ; and the only thing
which he regretted in the part of it to which he belonged, was the want of a pro-
per definition as to what a gardener was. Every man who handled a spade or a
knife was called a gardener ; it would be as well to call every butcher a doctor.
But a man, to be a scientific horticulturist, required a course of study not very
different from that required by the medical profession. In fact, as surgeons the
gardeners were before the medical profession. For instance, if they met with a
tree with a bad head, they cut it off at once, and put on a good one ! The doctors
had not arrived at that yet ; and when they did, there would be a great demand
for good ones ! Mr Thomson made some further remarks expressive of his grati-
tude for the kindness which had been extended to him, and his pleasure at seeing
so many present from a distance to testify their respect for himself. He resumed
his seat amid loud cheers. '

BEPORT OF WEATHER.— 1871.

Drumlanrig, June 14. — On June the 9th and 10th the thermometer, fully ex-
posed, registered 3° and 2° below freezing. North and easterly dry winds have
prevailed for weeks, and vegetation is languishing for want of rain, the grass
being quite crisp and brown. It would appear from the following, received from
a correspondent, that very similar weather prevails on the Continent : —

Haarlem, June 6. — Our weather is, alas ! very raw. We have had north wind,
which blights everything, for six weeks continuously. The meadows are almost
red ; there is scarcely any grass, and the farmers are compelled to feed the cattle
at the steadings. Vegetables can hardly be procured, and as we have had fre-
quently hard frost till the beginning of June, all our Apple and Pear blossom has
perished. ' J. C.

REVIEW.

The Subtropical Garden : or. Beauty of Form in the Flower-Garden. By
AVilliam Robinson. John Murray, Albermarle Street, London.
Another volume of some 250 pages from the busy pen of Mr Robinson. He
has long waged a furious war against the popular system of bedding- plants in flower-
gardening ; and while we think he has been too indiscriminate at times in doing
bO, we at the same time agree with him and many others that beauty of form has
not been sufficiently studied in decorative gardens ; and in this volume he has
amplified and illustrated what many practical men have been successfully working
out for some years. The first part of the work is devoted to the general principles
of mingling plants with graceful foliage among and along with the gayer flowers ;
but the latter and greater part of it is taken up with practical notes, descriptive
and cultural, on the many plants suitable for subtropical gardening, and is illus-
trated with numerous engravings of what may be considered representative plants.
They cannot fail to be useful to those who are wishful to become acquainted

iSyi.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 333

with the numerous plants suitable for this style of gardening, and the various
ways of arranging them, "\Ve do not, however, admire the sneering way in which
the author speaks of Mr Gibson's labours at Batterseain this particular department
of gardening. Mr Gibson has done more by example to inculcate the best manner
of subtropical decorations in a few years, than a mere writer on the subject is
likely to do in a lifetime.

HORTICULTURAIi EXHIBITIONS.

Royal Botanic Society, London. — The first summer exhibition was held in
the Botanic Gardens, Regent Park, May 25th and 26th. The great Whitsuntide
exhibition at Manchester opened on the 26th, with greater inducements for
exhibitors, and one or two of the principal competitors sent their plants there.

In class 1. — The usual large prize for a stated number of plants is withheld, and
a group arranged for eflfect put in its place. This class usually brings out collec-
tions of ordinary nursery plants, from the principal firms, calling for no special
comment, Messrs A, Henderson & Co., Pine-apple Place, were first, and Messrs
RoUison second.

A class was provided for 24 Hardy Herbaceous plants in flower, and a most
excellent and varied group was awarded the first prize, from Mr R, Parker of
Tooting, containing several beautiful Pyrethrums, in variety rivalling the Chry-
santhemum in shape, and of the most brilliant colours, Iberis and Alyssum sax-
atile compactum, with deep yellow flowers : For 9 Stove and Greenhouse plants
in flower, Mr Ward, Leyton, was first, with large well-managed plants ; Mr Chap-
man of Rugsley being second. In Heaths and Stage Pelargoniums, Mr Ward
again carried ofi" first honours.

In the class for 20 Pelargoniums, distinct, Mr C. Turner of Slough was first
with a collection of the best sorts ; Corsair, Needle-gun, Favourite, Claribel, fine
white. Hermit, Jerome, John Hoyle, Gratulation, and Prince of Orange, were
the most select. Roses in pots from Mr C. Turner and Messrs Paul & Son were
again of rare excellence ; and it is worthy of note that no collection is staged
without a plant of Charles Lawson. The best Koses that have been shown by
amateurs were sent by Mr T, Terry, gardener to A. G. Puller, Esq., Youngsbury,
Herts : his collection contained four Tea Roses and a fine Charles Lawson.

There were three classes provided for Orchids. Mr Ward was first for nine,
with Cypripedium Stonei, Odontoglossum Bluntii, 0. citrosmum roseum, and a
fine Oncidium bifolium ; Mr Burnett Bull and Wright taking the remaining
prizes. Mr Williams was first in the nurserymen's class, and Mr Bull second,
Aerides Fieldingii and Cypripedium villosum were good. Exotic Ferns were
numerously shown, Mr Wright taking first position with a fine collection of 6.
Mr Williams was first in the nurserymen's class ; Azaleas were well shown by Mr
C. Turner, and Mr Little, gardener to J, Goddard, Esq., Roy don Lodge, Essex ;
the last-named exhibitor taking the first prize with 12 well-grown pyramids in
12-iuch pots. A large number of new plants were sent to this exhibition, and
numerous certificates were awarded. Messrs Veitch, of Chelsea, obtained botanical
certificates of merit for Dioscorea retusa, a peculiar trailing plant, with a droop-
ing infiorescence of small greenish-white flowers, sweet-scented. Fremontia
californica, with a profusion of large orange-yellow flowers ; Croton Johannis,
Agave Regelii, A. festiva, A. Besseriana Candida, A. Roezliana, A. horrida
hystrix. A, Kerchovei macrodonta, Dracaena magnifica, a grand broad -leaved
species, D. Mooreana and D. porphyrophylla. Messrs Veitch also exhibited a

334 THE GARDENER. [July

fine plant of the beautiful Epidendrum eyringothyrsus ; it had nearly a hundred
flowers in one panicle, of a light purple colour, with a white throat. Mr "\V.
Ball obtained the same awards for Primula japonica, and varieties, spleudida,
alba, carminata, and lilacina, Cypripedium niveum, Hippeastrum pyrochroa,
Drcmonorops cinnamomea, Anthurium Scherzerianum Dixoni, Elaphoglossum
Herminieri, a peculiar Fern, the fronds of which lay flat on the ground ; they are
sword-shaped, 18 iuches long, and of a glossy-green colour; ]\lalortia simplex,
Hydrangea stellata prolifera, and Arenga Bonnetii. Also to Mr Williams for
Adiantum capillus Veneris crispulum, Caryota truncata, and Dracccna Lier-
valii. To i\Iessr8 A. Henderson & Co., for Phyllanthus mimosfcfolia ; and to
Messrs E. G. Henderson & Son, for Thalictrura adiantifolia, a species with pale
green, very graceful, finely-divided leaves ; Mr W. Thomson of Ipswich received
the same award for Collinsia violacea.

Floral certificates were given to Mr "W. Paul for Virgin Queen, white-leaved
and white-flowered zonal Pelargonium ; to Mr Turner for Silver Tricolor Mrs
Piousby ; and to Mr Nye, gardener to B. Foster, Esq., Clewer Manor, for show
Pelargoniums Blue Bell, Cresar, and Conquest.

EoTAL Horticultural Society, June 7th. — This is the Society's largest ex-
hibition of the season held at South Kensington. The weather has been very
severe, which caused a falling-ofi" in some of the classes, exhibitors not wishing
to expose such subjects as Orchids and the more tender stove-plants to a tem-
perature but little above the freezing point. In the Stove and Greenhouse plants
some handsome well-managed specimens were staged ; the " foliage " plants com-
prised some noble and magnificent specimens ; and there was likewise a very good
show of fruit. This is always an attractive part of the exhibitions, but the Society,
unfortunately, only hold one fruit show at Kensington in the season.

Classes 1, 2, 3, and 4 are for Orchids, and in the open class for nine, Mr Ward,
gardener to T. G. Wilkins, Esq., Leyton, was first with Dendrobium formosum
giganteum, Odontoglossum Bluntii, and species he has already shown ; Mr W.
Bull, Chelsea, second ; and Mr Wheeler, Stamford Hill, third.

In the nurserymen's class, Mr B. S. Williams staged an excellent collection —
Cypripedium barbatum superbum, a very fine specimen of C. caudatum, and
others ; Mr Bull was second ; Mr Parker, of Tooting, third. For a single speci-
men, Mr J. Linden, of Brussels, was first with Cypripedium caudatum, a magni-
ficent specimen with four flowered spikes ; Mr Williams second, with a grand
Cattleya lobata ; and Mr R. Laing, gardener to B. W. Flowers, third, with
L sella purpurata.

In Stove and Greenhouse plants, Mr Ward was first, Mr J. Wheeler second,
and Mr G. Wheeler, Regent's Park, third ; the prizes in the nurserymen's class
being awarded to Mr Jackson, of Kingston, and Mr Morse, of Epsom.

In the open class for nine fine-foliaged plants Mr Bull was first. Pre-eminent
was a magnificent Dicksonia antavctica, Cyathea medularis, and a grand specimen
of Encephalartos Ghellinckii. M. Dalliere, of Ghent, was second with handsome
and valuable specimens — Cocos Weddeliana, Zamia Lehmannii, and others ; Mr
Taylor, gardener, Lauderdale House, Highgate, was third. Mr AVoodward, gar-
dener to Mrs Torr, Ewell, had the best Azaleas. Superb Roses in pots came
from Mr C. Turner and Messrs Paul & Son, and six well-managed pots of Liliums
from Mr Bull were awarded the first prize in that class.

In the classes for hardy Ferns there were some exceedingly interesting collec-
tions. In the two amateurs' classes, Mr C. Chafi', gardener to A. Smee, Esq.,
Wallington, was first, the most remarkable being Scolopendrium cristatum digi-

1871.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 335

tatum, S truth iopteris germanica, Adiantum pedatum, and a fine mass of Hymeno-
phyllum tunbridgense. Mr James, of Isleworth, had two nice collections.

In the nurserymen's class, Messrs Ivery, of Dorking, were first, and their collec-
tion consisted principally of remarkably fine varieties of the Lady Fern.

Messrs Veitch, of Chelsea, took first honours for the miscellaneous groups, Mr
"Williams second, and Mr Bull third.

The only exhibitor for the collection of 8 dishes of fruit was Mr Lynn, gardener
to Lord Boston, Hedsor, and he received the first prize.

Mr Ward, gardener to T. N. Millar, Esq., Bishop- Stortford, took a first prize
for three excellent Queen Pine-Apples.

In the class for one Pine-Apple, Mr K H. Smith, gardener to H. Walker, Esq ,
Calderstone, Liverpool, was first with a moderately-good Providence, the crown
too large, and badly set on the fruit ; Mr Ward was placed second with a magni-
ficent Queen, well finished and well proportioned, and weighing 5 lb. 14 oz. ; Mr
G. Miles, gai'dener to Lord Carrington, Wycombe, was third with smooth-leaved
Cayenne.

As usual, there was a good show of Grapes. For a basket not less than 12 lb.,
Mr Osborne, Kay's Nursery, Finchley, was first with excellent Black Hamburg ;
Mr Bannerman, gardener to Lord Bagot, Blithfield Hall, Rugley, and Mr Cole-
man, gardener to Earl Somers, Eastnor Castle, being respectively second and third
■with the same variety. For the best 3 bunches of Black Grapes, Mr Banner-
man was first; Mr Douglas, gardener to T. Wbitboum, Esq., Loxford Hall,
second ; and Mr Coleman third. Three bunches White Grapes, Mr Douglas was
first with Buckland Sweetwater; Messrs Standish & Co., Ascot, second with Mus-
cat of Alexandria ; Mr Sage, gardener to Earl Brownlow, Ashridge, third ; and
an extra to Mr Osborne.

Peaches, single dish. — The best came from Mr Brown, gardener to Earl Howe,
Gopsall Hall, a very fine dish of Grosse Mignonne ; Mr H. Harris, gardener to
G. A. Ashby, Esq,, being second, and Mr Miles third.

For Nectarines, Mr Lynn was first with large well-coloured fruit of Violette
Hative ; Mr Miles second with Elruge ; and Mr C. Turner, of Slough, third.

Mr Miles had the best dish of Figs, and Mr Sage the second-best.

Mr Miles was first for Cherries, and Mr Lynn second.

Strawberries. — Mr Douglas was first, and Mr Miles second.

The best green-fleshed JMelon came from Mr Burnett, gardener to Mrs Hope ;
]\Ir Ward second, and Mr Lynn third. In scarlet flesh, Mr G. Masters, gardener,
Sherburn Castle, was first, and Mr Lynn second.

Fruit Committee. — There was not much to comment upon at this meeting ; Mr
Temple, of Balbirnie, and Mr Tillery, of Welbeck, both sent Lady Downes Grapes,
the stalks having been kept in water. These examples were very fine, the berry -
stalks quite green, and the flavour exceedingly good for this variety.

Floral Committee M. Linden of Ghent contributed new plants. First-class

certificates were awarded to the following : Acer palmatum roseo dissectum, A.
palmatum crispum, Dracoena lutescens striata, Xanthosoma Lindeni; and a
second class for Epidendrum paniculatum. M. Mackoy, of Liege, likewise re-
ceived first-class certificates for Lycopodium mandiocanum, L. dichotomum, L.
taxifolium, and Tillandsia Morreniana. Messrs Ivery & Son, Dorking, came in
for first-class certificates with Polystichum angulare pulchrum Belairsise, and
Polypodium vulgare Whytei, a very interesting and beautiful form of the common
Polypody ; and a second-class certificate to Athyrium filix-foemina trifidum. Mr
J. Atkins, of Painswick, received the highest award for Linum campanulatum ;
the plants were covered with a profusion of orange-yellow flowers, and are of a

306 THE GARDENER. [July

much more compact habit than L. flavum. The Perpetual Clove Mies Jolifife,
noticed last month, received a first-class award on this occasion. A very fine
white Pink from ]\Ir C. Turner, Slough, received a second-class award. Mr W.
Paul, of Waltham Cross, exhibited a set of Zonale Pelargoniums, raised by Dr
Denny ; these are certainly decided acquisitions; there are new colours amongst
them ; others are remarkable for perfect-shaped flowers and trusses. First-class
certificates were awarded to Wellington, a Hybrid nosegay with immense trusses
of well-shaped, rich, dark-ci'imson flowers. Sir C. Napier — the flowers of this
are of the largest size, and of a brilliant dark scarlet colour ; and lanthe — this has a
good bedding habit, and the flowers, which are of good shape, have a slight shade
of blue in their composition. Mr W. Paul also receit^ed a second-class award for
Silver Tricolor Pelargonium Lady Dorothy Nevill. Mr George, gardener to
Miss Nicholson, Putney Heath, also sent Zonale Pelargoniums. A very fine
scarlet nosegay named Flame obtained a first-class, and Polly King, a very good
salmon-coloured variety, a second-class certificate. Mr Foster again showed a
collection of stage Pelargoniums. First-class certificates were given to Conquest,
Lord Byron, Blue Bell, Casar, and Achievement ; the last a very fine flower of
a deep rose ou the upper, and light rose lower petals. Mr Bull had a first-class
award for Oncidium cryptocopis ; the flowers are brown, with a very narrow yellow
margin, and are thiuly placed on a very long straggling spike. Mr Croucher,
gardener to J. T. Peacock, Esq., Hammersmith, was also voted a first-class certi-
ficate for Agave revoluta variegata. Second-class certificates were given to
Messrs Carter for Solanum ciliatum ; and to Mr Thomson, of Ipswich, for Lathy-
rus Sibthorpii, a hardy perennial species from Greece^ wuth light purple flowers.

J. Douglas.

Glasgow and "West of Scotland Horticultural Society. — This flourish-
ing society held its second show for the season in the Glasgow City Hall, on
Wednesday, 7th June. The plants brought forward on this occasion were,
taken as a whole, very meritorious examples of cultivation, especially the
stove and greenhouse plants. Ferns and Orchids. Vegetables were very good,
considering the late and dry character of the season. We are surprised that the
west of Scotland growers do not distinguish themselves more in the way of forced
fruits, which on this occasion were almost nil.

The following are the awards of the judges, who were — On plants, Mr D.
Mitchell, nurseryman, Edinburgh; Mr Andrew Turnbull, Bothwell Castle, Both-
well ; Mr James Ollerhead, The Gardens, Killermont. Cut flowers and bouquets
— Mr John Baillie, High Cross, Couperhead ; Mr John Waterston, 23 Caulside,
Paisley; Mr Alex. Robertson, Cornhill Coulter, by Biggar. Fruit and Vege-
tables—Mr William Campbell, Dunoon; Mr Thomas Lunt, Ardgowan, Greenock;
Mr James Maxwell, "Ralston House, Paisley.

Ten specimen Stove and Greenhouse i Twelve Ornamental Foliage Gerani-

Plants — 1. John Sutherland, gardener I ums, varieties — 1. John Ingram, gar-

to Mr Peter Denny, Helenslee, Dum- dener to Mr John Gordon, Aikenhead ;

bai'ton ; 2. James Murray, gardener to I 2. William Boyd.

Mrs Crum, The Rouken ; 3. Thomas
Hogg, gardener to Mr David Tod, Iron-
bank, Partick.

Five specimen Stove and Greenhouse
Plants — 1. John Sutherland ; 2, Wm.
Boyd, Easterhill ; 3. Joseph Fleming,
gardener to Mr J. C. Wakefield, East-

For the most meritoriously - grown
House Plant in the exhibition — James
Murray.

Four fine Foliage Plants — 1. John
Sutherland ; 2. Joseph Fleming ; 3.
John M'Nab, gardener to Mr James
Wilson, Trinidad Villa, Paisley Road.

wood Park. 1 Twelve Blooms Tulips — 1. George

i87i.]

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS.

I\reek, Denny ; 2. Wm. Downie, Len-
i.oxtown; 3. Charles Rennie, Mungo-
land, Falkirk.

Three best Breeder Tulips, sorts —
"William Downie.

Twenty-four Blooms Roses, not less
than twelve varieties — 1, J. M'Leish,
Blairmore ; 2. Alex. Baird, Boturich
Castle, Dumbartonshire ; 3. William

Parlane, gardene.r to Major Dehnis-
touD, Roslea.

Twelve Blooms Roses, not less than
six varieties — 1. Jas, Buchanan, gar-
dener to Mr Alex. Miller, Busby; 2.
James Graham, Garscube ; 3. George
Gordon, gardener to Mr John Todd,
Finnich, Drymen.

.FOR GARDENERS AND AMATEURS.

HOUSE PLANTS.

Three House Plants in bloom, varie-
ties— 1. A. Cameron, gardener to Mr
A. B. Stewart, RawclifFe Lodge, Lang-
side ; 2. John Sutherland ; 3. James
]\Iurray.

Four Orchids, varieties — 1. Thomas
Hogg ; 2. "Wm. Boyd ; 3. Jas. Murray.

Three Azaleas — 1. John Sutherland ;
2. H. W. Lewin, gardener to Col.
Buchanan, Drumpellier; 3. "NYm. Boyd.

Three Ericas, varieties— 1. Jn. Suther-
land ; 2, Wm. Boyd ; 3. Jas. Buchanan.

Six Ornamental Foliage Geraniums,
varieties — 1. Neil Campbell, gardener
to Mr James Couper, Holmwood, Cath-
cart; 2. Wm. Boyd.

Three Gloxinias, varieties — 1. Joseph
Fleming ; 2. Archibald Chapman, gar-
dener to ]\Ir John Goldie, Violet Bank,
Langside ; 3. Alex. Walker, gardener
to Mr Thos. Hill, Merry lee, Cathcart.

Six Ferns, distinct varieties — 1. John
Sutherland ; 2. Thomas Hogg, and John
M'Quater, gardener to Mr Andrew Ban-
natyne, Millheugh, Blantyre — equal.

One specimen Tree Fern — 1. John
Sutherland; 2. John "M'Nab; 3. A.
Cameron.

Three Roses, in pot and bloom— Alex.
Walker.

Three Calceolarias, varieties — H. W.
Lewin.

Two Geraniums, varieties — 1. James
Buchanan ; 2. Alex. Walker.

Two Geraniums, varieties — James
Buchanan.

Three Achimenes, varieties — Archi-
bald Chapman.

CUT FLOWERS.

Twenty-four Blooms Pansies, varieties
— 1. Thos. Findlay, Mauchline ; 2.
Robert Hethei'ington, gardener to Mr
Thos. Brown, Lanfine, Newmilns, Ayr-
shire ; 3. Andrew Brown, Deans, Cam-
buslang.

Twelve Trusses Hardy Rhododen-
drons, varieties — 1, Wm, Boyd ; 2. Wm.
Birrell, gardener to Mr James Hunter,
Hafton ; 3. Robei t HetheriDgton.

Six Trusses Hardy Rhododendrons,
varieties— 1. James Mitchell, gardener
to Mr Colin Campbell, Colgraiu, Camis
Eskan ; 2. William Boyd ; 3. Robert
Wilson, gardener to Mr C. R. Dunlop,
Walkinshaw.

Six breeder Tulips — Wm. Downie.

Six Hardy Herbaceous Border, cut
flowers, varieties — 1. AVm. Boyd ; 2.
James Cornock, gardener to Mr E. J.
Jones, Dalmonach, Bonhill ; 3. Matthew
Miller, gardener to Mr Thomas Lead-
better, Alderbank, Bothwell.

BOUQUETS.

A Table Bouquet— 1. Peter Fox, Vic-
toria Gardens ; 2. James M. Ramsay,
Helensburgh ; 3. Robert Taylor, gar-
dener to Capt. Stirling Stewart, Castle-
milk.

A Hand Bouquet — 1. Robert Arroll,
gardener, Helensburgh ; 2. Jas. Ramsay;
3. Robert Taylor.

FRUIT.

Two bunches Grapes — Wm. Kirk-
patrick, gardener, Airthrey Castle.

VEGETABLES.

Twenty-five Asparagus — L Robert
Wilson ; 2. Thomas Walker, gardener
to Col. Hozier, Tannochside ; 3. Wm.
Kirkpatrick.

Two Cucumbers — 1. H. W. Lewin ;

2. William Birrell ; 3. Robert Hether-
ington.

Six stalks Rhubarb — 1. James S.
Ritchie, Denny ; 2, Jas. Watson, gar-
dener to Mrs Brown, Holmfauldhead,
Govan ; 3. Robert Wilson.

Twenty-four pods Peas — 1. Matthew
Miller ; 2. Thomas Walker ; 3. Robert
Wilson.

Two heads Cauliflower — Rob. Wilson.

Two heads Cabbage — 1. John
M'Gregor, gardener to Mr William
Hinshaw, Barrochan ; 2. Wm. Boyd ;

3. James Graham.

Six Turnips — 1. Thomas Walker ; 2.
Alexander Baird ; 3. John M'Gregor.

Six Carrots — 1. John M'Gregor ; 2.
Matthew Miller ; 3. Thomas Walker.

Three Lettuces — 1. William Kirk-

338

THE GARDENER.

[July

Patrick ; 2. Thomas AValker; 3. William
Boyd.

One pot Parsley, eingle plant —
Andrew M'Lachlan, gardener, Dun-
gourney House, Greenock.

Twelve Potatoes — 1. William Boyd ;
2. Thomas Walker ; 3. Matthew Miller.

Best Early Melon— 1. James Oiler-
head, Killermont ; 2. Andrew M'Lach-

lan.

FOR AMATEURS.

Two Roses, in pot and bloom — 1. R.
Cameron, Stewarton ; 2. Peter Fox.

CUT FLOWERS.

Twelve Blooms Pausies, varieties —
1. Thomas Findlay; 2. Andrew Brown ;
3. John B. Hunter, Rutherglen.

Six Hardy Herbaceous border cut
flowers, varieties — 1. William Carrie,
Thornbank, liothwell ; 2. Robert Good-
win, Kirkiutilloch ; 3. James Walker.

Six Blooms Roses, varieties — J.
M'Leish.

BOUQUETS.

A Hand Bouquet— 1, George Bain-
bridge, Rutherglen ; 2. Walter Bruce,
Hutchesontown Gardens ; 3. Joseph
Harris, Rutherglen.

VEGETABLES.

Six stalks Rhubarb — 1. James S.
Ritchie ; 2. R. Cameron ; 3. Robert
Scott, Boat House, Uddingston.

One pot Parsley, single plant — John
Marshall, Parkhead.

EXTRAS.

Mr AVilliam Dickson, The Gardens, Ferguslie, collection of plants, filling a
table 20 by 6 feet, received the highest commendation.

Mr Joseph Fleming, gardener to Mr J. C. Wakefield, Eastwood Park — a col-
lection of Gloxinias — highly commended.

Mr John Young, assistant secretary, Edinburgh Royal Caledonian Horticul-
tural Society — seedling Geranium ; recommended to be shown again.

Mr James Orr, Ladyburn, Greenock — seedling yellow ground Pansy — first-
class certificate.

Collection from Mr James Robertson, florist, Ingram Street — commended;
three erect seedling Gloxinias — first-class certificate.

Mr James Ollerhead, Killermont — collection of stove and greenhouse plants —
commended.

Mr Matthew Henderson, Ardrossan — stand of Ranunculus — commended.

HOUSE PLANTS.

Three House PI uits, varieties — 1.
James Walker, Rutherglen ; 2. William
Robertson, Albert Gardens ; 3. William
Wright, Annfield Cottage, Airdrie.

Two Greenhouse Plants, varieties —

1. James Walker; 2. William Wright;
3. William Robertson.

One Fuchsia — 1. James F. Mills,
Hutchesontown Gai dens ; 2. John Mar-
shall, Parkhead ; 3, Alexander Mar-
shall, Parkhead.

Six Ornamental Foliage Geraniums
— 1. Thomas Stobo, Hutchesontown
Gardens ; 2. Peter Fox, Victoria
Gardens ; 3. David Coghill, Hutcheson-
town Gardens.

Two Geraniums — 1. James F. Mills;

2. Thomas Stobo ; 3. Peter Fox,

Two Geraniums, stage or fancy — 1.
Peter Fox ; 2. James F. Mills.

One fine Foliage Plant — 1. William
Wright; 2. Peter Fox; 3. William
Robertson.

©aUntiar*

KITCHEN

The advantage of having a good supply
of water, which can be given to the
kitchen-garden without stint, cannot
be overestimated ; and the reverse of
this (especially where soil is poor, light,
and of no great depth) will raise up
difiiculties which neither skill nor
energy can overcome. Where fine ten-
der vegetables are required, means for
keeping water in store are indispen-

GARDEN.

sable. Underground tanks, formerly re-
ferred to, are within the reach of many,
if a little expense is not an objection.
Garden - drainage, the surface - water
from walks, buildings, &c., will go a
long way to meet a large demand. We
have several of these contrivances, and
the quantity of water collected within
a few hours is very large. At this
season more water is required than at

iSyi.]

CALENDAR.

339

any other, and it is useless to apply it
to the kitchen-garden if a good soaking
cannot be given. Mulching with litter,
grass, &c., will in a measure prevent
evaporation : a loose open surface will
do much to save the watering - pot.
Salads and Peas are among the first
crops which suffer from drought, but
when the ground has been well pre-
pared with plenty of manure and deep-
trenching before sowing, comparatively
little difficulty is experienced. If man-
ure is limited, everything in the shape
of mowings of grass, edgings of roads,
refuse of vegetables, &c., should be
harvested all through the season to mix
with fallen leaves, and when well rot-
ted will form an excellent dressing for
vegetable crops. Where drills have been
used when planting winter crops, the
hoe should be used among them, level-
ling the soil round the stems of the plants.
If this is done after a good shower or
"artificial watering," the moisture will
be long retained about their roots. Con-
tinue to plant crops as ground becomes
vacant. Brussels Sprouts, Kale, Broc-
coli, Cauliflower, Savoys, and Cabbage
for autumn and winter, may be got in
without delay. A store of Kale or Cab-
bage plants on hand ready to fill up
ground after Potatoes, and planting
them rather thickly, will do much to
keep up supplies of tender produce.
Sow more seed soon. Cabbage left to
sprout should have the fork used free-
ly among them, and mulching given.
This practice is only advantageous
where ground cannot be spared for
young successions. Top Beans in
flower to hasten podding. Peas of
an early kind may be tried in suitable
localities ; and where late kinds are
coming in prematurely, the flowers may
all be picked off and well topped back,
and root action encouraged. This
practice, when the soil at the roots
is parched, is useless. Sow a good
breadth of Turnips — such as Red and
White Stone. Laing's Swede may still
be sown, which is a valuable kind in
winter. Leeks and Celery should be
planted without delay. Early Celery
may have a little soil placed among
the plants, after the soil has been well
stirred and a good soaking of water
given : mulching can also be done with
advantage among Celery, especially
where the "one -earthing" system is
practised. With early Celery, " earth-
ing-up," as growth progresses, unques-
tionably gives the finest-flavoured pro-

duce. Blanching is not so easily done
in the hot dry season as with late crops.
Sow a good breadth of Pai'sley for win-
ter, and thin out crops as they advance.
The thinnings of Parsley, if carefully
selected, give good supplies, and stand
the winter well. In low damp locali-
ties good Parsley may be had in winter
by planting on ridges thrown up sharply
like the letter A, thus giving a deep soil,
on which water will not be too long re-
tained. Dampness and late luxuriant
growth in autumn are greater evils to
manj'^ kinds of winter vegetables than
frost. Plenty of Salads for autumn sup-
ply should be sown or planted in quan-
tity-— Endive and Lettuce especially.
American Land Cress and Golden Cress
are generally esteemed, and they stand
the winter well ; but August and Sep-
tember is soon enough (according to
locality) for main supplies. Spinach
may be sown in quantity : well-worked
ground is necessary to grow it well ;
poor sandy soil gives tough produce.
Prickly Spinach may be sown at the
end of the mouth. There is seldom
too much of this in the winter months.
New Zealand Spinach should not be
neglected now. Manure - water and
mulching the roots will do much to
give large tender leaves in autumn.
Seakale and Asparagus will be much
improved if sprinkled with salt in
moist weather ; however, late growth
should not be encouraged, as the roots
would be in danger if the winter should
prove damp and cold. Though these
are hardy vegetables, uimatural luxu-
riance and damp rich soil destroy
them in severe weather. Tomatoes
should have useless growths taken off.
Keep the plants from being matted. A
single cordon run up a wall, rubbing oS
the laterals as they appear, is a good
practice to secure plenty of large fruit.
They flower abundantly at each joint.
Thinning is often necessary. We get
plenty of early supplies from these cor-
dons when trained up the rafters of late
Cucumber-pits, in which the Cucum-
bers are allowed to grow on the beds ;
and on rafters in pits, under which Fi^-s
are planted out, plenty of Tomatoes are
gathered. The little shade does no
harm, Ptidge Cucumbers require fre-
quent attention. Lai'ge quantities of
growths taken off at once encourages
the disease, which some suffer severely
from. Cold water used after a hot day
is a great evil ; tepid water is necessary
where disease is prevalent. M. T.

340

THE GARDENER.

[July

FORCING DE

Pines. — Should the weather be such
as horticulturists like aud generally ex-
pect in Jul}', the necessity for using fire-
heat, to keep temperatures Bufficit-ntly
high for Pines in all stages of growtl),
will be in some localities superseded
by the more natural and invigorating
heat of the sun. At the same time, if
a period of dull, wet, and comparatively
cold weather should occur, careful at-
tention must be paid to the atmosphere
of all Pine pits and stoves, and the
pipes should be heated so as to keep
the atmosphere from becoming stag-
nant, and from sinking much below
the maximum temperature. Succes-
sion-plants now in their fruiting-pots
and growing rapidly require to be very
carefully supplied with air, so as to pre-
vent a weak and sappy growth. The j
state of the weather at this season gen- '
erally admits of a more liberal supply j
of air being given. Those intended for
early fruiting next year should, by the
end of the month, be large plants, with
their pots well filled with roots, and re-
quiring careful attention in the matter
of water, so that they do not at any time
get too dry, and consequently receive
a check that may be the cause of their
starting this autumn. On the after-
noons of fine days these aud all succes-
sion stocks should be syringed through
a fine rose, so as to moisten the surface
of the leaves without causing much
water to accumulate about the axils of
the leaves, and produce a tendency to
throw up suckers, and divert their ener-
gies from the centres. The night tem-
perature should range at 75°, and when
the nights are cold it may drop to 70°
at 6 A.M. Although much opposed to
shading Pines, it is sometimes necessarj^
to prevent their becoming wiry and
brown when the weather is intensely
bright. Hexagon netting will generally
be found sufficiently thick material for
this purpose. Avoid the use of mats or
thick canvas, for of two evils a little
brownness of the leaf is pi^eferable to
a weak watery growth. Early-started
Queens will now be all cut, and the
suckers they have produced ready to be
potted : 6 and 7 inch pots will be suffi-
ciently large for these. For soil, use
fresh turfy loam with a few bones mixed
with it. In plunging these give them
plenty of room, and keep them near the
glass. Shade when bright till they
make roots 2 inches long; and when
they begin to grow freely, give plenty
of air to keep them stocky. If fruiting-

PARTMENT.

plants for another year be scarce, some
of the finest of these early suckers may
be potted into their fruiting-pots by-
and-by, and successfully fruited next
sumuier. Where a quantity of fruit
are ripe at one time, they can be kept
a long time by removing the plants to a
cool fruit-room. Fruit swelling off may
be pushed on if necessary with a high
temperature from sun-heat by shutting
up early. The thermometer may rise
from 95° to 100° for a while, with a cor-
responding amount of moisture. "Water
them liberally with manure-water, and
syringe them overhead every fine after-
noon. If a stock of fresh soil for next
year is not already stored, now is a good
time to do it. A calcareous loam from
an old pasture, taken to the depth of 4
inches, is the best. Store it in some
place where it can have full air, but not
exposed to wet.

Grapes. — As houses get cleared of
the fruit, we would reiterate former
directions, and urge the necessity of
keeping the foliage healthy and active
as long as possible. Eed-spider must
be prevented by keeping the house
cool by frequent vigorous syringings,
and by preventing the borders from
suffering for want of moisture. Grapes
intended to hang through the winter
should be carefully examined, and if
the berries are at all likely to be too
thick when they attain their full size,
thin them a little more, taking the
berries that are smalle.^t, and those
that crowd the centres of the bunches.
When they are too thick, it is difficult
to prevent them from moulding during
damp winter weather. If this month
should be dry, all Vines swelling and
ripening their crops should be well
watered two or three times, and the
borders mulched. We are convinced
tljat if this were more general the
ravages of spider would be less so, and
Vines would better sustain their vigour.
Muscats, even in the most favoured
localities, should still be fired at
night to keef) the minimum night-heat
from falling below 75°, and the atmos-
phere from becoming stagnant and un-
wholesome. Leave a little air on all
vineries throughout the night, especially
as soon as the Grapes show the first signs
of colouring. Piemove all fresh lateral
growths as they appear. Young Vines
not yet in bearing, but intended to
bear next year, should be stopped
when they reach the top of the house,
and their lateral growth confined to

iSyi.]

CALENDAR.

341

two leaves from each joint, one of
which may be removed when the wood
begins to get brown. Care, however,
must be exercised in so doing, that the
main bud intended to bear next year's
crop does not start. If there be any
signs of this, let them make lateral
growth to counteract it. Vines planted
and intended to be cut down this
year, should be allowed to make as
much growth as there is room for,
without crowding their foliage, as the
more they grow this season, the more
strongly rooted they become, and the
finer their next year's growth. It is
not yet too late to plant Vines struck
from eyes this spring. If borders can
be prepared for them any time this
month, they will run the whole length
of the roof, and make fine Vines next
year. If pot Vines have been for-
warded as directed in former Calendars,
they will now be strong canes, with full
buds, and their wood changing to a
brownish hue. Give them an increased
circulation of air ; do not allow them
to make any fresh lateral growths, and
see that they are fully exposed to
the sun ; for unless their growth be
thoroughly hard and well ripened, no
great success can be counted on in the
way of fruit from them next year.

Peaches. — Give fruit that are colour-
ing abundance of air night and day,
and see that none of them are shaded
with leaves. Copiously water with
manure-water, and mulch the surface
of the boi'ders of those swelling off their
fruit, and syringe them freely on fiue
afternoons till they begin to change
colour, after which syringe no more
till the fruit are all gathered. Let no
amount of care and trouble be con-
sidei'ed too much in order to keep the
foliage of the early trees from which
the fruit are all gathered healthy and
clean. Keep them cool, and mix a
little flower of sulphur in the water
with which they are syringed. This
is an excellent preventive of red-
spider, and Peaches seem to like sul-
phur about their leaves. Attend to
the borders, and see that they do not
become too dry and crack. Attend
carefully to the growths of young
growing trees, and tie them in their
proper places, avoiding crowding them.
Figs. — Where fruit are ripening cease
syringing, and give a free circulation of
warm dry air. Where the first crop is
all gathered, and a second advancing,
see that the trees are well fed. Give
the border a mulching of rich manure,

and water copiously. This of course
applies to plants that are in large pots,
or that have their roots cramped in a
limited border, circumstances under
which Figs bear most freely. The
syringe must be used freely every fine
afternoon to prevent red-spider, except,
of course, where fruit are ripening.
Figs are not fit for table till they have
ripened into a soft pulpy condition,
and are almosc ready to drop from their
stalks.

Melons. — See last month's directions
respecting ripening crops, and former
calendars as to the training and stopping
of growing plants. Melons, especially
those now swelling their fruit, require
much more water than is good for
thetn when the days are shorter, and
the sun less powerful ; but at the same
time avoid frequent dribblets, and give
a few thorough soakings instead. Keep
the surface of the soil fresh, and pre-
vent its cracking — or fill up the cracks,
should they occur, with fine soil, A
final watering should be given before
the fruit begins to ripen, putting a thin
Inyer of Mushroom-dung over the sur-
face of the bed. Remove all superfluous
growths, and slightly syringe the foliage
on fine afternoons up till the time the
fruit begins to ripen, then keep the
house or pit dry, give more air, and ex-
pose the fruit to the sun. Plant out
for a late crop about the middle of the
month. Melons may be planted later,
and ripened late in autumn, but they
are seldom much worth, and it is not
generally done.

Cucumbers. — Water those in full
i bearing copiously with manure-water.
Piemove all old and tarnished foliage
and unproductive wood as fast as they
can be replaced with that which is
young and healthy. Syringe regularly
on fine afternoons, and shut up with
strong sun-heat, so as to do with as
little fire-heat as possible. In the south
they do well at this season in cold frames,
but in Scotland they ai e precarious and
shortlived without more or less fire-
heat.

Strawberries in Pots. — See last
month's Calendar, All should be in
their fruiting-pots by the middle of this
month at the latest ; earlier if possible.
Stand them where worms cannot molest
them. Give them plenty of room. Re-
move all runners as they appear, and
see that they never suffer from want of
water. Syringe or water them over-
head through a rose-pot every evening
when the weather is hot and dry.

342 THE GARDENER. [July 187

IToticcs fa Corrcsponircnts.

We are very much obliged to those Correspondents from whom communica-
tions have been received, and regret that several of them are again crowded out.

All business communications should be addressed to the Publishers, and com-
munications for insertion in the * Gardener ' to David Thomson, Drumlanrig
Gardens, Thornhill, Drunifriesshire. It will farther oblige if all matter intended
for publication, and questions to be replied to, be forwarded by the middle of the
month, and written on one side of the paper only. It is also requested that
writers forward their name and address, not for publication, unless they wish it,
but for the sake of that mutual confidence which should exist between the Editor
and those who address him. We decline noticing any communication which is
not accompanied with name and address of writer.

Errata. — Page 266, line 15, fo?- " Resuick " read " Keswick." Page 288, line
24, after *' Hose Princess Beatrice," read "from Mr W. Paul, of Waltham Cross."

A. H. Veale. — The effects of charcoal are almost wholly mechanical, and its
value consists in keeping retentive soils porous, and in absorbing ammonia from
the air and decomposing matter with which it comes in- contact. It has no affi-
nity for ammonia, but merely stores it up, and gives it off again to the plants. We
use it constantly, especially mixed with composts, for potting plants with, in
order to keep the soil open, and as a medium to store up nutriment that is sup-
plied in a liquid form. In flower-borders that are adhesive it is an excellent ma-
terial to mix in to keep the soil open and porous. It may have the effect of
brightening the colour of flowers, but we cannot say from experience that it has.
The best way to apply it is to incorporate it thoroughly with the soil. We sus-
pect the moral of the narrative to which you refer is the most valuable and reliable
part of it.

A Gardener. — When we tell you that we recollect of its once being asserted
in the same journal that hot-water pipes were useless in Pine-pits, and that gar-
deners put them in such structures for the sake of the discount they got out of
them ! ! you may, like us, think very lightly of any scandal which is poured upon
us from the same quarter now. We hope all who are worthy of the name of
"Gardener" will survive such libels. We have no intention of entering on a
defence in these pages ; it is not necessary.

J. C. — The reports of weather, &c., you send us are stamped by the post-office
officials " Contrary to regulations," and we are charged 2d. for them. Thanks
all the same.

Chateau Yallon. — The young Fern fronds have become quite black and pulpy,
and we can just know them as Ferns. Plants to be recognised and named, require
to be more carefully sent than in an ordinary note by post.

THE

GARDENER

AUGUST 1871.

THE SOIL - SUPPLY OF GARDENS.

E recently commented on the water-supply of gardens, and
now we propose to offer a few remarks on the very
important question of the soil-supply of gardens. It need
not be said that these twin elements rank of the very first
and highest importance in nearly all the operations of the horticul-
turist. Destitute of them, he might give up his occupation ; inadequately
supplied with them, he is almost as badly off as the Egyptians when
called up to render their tale of bricks without a supply of straw. It is
on the plentiful supply of water, and soil of certain qualities, more than
anything else, that the character of garden produce depends. At least
all other appliances, however correctly handled, cannot insure success in
the absence of good water and soils.

Gardeners have in numerous instances to put up with much that is
most trying and unreasonable connected with their supply of soils for
potting and other purposes. It would be as reasonable to expect the
farm-steward to send prime sirloins to the larder for at oxen to a cattle-
show without supplying him with plenty of proper food to feed them
with, as it is to expect the gardener to produce first-rate plants and
fruits without a proper supply of soil. Fortunately for the farmer,
he can manufacture or grow the greater portion of what his oxen
require, but gardeners cannot manufacture "turfy loam" and
"fibry peat." No nobleman or gentleman ever expects the farm to
produce prize animals on dry bents or chaff, and yet such an ex-
pectation would only equal in absurdity the expectation that fine

2 B

344 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

Pine-Apples and other pot-plants can be reared on road-scrapings,
or clay, or any otlier composts equally unsuitable to the best cul-
tural results. That policy which compels gardeners just to take
any sort of soil that they can get, and prohibits them from taking a
supply of that which is proper, is not only an unreasonable but a short-
sighted policy on the part of employers. We have known gardeners con-
nected with large landed estates obliged to take road-scrapings to pot
with, and to pot their pines in clay mixed with chopped straw and leaves,
while plenty of good loam could be had in tlie nearest meadows. Not
only is this a stupid policy, but the apprehensions which lead proprietors
thus to refuse proper soil are entirely delusive and without foundation.
They will not allow the gardener to break into the meadow, because they
fear that by so doing their lands will be sadly and permanently deterio-
rated. Even if he offers to replace it with a richer and better grass-
producing soil, the offer is seldom reassuring, and in some cases not
entertained for a moment. We are not now supposing cases for the
sake of a purpose. Indeed, we venture to assume that a large propor-
tion of gardeners can endorse from their own experience what we are
stating.

We once held a situation where we were driven, as the saying is,
"to our wits' end" for want of soil to pot with. At last, after a
sort of special pleading, and a controversion of the ideas of the pro-
prietor— and always, in this battle, his lieutenant the farm-bailif —
permission was obtained to test our statements in the corner of an old
meadow. Of course, it was not expected of us that we could substantiate
the assertion that the produce, and consequently the value, of the
patch would be increased instead of deteriorated. On the contrary,
the performance was regarded as a piece of impudent robbery, more
especially as gardeners are not expected to know anything of farming
or meadows. How can they? However, our success was complete.
The yield of hay was nearly doubled, and in the autumn the grass
was green and sweet, resorted to by cattle and sheep in preference to
any other part of the meadow. The issue was that a regular supply
was granted so long as the bargain was implemented in the same way.
And what was the process 1 Simply first to mow as closely as possible
the grass, then to skin off the turf as thinly as it would hang together
and bear handling. Then the 3 inches of soil lying immediately
underneath the thin skin, and which contained the roots of the grass,
was taken for the garden. The space was filled up with old rich soil,
such as is not very difficult to procure about most garden establish-
ments ; at least most gardeners will be glad to provide such, by hook
or by crook, to exchange for maiden loam. The surface was rolled
down firmly, turfed over with the same turf, and well rolled again.

1 87 1.] THE SOIL -SUPPLY OF GARDENS. 345

The soil exchanged, being much richer than the loam, yielded not
only better but earlier grass, while it was utterly unfit for the
potting-bench. The result was, a grant of as much soil yearly as was
required. Of course, it would have been much better, and quite as
harmless, to have taken the turf ; but we ran no risk of committing
ourselves ; and every gardener knows what a boon it is to get even
that which lies immediately below the thin skin of turf, instead of
being compelled to work with any rubbish he could otherwise scrape
together. By this method not even a season's sward is sacrificed ; but
if the turf be taken, and the ground properly laid down firmly, and
sown thickly with permanent grasses, and fenced round for a few
months, it is difficult at the close of the season, except by close
inspection, to know where the turf has been removed, unless it be by
the rich verdure of the spot.

This question is one of vast moment to successful culture ; and we
feel confident that if many who, under an absurd dream, deny such a
supply, were to submit to one trial, there would not in the end be
any objections to taking the requisite amount each season. And we
are certain that many a just complaint from the gardener would be
avoided, and the produce of the garden vastly improved.

While we thus point out the groundlessness of the idea that
gardeners would deteriorate the value of grass-land by the process we
have described, it is but right on the part of gardeners to be as spar-
ing and economical with soil so obtained as possible, and not to break
into fields more extensively than is absolutely necessary; for we admit
the process does create an eyesore and disturbance for a short time.
We have known the loam shaken from old Pine-plants, French Bean-
pots, from Melon and Cucumber pits, made no further use of, but
either wheeled into an open quarter of the garden or to the waste-heap,
while it might perfectly well have been made use of for many purposes
— such as mixing up for potting and boxing flower-garden plants.
Heaps of good soil are often collected with other rubbish under pot-
ting-benches, and then taken to the waste-heap. All such ought
to be sifted, and the good soil separated from the other matter, and
a place set apart for forming all soil collected in this way into a heap
that can be profitably used in many ways, with which all gardeners
are conversant. Hundreds would be glad to use what some refuse,
and in refusing, and drawing too greedily and injudiciously on fresh
supplies, are to some extent perpetuating the tenacity with which
so many owners of land refuse their gardeners fresh supplies.

346 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

NOTES ON "AMERICAN" OR PEAT - SOIL SHRUBS

KALMIA.

Of this genus of American slirubs it is unnecessary to say more, by way
of commendation, than that it contains among the few species of which
it is composed some of the most handsome Evergreens in cultivation,
and that they have long been extensively grown and universal favourites
both in general shrubberies and in collections of peat-soil plants.

Introduced at intervals between 1734 and 1825 from JN'orth America,
where they are diffused over a very wide area, growing in rocky woods
and high mountain-bogs, some of the species pervading large tracts
in a similar manner with the Calluna vulgaris of our moorlands,
they have proved themselves perfectly hardy and easily cultivated in
this country, growing with the greatest luxuriance under the ordinary
conditions necessary for the other American plants.

All the species have bright showy flowers, elegant foliage, and neat
habits of growth, forming close dwarf bushes, in some cases only a few
inches, and never above 4 or 5 feet, in height. The blooming season
extends over a considerable period of the spring and summer, some of
the sorts coming out early in April, in favourable seasons in March,
while others are not in perfection till July.

Along with their attractive colours the flowers are interesting from
their singular shape, the corolla consisting of a single tubular-based
and spreading-topped petal, the ten stamens bending back from the
centre so as to resemble the ribs of an umbrella, concealing the
anthers in an equal number of cavities regularly disposed round the
inside ; these cavities form horn-like protuberances on the outside,
and give to the flower the appearance of an elaborately-carved and
elegant salver.

While all the species are really evergreen, some of them have a ten-
dency, in very severe winters or in exposed situations, to partially
shed their leaves in midwinter or early in spring, before the growth
begins ; this, however, has no bad efi'ect on the health of the plants,
as on the approach of genial weather they begin to grow with their
usual vigour, and expand their blossoms at the proper season.

Though light sandy peat is the best soil for all the sorts, they will
thrive in a rich arenaceous loam, provided it contains plenty of fibre.

The Kalmias are admirable subjects for pot-culture, as they can be
easily forced into early flowering, and are most eff'ective and pleasing
additions to the decoration of the conservatory at any season. For
this purpose they may be potted, and placed at once in the forcing-
house. If wanted very early, however, the best plan is to lift them in

iSyi.] NOTES ON "AMERICAN" SHRUBS. 347

autumn, or as soon as it is possible to determine which of the plants
are best set with flower-buds, and to protect them from frost till it is
time to introduce them into heat.

We note a few of the more distinct and showy species and varieties : —

K. angust (folia. — This pretty species is a native of Carolina and Penn-
sylvania, where it grows in bogs, swamps, and sometimes in high
mountain-lands. It rarely exceeds 3 feet in height, forming a thick
bush with Myrtle-like leaves of a peculiar light shining green colour,
in themselves very ornamental, and contrasting well with the darker
green of most other shrubs. The flowers, which are in perfection
about the end of June or beginning of July, are of a delicate pink
colour, and are produced from the sides of the branches in bunches.
It is thoroughly hardy, and will thrive in any situation with the other
peat-soil shrubs. There are several well-defined varieties of this species
in cultivation, more or less interesting to horticulturists. Of these we
can recommend rubra, with darker-coloured flowers, and pumial, a
miniature form, with other characters very similar to the species. Both
varieties are well worthy of cultivation.

K. glauca, from Canada and some parts of the United States, is a
well-known and beautiful species, growing from 1 to 2 feet high,
dense in its habit, with foliage much smaller than that of the preced-
ing, of a dark-green colour, and glaucous beneath. The flowers are
pale red, and are produced in terminal corymbs. It is a most profuse
bloomer, and is generally in perfection in the beginning of April,
though in mild springs it is sometimes seen in full bloom in the
middle of March. It is the best of the family for very early forcing,
and may be had in full flower, with a moderate amount of heat, early
in January.

A moist situation should always be chosen for this species ; and
where it cannot be had naturally, it will be found advantageous to
supply it liberally with water once or twice during the dry season.

The varieties usually grown are stricta, a well-marked upright form,
and superba, with somewhat larger and higher-coloured flowers, but
otherwise very similar to the species ; both of these are fine, and ought
to find a place in the peat-beds.

K. tatifolia, from Canada and a large portion of the United States,
popularly known as the Calico Bush or Mountain Laurel, is a magnifi-
cent shrub, either in or out of flower, and by far the most showy of
the genus. Its leaves are of an ovate lanceolate form, thick in texture,
and of a fine shining green colour ; the flowers, which are of a fine
red colour, changing to a paler tint, are much larger than those of any
of the other species, and are produced in large bunches at the ends of
the branches ; they usually expand from about the middle or end of

3i8 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

May till the beginning of July, according to the season. It attains a
height of from 8 to 10 feet in this country, and when well grown
has a most symmetrical appearance.

The situation best adapted for its growth is one fully exposed to the
sun, and so well drained that there is no possibility of water stagnat-
ing at the roots : a dry sloping bank or raised bed suits it admirably.
It is most impatient of wetness or excessive moisture ; under such cir-
cumstances it soon gets stunted-like, and rarely forms flower-buds.
The best variety of this species in cultivation is MyrtifoUu, a miniature
form, yet as indispensable as its parent to any collection.

Hugh Eraser.

GRAPE - SETTING.

This subject has of late been discussed to a considerable extent in the
various horticultural periodicals. Some of the writers, notably Mr
Simpson of Wortley, has been the advocate of a liberal use of the
syringe during the time the Grapes are in bloom ; and I at once admit
that Mr Simpson's success as a fruit-grower entitles his opinion on this
subject to the highest respect and consideration. Others, and amongst
them the writer, think that a dry atmosphere conduces most to the
setting of the shyer sorts, such as Muscats, Lady Downes, West St
Peter's, Mrs Pince, Black Morocco, and Cannon Hall Muscat, inas-
much as in a dry atmosphere the pollen disperses itself with greater
freedom than in a damp one. The farmer is familiar with the fact
that heavy rains falling on his wheat when it is in bloom — i.e., when
the pollen is bursting — is against its setting, as compared with hot dry
weather ; and may there not be some analogy between Wheat and
Grapes in this respect 1 I think there is between all plants. As to
results, as far as my experience and observation have gone, I am certain
that there is no difficulty in getting any Grape I know to set well in- a
dry atmosphere ; that is, as dry an atmosphere as we find in a vinery
where the steaming and watering the varieties is only suspended when
the Grapes come into bloom, to be resumed as soon as they are set,
except the Cannon Hall Muscat. Occasionally I have seen this
Grape set well when no special precautions were taken with it ; but as
a rule, all I have tried with it has failed to satisfy me. Its frequent
failure results from an entirely different cause to that which leads to
failure in, for instance, the Black Morocco. The pollen of the former
is not only deficient in quantity, but the female organ has a sort of
gum over its point, which protects it from the fertilising influence of
either its own or the pollen of any other Grape. Not so with the lat-

1871.] GRAPE-SETTING. 349

ter ; the defect in its case is in the pollen. If left to the action of its
own pollen, some three or four berries will set in each bunch and
become a great size, while all the others remain the size of peas. On
the other hand, when the bunch is in bloom, if the pollen of another
variety be shaken over it, it sets as freely as any Grape I know, and
swells all its berries. This treatment will have the same eifect with
the other sorts I have named, the Cannon Hall alone excepted. I
am not aware if the advocates of the syringe for Grapes at setting-
time pretend that it will cause such a Grape as the Morocco to set in
the absence of other foreign aid.

To me it appears that all that can be claimed for the system is that
it does little harm ; for this reason, that there is a capsule over the
organs of each embryo berry, which protects them from the injury they
would otherwise receive from the mechanical action of water dashed
against them, until the pollen is in a fit state to be discharged on to
the female organ ; and seeing that these capsules come off the points of
the embryo berries in regular succession, and that the syringe is used
but once or twice during the twenty-four hours, it becomes very diffi-
cult to say whether good or evil is the result, though I suspect, in how-
ever small a degree, it must be the latter : certain it is that Grapes set
as thick as can be desired without having the bunches syringed when
in bloom, if all other necessary precautions are observed, with, as far as
my own experience goes, the sole exception of the Cannon Hall Muscat ;
and any one who can discover a certain means of causing it to set like
the Muscat of Alexandria will confer a great boon on Grape-growers.

The finest three bunches of Grapes I ever grew were Cannon Hall
Muscats ; they were perfect in bunch and berry, and weighed 13 lb.
I got the first prize for Muscats at the July show of the Royal Botanic
Society, in the Regent's Park, about twenty-five years ago : since that
date, though I have often made the attempt, I have never grown a
perfect bunch of this Grape, nor have I seen one ; those I refer to were
grown in a Pine-stove, over the hot pipes. The following and succeed-
ing years they set so badly, that though the bunches were large enough
they had a ragged appearance ; and this has been their character w^hen-
ever I have attempted to grow them since that date. If I were to
suggest a remedy, I would look in the direction of some harmless
solution that would, when applied in water, dissolve the gum on the
female organs of the embryos, and as soon as they get dry apply the
pollen of another Grape to them ; for I am confident this gum is the
cause of their failure. . Wm. Thomson.

Tweed Vineyard, Clovenfobds
BY Galashiels.

350 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

CULTURAL HINTS ON TODEA SUPERBA.

Most Ferns are beautiful, some are supremely so. Adiantum Farleyense
counts an admirer in every one who looks upon its pretty cut leaflets,
pendent, in clusters, on hair-like branchlets so fine as to require near
inspection to discern their presence. So charmingly airy, and yet so
fragile, does the whole plant appear, that one at once concludes that a
breath of dry or chilly air would wither up its greenness.

The soft luxuriant aspect of a healthy Todea superba, while in growth,
also engenders similar impressions in the mind of the beholder, although
we are aware of its comparative hardiness. Any further description of
this Fern is indeed difficult to encounter, nor shall we venture to
detail more than what is superficial.

The likest object that I can select to illustrate or represent T.
superba in form, is that of a huge rosette. Imagine such, built up by
a series of layers of elegantly curved, lanceolate, mossy plumes, beauti-
fully crisp, semitransparent, the pinnse a brisk green, densely compact,
and so placed on edge along the rachis as to impart in some degree the
likeness of a piece of green velvet to the fronds. These rich distinctions,
adding the various shades exhibited in the fronds of difi'erent ages, which
range from bright pea in the young to the deepest green in the old,
give T. superba a beauty entirely its own.

Modes of Culture. — This Fern is generally considered and treated as
a greenhouse species, and grown under such conditions excellent speci-
mens are found ; but I have noticed invariably such plants present a
hard harsh look in winter ; at all events, they are in a great measure
void of that delicate hue which is so attractive, and is constantly pre-
sent on plants wintered in a few degrees higher temperature. Besides
this, another advantage follows the latter mode — that is, an additional
growth to the plant in the year is secured ; and this, so far as my
experience goes, without hurt to the constitution of the plant. I have
also discovered that they throw up fronds more vigorous and numerous
in winter than those produced in the height of summer, and that the
plants have a stronger inclination for rest in summer than any other
period of the year. As an example, last season our only plant of
superba came to a state of inactivity at the end of June, after having
matured a course of fronds: this state continued on to the end of
August, when fresh signs of active growth appeared. The plant
during this season of rest stood inside a case in a cool green-
house among some plants of T. pellucida and Hymenophyllums ;
on seeing fresh fronds appearing, I had the plant placed in its quar-
ters in the stove, as I intended it for competition in September, and of
course the crest of young fronds would much enhance its value. The

1871.] HINTS ON TODEA SUPERBA. 351

plant was shown in the condition described, and after standing four days
and five nights under canvas inside a hand-glass, it was brought home
without the least damage, and has continued without cessation to pro-
duce fresh fronds ever since. Ten fresh fronds at present crown its
centre ; after these are in a sufficient state to warrant them beyond
danger of hurt by exposure in a cooler house, the plant shall be re-
moved from the case in the stove to one in a greenhouse.

Potting and Compost. — Among the various requirements necessary
to healthy development, these are two of the chief. Like all the other
members of the filmy kind, T. superba delights in a compost of an open
porous nature, with plenty of drainage. This soil is composed of the fol-
lowing ingredients : of chopped-up Sphagnum moss two parts, one part
silver-sand, part in lumps and part pounded ; one part turfy peat, chopped
up j these are well mingled together : the soil is then in a condition to
use. Shallow Achimenes pots are to be preferred to the others, as they
afford better scope to provide for neck-roots — width, not depth, being
most required. The pots and crocks ought to be scrupulously clean,
then potting may be performed — first, by placing in the pan about 2J
inches of broken pots; h inch of Sphagnum moss, to keep the drainage
free; next follow, in course, enough of the compost to hold the crown
of the plant well above the rim of the pot — indeed, the upper portion
of the neck-roots ought to form a sudden slope from the plant down
to the body of the soil after they are spread out and covered by the
mixture.

Having done the potting, the plant ought to be well watered
at the root, and at once returned to its case in the stove, admitting
air copiously and constantly from the interior — shading, of course, in
all seasons while the sun shines, excepting in the depth of winter, when
blinks of sunshine will be beneficial.

Watering. — Soft, clean, tepid water must constantly be administered,
both by sprinkling overhead and root-waterings. On no account let
the soil get dry, and see that perfect provision has been provided for
a ready outlet to the water given : stagnant water and soured soil are
certain death to most plants, sooner or later.

In conclusion, I may remark, dew the fronds by a fine rose fre-
quently in dry hot weather, not even omitting one dewing daily in
dull days. The foregoing hints apply with equal propriety to T. pel-
lucida, T. Fraseri, &c., as well as to exotic Hymenophyllums.

A. Kerr.

352 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

THE KITCHEN-GARDEN.

No. XI.

{Continued from page 23.)

SPINACH.

To supply Spinach in first-rate condition all the year round is not
always an easy matter, especially in dry liot localities and in poor
sandy soils. At the same time it is a vegetable which is almost daily
in demand ; hence, although in some respects a simple enough crop to
produce at certain seasons, it is of importance to be well versed in the
best way of keeping up a supply at times when it is not so easily
accomplished.

It being from autumn sowings that the winter and spring supply
of this vegetable is got, and as the proper seasons for these sowings
are at hand, we will discuss them first. Circumstances must in this
case, as in most garden operations, determine the exact time to sow.
On late soils and in cold localities, the first sowing for late autumn
and winter use should be made early in August ; but in the warmer
and more genial districts the middle of August is sufficiently early,
for it is not so likely to stand the winter so w^ell if too strong before
frosts set in. It is, however, best not to trust to one sowing ; and a
portion should be sown the first week in August, and another ten or
twelve days later; so that the first, if too strong for standing the winter,
can be more liberally gathered, and the later sowing left for later and
early spring supplies. The best variety to sow at this season is the
prickly-seeded. The ground should be light and dry rather than the
reverse, and deeply trenched and well manured. On damp soils it is
an excellent plan to run the ground off into 4-feet beds, and raise
them by throwing the soil out of the paths between the beds on to
their surface. The seed should be sown in drills about 14 inches
apart ; and should the soil be very dry at the time of sowing, steep the
seeds for twelve hours in water ; and after sowing it, w^ater the drills
before closing them. This causes an early and more regular vegeta-
tion. Keep the surface of the soil well stirred with the hoe as soon
as ever the seed appears above ground ; and as soon as it forms the
rough leaf, and can be handled, thin it out to 6 inches between plants.
The practice of leaving it unthinned, as is often the case, causes the
plants to draw up in a weakly state, and is very objectionable, inasmuch
as it is never so productive of fine large succulent leaves, and it never
stands the winter so well. The ground between the rows should be
kept well stirred and fresh throughout the autumn. In taking sup-
plies from it before severe weather, the leaves should be carefully

1871.] THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 353

pricked off leaf by leaf, and not torn indiscriminately in handfuls, leav-
ing a mass of broken leaves, which are more likely to suffer in conse-
quence of such mutilation. During severe black frost some protection
should be afforded to the crop, and a very good way of doing so is
either to stick some Evergreen boughs between the rows, or to lightly
shake a little clean straw over them.

The latest of the two autumn sowings will generally keep up the
supply till the round Spinach, generally sown in February or early in
March, comes in. Shelter being of great importance in forwarding this
early spring sowing, I have found it an excellent way to sow it between
the rows of early Peas in a warm south border. In such a position,
the Pea-stakes and Peas shelter it from the cold w^inds of spring, and
it is much earlier ready for gathering than when sown in ground exclu-
sively devoted to itself. Up till the middle of June a sowing of round
Spinach should be put in every fourteen days ; and as it has a great
tendency to run to seed without producing leaves that are fit for use in
dry warm weather, the ground should be deeply worked and heavily
manured; and every sowing should be properly thinned out, as directed
for autumn sowings, for if left thick, a crop of tough worthless leaves
is the result. Generally a row of Spinach is sown between rows of
Peas, and such is a very good position for it in the heat of summer, as
it gets shade to some extent from the Peas.

With the most careful management and very frequent sowings, it is
not easy to produce fine Spinach in July, August, and September, espe-
cially in light sandy soil ; and to give a certain supply for this season,
the New Zealand Spinach is invaluable. It was discovered on the
shores of New Zealand by Captain Cook, and the expeditionists were
induced to try it as an esculent, and found it wholesome and agreeable;
and it owes its instalment amongst English garden vegetables to Sir
Joseph Banks, who introduced it into cultivation about 1772 : since
then it has been found a much more hardy plant than it was at first
considered to be, and is of great importance to every gardener who is
required to produce a supply of Spinach daily through the hottest
months of the year. The drier and hotter the weather, the more luxu-
riantly it grows, and a score of plants properly cultivated will yield
supply sufiicient for a large family from the end of July till the end of
October. In England I have seen it come up self-sown, but in this
way it is too late to be useful ; and it is necessary to sow it in heat
about the middle of April, and when ready to be potted put three
into a 5-inch pot, and kept in heat till they have well filled the pots.
They are hardened off, and planted out the end of May or early in
June. Select a border with southern exposure, and take out pits 6
feet apart, and fill them up with rotten dung and fresh soil in equal

3U THE GARDENER. [Aug.

proportions. Plant one pot in the centre of eacli pit, and cover witli
a hand-glass, and keep them well watered should the weather be dry.
As soon as they begin to grow freely the glasses can be removed, and
the Spinach will soon cover the whole surface of the ground with a
luxuriant growth. This variety often gets destroyed with frost before
the August sowings of the Prickly are fit for use, and it is a good plan
to sow a large sowing of the Prickly about the middle of July, to fill
up the gap that may be occasioned. New Zealand Spinach is much
better than the perennial, and ought to be more generally cultivated
than it is. The perennial variety may be sown outdoors in April.
Some sow it in heat, and then transplant it j but unless it be in very
cold places, it does very well sown out doors. D. T.

NOTES Olsr AUTUMN AND WINTER
FLOWERING PLANTS.

{Continued from page 312. )

EPIPHYLLUMS.

We find Epiphyllums very useful, there being so many varieties, several
of which flower much earlier than others. When groAvn on stems about
18 inches high in 6-inch pots, nothing looks handsomer when
placed in a nice vase as a single plant for dinner-table decoration. We
also find that grown on the Pereskia stock they stand cool treatment
better than on the grandiflora ; the latter will make large plants more
quickly, but they require stove temperature to keep them in good health.
When done blooming, have the required number of pots, if not new,
washed clean, and well and carefully drained to one-fourth their depth,
sprinkling a little moss over the crocks to keep the soil from getting
amongst them and stopping the free passage of the water. Although
they delight in plenty of water when growing, if the soil gets soured
by its not passing freely through, they soon begin to show signs of it
by a yellow sickly appearance. The soil we find them do well in is a
mixture of good fibry loam, a little peat with a good quantity of cow-
dung which has been laid up for some time, adding a little sand and
charcoal the size of beans. Those plants that require a larger pot get
one a size larger than the one they came out of ; but if not very well
rooted, a little of the soil round the outside of the ball is carefully
taken away, and they put into the same size again. When all are
shifted, look to the staking of each, as the heads, being so heavy, if
not properly fastened, are apt to break off at the top of the pot. Then
place them in a temperature of 65° by night, where they can have a

1871.] AUTUMN AND WINTER PLANTS. 355

slight shade from the mid-day sun for a short time. If the soil is at all
moist when potting, give little water till the plants show signs of growth,
when they should be regularly attended to with plenty of water. From
potting up to this time, and all through the growing season, let them
have at least one good syringing once a-day. This treatment should
be continued up till about the middle of September, when we gradually
give less water, and reduce the heat until we place them in a house
where the glass falls no lower that 40° at night. From this house a
few are taken at intervals into the forcing-house, where they soon show
their flowers. The following twelve are effective varieties : — magnifi-
cum, purpureum, tricolor, Russelianum, rubrum, superbum, violaceum,
Bridgesii, salmoneum, elegans, spectabile, amabile.

WINTER -FLOWERING BEGONIAS.

Another class of plants that should not be overlooked, as their culti-
vation is so easy. They do well on a shelf in a Pine-stove, or any place
where they can have a temperature of from 60° to 70°. They require
no bottom heat, at least we find them do well without it. The pro-
pagation for autumn and winter blooming should be begun in June,
making two or three successional lots. If the old plants are kept after
the cuttings are taken off and allowed to break, then shake them out
and repot them ; they will come in early in autumn, and keep in
bloom till the first lot of cuttings comes in. They do well in a mixture
of turfy loam, sand, and rotten cow-manure, with a little charcoal.
The pots should be well drained, as they like plenty of water, but it
must pass freely through the pots. They also delight in frequent
syringings overhead. We grow very few varieties, having selected
those which we have found good both in giving a supply to cut from
and for decorative purposes. There may be many as beautiful, but
the undermentioned we have proved and can recommend. Weltoniensis
is the best, we think, being a free flowerer, growing dwarf and compact.
Insignis flowers more at the points; large white flowers. Degwelliensis,
free flowerer, and makes fine little specimens in small pots. Subpeltata
nigropunctata is a splendid thing ; Pearcei worth a place ; Sedeni, a
new one, and first class, which should be in every collection.

HEATHS.

The soft-wooded varieties of the above rank high as winter and spring
blooming plants, and their being almost hardy makes them more valu-
able. From necessity we had a quantity which stood all last winter in
cold frames, where there was no artificial heat. Through all the severest
of the frost the covers were never ofi", and several times, when the glass
was falling very low, snow was collected, and laid all over to the depth of

356 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

several inches. They were more than a month covered up in this way.
We were rather afraid to uncover them, and when first looked at every-
thing was quite hard with frost. After careful and gradual exposure,
we found that, with the exception of the tips of a few being a little
browned, they were not injured. After flowering is over they should
be cut down and placed in a cool airy situation till they have broken,
Avhen all should be examined ; those that require another pot should
be attended to at once. The pots ought to be clean and well drained,
using good fibry peat, broken up with the hand, to which add a good
sprinkling of silver-sand; and when charcoal can be procured, break a
little the size of beans, and mix in amongst the whole. If large plants
are required in a short time, the soft-wooded sorts might be placed in
a gentle heat ; but if small healthy plants are in request for house-
decoration, place them in a cold frame, where they can have plenty of
air. If a brick can be placed at each corner of the frame, so as to
raise it the thickness of the brick, it will allow the air to circulate more
freely amongst the plants, keeping the lights close at hand in case of
heavy rains. When they are on, let them be tilted alternately back and
front. There is scarcely any other class of plants which require more
care in watering than Heaths, but if properly attended to in watering,
and frequent syringing overhead, by autumn, nice plants with strong
flowering-spikes will repay all the summer attention.

THE -RHODODENDRON

is another class of plants which come in for a good share of attention
from those who have a large demand on them in keeping the conser-
vatory gay. I will only give the names of a few we have found good
for forcing, and refer all to the able articles in the back numbers
of the ' Gardener ' for the present year for the treatment of this grand
tribe of plants : Proecox, Alta Clarense, Noblieanum, Venus, Regalia,
Minnie, Brayanum, Lady Eleanor Cathcart, Mrs John Waterer, Comet ;
greenhouse sorts, Ciliatum, Countess of Haddington, Edgworthii,
Jasminiflorum, Javanicum, Princess Alexandra, Princess Helena,
Princess Royal, Yeitchianum, and many others which we have not
had an opportunity of testing.

THE THORN.

The new double Scarlet Thorn forces well, and when grown as stan-
dards about 18 inches high, they are very pretty objects mixed
amongst other things in early spring. When done flowering, if
plunged instead of planting them out of their pots altogether, they do
not suffer a check from repotting in autumn. The white or grandiflora
variety makes a good companion to the scarlet.

A. H.

iSyi.] RARE HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 357

NOTES ON NEW AND RARE HARDY HERBACEOUS
; P L A N T S.

DelpMnium nudicaule — Scarlet Deli)hinlmn.— There are purple, blue, and white
Delphiniums, both species and varieties quite numerous in cultivation, but till
the present interesting and striking species was introduced last year by Mr
Thompson of Ipswich, we could not count scarlet in the list of colours offered
by the family. About fourteen years ago D. cardinale was introduced as a
scarlet species, and great expectations were formed of its character from the
name and description that accompanied it. It was red, but a bad red ; and
it proved, besides, a very intractable subject in cultivation, choosing rather to
die after the manner of biennials, than live when its abortive attempt at flower-
ing was over. The present plant is a very different one in every respect, and
I have no hesitation in saying it is one of the greatest acquisitions that have
been made to the list of hardy perennial flowers of late years. I cannot speak
positively of it as being hardy, however, though it may be assumed, from the
fact of its being a native of California, as well as from the way in which it
withstood the wintry weather of last May, that it will stand uninjured in win-
ter when fairly at rest in this country. Our plant was received in April from
Mr Thompson, and was a very healthy one in a 4-inch pot. It was planted
out in the first w^eek in May, and was left unprotected, but started into growth
at once ; and on the 16th, when flower - stems were beginning to come away
vigorously, it stood the test of 10° of frost without the least injury, while her-
baceous Pseonies and many other hardy herbaceous plants had every bit of fresh
growth more or less injured. It has flowered profusely, and still continues to
flower, with promise of many spikes to come. It is earlier and more continu-
ous in its habit of flowering than any Delphinium I am acquainted with. It
is a vigorous-growing freely-branching plant, about 2 feet in height, with me ;
but I observe that Mr Thompson, in speaking of it in his catalogue, remarks
that in this and other respects it is apt to vary from seed. The leaves are
mostly radical, those on the stem being mainly confined to the points where
the branches divide ; they are three-lobed, dark green, thick, and fleshy, and
have a light grey -green spot at the base of each lobe. The stems are quite
smooth, and without any covering, as the name implies, but have a purplish
tinge below, and become glaucous towards their points. The flower-spikes are
loose, each flower being supported on long stout peduncles. The flowers are
li inch [in length, the spur itself being about 1 inch long and somewhat
hooked at the end. They are bright scarlet, and the sepals are tipped with
a spot of brownish green.

Dielytra (Dicentra) chrysantlia — Golden Dkhjira.—Th\&, in its own family, is
perhaps even more distinct and novel than the preceding in its family. The
species we have been hitherto familiar with in cultivation are characterised by
extreme grace of habit and soft pleasing shades of red in their flowers. This new
species is erect and rigid, and somewhat woody in its freely-branching stems, yet
withal graceful. The leaves partake of the same hard texture, but are beauti-
fully divided in a thrice pinnate manner into sharply linear segments, and are
deeply glaucous. The main stem and branches terminate in openly branched
panicles of clear golden-yellow flowers, borne erect, not pendulous, as in other
species with which we are acquainted ; and they are lasting, and freely produced.
It is from the same country, and was introduced b Mr Thompson of Ipswich last
year. Its hardiness has not yet been fairly tested. Should it prove hardy, it

358 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

■will be a valuable acquisition to the ranks of Lardy herbaceous plante. But even
if it do not prove capable of enduring our winters out of doors, all the protection
it will require will be a cold frame, or similar treatmeut to Pentstemons and Cal-
ceolarias. As a pot-plant for the decoration of the greenhouse and conservatory
in spring, it is likely to prove useful. Our plant was received in April, and was
put in a cool propagating-house, and it commenced immediately to throw up a
flower-stem. The flowers lasted from tlic; end of April to the first week of June,
when they were cut away, and the plant was turned out into the herbaceous border,
where it is now throwing up a second i>;inicle. Mr Thompson in his catalogue
says it flowers in August and September, but it appears to be easily had in flower
at any time in pots.

Calceolaria plantaginea — Flantain-lcavcd Calceolaria. — This is an undoubted-
ly hardy species. It has now lived over two winters, the one just past and the
previous one, without any protection in the garden here ; and I am aware of its
having been in the garden of a cottager in a similarly cold locality for many
years. It was introduced from Chili upwards of forty years ago, and appears to
have a very extensive geographic range extending down to the Straits of Magellan,
a fact that will account for its extreme hardiness. It forms low tufted rosettes
of broadly-ovate or rhomboid leaves coarsely toothed, but perfectly smooth and
shining, though deeply veined on the upper side. From the axils of the leaves
spring numerous naked scapelike flower-stalks to the height of 9 inches or a foot,
quite erect, and supporting six or eight bright yellow flowers. On the under
side of the corolla there are usually a number of minute dots of crimson, but
they do not form any striking feature of the flower when casually examined. It
is a very free-flowering plant, and early, having begun throwing up its scapes in
the middle of May ; and if kept growing, will continue to do so till growth is
stopped by the progress of the season. It does not appear to be attacked with
the canker that cuts off so many of the shrubby Calceolarias, but my experience
of it is wholly confined to our own deep cool loam, in which Calceolarias generally
sufi'er little from that disorder : it delights in abundant moisture and rich loamy
soil.

Orcliis maculata, var. superba. — This is a remarkably luxuriant and beauti-
ful variety of the well-known Spotted Orchis. The leaves are very dark green,
and the black spots are intense. The flower-spike is about 8 inches long, dense
and compact, and the colour is deep purple. The flowers last from the middle
of May to the middle of July. It is a first-class hardy border flower.

Wm. Sutherland.
MiNTO Gardens.

HIITTS FOR AMATEURS.— AUGUST.

Whatever may be the diversity of opinion among cultivators in
regard to the summer management of fruit-trees, the practice of divest-
ing them of all useless growths when active growth has ceased is gen-
erally recognised as being essential to ripening of fruit and wood, thus
keeping the tree under control ; and where there is a tendency to over-
luxuriant growth, by the roots growing down into a bad subsoil, &c.,
the neglect of summer and autumn pruning or stopping increases the
evil. Retain enough wood for next season ; but crowding it only gives

i87r.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 359

disappointment. The foliage should be preserved with all care. If
root treatment is put in practice at this season, great caution is neces-
sary not to overdo it. We could, if space would permit, give some
sad examples of reckless destruction of roots. All fruits should he as
well exposed to sun and air as circumstances will permit ; placing
the leaves on one side and tying them back may be done with advan-
tage. If trees are very heavily cropped, many of the fruit may be
thinned out for kitchen use, which will allow that which is left to
mature itself. Netting must have attention, otherwise the best por
tion of the fruit may be destroyed. Hexagon netting is excellent for
aU purposes, as flies and wasps are by it excluded. Bottles with beer
and sugar may trap many. Morello Cherries, Red and White Cur-
rants, Golden Drop and other late-hanging Plums, are a ready prey for
wasps at this season. Strawberries from which runners have been
potted and the fruit gathered may have aU runners, weeds, and dead
foliage cleared off, and a good hoeing, which will help them to prepare
for another season. Notwithstanding the objection I always have had
to mutilating the foliage of strawberry plants, I freely admit that
there are som.e, who are successful growers, who cut off every leaf
early in the autumn. The plants are again clothed with foliage before
winter, ready for next season's work. I intend, this season, to give
this practice an impartial trial, clearing off a few alternate rows in a
plot. I have often planted crowns from old plants with no foliage
left. They have become established before winter, and done well the
following season.

The flower-garden and pleasure-ground will now be at their best ;
and to keep them neat and orderly much labour is necessary. Plants
growing over sides of borders and beds are untidy, and detract much
from the appearance of the garden. Staking and tying up tall-growing
plants, such as Hollyhocks, Dalilias, &c., must not be neglected.
Great damage is often sustained at this season from wind. Geraniums
and other close-growing plants may have grown thickly together :
judicious thinning will be necessary, keeping the best of the shoots
for cuttings. Pelargoniums root weU in the open borders ; but when
placed in pots and boxes fidl in the sun, they can be easily removed
under cover, and arranged for the winter. Verbenas, Salvias, Helio-
tropes, &c., do well in frames — at first kept close and shaded from
sun ; and when growth begins, air and light are given, till they can
be freely exposed and hardened for the winter. Sandy loam and leaf-
mould answer well for most things; plenty of drainage should be placed
in the boxes and pots, keeping the rougher part of the soil downwards,
and making it finer at the surface. Early-budded Roses may now re-
quire to be relieved of their ties, but only where the buds are taking

2c

3G0 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

hold of the stock. Cut off all shoots to allow the strength of the plant
to go to the bud. Eoses now past their best should have all suckers
carefully removed ; pick off all decaying flowers and seed-pods, and
use sulphur for mildew. Rooted Pinks may be planted out in nursery-
beds, or where they are to flower : 6 inches apart each way will answer.
Finish layering Carnations and Cloves, if not already done. Chrys-
anthemums (which have been growing from the beginning in the open
ground) may, towards the end of the month, be gone round with a
clean spade, and cut into the sizes to fit the pots they are intended to
occupy later in the season : getting the balls of roots early in order
gives little check. Where the early-flowering kinds have well filled their
pots with roots, they may have plenty of manure - water ; and when
the flower-buds are formed, a good surfacing of rich stuff will do much
for them. Anemones, which are useful border flowers, may now be
sown in boxes. Some of the common sorts do well in the open border,
some in drills, and lifted to their flowering positions at the proper
time. Pansy cuttings do well now if placed behind a wall, or in a
frame where they are to remain through the winter. Many hardy
plants in the borders may be increased from cuttings put in now.

Pelargoniums which Imve been cut down, and are broken freely,
should be shaken out of their old pots, the roots well trimmed back,
and potted in good loam mixed with sand, using pots large enough
only to contain the roots nicely. Cinerarias and Calceolarias should
now be kept growing freely, shifting the plants to larger pots before
they become pot-bound. Cool treatment suits them best. They re-
quire abundance of air, and to be shaded from strong sun. Heaths
and other gi-eenhouse hard-wooded plants will now require as free an
exposure as they can bear. Young growths will require hardening
gradually. If lights can be spared for throwing off heavy rains, they
will be of much service in promoting healthy root -action. Where
there are no lights, the more delicate kinds may be placed on their sides
when rain is heavy. Fuchsias, Balsams, and such plants in bloom,
with their pots well filled with roots, will require plenty of water,
and their blooms preserved by shading from strong sun. Dead
leaves and decaying flowers should be kept off. Surface-stirring and
well-washed pots are essential to health of plants. All climbers should
be kept within bounds, but not tied in formally. Their natural beauty
should be retained as much as means will allow.

Window plants will now require much water, and their foliage to be
frequently wetted by syringe or watering-rose. Surface dressings will do
much to prolong their flowering period ; insects must be kept off. Ferns
and similar plants suffer readily from hot sun ; attention to shade and
atmospheric moisture must have due attention for them. Insects

]87i.] STOKING AND VENTILATING. 361

should have quarters nowhere. Clarke's insect-destroyer, tobacco-
powder dusted on and washed off again, and fumigating with tobacco,
are remedies easily got at. Forcing plants, such as Lilacs, Deutzias,
Hardy Azaleas, and many similar winter and spring forcing-plants,
should be placed full in the sun, to forward their flower-buds and get
them in order for flowering. M. T.

STOKING ANT> VENTILATING.

We venture to discuss this matter more with a desire to conform to
the Editor's wish, as expressed in the June number of the ' Gardener,'
than with any expectation of being able to supplement his very excel-
lent and generally applicable remarks on the same subject. In view of
past experiences, we could hardly help smiling at some of his observa-
tions regarding the position of the stoker and ventilator when placed
between a hot day, hot pipes, and a hot superintendent. True it is
that few things are productive of more irritation and annoyance in a
garden than the stoking and ventilating ; we have always found it so,
and we have had something to do in that way in different capacities.
It was our lot as a learner to be under somewhat fastidious masters at
diff'erent times, who in the matter of firing and ventilating exacted
very scrupulous attention ; and although we look back upon that period
as the most actually laborious time of our career, still the schooling has
proved to be of more than compensating value to us since. We fancy,
if our memory was nudged in the way the Tichborne claimant's has been
done of late, that we could rake up some wonderful meteorological dates
of the period to which we refer. It was a profound conviction amongst
us, particularly those in the forcing departments, that we lived in a time
of surpassing meteorological phenomena. The spots on the sun were
nothing to the vagaries that planet was credited with : none among us
doubted the influence of the planets, or at least the sun, upon the hor-
ticultural fraternity at all events — extending, indeed, in a very marked
degree, even to the vocabulary. It was a settled belief, founded upon
the most extended experience, that, let the weather be ever so constant
and settled, the sun was sure either to show or hide his face just at
dinner-time, upsetting the most careful calculations and arrangements
for an hour's rest and peace. It could also be noticed, that if Sunday
was intended as a day of rest, neither the sun nor the wind had been
a party to the agreement, but combined once every seven days to pro-
test against the arrangement by conducting themselves in the most
erratic manner imaginable, necessitating a corresponding amount of
mental and physical exercise on the part of those who were unfortu-

3G2 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

nate enough to have their " Sunday in." Perhaps it is a keen day in
March or April, there is a bright sun and a shrivelling wind, with a
host of vagabondish-looking clouds of unequal dimensions scudding
across the sky at uncertain intervals, bringing with them " rattlin'
shoors " of hail or sleet. Young Horty is about at his wits' end ; he
is aware that if he allows his fires to get low, and a more than usual
long interval of cloud intervenes, his houses will be down to zero, and
his master probably at the boiling point ; or, on the other hand, that if
his pipes get hot, and the " sun comes out," that he will be in a worse
fix ; so he has to trust to his wits and good-luck, and wish for " shut-
ting-up time." Upon the whole, his position is not an enviable one,
and a young man in charge of an extensive range of forcing-houses
requires a good share of intelligence and decision, qualities rather
uncommon, and valued accordingly ; for a good man relieves his mas-
ter of much responsibility, and may save him many a long journey from
a remote corner of the demesne. We have come to think that soil
and watering, &c., though important matters, are of secondary im-
portance compared to the everyday results that hinge upon the atten-
tion of those in charge of the firing and ventilation. That nervous
energy, so to speak, which fits a person for such a position, is excep-
tional, and it is difficult to get the half-experienced to realise thoroughly
his responsibility. There is the too-nervous man, who, realising fully
the consequences of a bleached Pine-leaf or scorched Vines, is almost
continually opening and shutting his ventilators, or going or coming
between his houses and his work, the latter getting very little of his
attention. Then there is the easy man : no matter how great the emer-
gency, neither the sun nor the wind hath power over him ; he moves

as if

** Tuning his footsteps to a march ; "

which shows he is in the wrong place. The medium is the best. In
the matter of airing — to use the common expression — strict attention
to the thermometer is the best safeguard, under ordinary circumstances ;
but we often wish a little discretion was used, for there are occasions
on which the thermometer should not be relied upon wholly — as, for
instance, when the sun shines out suddenly after a dull interval, the
inmates of a hothouse feel its effects at once, as a person feels it upon
his face, but the thermometer will not indicate the change of temper-
ature for some time. "We have known a batch of Pines nearly ruined
for want of a little exercise of common -sense at such a juncture.
Under such circumstances, air should be admitted freely at once, if
shading is not at command, and the temperature regulated afterwards.
It has often occurred to us that undue scrupulousness exists about
admitting front air. It is a common idea that, as heat always ascends,

iSyi.] STOKING AND VENTILATING. 363

the top of the house is necessarily the warmest part, and that, conse-
quently, air should be admitted there first, and in greater proportion ;
but there is no greater fallacy, under certain conditions. In an un-
heated house, when the sun shines upon it, the air is always warmest
near the apex of the roof : but in a vinery, we will say, where the
heating apparatus is carried along the front of the house, that is the
warmest part, and the place where air should be admitted first, and in
greatest quantity. I quite expect some one will combat this idea, but
let them satisfy themselves by experiment. We have long practised
what we describe, being guided, of course, by the direction of the
wind, and its force ; but as a rule, in our high-pitched vineries and
other houses, where the laps in the glass are open, we admit a limited
amount of air at the tops, and afterwards regulate by the front shutters.
In our lean-to Pine-pits, with sliding lights and heated in the usual
way in front, we got rid of hot-pipes on a sunny day by pulling the
lights up from the front, allowing the hot current from the pipes to
escape into the open air direct, instead of allowing it to pass over the
plants to the back, thereby robbing the air of its moisture. Indeed,
we ventilate our Pine-pits more freely at front than back, generally,
and, I think I may say, with the best results. Since we practised the
plan of regulating the temperature of our late vineries principally by
the front ventilators, and reducing the top air to a minimum, we have
had little or no scorching, so called, of the foliage, to which such Vines
as the Alicant are very subject, particularly at the points of the young
shoots j and which, we are quite convinced, is caused by cold draughts
more than anything else.

As regards stoking, the first thing we ought to realise, but which we
are very apt to lose sight of — so accustomed are we to rely upon hot-
water pipes or flues — is, that the fire is only a necessary evil, to be
dispensed with on all possible occasions. We cannot, however, do
altogether without it, and have to rely upon it almost wholly at times.
Hence stoking, both on the score of economy and success, is a ques-
tion, we think, of more importance than boilers ; for the best boiler, in
the hands of an ignorant fireman, may only be an instrument of waste.
The coal bill is always a heavy item of the expenditure, and it is to a
great extent under the control of the fireman. Some men will keep up
temperature with nearly a third less fuel than others, and with far less
labour to themselves, simply by exercising a little intelligence and
method ; and studying the weather, so far as it relates to their opera-
tions. It is a common practice with the inexperienced, in their ner-
vous anxiety to get up heat, to heap on fuel as fast as the fire sub-
sides, forgetting that by keeping the fire continually green they are
only defeating their object, and consuming coal to no purpose. The

364 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

first object of the stoker should be to acquaint himself thoroughly with
the construction of his boiler, and the manner in which it is set. The
next thing is to keep it clean. Every morning the furnace should
be cleaned out thoroughly : a little timely attention in this way will
save much after trouble and annoyance. In starting a fire, take a
little pains to do it effectively. Much depends on a few minutes,
sometimes, in such cases. Do not add too much fuel at first, but
when the fire is going briskly, and it is desired to get up heat
quickly, it should be pushed abroad with the fire -hoe, under the
surface of the boiler, a little more fuel added, and a good draught
allowed until the pipes are as hot as required, when the damper
should be pushed in to check the draught, and no more fuel need be
added until the fire is pretty well burned down. Unless when need-
ful to " bank up " for long intervals, nothing is gained by cramming the
furnace full of fuel : a moderate fire, in a thorough state of ignition,
is the most efi'ective at all times, and also the most economical. When
the weather is steady, and the days bright, as they sometimes are in
April and May, no one need fear about a considerably low temperature
in the morning in their forcing-houses. It can be amply made up
during the day by economising sun-heat ; and no doubt the plants are
greatly refreshed by the rest at night and relief from fire-heat, and
nothing so soon arrests the progress of red-spider.

We are not in love with the plan of having one man as fireman for
the whole establishment. It is the most satisfactory plan to allow
every man to fire his own houses ; he is more likely than any one else
to take an interest in the matter, and it is one of the things every
young man should learn to understand perfectly. Some superinten-
dents insist — perhaps without expecting so much — upon the thermome-
ter being kept to a degree at the most arduous season, but he does
well who fires to within two or three degrees of the mark. Still, we
have known young men, who, for the sake of leisure to follow their
studies in the winter evenings, could, by dint of patient experiment,
and attention to the out-door thermometer, and the weather, &c., main-
tain a long range of forcing-houses almost to a degree for long intervals,
night after night, and who had accustomed themselves to rely con-
fidently upon their calculations, which were very rarely far from the
mark. I state this merely as a hint to those who have such duties to
attend to after work hours. We all know that temperatures must be
attended to, and young men in charge of hothouses can alleviate their
labours by a little careful study and attention in the way I have in-
dicated, and promote the interests of all concerned. J. Simpson.

1871.] FRUITING VINES IN POTS. 365

FRUITING VINES IN POTS.

Crops of Grapes from pot- Vines, we • need not say, have now more
than ever become common. Hence the enormous quantity of Vines
prepared for the purpose in all the principal nursery establishments in
the kingdom, to say nothing of the numbers prepared by gardeners for
their own use. Many gardeners produce their earliest crops from pot-
Vines exclusively, and the practice has much to recommend it ; and
chief among these recommendations is the fact that no one set of
permanent Vines can bear the murderous strain which ripening their
crops in April entails upon them. True, we have known the same
Vines to have borne ripe crops in April for twenty years in succession
with their roots exclusively in outside borders ; but this is the excep-
tion, not the rule. And in consequence, many of our very best Grape-
growers are adopting the judicious practice of getting their first spring
crops from pot- Vines. The success of this practice, it need scarcely
be said, depends more on the way in which the Vines are prepared than
on all else besides. First and foremost among the points of importance
in their preparation is, that they be grown under the influence of
plenty of light, so that they have well-developed buds and well-ripened
wood and roots. Strength must be regarded as of importance, but
not unless the former condition can be secured at the same time. On
this account we have always had a decided objection to Vines that
have either been grown under the shade of permanent Vines, or too
thickly in an upright position in the centre of houses devoted entirely
to themselves, under which circumstances sound and fruitful growths,
though strong, cannot be produced ; and we would advise growers to
avoid such conditions.

There is another practice connected with fruiting Vines in pots
upon which too much stress can scarcely be laid, and that is the
allowing them to grow and ramble to the length of say 8 feet, and
then to shorten them back to 5 or 6 feet when they are pruned.
The consequence of this is, that all the best and most fruitful buds are
removed and the more inferior retained. The length to which the
Vines are required to fruit should be decided when the Vines are
being prepared, and all cutting back avoided as an evil. We would
not advance an objection to an 8-feet Vine, but we have no hesitation
in saying that in forcing a Vine of that length to ripen in April the
far finest crop will be from the top half of it; and it will be best to
acknowledge this in fruiting it, and to let it bear its fruit exclusively
from the top half, which will not only break first, but show and swell
the largest and best bunches — ^just because of the fact that the best
buds are there, and that the flow of sap is principally to them instead

366 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

of to the buds and shoots lower down. Now, to shorten back such a
Vine to nearly half its length is to remove those buds where their
whole energies have been directed during the previous and preparative
year's growth. True, a Vine with say six or eight bunches on the top
half of its length does not perhaps look so systematic, but the finest
produce is nevertheless thus attainable ; and this is the chief test of
practice in Grape and all fruit culture. We would, therefore, say to
all beginners of pot Grape-growing, do not shorten back your Vines //
they are well ripened up to their tops.

It has long been a common practice to set their pots on beds of
earth, or to turn the Vines entirely out of their pots into such beds
with the idea of feeding them. We have doubts as to the correctness
of this theory or practice. Certainly the finest pot- Vine-grown Grapes
we have ever seen had their pots standing on a bare shelf. It is always
certain that whatever feeding is alBForded to Vines having their roots en-
tirely within the limits of the pots in which they were prepared, they are
sure to get the direct and immediate benefit of. Not so when their
roots are allowed to leave their pots and ramble at will in a bed of soil.
Any additions which it is desirable to make should be in the shape of
top-dressings, and these should never be piled up high over the pots
and pressed to the stems of the Vines in their early stages of forcing,
or the result is that the Vines make a whorl of roots from their stems,
and the roots in the pots are much more shy in commencing their
work.

These remarks may be suggestive to some of our readers, and we
shall be very glad to have the experience of the more practised in this
now very important auxiliary in Grape-growing.

ABOUT THE CHRYSANTHEMUM.

I WAS sorry for having surprised " Teetotaller's " feelings with my
few remarks on the Chrysanthemum in the March number of the
' Gardener ; ' but I can appeal to every reader of the ' Gardener ' if I,
or any one, could come to a different conclusion from the rules and
details of culture laid doAvn in the article alluded to. The young
gardeners in Scotland should certainly feel obliged to "Teetotaller"
for his kind exhortations on the abuse of the Chrysanthemum. But
it strikes me very forcibly the hints offered were intended for more
than the young men, for we find "Teetotaller" differing from your
correspondent " M. T." about the plunging of the pots, which is a
decided saving in time and water, if not a step in advance of the non-
plunging system ; for if the best plants ever grow^n in England were

iSyi.] ABOUT THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 3G7

plunged, and the system recommended by the great champion grower,
then " Teetotaller's " arguments must fall to the ground, as he seems
convinced that nothing remains to be said on sensational culture after
Mr Hignett. If plants are plunged in June, and lifted by the middle
of August, do they not save the risk of having their roots burned 1
and is there not plenty of time to ripen their roots with the medium
heat of an autumn sun 1 But, if I mistake not, " Teetotaller " thinks
we bury our pots, instead of plunging them, for he says the plunged
plants have not the least possible chance either of sun or air. I, for
my part, do not suppose all the roots to be at the bottom of the pots,
nor yet that they are cemented in the ground so as to be air-tight.
As regards the comparison drawn between Chrysanthemums and
Heaths, I think their treatment is so different that it is useless to
comment upon it; and, judging from the description of '' Teetotaller's "
wood (with little pith), one would be inclined to fancy that adminis-
tering stimulants is wasteful. I had almost forgotten the 5J-inch in
diameter blooms. Something must, of course, be done to produce
these. I am referred by " Teetotaller " to the ' Journal of Horticul-
ture' for January 1871, in which Mr Castle says that potting has
little to do with the time of flowering. Mr Castle's opinion, as that
of one individual, is of course worth something ; but what says the
same writer (in the same article) on the subject of liquid manure 1
His opinion is that it creates a tendency to an undue circulation of
the sap, causing the plants to make more wood than is necessary,
without gi\^ng any addition in size to the flowers ; whilst by giving it
when the buds need additional stimulus, it improves them very much.
"We now come to the matter of insects ; and, so far as I am aware, the
Chrysanthemum sails pretty clear : a few flies and mildew can be easily
disposed of. Who wouldn't vote for the non-plunging system to
prevent mildew "? Eacts are no doubt stubborn things, but facts are
against some of us in the present instance, but whom, the readers of
the 'Gardener' will be best able to judge. In concluding my few
remarks, I may state that what first induced me to comment upon
" Teetotaller's " article was the too frequent belief of so many young
men that to go southwards is hazardous without a great amount of
experience. Such an idea is simply absurd, because, except in the
mere matter of a few specimen plants in the neighbourhood of large
towns, the Scotch training is more a general one than the English,
and upon the whole more efficient, at least such is my conviction,
after a Little experience of both ; and I think I might invite " Tee-
totaller's " inspection of Chrysanthemum - grooving from Ilford to
Scotland (the neighbourhood of Liverpool excepted), and to designate
the difference would be a puzzle. However, the north- country

368 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

juveniles need have no fear of growing Clirysantliemiinis as good as
any they read of, if they are not pushed for time nor particular to
quantity of flowers. Wm. Hinds,

Child EVALE Lodge, Liverpool.

[We think our correspondents have now sufficiently disclosed their views of
then- respective practices as to plunging. — Ed.]

GRAPES SETTING.

Ix your valuable paper for July, your correspondent " Subscriber "
attributes his Grapes not setting to their hanging over water ; here
there is an instance to the contrary.

We have a good many of that shy-setting Vine, the Cannon Hall
Muscat ; and on one Vine carrying a good crop there is a bunch hang-
ing directly over an evaporating trough fixed on the pipes, the end of
the bunch being about 3 inches from the water when the trough is
full ! I was surprised to find every berry had set on that bunch, while
the others on the same Vine had set much more thinly — in fact, so thin
that they required very few berries cutting out. The trough was full
of water while the Vines were blooming. I may further say that I tried
one of the same variety with the syringe when in bloom, giving it a
slight dewing twice a-day. The result is, small berries without seeds,
not above a dozen swelling on a bunch, while the others in the same
house are all doing well.

I do not adopt the " dry- atmosphere system." The only difference
I make is withholding the syringe, damping the floors, and keeping
the evaporators full as usual, thereby getting a good set. A. W.

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS.

{Continued from page 320.)
CURRANTS.
It may appear to some almost superfluous to enter upon a subject which, as
many suppose, is so well understood as the cultivation of Currants. Like the
Gooseberry, treated of in our last paper, Currants are very extensively cultivated,
being found growing in almost every garden from the largest to the smallest.
Their cultivation is very simple ; indeed few people who know anything of garden-
ing would be willing to confess that there is anything of mystery in their manage-
ment. That there is any mystery connected therewith we will not argue, but we
think few will deny but that one man or other excels in their cultivation all
others of his acquaintance. This may in some instances be attributed to better
soils and finer positions, but in many cases it is the result of better management
upon the part of the cultivator. Seeing this to be the case, we purpose giving a detail

iSyi.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 369

of how Currants are managed in well-regulated establishments and under the care
of good horticulturists.

Like all other fruits, if new varieties are wanted the only way of propagation is
from seed. Indeed, if finer varieties than those already in cultivation are wanted,
the surest and safest method is to use great care in the selection of the varieties
from which seed is to be taken, impregnating the flowers by artificial means, and
selecting the seeds from the largest and finest-formed fruit. By using caution and
care, in this way new and improved varieties may be the result of the operation.
When the fruit is thoroughly ripe the seeds ought to be washed from the pulp, and
may either be sown at once or retained till spring and sown in a favourable position.
The best place to sow is under a south wall, in nice rich soil of a light nature.
When the seed is sown as soon as the fruit is ripe, the plants are finer in every
respect the following year, and in every case ought to be fit for planting out into
nursery-lines a foot apart the following winter. Currants are also propagated by
suckers, layers, and cuttings. By cuttings is the best method for the propagation
of existing varieties. As their propagation is in every respect identical with that
of the Gooseberry, as described in our paper upon that fruit, it is quite unnecessary
to say more regarding it here, but simply to refer the reader to that article for
whatever information he may require upon that branch of our subject.

Currants may be divided into three classes^ — Red, White, and Black. The prun-
ing and training of the Red and White Currant are in almost every particular the
same. We shall therefore speak of them first, after which we shall refer to the
management of the Black Currant, which requires quite a different treatment ;
starting with a Red or White Currant bush at one year from the cutting, or two
from the seed. It ought to be planted the following autumn into a nursery-line
having at least I4 foot square of ground to itself. It must just be treated in
the same manner as recommended for the Gooseberry, and regularly root-pruned
and transplanted until it is large enough to be put into its permanent position
in the fruit-garden. When this is the case, their situation must be fixed upon,
which, if a choice can be had, should be where the soil is deep, rich, and moder-
ately heavy, such as gardeners generally know as good sandy loam. If the soil
be of a dampish nature, so much the better ; but where flavour is a consideration,
we would recommend that they be planted in an open position, free to the full
blaze of the sun, and not under trees in orchards and in out-of-the-way corners,
as they are too often to be found. No doubt larger fruit is obtainable from
such positions than are to be got from those planted as we have recommended,
unless means be adopted to prevent rapid evaporation, especially during long-
continued di'oughts, when the fruit is swelling and finishing ofi". The largest and
finest-flavoured Currants we ever saw were grown upon an exposed piece of
ground in one of the driest counties in Scotland ; but the cultivator took the
precaution every year to cover the ground over with from 2 to 3 inches of short
grass from the lawns, and hence every drop of rain which fell w^as economised
for the benefit of the Currant crop. It is all very well to plant Currants — or
anything else — in whatever position the cultivator may think fit, and expect
the best results without any further trouble than the usual winter-pruning.
This is not cultivation. It is a trusting to chance — leaving things to a state
of nature, with the slight exception already indicated. In the management of
a garden, it is quite impossible to procure the best position necessary for every-
thing under the gardener's care ; and seeing this to be the case, it is his duty to
bring his skill and horticultural knowledge to bear directly upon such cases,
and thereby counteract, as far as possible, by artificial means the evil influences
that are at war against him. It is by these means, and these means alone, that

370 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

horticulture has achieved so much. If all things had merely been left to circum-
stances and chance, we should not have been one stage further advanced than
were our grandfathers. Everything is simple when once we know it, and every-
thing in connection with horticulture is easy of accomplishment to those who
liave mastered it ; but no one knows the trouble, anxiety, and patience that have
been exercised ere many of what we think the simplest results have been
achieved, save he who has studied and wrought out these results for himself.
Some one may say, the mere fact of covering over a piece of Currant-bearing
ground with short grass could not cost much study or horticultural ability.
Verily that is true ; but this also is true, that although most of the gardeners in
the same district were year after year admiring the fruit and wishing " their
Currants would do as well," yet not one out of every six adopted the plan that
all saw and confessed did such effective service. The lesson to be read from
this is, that some men are not content until they have exhausted every means
witbiu their reach in order to bring about the best results, while others are con-
tent to leave things to chance and circumstances so long as the results are at
least of a kind to be called above mediocrity.

The planting of the Currant is accomplished exactly in the way that has been
recommended for the Gooseberry, and the general training and after-management
are much the same in ordinary cases. Where, however, the largest and finest
fruit are desired, they ought to be planted against a wall, and the wall having a
southern or western aspect will be found to be the best. According to the
height of the wall will in a measure depend the form of training to be adopted.
If the wall be under 6 feet in height, one plant every 2^ feet will be sufficient
to plant ; if over this height, one plant will be necessary every foot. From the
plant upon a wall under 6 feet in height must be trained three branches, one
running straight up from the stem, and one on either side at a distance of 10
inches, also running up in a straight line towards the top of the wall. In
the other case one straight stem is canned up from the plant to the top of
the wall, but in both cases it is necessary to cut back the branches at every
pruning season to such a length as shall be deemed necessary in order that
there may be plenty of fruit-bearing spurs left all along the branch from top to
bottom. By this means a wall can be filled up in a very short space of time, not
only with wood and leaves, but also by a regular set of fruit-bearing trees,
which will repay much earlier than anything else the labour that has been
expended upon them.

Where walls cannot be spared for this purpose, the next best method is as
follows. As soon as the young bush has formed its first set of branches, let
these, whatever their number be, whether four, five, or six, be trained up to a set
of stakes or to a hoop. They should be so placed that at 1 foot from the stem
each shoot ought to be 6 clear inches from its next. As they grow larger, hoops
may be used, and the branches allowed to become from 9 to 12 inches apart.
Year by year larger hoops must be used until the bush has become thoroughly
filled up with a nice set of fruit-bearing branches having a diameter of about 4
feet. No branches should be allowed in the centre, except in the case where
variety of training may be desired, and in such case only one stem trained to a
centre stake is admissible. We know of no method, except on a wall, where such
fine fruit can be obtained as by the one just described. By this method every
branch is open and free to the influences of the sun and air, and, as a consequence,
every encouragement is given for the production of large, well-flavoured fruit.
A little more distance plant from plant may be necessary than in the ordinary

iSyi.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 371

modes of training, which may be the same as the Gooseberry, but as a rule, 6 feet
plant from plant will be found to be quite sufficient.

A few words regarding the pruning of the Black Currant will be sufficient. The
pruning of these dififers from that of other Currants in this respect, that Red and
White Currants are done upon the spur system, much similar to that generally
practised upon Vines, whereas the pruning of the Black is more of a thinning
nature, much after the style of Peach-pruning. In fact, from the nature of the
Black Currant, all that is necessary is to thin out regularly all the old exhausted
wood, and encourage the formation of new healthy shoots as "far back" as
possible. By regularly attending to this, old bushes may be kept bearing for
thirty or forty years, and the fruit produced from such bushes is often of a
quality superior to that produced by younger plants. The planting and early
management of the Black Currant are the same as the Red — the Black, however,
delighting in a soil of a rather heavy nature.

The diseases to which the Currant is liable are canker, and a sudden dying-away
of some of the branches during the summer season. The cause of canker in the
Currant arises from the same causes as those which cause it in other fruits. As
prevention is better than cure, the best plan is to cultivate the plants well, and
plant them in the soil which is best suited for them. If this be done, chere is
not much reason to fear from either of the above-named diseases. There is a
disease which has made its appearance upon Black Currants in many places within
the last few years. It is apparently very fatal, but as it has never made its
appearance among any plants under my care, and as I know very little about it,
in the mean time I had better refrain from making any remarks regarding it.

The insect enemies are, in many cases, the same as those which attack the
Gooseberry, and such being the case, we beg to refer the reader to our last article,
where he will find them described. Besides the three there mentioned, there are
first the Tinea capitella, or triple-spotted Currant-moth. The larva attacks and
feeds upon the interior of the young wood, and so great at times is their destruc-
tion that bushes are almost entirely destroyed by them ere the month of June.
As soon as the enemy is noticed, all aflfected branches ought to be destroyed by
burning them in the furnace of soma of the forcing-houses.

The J^geria tipuliformis or Currant sphynx-moth is another great enemy to
the Currant, especially the Black Currant. Its presence is indicated by the
withering of the leaves and branches. Wherever its presence is noticed, the
branches ought to be removed and burned as in the former case. In the month of
June the female deposits her eggs in the joints of the branches, and more especi-
ally the younger branches or twigs. The larva, as soon as hatched, penetrates to
and feeds upon the pith until it has attained its full size, after which it changes
into a pupa, having short sawlike spines, by means of which it is enabled to
ascend to an orifice prepared by the larva upon the side of the shoot from whence
escapes the perfect moth. Aphides are often very troublesome in summer, but
as we have so often referred to them in previous papers, there is no need to de-
scribe over again what we have before said. With regard to red -spider the same
may be also remarked. James M'Millan.

{To he continued.)

37-2

THE GARDENER.

[Aug-

CANNELL'S PATENT ECONOMISING BOILER.

The long sharp weather of last winter, and the immense consumption of fuel to
keep up the necessary temperature to preserve my plants, caused me to ponder
much about heating our horticultural buildings, and at the same time to see if it
was not possible to utilise the great amount of heat which has been, up to the
present time, allowed to escape up the chimney. I determined to put my
ideas together, and see if I could not combine all the qualities that a boiler
should possess, and the annexed engravings and the following particulars will
show how I have succeeded.

The larger engraving and boiler (fig. 18) consists of nine or more separate hollow
castings, placed one upon another. Upon brickwork is placed the basement or
No. 1 casting, consisting of a hollow rectangular frame, into which are fixed

Fig. 18.

eight (more or less, according to the size of boiler) circular hollow fire-bars,
placed at such a distance from one another as to allow sufficient space for the
draught.

At the back or further end of this casting are the return-pipes, and in the
front the discharge-pipe for cleansing the interior of the boiler at any time. The
ashpit is formed by the brickwork supporting the first or basement casting, and
is enclosed by a door hung on a solid cast-iron frame, built into the brickwork
or otherwise. The furnace-door is to be hung in the same way.

Upon the first casting are placed four other separate hollow castings, of which
Nos. 2 and 3, forming the sides of the furnace, are fluted and placed parallel with
the hollow fire-bars, and are of such a length that the two remaining castings,

iSyi.]

CANNELL'S PATENT BOILER.

373

Nos. 4 and 5, which form respectively the back and front of the apparatus, may
be flush with the ends of the first castings. The back or No. 4 casting is large
enough to cover the whole or part of the end of the apparatus, and is connected
at the bottom by pipes with castings Nos. 2 and 3 respectively, and at the top
on each side with casting No, 11, which will be afterwards described. The front
casting, No. 5, must be of such a height that the top will be level with the top of
No. 6, forming the top of the furnace.

The front is built up with brickwork, with three sliding soot-doors to allow
the flues to be properly cleaned out. This front or No. 5 casting is connected at the
bottom by pipes with castings Nos. 2 and 3, and at the top on each side with
casting No. 6. Upon the top of castings Nos. 2 and 3 is placed a sixth further
and separate hollow fluted casting, forming the top of the furnace, having a space
left at the back opening upwards to allow a free passage for the fire to pass out
of the furnace under a separate and a hollow casting (No. 7), which, when fixed,
forms flues communicating by means of other flues formed by similar castings,

'Boiler,

and terminating in a rectangular opening at the top for regulating the draught,
and for the passage of the smoke into the chimney.

The circulation of the water from and into every separate hollow casting is
effected by means of four sets of pipes affixed externally to the castings — two sets
being placed on each side of the apparatus. If desired, the crown or top casting
with the flow-pipe can be placed upon No. 2 or 3 casting, and worked without
the flues until required.

The flame or hot air from the fire placed on the hollow bars will pass between
castings Nos. 2 and 3 until it arrives at the opening described, to be left at the back
casting No. 6, where it will pass upwards towards the front through the flues
formed by casting No. 7. It will then return towards the back through the flues
formed by casting No. 8, again uniting and passing upwards into the flues formed
by castings Nos. 9 and 10, the heat thus continuing to travel through castings
Nos. 9, 10, and 11 in the same way, so that the hot air will pass six times through
the internal length of the apparatus before escaping into the chimney.

374

THE GARDENER.

[Aug.

It will therefore be seen that this boiler is so constructed that all the caloric
which the fuel contains is extracted and conveyed to the water, only just suffi-
cient to take away the smoke being allowed to escape. Any length of flue can be
added, or the boiler can be worked without any flue at all ; and as the glass-
houses or buildings are extended, so can lieating power be added.

It requires no brickwork beyond its foundation to form the ash-pit, and a wall
round, as in almost all stoke-holed, to form a frontage ; the latter can, however, be
dispensed with. There are no dead plates, solid bars, or bricks in this, as in most
other boilers, to burn and crack, thereby admitting a quantity of cold air which
tends to cool the water instead of heating it.

In order that there may be confidence in a boiler, there must be uniform
strength in the castings. It is well known that the more complicated the cast-
ings, the more difficult is it to procure an equal thickness, while inequality
causes unequal expansion and contraction, and occasions fractures and leakages.
But in my boiler all the parts are in square sections and equally cast ; conse-
quently a regular thickness can be guaranteed. Any of the compartments can
be renewed or replaced without destroying the remaining parts, as the boiler is
made in sections, and is put together with leakless and durable joints — all that is
necessary is a small spanned ; and with this two or three ordinary labourers can

disELiantle and replace it in a few hours.
These joints do away with all fear of frac-
ture from expansion or contraction.

If the damper is carefully worked, it
will keep up an intense heat, and the small
amount of fuel required will be almost in-
credible ; yet it will be found capable of
heating a very large quantity of piping in
sharp weather with less w^aste of heat and
attention than any other boiler.

Fig. 19 shows it in sections, and how readily
it can be connected and disconnected.

Fig. 20 shows that it can be worked in a

similar form to the old saddle-back boiler,

with the advantage of the hollow bars and

the return-flue above ; and the two ends can

easily be added at any time by simply removing the plugs which connect them

with the main part of the boiler.

Woolwich. H. Cannell, F.R.H.S.

Fig. 20.

HEATING, VENTILATING, AND CABBAGE CULTURE.

As you inform your readers that you wish to have their opinion of your-
leader on " Heat and Ventilation," I beg leave to advise you to have
it put in stereotype, and let it appear monthly so long as you remain
Editor of the ' Gardener '; and if you put it in the hands of every young
gardener in the United Kingdom, for, say, twenty years to come, you
would probably have dispersed the fungoid diseases that now appear so
general amongst the borders of Vines, Peaches, ttc.

We old gardeners live to see strange events in our business. What

iSyi.] YOUNG GARDENERS. 375

appears particularly singular to me is, that the farmers at their clubs
are turning round upon us and teaching us how to grow that valuable
plant the Cabbage. Mr C. Cadle, of Gloucester, has been illustrating
the culture of the Cabbage to the reading public, but I do not find any-
new light cast upon the practice of about sixty years ago. Mr Cadle,
from his mode of taking the crop of Cabbage off the land in the first
instance, appears to have no idea of what our scientific men call vege-
table physiology. The Cabbage, says Mr Cadle, " should be cut off
with a knife, leaving the three lower leaves on the stem, these being
cut off separately, and taken away with the Cabbage ; this will allow
the stem to shoot 0T.t, and you get a second crop in September and
October." Now, as the leaf of a Cabbage possesses all the inherent
qualities necessary for producing new plants (or sprouts) of the same
kind, the removal of the leaves immediately after the Cabbage is cut
seriously damages the stalk, and if a hot sun visits the newly-denuded
stalks, some of them die from sunstroke. By leaving all the healthy
leaves on the stalks below the " heart," that should be carefully cut
out, the next crop will be much earlier, and perhaps 50 per cent
better than that which follows naked stalks.

A Bewdly Forester.

YOUNG GARDEWERS.

Allow me, through the ' Gardener,' to thank Mr Hinds for his able article on
the Balsam. I quite concur with him that it is almost forgotten by a great
many gardeners, and not known how to be grown by a great many others ; it
certainly is one of our most beautiful of soft-wooded plants, although I am
afraid it is ignored from the notice of a great many young gardeners, but certainly
not from all, for the majority deserve more credit than is generally given them.
Neither do I think that the majority of them are kidgloved ones, as some writers
of the present day would have us believe : I am afraid that they judge the hun-
dreds by a few exceptions they may have met with. Mr Hinds seems to
think that young gardeners ought to work in the evenings, and not be paid for
it ; neither ought they to appertr respectable and neat, with a collar around
their neck, but throw the collar away. Now that style of young men may
do for Mr Hinds, or Mr Hinds' employers, but they would not do
for me, nor my employers, nor, in fact, for the majority of places. In the
situation I am now holding, I have three young men in the bothy, and I
get as much work from them as any master could desire, yet they wear collars,
paper ones or linen ones, I do not know ; enough for me to know that they wear
a collar ; and one thing more, they polish their boots twice or thrice a-week, and
consequently they are always respectable and tidy, and always ready to run to
the mansion if required at a minute's notice, and not only t lat, but it teaches
them and helps them to keep themselves above the labouring a;en in the garden,
which every young gardener ought to do. Their evenings, with a few exceptions,
they have always to themselves for study; and when they do work I always pay

2d

37S THE GARDENER. [Aug.

them so much per hour, which helps them to buy books, for gardeners are not
overpaid, and especially young ones, I hope Mr Hinds will not think that
I am criticising his writing, but I certainly think that young gardeners want a
few encouraging words spoken for them occasionally, as well as a shake of the
hand, and a few lines on a piece of paper. An Old Gardener.

[You are quite right : slovenliness ought not to be regarded as anything else
than a bad sign, and no young gardener should be called upon to work a moment's
overtime without being paid time and a half for it. — Ed.]

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS.

The Royal Horticultural Society's Show at Nottingham. — For many
months past this independent visit of the Royal Horticultural Society to the pro-
vince of Nottingham had been earnestly and anxiously talked of, written about,
and arranged for. The marked success, financially, of this first visit, without
being tacked on to the Royal Agricultural Society, will surely fully justify the
soundness of the judgment of those who chiefly promoted it ; for, looked at from
a pecuniary point of view, this meeting has been the most successful of any yet
held in the provinces. Considered as an exhibition of plants and fruits and
vegetables, there is also reason for satisfaction and congratulation ; unless, indeed,
it be in the case of the fruit exhibition as a whole, for, with the exception of a
few Pines, a few bunches of Grapes, and a dish or two of Peaches and Nectarines,
the- fruit was inferior. This, however, can in part be attributed to the extreme
coldness of the season. Of course, among such a vast assemblage of plants it
cannot be said that all were good. The great bulk were, however, fine. The
general efi'ect produced in so large a tent we thought might have been better, and
the squinting position in which many of the specimens were placed, suggested
the idea as if a hurricane had swept through the tent and laid prostrate many of
the plants.

The assemblage of visitors was great, and such as might have been expected
during such fine weather; but the arrangements, at least the first day, for viewing
the plants and fruit, were bad in the extreme, inasmuch as the visitors were al-
lowed to wander in contrary streams in all directions, which, in so large a show,
or indeed any show, should never be allowed. "We do not know whether this was
allowed on the other days, but the first day was rendered irksome and unpleasant
to visitors who wanted to inspect the plants and fruits. Our space forbids our
giving a general or full report of so gigantic a show, especially as we are monthly
reporting on similar plants at the Metropolitan Meeting. We would suggest that
the Royal Horticultural Society should, by way of variety, hold a great international
fruit-show in August or September of some future year, at some central and popu-
lous town or district, say at Manchester, or, more central still, York. One be-
comes so intimately acquainted with the very same plants or style of plants year
after year, that any real interest in them becomes cloyed ; and a great fruit-show
we think well worthy the attention and patronage of the Royal Horticultural
Society of England. Surely if in Edinburgh a great fruit-show can be made to
pay with liberal prizes, there can be no fear of success at some central point in
England.

Royal Horticultural Society — Fruit and Floral Meeting, June 2l8t. —
The subjects invited on this occasion consisted ^entirely of Zonal Pelargoniums,
Fuchsias, and Palms.

1871.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 377

Class 1 and 2 was for Zonal Pelargoniums. Mr J. Catlin, gardener to Mrs Ler-
mitte, sen. , East End, Finchley, was first in the amateurs' class with large flat-
trained specimens ; the trusses were small, and the plants inferior to what he has
shown in former years — Lord Derby, The Clipper, The Bride, and Oliver were
the best. Mr W. H. Filce, gardener to J. Stutter, Esq., Clapham Park, and Mr
J. Weston, gardener to D. Martineau, Esq., Clapham Park, were respectively
second and third.

In Class 3, double-flowered Pelargoniums, Messrs Carter & Co. were awarded
the first prize with excellent specimens, well bloomed and very attractive plants
of the following : Madame Rudolph Abel, Victor Lemoine, Marie Lemoine,
Wilhelm Pfitzer, Ville de Nancy, and Madame Michel Buchner.

Class 4 and 5 — Variegated Zonal Pelargoniums. — In the amateurs' class, Mr
Goddard, gardener to H. Little, Esq., Twickenham, was first with Silver Tricolors
— Charming Bride, Italia unita, and Imperatrice Eugenie ; Golden Tricolors —
Lucy Grieve, Lady Cullum, and Sophia Cussack. Mr J. Welsh, gardener to D.
Putter, Esq., Hillingdon, second, and Mr R. Goodwin, of Ealing, third. In the
nurserymen's class exceedingly handsome well-grown plants were put up. Messrs
F. & A. Smith, of Dulwich, were first ; Messrs E. G. Henderson & Son, St John's
Wood, second ; and Mr Stevens, of Ealing, third. The best were Prince of Wales,
Sir R. Napier, Miss B. Coutts, Lass o' Gowrie, Peter Grieve, and Mrs Grieve.

In Fuchsias, Mr James, of Isleworth, showed moderately-large specimens, but
covered with blooms of large size — Wave of Life, Mrs Ballantine, and Starlight
were fine. Mr Weston was in the second position with good plants.

In the open class for Palms, the place of honour was equally held by Mr B. S.
Williams, of Holloway, and M. Linden, of Brussels. The plants from Mr Wil-
liams were very large, while those of M. Linden were of the choicest description,
and in luxuriant health. Worthy of special notice were the following species : Ver-
schaffeltii splendida, Cocos elegantissima, Phoenicophorium viridifolium, and Dse-
monorops cinnamomea. Mr Burley, of Bayswater, was second, and Mr Bull, of
Chelsea, third.

In the miscellaneous class, Mr Denning, gardener to Lord Londesborough, was
first with a charming collection of Orchids. The most lovely of Dendrobes — D.
Bensouise — with its snow-white flowers and deep orange lip, had three fine spikes ;
Epidendrum vitellinum majus had a fine spike of its brilliant orange red flowers ;
and Cypripedium Veitchii had three of the largest flowers yet seen. Mr Bull was
second with Orchids, and Mr Williams third, with a most interesting mixed col-
lection, which had to give place to the Orchids.

Fruit Committee. — Messrs Barr & Sugden sent a collection of Cabbage-Lettuce.
The Cloche, Tom Thumb or Stone Tennis-ball is the earliest ; and a variety much
grown in the Fulham market-gardens, named Grand Admiral, is the most ser-
viceable.

Floral Committee. — Mr R. Parker, of Tooting, sent cut flowers of Passiflora
vitifolia, a very beautiful stove species, with bright scarlet flowers ; it received a
first-class certificate. The Thymus citriodorus aureus marginatus will be a nice
addition to the golden-leaved edging plants ; the leaf- colouring is very bright, and
the plant is of free growth : it was sent by MessrB Fisher, Holmes, & Co., of
Sheffield, and received a first-class certificate. A second-class award was given to
W. Marshall, Esq. of Enfield, for Phajus Marshallii, a new species with pure white
flowers and pale yellow lip. Mr C. Turner, of Slough, sent four new Pinks. A
first-class certificate was awarded to Godfrey, a large well-proportioned flower,
with heavy purple lacing ; one named Alice is also very pretty. The same award
was voted to Mr Nye, gardener to R. B. Foster, Esq., Yv^indsor, for Stage Pelargo-

378 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

niums — Prelate and rompey; the former is a fine flower, and the plant is of good
habit, Mr T. Pestridge, nurseryman, Uxbridge, sent a strong-growing variegated
Pelargonium with the foliage and habit of Flower of Spring, and the flowers blush
white ; it was named Blushing Bride, and I'eceived a second-class certificate.

July 5th, Show op Cut Roses and Dinner-table Decorations, with which
the National Rose Show is incorporated. Under very unfavourable auspices did
Queen Rosa hold her court this season ; from north, south, east, and west the same
report was brought in of high winds and heavy thunder showers, so damaging to
the tender petals of the Rose, nevertheless there were some truly superb examples
staged by the leading exhibitors.

In the nurserymen's class for seventy-two Roses, distinct, one truss of each,
Messrs Paul & Son were first ; the following were very beautiful — Triomphe de
Rennes, Queen Victoria, a fine old Rose, Modele de Perfection, Marie Baumaun,
Madame Margottin, a magnificient Marechal Niel, Olivier Delhomme, Alfred
Colomb, Souvenir d'Elise, and Marquise de Castellane ; Messrs Fi-ancis of Hert-
ford, second.

In the class for forty-eight, three trusses of each, Messrs Paul were again in the
highest position : Prince of Wales, an immense globular Rose in the way of La
Reine, Paul Yerdier, Dr Andry, Madame Therese Levet, and Beauty of Waltham
were in fine condition. Mr C. Turner, of Slough, was second with fine trusses.

For twenty-four Hybrid Perpetuals, distinct, three trusses, Messrs Paul were
again first ; Baroness Rothschild, Princess Mary of Cambridge, Marquise de Morte-
mart, Marie Rady, and Due de Rohan were superb. Mr J. Fraser, of the Lea
Bridge Road, was second ; Mr Turner third, and Messrs Francis fourth.

Twenty-four Roses, distinct, one truss of each. Mr Turner was first ; Mr
"Walker, of Tbame, Oxon, second ; and Messrs Veitch, of Chelsea, third.

In the four classes devoted to amateurs, there was much competition for forty-
eight single trusses. The Rev. G. Arkwright, Penoombe Rectory, Bromyard,
Worcester, was first. T. Laxton, Esq., Stamford, second; Mr J. W. Chard,
gardener to Sir F. Bath\irst, Salisbury, third; and R. N. G. Baker, Esq., of Salis-
bury Mount, Exeter, fourth.

For thirty-six, Mr W. Ingle, gardener to Mrs Round, Birch Hall, Colchester,
was first; he had very fine trusses of Baroness Rothschild, Duke of Edinburgh,
and Gloire de Vitry ; Mr Chard was second ; R. N. G. Baker, Esq., third ; and Mr
P. Stoddart, gardener to H. J. G. Rebon, Esq,^ Wivenhoe Park, Colchester,
fourth.

For Twenty-four, Mr J. Skinner, gardener to Captain Christy, Westerham
Hill, Kent, was first; Mr W. Soder, gardener to C. Hanbury, Esq., second ; Mr
J. Wakely and Mr Postans taking the remaining prizes in this class.

In the class for twelve, Mr J. C. Quennell was first ; Rev. C. C. Ellison, Brace-
bridge, second ; Mr Wakely, third ; and Mr Soder, fourth.

The next class was for twelve distinct Roses of 1869 or 1870. Messrs Paul
& Son were first with Paul Neron, Ferdinand de Lesseps, Mdlle. Eugenie Ver-
dier, a superb rosy flesh-coloured Rose of large size. Marquise de Castellane,
Catherine Mermet, Mr Gladstone, Comtesse d'Oxford, a very bright carmine red,
and Louis van Houtte very fine ; Mr Turner was second. For twelve trusses of
any Rose of 1869-70, Messrs Paul & Son were first with Comtesse d'Oxford ; and
Mr Turner, second, with Miss Poole. For a collection of yellow Roses, Messrs
Paul & Son were first with lovely trusses of Celine Forestier and Triomphe de
Rennes. For twelve Tea-scented and Noisette Roses, Messrs Paul & Son were
first in the nurserymen's class ; and Mr H. Thornycroft Floore, Weedon, in that

1871.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 379

devoted to amateurs. Roses in 8-inch pots were very fine, the plants exceedingly-
dwarf and compact : Mr Turner was first ; Messrs Paul & Son, second ; and Messrs
Veitch, third. Prizes were offered by his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, K. G.,
President of the Society, for a group of three plants suitable for the dinner-table.
Also for three groups of either flowers or fruit, or both combined. In the former
class, Mr Chard was first, for two small plants of Areca aurea, and a taller plant
of Hyophorbe VerschafFeltii in the centre ; Mr Bull, of Chelsea, was second also
with three Palms; Messrs E. G. Henderson & Co., third ; and Mr George, gar-
dener to Miss Nicholson, of Putney, fourth. In the latter class, the prizes were
awarded to Messrs Phillips & Pearce ; Mr Chard ; Miss Hassard, Upper Norwood,
and Mr Soder.

Fruit Committee.. — There was a very good show of fruit of excellent quality :
Buckland, Sweetwater, and Black Hamburg Grapes from Mr Turner. Very fine
Peaches and Nectarines from Mr Tillery of Welbeck. Two very fine Queen Pines
from Mr Perkins of Stanmore. Lucas Strawberries from Mr Douglas of Loxford,
of large size and well-coloured. All received special awards ; a silver medal being
given to Mr Perkins for his Pines.

Floral Committee. — Some very interesting new plants were sent to this meet-
ing, notably those from M. Linden of Brussels, and M. Alexis Dalliere of Ghent,
which were staged in the conservatory, and added much to the effect of the Rose
Show. Messrs Backhouse of York sent Lithospermum petrreum, a very florifer-
ous species with azure blue flowers, and Linum salsoloides, a compact plant with
white flowers. Mr Green, gardener to W. W. Saunders, Esq., sent Houlletia
odoratissima antioquensis, a remarkable Orchid with long purplish-brown sepals
and petals, and a cream-coloured lip. Mr Bull had Alsophila Shepherdii, a Tree-
Fern of small size. Mr Croucher, gardener to T. Peacock, Esq., sent Agave
VerschafFeltii variegata, a long spined species with greenish-yellow markings. Mr
Turner sent two Pinks, Dr Masters and Shirley Hibberd; both flowers are of
large size with deep purple lacing. Show Pelargonium Ada came from Mr
Wiggins, a perfect-shaped flower with rich maroon upper and rose under petals.
All the above received first-class certificates, as did Petunia Coquette from Messrs
E. G. Henderson & Son, a semi-double variety with a white ground and purplish-
crimson centre and edge. The same exhibitor received a second-class award for
Pelargonium Enterprise, a useful free-flowering spotted variety. The same award
was given to Mr Bull for Lobelia Erinus Omen, a pretty variety with purple and
white flowers.

First-class certificates were also awarded to the following new plants sent by M.
Linden of Brussels : — Epidendrum Frederici Guilelmi, allied to E. syringothyr-
Bus, Alloplectus vittatus, Dioscorea chrysophylla, D. Eldorado, and D. prismatica ;
Maranta Mazellii, M, Wallisii discolor, and Dieffenbachia imperialis, a noble
species which will make a fine exhibition plant. M. Linden was also awarded a
Silver Flora Medal for his collections. M, Dalliere received the same award for
a collection of twelve distinct Marantas ; M. Veitchii and illustris were the best.

Flower Shows in Essex. — I have no doubt there are a number of men, read-
ers of the ' Gardener,' who are either natives of Essex, or have at some time of
their lives acted as gardeners in that county ; if so, they will still feel a slight
interest in the Horticultural department of that county, and will be pleased
to hear that gardening is progressing favourably — at least, so it seems by the
number of flower shows held now to what there were a few years ago.

The Essex Weekly News gives an account of three in one week, with a long
list of exhibitors and prize takers. The first was held the second week in June,

380 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

at Saffron Walden, called "The Floral and Horticultural Exhibition." Every-
thing appears to have been in excellent condition, Mr Chater, the well-known
nurseryman, and Lord Braybrook of Audleyend, carried off a great number of
prizes. The next recorded was "The Essex Agricultural Society's," held this
year at Bromford : there appears to have been a good collection of plants, cut
flowers, fruit, and vegetables of all kinds. Mr AV. Bones, of Havering Park,
quietly walked off with seventeen prizes.

The third is the sixth anniversary of the Wanstead " Floricultural Society,"
held in the grounds of G. H. Wilkinson, Esq., Grove House, Wanstead. This
appears to be a small affair, got up chiefly for that part of Essex : there were
good collections of plants and table devices ; the highest prize, a silver vase, value
£5, was appropriated to the best group of flowers arranged for table decoration.
The competition in this class was large, the silver vase being awarded to Miss
Child of Wanstead, whose pyramidal and beautiful design excited the greatest
admiration.

Another, called "The Bishop-Stortford and Hertford Horticultural Society,"
held their opening exhibition in the grounds of the Grange at Bishop-Stortford.
This was a sight well worth going to see : the Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, Stove
plants, Roses, Ferns, and Pines were the finest I ever saw ; while Melons, Grapes,
and Cherries were very good. It would take up too much of your valuable space
to state who were the prize takers : suffice it to say that Mr Hill, of Poles, Ware,
in Herts ; Mr W. Weeks, Hyde Hall, Sawbridgeworth ;.and several others in the
neighboux'hood, were very successful exhibitors.

Since that I have heard (without full particulars) of two more, one called
"The Halsted and North Essex Horticultural Society," and another held at
Chelmsford. W. Nokes.

EoYAL Botanic Society's Show, June 14th and 15th. — On this occasion the
grand specimen plants of Mr Baines, gardener to H. L. Micholls, Esq. of South-
gate, were worthy of special notice, both in the stove and greenhouse flowering
and foliage plants; he, as usual, carried off first honours. The charming Dipla-
denia amabilis, a well-grown plant of large size of Hederoma tulipifera, and An-
thurium Scherzerianum, which no collection of flowering stove plants should be
without ; there are numerous inferior forms of it in commerce, the spathes of
some being very much smaller than in the best variety. Orchids from Mr B. S.
Williams of Holloway were well represented; his highly-coloured Cattleya lobata
and Cypripedium caudatum were the best. New plants were numerously shown.
Botanical certificates of merit were given to Messrs Veitch for Begonia intermedia,
Dieffenbachia Bansei, Dracaena amabilis, and D. Wisemanni ; Paullinia thalictri-
folia and a very distinct species of Selaginella from Japan ; to Mr W. Bull for
Cycas elegans, Lilium auratum virginale, Macrozamia Frazeri, Ptychosperma
regalis, Phormium texax albo variegatum, Thrinax elegantissima, and W^arsce-
wiczella velata ; to Mr B. S. W^illiams for Agave Ortgiesiana and Restrepia an-
tenifera ; and to Messrs Paul & Son for Cupressus Lawsoniana alba pendula.
Horticultural certificates were given to the following :— Zonal Pelargoniums,
Polly King, Flame, and Craven Fox, from Mr J. George, Putney Heath ; lanthe.
Sir C. Napier, and Wellington, green-leaved ; Mont Blanc, Lady Dorothea
Neville, and Countess of Flanders, variegated, from Mr W. Paul ; Bronze Queen,
and Tricolor Alice Maud Mary from E. G. Henderson & Son ; and Stage Pelar-
goniums, The Bride and Rubens from Mr Nye, gardener to E. B. Foster, Esq.
of Windsor.
^ July 12th and 13th. — This is the last, and perhaps the best, show of the Royal

1871.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 381

Botanic Society for the season. There were dinner-table decorations, epergnea
and bouquets of intense interest to the ladies, a few stove and greenhouse plants,
and an excellent exhibition of fruit. Remarkably fine collections of fruit were
shown by Mr Lynn, gardener to Lord Boston, Hedsor, and Mr A. Johnson,
Savernake, Wilts. The first prize was awarded to Mr Lynn : he had magnificent
Grosse Mignonne Peaches, a splendid Queen Pine-apple, well-coloured Elruge
Nectarines, Sir J. Paxton Strawberries, Black Hamburg Grapes, and a good
Melon ; Mr Lynn was also first for a collection of out-of-doors fruit. Baskets of
Black Grapes, not less than 12 lb., consisting entirely of Black Hamburg, and
very good ; Mr C. Berry, gardener to J. Da Silva, Esq., Bumtwood House, was
first ; Mr A. Johnson, second ; and Mr Osborne, Kay's Nursery, Finchley, third.
12 lb. baskets of White Grapes were all Muscat of Alexandria : the first prize
basket was well ripened, and came from Mr P. Feist, gardener to R. Ashston,
Esq., Staines; second, Mr Osborne; and Mr W. Davies, Frien Barnet, third.
The Black Hamburg Grapes were, with one or two exceptions, badly coloured.

For a single dish of three bunches, Mr Douglas, gardener to F. Whitboum,
Esq., Ilford, was first ; Mr Walker, gardener to H. J. Atkinson, Esq., Acton,
second ; Mr Lane, gardener to J. Miles, Esq., Barnet, third.

A dish of any other black sort : Messrs Standish were first, with Madresfield
Court, well coloured, the other sorts taking prizes being Black Prince.

Muscats were exceptionally fine, Mr Ritchie, gardener, Frognal, Hampstead,
was first with Bowpod ; Mr Barham, gardener to Lord Ormanthwiite, was second
with Muscat of Alexandria; and Mr Kemp, gardener to the Duke of North-
umberland, third.

In the class for a dish of any White Grape, except Muscat, Mr Cole, gardener
to E. Budgett, Esqi, Ealing Park, was first with Buckland Sweetwater ; Mr Stand-
ish, of Ascot, was second with Ascot Citronelle, a variety with a distinct and
peculiar Frontignan flavour. Some excellent Queen Pines were shown, one
weighing 6 lb.

In the class for any variety but Queen, the first prize was awarded to a
Providence ; the second and third to Smooth-leaved Cayenne. The best green
flesh Melon was Queen Emma, and the best scarlet flesh was Scarlet Gem.

There were also magnificent dishes of Royal George, Grosse Mignonne, and
Violette Hative Peaches ; Violette Hative, Elruge, and Balgowan Nectarines ;
and, considering the season, remarkably fine fruit of British Queen, President,
Lucas, and Frogmore Late Pine Strawberries. J. Douglas.

The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society. — The summer exhibition
of this Society was held in the Music Hall, George Street, Edinburgh, on the
12th of last month. Roses and fruit were the leading features on the occasion;
pot plants were neither remarkable for number nor quality. In this latter
respect we cannot help remarking that it is strange that, considering the number
of noblemen's and gentlemen's residences within easy distance of Edinburgh,
there should be so poor a display of pot plants.

The Roses were, however, a show in themselves — notably those exhibited by
Mr Hugh Dickson, Belmont Nursery, Belfast, who took first honours by long odds
in all the classes in which he exhibited. His flowers were quite equal to the best
examples seen on the exhibition-tables of the Rose-shows of England. In the
Gardeners' class of thirty-six varieties, Mr Henderson, gardener to John Christie,
Esq. , Cowden Castle, showed a very fine stand of Roses ; Daniel Marshall,
gardener to Miss Hay, Kingston, Grange, produced a very fine stand of twenty-
four Roses ; and Mr Robertson, gardener to Mr Menzies, Seacote House, a fine

382

THE GARDENER.

[Aug.

one of six. Besides these leading stands in their classes, there were other
good exhibitions.

Fruit was shown largely and of excellent quality. Mr Temple, gardener,
Balbirnie, had exquisitely-finished though not lai-ge bunches of Black Ilamburgs,
for which he got first prize ; ^Mr Laing, gardener, Pitcairlie, Fife, being second.
Besides these, there were very large though not so well finished bunches of the
same Grape from a number of other exhibitors. We specially noticed enormous
bunches from Mr Heath, gardener to James Cox, Esq., Lochee, near Dundee. In
the class of white Grapes, Mr Laing was first with splendid bunches of Golden
Champion — not, however, quite ripe; Mr Grey, gardener to John Christie, Esq.,
Craigend, was second with the same Grape. In addition to these there was
another exhibition of Golden Champion and very fine Buckland Sweetwater, from
Mr M'Conachie of Cameron House, Dumbartonshire. There was one good
Pine exhibited in one of the collections of fruit, and a great many fine Peaches
and Nectarines. Altogether this feature of the exhibition was a very attractive
one. We cannot say much of the Vegetables — they were neither abundant nor
good.

The Edinburgh nurserymen filled the tables round the room as usual; the
orchestra was filled by ^Messrs Lawson & Sons.

The judges on the occasion were — Messrs Whitelaw, Luchie; M'Kay, Warris-
ton ; Baird, Valleyfield ; Thomson, Tweed Vineyard, Galashiels ; Cowe, Whit-
tinghame ; Lees, Tynninghame ; and Patterson, Millbank.

The members of the Society and the judges dined together in the Albert Hotel ;
Mr Syme, of ]\Iessr3 Lawsons', in the chair, and Mr Temple, Balbirnie, croupier.

The prizes awarded were as follow : —

Twelve Pinks— 1. Thomas Methyen
& Sons ; 2. Dickson & Co. , Leith Walk.

Six Stove and Greenhouse Plants —
John Paterson, gardener to Mr Syme,
Millbank.

Four Pelargoniums — Colin M'Far-
lane, gardener to Mr David Anderson,
Moredun.

Six Foliage Plants— 1. John Pater-
son ; 2. William Murray, gardener,
Carleton Lodge.

Four Heaths — John Paterson.

Four Ferns — Patrick Xeill Fraser,
Canonmills Lodge.

Tree Fern — 1. James Gordon, gar-
dener to Mr Wauchope, ISTiddrie ; 2.
William Murray.

Six British Ferns— 1. P. N. Fraser;
2. H. Campbell, Castle Street.

Three Tricoloured Geraniums — 1.
William Gray, Craig Park, Ratho ; 2.
William Mattocks, gardener to Mr
Mylne, Niddrie Mains.

Three Bronze Geraniums — 1. William
Gray; 2. B. Witherstone, Restalrig
House.

Two Fuchsias— L P. Black, gardener
to Mr John Gibson, Woolmet ; 2. R.
Colville, gardener to Dr Alexander
Wood, Brae Lodge.

Three fancy Pelargoniums — 1. Colin
MTarlane ; 2. William Gray.

Four Calceolarias — 1. Colin M 'Far-
lane ; 2. R. Colville.

Two Stand Bouquets — Mr Pirie,
Dysart House, and Mr M'Kay, equal.

Two Pots Herbaceous Plants — 1.
George L. Brown, Morningside ; 2. P.
N. Fraser.

Two Pots Achimenes — Jas. Gordon.

Six Pots Alpine Plants — George L.
Brown.

Twelve Pinks — 1. William Young,
33 South Bridge ; 2. Wm. Old, gardener
to Mr Merricks, Rosslyn.

Collection of Echeverias — R. Colville.

Three East- Lothian Stocks — 1. Alex.
Gibson, gardener to Sir Jas. Gardiner
Baird, Bart. ; 2. James Gordon.

NURSERYMEN".

Thirty cut Roses — 1, Hugh Dickson,
Belmont Nursery, Belfast; 2. D. Stew-
art, Wimborne; 3. J. Stewart & Son,
Dundee.

Twenty-four Roses — 1. Hugh Dick-
son ; 2. Stewart & Son ; 3. D. Stewart.

Twelve Trusses Roses — 1. Hugh
Dickson ; 2. Stewart & Son ; 3. D.
Stewart.

gardeners' class.

Thirty-six Roses — 1. James Hender-
son, gardener to Mr John Christie, Cow-
den Castle ; 2. Colin M'Farlane ; 3. A.
Hunter, New Hailes.

i87i.]

OBITUARY.

383

Twenty-four cut Roses — 1. David
Marshall, gardener to Miss Hay, King-
ston Grange; 2. Mr M'Tavish, Bal-
housie Castle ; 3. Mr King, gardener
to Sir George Warrender, Bruntsfield
House.

Twelve Trusses Eoses— 1. Mr M'Tav-
ish ; 2. Wm. Mattocks ; 3. A. Hunter,

Six Roses — 1. R. Robertson, gardener
to Mr Menzies, Seacote House; 2.
George Greig, gardener to Mr Wm.
Christie, Craigend Park ; 3. Mr M'Tav-
ish.

Twelve Tea-Roses— 1. Mr M'Millan,
gardener to James Macbraire, Broad-
meadows, Berwick ; 2. Mr M'Tavish.

Collection of Fruit — 1. Mungo Tem-
ple, gardener to Mr Balfour of Balbir-
nie House ; 2. James Vair, gardener to
Mr R. T. Howet, Mabie House, Dum-
fries.

Two bunches of Grapes — 1. M. Tem-
ple ; 2. John Laing, gardener to Mr R.
Cathcart, Pitcarlie.

Two bunches of "White Grapes — 1.
John Laing ; 2. Geo. Greig.

Two bunches, black flavour — 1. M.
Temple ; 2. Juhn Laing.

Two bunches, white flavour — 1. M.
Temple ; 2. Jas. Hannah, gardener to
Dr Duncan, Burnhead.

Six Peaches — 1. — Mackay, gardener
to Mr Hay, Dunse Castle ; 2. Mr Kiik-
patrick, gardener to Lord Abercromby,
Airthrey Castle.

Six Nectarines — 1. Mr Kirkpatrick ;
2. Mr Vair.

One Melon — 1. Mr Walter Allen,
Ratho House ; 2. John Laing.

Twenty-four Cherries — 1. A. Ander-
son, gardener to Mr W. H. Brown,
Ashley; 2. M. Temple.

Basket of Strawberries — 1. John
Laing ; 2. James Vair.

Basket of Gooseberries — L Mr An-
derson ; 2. Mr Kirkpatrick.

Dish of Figs — John Laing.

Four Dishes of Strawberries — James
Vair.

Two Cauliflowers — 1. Mr Anderson ;
2. Mr Kirkpatrick.

Two Cucumbers — 1. Mr Robert
Robertson ; 2. Mr James Turner, gar-
dener to Mark Sprott, Esq., Riddle.

Pint of Potatoes — 1. Mr Hunter ; 2.
Mr Anderson.

Twenty -five heads of Asparagus — 1.
Mr Adamson, gardener to Mr Gillon of
Wallhouse ; 2. Mr Kirkpatrick.

Pint of Mushrooms— L John Fraser;
2. Mr Kerr, gardener to Mr A. B.
Shand, Glencorse.

Thirty Pods French Beans— M, Tem-
ple.

Collection of Vegetables — 1. Colin
M'Farlane ; 2. John Fraser.

NURSERYMEN.

Table of Plants— 1. Peter Lawson &
Sons ; 2. T. Methven & Sons ; 3. Dick-
sons & Co. ; 4. Drummond Brothers.

There was a special award of £1, Is.
to Mr M'Millan of Broadmeadows for
Standard Ivy-leaved Geranium.

©ittuarg.

On the 25th June, in his eighty-fifth year, to the grief of his son and daughter,
died Mr William Hunter, late gardener to Sir Edward Blount, Bart., of Mawley
Hall, near Bewdley. The early history of Mr Hunter is not accurately known.
He was born in England, of Scotch parents, and sent to a school at Dumfries.
It has been stated that he was apprenticed to Messrs Lee & Kennedy of Hammer-
smith, London. Be that as it may, after living with Sir Thomas Reid, he came to
Arley Castle in 1814, when the late Earl Mountnorris was flourishing amongst a large
selection of stove-plants, many of them of his own introduction into this country.
In 1819, Mr Hunter left Arley and went to Mawley Hall, near Bewdley, where
he served Sir Edward Blount, Bart., 43 years, when he retired on his own means,
though Sir Edward Blount built a new cottage for him to end his earthly career
in. He had been a correspondent of " Loudon," and when the " Root-doctors "
were disputing on "lifting and cutting of roots," «&c., he told them that when he
planted trees the roots grew downwards and the tops grew upwards, and there
they remained.

384 THE GARDENER. [Aug.

Some of the Vines that he planted are more than fifty years old, and are doing
well, under restricted treatment, in a " border of Red Hopland ; " the average
rainfall being about 32 inches, as taken by !Mr Hunter. Being fond of botany, he
was always in search of something new in plants, and, about fifty years ago, he
formed one of a small party who established a botanical field society, and occa-
sionally searched and became acquainted with all the plants of the south Shropshire
hills and gullies.

REPORTS OF THE WEATHER.

The summer of 1871 will long be remembered for its unusually low temperature.
The thermometer at Drumlanrig Gardens indicated 14° below freezing on June
26, and some of the more tender things, such as Ageratum, in the lower grounds,
were " touched." On the same date the Common Bracken (Pteris Aquilina) was
killed to the ground, and Potatoes blackened in Nottinghamshire and other parts
of England.

Perhaps it may be interesting to some of the numerous readers of the 'Gardener '
to see a report of the weather from this neighbourhood.

Mean temperature for April — min. 34. 2°, max. 54. 6°. On the 7th, 8th, and 10th
the temperature fell 8°, 7°, and 10" below freezing respectively ; rainfall 4.01. On
twenty-three days of this month either rain or snow fell.

Mean temperature for May — min. 37.2% max. 65.8°. On the 17th the tempera-
ture fell 8° below freezing ; rainfall 1.02. On nine days of this month rain fell.

Mean temperature for June — min. 42.3°, max. 67°. On the 5th the thermometer
registered 31°, or 1° below freezing. From 2d of June up to the 14th vegetation
was almost at a standstill ; rain was very much wanted ; north and east winds
prevailed. Rain came on the 14 th, which improved vegetation greatly; rainfall
3.00. On thirteen days of this month rain fell.

The frost on the 17th of May was very injurious to the fruit crop in this
locality. Peaches and Apricots against the wall, about three-fourths of them
dropped oflF after the severe frost of the above date. Peaches are a very bad
crop ; Apricots a moderate one; Cherries are a very bad crop, except the Morello,
which is a fair average ; Pears, some of the varieties are an average ; Apples are a
moderate crop ; Plums, good ; Damsons, very heavy ; Gooseberries, very moder-
ate ; Red and Black Currants, heavy ; Raspberries, good ; Strawberries, some of
the varieties very heavy — viz., Keen's Seedling, President, and Victoria (Trol-
lope's) ; the Elton Pine, average ; Black Prince, Sir Henry, and Marguerite very
middling. The three first-named sorts are always great bearers here ; Sir Henry
generally bears well also, but the last severe winter was very destructive to the
plants of that variety. Marguerite is too tender for this place ; Dr Hogg is like-
wise delicate here. J. Finlat.

Meldon Park, Morpeth, Northumberland.

"Weather in Germany — Hanover, July 16. — Our weather has not been agree-
able ; either rainy or dreadfully warm. Thunderstorms have been very frequent,
and severe in their consequences ; in one village the damage done is 50,000 thalers.
Fruit has been greatly injured ; Strawberries scarce and small ; Cherries are nasty
little hard things, not nice at all ; Gooseberries are not ripe. Formerly some
sorts of fruit have failed, but this year every kind has suffered. There is no abund-
ance of any kind, and it is believed that there will be no better for next winter.

i87i.]

CALENDAR.

385

KITCHEN-GARDEN.

In the vegetable garden, order, cleanli-
ness, and well-filled plots are more gene-
ral now than at any other time of the
year ; it is unfortunate when it is other-
wise. AYe hear that rain has been abun-
dant mostly everywhere, and many of
the crops will be unusually luxuriant.
Those which are to stand through the
winter should be checked by lifting and
replanting : there may be time enough
for this, but it is a good system to have
it done early, to allow the plants — such
as Broccolis, Savoys, and Kale — to get a
fresh hold of the soil. Let every space
be filled up as it becomes vacant ; Po-
tatoes, Peas, Cauliflower, &c., when
cleared off, will make room for many
things — such as Coleworts, Broccolis,
Kale, Savoys, &c. "When opportunity
affords, prepare for winter Spinach :
deep trenching is necessary, and a posi-
tion sheltered from north and east is of
advantage. Sow the seed in rows 1 foot
apart, and thin out by degrees. Grubs
often do much mischief to Spinach, so
that careful thinning is necessary. Like
Parsley and other vegetables in winter,
crowding is attended by decaying leaves.
Onions may now be sown ; Tripoli
is a useful kind : drills 1 foot apart on
well-trenched ground, and soot or wood-
ashes dusted over the seed, answer well.
Sow hardy sorts of Lettuce and Endive
for winter work. "When lifted and
planted carefully on ridges they stand
well ; damp is much against them.
Protection of walls and south borders
are favourite positions of many for
these plants. Cabbage may be pricked
out when fit to handle, to get them sturdy
for their winter- quartere!. Sow more
seed to secure a good stock of plants for
spring planting. Cauliflowers for hand-
glasses may now be sown in cold and
late districts ; in southern and favoured
localities the third week of the month
will answer well for sowing. Turnips
may still be sown for winter and spring
use : Strap-leaved and White Stone are
good kinds for present sowing. Celery
may be earthed up as wanted. Dust
with lime to keep off snails ; keep the
stems compact, preventing earth from

filling up the hearts. Late crops may
still be planted, but in northern dis-
tricts the produce cannot be expected
large. Peas which are to give late sup-
plies may require protection with nets :
large numbers of birds will return from
the harvest-fields and fall upon late Peas,
and devour them greedily. Parsley
should be well cleared of useless leaves
and inferior plants. Chervil, American
Land- Cress, and Golden Cress should be
sown in quantity. Herbs should be
taken in when dry, and hung up in
bunches under cover where they will
have plenty of air. Leeks may be im-
proved by earthing-up. Litter or manure
of any kind placed between the rows
is serviceable ; they can hardly be over-
done by manure and manure -water.
Kadishes should now be plentiful ; they
may now be sown in a larger breadth,
as they will remain longer in good con-
dition. Tomatoes must now be gone
over frequently, keeping off all useless
growths. Expose the fruit to sun and
air, and give manure -water to plants
bearing heavily. French Beans are
easily injured by frost, and a frame
and lights placed over a portion of the
crop may prolong the supply. Hoops
and mats may do much to save them
and Scarlet- Runners for a long time.
Eidge Cucumbers and Vegetable Mar-
rows, also, are the better of timely pro-
tection. Allowing them to become
matted is a great evil, which should be
avoided by timely and judicious use of
the knife. Mushroom -beds may be
made against a wall or on ridges covered
with hay in the open ground. Plenty
of horse-manure mixed with loam is
necessary. Good beds can be had by
lifting spawn from where Mushrooms
are growing in the fields. Let no part
of the garden suffer from the want of
hoe or prong. If weeds, by accident,
should get ahead, the most effectual way
of clearing them is by hand-picking, and
following up with the hoe and prong :
between crops the soil may be forked
over, burying everything in the shape
of weeds, but not injuring the vegetable
roots. M. T.

FORCING DEPARTMENT.
Pines. — That portion of the stock I supply next year, should, by the end of
which are intended for early summer | this month, have their pots well filled

386

THE GARDENER.

[Aug.

with roots, and be of a stocky well-
matured growth ; for if kept growing
late into the autumn, there is little cer-
tainty of getting them to start in time
to yield ripe fruit next ^lay and June.
There are two evils to be avoided in the
case of these plants; one we have just
named, and the other is, that of having
them pot-bound too early, and 8ub-
jected to a high temperature too late
in autumn, in which case the fruit
starts — we are, of course, speaking
of Queens — a hardened knot like a
thimble, and is worthless. Care must
be taken, while inducing a stubby well-
matured growth and a pot full of roots,
that the plants do not suffer from dry-
ness at root and an arid atmosphere ;
and though towards the end of the
month moisture requires to be de-
creased, avoid by all means the " dry-
ing-off" system. Those intended to
start, after making a growth in spring
— and which invariably yield the finest
fruit — must still be encouraged to grow,
and be managed as directed for suc-
cession - plants last month. Smooth
Cayennes, and other late varieties now
out of bloom and swelling off, must be
encouraged with waterings of guano and
manure-water, a moist atmosphere, and
a high temperature in the afternoon and
evening when sun-heat can be stored.
Fruit colouring and ripe, see former
" Calendar." Suckers from those plants
that have fruited up to this time will
now be ready to pot : 6 and 7 inch
pots are large enough for these. Drain
well. Use a turfy loam, with a little
bone-dust mixed with it. Pot the suck-
ers firmly, and plunge in a bottom-heat
of 85° to 90°. Shade them from the
sun during the hottest part of the day
for ten or fourteen days, by which time
they will be making roots. Syringe
them lightly in the afternoon at shut-
ting-up time, and when they have made
roots about 2 inches long, water them
with water at 85°. After this they soon
begin to grow freely, and should have
an abundant supply of air to keep them
stocky — one of the principal points for
future success.

Grapes. — Early houses, where the
wood is thoroughly ripened, may now
have the lights removed off them where
such are movable. If the wood and
glass require painting and other repairs,
these, and all alterations in the way of
heating, should also be carried out forth-
with. Should the weather be dry, late
Grapes that are swelling off and about

the colouring point should have copious
waterings with manure-water, and a
slight mulching of some sort if it has
not been fip[)lied before. This, of course,
npplies only to borders that are perfectly
drained, and to dry seasons. Apply a little
fire-heat on damp dull days, and always
at night during such weather, with a
little air on all night, which is conducive
to good colouring. Take every precau-
tion to keep wasps and flies from prey-
ing on ripe Grapes. Hexagon netting
or perforated zinc fixed over the open-
ing prevents these pests from getting
into the vineries. Keep a constant eye
to Vines in all stages, and see that red-
spider does not get a footing. Where
the fruit are all cut, an occasional syring-
ing and a free circulation of air night
and day will keep the foliage clean. If
any of the Vioes from which fruit has
just been cut have their roots further
from the surface of theborder than is de-
sirable, remove the surface-soil entirely
till the roots are reached, and replace
the old soil with fresh turfy loam, with
some horse-droppings and ^-inch bones
mixed with it, and the roots will lay
hold of it and be ready to work more
upwards next summer, especially if
some fermenting material be put on
the border when forcing is commenced.
It is astonishing how tractable Vine-
roots are when enticed with fine fresh
material. Pot- Vines intended to fruit
early next season should, by this time,
have their wood as brown and hard as
a cane. Expose them to full sun and
a free circulation of air. Should they
show any disposition to make young
lateral growths, remove them at once,
inducing them to maturity and rest as
soon as possible. Avoid exposing them
outdoors in windy positions, which
destroys the foliage before it has fully
done its work.

Peaches. — Look carefully over all
trees from which fruit has been gather-
ed, and if there are many shoots that
will not be required for next season's
bearing, remove them at once, so that
all light and air may play about the
trees freely. If there be any red-spider
about them, syringe them with sul-
phured water till not one remains; and
otherwise give every possible attention
that is necessary to retain the foliage to
the last in a healthy state, so that well-
developed biids and matured wood be
1 the result. Expose fruit that are ripen-
ing to all light and air possible. Late
I crops in cool houses in their last swel-

iSyi.]

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

38T

ling should be well supplied with water
at the root till they begin to colour.

Figs. — Early trees from which the
secoud crop is all gathered must not be
neglected. If in pots, keep them well
supplied with water, and free from in-
sects by frequent syringing. Should
they have more wood about them than
is necessary for next season, remove it,
and expose them to full light and air.
"Where fruit are ripening the atmos-
phere must be comparatively dry, with
a free circulation of air, or the fruit will
be deficient in flavour. A well-ripened
Fig is a delicious fruit, but if not well-
swelled and perfectly ripened it is
most insipid. Supply trees swelling
off their crop with manure-water at the
root — a moist atmosphere and frequent
syringing is nece.*sary to keep the foli-
age healthy, without which no fruit-
bearing plant perfects it? crop proper-
ly. It is just as reasonable to expect a
human being to be strong and fat with
pulmonary disease of the lungs, as to
expect line fruit from trees with diseas-
ed or injured leaves.

Melons. — Attend to the impregna-
tion of late crops, and avoid overcrowd-
ing with shoots and foliage. Give those
swelling off full crops occasional heavy
waterings with manure-water. If grown
in houses on trellises, cover the surface
of the bed with a coating of rotten
manure 1 inch or so in thickness.
Expose ripening fruit fully to the sun,
and to a circulation of warm air.

Cucumbers. — Those that have been

in bearing all summer may now be par-
tially cut in, all fruit removed, be top-
dressed with rotten manure, and kept
at 75° heat at night, and they will soon
make young wood and begin bearing,
and give a supply till late in autumn.
See that those in full bearing do not
want for water at the roots, and syringe
them freely on fine afternoons. About
the middle of the month is a good time
to sow for winter-bearing plants, or they
may be produced from cuttings at the
end of the month. It is desirable to get
them well established while the days are
yet long, and less fire heat required.

Strawberries in Pots.— These, if
shifted into their fruiting - pots last
month, as we then recommended, wUl
now be growing rapidly, and filling their
pots with roots. Give them a liberal
supply of water, and occasional water-
ing with dung-water as they get well
established in their pots. See that they
are not standing too closely together —
preventing a free circulation of air and
light about them. They should be
placed in an open airy situation. If
any portion of the required stock still
remain unshifted, not a day should be
lost in getting them into their fruiting-
pots. The great point is to attain well-
ripened crowns, and pots as full of roots
as they can hold. If they are disposed
to root through the pots, lift them occa-
sionally to prevent this. It is best for
this reason to have them standing on
board or trellis work, to prevent the
roots leaving the pots.

All business communications should be addressed to the Publishers, and com-
munications for insertion in the * Gardener ' to David Thomson, Drumlanrig
Gardens, Thornhill, Drunifriesshire. It will farther oblige if all matter intended
for publication, and questions to be replied to, be forwarded by the middle of the
month, and written on one side of the paper only. It is also requested that
writers forward their name and address, not for publication, unless they wish it,
but for the sake of that mutual confidence which should exist between the Editor
and those who address him. We decline noticing any communication which is
not accompanied with name and address of writer.

An Under Gardener, — Next month.

W. C, — You have done well in letting more air and light at your walks.
Sprinkle them with salt twice a-year. The salt will destroy the moss, and it can
be brushed off with a hard broom. "We fear we do not quite understand your

388

THE GARDENER.

[Aug. 1 87 1.

other question. Our correspondent's " hints " have been very comprehensive, and
treat of the great bulk of vegetables in cultivation. But of late, you will observe
that directions for vegetables have been transferred to the Kitchen-Garden de-
partment in Calendar, Thanks for your good wishes. All the leading firms in
Scotland can supply Perennial plants. We cannot recommend individual firms.

Subscriber. — Give your soil a good dressing of cow-manure, and if possible
add some fresh heavy loam and trench the ground, mixing the manure well with
it. Thus worked, we know of no reason why your soil should not yield good
crops of Strawberries. We do not think that its having been cropped with
potatoes for years can have anything to do with the failure of Strawberry crops.
If it is already light, heavy soil will do it more good than leaf-mould. There can
be no objections to the lime. Treat it as above at once, and strong runners plan-
ted now should bear next year and still better the year following. If those
plants which have not fruited are strong and healthy, we would certainly discard
them, and replace them from a fertile stock.

C. AYILLCOCK. — The Sloes were bruised flat in their transit. As far as we can
judge, they are just as you suppose, malformations, such as are frequently met
with in all fruits.

James C. — We cannot recognise the specimen sent, especially as it is so dried
and shrivelled up. Plants sent to us to name should be sent in a small box,
surrounded with a fresh vine or other similar leaf. Sent in dry material in an
ordinary envelope, they are not in a fit state for examination.

J. C. — Your proposed system of heating and ventilating we consider so com-
plicated that it is rendered inapplicable to horticultural purposes.

A Subscriber. — Some of the varieties in your list we are not acquainted with,
but the following are all good : — Lapstone Kidney, Paterson's Victoria, Fortyfold,
Jtlona's Pride, Veitch's Improved, Wheeler's Milky-White, American Early,
Hyatt's Prolific, Eegent.

■ F. G. — Yes, certainly. Do not be backward ; all reasonable questions we feel
it to be our duty to attend to, to the best of our own ability. •

THE

GARDENER.

SEPTEMBER 1871.

THE SCIENCE AND PRACTICE OF HORTICULTUKE.

T is very mucli to be regretted tliat the slightest jealousy
or ill-feeling should spring up and exist in any quarter
whatever, between those who may be termed the scien-
tific representatives of horticulture and those who are
generally termed practical gardeners. That such a feeling exists at
present between these two sections, is deplorably manifest to those
who have had sufficient opportunities of hearing the remarks, and
knowing the sentiments, of the one towards the other. What has
been recently said in the columns of a contemporary, acknowledged as
the representative organ of the scientific section of horticulturists, has
been keenly felt by their practical fellow-labourers, and the impression
produced is no less than that their feelings must become active in some
shape or other. When practical horticulturists are busily discussing
what they consider the unfair, the unkind, and entirely uncalled-for
utterances to which we refer, it is certain that the state of feeling is
anything but so harmonious as it is most desirable that it should be.

It is no part of our business to shield either party from whatever
measure of blame can be attached to them respectively, in bringing
about a state of feeling so very much to be regretted. We cannot,
however, refrain from expressing our conviction that the manner in
which our contemporary recently represented gardeners as a class was
sadly incautious, and calculated to do much harm, especially from its
want of sufficient discrimination. It would be folly on our part to
defend all who profess themselves to be horticulturists from the charges

2 E

390 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

of being sadly lacking in professional knowledge, and of the honest
and honourable characteristics without which they cannot be worthy
members of a body of men who, as a hodu, are much more worthy,
professionally and morally, than they have lately been represented.
And we cannot but think that had our contemporary the same work
to do again, it would either not do it at all, or do it with more dis-
crimination. Already there is evident proof that a desire exists on its
part to mollify the wounds it has made. But it is a pity that — we trust
unwittingly — so much indignation and ill-feeling has been created with-
out doing some corresponding amount of good.

There does not» exist any class or body of men, from the peasant
to the lord, that does not furnish its quota of disreputable characters ;
but it would be a gross injustice to any class to gibbet those characters,
and exhibit them as samples. The greatest care should be exercised,
in dealing with such a subject, that any such tendency should not
be apparent ; and we cannot believe that our contemporary wrote
in any other spirit, though the letter of its utterances was sadly in-
discriminate and unfortunate.

Our principal object at present is more to ask why, in the nature of
things, there should be any of the apparent jealousy or ill-feeling exist-
ing between those who, according to custom, we shall designate
scientific and practical horticulturists "i Let it be distinctly understood
that no mere pretenders are intended to be included in such categories ;
for there are no lack of them in both. We would reiterate the ques-
tion, why any such feelings should exist between those who study
horticulture as a science only, and those who intelligently put that
science into practice? One can sympathise with [N^ewton — whose
attention was ever directed on the track of some sun or planet — when
he expressed contempt for the Earl of Pembroke's taste for sculpture,
as being so much taken up with stone dolls. But no such sympathy
can exist for any want of cordial feeling between two sections of
workers in the same field. For, looking at them both from a scientific
point of view, what is the difference between them 1 What is science ?
Is it not as well explained by the two words " demonstrative know-
ledge " as it can be explained % If this be so, there is much that is
identical in the work which each performs for horticulture, for we pre-
sume that demonstrative knowledge is most of all attributable to those
who are year by year and day by day applying all the means and ways
by which they are producing the finest fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
The mere possession of sound knowledge may lay undeniable claim to
be classed with the scientific ; but he who, over and above, demon-
strates his sound and accurate knowledge by the regular production of
substantial results, is not a man to be treated with coldness and

iSyi.] SCIENCE OF HORTICULTURE. 391

contempt by his fellows. The horticulturist who can descant on the
physiology and functions of plants has acquired no mean knowledge ;
and if, in addition, he can produce fine fruits, vegetables, and flowers,
his acquirements are surely all the more onerous and worthy.

The practical man who will not willingly sit at the feet of any scien-
tific Gamaliel, and learn anything that may enable him the more
successfully to carry out his garden practice, is not deserving of sym-
pathy, and has denied himself one source of improvement. The man
whose immediate sphere is the more purely and exclusively scientific,
has no business to pour contempt on any man who has to carry on the
real, the profitable, and substantial battle of the garden, simply because
he may fall short of the highest standard of technical knowledge and
])lirases. And to select, as has been recently done, some miserable ex-
amples with which the writers have come in contact, and hold them up to
public gaze as representatives of gardeners, either morally or intellect-
ually, is unfair and ungrateful towards a body of men who are at
least as honourable, intelligent, and respectable as any in receipt of
the same remuneration. We say this much fearlessly, and they who
are prepared to deny it must surely know little of the position of the
generality of gardeners. Not only must they be respectable themselves,
but every one connected with them must be so, or they will soon come
to grief. And any man who can successfully carry on a garden estab-
lishment of first, second, and third rate importance, must of necessity be
a man of varied information and intelligence ; and it is no disgrace to
gardeners, as a body, that in this respect they are mostly self-taught.

Away, then, for ever, with the distrust, or rather the cause of it,
which exists between two sections of fellow-labourers in the same
field. Let all who are disreputable in both sections be treated as they
deserve, but let neither hold up any mere pretender or unworthy
members of either fraternity as samples of the mass. There has been
far too much of this, and the result has been a vast amount of jeal-
ousy and evil, which it will take a long time to eradicate completely.
When men of science have overtaken and fulfilled all the high and
useful functions which yet lie in their way, practical men will thank
them heartily for their labours ; meantime, they may safely intrust
other matters which do not lie within their sphere to the owners of
gardens and those who serve them. When practical horticulturists
have more spare time and work of a less laborious character than falls
to their lot at present, perhaps they might be able to ignore all other
assistance ; meantime, it behoves and becomes both parties to be on
better terms.

392 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

FRUITING YOUNG PINE -APPLE PLANTS.

It is now becoming a well-established rule that the sooner a Pine-plant
can be fruited, the finer will the fruit be in proportion to the size and
age of the plant. This has frequently been illustrated, and very ably
this season by Mr Miles, gardener to Lord Carrington, who has exhi-
bited noble fruits of several varieties from plants not more than sixteen
months old ; and it has several times been proved that suckers taken
from the parent plants in the ordinary way in August can be made to
ripen excellent fruit in the same and following months of the succeed-
ing year. It must, however, be remembered that there are suckers
and suckers. Such as are now being referred to are not suckers taken
from plants in August, from which plants the fruit was cut in the
previous May and June ; but suckers taken from plants in the ordinary
way as soon as the fruit are cut. In the former case, suckers should
be regarded, as compared with the latter, three and four months old
when potted. And instances of such success as has been referred to
should not be based on suckers that have been, what may be termed,
wet-nursed for three or four months beyond the ordinary time.

But there can be no denying the fact that to fruit Pines satisfactorily
in either twelve or sixteen months, the suckers to begin with must be
first-rate. What can be more unlike than suckers taken from a poor
attenuated set of old parent plants, that have been two or more years
old before starting into fruit, and others taken from short broad-leaved
vigorous young plants 1 The latter have in them a foundation for the
most successful culture ; the former may be improved so as to yield in
their turn an improved crop of young stocky plants, but it takes a few
years to bring them to a thoroughly satisfactory condition.

There is nothing remarkable in the fact that a young Pine-plant
swells the finest fruit in proportion to its size and age. For, generally
speaking, all fruit-bearing plants do the same, being more vigorous
than plants that have become, what may be termed, bordering on the
stunted stage of existence : especially is this referable to plants in pots.
A Pine-plant that is allowed to feed for too long a time from the soil
afforded by an ordinary-sized Pine-pot, must of necessity lose some
of its youthful vigour and stamina. It exhausts all the native elements
of food which the fine fresh fibry maiden turf originally contained.
The fibre decays, and the mechanical texture of the soil becomes
compressed and too solid for Pine-roots, and no additional stimulus
can wholly restore this exhaustion and change. The roots of the Pine
change with age, from the great greedy white orchid-like roots, and
become a comparatively tangled mass of smaller and less effective
workers. The stem of the Pine-Apple, too, gets harder and more solid

iSyi.] FRUITING YOUNG PINE-APPLE PLANTS. 393

as age and exhausted stores b^Bgin to tell on it. The leaves alter their
character to an extent that the eye of the Pine-grower does not approve.
And when fruit does appear, it shares the same deteriorated qualities.

It is also a fact well known to Pine-growers, that when a set of
Pine-plants run over eighteen months without starting into fruit, the
chances are much increased against their being pliable in the hands of
the cultivator, and in favour of their continuing to grow instead of
starting when he wishes them to start. The ordinary way of proceed
ure in such cases, when they do occur, is to starve them into fruiting ;
always a most unsatisfactory way of producing the result aimed at.
It certainly is desirable to prevent their onward growth, but not in
a way to debilitate the whole system of the plants ; and we would again
recommend the " cutting-down " system as much more sure to cause
them to start and to invigorate the plants, and cause them to produce
finely-swelled fruit.

Suppose a set of plants intended and expected to start in July and
August for autumn and winter supply, and that a portion of them do
not start, but show a disposition to grow, — we would recommend that,
instead of trying to make these plants start by first a stunting and
starving process for a month or six weeks, and then to stimulate them
with increased heat and moisture (w^hich perhaps may start them about
October, but the chances are against it), they be wintered very much
as succession or full-grown plants till the end of December. Then cut
them over at the surface of the pot, strip off a few of the bottom
leaves, pot them in fresh fibry loam, plunge them in a brisk bottom-
heat, and keep a moist atmosphere in preference to watering them at
the root till they make roots an inch or two in length. In this way
I have never noticed that the plants suffered in the least, but that
instead they get healthier in appearance, and very soon start into fruit,
and invariably swell fruit with splendid pips and yield good suckers,
much more so than they will if left on their old roots in the compara-
tively exhausted soil. The reason for this is very apparent — namely, the
very vigorous young feeders which they send out in all directions into
fresh maiden loam, which in itself contains so much of the elements
of vigorous growth. The question may be asked. Why have plants
that require such treatment and trouble 1 It is much better to be
without them, certainly. But the most successful of growers are
sometimes balked in starting young plants to a month or two ; and
then the best remedy, or alternative, is always worthy of being resorted
to. And we think the most satisfactory remedy is to make young
plants of them again, and get youthful results.

394 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

NOTES ON "AMERICAN" OR TEAT - SOIL SHRUBS.

ERICA.

Compared with the many hundreds of species and varieties of this
brilliant genus, for which we are indebted to the Cape of Good Hope,
and which all require greenhouse culture in this country, the European
sorts, well known as hardy Heaths, occupy but an insignificant position.
They form, nevertheless, a surpassingly beautiful and interesting group
of dwarf free-flowering evergreen shrubs, easily managed, and worthy
of far more attention than has hitherto been bestowed upon them. Of
the few species from which the now numerous varieties in cultivation
have sprung, the mountains and moorlands of our own country have
contributed some of the finest, and they are all found in more or less
abundance in almost every country in Europe. Growing with the
greatest luxuriance in sandy peat, which for the most part forms their
natural soil, there is, at the same time, few loams in which they will
not succeed, if rich in vegetable matter and free from chalk or lime ;
while the worst for the purpose may be adapted for all their wants by
the application of a moderate quantity of peat or old leaf -soil, and even
a liberal allowance of well-rotted manure, which they all appreciate very
much.

Several of the showiest sorts — such as the varieties of Herbacea,
Mediterranea, and Australis — which flower in the order indicated from
February till April, are valuable for winter or spring gardening, and
have recently been used with the most admirable results, their neat
habit of growth, fresh green foliage, and profusion of bright-coloured
flowers giving a gaiety and efi'ect which no other plants could at that
season, and contrasting admirably with the early bulbs with which they
are associated.

The other sorts — varieties of Tetralix, Cinerea, and Vulgaris —
are in perfection from May to September, the one succeeding the
other, when Vagans begins to develop itself, and continues till late
in autumn.

The smaller -growing sorts make neat edgings to beds or borders, as
they may be kept trimmed and neat without disparagement to their
flowering. The best way, however, of exhibiting their beauty to its
fullest extent is that of grouping them in beds by themselves ; and when
carefully arranged, according to habit and colour of flowers, nothing can
be more attractive. To keep them in health and vigour, it is necessary
that they should be lifted every four or five years, and either replaced
with young plants, which are easily obtained from layers, or sinking the
old plants deep enough to cover the bare stems, which render them so
unsightly ; this can be done with perfect safety, as the young shoots

1871.J NOTES ON "AMERICAN" SHRUBS. 395

root freely in a few months immediately below the surface. The opera-
tion of transplanting may be performed at any time between Septem-
ber and April, although we prefer spring, as, on the whole, the best for
the purpose.

The following list embraces most, if not all, the really fine and dis-
tinct sorts in cultivation : —

1st, Sorts with red or imrpU- colour ccl jioimrs.
Australia. Tetralix rubra.

Ciliaris. Vagaus carnea.

Cinerea atropurpurea. I 1. rubra,

ri coccinea. Vulgaris alpoxtii.

II rosea. n aurea (golden-

Herbacea. ! leaved).

II carnea. ; n coccinea.

Mediterranea. n decumbens.

II Hiberniea. n duruosa.

II rubra. n flora plena.

Mackiana. m pumila.

Scoparia. rr rigida.

II nana. : m pigmsea.

2^, Sorts with iuhite or light-coloured Jloivers.
Cinerea alba. I Vagans alba nana.

!Mediterranea alba. Vulgaris alba.

Tetralix alba. n Hammondii.

Vagans alba, | ^ ,, Searieii.

MENZIESIA (dABCECIA).

Resembling their near allies, the Heaths, in their pretty bell-shaped
flowers, neat foliage, and dwarf graceful habits of growth, all the
species and varieties of this charming genus of tiny evergreen shrubs
form appropriate companions, and are usually associated with them in
mixed borders, and used largely as edgings to flower-beds, or as front-
row plants to clumps of the taller-growing peat or soil plants.

They are all profuse bloomers, and are in perfection in April and
May. In common with the Heaths, they prefer a peaty soil, or fibry
loam rich in vegetable matter, and should be treated in a similar man-
ner ; indeed, few plants are managed more easily, or are less fastidious
in their requirements ; and they are so thoroughly hardy, that they
are never affected by the most severe frosts. All the species are na-
tives of North America, although Cserulea and Polifolia are found
wild in some districts in Ireland and Scotland : —

Among the few sorts in cultivation, the following may be noted as
the best, and none of them should be omitted in making even a small
selection : —

Cperulea. I Polifolia alba. I Polifolia striata.

Polifolia. I II atropurpurea. | Globularis.

EHODORA.
This genus, of which Canadensis is the only known species, is found
abundantly in a wild state over a large portion of Canada and the

39G THE GARDENER. [Sept.

United States, growing in bogs and the margins of lakes ; and though
introduced into this country about a century ago, has not yet been so
much valued as it deserves, as it is unquestionably one of the linest
early llowering-shrubs in cultivation. This to some extent may be
accounted for by the fact that it is deciduous and somewhat spare in
its growth, seldom bushy, and rarely exceeding 3 feet in lieight ; its
free-flowering habit, however, more than compensates for these defects,
and nothing can exceed its beauty, when, in the beginning of March or
early in April, before the young leaves make their appearance, it
unfolds its showy pale purple llowers.

Along with a good rich peaty soil, the Rhodora should have a moist
and rather shady situation, as it will thrive and grow with an amount
of moisture which would kill the great majority of other American
shrubs. It is also one of our best plants for early forcing, as it is easily
flowered with a moderate degree of heat so early as January ; and if
afterwards kept shaded and cool, will remain a long time in perfection.

Hugh Eraser.

HITsTTS FOR AMATEURS.— SEPTEMBER.

It is not uncommon at this season for those who intend planting fruit-
trees during the next and following months, to go to the nursery they
intend purchasing their trees from, to inspect the stock and make a
choice. " First come first served " is an old adage, and those who
avail themselves of an opportunity of going early, have a decided
advantage over those who wait till the dregs only are left. We could
name many nurseries where nothing inferior is sent out, but all of them
have their best trees selected and chosen by visitors to their grounds.
Trees which are expected to grow freely should be clean, free from
eruptions on the bark, no dead pieces from bad pruning ; all cuts
should be close and nicely healed over. Whether fan or horizontal, the
shoots should be regular, equal in growth, and the younger the better :
old stunted trees which have not been sold and have been cut back often
are worthless, and never make fine trees, and are always liable to die
piecemeal from canker, &c. This is especially apjDlicable to Apricots
and Morello Cherries. Ground which is to be planted cannot be too
early prepared, as the soil gets settled in time, and ready to receive the
occupants. Trenched ground, in which is incorporated good fresh soil,
is suitable. "Where loam cannot be had, and the natural soil is poor and
light, good cow-manure will in a great measure make up for the
absence of good soil. Very rich ground for any kind of fruit-trees is a
great evil, as they can always be helped with manure. A good mulching

iSyr.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 397

at the time of planting keeps the roots near the surface, which is a
great object when fine crops of highly-flavoured fruit are desirable, to
say nothing of its advantage in keeping the trees in good health. Trees
still making gross wood, and which have not been root-pruned, should
have attention as formerly advised. A tree with large dark-green leaves
and short stiff growths, on examination, will have abundance of healthy
libre, and will not be deep into poor light soil or heavy damp clay.
As an example. Rivers' s Early Prolific Plum with us has that characteristic,
and for the last seven years has borne extra-fine crops ; but as this is a
bad grower, we give plenty of manure, and have enough to do to keep
growth to secure fresh wood and flower-buds. Other kinds growing on
the same border require a little root-pruning every second year, ^o
growths should, at this season, be allowed to make an appearance, as ripen-
ing would be frustrated : we mean both fruit and the wood for next year
All Strawberry-runners should be kept off, to let the strength of the
plants go to forming good hearts : break the surface among them lightly
and preserve all the foliage. Save runners for transplanting next
season, if fresh crops are wanted ; they may be planted in rows on well-
manured and deeply-trenched ground. On heavy clay-land low fiat
ridges may be thrown up, which will keep them from being des-
troyed with damp during winter. Mulching between the rows in
spring saves them from severe drought : on dry positions this ridging
is not necessary.

It is now a good time to take a note of the flower-garden, with the
view of avoiding any errors which may have been committed, and rec-
tifying them next year. It is a fact that some bedding-plants which
do well in some localities and soils are worthless in others. If the stock
of cuttings is not completed, it should be done without delay. Calceo-
larias do well put in at the end of this month, or in October. When
put in early they flower quickly, and are done when they should be at
their best. They should be kept cool. Many of the bedding-plants
will be crowded, and ready to decay if a wet time should set in. To
avoid this, a quantity of their leaves should be taken off, the tops of
the shoots nipped back to the flow^ers which are likely to come up to
the last display. We have practised this more this year than ever we
did before, and never with so much advantage ; decaying petals should
be taken off, leaving everything which gives colour. Favourite an-
nuals for next spring's display should be sown this month ; when
arranged to height and colour, much can be done for effect in spring.
All tall flowering-plants should be frequently examined, to see that
they are not in danger of being snapped by sudden gusts of wind.
Timely tying often saves great mischief ; regular attention to cutting
off dead flowers from Dahlias, Hollyhocks, &c., is necessary where

398 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

high keeping is an object. Lime-water may be applied to lawns
and walks where worms are at work. Two or three soakings in suc-
cession are necessary to be effectual. Mignonette may still be sown,
and plants growing should have plenty of air. Violets may now be
placed in frames on a gentle bottom-heat, which will cause them to
root freely ; a quantity of turf loam mixed with leaf-mould to place the
plants on, keeping their roots entire, then fresh soil placed over and
among them with the same care as if they were potted, is sure to
induce fresh roots to be thrown out. They may be planted pretty
close, but not crowded, watered with tepid water, kept close, and
sprinkled till they get hold of the fresh soil ; then abundance of light
and air is necessary for them. Plants potted now will be useful in
winter. Dutch bulbs may be purchased as early as possible ; sound
ones give the finest flowers ; good loam mixed with a little sand
and good rotten manure suits them. Three in G or 7 inch pots
make a fine show, when show only is desirable. When planting
them in the pots, the richest of the soil should be placed over the
drainage, and when the bulb is placed on the surface, a little sand
should be loosely placed below, so that the roots may be easily led
downwards. Tulij)s may be nearly covered with soil. Different
kinds should not be planted in the same pots, as they seldom flower
at the same time. I buy all my Hyacinths in threes, except a
number of the best to be grown singly — Tulips, Narcissus, Jonquils,
Scillas, Crocus, &c., by the dozen, hundred, or thousand, according to
their value or the quantity to be used. When bulbs are potted they
may be watered, the surface allowed to become partially dry, and then
the pots, arranged all in order, should be placed on coal-ashes, and the
surfaces covered with a few inches of fine ashes, sand, soil, old tan, or
any such material, to keep the bulbs in their place; we have seen
turf used for this purpose. Frequent attention is necessary to see that
the bulbs are not growing up weakly under the cover. The early
Roman Hyacinth and others for first display may be had in flow^er
early in November. The best of the bulbs which flowered last year
can be turned to good account by planting them rather thickly in boxes
and pots ; and when in flower, a few Ferns or any other graceful plants
may be placed thickly among them. Though the flowers are poor, the
effect is good. Chrysanthemums in the open borders should be potted
without delay. When they are lifted with good balls, fitted nicely
into their pots, kindly soil placed round the roots, carefully watered
and kept in the shade for a short time, they will never show signs of
flagging. Those in pots must not be neglected, but have regular
attention, as formerly advised. All structures which are to be filled
with plants during winter should now be thoroughly washed and

iSyi.] GLOXINIAS. 399

cleaned, if there is any fear of insects about them. They should be
emptied and thoroughly fumigated with sulphur, which will kill all
animal life. Plants must not be allowed to come in contact with the
fumes, as death to them would be certain.

All hard-wooded plants, such as Camellias, Epacris, Heaths, Acacias,
&c., must now be got ready to be taken under cover. Clean the pots,
examine the drainage, and put a clean surfacing over them, first clear-
ing-off moss-covered and wasted soil, and then they are ready to be
arranged in their winter-quarters. Scale and thrips on the foliage
should not be tolerated. Oranges and Camellias are subject to their
attacks. Cinerarias, Calceolarias, and Primulas should have every
encouragement to finish a healthy growth ; a wet close atmosphere
gives weakly foliage and poor flowers. Prevent them from being
pot-bound by timely shifts. Primulas flowering prematurely in
small pots may be turned to useful account by regular supplies
of manure-water, and a surfacing of decayed manure and leaf-mould.
Pelargoniums, "stage sorts," may now require shifting to larger pots.
Timely attention is necessary to prevent them from becoming pot-
bound. Plenty of healthy roots in the pots is always a safe guide as
to shifting the plants to larger pots. Whatever is potted at this
season should have plenty of drainage — larger pieces at bottom, and
smaller ones over them. As the season advances, watering requires
the more care, always giving enough to reach all the roots and soil ;
pouring it into pots when the soil has shrunk from the sides is labour
thrown away, and the plants are thus destroyed. Fumigate with
tobacco such plants as require it whenever insects are observed.
Short pieces of Koses root well when placed in sandy soil this month.
For tender kinds handlights or frames are necessary. M. T.

GLOXINIAS.

Few among the more popular stove-plants are more deserving of culti-
vation, or will more amply repay any extra care bestowed upon them,
than Gloxinias. They can be had in bloom for at least six months
of the year ; and the most of the time they are not in active service
they can be stowed away in very small compass, and require no further
trouble than an occasional look to see that the bulbs are keeping
securely. Some of the varieties now in cultivation, and especially the
upright-flowering ones, are exquisitely beautiful, and comprise among
them many most delicate shades of colour in beautifully-blended com-
binations. They have the additional recommendation of not being
diflicult to grow successfully, and may take the same rank among

400 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

Avarm-tempemture plants that the Cyclamen takes amongst those that
adorn the greenhouse in spring.

Any one who wishes as quickly as possible to get up a stock of
Gloxinias, cannot do better than purchase a packet of seed which has
been saved from a good named collection, and sow it about the middle of
September. Take equal proportions of lt)am, peat, and leaf -mould,
with a fifth of the whole of sand, and fill a well-drained seed-pan to
the brim, finishing with a quarter of an inch of finely-sifted soil, to
give an equal surface for the fine powdery-looking seeds. On this
surface sow rather thinly than otherwise ; and after merely covering
the seed with fine soil, water well through a fine rose, cover the pan
with a pane of glass, and place it in a house or pit where the tempera-
ture ranges from 65° to 70°. Shade from sun till the young seedlings
are well through the soil, then raise the jiane of glass, and after a few
days remove it entirely and place the pan near the glass, shading
from the sun when at its hottest, till the young plants are hardy
and able to bear the full light of the season.

Whenever the plants are ready to handle easily, prick them off
into pans filled with the soil already recommended, with perhaps a
little finely-sifted old cow-manure added to it. In pricking them off
give the plants sufiicient room to keep them from getting crowded be-
fore February, say about 1| inch each way. The object now is to
keep them growing all winter, and at the same time to keep them
stocky ; and room and light are the two principal conditions requi-
site to this end. Consequently place them in as light a place as pos-
sible through the winter, and in a temperature ranging from 60° to 65°.
Do not over- water them, but at the same time keep them regularly in
a moist condition. By the middle of February they will be ready to
pot singly into 2-J-inch pots. Choose equal proportions of free fibry
loam and peat, and pass it through a |-inch sieve, fibre and all ; add
a little rotten cow-manure and sufficient sand to make it sparkle — say
a sixth of the whole. Drain the pots well, and when the plants are
potted they will do all the better if they can be plunged in bottom-
heat near the glass, but this is not indispensable. They dislike a dry
parching atmosphere, and grow most vigorously in moist stove tem-
perature in a subdued light ; but the latter condition must not be in
excess, or they will grow weakly and not flower so well. They will now
grow rapidly and make fine strong leaves. As soon as the roots have
got well to the bottom and sides of the ball, let them become mode-
rately dry, and shift them into 5-inch pots for blooming in, using the
same soil and subjecting the plants to the same growing conditions
recommended for them when first potted, only the heat may increase
as light increases. Shade just sufficient to keep the sun from scalding

iSyi.] GLOXINIAS. 401

and blotching the leaves, and attend carefully to their wants in the
way of water.

In this stage they will grow rapidly and make fine foliage, spreading
over the surface of the pots and curling over their sides. They will
soon show signs of an abundant crop of bloom, and as the flower-stems
are thrown up and begin to open, care must be exercised that they are
not subjected to a parching arid atmosphere or sudden bursts of bril-
liant sun. They will flower most satisfactorily in a moderate stove
temperature where 65^ is the maximum night -heat, but may be
bloomed in a house considerably cooler ; but the flowers will not be so
fine, and are more subject to damp off prematurely. Managed thus
they will bloom splendidly for at least two months, and a packet of seed
sown in January will keep up the succession till autumn.

When they are done blooming, do not withdraw water and send
them prematurely to rest, but keep the foliage healthy as long as pos-
sible, so as to have a large well-matured bulb for next year. It is
presumed that only the best varieties are selected for keeping over the
winter. Withdraw water by degrees, and when the leaves have all
decayed in their natural order, dry them off entirely, then shake them
entirely out of the soil, and store them either in a large flower-pot or
pan mixed and covered up with dry sand, and place them for the rest-
ing season in any dry place where the temperature ranges from 55^ to
60''. This is less trouble than storing them in the pots in which they
bloomed, and a far more certain way of keeping them without any
decay or loss among them.

It may be observed that the multiplication of any fine variety is
easily effected by taking leaves with part of the stem attached and
putting it in a pot of sand, like a cutting, in bottom-heat — each leaf-
stalk produces one strong bulb. But if numbers be required, nick
the midribs of each leaf and peg it down closely on the surface of the
sand, and at each wound or incision a young bulb is formed.

The time to start bulbs into growth must be determined by the time
at which they are required to bloom. Those started early in February
will be in full bloom in May, and by starting a number of bulbs at
three or four different times, a fine bloom of Gloxinias can be kept up
for a great part of the year.

They thrive best in a rich sandy soil, such as has been already
recommended, and the pots should always be well drained, as they
will not thrive if the soil becomes the least water-logged and soured.
Avoid over-potting even large bulbs. A 6 or 7 inch pot will grow
an immense size of a plant. And it is best to start them in smaller
pots and shift into fresh soil as the pots become moderately filled with
roots. Gloxinia.

402

THE GARDENER.

[Sept.

ARALIA VEITCHII.

We are glad to be able to give an engraving taken from a photograph
of this most graceful and distinct of all Aralias yet introduced. It was
found by the late Mr John Gould Yeitch in New Caledonia.

As will easily be observed, from its upright slender growth and most
graceful habit, it cannot fail to be one of the most useful decorative
and exhibition plants of its class, and for dinner-table decoration it will

Fig. 21.— Aralia Veitchii.

be invaluable. It is easy of cultivation, and does best in an inter-
mediate stove temperature. Of course the stock is still in the hands
of Messrs Veitch. It will have been observed from our reports that it
has been awarded first-class certificates at the Eoyal Botanic and Royal
Horticultural Societies of London, where it v/as much admired as a
great acquisition among decorative plants.

iSyi.]

CROTON MULTICOLOR.

403

CROTON MULTICOLOR.

Our illustration of this most distinct of the many varieties of Croton
is also taken from a photograph, and is a most faithful illustration.
We need scarcely say that it is one of those many fine varieties dis-
covered by Mr John Gould Veitch in the South Sea Islands. The
leaves, as will be observed, are very irregular in shape, oblong, spathu-
late, tapering at the base, and contracting in an irregular manner at the

Fig. 22.— Croton Multicolor.

centre. They attain a length of 8 to 9 inches. " The young leaves
are of a light-green blotched with yellow, but turning with age on the
upper surface into a glossy green, puckered and irregularly blotched
with yellow, reddish yellow, and red; the midrib is crimson, the second-
ary veins yellowish, the under surface being red," and from this great
diversity of colouring it received the name Multicolor.

404 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

SHELTER.

^YE have long had great faith in old herring-nets as shelter against
winds, frosts, and animated plagues of the higher winged class. Against
wasps and flies, to which we are now compelled to add hornets, nets of
the flner textures are necessary ; still the old herring-net is the most
generally useful as a protective material. It is only since reading Mr
Sutherland's sensible article on the subject that we have the moral
courage to say so. Some years ago a celebrated clerical amateur gardener,
a near neighbour of ours, all but excommunicated the old herring-net
in severely caustic terms. He said that the hanging up of a herring-net
before a Peach-tree, in order to shelter it, was like the shelter a sheep
would experience behind a hurdle on Salisbury Plain in a snow-storm.
The apparition of that luckless sheep has ever since haunted our mind
when the old nets have been brought into use, and made us half
ashamed of our faith in them. We have never, however, abandoned that
faith, and hasten to make a public confession of it. At first sight,
there does not seem to be much shelter behind a herring-net, but in
practice it is found to have a wonderful effect in breaking the force of
the wind, and also in retarding radiation ; and when it is doubled or
tripled, it is sufficient for anything in spring.

Almost everybody will have observed the wonderful effect the
branches of deciduous trees have in warding off frost from the ground
underneath ; or how a very thin sprinkling of litter, amounting to the
thickness of three or four straws or leaves, will quite prevent frost
from entering the soil; or, more correctly speaking, the few straws pre-
vent the heat from escaping from the soil. We have repeatedly had
occasion to observe that a Rose arbour, of 9 -feet span, with a lattice-
pattern of wood-work 6 inches wide, on which the Roses were trained
leafless in winter, and not much better than the Salisbury hurdle, would
resist frost, if the wind was still, up to 10°. Now, the virtue of the
herring- net does not, we believe, lie so much in itself, but from its
acting as an auxiliary to the brick wall behind it, or the ground under-
neath it; and all the better if the wall be hollow from the foundation,
with a good sound coping projecting well over. This conservation of
the heat of a wall, but especially of the earth, is not half taken advan-
tage of in spring. Every one looks out their old herring-nets when the
birds begin to peck the first-ripe Strawberries, but the proper time should
be when the first blossoms are beginning to open, the nets elevated
sufficiently above the beds to allow a man to walk underneath in a
stooping position. The same remark applies to Gooseberries and Red
Currants, which are often spoiled by late spring frosts. The cloche,
the ground-vinery, and the numerous new modifications of the same

1871.] SHELTER. 405

appliances, are quite as much heat-conservers as they are plant-pro-
tectors.

We remarked that the herring-net was, of course, of no use as a
protection against wasps and flies, but it is effectual against butterflies,
which are not quite the innocents some people imagine : just witness a
quarter of Broccoli or Cabbage, with its leaves reduced to skeletons,
at this season. Hundreds of these pretty pests may be seen on a hot
day alighting on the quarters of winter-greens; and depend on it they
are bent on mischief to the gardener ; and depend on it prevention
is better than cure in this instance also. I think I hear some amateur
expressing gratitude for this hint.

Old herring-nets can be bought very cheap, if the business is set
about in a direct way. Let any gardener, who has the fortune to be
so situated, drive into the nearest fishing-town, after the fishing season
is over, with a few loose shillings in his pocket, as we have often done
and mean to do again, and he will have no reason to grudge the time
and trouble. We say this because we are certain that advertised prices
prevent many gardeners from using the quantity of nets they would
wish to have. Tradesmen who collect and repair them have a right
to be paid for their labour, however.

Shelter, apart from old herring-nets and spring frosts, is a most im-
portant word in the gardener's vocabulary. A slight amount of shelter,
in the shape of a wall or hedge, may mean a fortnight or three weeks
in the coming in of a crop ; the difference of a few yards may make a
subtropical or an alpine climate : in the one instance, as we this season
experience, Cannas, Castor-oil plants, and others of the subtropicals,
luxuriate like Docks ; in the other, blown to ribbons — the difference not
being so much in heat as in shelter. Shelter, in the majority of in-
stances, determines the success or otherwise of planting, either as to time
or position ; at present it may be winter-greens with a broiling sun
pouring down on them, when the shelter of an inverted flower-pot, put
over each plant through the day and removed at night, would super-
sede hours of labour in watering. Shrubs, wall fruit-trees, and bushes
may now be advantageously shifted, if they be sheltered from the mid-
day sun by mats or canvas. Not long ago we witnessed the whole-
sale loss of a large extent of newly-jilanted specimen shrubs and trees,
especially Conifers, in which a garden architect and a gardener were both
concerned, from the neglect of the simple consideration of shelter : an
old mat on two sticks placed at the windy side of the shrub, a piece of
canvas, or some boughs, would have saved scores of pounds' worth, and
the purse of a public company replacing them.

This season we have remarked the sheltering effect of cross projec-
tions built against a south wall breaking the east wind, and prevent-

2f

40G THE GARDENER. [Sept.

ing curl in the leaf immediately behind them, while those trees fully
exposed have been in miserable plight : we cannot help thinking that
arrangement ought to be more generally adopted. Zigzag walls have
been recommended for the same purpose — that of sheltering the trees
in the angles. Common Laurel or Holly hedges, in short or long
stretches, should, however, be extensively used to break the force of the
wind near glass structures, athwart exposed corners, and even, in some
localities, to partition the kitchen-garden. They are much used where
we WTite, and have a most sheltery effect. Shelter in winter, when
deciduous trees and shrubs are supposed to be at rest, is too much over-
looked : the last winter's experience has convinced us that the old
herring-nets ought to have been in use over the wall Peach-trees, for
although the wood was mahogany-coloured and hard, we believe the
sunshine by day, and the excessive radiation at night, had evidently
paralysed them. This we know by being able to compare some which
had considerable protection with many which had none. We have been
told that, in Russia, Vines and fruit-bushes are protected in winter by
being laid down and covered with soil in the autumn, unearthing them
again in spring. This is a hint which might be adopted in a modified
form, the arctic wdnter compelling the Russian to take a lesson from
his bear, and make his Vines hybernate for a time. Although such
extreme precautions are not necessary with the Vine in our climate, yet
much can be done with less hardy plants by using similar means.
Supposing a wall or trellis-work covered with some of the Passifloras,
Tacsonias, Ticomas, Lapageria, and other nearly hardy plants which
will suggest themselves, where they would be at home in summer and
flower grandly, which we know by unloosing them in autumn in time,
and laying them along on the ground and sheltering them with Fern
or straw, uncovering them during open weather. We know from the
trial we have already made, that some of those plants behave themselves
much better than being entirely under glass, and can be made an inter-
esting addition to the subtropical garden. The Squire's Gardener.

NOTES OW AUTUMN AND WINTER
FLOWERING PLANTS.

[Continued from page 356.)

EUCHARIS AMAZONICA.

The Eucharis amazonica is one of those plants which amply repay all
the attention bestowed upon them. When in bloom, who does not ad-
mire their snow-white flowers, contrasting so well with the fine glaucous
foliage when in good health ? One of its greatest recommendations is,

1 87 1.] AUTUMN AND WINTER PLANTS. 407

tliat it can be had in flower at any time by a little forethought and
attention to its growth. We find them very useful to come in about
Christmas and the spring months. Now is a good time to look them
over and see if any require fresh potting ; if so, let it be done at once,
carefully shaking out the bulbs, as the roots are easily broken off.
Arrange the bulbs according to their sizes, putting the large ones
into their flowering-pots at once, but not too many bulbs of the largest
size in one pot ; if too close together, the foliage has not room to fully
develop, and the flowers suffer. The smaller ones, being put into small
pots, will require a shift whenever the roots appear at the side of the
pots. This lot can be grown on in autumn — a month or six weeks
later than the large ones — and will make a fine succession of bloom the
following spring. We find a good fibry loam, chopped up rather rough,
with a good quantity of old mushroom-dung sifted through a fine sieve,
with a sprinkling of silver-sand well mixed, suits them well. In pot-
ting, great care should be taken to have the pots well drained, as they
are very impatient of stagnant water, although, when growing, they
delight in plenty of moisture both at the roots and in the atmosphere.
After potting, they should be placed where they can have a tempera-
ture of from 65° to 70° at night, with a rise of 16° by day. They are
all the better of a little shade on bright days. After they are in full
growth a little manure-water may be given with advantage ; and if a
little soot is mixed with the above water, it gives the foliage a brighter
appearance. Grow them on in this temperature until about the middle
or end of September — the smaller bulbs later, as recommended before
— and gradually harden them off until they can stand in a temperature
of from 50° to 55°. If there is not much room at command, lay them
on their sides under a stage where they can have the benefit of light.
Here they may remain for about six weeks, giving little or no water,
but syringing them well every day. When wanted to start, let them
be taken to the potting-bench, examine the drainage, give them a rich
top-dressing : if found to be rather dry, place them in a bucket of tepid
w^ater until the ball is thoroughly wet. By plunging the pots in a bot-
tom-heat of (S0°, with top-heat at from 60° to 65°, attending to them
well with water, both at the roots and syringing frequently through
the day, if properly treated before, they will soon begin to throw up
their flower-stems. We have had plants in bloom which stood for four
and five weeks in an entrance-hall, in the month of January.

DIELYTRA SPECTABILIS.

This is a fine free-forcing plant, easily managed, and when grown in
good clumps in the open ground, which should be well manured at
planting-time, and giving frequent waterings throughout the summer.

408 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

by autumn they will liave formed fine large crowns. Let them be lifted
as soon as they have dropped all the leaves, taking care to injure the
roots as little as possible, putting each clump into a pot a little larger
than the ball, so as to get a layer of fresh loam round them, to
induce fresh root-action when started ; by so doing, we find they start
stronger and make better plants altogether than when the ball is
crammed into a small pot. They will stand in any cool place until
required for forcing. We generally start ours in the Mushroom-house,
looking over them daily to remove any that have fairly started to a
lighter place, with about the same heat, giving them frequent water-
ings with manure-water after they are in full leaf, also daily syring-
ing until taken to the conservatory, where they are generally much
admired.

CARXATIOXS.

Another grand class of plants for winter and spring work, when
there is any quantity of cut-fiower required, and for button-holes
throughout the year they prove invaluable. They should be struck
early in spring on a gentle hotbed, and grown on until the middle
of May, when they should be planted out on a piece of ground
which had previously been deeply trenched, adding plenty of rotten
manure w^ell mixed in the soil. They should be planted about 18
inches every way, to allow of attending to them in watering and keep-
ing clean. Let them be liberally supplied with water — an occasional
watering with weak manure-water would benefit them ; also ply the
syringe freely amongst them in hot weather. In September lift them
and put into 6 and 7 inch jDots, using good loam, a little dung, and a
sprinkling of sand. Shade them for a few days until they take with
the pots, when all the air possible should be given until cold weather
set in, when a little heat may be given ; but the less heat they can be
induced to flower in the better, as the flowers last longer, having more
substance, and are richer in colour.

VERONICA IMPERIAL DWARF BLUE.

This makes a very useful plant for early autumn and winter work,
being of such dwarf compact habit, when nice little bushes can be had
in 4 and 5 inch pots. It is good for a front line on a conservatory-
stage and to mix amongst other dwarf things, where it lasts a long
time. It strikes freely from cuttings in spring, treating it the
same as spring-struck Geraniums. When all danger from frost is
gone, plant it out in good soil, previously well pulverised — 1 foot
each way will be far enough apart. They will require little attention,
unless very dry weather sets in, when occasional waterings will be bene-
ficial to them. Lift them carefully about the end of September, put-

1 87 1.] NOTES ON SUCCULENT PLANTS. 409

ting them into 4 and 5 inch pots, standing them in a close frame,
where they can be shaded for a few days, when all the light and air
possible should be given. By this time there will be a quantity of
bloom upon them. If a good rich loam is given them when potted,
they will start away and make fresh growths, and continue a long time
in bloom.

KALMIA LATIFOLIA.

A beautiful shrub that forces well. AYe find it very useful for cut-
ting from all the winter, having several lots coming in at intervals.
The same soil and treatment suit it as was recommended for the Rho-
dodendron. When spring frosts are gone, plant it out of the pots in a
rich soil, rather free, where, by attending to them with water when
required, they will make good growths with blooms for another season.
They should be all lifted and potted before very severe weather sets in,
and placed in cold frames, ready to be drafted to the forcing-pit as
required. A. H.

Thoresbt.

NOTES ON A FEW SUCCULENT PLANTS SUITABLE
FOR BEDDING.

According to the author of ^Lothair,' a garden should not look like
mosaic work, but mosaic work should look like a garden — a proposition
which I leave your readers to make what they like of ; but the above
class of plants, it would appear, are likely to inaugurate a mosaic style
of bedding more perfect and complete than anything that has been
attempted as yet in that way. Those who saw the very effective bed of
succulents, planted by Messrs Veitch, at the Nottingham Show, will be
able to form some idea of their adaptability in this respect. It would
not be wise to encourage too much of this style, but, in conjunction
with the use of succulents and Alpine plants in a legitimate way, no
one can fail to appreciate their effectiveness for pattern-work in certain
combinations ; and for those who contemplate trying their hand with
them, I wish to draw attention to one or two species which another
summer's experience enables me to speak of more confidently. One
of the best and cheapest I find to be Sempervirum tectorum, the
common house Leek. When planted in good soil, I find it to alter
in character somewhat, compared to its usual appearance as seen in
clumps upon house-tops. The plants get large, and the leaves at the
points assume a deep crimson tinge, which renders it exceedingly effec-
tive in conjunction with Echeveria secunda glauca and suchlike kinds.
S. californicum is now too well and favourably known to need comment.

410 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

S. cauarieuse, noticed in the ' Gardener ' some time ago, deserves all
that can be said in its favour ; it is, perhaps, the grandest of its class,
and a free grower. Among the least, but one of the neatest and most
effective, is S. hirtum, dense in habit, and with a deep maroon tint on
the points of the leaves that contrasts finely with others of a lighter
hue. S. montanum is another tliat should be in every collection, as
also S. glaucum, S. pinosum, S. sulphureum. With the exception of
canariense, all the above are quite hardy. Among gems may be men-
tioned Pachyphytum bracteatum, with its symmetrical rosette-like habit
and thick fleshy leaves, like the point of one's finger, and of a beauti-
ful creamy- white colour. A good contrast to this is Klemia repens, with
its narrow, round, succulent leaves, covered with a fine bluish bloom ;
this loses its straggling habit when planted out, and does not grow above
2 inches high, or little more. If a shoot does straggle out of its place,
it may be cut off and stuck in the ground, where it will strike readily :
it is easily increased. Of the Pachyphytum, on the other hand, it is
difiicult to get stock. The only way is to detach the leaves carefully
from the stem and lay them in rings round a pan of fine soil, with the
base of each leaf just touching the soil, but not buried. From the base
of each leaf will spring a crowd of young plants, and the old leaf will
perish. A warm and somewhat dry greenhouse temperature suits it
best for propagating. It will be some time before there are many
thousands of this in the country. A still scarcer plant, and a greater
acquisition, is Echeveria pulverulenta. From the difficulty we have
had in procuring a plant of this, and from inquiries we have made, it
would appear there are hardly a dozen plants in the country at the
present time. Imagine a massive plant of the habit of Echeveria
metallica, but as white as snow almost, and you have E. pulverulenta.
I must not omit E. glauca metallica and E. glauca major. The first of
these two is, however, the best, and has more of the habit of E. metallica
about it ; though a hybrid, it comes true from seed. It is a free-flower-
ing variety, and on this account it is very useful for conservatory work.
E. retusa and retusa glauca are also very useful in this way, as they
flower very freely at any period of the year, and continue long in bloom.
I had some plants in bloom early in spring for a long while, and they
struck us as being exceedingly ornamental, and well adapted for baskets
or stands. The flowering -stems were cut off at bedding -time, and
they are now coming freely into bloom again outdoors. E. grandiflora
is another grand variety, and I find it to be about one of the hardiest
and most free growers among them, ionium arboreum atropurpureum
is another bold and characteristic-looking plant, a free grower, and
easily propagated by cuttings. ^-Eonium variegatum is also very effec-
tive. Eochea falcata is a good thing and a unique-looking plant, and

1871.] RECENTLY - INTRODUCED GRAPES. 411

grows freely outdoors. Of Sedums, our favourites are — S. hispanicum,
S. luridum, S. lividum, and S. brevifolium. The two first are nice for
carpeting, and form a dense mass ; hispanicum is of a light silvery-
green colour, and luridum is well indicated by its name, and is quite
a contrast to the other.

I daresay many of your readers have seen the above plants and others
of their class as inmates of the stove, greenhouse, or intermediate
house ; but their appearance under such circumstances gives one no
idea of their character when planted out, and it is needful to see them
arranged effectively outdoors in order to appreciate their effect.

WoRTLEY. J. Simpson.

K^OTES ON SOME OF THE RECENTLY -INTRODUCED

GRAPES.

We purpose under this heading giving the impressions formed of new
or recently-introduced seedling Grapes, — these impressions or opinions
being the result of our own more direct experience, and of observations
which we have had the opportunity of making in visiting other garden
establishments.

MADRESFIELD COURT BLACK MUSCAT.

This is a vigorous-growing variety, of a free-fruiting character, bear-
ing, when well grown, bunches and berries equal in size or nearly so to
the Black Alicant. The berries are in shape very much like the Ali-
cant, and, like that Grape, this variety colours well and lays on a very
fine bloom, and we need not say that it is a Grape of first-rate appear-
ance. Its flavour has a striking resemblance to the excellent Muscat
Hamburg, and that is saying much for it in this particular point. In
flesh it is much firmer than the Muscat Hamburg, yet it is sufficiently
melting and juicy to be a very palatable Grape. It is a very free setter,
and is a good moderately-late hanging Grape. It well deserves a place
in every collection of Grapes, and is sure to become popular. We are
of the opinion that the Muscat-house is the place for it.

MRS prince's BLACK MUSCAT.

This is a large -bunching f ree - fruiting Grape, a very vigorous
grower, and sets its berries freely. There is no doubt about its showy
appearance ; but we have not been able to discover that it has anything
like the claim to a high Muscat flavour that it was represented to have
when introduced to public notice. In flavour we regard it as quite
second-rate, and very much doubt if it will work its way into very high
esteem, now that the varieties of good black Grapes include such as
the Madresfield Court and Muscat Hamburpr.

412 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

MUSCAT CHAMPION,

To a considerable extent this Grape has been lost sight of, and it
is not often seen. We hear of its being good at some places —
as, for instance, at Sandringham, where we believe it is well grown
and very highly appreciated. Our own experience of it dates back to
before it was sent out ; and as a line-flavoured very large-berried Grape,
and a strong-growing Vine, we have a high opinion of it. With us it
never has made very large bunches, but the berries are immense, and
it is a most luscious juicy Grape, with a decided trace of Muscat flavour.
It colours very much as the Grizzly Frontignac does in the same border ;
and certainly, if it 'were a more decided colour, it would generally
be better liked. We cannot say that it deserves more, all things con-
sidered, than just a place in moderate-sized collections of Vines.

GOLDEN CHAMPION.

The prospects of this Grajoe are improving. We have always main-
tained that such w^ould be the case, and after a longer experience of it
than any grower, except the raiser of it, we will try to represent it with-
out the bias, which some might naturally attach to any opinion of ours ;
for if this Grape is what some have represented it to be, no good word
of ours will save it from being forgotten. We first planted it at Archer-
field in 1864, in an old vinery in which Grapes were generally ripened
in April. It fruited in 1865, and from that experience of it to the
present our opinion of it has not altered ; and to all who have any
doubt of the noble appearance, the immense berry, and strong-growing
free-bearing qualities of this Vine, we can only say, Come and see it,
under by no means favourable circumstances, growing in a low semi-
pit with Black Hamburgs, and in a border not intended to be per-
manent. We know of no other white Grape that will thoroughly ripen
with Hamburgs, with which we would displace the Golden Cham-
pion, either for freeness of fruiting, magnificent appearance, or flavour.
It may also be stated that we saw it in July last, at Keele Hall, on by
no means a strong Vine planted in 1870, and its appearance there was
quite equal to what is said of it above ; it was, indeed, the most con-
spicuous sample in the same vinery, and the whole were fine for their
age. It is also to be seen splendid, as compared to any other Grapes
in the same vinery, grafted on a by no means strong Bowood Muscat, at
Langlee ; here there is a rod about 6 feet long with eleven bunches on
it. We hear of its being fine at Sir Henry Seaton Stewart's of Tough,
and at Lord Abercromby's, and other places that could be named. Some
unfortunate circumstances connected w4th the plants that w^ere first dis-
tributed caused the impression that it is a weak grower, instead of which
it is one of the strongest-growing of Vines, whether on its own roots or

iSyi.] RECENTLY - INTRODUCED GRAPES. 413

grafted on other Vines. We would recommend its being grafted on the
Muscat of Alexandria as the best stock for it, so far as we can judge ;
for a few days ago we carefully tasted samples of it from its own roots,
from Black Hamburg, and Muscat of Alexandria stocks, and the trace
of Muscat flavour was most appreciable from the Muscat stock. We
have just been informed of a very remarkable change effected on this
Grape by grafting it on the Black Frontignan, which, it is said, has
changed the Golden Champion " into a small oval black Grape, par-
taking of the peculiar Frontignan flavour." If this be correct, we have
never heard of so complete and striking a change before. We may
further state that it augurs well for the Grape that, at the last Edin-
burgh June Show, it took first and second prizes for white Grapes
against Buckland's Sweetwater and other well-grown white Grapes; and
had there been a third award, the Golden Champion would have
secured that also. Mr Turner, of Slough, has, according to the report
in the ' Journal of Horticulture,' shown three bunches of it of " large
size." The ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' says it was affected with spot. It
will be remembered against what an adverse tide of opinion the ^lus-
cat of Alexandria (or, as it is thought, the Black Muscat reintroduced)
has worked its way into such high favour, and we have every reason to
expect the same of the Golden Champion ; at all events, no favourable
experience of ours will save it from what it deserves, either the one way
or the other.

forster's white seedling.

This variety has been in cultivation a considerable time, but we think
that, as an early white Grape, it is not yet so well known nor so much
grown as it deserves to be. Especially is this applicable to it as an
early-forcing Grape in pots. In the early part of summer we saw very
extraordinary examples of it in pots at Thoresby Park and Chatsworth,
at both of which places were the finest houses of pot-Grapes we
have ever met with, and very conspicuous among them was Forster's
White Seedling. It cannot lay claim to first-rate flavour, but it is juicy
and pleasant, bears and sets most freely, and is very early.

Mr Speed very forcibly exemplifies the wisdom of not cutting
back pot-Vines at pruning-time, and allows the bulk of the crop at
the top part of the Vine where the buds are always finest, and to
which part the principal flow of sap is attracted ; and certainly his
examples of this style of fruiting well justify the practice.

We may here state that a writer — " Vitis " — in a contemporary, attri-
butes our paper on " Pot- Amines," in last month's ' Gardener,' to William
Thomson of Tweed Vineyard, who never saw nor heard of the remarks
there made till he saw them in the * Gardener.'

David Thomson.

4U THE GARDENER. [Sept.

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS.

( Continued from ikkjc 371.)
RASPBERRIES.

Like most of the other varieties of Bmall fruits, the Raspberry is a general
favourite, and is found in most gardens from the least to the greatest. It is of
easy cultivation, yet, nevertheless, to produce fruit of the highest quality and of
the richest flavour an effort has to be made ; for although large crops can and
are yearly produced from plants which receive little or no attention, except at the
pruning season, yet a little good cultural management will be amply repaid in the
quality of the fruit produced. We will therefore direct the I'eader's attention to
a few of the most vital points requiring attention in the good management of the
Raspberry.

Following the course we have done in all our former papers, we will first direct
our attention to the propagation of the Raspberry. This object is accomplished
by any one of the following methods — viz., by seed to produce new varieties, by
cuttings, and by suckers or offshoots, the latter being the most generally adopted
jjlan. To raise Raspberries from seed the best plan is to select the finest of the
fruit, which should be washed at once to remove the pulp, after which the
seed should be dried and sown in shallow pans in rich light soil, and placed in
a cool frame to vegetate. If the frame is very cold, the young plants may not
appear till the following spring. As soon as they are a few inches in height they
may be transplanted into nursery-lines about a foot apart, where they will soon
rush away into growth. In autumn or early winter they ought to have
the young canes cut back to three or four eyes. In spring they will start
and grow strong, and in the following autumn will be fit to place in their perma-
nent position ; and if the plants are strong, will probably produce a crop of fruit
the following year. If, however, the fruit can be wanted, it is much better not to
take a crop the first year after planting, but rather to cut the canes well back in
order to get as fine fruiting-plants the following year as possible. The propa-
gation of the Raspberry from cuttings is not easily accomplished, and, unless for
the increase of new and rare varieties, is seldom attempted. The best time to do
this is February, when the canes may be cut into lengths of 3 inches or thereby,
and inserted into light rich soil at the bottom of a wall having either an east or west
aspect. If the soil is not of a moist nature it must be kept thoroughly damp by regu-
lar waterings after the sun begins to get warm in spring ; and if the sun should
prove very powerful, it might be as well to shade the cuttings during the hottest part
of the day until they begin to form a few roots. After they are ready for trans-
planting, they must just be treated in the way already directed for seedlings.
Very little need be said regarding the propagation of Raspberries from offsets or
suckers. The principal thing calling for attention is to destroy as little as possible
of the roots belonging to the permanent plant, while as much root as can con-
veniently be got ought to adhere to the sucker in order that it may receive as little
check as possible. A great deal depends upon how the offsets are removed, one
man performing the operation without doing the slightest injury to either the
parent plant or the offset, while another may destroy both to such an extent as to
cause much damage for several years to come. The best time to perform this
operation — the removal of the sucker or offset from the parent — is in October.
This month is the best of all the year for planting Raspberries, so that a double
gain is effected by performing this operation at this period of the year. There is

1871.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 415

not so much danger to the plant from the removal of suckers as ofifsets, because, as
a rule, the former are generally thrown up at a considerable distance from the
parent canes, while the latter are always produced from the base of the former
year's cane. It is thus evident from their position that care must be exercised in
their removal. The best instrument for this purpose is what is known as a sucker-
ing iron, which, for this purpose, ought to be nearly as sharp as a knife in order that
it may accomplish the purpose of separation between the parent and the offset at
the first attempt.

The soil which is best suited for the Raspberry is rich alluvial soil, containing
more than the usual amount of moisture. Peaty soils are also very well suited
for the Raspberry, but it does not do so well in heavy clay-land, more especially
if it is much liable to cracking. In most gardens the position best suited for
planting the Raspberry is on a border having a northern aspect, and defended
from the full blaze of the noonday sun by a south wall. It is in such a position
that the best crops and the finest fruit we ever have seen have been produced.
It is almost the only crop which we possess which is thoroughly adapted to this
position, and how generally this is known and acted upon is evidenced from the
fact that, in almost every garden, this is the very place that is assigned to it.
Where a long continuation of the fruit is wanted, it will be necessary, however,
to have a few planted in an earlier position, which will yield a few fruit a week or
two earlier than those planted on the north aspect. Before planting a plantation
of Raspberries, the whole ground shoidd be trenched over as deep as possible ; 3 feet
will not be too much if such a depth can be reached, and any quantity of manure may
be dug in to the bottom of the trench. The Raspberry is a very hungry feeder, and
will greedily devour almost any quantity of manure which may be placed within its
reach. In order to give a young plantation of Raspberries a thorough start, it is
absolutely necessary to give a good and liberal manuring. If this is done when the
ground is being trenched, and the manure thoroughly incorporated with the soil from
top to bottom, so much the better, and there will be less need for large manurings
for some years to come. The soil having therefore been prepared, the next thing is
to procure the offsets for planting it up. This having been done, the line must be
stretched in the place where the row of plants are to stand ; the rows may be
about 6 feet apart. On one side of the line the soil ought to be taken out to the
depth of 6 inches, and as wide as will admit of all the roots belonging to the
offshoots being nicely spread out. This having been done, let a single cane be
planted every 18 inches in the line, the soil filled in around, and gently pressed
by the foot to fix and steady the plant. The next thing to be done is to erect a
trellis, upon which to train the young plants, unless it be deemed advisable to
cut them over to fvirther strengthen them, in which case it will not be neces-
sary to erect the trellis for another season. The way we erect our trellis is very
simple and inexpensive. At 10 feet apart in the line we fix strong upright stakes,
of the height of 34 feet, upon the top of which we fix a single rail — generally made
of rough fir or larch — about 2 inches broad and 1 inch thick. To these horizon-
tal rails each cane is fixed by means of tar-twine or bast, and is afterwards cut
at 6 inches higher than the rail, leaving it thus exactly 4 feet high altogether.
This height we consider quite sufficient, and we are of opinion that better fruit
and larger crops are obtained from them at this height than if they were left
longer. This is how they are done the first year. The second year, in all proba-
bility, the young offsets will number from two to four or five, according to the
strength of the plants when planted. Three shoots are, however, the required
number to each plant, so that if four or five exist, they must be reduced to this
at the pruning season, and trained up against the trellis, as on the former year, with

116 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

this exception, that the distances apart upon the horizontal rail will be 6 inches.
They must be cut over at 4 feet, as formerly directed, and this course of pruning
and training pursued year after year. This we consider by far the best plan for
Raspberry cultivation, as by this means every branch is fully exposed to the action
of light and air, and, as a natural consequence, is in a more favourable position and
condition for the production of first-class fruit. In the various other methods,
of tying them up in bunches to an \ipriglit stake, of plaiting several canes to-
gether at two plants and bending them so as to form anarch, or by whatever modi-
fication of either or both of these methods they may be trained, there is always a
number of the best of the buds very seriously injured, or perhaps destroyed. In
doing them by either of these methods, many of the buds must necessarily be
crowded up inside the plait, or against the stake, so that before they can approach
the light and air they must work their way between the branches, much in the
same way as if they had to perforate an old stone wall. All this is obviated by
the plan we have described ; each separate branch is not only free from the
branch nearest to it, but is also clear of stakes and all suchlike, so that it is fully
exposed to the action of air and light on every side. There may be a little more
trouble in doing them in this way, but we consider all this more than counter-
balanced by the quality and quantity of the crops.

When the soil has been well prepared for the young plantation of Raspberries,
we do not consider it necessary to manure the ground till the third year. During all
this period we would recommend that the spade never be used, as digging de-
stroys many of the roots, and is highly injurious to the wellbeing of the plants.
All that is necessary is to keep them well hoed and raked, to keep them tidy and
clean. When the plants require to be manured, we do it in this way : Remove
1 or 2 inches of the surface soil into the middle of the rows in a ridge, there-
after put on a coating of good rich manure to the depth of 3 or 4 inches, replace
the soil over the manure, and the operation is finished. This done every second
year will be found to be enough to enable the plants to produce a very good crop
of fruit.

The diseases to which the Raspberry is liable may be said to be nil, as there
is no disease known to attack it where planted in soil suited to its nature and
liberally manured. Its insect enemies are also few. The Raspberry leaf-
miner is occasionally found to injure and destroy the cellular tissues of the
leaf, which soon assumes a blotched appearance. Gathering the leaves so
affected, and having them destroyed, is the only known remedy. The grub of
the Byturus tomentosus sometimes attacks the fruit when nearly ripe ; and
although its ravages are not noticed to a very great extent, yet it is unpleasant to
think that such a thing should exist within the bright and tempting fruit.
There is no remedy known. Another enemy is the grub of the Tinea corticella,
which sometimes does great injury to our Raspberry crops by consuming the
interior of the young flower and footstalk of the young fruit. About the begin-
ning of June the caterpillar becomes a pupa, and about the middle of that month
becomes the perfect moth. In a few days it begins to deposit its eggs on the
stems of the young wood, these eggs producing larvae about the middle of August,
which feed upon the leaves till winter, after which it hides itself until the follow-
ing spring. Gathering those flowers which appear afiected by it, and having them
destroyed, appears to be the only remedy.

James M'Millan.
[To he continued.)

iSyi.l THE DRAINAGE OF POTS, &c. 41

THE DRAINAGE OF POTS, &c.
Probably, of all otlier professions, that of the gardener has most to
do with necessary evils, which are ever the cause of anxiety and trouble
to him, from the time he gets up in the morning till he lays him down
to rest at night : day after day, month after month, year after year,
Sabbath-days and week-days, have those evils to be continually taken
in hand, and made the means whereby he attains his object ; for though
he may become so accustomed to them through daily and hourly con-
tact as not to recognise them as such, still such they are : glass-houses,
heating apparatuses, and all the other artificial appliances by which
successful results are arrived at, would be much better done without, if
such or any results could possibly be gained without them. It very
often happens, however, that an evil, necessary to a certain extent, is
carried to an entirely needless and sometimes injurious degree ; the
subject of this paper is a case in point. It is a fact known to everybody
floriculturally biassed — excepting, perhaps, those old women (some of
them keen plant-growers too) who cultivate Geraniums in spoutless
tea-pots, and Fuchsias in flower-pots, the drainage-holes of which have
been most innocently corked up — that efficient drainage is a most im-
portant essential in the successful cultivation of pot-plants ; in fact,
numbers fail with plants which stand without repotting for any con-
siderable time through neglecting sufficiently to secure the compost in
which the plant is growing from penetrating to and getting mixed up
with the drainage, so laying the foundation to a sodden, soured mass,
which in time results in death to every root of the plant, and, as a
matter of course, the plant itself. However, this is not the part of
the subject we wish to write about, but the common practice of drain-
ing all sorts of plants after the same fashion, without discrimination
as to their varied requirements, giving soft-wooded plants of all kinds
and for all purposes the same treatment in this respect as that given
to hardwooded and species of a slow growth.

The most glaring sample of this malpractice is to be found in the
treatment of those plants professionally designated *' bedding stuff."
The mode of procedure in favour with some is something like this : —
in the beginning of autumn. Geranium cuttings are crowded together
into boxes some 4 inches in depth ; that efficient drainage may be
secured, "crocks," nearly an inch deep, are placed along the bottom,
with a layer of grassy turf or moss laid above them to keep all
"square;" when early spring arrives they are "potted ofifinto 3-inch
or 4-inch pots, as the case may be, the best part of the roots having
been left amongst the drainage of the box ; the pots are also filled up
with crocks and moss to a depth dependent on the judgment of the

418 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

cultivator. Before bedding-out time comes round, they are com-
pletely pot-bound, and the pulling away of the drainage when they are
planted out does anything but give the plants a chance of taking
kindly to their new quarters without being checked. If, instead of
all this unnecessary drainage, one crock had been placed over each
hole in the box, a very small percentage of roots would have been lost
when potting them off in spring, and very little or no forcing required
to start them into growth ; then a little of the roughest of the com-
post placed in the bottom of the pot would amply secure the requisite
drainage, the plants would have more soil to work in, and at bedding-
out time not a root need be disturbed in planting them : in addition
to all this, at the lowest calculation, two men could do as much as
three in potting, besides the time saved in simply turning the plant
out of its pot, and inserting it in its place when planting out. In the
case of "Verbenas, Lobelias, Ageratums, and others, which are generally
grown in boxes, the same system of placing one " crock " over each
hole does equally well, and the advantage they have when taken out
with as good a ball as possible is most decided ; where so many crocks
are used, it is impossible to take the plants out without leaving the
crocks full of fine roots, whereas in the other case but few roots need
be lost. In the case of stove and greenhouse plants, and others which
grow quickly, and require repotting in but a little time, it is altogether
unnecessary to make use of many crocks for drainage. We find that
in 3-inch pots, used for cuttings or seedlings, a bit of turf answers
better than anything, except in the case of gross feeders such as the
Tomato, Cucumber, or Strawberry, when some rough dung does best ;
pieces of turf do well for draining fast-growing ''subjects" in 4-inch
pots, such as the two first mentioned or the Chrysanthemum, but it is
quite as well to place a bit of broken pot at bottom, then some roughish
material for species like the Chinese Primrose or the Calceolaria. A
like drainage is sufficient for sizes up to twenty-eights inclusive, but
if the plants are intended to flower in those sizes, it will be quite as
safe to add half-a-dozen pieces of potsherds as well. We have made
one large oyster-shell and some grassy turf do as drainage for sixteens,
but it was altogether an exceptional case, and not to be advised as a
rule ; it so happened that some vigorous-growing young Vines in twenty-
eights could not be repotted when they ought to have been, and the
quantity of roots they had made induced us to drain as stated, and
even then they filled the pots too quickly by a good deal. We believe
in taking as much care as possible of the roots of fast-growing plants
when repotting, though a good many are noways particular on this
point, and the mode of draining here recommended affords every chance
possible for saving the roots intact. If a plant be kept growing on

1871.] SOWING OF CALIFORNIAN ANNUALS. 419

without a check, either from cold or heat, from improper watering,
from anything in the way of repotting, or any other accidental
casualty, the chances are all in favour of its being comparatively free
from insect pests, and other ills which plants are heirs to, with the
certainty of its being something near the "mark" as regards appear-
ance, and everything else that constitutes a well-grown plant.

R. P. B.

AUTUMN - SOWING- OF CALIF ORTsTI AN ANNUALS.

We very rarely see the cause of hardy annuals advocated in our
periodicals. Now and again we see a notice of one or two new intro-
ductions, with a few passing comments on their merits, but the tone
of these comments unmistakably shows that annuals are subjects of
only second-rate importance in fashionable flower-gardening. Their
inexpensiveness, and the ease with which they may be cultivated
generally, have prevented them from being so utterly neglected as
hardy perennials have been ; but for many years amateurs have been
their chief patrons, and they have received very little favour, especially
in the better class of gardens, from professionals generally. Now,
however, that there are signs of a turn in the tide in favour of intro-
ducing more variety in form and colour, as well as subjects likely to
prove attractive on other accounts than colour simply, we may fairly
hope hardy annuals will come in for a fair share of attention. It
would be superfluous to insist on their beauty ; no one that has ever
seen hardy annuals really well grown can have any other opinion
than that in their ranks are to be found a goodly array of Flora's
choicest gems. In general, light graceful beauty is their characteristic ;
they lack the boldness and sustained brilliancy of the favourite types
of bedding-plants ; but this fact should be all in their favour in the
view of those that desire to make some reform in their flower-garden-
ing. As a class they can never vie with bedding-plants for the purpose
of massing ; a very few, perhaps, may be useful in that way, in cases
where it is difficult or impossible with the available means to rear full
complements of tender plants. They are only suitable for planting in
the mixed style in which density of general effect must give place to
individual attractions. They may be best employed in filling up
blanks in herbaceous borders, and in ornamenting the edges of beds
of shrubs, and some few are very beautiful rock-work plants. Many
of them bloom very early, and may be had in flower a few weeks
after sowing ; and a very important group — the " Calif ornian Annuals "
— by means of autumn sowings, can be brought into flower so early in

420 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

many of the favourable districts, that they may be made available in
spring llower-gardening ; and even in the least mild parts, if a cold
frame may be devoted to them during winter, they will serve, along with
other hardy plants, to make beds and borders gay long before bedding-
plants can be turned out into summer quarters. While the writer
thinks it desirable that hardy annuals generally should receive a greater
amount of attention, he has personally more favour for the " Califor-
nians " than for those other hardy annuals which, hailing from many
countries superior in respect of climate to our own, can only be cultivated
during summer with us ; and it is to this group that the remainder
of the present paper will be devoted. The different species comprised
in the group are not all natives of California, but a large proportion of
them are so. All submit to the same general treatment, and the term
Californian Annuals is therefore sufficiently applicable and convenient
in a general sense. The beauty and profusion of the flowers of many
of them are remarkable when they are well cultivated and attended to.
The names of a few of the most popular among them, such as Limnan-
thes, Nemophila, Clarkia, Godetia, Eutoca, and Whitlavia, need only
be mentioned in proof of their first-rate ornamental qualities. These
contain some of the most choice and brilliant of hardy annuals, but they
by no means monopolise the beauty of either the group to which they
belong, or the whole class of hardy annuals. The Californians succeed
best when sown in autumn in most parts of the country. I have often
had splendid plants from self-sown stock of Limnanthes, Nemophila,
CoUinsia, and others in bloom in April in Scotland ; and with careful
attention to the removal of decaying flowers along with the seed-vessels
as they formed, they have lasted in ornamental condition till July and
August, when late spring-sown plants came in to take their place, and
keep up the display to the close of the year. Many of them freely sow
themselves, especially in light warm soils and early districts. Advan-
tage may be taken of this in transplanting as many seedlings as may
be required to a nursery-bed, in some sheltered corner, where they must
be kept till the rigour of winter is spent. In less favourable districts,
however, throughout the greater part of Scotland, and many parts of
England also, although autumn-sown plants may scatter their seeds,
and give rise to a number of plants, they are usually either too far ad-
vanced, or too late to winter well ; in the one case being too gross, and
in the other too small, to withstand the eff'ects of long-continued frost
and damp. It is better, perhaps, in every case, to sow regularly, so as
to insure a prospect of ample stock to transplant the following spring.
The beginning of September is early enough to make the sowing ; and
the poorest piece of ground that can be chosen, if well sheltered and
warm in aspect, is the best for the autumn seed-bed. If the ground is

iSyi.] SOWING OF CALIFORNIAN ANNUALS. 421

poor, sandy, and dry, so much the better ; digging and sowing, either
in drill or broadcast, is all that is necessary in this case. But if rich
and retentive, it will be necessary to reduce the staple by the addition
of sand, lime, rubbish, or fine-sifted ashes; and further, in order to se-
cure the best possible drainage for the young plants, it will be advisable
to raise the bed in the centre-ridge fashion. If all this is needed, drill-
sowing is the best in the circumstances ; and the drills should be ranged
across the ridge, not along it, because the plants will thereby enjoy
greater variety of aspect, and will be also less liable to suffer from
stagnation at all points of the drill, for the top of the ridge will always
be in a tolerably well-drained condition in even the most unfavourable
cases. Wherever a line can be sown along the base of a west or south
waU the plants may be expected to do well, and to come very early into
flower the following spring. In severe weather, long continued, they
will require some kind of protection. A few saplings hooped over the
bed, so as to support mats, or well-clothed Spruce branches, will be
found quite sufficient covering in ordinary winters in any locality ;
and these coverings should only be put on when the weather is so severe
as to cause apprehension of destruction to the plants, and be removed
again as soon as it improves. The plants will require to be thinned
before winter sets in, so as to stand quite clear one of another; and
some attention will be needed from time to time afterwards to keep
them quite free from decaying leaves, and any other cause of damp-
ing that may find a place among them. Those that can devote hand-
glasses or cold frames to the wintering of them will have their prospects
of success increased, and will, besides, be rewarded by the earliest
possible crop of flowers. Under glass they will require similar treat-
ment to Cauliflower, Calceolarias, or Pentstemons. Give air at all
times except during the most severe weather. Eemove the lights
wholly on bright mild days, and keep them on, but tilted, in wet ones.
Give water sparingly, only enough to prevent flagging, till the days
lengthen and the plants begin growing vigorously. In March they
should undergo a process of hardening off, so that they may be planted
out in April as early as possible. If they have been wintered in the
open ground they will require no hardening off preparatory to plant-
ing out, but any protection that may have been given to the seed-bed
should be removed a few days beforehand ; and in the event of bad
weather setting in after planting out, it will be advisable to stick a
spray of Spruce close to each plant so as to arch over it. The first
spring sowing will be early enough made in the end of April, and a
second may be made the first week of June. The latter should be
made on a west or east aspect, where the plants will come away more
vigorously than if sown in full exposure to the sun. All that may be

422 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

transplanted with safety may be sown in the ground either broadcast
or in lines ; and tap-rooted kinds that do not succeed well when trans-
planted, must be sown where they are to remain, or in pots, to be
turned out with balls.

The following short list comprises a few of the best of the Cali-
fornian annuals. Those marked with an asterisk are not in every case
the most beautiful, but they are all worthy of being cultivated in any
garden, and are specially marked as being the longest bloomers, some
of them blooming for a very long period indeed, if a little care is
bestowed in picking off the seed-pods, and on watering in periods of
drought : —

Agrostemma coeli-rosea — 1 to 2 4 feet, rose-coloured.
Calandrinia speciosa — G to 9 inches, procumbent, violet-crimson.

It II alba — same as species, but white-flowered.

Callichroa platyglossa — 1 foot, bright yellow.
Centaurea depressa — 1 foot, deep blue.

II II rosea — same height as species, centre florets rose, outer

ones blue.
*Clarkia pulchella — 1^ foot, in variety.

*Calliopsis tinctoria — 2 feet, yellow and dark crimson and brown, in variety.
Collinsia bicolor- — 1 foot, lilac and white.

,, II candidissima — pure white, same height as species.

11 multicolor — 1 foot, deep lilac and w^hite.
II verna — 1 foot, blue and white, the best and earliest.
Eucharidium grandiflorum— 1 foot, deep rose-purple.

*Eschscholtzia compacta — 9 inches, bright yellow, with deep saffron base to
petals.

* II tenuifolia — 1 foot, sulphur.
Eutoca viscida — 1 foot, deep blue.

*Gilia tricolor — 1 foot, pale purple, shaded.

„ „ alba— same as last, but with white margin to corolla.
Godetia lepida — 1 foot, pale lilac and deep purple, shaded.
II Lindleyana — 14 foot, rosy purple.

n roseo-alba — 2 feet, rose in centre, dull white on margin of petals.
II rubicunda — 2 feet, lilac purple.
Koniga maritima— 9 inches, white.

Leptosiphon androsaceus — 6 to 9 inches, variously coloured from white to
purple.
II aureus — 6 to 9 inches, golden yellow.

-I luteus — 6 to 9 inches, pale yellow.

Limnanthes Douglassii — 6 to 9 inches, trailing petals, with yellow base and
white margin.
II II alba — same as species, but pure white.

*Lupinus nanus — 9 to 12 inches, purplish blue, white, and rose.
Malcomia maritima — 6 inches, variouKly shaded with rose purple and white.
*Xemophila insignis — 6 to 9 inches, trailing, sky-blue, with white centre.

* M II alba — 6 to 9 inches, pure white.

* II maculata — 9 inches, white, with purplish-black spots.
Platystemon californicum — 9 inches, trailing, sulphur.

Oxyura chx-ysanthemoides — 9 inches, bright yellow.

*Silene vespertina — 1 foot, rose-coloured.

Specularia pentagonia— 1 foot, violet and white.

Viscaria oculata — H foot, rosy purple.

Whitlavia grandiflora— 1 to 1^ foot— deep blue. Wm. Sutherland.

MiNTO Gardens.

iSyi.] GARDENS IN SOUTH OF FIFE. 423

NOTES ON GARDENS IN SOUTH OF FIFE.

There is seldom anything which appears in the gardening periodicals
in the way of notes or memorandums but is read by all classes of
horticulturists, and we often wish that we could have opportunities of
learning more of the doings of our great growers through the press.
Some time ago, when there was a sharp discussion in a contemporary
on the advancement of gardening in Scotland compared with England,
many readers who know the equality on which northern and southern
skill are placed, must have smiled at the far-fetched arguments used
on that occasion by some " would-be " authorities. Vegetable-growing
was the principal topic : my opinion was, that quite as much as was due
to Scotland was advanced, while England was in a great measure under-
rated. I would say from my experience in the two countries (and that
has been considerably more in the south than in the north), that
Scotch gardeners gave more attention to the production of late vege-
tables than the English, while the latter were far in advance with the
forcing of early vegetables, and that one may visit a dozen places in
the north where there was no exception to good kitchen-gardening,
and little or no early forcing whatever. But not so in the south — you
might there see in a dozen places more than a third of the kitchen-
gardens almost neglected, while early forcing was in every place carried
on with spirit. In Scotland there is greater intercourse among gar-
deners, and each county stands more on a level ; while in the south,
gardening almost varies as much in each county as do the provincial
dialects, so that a casual visitor can give little intelligence on the rela-
tive positions in regard to the horticultural skill of the two countries.
In Kent the best and worst gardening in England are to be found.
The same may be said of the valley of the Thames through Middlesex ;
and I think, as far as I have observed, in about half of the English
counties the same remarks could be made. But leaving this subject,
I will give brief notes from memory on my seventh drive round a
portion of a Scotch county, Fife. Leaving the picturesque village of
Markinch early on the morning of the 2d August, where I picked up
three most agreeable gardening friends, and (as the Eev. Mr Hole
would say, all gardeners carry this character with them) with a sturdy
nag, strong vehicle, umbrellas, and waterproofs, we faced the south-
east to make the day as profitable and pleasant as best we could.
The weather having for weeks past been the wettest and coldest known
for many years at that season, gave us little hope of external comfort.
While driving rapidly towards the Eiver Leven (which is an agent in
supplying bread to thousands of people by the use to which its water

424 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

is turned by manufacturers) the sun peeped out, which gave a brighter
hope of the weather, and I could at the moment have sung —

Morn amid the mountains,

Lovely solitude ;
Gushing streams and fountains

Murmur (!od is good.

Balgonie Castle, now a ruin, was passed, and in a few minutes after-
wards we were driving through the grounds of Balfour House (the
seat of Admiral Bethune), which may be classed as one of the most
beautiful in the county. We met iMr Dewar, the gardener, at his
house, who was waiting to welcome us. We at once proceeded towards
the pleasure-grounds, which lie around the mansion, which is famous as
having been the residence of Cardinal Bethune. We have said the grounds
are beautiful, and we never saw them to better advantage than on this
occasion. The beautiful shrubs and Coniferie with which this place
abounds have grown very freely and luxuriant this season. Conspic-
uous were handsome specimens of Wellingtonias, Douglas Firs, Arau-
carias, (Sec. The secret of their great luxuriance and health is, not only
that the soil in which they are growing was prepared with great care, but
they receive every season a good supply of manure on the surface, which
is neatly covered with earth, thus keeping the grounds always in "full
dress," as well as supplying the needful to the roots of the trees. There
is a neat flower-garden, on grass, in front of the mansion, well filled
with the usual gay bedding-plants, only vraiting for a little sun to make
them as gay as in former years. A little further on is another flower-
garden on grass, formed by a multiplicity of squares and circles, filled
with artistically-arranged plants ; and, encircling this garden, are beds
of unusually well-grown Roses, coming, as it were, between the
bedding-plants and the trees and shrubs. The collection of Roses
has long been a source of attraction at Balfour, and this season they
have been remarkably fine. Two borders, which run the whole length
(north and south) of the kitchen-garden, contain the principal selection.
The finest and most useful sorts only are grown, regardless of mere
novelty. A walk divides the borders, and the vegetable ground is shut
out from view with a wire fence, covered with fine plants, an arr^inge-
ment not always sufiiciently kept in view where flowers are planted in
kitchen-gardens. There is an archway of Roses at the north end of
the walk, and to stand there and look over these borders when
at their best, is a sight which is not easily forgotten. The system
of culture, after thoroughly preparing the ground with manure,
mulching, Sec, is this : the Roses are planted in rows, and the
strong wood is pegged down, the smaller growths are cut out ; liberal
mulching is given in winter, and forked in after the Roses are pruned

iSyi.] GARDENS IN SOUTH OF FIFE. 425

in spring (pruning is generally performed in April). Any one
who has never seen the "Queen of Flowers" in her true grandeur
would do well to visit Balfour in the season. Many have come a long
distance to see these Eoses, and, I am certain, none go away disap-
pointed. There are the usual " bedding " in suitable parts of this com-
pact kitchen-garden. The quality and luxuriance of the vegetable
crops showed that there was depth of tilth and all other requirements
necessary to produce them. Grapes have done well here for a great
number of years. Two span-roofed houses, planted chiefly with Mus-
cats and Hamburg, have produced enormous crops without failure in
any shape. There are other features of interest which might advan-
tageously be noted, but we intend only to strike at particulars.
After leaving Balfour, with another worthy son of the spade
added to our number (Mr Dewar), we pushed on our way, and were
soon on the direct road to AYemyss Castle. Passing Cameron Bridge
distillery (where famous toddy-whisky is said to be manufactured),
we soon had a fine view of the Forth. To the left of the road stands
the village of Methil Hill, where cholera made such fearful ravages a
few years ago. The place (by no means attractive) retains a melan-
choly interest. A sudden turn to the right brings us in full view of
the ruins of Macduff's Castle, and further on the towers of Wemyss
Castle are observed peeping above the trees ; and in a short time we
arrived at the garden, where Mr Neil was waiting to conduct us
through the well-managed place. The range of houses (which is a
modern one, about 230 feet long, and finely finished) is gone through
first. Fruit is plentiful, chiefly Grapes and Peaches. The Vines have
mostly been replanted of late years, and are all in promising condition.
The crops of Muscats, Lady Downes, and Hamburg are very fine, and all
are either well finished, or appearing to do so satisfactorily. Alarge house
in the centre, which was some years ago modernised, was full of the
usual occupants, such as Zonale Geraniums, Lobelias, Coleus, Ferns,
Fuchsias, Arc, as gay as they could be. The flower-garden was gay
and well filled ; Calceolarias, extra-fine Geraniums, waiting for the sun.
Borders in the kitchen-garden were very chaste ; Pansies, Imperial
Blue, and Cliveden Yellow, were very telling. Cooper's Defiance
Tropoeoleum very brilliant, and Ageratum Imperial dwarf was among
the number of useful things.

Numbers of young Apple and Pear trees in the kitchen-garden
were doing well ; on the walls many had been recently planted. The
vegetable crops were good, Peas unusually tall — some twice as high as
described in the seed catalogues. There is little, in a gardening point
of view, outside the garden-walls. The castle stands boldly fronting
the Firth of Forth : behind the building are large empty squares of
grass. The grounds would require a fortune expended on them to

426 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

furnish tlie space with trees, shrubs, &c. We had almost forgotten
to mention that a long border of Roses, not yet filled up, bids fair to
tread on the heels of those at Balfour. Mr Dewar, by the way, was
Mr Neil's apprentice master, and it is true that the pupil often comes
up to the level of the preceptor. Wemyss was in years gone by
kno%vn as a leading place in Fife, under the management of Mr
Simpson, who now lives in a cottage in the village. His knowledge
as a fruit-grower was as a household word among the gardening frater-
nity, and, judging from his vigorous intellect and manly visage,
if he were again to take the field (the garden), he would yet prove a
very "Yon Moltke" among his compeers; and it appears, from Mr
Neil's industry and skill, that Wemyss is not yet to lose her position
among the gardens of Fife. We left Wemyss much gratified with
what we saw, and took the road westward to Dysart, the seat of the
Earl of Rosslyn, anxious to make hay while the sun shone (but it was
extremely cloudy then), as we had yet much ground to get over
before the close of the day. M. Temple.

Balbirnie. {To he continued.)

ROSES AND MILDEW.

In very dry seasons mildew among Roses is often prevalent, while in
wet cold seasons they often suffer from the same scourge. This need
not be wondered at, as any plant which suffers at the root from drought
and heat, or from wet and cold, will fall a victim to disease. So with
Roses when mildew, red-spider, and other pests appear ; we may safely
say that the supply of food from the roots is checked in some way.
Certain soils are more productive of disease than others, and I was
struck with this idea lately, when visiting some gardens in this county.
Last year their Peas sufi'ered severely from mildew, and this year
they have done the same. Last season's drought was intense; this
season we have had the opposite, extreme wet and cold, hence opposite
causes giving the same results. [Medical men tell us that chronic
indigestion is often caused by want of proper food, irregularly supplied,
or too much food of too rich a character. A medical gentleman lately
told me that he meets with more cases of disease and death from too
much eating than from too much drinking, but denounces them both
in the strongest terms.] By way of illustration : two years ago I made
an addition to the already fine collection of Roses here ; the border in
which they were to be planted was composed of soil of the poorest
description. Plenty of good loam was trenched down, manure added
in abundance, and when the plants were placed in their position, some

iSyi.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 427

good turfy loam was laid among their roots, and the whole finished
up with a good mulching. The plants grew with great vigour the first
year, and flowered satisfactorily. Last season they were all that I
could desire. The drought was severe, but was overcome by giving
the border good soakings of water from the stable cesspool, and good
drenchings overhead did the rest : many of the shoots were like walking-
sticks — a friend took the trouble to measure a shoot of a " Charles
Lefebvre," and its length was 9 feet. However, towards the end of
autumn, growth suddenly stopped — mildew appeared in considerable
force ; and this season, though the Roses have flowered well on this
border (but nothing in comparison to what they have done in a Rose-
garden some distance ofi"), mildew is not to be seen in the Rose-garden,
but on this border mostly every plant is infected. The cause is easily
got at. This border of Roses last season made root in proportion to
their wood, and to get away from the scorching sun of last year they
pushed down through the good soil into material where starvation has
commenced. We intend to lift the whole of the plants (some hundreds),
add fresh soil to the borders, and when the holes are made for the
roots, a turf will be placed, grassy side down, trodden, and a good
spadeful or two of earth of a kindly nature placed among the roots.
If root-pruning is necessary, it will receive careful attention : a good
mulching will finish the work. This "hint" is chiefly intended for
beginners, who may be perplexed at present, or later in the season,
by seeing the leaves and stems of their Roses coated with a substance
like white dust (mildew). But if the plants are doing well, let well
alone. M. Temple.

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS.

Royal HoRTicrLTURAL Society — Fruit and Floral Meeting, July 19th. —
On this occasion a new feature was introduced in the shape of Dephiniums, Pent-
stemons, Phloxes, Lobelia fulgens, and Hei^baceous plants cultivated in pots.
There was, however, no competition in any of the above classes ; Messrs Downie,
Laird, & Laing were awarded the first prize with a very attractive group of six
Phloxes, Pladda, Mrs Taylor, Captain Speke, George "Weynss, Monsieur Saison,
and James Mitchell.

For twelve Herbaceous plants in 12-inch pots. Mr R. Parker, Exotic Nursery,
Tooting, was awarded the first prize : Campanula carpatica, Coreopsis lanceolata,
and CEnothera venusta, were very showy.

For twelve cut Carnations, and the same number of Picotees, the competition
was very close between Mr C. Turner of Slough and Mr Norman of Plumstead,
Mr Turner being first for Carnations, and Mr Norman first for Picotees. The
following Carnations were very fine : — Colonel Wyndham, Juno, King John,
Sarah Payne, James Merryweather, Antonio, Falconbridge, Eccentric Jack, Poor
Tom, Premier, Sir D. "Wood, Splendour, Delicata, Royal Scarlet, and Dreadnought.

428 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

The best Picotees were Christie, Admiration, ]\rr8 Fisher, ^liss Turner, Mr Sutton,
Purity, Gem of Eoses, Empress Eugenie, Lord Valentia, Master Norman, Mor-
ning Star, Mrs l>rown, Prince Arthur, William Ingleton, and Miss Davies.

The ^Metropolitan Floral Societies' prizes were equally divided between Mr
Norman and Mr Pizzey, gardener to E. Perry, Esq., Slough, the former being
first for Picotees and the latter for Carnations, Miscellaneous collections con-
tained some really handsome specimens and the best of the new plants. Messrs
Yeitch of Chelsea had the following very line Cypripedium dominyanum, a cross
between C. caudatum and C. Pearcei ; it was, as shown, exactly intermediate between
the two ; Grammatophyllum Elisianum, with thirty-two fine flowers on its pendent
spike ; Dracaina amabilis allied to D. Guilfoylei, with broader leaves and more
attractive colour. Mr B. S. Williams had a splendid pot of Cypripedium super-
biens (Veitchii) and other specimen plants, Messrs E. G. Henderson & Son had
in their collection the best Caladium I have yet seen ; it was named Prince Albert
Edward ; it has the leaf colour of Belleymei, but with crimson midribs. Mr
Denning, gardener to Lord Londesborough, had a splendid specimen of Oncidium
macranthum, with a spike 10 feet long ; the flowers were of large size and highly
coloured ; twenty-nine were fully expanded.

Fruit Coinmlttee. — ]\Ir Bradley of Littledale, Halam, Notts, received a first-class
certificate for a new Strawberry, "The Amateur," of large size, obovate, slightly
cockscomb in shape, of a bright crimson colour and, delicious flavour. The same
award was given to Messrs Standish & Co. for Ascot Citronelle Grape ; the bunch
and berries are medium-sized, berries round, greenish white, and a delicious
piquant Frontignan flavour. Messrs Rivers of Sawbridgeworth sent a small
branch, with fruit, from a pot-tree, of a new large black Cherry, very handsome
in appearance, and of good flavour, named Bigarreau Noir de Schmidt ; it received
a first-class certificate. Messrs Carter & Co. offered prizes for a collection of
vegetables. Mr Miles, gardener to Lord Carrington, Wycombe Abbey, was the
only exhibitor, and took first prize with a large collection.

Flotrd Committee. — The Floral meetings have been rendered highly interesting
this season, from the numerous fine plants sent by the foreign exhibitors. M.
Jean Verschafi'elt of Ghent sent a dozen Agaves ; one of them was a very distinct
and handsome sort named A. elegautissima ; this, and A. Regeli macrodonta,
A. Mescal foliis striatis, and A. sp. nova, received first-class certificates. The
highest award was also given to M. VerschafFelt for Zamia sp. nova, from New
Caledonia ; Encephalartos Vroomi, a really noble species ; and a new Dicksonia,
from St Catherine's, Brazil. The same award was given to M. Makoy & Co.,
Liege, for Tillandsia (platystachys) complanata. M. Wendland, the Royal
Gardens, Herreuhausen, Hanover, sent ^Echmea Marie Regina, with large rose-
pink bracts ; this is really magnificent in appearance, and well deserved the first-
class certificate awarded. The following also received first-class certificates : —
Lobelia speciosa. White Perfection, from ]\Iessrs Lee, Hammersmith ; a dense
mass of pure-white Lobelia erinus, "Brilliant," dwarf, deep blue, and "Celestial
Blue," of the primula section, pale slaty blue, very free flowering, from E. G.
Henderson & Son ; Rose Comtesse d'Oxford and Louis Van Houtte from Messrs
Paul & Son; Fuchsia "Sunray"from Mr Milner, Bradford, a distinct variety
with yellow and pink variegation ; Picotee, Morning Star, and ]\[rs Brown, from
Mr Norman, and one of the second class for Lady Helmsdale from the same
exhibitor.

Fruit and Floral Meeting, and Show of Zonal Pelargoniums, August
2. — All the diflferent sections of Tricolors and plain-leaved varieties were repre-

iSyi.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 429

seated, mostly by small specimens. Prizes were offered by W. R. Morris, Esq.,
for 6 Seedling Tricolors. Messrs Downie, Laird, & Laing of London and Edin-
burgh had very fine and highly-coloured varieties, and were awarded the first
prize ; they were also first for the best variety in the collections with Adonis, a
finely-coloured variety, with a distinct edging of deep yellow. Flora M'Nab and
Stanstead Eclipse are also very fine. Mr C. Turner of Slough came in second.
Messrs Downie, Laird, & Laing are also far in advance of any other grower for
Gold and Bronze Bicolors, their superb new variety Mardchal M'Mahon taking the
first prize in this class. The foliage seems as if it would stand any weather, and
has a broad rich chocolate zone edged with gold ; at least a dozen first-class varie-
ties could be selected from the numerous seedlings they staged of this section.
Mr C. Turner had a first px'ize for three plants of Miss Morris (Golden Tricolor),
a very brilliant-coloured variety, with well-shaped leaves ; he had also the best
Silver Tricolor in the show — Mrs Eousby ; it is certainly the best yet seen.

For Golden Selfs, Messrs E. G. Henderson & Son were first with Golden Circle,
and Mr Turner second with Golden Gift. The best silver-edged variety came
from Mr Pestridge, named Blushing Bride; Mr Turner was second with Miss
Kingsbury. The best Ivy -leaved variety was "Wilsii, a unique variety from Mr
Turner. Messrs Bell & Thorpe had the best Nosegay variety, and Mr Cannell of
Woolwich the second bet?t — Charles Dickens and Master Christine being the
varieties. Mr Mann of Brentwood had the fii'st prize with Triumph, the best
Zonal.

The double-flowering varieties were a good class. Messrs Bell & Thorpe were
first with Miss Evelyn, a very good variety, with bright pink flowers. Messrs
Carter were second with C. Glijm.

Prizes were also offered for Plums and Gooseberries. Mr C. Turner of Slough
had seventy varieties of Goosebei'ries, and received the first prize.

Fruit Committee. — A splendid new Peach, raised by George Darby, Esq., and
named Markley Admirable, is stated to be as early as Early York. It is of the
shape of Titon de Venus, very large and superior to all other early Peaches for
flavour, and well deserved the first-class certificate awarded to it. Messrs A^eitch
of Chelsea sent a very fine early round Potato named Early Perfection. It is per-
fection in shape, and of good flavour when cooked. Messrs Lee of Hammersmith
had a very fine early Kidney ; it is a great cropper, and also of good flavour, but
no Potatoes or Peas receive certificates until tested at Chiswick.

Floral Committee. — A very fine and distinct golden form of Juniperus chinensis
came from Mr M, Young of Go.dalming. Very beautiful examples of Anffictochilus
ordianus, with olive-green leaves and silvery-white veins, came from Mr Laurence,
gardener to Bishop Sumner, Farnham Castle. Coleus Tryoni from Mr Guildford,
gardener to R. Tryon, Esq., Toddington Hall, Leicester, is the most distinct
variety yet raised ; nearly half of the leaf is a bright golden yellow, while the part
nearest the stalk is a rich crimson, edged with yellow. Mr J. Eraser of Lea
Bridge sent Dracaena Fraseri, a very stout-growing plant, with broad bronzy crim-
son foliage. Mr Laxton of Stamford sent Double-flowered Zonal Pelargonium
Jewel, a seedling from Madame Rose Charmeaux, and no doubt a free-flowering
variety. The florets are singularly cupped and beautiful. The colour is crimson.
E. G. Henderson & Son sent Begonia multiflora elegans, a free-flowering variety,
with pale-red flowers. Messrs Kelway & Son, Langport, sent several seedling
Gladiolus spikes. Pictum is the best ; the flower is very large, orange, flamed
red, with a maroon throat ; Hogarth and Oberon are good spikes. Messrs Wood
& Ingram of Huntingdon sent seedling Picotees. Delicata, a very pure flower,
light purple edge. Mr Norman of Plumstead sent a very fine stand of seedling

430 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

Picotees — Ada Ingleton, light purple edge ; Miss Ingleton, medium scarlet edge ;
and Beauty of Plumstead, a fine flower, light scarlet edge. All the above-named
productions received first-class certificates. Second-class awards were given to
Mr Norman for Picotee Charles "Williams, Esq., a large heavy scarlet-edged flower
— (Grand Monarch, a very flue heavy purple edge Mr Norman thinks much of,
was passed over) — to Messrs Carter for Tricolor Pelargonium Prospero ; and to
Messrs Ingram for Picotee ]\Irs Ingram.

August 16th was one of the minor meetings of the Poyal Horticultural Society.
The Gladiolus was the principal feature, and although they were neither so num-
erous nor so fine as they were last year, there were some fine spikes staged, and a
number of exceedingly fine seedlings. ]\Ir Kelway, the veteran grower, was un-
fortunate in having his spikes damaged by a terrific thunderstorm on the Sunday
previous to the show. His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch gave a series of prizes ;
and liberal encouragement is now given to this grand autumn flower-show by the
Society. In the open class for twenty-four spikes, Messrs Kelway of Langport
were first with excellent spikes ; and in the classes for private growers, Mr Douglas,
gardener to Francis Whitbourn, Esq. of Loxford Hall, Illford, was first for twelve
and six spikes. The following seedlings were shown by Mr Kelway, and received
first-class certificates : — Phidias (Souchet), Astrea, Araximenes, Archelaus, Yellow
King, and Lord Bridport. In the stands exhibited by Mr Douglas, Francis Whit-
bourn, Mrs Francis Whitbourn, William Early, and Talisman (Souchet) also
received first-class certificates. The best-established varieties were Orphee, Lac^-
pede, Euripides, Clarissa, Sir W. Hooker, Michel Ange, Mrs Dombrain, Adolphe
Brogniart, Horace Vernet, Meyerbeer, Madame Desportes, and Robert Fortune.
Hollyhocks were well shown by Mr W. Chater, of Safron Walden ; the following
were very fine : Prince Albert, Bullion, Eclipse, Marvellous, Incomparable, Alfred
Chater, Joy, a perfect flower, Carus Chater, Hercules, Peri, Marion, Cygnet,
Queen of Yellows, Champion, Fred. Chater, Splendidum, and Othello, the best
black flower.

Cut spikes of Phloxes"were exhibited by Messrs Downie, Laird, & Laing, Forest
Hill, and Messrs Paul & Son, of Cheshunt, but the flowers were faded, and looked
miserable before night. It would be well to show them in pots in future. The
best flowers were Figaro, Madame Domage, Princess Louise, M. H. Low, Lothair,
Amabilis, Madame Roempler, Madame Pepin, M. C. Turner, and Liervalli.

Fruit Committee— It was stated that the Markly Admirable Peach which
received an award at the last meeting was not in reality an early Peach, but ought
to be classed amongst the late ones. Mr Pearson of Chilwell sent a number of
bunches of different seedling Grapes, some of them very promising, but none in
condition to receive certificates.

Floral Committee. — There was very little before this meeting except the seed-
ling Gladioluses. Mr Croucher, gardener to J. T. Peacock, Esq., Hammersmith,
sent a collection of Agaves. Simisii and Imbricata received first-class certificates ;
the same award was given to Anthurium ornatum from St Martha, a species with
large pure-white spathes : the spa the was cut, and one leaf only was shown, so that
it was not possible to judge of the habit of it. J- Douglas.

EoMFORD Horticultural Society's Show. — It so happened that we were
at the Essex Agricultural Society's show, held at Romford in June last, and
also visited the Romford Horticultural Society's Show, held in the same park
and at the same time ; and in many respects, for a local show, it was a very
good one. However, unlike your correspondent, Mr Nokes, we failed to see any-
thing especially noteworthy in Mr Bones, of Stavering Park, " quietly walking off

1871.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 431

with seventeen prizes." The fact of Mr Douglas, of Loxford Hall, occupying the
premier position in seventeen classes, besides two or three of secondary import-
ance, certainly strikes us as more worthy of note. But we must confess that
what apppeared to us of much greater interest were the collections of stove and
greenhouse and foliage plants and the Exotic Ferns, staged by Messrs Donald of
Layton, and Green of Mark's Hall, Kelvedon ; and also the double Pelargoniums,
fruit, and Cucumbers exhibited by Mr Douglas. Some would have stood a de-
cided chance for first honours anywhere, and all would have graced the tables of
any exhibition.

We sincerely trust that neither Mr Bones nor Mr ISTokes will look on this as
dictated by any degree of ill-feeling towards either: we write it simply for the sake
of that justice which is due to every one, and at the same time to express the
hope that those who in future have a desire to report local shows will go to more
reliable sources of information than that afforded by the newspaper press, or,
otherwise, not make a high-class journal like the 'Gardener' the medium for
their communications. R. P. B.

Glasgow Show under the auspices of the Botanic Society. — To Mr
Bullen is due the credit of having set the example in Scotland of a more artistic
system of displaying the various subjects sent either for exhibition or competition
than has hitherto prevailed ; and by this means he produced a very pleasing effect,
by placing on banks of green turf plants, that, if set on naked wooden tables, as
we too often see them in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other places in Scotland,
would have had a meagre enough appearance.

In the three chief groups that obtained the honours, as seen below, there were
many fine plants, especially Ferns, Palms, Crotons, and Orchids.

Mr Johnston's collection of fruit was a very fine one for the season of the year ;
his Muscat, Buckland Sweetwater, and Black Prince Grapes, Peaches, Nec-
tarines, and Melons were remarkably good.

In Mr Methven's collection, which was placed second, there were also some very
fine dishes of fruit ; his Queen Pine was exceedingly good. Mr Miles, gardener
to Lord Carrington, was first with Pines, splendid examples of Prickly and
smooth-leaved Cayennes. Mr M'Connachie, gardener, Cameron House, sent for
exhibition only a splendid stand of Grapes, three bunches of Black Hamburg,
and three of Buckland Sweetwater. So highly did the judges think of them
that they made them a special award.

The Roses from Messrs Dickson of Belfast were here, as they were at Edin-
burgh, one of the chief attractions of the exhibition.

The Botanical Society of Glasgow deserve the special thanks of all interested in
Horticulture for the liberal prizes they offered on the occasion, and we trust they
will not let the recent one be the only exhibition of the kind they will hold. In
Mr Bullen they have a curator who, by his quiet gentlemanly conduct on the
occasion, obtained the highest commendation both from exhibitors and judges.
His arrangements for every department of the exhibition reminded us of those
Mr jMarnock used to develop on a wider field in the Regent's Park years ago,
and this is perhaps the highest compliment we could pay him.

We believe there is to be a splendid conservatory erected in the gardens forth-
with, where such exhibitions can be held on a large scale ; and we trust the Society
will turn it to account, in this as in other directions, both for its own and the
public good.

432

THE GARDENER.

[Sept.

OPEN TO ALL.

Largest and best collection of plants,
arranged for effect, in or out of flower
— 1. J. Sorley, gardener to John llus-
eell of Mayfield, Falkirk ; 2. J. & R.
Thjme, Woodsiide Nursery, Glasgow ;
3. William Dickson, gardener to Thos.
Coats of Ferguslie, Paisley,

Two Tree Ferns— 1. Mrs M. A.
Clark, Windsor Terrace, Glasgow ; 3.
John M'Nab, gardener, Trinidad Villa,
Go van.

Four Palms, distinct species — Peter
Mackenzie, Gordon Street, Glasgow.

Four Dracmuas or Cordyliues, large i
specimen plants — Peter Mackenzie. \

Largest and best collection of fruit
fit for table — 1. George Johnston, gar-
dener to the Earl of Strathmore, Gla-
mis Castle ; 2. John ]\lothven, g'ardener
to Colonel Campbell of Blythswood.

Largest and best collection of Vege-
tables— Robert Helherington, gai'dener,
Lanfine, Newmilns.

Largest and best collection of cut
Roses in variety, single trusses (with
foliage) — 1. Alex. Dickson & Sons,
nurserymen, Newtonards, Belfast ; 2.
Wm. Parlane, gardener, Roselee, Row ;
3. Robertson & Galloway, Ingram St.,
Glasgow.

OPEN TO GARDENERS AND AMATEURS.

Twelve specimen Ornamental Foliaged
Geraniums — 1. Neil Campbell, gar-
dener, Holmwood, Cathcart ; 2. J.
Smith, gardener, Hillhead House, Glas-
gow; 3. T. Stobo, Hutchesontown
Gardens, Glasgow.

Twelve specimen Zonale Geraniums
in flower— 1. Neil Campbell; 2. D.
Cogbill, 4 Rope-Work Lane, Glasgow;
3. James F. Mills, Hutchesontown
Gardens.

Twelve Fuchsias (varieties) — Robert
Blair, gardener, Eglinton House, Lang-
side.

Six Fuchsias (varieties) — -R. Blair.

Thi-ee Stove and Greenhouse Plants
in flower — 1, Neil Campbell ; 2. Wm.
Robertson, Albert Gardens, Glasgow.

Six Stove or Greenhouse Plants, re-
markable for the beauty of their foliage
(Geraniums excluded) — Robert Blair.

Three Stuve and Greenhouse Plants,
remarkable for the beauty of their foli-
age— 1. J. M'Nab ; 2. Wm. Robertson.

Three trained Petunias, varieties —
John M'Nab.

Three pots Lilium auratum — John
Smith.

One Tree Fern^ — 1. Joseph Fleming,
gardener to J. C. Wakefield, Eastwood
Park ; 2. John M'Nab.

One specimen Todea superba — Mrs
M. A. Clark.

Four Cockscombs — 1. G. Robertson,
gardener, Woolrich, Greenock; 2. R.
Kerr, Eldon Street, Greenock.

Twenty-four Blooms Dahlias, var-
ieties— 1. John Finlay, gardener to D.
Dalziel, Newtonards, Belfast ; 2. Neil
Glass, gardener, Carbrook ; 3. James
Orr, Ladyburn, Greenock.

Twelve Blooms Dahlias, varieties —
1. J. Findlay; 2. John M'Nab; 3.
Neil Glass.

Twelve Blooms Hollyhocks, varieties
— John Finlay.

Twelve Blooms Pansies, varieties — 1.
T. Peacock, Fallside, Paisley ; 2. W.
D. Logan, Kilbirnie ; 3. M. Reid.

Twenty-four Blooms Dahlias, varieties
— I. Alex. Dickson & Sons ; 2. George
White, nurseryman. Paisley.

Tweu ty-four BLioms Pansies, varieties
— 1. George White; 2. Matthew Reid.

Two Pine - Apples — 1. George F.
Mills, gardener to Lord Carrington.

Two bunches Black Grapes — 1. George
Johnston ; 2. Angus M'Intyre, Partick.

Two bunches White Grapes — 1.
George Johnston; 2. Angus M'Intyre.

One Melon (best flavoured) — 1. G.
Watson, gardener, Woodburn, Green-
ock ; 2. Graham M'Culloch, Ardwell
Gardens, Stranraer ; 3. Wm. Parlane.

Six Peaches — 1. Graham M'Culloch ;

2. John J. Cumming, gardener to Pro-
vost Morton, Greenock ; 3. W. Fleming.

Brace of Cucumbers — 1. George
Robertson ; 2. Robert Hetherington ;

3. Graham M'Culloch.

A Table Bouquet— 1. Peter Fox,
Victoria Gardens ; 2. Hugh Campbell,
Burnbrae ; 3. John M'Nab.

A Hand Bouquet— 1. G. Bainbridge,
Rutherglen ; 2. Robert Arrol, Helens-
burgh; 3. Joseph Anderson, Rutherglen.

A Floral Design — 1. John Sim, gar-
dener, Greenhead House, Govan ; 2.
Robert Allison, Alexandria, Dumbar-
ton ; 3. John M'Nab.

Botanical Prize, 300 species and
varieties of British Plants exhibited as
dried specimens, named and mounted
(Ferns excluded) — 1. Thomas Hogg,
gardener to D. Tod of Ironbank, Par-
tick ; 2. John Stewart, M'Niel Street,
Glasgow ; 3. James Wyllie, 203 Thistle
Street, Hutchesontown.

1871.] REVIEW. 433

FOR COTTAGERS AND ARTISANS ONLY.

Two Cabbages — 1. Thomas Anderson;
2. Walter Shearer ; 3. W. S. Bookless,
Albert Drive, Crossbill.

Collection of Vegetables — 1. "Wm.
Robertson ; 2. Walter Shearer, Paisley
Road, Glasgow ; 3. Jos, Anderson.

Twelve Onions— 1. Joseph Anderson; j Three Leeks — 1. Walter Shearer ; 2.
8. W. Shearer. Peter Fox : 3. Joseph Anderson.

Two heads Celery — 1. Joseph Ander- Two Cauliflowers — 1. Joseph Ander-

son ; 2. Walter S bearer. son; 2. Wm. Robertson; 3. W. S.

Best collection of Potatoes, varieties Bookless.
— 1. Thomas Camming ; W. Shearer. I

A special certificate was awarded to George White, Ladyburn Nursery, for one
dark self seedling Pansy.

James M'Connachie, Cameron House, received a special award for six bunches
fine-grown Black and White Grapes.

Messrs Smith & Simons, seedsmen, Howard Street, received a special award
for exhibition of seeds, plants, and implements.

W. H. Hilton, Liverpool, was commended for his new patent grass-border
cutter, for horticultural purposes.

Messrs Campbell & Stewart, Wilson Street, Glasgow, were commended for their
American Archimedean lawn-mowers.

Messrs Smith & Co., Sun Foundry, were highly commended for their exhibition
of vases, chnirs, and fountains.

Messrs Henry Field & Sons were highly commended for their exhibition of
garden -chairs, &c.

The Springbank Chemical Company were ppecially commended for black paint.

Andrew M'Lachlan, Greenock, received a firot-class certificate for his new patent
verge-cutter.

J. Jaques, Dublin, was commended for his bog-oak carvings.

Wm. Dempster, Stirling Road, Glasgow, was commended for his exhibition of
rustic ffarden-chairs.

The Elra Grafted on the Hornbeam.

We lately paid a special visit to Lord Peter's seat, near Brentwood, Essex, to see
the Elms grafted on the Hornbeam, which were lately the subjects of i-emark in
the horticultural press, and found that there are about a dozen of them close
together in a row. Some are grafted near the ground, others about 3 and 4 feet
high. The thickest is 3 feet in circumference, and the Hornbeam stock has kept
pace in growth with the Elm grafts.

A New Garden PeriodieaL

We understand that another weekly paper chiefly devoted to horticulture is
shortly to appear in London under the editorship of a well-knowu writer on
gardening matters.

REVIEW.

Practical Treatise on the Cultivation of the Grape Vine. By William
Thomson, Tweed Vineyard, Galashiels. Seventh Edition, Enlarged. Black-
wood & Sons.
The very successful career of this 'Treatise' has brought it to its seventh edition

in less than nine years. This edition is enlarged by a chapter on preparing young

434

THE GARDENER.

[Sept.

Vines for planting after the method adopted by the author in planting his exten-
sive vineries on Tweedside ; and also by an account, translated from the 'Flore,'
edited by Louis van Houtte of Ghent, of the Phylloxera vastatrix, a terribly
destructive insect, which, in some instances in this counti-y, has proved fatal to the
Vine. The way in which this terrible disease can be eradicated is also detailed.

©alcnUar*

KITCHEN-GARDEN.

During this month the main crops of
Cabbages, for early supply next season,
will be planted ; and this being a very
important crop, much care in preparing
the ground, and attention when plant-
ing, are necessary. For a long time the
young plants are liable to the attacks
of grubs, slugs, &c. To keep up a sup-
ply all the year round requires a little
forethought as to the time of sowing,
and the demand in the kitchen alone
can regulate the quantities to plant.
The summary is this : trench well, man-
ure well, keep hoe and prong often
among the soil when plants are grow-
ing ; use lime-water at the roots and
round the necks of the plants two or
three times, to keep off vermin (once is
of little use) ; sow from February, in
small quantities, each month, till June,
then BOW Cole wort Rosette for au-
tum and winter supply of greens.
From the second to the last week of
July main sowings may be made for
planting in September, and to be kept
in sheltered quarters for planting in
February and March. Good kinds for
first sowing are Early York, Little
Pixie, and Barne's Early. For succes-
sion, M'Ewan's, and Enfield market ;
and for large size. Conqueror, and
Waite's King. Many others are good,
if they can be had true. Some have
good supplies of Cabbage from only
two plantations — one in July for a Sep-
tember plantation (using early and
late kinds), and in March to carry
the supply on from September to the
following season. In this case the
stocks are allowed to sprout, taking
off the bottom leaves as they begin to
decay ; and if the ground is in good
condition, fine heads are formed. Some
manure the ground, either by forking
in the dung or by mulching on the
surface ; but from frequent sowings
and planting the best produce is

had. Where Strawberries are done with
is a good position for planting Cabbage
this month. The old Strawberries
should be trenched down two spades
deep, and if the bottom is poor when
turned up, a good coating of manure,
well decayed, should be placed under
the top spade. The plants may be
placed in neat drills a foot each way,
and every alternate plant could be cut
out for use when large enough, leaving
a full crop on the ground ; this econo-
mises labour and ground. The ground
from which Onions are cleared is gener-
ally in good order for the autumn plan-
tation of Cabbage. If Carrots have
stood through the season, and are show-
ing signs of being attacked by ver-
min, they should be lifted at once,
taken to a cool place, and have a
little straw thrown over them. Cauli-
flowers will now be ready for planting
in frames, pits, and under hand-glasses.
Hand-glasses placed on a sloping border
in a sheltered position is a favourite sys-
tem of getting the first crop. Theplants
are planted more thickly than when
intended to be left for a crop, but they
can be thinned out and planted in
March : abundance of air is necessary,
the tops being used only in wet frosty
weather. This has been a fine season
for late crops of Celery, as it delights in
abundance of moisture ; and should the
weather set in dry, a good soaking of
manure-water before earthing-up was
done would give crisp produce. Early
crops should be finished earthing-up.
Late ones may be done as they grow, or
all at once in October. Keep the hearts
compact, and do not allow the earth to
fall into them ; dustings of lime among
the plants will keep slugs away. Lime-
water poured among the stems is a good
practice. Plant Endive, and when rea-
dy for use it may be tied up to blanch.
Pots or slates placed over the plants

i87i.]

CALENDAR.

435

answer the purpose of blanching. Let-
tuce may be planted out in large quan-
tities at the base of walls, on sloping
banks, and other sheltered positions.
Seed may yet be sown to come in for
a first plantation in March ; thinning
the plants out when they are likely
to become crowded is necessary ; sow
handy kinds. Leeks will now be much
benefited by a good soaking of manure-
water. The whole ground should be
moistened, and where they are in drills
earth should be drawn to the plants;
blanching is always desirable with them.
Onions may be lifted as soon as they
are ready ; they should be kept as dry
as possible, clearing oflf all the tops, and
selecting the finely-formed bulbs (suit-
able for keeping) from those to be used
up first should have attention. Onions
keep well when tied to sticks and hung
up where they can be kept thoroughly
dry and cool ; when they are spread out
they require to be turned frequently till
their refuse is all thoroughly cleared

FORCING D

Pines. — Smooth Cayennes, and other
varieties that are most suitable for au-
tumn and winter supply, will now be
swelling rapidly, and should have every
encouragement and attention. A top-
dressing of horse-droppings will assist
in stimulating them, and in keeping
them uniformly moist at the root.
"Water them with weak guano -water
every time they require watering, and
keep the atmosphere moist by frequent-
ly sprinkling the paths of the pinery.
Shut up early in the afternoon, with
sun-heat to a temperature of 90" for a
time, allowing it to fall to 75° by 10
o'clock P.M. Syringe them overhead at
shutting-up time, when the weather is
bright, but avoid the crowns as much
as possible with the syringe ; for if much
moisture is allowed to lodge about them,
it causes them to grow large and un-
sightly. Late Queens that are colour-
ing should have a free circulation of
warm dry air about them, and be kept
dry at the root. Should more ripen at
one time than are required, lemove the
plants to a cool dry room, where they
will keep in good condition for two or
three weeks, and so keep up a succession
of fruit. Now is a good time to put in
a second lot of suckers, from plants which
have ripened and are ripening their fruit.
Pot them into 6- and 7-inch pots, ac-
cording to their sizes; use a turfy loam,
mixing in a few half -inch bones, and

away. Peas will now be in great abund-
ance ; late crops may require to be net-
ted to keep them from the attacks of
birds. French Beans and Scarlet Run-
ners should have timely attention with
protection, as frost may be expected ;
hoops and mats will save them from 5°
to G° of frost ; frames placed over a
healthy bearing lot will keep them far
into the season. Spinach will require
to be well hoed, and not allowed to
become matted ; water with lime-water
for grubs. A good store of Parsley
should be on hand, and a lot in a posi-
tion where protection can be given in
winter. Potatoes for seed should be
hardened in the sun before they are
stored; medium-sized tubers are best
for that purpose. Turnips to stand
the winter should not stand crowded ;
keep the hoe going among them as
long as can be done. Keep up sowings
of small Salad in g. Protect Ghirkins ;
ridge Cucumbers and Tomatoes in time.
M. T. ,

EPARTMENT.

about a 6 -inch potful of fresh soot to
a barrowful of soil. Plunge them in a
moderate bottom-heat, and keep them
at about 70°. If the soil is moist when
they are potted, water will not be
necessary till they have formed roots an
inch long. Dew them lightly overhead
every fine day when shut up, and give
air more liberally after they have rooted
and commenced to grow, and avoid
crowding them in the bed. The stock
of plants that are intended to start into
fruit at the commencement of the year,
will now require careful management.
Water must be judiciously and sparing-
ly applied, especially if the weather be
dull and sunless. 'No more should be
given than is sufiicient to keep them
from Euflfering either from aridity of
atmosphere or over -dryness of soil.
Give a liberal supply of air on fine days.
By the end of the month they should
be in as complete a state of rest as is
possible. 65° will be a night tempera-
ture sufficiently high to begin October
with, and it should be gradually lowered
to this as the nights lengthen and be-
come more cold. Those plants that are
intended to start next spring, as a suc-
cession to those just referred to, and
that are not now so forward, require to
be encouraged to grow more freely for
another month at least, and consequent-
ly require to be kept more moist, and
be shut up with more heat on the after-

436

THE GARDENER.

[Sept.

noons of fine clear days. Avoid as
much as possible a fox-cing-beat on dull
days and at night, and take advantage
of sun-heat when it can be had. All
syringing of growing stock overhead
should now cease, as it has a tendency
to produce a soft, unfruitful growth.

Grapes. — Late Grapes intended to
hang through the winter phould be
quite ripe by the middle of the month,
for if ripened later in the season with
less sun, they do not keep so well.
Assist the process, when necessary,
with a little fire-heat and a circulation
of warm dry air, leaving a little air on
all night, so as to prevent any moisture
settling on the bunches. In keeping
Grapes successfully, it is of great im-
portance that the foliage be healthy as
long as possible. And if there be any
red-spider about the Vines in patches,
as is not unfrequent, get rid of it at
once ; and it is questionable if there be
any more effectual as well as speedy
way of doing this, as by sponging with
clean water. In wet localities, where
heavy autumn rains prevail, cover the
outside border with shutters or tarpaul-
ing so as to throw off the superabund-
ant wet. And as it is now desirable to
keep the inside of the vineries drier, let
the surface of the border be gently
forked up, and a sprinkling of old
mushroom - bed manure be sprinkled
over it to the depth of an inch, first
sifting it rather finely. This will pre-
vent the evaporation of moisture, and
prevent the border from cracking.
Look over-ripe crops, and cut out all
berries that show any signs of decay.
Keep the Vines free from lateral growths,
and the main foliage healthy to the last.
The early part of this month is a good
time to remove the inert surface-soil
from borders down to the roots, replac-
ing it with fresh turfy loam mixed with
horse-droppings, and a little old lime-
rubbish or charcoal. There is no better
way of attracting and keeping roots
near the surface than this. As this
summer has been moist and sunless in
many districts, it may be necessary
to fire vineries from which the fruit
has just been cut in order to assist
in more thoroughly ripening the
wood. A circulation of warm dry air
should be kept up till the wood is
thoroughly ripened and hard. Vines
from which fruit was cut in April and
May, will be ready to prune by the end
of the month ; and if intended for
early forcing again, it should be no

I longer delayed. After pruning, they
should be kci)t as cool as possible, and

j all repairs or painting requisite should
be done before the weather becomes
unfavourable for such work. Young
vigorous - growing Vines that were
planted last and this year must be fired
and kept warm till the wood is perfectly
brown and matured. The stronger they
are, the more of this treatment they
will require to thoroughly ripen them,
without which condition they will show
loose unsatisfactory bunches next sea-
son. Remove all young growths as they
appear, and if they have been allowed
to make anything of a rambling lateral
growth, remove as much of it as will
admit a free play of light and air about
all the foliage and wood, but by all
means avoid the too common practice
of removing foliage wholesale and sud-
denly. See last month's directions re-
garding Pot- Vines.

Peaches. — See last month's direc-
tions i-egarding trees from which the
crops have been gathered ; and in
addition to the directions there given,
let trees that are strong and have their
wood not so solid and ripe as is desir-
able, have fire heat and a circulation
of air in order to ripen them. If any
vestige of red-spider remains or appears
aboiit them, give them a few vigorous
washings on fine afternoons with the
engine. Remove all shoots that may
not be needed next year, and so allow
a free circulation of air about all parts
of the trees. Late crops in cool houses
will now be ripening, and will require
to be carefully guarded from flies and
wasps, which will, now that the nights
are cooler, seek refuge under glass.
Push aside all leaves that in any way
interfere with a full exposure of every
part to sun and air, for a colourless
Peach or Nectarine is an insipid-looking
fruit. Look over the crop carefully,
and gather all that are ripe, so as to
prevent as much as possible a quantity
of them from dropping into the nets,
which should be fixed so as to catch
any that may drop off. Hexagon net-
ting is an excellent material for this
purpose.

Figs. — Encourage trees that are swell-
ing off a crop with waterings of liquid
manure, and keep a circulation of
air about them as the fruit ripens.
Figs should not be gathered till they
have cracked their skin, and the juice
begins to drop out of them, unless, of
course, they are required to pack and

i87i.]

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

437

send away, when it is necessary to
gather them a little earlier. Give those
from which the cr ops are all gathered an
occasional syringing, so as to keep the
foliage healthy until it has properly
performed its functions, and drops off
naturally. Plants in pots from which
all fruit are gathered, may be placed in
any warm place outdoors, where they
will get full sun, and be sheltered from
high winds, which would tarnish their
leaves.

Melons. — Keep fruit that have got
to the ripening stage diy, and well
exposed to light and air. The night
temperature should range about 70°, for
Melons ripened in a low temperature
and damp atmosphere are scarcely eat-
able. Be careful not to water crops
that are nearly fully swollen, or the
chances are that they will burst and be
spoilt. The best way is to mulch the
surface of the soil with a little leaf-
mould or rotten manure to prevent the
surface of the bed from becoming too
dry, and from cracking. Late crops
that are swelling rapidly should be kept
warm, and, now that the nights are
longer and cooler, should have fires put
on to prevent the temperature from

sinking below 70° to 75°, according to
the state of the weather.

Cucumbers. — Plants raised from
seed sown about the middle of August
will soon be ready to plant out. A
light moderately - rich soil is best for
winter Cucumbers. Grow them on
with as much light and air as possible,
in order to get them strong and healthy
before shorter and duller days arrive.
Plants still in bearing should be watered
occasionally with liquid manure. Keep
the temperature from 70° to 75° at night.
If a low temperature is allowed at this
season, mildew is sure to attack and de-
stroy them. All symptoms of it should
be checked by dusting the affected parts
with flower of sulphur.

Strawberries in Pots. — If former
directions have been carried out, these
will now have well filled their pots with
roots ; and should the weather be hot
and dry, give them frequent supplies of
dung or guano-water. It is best to
water them in the morning after this
season, as the drier they are at night,
the less likely are they to be affected
with spot in their leaves. Keep them
free from runners and weeds, and give
them plenty of room.

We deeply regret that, owing to press of matter, several communications of
great interest are unavoidably postponed.

All business communications should be addressed to the Publishers, and com-
munications for insertion in the ' Gardener ' to David Thomson, Drumlanrig
Gardens, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire, It will farther oblige if all matter intended
for publication, and questions to be replied to, be forwarded by the middle of the
month, and written on one side of the paper only. It is also requested that
writers forward their name and address, not for publication, unless they wish it,
but for the sake of that mutual confidence which should exist between the Editor
and those who address him. We decline noticing any communication which is
not accompanied with name and address of writer.

A Lover op Herbaceous. — We do not consider that the plant you name should
be included in the category of hardy herbaceous plants. Although in diy sandy soils
nearly the whole of the genus do occasionally live over the winter, yet in heavy
soils and in cold localities there are ten chances to one against their living through
the winter, and consequently we would not by any means accept them as hardy
in a collection ' of hardy herbaceous plants.

Anderson Forstthe. — 'Botany for Ladies' by Dr Lindley (Ridgeway, Lon-
don), is the most suitable book we know for your purpose,

2h

438 THE GARDENER. [Sept.

J. W. UsBOiiNE. — You will find your svibject fully treated of in our present
issue.

W. P. — Kitfiben Apples: Lord Suffield, Manx Codlin, Tower of Glamis,
Crloria Mundi, Dumelow's Seedling, Bedfordshire Foundling. Dessert Apples :
Kerry Pippin, Ribston Pippin, Bess Pool, Claygate Pearmain, Margil, Adams's
Pearmain. Pears : Jargonelle, ^Marie Louise, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Beurr(^
d'Auianlis, "Winter Nelis, Williams's Bon Chretien. These will all be likely to do
well with you, and will keep up a succession of fruit ; but get shelter as soon as
possible by planting quick-growing trees.

Tyro. — It is desirable to have the command of bottom-heat from hot-water
pipes in a chamber underneath Pines, but it is also desirable to do with as little
heat as possible from such means. "Where 3 feet deep of good oak leaves and 9
or 10 inches of tan can be had there is not much need of heat from pipes, but it
is well to be able to have such at command when the fermenting bed declines, as it
does at certain seasons. We have known Pines to be very successfully grown for
ten years in the same pit without anything further than an annual addition of
about 8 inches oi f resit tan mixed into the surface of the bed.

SuBSCRiBEB. — If your "Vines have the run of borders both outside and inside,
you can renew either the one or the other now, before they shed their leaves, and
while there is a chance of their rooting into the fresh soil. Take out a trench
parallel with the border, and at the extremity of the border, then fork away all
the soil and carefully preserve the roots. In this way you may work up close to
the stems of the Vines, and, after seeing that the drainage is in good order, put
in the fresh soil, and lay the roots carefully in it, about 8 inches from the surface.
If you do the inside border this autumn, you may do the outside one next year
in the same way. Protect the outside border from rain, the first season at
least. In this way you may successfully renew the whole border without losing
a crop. The Vinas will be the better of shading during bright weather after the
operation is performed.

T. P. — Dendrobiums should be kept drier at the root, and exposed to more
light and air after they have completed their growths ; and if kept in a tempera-
ture of 60", and just sufiaciently watered to keep them from shrivelling, they will
flower freely next season. D. Nobile is probably the best for dinner-table de-
coration ; T). intermedium, much in the same way, is also excellent.

FiLix Femina.— Mr Thomas Moore of Chelsea Botanic Gardens, who is one of
the best authorities of the day on Ferns, has published a work that will suit you.
Groombridge, we think, is the publisher.

Novice. — Black Hamburg, Maddresfield Court, Golden Champion grafted on
Muscat stock, Lady Downes, Bowood Muscat, and, for fine flavour, Duchess of
Buccleuch. Keep Bowood Muscat at the warm end of the house, Golden Cham-
pion next it, then Duchess of Buccleuch, Maddresfield Courts Lady Downes, and
Black Hamburg.

North Wall. — An excellent arrangement for a north aspect is to put Morello
Cherries and Red Currants on the wall, and plant a row of Warrington Goose-
berries on the border. These, when in crop, can all be covered with the same
net, and kept late, and prove most profitable crops.

Agnes. — The best thing you can do is to take what cuttings you can get, and

1871.] NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 439

lift the old plants before there is danger from frost. Old Geraniums flower beat
in moist localities.

S. 0. — Rake out as much of the moss with a sharp-toothed rake in the end of
March, and topdress with a rich compost. This will cause the grass to grow more
luxuriantly, and keep the moss in check. See that the lawn is not wet and in
need of drainage.

A Reader. — Any respectable nursery firm can supply them good. We cannot
recommend tradesmen.

A Lover of Hyacinths. — For early flowering, pot them at once in Hyacinth
pots, which any nursery or pottery firm can supply. The compost should be
equal proportions well-rotten cow-dung, friable loam, and clean sand. Plunge
the pots in a cold frame in coal -ashes or light soil.

T. N The very cold wet summer, and probably green-fly, is the cause of Red

Currant leaves falling. The crop may not be so good next year in consequence.
Raby Castle is not so subject to lose its leaves, and is otherwise an excellent
variety.

M. 0. — Many thanks. Be as practical as the subject will permit.

R.. T. — "We have simply recommended what we practise, and would like to
know why a young gardener should be called upon to labour extra time on worse
terms than any mechanic. "We have great sympathy with young gardeners, and
know their hardships from experience, and want to see them have at least fair-
play.

Nemo. — Perhaps it will. But we have no faith in any leader in horticulture
who himself has not been a successful practitioner. Would you like any one to
doctor you, who, like Dr Hornbook, killed all Lis patients ?

A Gardener. — The heaviest bunch of Grapes that we have any knowledge of,
was grown and exhibited by Mr James Dickson, Arkleton Gardens, Dumfriesshire.
It weighed 19 lb. 5 oz. Mr Fowler produced a bunch something over 17 lb., and
long ago Mr Speechly produced one 19 lb. weight. No doubt these weights may
yet be exceeded.

T. J. S. — The best way is to plant a dozen or more of the most popular sorts
of Strawberries, and find out by experience which suits your garden best. Soil
and climate have great influence, and some that are splendid bearers in one district
are absolutely useless in others. Now is a good time to plant on well- worked
rich soil.

A Subscriber.- — Get Euclid and a set of mathematical drawing instruments,
and produce on paper all the figures in the first few books ; after that you will be
able to go on with all the geometric drawing that you will require. We would
also advise you to possess yourself of Cassell's ' Popular Educator,' and master all
in that on the siibject of drawing. You may find such work as this dry at first,
but in the long-run most fascinating and mind-improving. You have already
a good foundation for a good handwriting, and if you want to improve it, write
down the letterpress of Euclid as well as the figures. This will help to put an
edge on your reasoning faculties.

Captain R. W. P. — The excessive vigour of your Pear-tree fully accounts for
its barrenness. Root-pruning and a poorer soil are your remedies ; and as the

440 THE GARDENER. [Sept. 187 i.

tree is rather old, we advise you to carefully lift one side, preserving the roots
and removing the soil to within 2 feet of the hole, cutting all tap-roots; then cut
back the large strong roots, and replant or relay them in the soil again. If the
soil is deep, damp; and rich, see that it is thoroughly well-drained : the operation
should be performed just as it drops its leaves. Then next year operate in the
same manner on the other half of the roots. Your Fig is barren from the same
cause — over-luxuriance — and it should be treated in the same way. If it has the
range of a large space of ground, it will be best to concrete the bottom, and con-
fine it to a comparatively small space by root-proof brick or stone work. A Fig
growing as you describe must be in very rich soil, and nothing will induce fruit-
fulness but cutting off its supplies.

W. E. E. — We suspect your Vine is Chasselas Musque, which is very subject
to crack. Cut the shoots half through, a little below the bunch, whenever the
first berry cracks, and protect the roots from heavy rains. This will prevent so
much sap being sent into the bunches, and you will find it stop the cracking.
If your Figs are planted out and growing strongly in a rich border, they will not
bear ; root-prune them, and give them light soil and lime-rubbish to grow in, and
if they are the ordinary sorts they will bear.

A Young Gardener. — You did quite right in shaking out your Pines. Do
not exceed 90° of bottom-heat. Keep the atmosphere moist, and water them as
soon as they begin to make fresh roots. Suckers will do best in a place by them-
selves, as the heat and moisture of a forcing-pit are too much for them. "Water
the suckers as soon as they make roots an inch long. Our Treatise on the Pine
might be of use to you.

I beg to inform you that Bailey's was the best-flavoured green-flesh Melon
shown at the Royal Botanic Society's Show, July 12 and 13, and not Queen Emma,
as stated by your reporter in this month's ' Gardener.' I will enclose a few seeds
from the prize Melon, if you will please to accept, and give them a trial. — I am,
&c., Charles Ross.

Welford , Park,

[Many thanks. — Ed.]

A Subscriber will find all necessary instructions about a succession of Cabbages
and other greens in Kitchen-Garden department for this and previous months.

J. c. — When your paper came to hand it was not in a state that would warrant
our putting it into the printer's hands, and we caused it to be copied verbatim ;
and though we are very reluctant to cast aside any one's communication, after
they take the trouble to write and send it to us, we considered that we did you a
kindness in not inserting your paper. And since receiving your letter of 15th
August we have read your paper carefully again, and we are still of opinion
that "jets of gas, placed so as to heat large surfaces of sheet iron, pipes, or large
and thin areas, and the air drawn through these by any cheap power available,
clockwork, a waterfall, or a gas-engine," is a plan entirely inapplicable to the
heating and ventilating of forcing-pits, notwithstanding that you now accuse us
of a low standard of intelligence.

George Morrison. — The leaves of your Roses have been perforated by aphis
when in a young state, and their then minute injuries have developed with the
leaf into their present extent and character. Keep them free from aphis in the
early part of the season.

THE

GARDENER.

OCTOBER 1871.

PLEASURE-GROUNDS.

HIS island of ours is being studded with gardens and
dressed grounds, esi^ecially in the neighbourhood of our
large towns and centres of commerce, with a rapidity which
was never dreamt of thirty years ago. Mercantile men,
who were then content to live in the upper stories of their shops and
warehouses, are not now satisfied to be in "cities pent, "but have removed
their domestic retreats into the country, and are there surrounding them-
selves with sources of recreation and enjoyment much more wholesome
and invigorating than are possible in a purely town life. Next to
their heart, after a comfortable villa or mansion, lies a garden to dress and
enjoy — a desire the mostwise and legitimate, and that was recognised and
provided for on man's advent to this world. To the great majority of
such possessors of a country home, a very large feu or freehold would
amount to nothing less than an undesirable encumbrance and expense ;
still we believe it to be a general and commendable desire that their
few acres should be made to look as spacious and secluded as the art
of the landscape-gardener can make them. That a comparatively small
area of ground can be so laid out as to make it appear much more
extensive than it really is, and that a larger space is capable of apparent
contraction, are efi'ects or rather illusions amply illustrated in the class
of properties to which we are now more especially alluding ; and we do
not know that this is any more applicable to suburban residences than
to more pretentious country-seats.

The illusion of contractedness is well illustrated in those cases
where the mansion is approached and surrounded by narrow strips of
roads and walks, where intricate groups of small flower-beds are closely

442 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

huddled togetlier near to those narrow ways, where the evergreen
shrubs are thickly disposed in ungainly and heavy clumps, intruding
into the very centre of the grounds, — where, in short, the available space
is frittered away and consumed, so that the effect produced is contrac-
tion and want of room to a degree that is most undesirable. In many
cases this state of matters is brought about by the desire to crowd too
many features on to a space to which they are not adapted, and where
there is only room for a few good ones to be effective ; and the result is,
that the one next to entirely does away with the effect of the other.
There is, for instance, no feature of a place more pleasing than a well-
kept green lawn or terrace, but far too often this is a feature next to
obliterated by the undue extent of flower-beds, shrubs, rockeries, &c.,
leaving no open space for repose, or to convey a feeling of room and
extent. A spacious walk is always an effective feature, and gives im-
portance to even a very moderate-sized place ; while a mere pathway,
on which two can scarcely walk abreast, is often laid down instead. It
is necessary, for the more minute enjoyment of any demesne, to have it
more or less intersected with roads and walks ; and there is scarcely
another feature that contributes so much importance to grounds as
broad and well-laid-down walks ; and wherever the landscape-gardener
judiciously breaks up his space with these, we consider that a very
important part of his work is accomplished ; and it is less likely that
errors of detail should follow, than when the work is begun in an
undecided and paltry manner.

We cannot refer to a more striking example of how a small space
may be made to look large, secluded, and charming, by a master of
landscape-gardening, than to the grounds of the Royal Botanic Society's
gardens in the Regent Park, London. Here we have what was an
almost dead level piece of ordinary nursery-ground, not 20 acres in
extent, and circular in shape, when it fell into the hands of Mr Mar-
nock, a gentleman who has displayed more originality and brains, and
less conceit and ostentation, than any contemporary horticulturist. Any
one going into these gardens now by the main entrance may fancy
himself in a large secluded policy 50 miles from town ; and yet it is
not 20 acres in all, and is surrounded on every side by town and
throng. Here it will be found that all artificial boundaries are
carefully hidden by banks, trees, and shrubs. A magnificent
broad walk is driven up through the very centre of the grounds to
nearly the whole diameter, and has for a terminating object a large and
most elegant conservatory. It might have been a mansion. A fine
sweep of green lawn lies right and left of this noble walk, which lawn
blends into and loses itself in diversified grounds on both sides. On
the right there is mount and lake and rock, on the left a variety of

iSyi.] PLEASURE-GROUNDS. 443

gardens, distinct, and yet thrown up on to such a varied undulating
surface,- as conveys the idea of seclusion and extent far beyond what
is the real area. In short, we have here one of the most difficult sub-
jects transformed into one of the most charming and elegant retreats,
and this too without extravagant expenditure. In grounds thus moder-
ate in extent it may be laid down as a principle, that the first object
should be to plant out all boundary-fences, to make a bold and open
centre to the grounds, such as shall always convey the idea of ease
and extent. All other desired adjuncts, in the shape of quiet walks
and retreats, ferneries, rockeries, and vegetable grounds and hot-houses,
should be located towards the boundaries of the ground. Modern
flower-beds may of course find a place in the more open part of the
grounds, but never to such an extent as shall counteract as a prepon-
derating feature greensward and gravel-walks, but simply to be the
jewellery of the grounds that shall not be much missed when they
are laid aside. There cannot be worse taste than that which would
nibble up all the breadth of lawn into beds. Lacquer is one thing,
but grace and elegance quite another and more important matter.

Passing from smaller to larger domains, to which reference has
already been made, we are sorry to observe that the grounds which
immediately surround some of the more modern and splendid man-
sions are being what we consider sadly marred. They are set down in
the midst of extensive and magnificent grounds, where efi"ects might be
produced at much less expense, which would convey the impression to
the mind of the most spacious unity. Instead of this, a small area of
ground is enclosed round the mansion, in some cases with high retain-
ing-walls, studded with ornaments unworthy of such positions. This
cannot be regarded any more favourably than the most successful way
of giving to the whole enclosure, mansion and all, the air of cramped
isolation, and dislocates the mansion from the whole surrounding
grounds and scenery, creating the impression, when viewed from a
distance, that the enclosure might be a small freehold set down in the
midst of grounds where the one had no more connection with the
other than that of contiguity, looking very much like a stray
mansion out in search of grounds in unity with its own spacious
proportions. How much more elegantly does the whole concern look
when there is no boundary of a harsh and isolating character, but
when the garden ground melts into the semi-kept, and the semi-kept
into the wild and natural, so conveying the impression of expanse and
unity of design !

Next in point of demerit to this barricading principle of landscape-
gardening may be reckoned that which tortures a piece of ground, near
to a large mansion in the midst of a large estate, with contracted and

444 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

paltry geometric flower-beds that a child can step across, the whole
being disagreeably loaded and crowded with paltry vases and statues
that are scarcely worthy of a third-class villa. Under such circum-
stances the mansion looks like a lad that has outgrown his last suit.
A few good and massive features in such a policy are surely worth
scores of paltry ones, with which it is possible to fritter away all natural
beauties instead of assisting them.

NOTES ON "AMERICAN" OR PEAT - SOIL SHRUBS.

LEDUM.

Though less showy in foliage, and to some extent lacking in tliat
brilliancy of colour whicb characterises many of the other American
shrubs, the Ledums are nevertheless a most useful and interesting
family of hardy evergreens. Blended as they usually are with the
allied j^lants of a similar height, their distinct appearance gives a
character and variety to the mixed border or clump which is at once
effective and pleasing, and wdiich no one W'ho has so seen them would
willingly dispense with.

All the species in cultivation have been found to stand the most
severe winters in this country without the slightest injury, and to grow
freely when planted in a shady dampish situation, with the usual allow-
ance of turfy peat, or, in the case of the natural soil being fibry loam,
a quantity of rotted vegetable mould.

They are all free bloomers, and in congenial circumstances produce
their pretty white flowers in April and May, year after year, in great
profusion.

The two species, latifolia and palustre, found wild in northern
Europe, and abundantly over a large portion of Canada and the
United States, growing in swamps and the margins of lakes, form
neat shrubs of from 2 to 4 feet in height. In both species the leaves
are of a linear oblong shape resembling the Rosemary, densely clothed
on the under side with a rusty tomentum, the upper side being dark
green. When bruised, they emit a strong yet pleasant aromatic
odour. In both these species the flowers are white, and are produced
in corjTnbs at the end of the branches. The species latifolia is more
robust in its habit of growth, wdth the leaves, as its name imi^lies, con-
siderably broader. Both these species are worthy of cultivation, and
sufficiently distinct to be grown together in even a small collection.
Among the other desirable sorts may be mentioned thymifohum, buxi-

iSyi.] NOTES ON ''AMERICAN" SHRUBS. 445

folium, and intermedium, all of them very dwarf, seldom rising above
6 inches high, and resembling in their dense habit and small foliage
some of the species of Heaths with which they are commonly asso-
ciated in the peat -beds, and to which they form appropriate com-
panions. The flowers when in bud are of a delicate pink colour,
changing to a pure white when fully expanded. These are also natives
of America, but found growing in more elevated positions, and requir-
ing a drier situation and a somewhat sandier soil for their successful
culture. They thrive well in rockwork, and form admirable edgings
to borders of peat- soil shrubs ; seldom requiring trimming, and grow-
ing as dense as the common dwarf Box.

GAULTHERIA.

A genus of pretty dwarf evergreens, all of them interesting, and,
we are convinced, not nearly so widely ap23reciated by horticulturists
as they deserve ; the handsome shining foliage and elegant flowers, fol-
lowed by showy fruit, of several of the species, ought to have secured
them far more extended cultivation. Among the various sorts at pre-
sent known, we select three as being the best and most distinct, and,
at the same time, thoroughly hardy in almost any situation : —

Procumhens. — A native of North America from Canada to YKginia,
growing in dry woods, on mountains, and in sandy plains. Is a small
creeping shrub with obovate leaves, and white flowers which are pro-
duced in July and August. This plant is invaluable for covering the
surface of the ground on dry banks or -borders shaded with trees ; in
such a situation, if liberally supplied with peat, it is most eff'ective,
forming a dense carpet of bright foliage, and rarely higher than 6
inches. The fruit, which is a bright scarlet berry, has a sweetish
peculiar flavour, is much relished in America, and forms the favourite
food of partridges, deer, and many other animals ; while the leaves,
when properly dried, are used as a substitute for tea.

Shallon. — Also from North America, but found growing in damper situ-
ations, and often so much shaded that it forms the only undergrowth.
It has a procumbent habit, though much more robust than the last
species, and forms a dense mass of foliage in woods or shady borders.
The flowers, of a pure white colour, are in perfection in May. Apart
from its value as an ornamental plant, this species might be introduced
extensively with great advantage in woods and shrubberies, for the
shelter and food it supplies to game. The berries, of a reddish-purple
colour, are produced, where it thrives, in great abundance, and are most
delicious as well as wholesome.

Acuminata is a South American species of great beauty, and hardy
enough for most situations. The leaves are larger than the last-named

446 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

sort. The flowers are white, and in perfection in May. This is a most
desirable, thongh not a very common, sj^ecies. It prefers a shady situa-
tion, but, in common with the other species, adapts itself to the same
circumstances as most other peat-soil shrubs will grow and thrive in.

PERNETTYA.

The Pernettyas form a group of neat small evergreen shrubs of great
beauty, producing their lovely pure-white bell-shaped flowers from
May to July in great profusion, succeeded by abundance of showy
berries, which hang till late in autumn, and even in favourable circum-
stances over the greater part of winter. Nothing can be finer than a
well-grown plant of any of the species, when covered with its bright
reddish-purple or pink fruit. In a young state they are useful as pot-
plants for conservatory decoration, requiring no trouble further than
lifting them when the fruit is formed, or even ripe, and introducing
them to the house, in which circumstances the berries will hang longer
and have a brighter appearance than when exposed to the frost.

All the species are dwarf and dense in their habit of growth, seldom
rising higher than 3 or 4 feet. They are perfectly hardy, and grow
readily under the ordinary conditions necessary for Khododendrons and
other American shrubs.

The following are the most popular and distinct sorts in cultiva-
tion, and ought to be in every collection : — mucronata, angustifolia,
speciosa. Hugh Eraser.

VICTORIA NECTARIlvrE.

This Nectarine has been highly commended at different times, and so
far as my experience goes, I can indorse all that has been said in its
favour. It is a second early variety. The tree possesses a more than
usually vigorous constitution, and bears enormously, so that your
readers need not fear to include it even in the smallest collection.
We have one tree in our second early Peach-house here which was
planted a young tree five years ago. It has been trained on the
extension system before referred to in these pages, and it has not
missed a crop for the last four years. I did not take notice last year
nor the year before how many fruit we gathered from it, but I know
we left a heavy crop upon it, which finished well. This summer I
counted the fruit as gathered, which amounted to eight dozen, or rather
more, all fine fruit, many of them measuring between 8 and 9 inches in
circumference. It has only one fault — the fruit takes a fine dark-red

iSyi.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 447

colour on the side next to the sun, but the shady side remains green
even when fully ripe, so that the fruit does not look so well as some
other kinds greatly inferior in quality. When kept in the fruit-rooms,
however, for a few days after pulling, the fruit gets a fine yellow
colour, the flavour improves also, and it is one of the very best keepers
I know of, and it will also carry well. In flavour it is rich, exceedingly
juicy, and excellent. The tree referred to, in consequence of bearing
heavily every year, has not grown so rampantly as some of its neigh-
bours, but measures about 9 feet across, and is 6 feet high at the centre.
It is now furnished with sturdy short-jointed wood to the base ; the
leaves are green and free from spider, and the promise for another
year is good. I have not the least doubt that had I pinched the tree
in summer, and hewn it down in winter, according to the common but
doubtful practice, I would at this date have had a tree only half the
size, and in all probability not a quarter of the fruit from it that we
have had. J. Simpson.

WoRTLEY Hall.

HINTS FOR AMATEURS.— OCTOBER.

Fruits, such as Morello and Belle Agathe Cherries, late Plums, Red
Currants, and others liable to the attack of insects, &c., will require
frequent attention ; better to use them for culinary purposes than let
them hang, and lose the best of them. Plums, if gathered dry, and hung
up by their stalks in a dry room, will keep good for some time ; how-
ever, if their skins are broken they will soon become useless. The
present month is a good time for planting fruit-trees, and if the neces-
sary preparation has been made, it may be done as early as possible,
as it will be of great advantage to the trees. Good loam and plenty
of it, the trees planted well above the surrounding surface, mulched to
keep out frost, and prevented from being moved by wind, are the
primary objects to be kept in view when fruit-trees are planted. The
roots of the trees should be examined, and if any parts are broken
they should be cut clean off. If allowed to die back, they may produce
canker and other evils. When trees are planted against walls, they
should be kept clear (about 8 inches at the stem), to allow room for
growth. It is necessary, when planting fruit-trees on walls, to consider
aspects suitable to the trees. In well-sheltered gardens the difficulties
in this respect are less than in exposed bleak positions. For Peaches
and Apricots, southern and south-western are best. Easterly is chosen
generally for Plums, westerly for Pears and Cherries, northern for

448 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

Morello Cherries, and Currants to liang late. But trees are often
found healthy and in good bearing condition on all aspects except
northern, which is generally kept for hardy fruits which are to give
late supplies. Lists of the hardier kinds of fruits for walls may be use-
ful to the inexperienced and fresh beginners. Peaches — the hardiest
we have met is Violette Hative, and a grand bearer, generally of fine
flavour and appearance ; Stirling Castle, Royal George, and Bellegarde
are very good kinds, of fine quality ; the last named is of the highest
flavour, and a very free bearer. Among Plums, Pond's Seedling is large
and a free bearer ; of the Victoria class, the Victoria never fails, and
when ripened with full exposure is a good dessert kind, as well as one
of the best for kitchen use. Jefferson is one of the best for all purposes ;
Kirke's Seedling is good, but not such a sure bearer in some districts ;
it is a grand standard in the South of England. So are Nectarine
Plum, Prince of Wales, and Victoria, but in the north they are not of
much value as standards, but excellent on walls or for orchard-house
work. Apricots — Moorpark still holds the highest position. Nectar-
ines— Downton, Violette Hative, and Pitmaston Orange, are three of the
most useful. Cherries — May Duke, Black Tartarian, and (for lateness
only) Belle Agathe, are very productive kinds. Some of the white-
hearted varieties are of the highest flavour. The Cherry delights in
very strong soil. Figs for outdoor culture in the north are, Brown
Turkey, Brown Ischia, and Black Ischia ; Brunswick is a very large
and handsome Fig, and when ripened rather dry at root, it is very
highly flavoured. Although it is mentioned in Dr Hogg's ' Fruit
Manual ' as a good variety for w^alls, this chiefly applies to the south or
very favoured positions. It is excellent for a back wall of a cool house
in the north. With much damp at root or overhead when ripening,
accompanied with dull cold weather, it gives way before it is fit for
use, but is a grand Fig. White Marseilles is the most delicious Fig
we know, and one of the best bearers, not hardy enough for wall-
culture in the north, but very easily managed in the south. The
late Mr W. Allan, gardener for so many years at Rendlesham Hall,
Suffolk, used to grow this Fig as a standard under Vines, never failing
in securing two splendid crops every season. We force it on a back
wall under Vines, to come in early in April, but our success is very
moderate compared with Mr Allan's. But second crops are generally
very abundant and of a rich sugary flavour, sometimes coming greenish-
brown, and at others of a pale straw colour. Among Apples, for
standards, Stirling Castle, King of Pippins, Lord Suffield, Aitkin's
No. 2, have never been thin in crop here during the last seven years.
Except the King of Pippins, the others are chiefly for kitchen use.
Pears for standards — Beurre d'Amanlis, Flemish Beauty, Moorfowl

iSyi.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 449

Egg, Early Crawford, Hessel, and Louise Bonne of Jersey, are among
the hardiest with us.

The storing of fruit is a matter of great importance, and any extra
care should be bestowed on it in the way of selecting the soundest for
latest keepers, and preventing the fruit from being bruised, hand-
ling it as little as possible, &c. Dry weather should be chosen for
gathering fruit which is expected to keep. The house should be kept
dry and airy for two or three weeks, then it might afterwards be kept
close and dark ; it should not be opened on close, damp days. Fruit,
such as Pears and Apples, is fit to gather when it parts easily from the
stalks, and when the seeds get dark — premature gathering is followed
by shrivelling.

"Where bushes are not bearing well, they may be lifted to any
suitable position, the roots carefully laid out in fresh healthy soil
and mulched ; they will be greatly improved in health, and the fruit
will be much finer in appearance and flavour. One of the most successful
examples of this treatment for bushes we have seen was at the gardens
of Grangemuir, Pittenweem : Mr Rose, the intelligent gardener, had a
large breadth of red Warrington Gooseberries growing where they were
entirely kept from sun by trees and shrubs, and were evidently worth-
less. The best of them were planted in a suitable position in the
kitchen-garden, and the results have been excellent. "We give this note,
remembering that "example is always better than precept."

Flower-gardens will now be past their best, except the weather
should be extra fine. Geraniums, or anything that is scarce and worth
increasing, should be lifted before they are destroyed by too much wet
and frost ', trim off a quantity of the leaves, shorten back the long
roots, and pot in nice healthy loam, sand, and leaf-mould. "Water
moderately, and as the season advances they will require very little
moisture — confined damp is next to frost as an enemy for destroy-
ing bedding plants in winter. Careful watering is of great im-
portance when growth is slow and roots inactive : plants of any
kind should not be placed where pots can be entered by worms. Cal-
ceolarias may be put in during the month, or later. Short stiff cut-
tings placed in sandy loam (made moderately firm) on the bottom
of a frame or pit, and the cuttings put in a few inches apart, and kept
from frost and rain, will do well, and make nice vigorous plants in
spring, which will start freely into growth : pans, boxes, or pots filled
in the usual way, if watered carefully, will answer well enough. It is
now a good time to divide herbaceous plants, reducing them, and
planting according to height and colour; they root readily, and start off
into growth freely in spring. Bulbs of all kinds may be planted. After
the flower-garden is cleared, Tulips, Hyacinths, Xarcissus, and plenty

450 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

of Crocus, may be planted. The diilerent colours arranged effectually,
sucli as white edging purple or blue, yellow round purple, and
vice versa, gives the beds a very gay appearance in spring. Snow-
drops and all the usual foliage plants may be placed for winter
effect as early as can be done. Vermin are troublesome to Crocus. Red-
lead placed over the bulbs at planting-time may keep mice and rats in
check for a time. Shrub-planting can now be carried on with every
advantage, preparing the ground by trenching, using good loam (for
kinds which it suits) next the roots, flaking moderately firm and
staking securely must have attention, as winds, having full power
over newly-planted trees or shrubs, soon bring them to grief. A good
watering before the earth and mulching is finished round the roots
may be all that is necessary in the w^ay of watering, but if the air
should keep dry and no dews should fall, syringing overhead may be
necessary ; but we have no faith in the continued cooling drenchings at
top and root which are recommended by some. Keeping the roots well
up in damp positions is of great importance. Where positions are
elevated and the soil dry, a basin of soil to keep the rain from running
off the roots should be formed ; but this is not likely to be necessary
before spring. Rhododendrons and all peat-loving plants require plenty
of moisture and to be kept cool at the roots. However, where stagnant
water remains, no shrubs will be safe in severe winters.

The usual storing and protecting of greenhouse and other plants
should be completed, if not already done. Wet and cold may not tell
on them at the time, but when the energies of the roots are called into
action at the active growing season, the evils of autumn drenchings will
then be apparent. This is more applicable to Indian Azaleas, Heaths,
Epacris, and all kinds of New Holland plants. Confined damp air in
structures is another great evil to be avoided — clean pots, clear drain-
age, and healthy surfacings are of great importance. Auriculas should
now be kept free from decaying leaves ; keep healthy clean surfaces,
stand the pots on a hard bottom, give water seldom, but not to neglect
the plants with it, and the lights only used to keep off rain. Airing and
watering with the same care are necessary for Mignonette ', dampness
and close air soon destroy it. Violets placed in pits should have
plenty of air when they have taken root. Sprinkling overhead is
good for them when mornings are dry. Chrysanthemums which
have been objects of great attention through the season should not
be kept on short allowance now ; plenty of healthy manure-water is
good for them. Plants for winter -flowering should soon be taken
where they can be kept from wet and cold ; even though hardy, they
are liable to suffer from exposure if they are in pots. They might, if
a pit or other structure is not at command, be placed full in the sun

iSyi.] CASTLE -KENNEDY FIG. 451

on coal-ashes. When the leaves of the deciduous kinds die off, the
plants may be placed in a shed or anywhere. This applies to Deutzias,
Lilacs, and Hardy Azaleas. Thorns, Double Peaches, and suchlike,
Lily of the Valley, Roses, Sweetbriars, Dielytras, Delphiniums, or any
others of a similar character, may also be looked after now. Clean
pots, fresh drainage, and healthy surfacing are necessary wdien suc-
cessful forcing is expected. Some kinds of Eoses which have been
cut down and made fresh growth will soon be showing flower-buds.
When the earliest bulbs have filled the pots with roots, they may be
taken to a gentle heat, and plenty of light given. M. T.

CASTLE -KENNEDY FIG.

Now that the Castle-Kennedy Fig has been established in many parts
of the country, it would be interesting to know what amount of satis-
faction it is giving. It received the usual amount of abuse which is
generally given to new fruits, especially if anything is necessary to
their wellbeing out of the old rut. When first I saw this Fig, and
found that it was an extra-vigorous grower, I did not expect to be able
to give it a fair trial, and was by no means willing to clear out other
kinds, doing good service, to give the necessary room to a newcomer.
Two plants were stuck in holes on the back of an early Peach-house
and an early vinery. The soil was rammed hard about them. The
trees grew with amazing vigour, but could not be extended. The
usual torturing was tried in vain; pinching, root-pruning, and notching
the wood half-through, did not altogether keep them within bounds.
No fruit appeared the second year (last season). Another plan was
tried, which has proved very successful. The trees, instead of being
half cut through the branches when at rest, were cut above every leaf
half-way through, when growing. At every cut a short shoot grew
out about the thickness of a man's finger. This season each of these
shoots is loaded AA'ith fruit now ripening in fine condition. The trees
are very healthy, and no gross w^ood about them. I thought that I
had the Castle-Kennedy Fig years before it was sent out by Messrs
Lawson. I believed it was the Brunswick under another name. I
pointed out my tree to Mr Johnston of Glamis Castle, who said it was
fruiting too freely for that variety. I have also verified what ]Mr John-
ston then stated, " that the Brunswick often produced fruit shaped like
the Castle-Kennedy, but the latter never fruited like the former." I am
pleased to be able to tell Mr Johnston that I have at present the
Castle-Kennedy, crammed in a corner, and fruiting more freely than

452 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

ever I saw the Brunswick. The Carrington, which I have grown in pots
for many years, seems to me identical with the Castle-Kennedy. The
Luffness Fig, which is said to be the same as the Castle-Kennedy, has
always appeared to me to be very different in every way. I freely
admit that one must grov/ the fruits, and see them in all stages of their
growth, to be able to thoroughly know them. Often when I place
several kinds together, especially if they are the second crop, I could
not separate one kind from another ; while, at other times, I could
pick three distinct-looking kinds (apparently) from one tree. Fruit
judges should ponder this. M. Temple.

NOTES ON AUTUMN AND WINTER
FLOWERING PLANTS.

{Continued from page 409.)

DOUBLE AND ZONALE PELARGONIUMS.

These are a very useful class of plants in the autumn, and by pinch-
ing back a few of them rather late, and giving them a gentle heat, they
can be had nearly all the winter. To have fine plants, a few of the best
should be set aside at planting-out time, to be shifted into 6 and 8 inch
pots when the pressure of that work has been got over. If good large
plants are required, put them into the 8-inch pots, and one good plant
will make a nice plant in the 6-inch ; let them have good rich soil, with
perfect drainage. If a cold frame is at liberty, they can stand in it
all the growing season. If the frame is of wood, and can be raised a
little from the ground, it will let the air circulate better amongst them.
Here they can stand all the summer, and, with proper attention, by the
end of July they should be nice plants. Up to this time all flowers
should have been picked off; at this time, if any are wanted for early
blooming, they can be set aside and allowed to bloom : those for later
flowering may have just the very tips of the shoots picked out, which
will induce them to throw out side-shoots ; and by a few small stakes
drawing them a little wider, to let air and light to the centre, they will
make fine plants to succeed the early lot. They will be greatly assisted
if a little heat can be afforded them. After the pots are full of
roots, and the flower-buds make their appearance, frequent watering
with manure-water will be beneficial to them. To have a houseful of
the above, in all the different shades and colours coming into bloom
just as the frost is cutting them off outside, well repays all the care
and attention bestowed on them throughout the summer ; and then cut

iSyi.] AUTUMN AND WINTER PLANTS. 453

blooms of so many different sLacles of colour enliven the cut-fiower
basket through November and December.

The early-flowering section of the greenhouse varieties we treat much
in the same way : after the wood has been well ripened in the spring,
cut them pretty closely in ; when the young shoots are all fairly broken,
shake them out and reduce the roots, and repot into smaller pots in a
rather free compost, placing them where they can be kept close for a
few days, until they take with the pots. In a very short time the roots
will have found their way to the side of the pot, when they should be
repotted into their blooming-pots, using a little stronger compost this
time, and making it rather firm. They can stand in cold frames, for a
short time in summer, close to the glass. With proper attention, by
autumn fine stiff plants will be the result. If a few of the forward-
est are taken into a gentle heat, about 55^ at night, they soon begin
to show flowers ; and if kept in this temperature, they give a fine
quantity of bloom by cutting each head as they begin to open. Liquid
manure should be given often, but not strong.

GESXERAS.

The value of the Gesnera as a decorative plant can scarcely be over-
estimated. Most of them have rich velvety foliage. If grown for their
foliage alone, they are very attractive, but during autumn and early
winter they produce splendid spikes of blossoms, which are very hand-
some. They do well in a compost of peat and fibry loam, with a little
cow-dung sifted through a J -inch -sieve, with a sprinkling of silver-
sand.

In starting them in spring, place one of the largest bulbs in the
centre of a 3-inch pot, which has been previously well drained. Cover
the bulb about its own thickness with the compost, and place them in
a close pit. If a little bottom-heat can be given them until they make
signs of starting, so much the better. Although they can be grown
without this, still, if it can be had, it starts them quicker and stronger.
When the pots are fuU of roots, let the best be shifted on into 6-inch
pots. Single plants are fine for the dinnci-table. When potted, let
them be placed in a stove where they can have plenty of atmospheric
moisture, but not too much water overhead, as the sun, if not kept
shaded, soon browns the foliage very much. (We have seen fine pans of
the smaller bulbs planted like Achimenes.) Here let them grow, and
when the pots are full of roots, a little manure-water, every other water-
ing, will be found beneficial to them. We find some of the newer sorts
are very early-flowering, having had them in bloom for the last month,
and will have them now up to Christmas, if not later. A. H.

Thoresby.

454 THE GARDEx\ER. [Oct.

FRUITING VINES IN POTS.
I DO not think that any one can doubt the correctness, in the main, of
the very able article on this subject in the last number of the ' Gar-
dener.' If I would have any objections upon any part of it, it is in
the third paragraph, where the writer has his doubts about the correct-
ness of allowing the roots to get in any way out of the pots in which
they have been grown. It seems to me that a Vine that has been
grown, and prepared for fruiting, in a pot — the Vine is such a strong
feeder — must, in most cases, to a great extent have taken the chief of
the so-called substance from the soil. And this is not all, for in many
gardens where there is a host of other things to be looked after, and
labour is not over-plentiful, I do think that — it seems a natural advan-
tage— they would be better to have their roots so that they would not
be kept so strictly to their pots. But on this subject I will go no
further.

I have had three different lots of fruiting pot- Vines this year, and
any one could see at a glance the truth of the sentence, that more de-
pends upon "the way in which the Vines have been prepared than all
else besides; " for it is not by any means the largest and best-looking
that have proved themselves to be the best. ISTo doubt, size is a great
advantage if it is otherwise supplemented; but without that, it is
better to give way to one a little less strong and otherwise well
matured.

But many of your readers must have observed, if not experienced,
the difficulty that there is in getting up a good lot of pot- Vines in
some places compared Avith others. At some places they will grow
away like willows, quickly and strongly ; whereas in other places, with
the greatest care, they can hardly be got to make a fair start at all.
At least such is my little experience. I have some very good ones this
year, struck in February, and grown on in an old Pine-stove, without
any more than usual attention, and they have quite satisfied me (I
send you a sample) ; whereas with, I believe, greater care at a former
time in a different place, I have failed to get up a first-rate cane ; and
even two-year-olds (cut-backs) were not so good as one-year-old Vines
here. This is not new, but it shows something.

Before concluding these remarks, I will just state what I intend
doing with a lean-to vinery of a moderate size soon. I intend to plant
it next year with young permanent Vines, but before doing so I want
to get out of it a crop from pot- Vines. I will place a row of pots at
the usual distance apart along the front of the house; then on a
stage of boxes and planks I will have another row about half-
way up the house. From these I will almost get as many Grapes,

1871.] ON THE ROAD. 455

I hope, as from an ordinary house of permanent Vines, for the roof
will be almost all covered by these two rows. I will have the
crop off, then, in time for planting a fresh lot, to get their grow^ths
up to the top of the house the same year. This year I planted a
house in June, and some time ago they had reached the top of
the house. They have done well, but it is the soil that has done
it ; for I am a firm believer in the passage that " Paul may plant
and Apollos may water," but we must have our increase from another
source. Egbert Mackellar.

[The sample of young Vine sent is moderately strong, and ripened to a solid
hard hazelly brown, with very little pith — such Vine-wood as may be relied upon.
There is scarcely anything in horticulture more remarkable than the influence of
different soils in Grape-growing. — Ed.]

ON THE ROAD.

It was with a feeling of relief that we left the cares of superintend-
ence, somewhat aggravated by an ungenial season, behind us, to spend
our holidays among our old haunts and friends north of the Tweed.
Leaving the murky atmosphere of South Yorkshire, and hurrying
through the din and smoke of the Cottonopolis, our first halt was at Wor-
sley station, on the London and jSTorth-western Railway, about 7 miles
from Manchester, and less than 2 miles from Worsley Hall, the beau-
tiful seat of the Earl of Ellesmere, and the object of our visit. This
is altogether a fine place ; and no doubt, if the Editor of the ' Year
Book ' ever adds a map to future issues, Worsley Hall will be repre-
sented, in black letters, as a place of first-rate importance. The Hall is a
modern mansion, in the mediaeval style of architecture, and is consid-
ered one of the finest examples of the style in England. It stands
on a commanding position, overlooking the Chat Moss, stretching away
like a vast plain to the south-west. On the south, the eye ranges
across Cheshire, on the east the Derbyshire Peaks may be descried in
the distance, while, far away to the north, the Westmorland moun-
tains may be seen on a clear day. In the immediate neighbourhood,
and visible at different points, is the famous Bridgewater Canal, with its
network of tributaries ; and in the distance is seen that triumph of engin-
eering skill, the Manchester and Liverpool Railway, which is carried
across this oozy Moss, 7000 acres in extent, and from 20 to 30 feet
deep, upon rude hurdles interwoven with heather and branches of trees,
and in some places, it is said, upon cotton bales ; the surface being
covered with gravel, in which the sleepers are laid. The flower-garden
and pleasure-grounds around the Hall are nearly 50 acres in extent,

456 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

and all in liigh keeping. Everything is conceived and carried out on
a grand scale, tlie arrangements reminding one a good deal of Drum-
lanrig Castle. A parterre on the west side of the terrace on which
the Hall stands is entirely bedded out with Geraniums ; and another,
on the east side, with A^erbenas— by the wish, we understood, of the
noble proprietor; and certainly, ]\Ir Upjohn, the head-gardener, has
exemplified in a highly creditable manner what can be accomplished
with so few materials. The collection of Geraniums was of course
varied and select, and the display was rich and effective. The Ver-
benas used were Crimson and Purple King, and a dwarf white variety.
They had grown and flowered well, and the somew^hat intricate pat-
tern w'as brought out by the three colours in a very effective manner.

In front of the Hall, the ground descends by a series of terraces for
a considerable distance to the flower-garden proper, which is laid out
in the geometrical style, and was furnished with the best varieties of
summer plants, including recent introductions. To the right and left
are fountains throwing jets 50 or 80 feet high; beyond, the finely-shaven
lawn stretches to the edge of a beautiful lake swarming with water-
fowl of various kinds, the off shore forming the boundary-line of the
grounds on that side. In addition to the pleasure-grounds proper,
Mr Upjohn has also under his superintendence some 200 acres of
woodland, lying contiguous to the gardens. Through a stretch of the
wood, a secluded and w^ell-kept walk leads from the flower-gardens
to the kitchen-garden and forcing departments. The fruit and vege-
table forcing-houses are very extensive. Though not recent erections,
the houses are well designed; and being constructed principally of iron,
and kept in very good repair, they have a new look about them. The
vineries are large, and comprise Hamburg, Muscats, and late houses
of Alicant and Lady Dowmes, &c., all in excellent order. The Vines
are mostly old, but Mr Upjohn, who has been in charge only about
two years, has by systematic training, exposing the foliage well to
the light, and attention to the borders, got up a wonderful amount of
vigour in the Vines. Crops were heavy, we thought, and the bunches
were large, uniform, and well finished. JNfuscats were unusually fine
on young and old Vines ; we noticed also some beautiful bunches
of Gross Colman on year-old rods. Mr Upjohn has already given
token of his presence as a grape-grower at the Manchester Exhibitions,
and is likely to be troublesome by-and-by to the old stagers of that
neighbourhood. In the Peach-houses, the old and feeble trees are
being gradually replaced by young trees, already being pushed forward
for that purpose, and bearing nice fruit. Pines are grown in quantity,
the Black Jamaica variety predominating. Melons, in low span-roofed
pits, were ripening off in great numbers ; also good crops of Pears and

iSyi.] ON THE ROAD. 457

Plums in pots in the cool houses. Here, as elsewhere this season,
hardy fruits are a poor crop. The kitchen-garden is about 10 acres
in extent, and well cropped; a part of it encroaches on the Chat Moss ;
and here we saw marvellous crops of Celery : on the same piece. Pota-
toes, however, were much diseased, though the ground is well drained.
Our time was scant, however, and space forbids more than a cursory
glance at this fine place, everywhere bearing evidence of the quiet,
painstaking energy and skill of the courteous superintendent.

On the following day we resumed our journey for the north. Emerg-
ing from the leaden pall that overshadows the country around Wigan,
with its gloomy traditions of colliery disasters, the traveller breathes a
purer air on the pleasant shores of Morecambe Bay; and farther on the
clear mountain streams of Westmorland contrast pleasantly with the
foul puddles with which the eye has almost grown familiar in the coal
and iron districts. We had left the corn-fields in the south almost
green, to find the same on the shores of the Solway and in the valleys
of Dumfriesshire yellow and ready for the sickle ; consequently, on
arriving at Drumlanrig Castle — our next stage — we were somewhat
prepared to find a display, in the bedding way, in advance of anything
we had left behind.

In a paper of this kind it is impossible to particularise details of
such an extensive place as this. I would just observe that the same
taste and skill that made Archerfield famous in every department of
horticulture, bid fair, aided by a liberal employer and greater natural
advantages, to achieve even greater results at Drumlanrig; and the
horticultural tourist who leaves Scotland without visiting it, may well
consider his journey incomplete. Drumlanrig will in future be the
premier place in Scotland.

If anything struck us more than another in the bedding way, it was
the parterre known as the '' Upper White Sand." The arrangements
here were chaste and efi"ective in the extreme ; even the accustomed
eye of a gardener never wearied of the picture. What lent character
and effect was a well-arranged central bed of succulents, consisting of
Echeveria metallica secunda glauca, Sempervivums, and others ; and
in the outlying circles, rings of Dell's dark Beet in conjunction with
Mangle's variegated Geranium and other light contrasts. Those who
have been declaiming against Beet as a bedding-plant lately, should
have seen this picture to appreciate its merits and allay their pre-
judices.

Mr Thomson has used extensively this season a new purple seed-
ling Verbena of his own raising, that, in our opinion, is likely to
replace that old favourite of gardeners. Purple King. This seedling
is evidently the progeny of Purple King, for it inherits all the latter's

•2 K

458 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

good qualities, with these additional advantages; it is a better bloomer,
has a larger flower, a more vigorous constitution, and is much more
eflfective at a distance than Purple King. It was planted out side
by side with Purple King in various situations, and its superior-
ity was very noticeable. It will prove a good companion to Crimson
King, by the same raiser, and we hope Mr Thomson will send it out
at an early date.

Early and late frosts are the great drawback at Drumlanrig. They
linger in the valley of the Nith till the beginning of June, and the fine
display of bedding plants is liable to be cut up any time after the end
of August. A destructive frost occurred here in the middle of May
last, that completely destroyed all the young growths of the deciduous
trees. The fine Beech-trees, which are a feature of the pleasure-grounds
and parks around the Castle, had all made a second growth, and the
withered remains of the earlier shoots were still adhering to the trees at
the time of our visit.

Having Archerfield in our mind's eye, we naturally looked for some-
thing in the way of fruit culture ; nor were we disappointed. A range
of forcing and plant houses is being erected on the site of the old
houses at the kitchen-garden, which, for design and finish, surpass any-
thing we have seen for a long while. Two new vineries, each about
50 feet long and 20 feet wide, were completed and planted last year.
The supernumeraries were bearing heavy crops — fine in bunch and
berry. Black Hamburgs were finer on year-old rods than anything
we saw at the Glasgow Centenary Exhibition. The Golden Champion
was fine and without blemish, grafted on the Muscat of Alexandria.
From what we saw here and elsewhere, we have come to the conclusion
that this is decidedly the best stock for it. It does not spot, as it is
apt to do when planted on its own roots, or grafted upon the Hamburg.

The rods of the young permanent Vines were, without the least
exaggeration, simply marvellous — more like rake-shafts than anything
we could think of ; the wood short-jointed, firm, brown, and promising
to finish like a Hazel rod — certainly the finest samples of growth it has
been our lot to see. Judging from the crops on the " extras " here,
and in the other houses temporarily planted with Vines, and other
indications, the Champion of the North will have to look to his laurels
by-and-by. Drumlanrig is a red-sandstone district, and the soil of the
Vine-borders looked very red and sandy, and reminded us a good deal
of the soil about Blakeford Hall, in Staffordshire, where Mr Bannerman
has long produced such fine Grapes, and other good Grape-growing
districts in England.

The Pine-stoves were only in progress at the time of our visit — large
and commodious structures. In consequence of the re-erections and alter-

1871.] ON THE ROAD. 459

ations going on, the Pines, during the greater part of the season, had
been somewhat indifferently accommodated in back-pits and other places.
Mr Thomson had also to begin with samples rather different from what
he left at Archerfield. Nevertheless the batches of fruit swelling off
in anticipation of the arrival of the ducal establishment late in the
season, were all that could be desired, though hardly up yet to what
might be called the Archerfield mark. The succession stock, however,
in which we generally look for indications of progress, were grand, such
as delight the Pine-grower's eye — broad, sturdy fellows, consisting of
Queens, Smooths, Charlotte Rothschilds, &c., most of them in 10-inch
pots, and destined to finish their career in the fine light houses in the
front range.

Melons were ripening off in span-roofed houses by the hundred-
weight, also enormous quantities of Figs on very systematically-trained
trees. A whole house is devoted to Passiflora edulis, which was carry-
ing a great crop. The collections of stove-plants and Orchids were varied
and select, and not long transferred to their new quarters. The green-
houses had not been completed, but were in progress. The low walls
round the square, we noticed, were covered in many places with
Clematis Jackmanii, presenting a perfect sheet of purple. Horticul-
turists will be for ever indebted to the raiser of this truly magnificent
creeper, which stands the severest winters, and seems to grow in any
situation. Mr Thomson recommends close pruning and high culture
to get a good and long-sustained display.

Leaving Drumlanrig highly gratified with our visit, we found ourselves
on the 10th of August in Glasgow; and in company with an old friend
from the far north we visited the Scott Centenary Horticultural Exhibi-
tion at the Botanical Gardens. This show, so far as arrangements were
concerned, was a step in advance of anything that has been attempted
in Scotland yet, and in this respect reflected great credit upon its orig-
inators and promoters. The most attractive feature of the show was
a large and remarkably clean and healthy collection of plants from
Messrs Thyne's nursery, but which, for some reason or other, had only
received a second prize — a decision which excited a good deal of cri-
ticism among professionals and others. The first-prize lot included
some nice Tree-Eerns and Palms, but was a thinly-arranged group,
and was not improved by some fantastically- cut specimens of Yews
which it included.

It seems some of the fruit had been removed the first day of the
show ; of what remained, the Muscat Grapes from Glamis, and the
Pines from Lord Carrington's, were the only samples worthy of parti-
cular notice. J. S. W.
{To he continued.)

460 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

PLANTS SUITABLE TOR TABLE DECORATION.

CROTONS, COLEUS, AND CALADIUM ARGYRITES.

Those who have never seen a dinner-table adorned with the foregoing
plants can scarcely form a right idea of their exceeding loveliness,
while those who have seen them will look upon them as old friends not
to be discarded. Whether all seen on the table at one time or in
company with other plants, or each variety separate with Epergnes and
suchlike things, they cannot but give satisfaction to the beholder.
Moreover, they have this to recommend them — they are easy to grow,
and their colour is never better than when they are fairly established
in small pots, and they will remain in good condition a long time with-
out shifting into larger pots.

All the Crotons may be made useful for the dinner-table, but those
best adapted for that purpose are C. variegatum, C. variegatum longi-
folium, and C. angustifolium, especially the two last. I always make
it a rule to strike a few of each kind every year ; November is the
month I choose. Having prepared a few pots of peat, loam, and silver-
sand in equal parts, with bell-glasses to cover with, I take off the cut-
tings with a stem 4 inches long, and insert them about 2 inches
deep. Here they may remain three or four weeks, after which time the
glasses may be taken off and the pots allowed to remain as they are
until about the middle of February, when they will be in good condi-
tion for potting off singly in clean dry 3-inch pots, using a mixture of
two parts loam, one part peat, and one part rotted dung, with a good
sprinkling of silver- sand. In about six weeks or two months they
will require shifting into pots a size larger, using the same soil as
before.

I have generally found Crotons to make nice-shaped plants with-
out any pinching whatever. C. variegatum forms a pyramid, but if
they should not break and grow into the desired shape, the top must
be pinched off when about 9 inches high; they will then send out
branches near the bottom. Much better plants, and a much brighter
colour, are got by striking in the autumn instead of in spring. When
the plants have grown too large for the table, or require larger pots,
their beauty in the stove or conservatory will repay for all the care that
has been taken of them. It will be found that the Croton delights
in a good turfy loam.

COLEUS VERSCHAFFELTII.

This is a most useful plant for the dinner-table, and has much to
recommend it : first, it is very easy to cultivate where a stove or warm

iSyi.] PLANTS FOR TABLE DECORATION. 461

frame is at hand ; secondly, it may be had at any time of the year by a
little forethought in striking ; and, thirdly, its beauty is improved by
candle-light rather than otherwise. One way of growing this Coleus
is to pinch it at every joint (or nearly so), but I have generally found
it ready enough to break out into the pyramidal shape without any
pinching whatever. This shape I consider looks best on the table, and
the leaves are a much larger size than when pinching is resorted to.
Where plants are required for the table at all times of the year, it is a
good plan to strike a few cuttings very often, say every two months ;
they will strike standing about in the stove or in a dung-frame. As
soon as they are rooted, pot off into small pots ; and as soon as the pots
are nearly full of roots, shift them to the size pot you use on the table —
4-inch pots are large enough; keep them near the glass, and never
shade after they are rooted, or they will not be so dark in colour as
when fully exposed to the sun. Loam, leaf-mould, and dung in equal
parts, v/ith a sprinkling of silver-sand, is a good mixture for them; and
when their work on the table is done, if shifted to larger pots they will
soon make very large plants. I have tried about a dozen of newer
varieties with the same result, but like the Verschaffeltii best.

CALADIUM ARGYRITES.

This is a very useful plant for the dinner-table, and one that gives
very little trouble where there is a stove. About the beginning of
March I generally look over the bulbs, which are then at rest, turn
them out of their pots, and repot them in the following soil — turfy
loam, leaf-mould, and very old cow-dung in equal parts, with a sprink-
ling of silver-sand. I have generally found the Caladium to last longer in
a growing state, and also to make much larger leaves, if the bulbs are
put into small pots first and then shifted to larger ones as soon as they
have filled their pots with roots. The size of the pots we use on the
table here are 4|- inch — accordingly the bulbs are put first into 3-inch
pots, and when full of roots shifted into 4J-inch pots. When potting,
it is a good plan to put a large bulb in the centre of the pot, with
three or four smaller ones round it ; this will bring the tallest and best
leaves in the centre of the plant. As the plants are not required here
till late in the summer, I only give enough water after potting to
settle the soil about the bulbs ; they are then put on a shelf in the
stove until they start into growth, when water is given whenever it is
required, until their beauty is past, when they may be returned to the
shelf to gradually dry off. W. Nokes.

462 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

PRUNING.

It is an old and often-repeated saying, in reference to any disputed
point, that the truth lies between two extremes — not always midway,
we presume. One of the privileges enjoyed by her Majesty's subjects
in these realms is the freedom of dispute, and it is a privilege which
is evidently much appreciated. The more a point is discussed, the less
unanimous becomes the discussion. The disputants seem to waive minor
points, and arrange themselves round a couple of opposite central ideas,
the more antagonistic the better, and wrangle round the one common
centre of wrath, but approach it they will not while charged with the
fervour of the occasion. Perhaps electricity, which explains most mys-
teries, as well as the Potato disease, has something to do with it;
mutual repulsion, and positive and negative elements, are common to
both phenomena. If the fact be asserted that we gardeners are a hard-
working, intelligent, and conscientious class of men, some one must
counter-assert that we are corrupt, illiterate, and time-serving ; the truth
being, that, as a class, we are pretty much like other classes of human-
ity, but taking a peculiar tone of character from the nature of our
employment — that is, rather retiring and thoughtful, and a little given
to self-assertion.

Some time ago we ventured to advocate a sparing use of the knife,
both at root and branches, in pruning of fruit-trees, under particular
circumstances, having repeatedly seen the folly of severe top-pruning,
and extreme bad effects of the other ; and forthwith we were supposed
not to prune at all, — that our wall and espalier trees must be something
of the style of a hedgerow. Somebody also insinuated, that he for
one liked to see trees well trained, as if training and cutting were
inseparable ; and suggesting the idea that our trees must be a pretty-
tangled picture indeed. Now, in advocating a minimum of cutting
with the knife, it must not be supposed that we do not prune at all,
or that we eschew all regular training. We venture to assert again that
our idea is the most consistent with good training. By close attention
to summer pinching and thinning of the wood, the leading shoots of
a tree are strengthened ; and by timely stopping, two and even three
pairs of branches can be secured on young horizontal espalier and wall
trees. Our critics forget that summer-pinching is no new thing, and
when well followed up, reduces winter-pruning to a minimum.

A few days ago we called on a neighbour who has two houses full
of fine trained Peach-trees, the foliage fine and beautifully green, and
the wood beautifully green also, and exceedingly strong and abundant;
but, notwithstanding their fine health, they would not fruit, and they
had been weU cut in last year. Our neighbour proposed to cut them

1871.] PRUNING. 463

well in again, and try them another year; and if they did not do,
threatened to pull them out, and plant other sorts. We strongly
advised him to put on plenty heat in his pipes throughout the day,
with top ventilation, and allow the houses to get cold at nights
with front ventilation, and not to shorten the wood at all in winter,
though it was as long and as strong as "Raspberry canes, and try what
the result would be next year ; but our friend was doubtful. We
believe that unripe wood and close pruning have much to do with
shanking, if not everything to do with it; and we believe that
Peaches and Nectarines, if not other fruits, are as liable to shank as
Grapes. Apricots and Plums are well known sometimes to throw off
their fruit wholesale at the second swelling ; — this is peculiar to some
varieties more than others. "We have long been satisfied that this
phenomenon and the shanking of Grapes are one and the same
thing, and are the result of a badly-fed immature tree. Now is the
best time to prune all fruit-trees; thin out all useless wood, so as to
fully expose all foliage which is to mature the buds. The time was
within our memory when the pruning of fruit-trees was held to be
the most important part of their culture, and the annual crop was held
to depend on the annual pruning in winter ; and every non-professional
possessed of a garden considered himself highly favoured if he could
secure the services of some neighbouring licensed wielder of the knife ;
and if he did not eat of the fruit the following season, he could con-
gratulate himself he had done his best by having the best advice.
Bad pruning and spring-frosts were the explanation of all failure,
which should have been attributed more properly to exhausted trees
and badly-ripened wood.

The object in growing fruit-trees at all is to have fruit : the primary
condition to fruitfulness is a well-fed tree and ripe wood ; a second-
ary condition to secure ripe wood is pruning. All pruning should be
done with this in view, even the summer-pruning of the Vine. The
primary object of pruning is not to have a well-shaped, well-trained
tree — that is a secondary object. Pruning in winter has nothing to do
with the ripening of the wood, consequently all winter-pruning as a
primary operation is useless, and may just as well be left undone.
Koot-pruning even should not be done in winter, as is usual, from
there being more time, but rather about the end of August, to give the
trees time to repair the damage while there is foliage on them.

The Squire's Gardener.

464 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

VINES IN ITALY -DEPTH OF SOIL.

In the leader for July there is a hard nut to crack for some who yet
boldly defend shallow Vine-borders. I have no doubt but this sub-
ject (as all that concerns the Vine generally does) will in due time
be thoroughly ventilated. I have no intention of entering into the
matter, further than saying that there is as much common-sense in
the views there promulgated as has appeared in print on Vine-man-
agement for some years. While reading the remarks in reference
to Vines on the " rocky hill-sides " of the Rhine, it brings forcibly
to my mind the conversations it was often my privilege to enjoy
with one who was a most successful Grape-grower in this country;
and many of his lessons were learned in France and Italy. Much
of what he saw in these countries he profited by, learning to thoroughly
avoid the practices of some, and closely imitate the practices of others.
I need not say that the first were the unsuccessful cultivators, and
the latter those who were successful. The finest crops, and by far
the most superior fruit, were had where the roots got down a great
depth, and some of the rocky hills were the positions where the
roots went deepest into the ground and moisture was most abundant.
This can be easily illustrated in our country. On some steep hills
which I climbed last year, Heath, Ferns, Violas, and shrubs of many
kinds, I saw growing in great luxuriance on the elevated positions,
while the same plants far below on the plains were burnt up with
drought. Springs of water were abundant on the steepest part of
the hills, when the cattle in the valleys were parched with drought.
By this one can easily understand how plants can have abundance
of moisture on hill -sides. Let any one throw up a ridge of soil
(the higher the better) and observe hov/ moisture-loving plants will
luxuriate after their roots are established in the soil. Depth of soil,
where water cannot become stagnant, will fight half of the practical
gardener's battles !

To turn to the Vines : my friend mentioned the various modes
of supplying manure to the roots. Sewage, in a fresh state, was
a favourite system of some, and by far the most efi'ective; but to
carry this practice out in our shallow Vine-borders in this country
would be certain destruction. In Italy, the great depth the feeders
were from the surface prevented any mishaj), as the rains washed
down the strong food gradually and very slowly. To use weak
material would have been sheer waste, as it would have been ex-
hausted before it reached the active roots. I have observed this
friend I refer to watering his Vines ; it was not a dribble in his
well- prepared borders, but a thorough soaking well out in his kit-
chen-garden, where the feeders were pushing their way in search of

1871.] PROPAGATION OF ECHEVERIA METALLICA. 465

fresh supplies of food. The borders, of course, contained the roots
which conducted the fresh supplies from their points to the Vines;
but' little attention was given — there, indeed, they were covered with
broad gravel -walks. No red-spider or shanking was an annoyance
there. This friend was the late Mr William Allan, who lived thirty-
five years as head-gardener to the late and present Lord Eendlesham
of Rendlesham Hall, Suffolk. Six years of his time were spent in
Italy. He was a keen observer, and dearly loved the cultivation of
the Vine and Peach, and he was with these (as indeed every branch
of his profession) singularly successful. Camellias flourished in Mr
Allan's hands. He carefully observed the Belgian growers, when he
lived in that country, collecting decayed wood, and carefully stor-
ing it up as mould for potting ; and many an old Oak at Rendle-
sham had its decayed centre scooped out by Mr Allan for potting
his Camellias. M. Temple.

Balbiknle.

PROPAGATION OP ECHEVERIA METALLICA
BY CUTTINGS.

This striking plant is so useful in flower-gardening for various pur-
poses, that there are few places now where more or less of it is not
seen. Strictly speaking, it belongs to the class of fine or characteristic
leaved plants. Its leaves are more valuable for ornament than its flow-
ers ; and to permit it to flower is equivalent to wasting its beauty, for
the foliage quickly falls off in vigour and hue as the flower-stem elon-
gates, and the whole plant becomes ungainly, and unfit for any ornamen-
tal position. Large plants on one stem, with finely-developed leaves,
are beautiful objects in vases so placed as to be a little under the eye ;
and in higher positions they are striking in appearance when contrasted
side by side with softer and more graceful objects. They are like
bold castings in bronze, in their rigid symmetry and metallic hue. They
are invaluable subjects wherever beds have to be filled that are over-
run with roots of trees and shrubs, and probably overhung also by
their arms. I know no plant that delights more than this in such
circumstances. It picks up materials for luxuriant growth where the
soil is almost dust-dry to the depth of a foot or more ; and its leaves
acquire the deepest bronze and the finest form and size where the
roots appear to have the least encouragement. This, in my opinion,
constitutes its chief value for open-air gardening. It is hopeless to
attempt flowering-plants in such circumstances, and yet it frequently
happens that beds have to be filled in which flowering-plants cannot
be expected to succeed. This and other succulent subjects should be

466 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

employed in cases of this kind. The ground may be carpeted with
the beautiful little annuals, Sedum ciuruleum, S. dasyphyllum, and
others easy to obtain and easy to keep, of similar dwarf close habit ;
and the Echeveria, if planted at free distances over the surface which
these will form, will have a pleasing and interesting effect, a combina-
tion of soft colouring and striking form. I have observed, as doubtless
many have, that the plants vary in character considerably from seed.
They vary in the size and shape of the leaves, some being narrower,
some broader, some crisped or wavy, and others quite smooth on the
margin ; and the depth of metallic tinge varies as much as anything.
Whatever value these qualities may have, it can only be secured and
perpetuated by means of cuttings. This mode of propagation is not
often resorted to. It appears to be almost the uniform practice of all
to rear what stock is wanted from seed. It is much less troublesome
to increase it by means of cuttings — no kind of plant is more easily
struck. The treatment is simple, and the necessary appliances are
common to the worst-appointed gardens. Leaves make the best cut-
tings— those formed of flowering-shoots are apt to spindle too much,
and be leggy. The leaves of flower-shoots just begun to push are the
best ; they are quite large enough, and can generally be got in sufficient
quantity without injury to the stock plants. The leaves should be
pulled, not cut off, and no trimming of the base will be found either
necessary or desirable. If any cut or wound is made on the leaf in
any way, it had better be laid aside to dry for some time before being
put in the soil — a few hours will do. Any good sandy soil will do for
striking them in — they will root in anything. A cold frame to which
air is continually admitted is the best place to strike them in, and
they may be put in either pots or boxes ; they receive less check, how-
ever, in being potted on from the former if they are small thumbs or
sixties. Whether pots or boxes be used, it will be best to plunge them
so as to do away with the necessity of watering till the roots are struck,
after which they may be given water sparingly as they require. Much
water and a close atmosphere are conditions to be avoided by all means.

W. S.

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS.

{Continued from page 416.)
THE STRAWBERRY.
The Strawberry is one of the finest and most esteemed of aU the products of the
vegetable kingdom.

The propagation of the Strawberry may be eflfected by one of three ways — viz. ,
by seed, by runners, or by divisions of the old plant. The last - mentioned

1 87 1.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 467

method is very seldom, if ever, resorted to, as almost all the varieties of the
Strawberry produce runners so plentifully that it is unnecessary to do so, and
further divisions from the old plants never make such good and useful plantations
as those planted by runners. Runners are produced by the old plants sending
forth a branch which, at the distance of from 1 to 2 feet, produces a bud which in
a few days develops itself into a young plant. Properly speaking, the bud is
produced in the runner as soon as it starts from the parent plant, but it does not
become developed until it has grown to something like the distances given above.
As soon as the bud begins to develop, the young plant starts to emit roots
into the soil, and in the course of a few weeks has so established itself that it is
quite able to support itself without the assistance of the parent plant. The run-
ner in most cases does not stop growth when it has produced one plant, but con-
tinues to grow, producing young plants at regular distances to the number of two,
three, or four, which as a rule is the most it can do during the course of a season's
growth. The first plant upon the runner is invariably the best for all practical
purposes ; being the oldest, and having the longest time to grow, it is better estab-
lished, and makes a more robust plant before the planting season. It has been
affirmed by some growers that the second plant, and all the others produced after-
wards along the runner, are not nearly so productive as the first. We cannot
vouch for the accuracy of this statement, as we never have thoroughly proved the
matter ; but, from a physiological point of view, we are of opinion that such is
likely to be the case. The first plant produced, as we have already hinted, must
be the strongest and healthiest, and being nearer to the parent than any of the
others, is sure to consume as much of the juices passing along the runner as is
necessary for its own sustenance before any is allowed to pass to the runner
further along. From what we have said, it will be noticed that the aim of the
cultivator is to encourage the first plant upon the runner as much as possible, as
to all intents and purposes it is the best suited for the planting of a fresh plot of
Strawberries. If such, therefore, be desired, the following plan may be adopted
with every hope of success : as soon as the plants begin to produce runners —
which, as a rule, is the end of May and on to the end of June, according to
position and climate — let the best rows of the desired varieties be selected, between
which may be spread an inch or two of leaf-mould, well decomposed, or good
manure ; this may be forked into the soil to the depth of 2 or 3 inches, and
thoroughly incorporated therewith. As soon as the young bud begins to
develop itself into a plant, let it be fixed upon this prepared ground either by
means of a peg or by laying a stone thereupon, so as to keep it steady until it has
fixed itself into the soil. The point of the runner beyond the plant ought to be
pinched, for the twofold purposes of preventing a second plant from being formed,
and further to encourage the plant already formed to make a strong and healthy
growth. If the old plants are in good health, they ought to produce as many
runners as will give a young plant for every 4 inches square of surface between
the rows. All other runners must be considered supei'fluous, and, as a conse-
quence, removed. This will give ample space for the young plants to grow until
such time as they are fit for placing in their permanent positions. Here we will
leave the runners until such time as we have disposed of the seedlings.

It is superfluous to say that the object of growing seedlings is in order to
obtain new, and if possible superior, varieties to those already in cultivation.
The surest plan to accomplish this is to impregnate artificially those varieties
which the cultivator considers to be the most likely to accomplish the object he
has in view. For this purpose the finest and healthiest flowers should be selected

468 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

and tied to a short stake, so that they may not be lost among the multiplicity of
plants and flowers by which they may be surrounded. As soon as the fruit is
thoroughly ripe, they must at once be separated from the pulp, either by wash-
ing in water or by being bruised upon a sheet of paper, and exposed to the
influences of the sun until thoroughly dry. In either case they muse be
thoroughly dried, after which they may be ])laced in a small box and covered up
with fine dry sand until spring, when they may be sown. Some cultivators sow
in autumn on an open border, but sowing on a gentle hot-bed in spring we con-
sider the most expeditious method. In March a gentle hot-bed may be formed
of fermenting materials, and covered over by a few inches of nice rich soil, having
a top-dressing of fine-sifted soil to the depth of half an inch. Upon this the seed
may be sown as regularly and thinly as possible, to prevent overcrowding when
the young plants come up. Cover the seed with about one-eighth of an inch of
the same fine-sifted material, gently watering the whole with nice tepid water,
replacing the lights upon the fi-ame, and the work is accomplished. All that is
now necessary is to attend to the airing of the frame in bright sunshine, and
watering the surface when the soil becomes dry. This, however, must be done
with care, as if the weather is dark and dull when the young plants are coming
up, there is danger of their being damped off if too much water is used. The
plants should appear in the course of from three to five weeks, when they must
be attended to with care. After they have formed two or three leaves, let them
be gently hardened off until they are fit for planting out into nursery-beds. For
this purpose a nice sheltered corner ought to be selected and well prepared,
giving it a liberal amount of manure. Into this the seedlings may be planted,
allowing & inches plant from plant. In this they will make rapid progress, and
in the course of three or four weeks will be ready for planting into their perma-
nent positions in the "trial" or "proving ground.'* During this stage of their
growth care must be taken to prevent the production of runners, which must
at once be destroyed as soon as they are seen, as their production will prove
highly injurious to the wellbeing of the youLg plant. The following season
these seedlings ought to produce sufficient fruit to enable the cultivator to make
a selection — reserving the best for further trial, and discarding those that are
apparently useless. James M'Millan.

{To he cmitinued.)

— a-S'-S^^-s^-s —

STRAWBERRIES.

In the failure in the case of our Strawberries generally this year out
of doors, there will always remain something as a cause that we have
not yet fathomed. We may attribute it to the soil, and we may
attribute it to the previous season, which was hot and dry, together
with the late continual rains, which produced a second growth, which
might not have got properly ripened ; but these circumstances — that is,
soil and season — no doubt, had all to do with it. Some soils will only
produce very good crops on the same piece of ground for three or four
years successively — and so, I believe, will ours ; whereas, again, others
will produce to twice as long a period without any great diminution
of the crop. The influence of locality, using the plainest term, has to

1 87 1.] STRAWBERRIES. 469

do with this matter; although, no doubt, the kind of Strawberries grown
exerts also a powerful influence, as has already been remarked by-
able writers in the * Gardener ' of the present year. Keen's Seed-
ling, although a first-rate Strawberry generally, has proved itself to be
much short of the mark in some places, as it has with us this year, for
we have not had a single good fruit of it. Comparing this state of
matters with what I knew some years ago with the same kind, it may
be considered as something astonishing; for on the same piece of
ground that my father so successfully grew his Hollyhocks, in the
neighbourhood of Edinburgh, some years ago, and which some of your
readers may still remember, was a good patch of Keen's Seedling
Strawberry, which produced good crops of fruit for about ten years in
succession, to my knowledge. The plants had no more done to them
than keeping them clean — taking off the rough of the runners in the
autumn, and in winter spreading a thick covering of half-rotten manure
all over the ground, over the crowns as v/ell as between the rows.
The difference between these two examples (similar ones to which many
no doubt already know) just shows the difficulties that gardeners some-
times have to try to overcome in different places ; and to get over this
difficulty, it would, I venture to state, be a good plan for every gar-
dener who can, to try to prove a lot of different kinds of Strawberries,
himself selecting the best, without relying too much at first upon
popular recommendations. Not willing to do away with Keen's Seed-
ling altogether this year for forcing, as I have been told it has done
well here, I have given it a fair trial as one of our main kinds ; and to
make surer of success, I got some marl from a little distance to mix
along with the soil for potting, our loam here being apparently rather
too open. I hope that I have not been wrong in this little speculation.
We have about a quarter of an acre of ground under Strawberries,
and, as a whole, few could look better as far as health is concerned; for
the foliage looks well, the plants are strong and fully developed, but
they are without that hard " bone " in them that is apparently necessary
to insure fertility. We have about a dozen kinds, and enough of
theise to form some idea of their individual merits. I will tabulate
the notes I made a few weeks ago, so that you may see at a glance
the respective merits of each, giving the most productive place in the
order mentioned.

Black Prince. — A good crop, and the best in every respect we have had.
President. — Nearly an average crop.

Triomphe de Paris. — Had a good show of blossoms, but these mostly imper-
fect, and only a very few good fruit.
British Queen. — Very few good fruit.

Sir Joseph Paxton. — Only a few fruit, some of which were large-sized.
Her Majesty, Adair, Empress Eugenie, Admiral Dundas, Dr Hogg, Keen's
Seedling. — Almost all worthless.

470

THE GARDENER.

[Oct.

These Strawberries were mostly all planted 18G9, and, with the
exception of Dr Hogg, there was from one to four good long rows of
each, from which fair estimates could be taken. Taking all in all,
for size of fruit President was the best.

It may be urged that this is not a fair year for taking notes of the
respective merits of the different kinds of Strawberries, but I hope
a few facts as they have occurred may be useful.

Robert Mackellar.

CROTON JOHANNIS.

This is one of the most elegant and distinct of all the recent intro-
ductions of this useful class of plants. It was discovered by the late Mr

Fig. 23. — Croton Johannis.

John Gould Veitch in the South Sea Islands. The leaves are of a
glossy-green colour, the margins and centre being of a bright orange-

i87i.]

NEPENTHES SEDENI.

471

yellow. They attain a length of 20 to 24 inches, and, as will be seen
from the accompanying figure engraved from a photograph, they have
a graceful drooping habit, which makes it a most suitable plant for
table and room decoration. It is as easy to cultivate as the general
run of Crotons, and it well deserves a place in every collection of orna-
mental-foliaged stove-plants.

NEPEWTHES SEDENI.

This beautiful Pitcher-plant is the result of a cross between an un-
named species with deeply - coloured pitchers and the well-known
Nepenthes distillatoria. Our figure of this is also taken from a photo-
graph of a plant growing in Messrs Veitch's nursery. It produces, as

Fig. 24.— Nepenthes Sedeni.

will be observed, its pitchers in great profusion even on very small
plants. They are of moderate size, and are very densely covered with

472 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

dark-red spots on a pale-green ground. The habit is compact and very-
neat, which renders it most suitable for being grown in baskets and
suspended from the roofs of houses.

HARDY ANT> HALF-HARDY PLANTS FOR TABLE
AND ROOM DECORATIOnsr.

In general, hardy plants are not very much favoured in rooms. It is, per-
haps, natural we should prefer the plants of warmer climates indoors,
and those that are hardy out of doors ; but we are not always natural
in our tastes, and there is no reason why we should rudely shut the
door in the face of any member of the ornamental classes of plants, be
it hardy or tender. Those that can afford to surround themselves with
the more costly natives of tropical and temperate lands, may fairly
indulge themselves in that way to their hearts' content. Their enjoy-
ments do not, or need not, however, limit those of the less wealthy.
Hardy and half-hardy plants are fortunately cheaper than those requir-
ing more expensive appliances and management in their culture. They
are not less numerous, nor less varied in character, and perhaps not
less beautiful, if the false idea of commonness that attaches to them is
not allowed to have undue weight. But there is no need for putting
the one class of plants in comparison with the other. Each has its own
fitness to meet the varied wants, tastes, and means of men ; and perhaps
the latter consideration, or length of purse, will, as it always should,
determine our tastes, and their limits. If I cannot afford to pay the
piper, I need not forswear music, so long as the whistle and the Jew's-
harp remain; and if I can pick a little enjoyment out of those humble,
not to say vulgar instruments, why should I long after the unques-
tionably more classic but to me unattainable bagpipes ? And so, if my
accommodation for plants extends only to a cold frame or two, my
time and thoughts will be better employed in filling them with, and
cultivating well, such plants as will accommodate themselves to such
quarters, than in dreaming of stoves, conservatories, and tropical plants.
There is no better ornament for a sitting-room or dinner-table than a
well-cultivated plant of pleasing aspect. The essential points in a good
plant for this purpose are a graceful or striking form, softness of colours,
and general freshness. These points are all combined in many hardy
and half-hardy plants. Many may lack the refinement of appearance
that characterises some of the Ferns, Palms, &c., employed to decorate
the drawing-rooms of the wealthy and the fashionable ; but there are
not a few that, with good management, may prove sources of pleasure
to those whose tastes are not prone to soar above ordinary things.
The two subjects selected below, to be followed by similar selections

iSyi.] PLANTS FOR ROOM DECORATION. 473

from time to time, with our esteemed Editor's permission, I have found
very useful in my own circumstances; and believing that many others
may find them likewise useful, I pass on to describe their treatment
for the purposes of room and table decoration.

Sedum faharia. — This is one of the handsomest of the stone crops,
and perfectly hardy, but very late in flowering — so late, in fact, as to
be useless in cold late places, except it is assisted by a little artificial
heat in spring. It ordinarily grows to the height of about 18 inches,
and in that gross condition would be unfit for our purpose. It is too
leggy, too high for its breadth in single-stemmed plants, if not dwarfed
by some means ; but when brought down to half its natural height
without any diminution of breadth, it assumes a very neat and sym-
metrical appearance. This is very easily done in the following way :
Assuming that there are some old stock plants on hand, let them be
divided about the end of March into single crowns ; choose as many as
may be required of the strongest crowns, and pot them in rich light
loam, and some manure well decayed. Plunge them, after potting, in
sand or coal- ashes, in a cold frame, and encourage growth by every
means, but slowly, giving plenty of air, and keeping the plants near
the light. In the first or second week in May, plant them out in
difi'erent aspects, some w^arm and early, and others cold ; this wdll induce
difi'erent degrees of progress in them. When the corymbs begin to
make their appearance, cut over the stems with five or six leaves below
the base of the corymbs; remove the lowest leaf, and insert each stem
in the way of a cutting in a small 60-pot singly, in rich but sandy soil,
and plunge them in a cold frame till they strike root. The frame need
not be kept constantly close ; in very hot weather air may be admitted,
to keep the temperature as low as possible, and shade may be given in
bright days for the same purpose, till the cuttings have m.ade some
roots. They should then be gradually inured to more light and air,
till the lights may be wholly dispensed with, except in w^et weather.
They will soon fill the cutting-pots with roots, but must not be allowed
to become pot-bound before getting a shift. The sizes of pots we find
most convenient to have these plants in are 5 and 6 inch diameter,
and we put them in these at once from the cutting-pots. They are
afterwards grown on slowly ; and when the roots fully occupy the soil,
they are treated frequently to weak liquid manure. After the cuttings
are put in, the stems make very little extension in length ; the branches
of the corymb, however, extend considerably, and the few leaves grow
to a large size, till the plants about this time (the middle of September)
are about 9 inches high, and as much across the top, and the first
batch just opening their flowers. The large glaucous leaves and the dense
corymbs of beautiful rosy-purple flow^ers, taken along with the dwarf

2 L

474 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

neat liabit, render the plant pleasing and pretty in any position,
either in rooms, or in the front of groups in the conservatory or green-
house. It lasts a considerable time also in fresh condition, and stands
the dry atmosphere of rooms well.

Euphorhia Esula. — This is a neat hardy herbaceous plant, always
pleasant to look upon. It grows in rounded graceful masses, with
numerous stems, clothed with narrow linear leaves of brightest
green ; this green eventually changes into red and then yellow in
autumn, and in all these mutations it is a softly charming plant in
pots. It grows about 9 inches high, each stem terminating in an
umbel of small greenish-yellow flowers, accompanied, as is the fashion
of the order to which it belongs, with conspicuous bracts broadly egg-
shaped, which are persistent, and add much to the beauty of the plant
in autumn by the depth of soft red colour they assume. The plant is
easily grown in pots out of doors, in any ordinarily good loam, and
should be divided every spring, and the soil renewed in the pots. In
autumn, before frost comes on, it should be lifted into a cold frame, so
as to preserve it as long as can be, whence it may be taken to the
rooms or houses which it is designed to assist in ornamenting.

W. S.

NOTES OIT GARDEITS IN THE SOUTH OF FIFE.

Arrivixg at Dysart House, we entered the kitchen-garden, which is
near the highroad, and soon found Mr Pirie, the intelligent gardener.
Proceeding towards the centre of the garden, Ave made our first visit
to the large vinery. For height it has few equals north of the Forth ;
and were it not for a belt of trees in front of this glass structure,
it would be a land-mark observable from the Firth. These trees in
front shut out not only the Forth from view, but also the sun for a
great part of the year. Notwithstanding this evil, enormous crops of
Grapes have been produced for a number of years, and the crop this
season is as heavy as ever. The foliage is remarkably healthy, and no
shanking or red-spider is to be seen. The borders (I think) are about
4J feet deep, concreted to prevent the roots getting into the bottom,
which is of a sandy nature, and one of the worst for shanking and red-
spider, into which vine-roots would run wild and hasten their ruin.
The ground about this vinery is flat and apparently rather damp ;
little of the border is to be seen outside, grass plats being all round the
house. Its depth is an argument against shallow borders (which,
however, are getting rapidly out of favour), the Vines showing that
they are receiving the necessary requirements to secure health and

iSyi.] GARDENS IN THE SOUTH OF FIFE. 475

vigour. The kinds grown are Muscats (Black and White), Lady
Downes, Buckland's Sweetwater, Abercairney Seedling, Black Hambro',
and others. All are apparently at home, the treatment given suiting
each kind.

We took a turn round the extensive kitchen-garden, much of which,
however, is taken up with trees of a great size and large breadths of
healthy Rhododendrons. Dysart has long been famous for this class
of plants, and we should suppose the collection never was more exten-
sive or in finer condition than at present. The flower-borders, which
were so long a source of attraction to visitors and others, are now
things of the past. Ground for vegetable crops being more in demand,
these borders are used to raise supplies for the kitchen. New flower-
gardens are in course of making, but I am not sure that they will (even
under the management of a Pirie) be so effective as the borders so
long have been. One thing in one of them deserves special notice —
where Calceolarias, Geraniums, Verbenas, &c., were wont to luxuriate
and display their fine colours, is growing a splendid crop of Carrots, such
as is seldom seen in this part of the country. The sight of them is
enough to cause any Fife gardener to break the tenth commandment,
so seldom can we secure a crop from vermin. So much for the pro-
duce of ground which has not grown vegetables. for many years. There
are a number of glass-houses and pits for plants, &c. One large struc-
ture, a lean-to for plants, was filled with Camellias and Rhododendrons
of the finer sorts, which make a grand display in winter; and the quan-
tity of cut flowers had is enormous. These are planted out, — an arrange-
ment which is always attended with satisfactory results, and gives less
labour and vigorous plants.

The new flower-gardens in course of making are at one end, and
in front, of the mansion. It would be premature to say what these
gardens are really to be, so much (at the time of our visit) required to
be done to get them into order. One portion is on gravel, and another
is on grass — the latter separated from the former by a broad walk,
grass plat, and terrace. The garden on grass promises to be an exceed-
ingly neat affair, but the position being so close to the town of Dysart,
and the houses not quite out of view, will rob this garden of much of
its beauty and interest. There has lately been a beautiful carriage-
drive taken from the house westward through the grounds. This is an
immense improvement, and the work is well done. Though it is
along the beach close to the rocks, the planting of the trees and the
windings of the road are done so that an idea of great extent and var-
iety is given ; openings are left where peeps of the sea are to be seen j
and at the termination, a short avenue shows the outline of Ravens-
craig Castle, which is a grand old ruin standing boldly on a rock washed

476 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

on eacli side by the Forth, The grounds of Dysart House have long
been widely known for the fine shrubs and Coniferae growing so luxu-
riantly at every turn of the numerous walks and lawns. Rhododen-
drons seem to have been a specialty here for many years : and right
well they thrive, almost within reach of the salt-water spray. The
collection contains most of the best kinds, and there are some large
specimens. There are some very handsome Araucarias, one of which
was a long time a notable specimen in Scotland, but younger plants,
growing in deeper and richer soil, have come upsides with it ; but for
a handsome drooping habit, we have seen none to surpass it. This
brings to my mind the effect this tree produced on Mr Bircham (late
of the Hendenham Rosary). When I was spending a day with him in
his extensive Rose-grounds, he related some amusing incidents which
happened when on a visit to Dysart House, one of which was, when he
saw the beautiful Araucaria, he lay down on the grass and gazed at it
for t-wo hours in silent admiration. The grounds at Dysart are worthy
of a visit when the Rhododendrons are in flower ; and the other fine
features of them are a source of interest at all times.

After leaving Dysart, we drove towards Kirkcaldy (known to many
as the " Lang Toun "). Though our time ^vas limited, we made a call at
Messrs Sang's Nurseries. Having always profited by former visits to
this establishment, we were on this occasion again tempted to inspect
the nursery stock. Near the highroad stands a compact block of
span-roofed houses ; in two of them are a splendid lot of well-grown
Vines in pots. They are trained near to the glass, so that the wood
and foliage may have the full benefit of the light, which tells so won-
derfully in producing short-jointed wood and plump buds. Great
attention is paid to selecting the kinds true to name, and those which
are worthy of cultivation. In other structures long benches are
loaded with Pelargoniums representing the best kinds of their
various classes. Among large numbers of new kinds annually
bought in, few stand the test after being proved. There is a
trial-ground near the houses, where buyers can judge of the merits of
the bedding kinds. We had no time to make notes, but conspicuous
among others were Miss H. Haig, King of Scarlets, and Vesuvius.
Among specialties in these nurseries is a splendid collection of
British Ferns. The whole of the famous collection of Dr Lyall of
Newburgh is represented here. The plants were in robust health, and
great attention is given to correct naming. They are growing in long
lines of what might be termed miniature sheds, boarded on the south
side and open to the north. Large breadths of Leeks were to be seen
growing, to produce seed of the True Scotch. Sang's Select Beet is
grown extensively for seed : this is an excellent kind, and holds its

iSyi.] PEACH-TREES ON THE SPUR SYSTEM. 477

own against any we have tried, not so' much for foliage as rich tender
roots. Fruit-trees, Roses, Shrubs, and all general nursery stock, are
grown here in quantity. Among fruit-trees, large breadths of the
hardier kinds of Apples are kept. Cultivators are gradually increasing
their stock of kinds which can be depended on for bearing : among
these, in the way of Apples, are King of Pippins, Stirling Castle,
Aitkin's No. 2, and Lord Suffield: and were we to form a new orchard,
these kinds would form a large portion of our collection. For seven
years under my care these Apples have been abundant every season —
indeed, Aitkin's No. 2 will, if not looked after, in time fruit itself to
death. Messrs Sang's nursery is famous for its high keeping; we believe
it is surpassed by none in Britain in this respect. This opinion is
endorsed by Mr Thomas Osborn (of Osborn & Sons, Fulham Nur-
series), w^ho travels from London to Aberdeen annually, and has ample
opportunities of judging. After leaving this nursery, we entered
'St Brycedale, the suburban residence of Provost Swan. Places of this
stamp seldom come in for the share of praise they deserve, and still
it is from this class that the finest examples of horticultural produce
are brought to our great exhibitions. M. Temple.

{To he continued.)

PEACH-TREES ON THE EXTEJSTSION QR
SPUE, SYSTEM.

Some years ago I tried the spur system in cultivating the Peach, not
thinking that I would get better fruit from the spurs than from the
long-rod system, but thinking that I might reduce the labour to a com-
mon or every-day affair ; so that I could call a handy man off the vege-
table quarters at any time, and with the shorter amount of practice be
able to teach him the short-spur system, and to be able to understand
and attend to the system, when required, by the simple mode of
pinching.

In the first place, I regulated some pretty well-trained trees for
my experiment ; and, in short, as to fruitfulness, the adopted system
worked very well, as the fruit set in clusters, and did very well for
every-day fruit. Upon the whole, the system only lacked two things
— and rather important ones too — first, size to command a good price
in market ; and, secondly, the short-spur system never gave me any
silver or silver-gilt medals, — therefore I let the trees have their fling
out again on the extension system.

But since then I have again altered my system a little, chiefly to pre-
vent the trees getting overcrowded with foliage, and the modus ojper-

478 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

audi is simply this : the shoot that is being guided av/ay from the
heel of the then bearing wood at disbudding time, when it attains to
about 9 or 10 inches long or thereabouts, according to its situation
amongst its neighbours, is constantly stopped one or two eyes above
the previous stopping throughout the growing season ; and when well
ripened, the buds will be well up, and with plenty of double ones, too,
that will flower (if I may use the expression) from stem to stern ; and
if the root-action is all right, I will vouch for a good set of fruit, with
fair temperatures, and equally as good fruit as grown upon the long-
rod system if properly thinned. J. Miller.
WOKKSOP Ma^or.

YOUNG GARDENERS.

"We are much indebted to Mr Hinds for his practical remarks on Balsam -culture,
in the * Gardener ' for July, page 327. We quite agree with him that good ex-
amples of Balsam-growing are seldom to be met with, not even at our London
shows, where we expect to find everything exhibited in connection with plant-
growing.

Had the writer confined himself to the practical remarks of his article only, I
think it would have been much more appreciated by those whom it was expected
to benefit.

I cannot understand why throwing aside paper-collars could in any way affect
the cultivation of the Balsam or the duties of a gardener.

I have always a suspicion of a man's genuineness when I see him divested of his
clothes, as hinted at by Mr Hinds, and prefer to see a man neat and orderly at
his work, as it will invariably be found that a young man who is inattentive to
his outer person will degenerate into a sloven as he gets older.

I agree with him that overtime is almost indispensable in connection with
indoor work ; but that compensation must never be looked for, seems to be rather
a weak point for a gardener to advocate, especially if he has undergone the course
of treatment indicated by Mr Hinds : but, speaking personally, I have been treated
with more respect from those I have served, and have received more than a few
lines of a character and a shake of the hand, for even less than two or three years'
service : and I may further state that where I am at present there is not a man or
boy employed on Sunday duty, or for overtime, fumigating, &c., but receives his
usual day's pay for the former, and double payment for every moment of the
latter.

With all due respect to Mr Hinds, I cannot account for the reason why young
gardeners, as a class, deserve the attacks which have lately been made upon us, in
some cases from those that have recently risen from our ranks.

It was with no small amount of pleasure I noticed the Editor's remarks on over-
time, and I feel pleased to think that young gardeners have a friend in one
occupying his position, that is ever ready to defend our cause, not only in the
pages of the 'Gardener/ but wherever "the young gardener of the period" is
represented to be degenerating. J. M.

1871.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 479

The "Australian Pea," alias "Grotto's Mossy Pea."
Some sixteen or seventeen years ago, a gentleman brought some Peas from
Australia, which have since that time been cultivated in a few private gardens
under the designation of the Australian Pea. Three or more years ago it got into
the hands of Messrs Kennedy & Co., Seedsmen, Dumfries, and was last season
distributed by them under the honest impression that it was a Pea new to this
country. It was, however, confidently afl6rmed by the Messrs Drummond, Seeds-
men, Stirling, to be none other than what they term " Grotto's Mossy Pea," which
had been grown in this country fifty years ago, but from some cause or another it
had become scarce and little known by either seedsmen or gardeners. We have
these two Peas growing in the same row, and find them in every respect the
same ; and we observe that it has recently been shown in London under a third
name, and there recognised as Grotto's. It is, however, a most valuable Pea for
late supply, being an enormous cropper, medium-sized, and of a delicate green
colour — points much appreciated by kitchen artists and those they have to cater
for. Added to a delicious flavour, these qualities make it a very desirable Pea.
We have frequently gathered it in fine condition at the very end of October. It
has a thick mossy or succulent husk, and, in consequence, the Peas remain tender
long after the appearance of the husk would indicate that they were too old.
This Pea is well worthy of being, what may be called, reintroduced into all
gardens where fine late Peas are an object, and where tall stakes are to be had.
It grows 7 feet to 8 feet high. We think it best described by its original name —
The Mossy (podded) Pea.

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIOlSrS.

Royal Horticultural Society, September 7th. — Dahlias, Asters, and Ver-
benas were invited as cut flowers. There were also Liliums and Asters in pots ;
these, with the numerous flowers and fruit sent to the committees, entirely filled
the council-room, and made a very interesting show. This was a better arrange-
ment, I think, than exhibiting the new things in the council- room and the others
in a tent, when the subjects are not sufficiently numerous to fill both places.
Not many stands of Dahlias were shown, but one or two of them contained very
fine flowers. Messrs Kelway & Son of Langport were first in the (open) class for
24 ; Mr Turner of Slough being placed second with a stand containing all seed-
ling flowers. In the amateurs' class, Mr C. J. Perry, Castle, Bromwich, had the
best flowers.

Asters were well shown as cut flowers, the colours being very bright. For 24
blooms, not quilled, Mr G. Wheeler, of Warminster, was first ; Messrs Kelway
& Son, of Langport, being placed second. In the amateurs' class for 12 blooms,
Mr Rowe, of the Rookery, Rochampton, had the best. Asters in pots were not
remarkable : Mr Rowe was first ; and Mr Portei', gardener to Mrs Benham, Sion
Lodge, Isleworth, second.

Mr C. J. Perry exhibited an excellent stand of 24 Yerbenas, 5 trusses of
each variety, and received the first prize. A stand of very fine seedlings was also
exhibited by Mr Eckford, gardener to the Earl of Radnor, Coleshill.

Mr Bull of Chelsea was the only exhibitor of Liliums in the class for 6, distinct.
He showed well-grown plants of L. auratum, L. auratum pictum, L. speciosum
album, L. speciosum superbum, and L. tigrinum.

Fruit Committee. — There was a very good display of fruit on this occasioD,

4S0 THE GARDENER. [Oct.

the most notable of wliich was the new seedling Grapes raised by Mr Pearson of
L'hihvell ; one of then), named Dr Hogg, was thought worthy of a first-class certifi-
cate. The buuches are large, berries large, quite round, of a golden colour, with
a fine Froutignan flavour. A seedling froiu Mrs Pince, which the Committee
requested to see again, has a well-shaptd bunch, large free-setting berries of
excellent flavour, and seems to be a good keeping sort.

. Mr Turner of Slough sent a basket of a new Plum, " Bonne Bouche;" it had
previously received a first-class certificate. The fruit resembles Green Gage in
flavour, is much larger, and a desirable acquisition.

A large box of Onions was sent from ^Ir W. G. Pragnelt, Castle Gardens,
Sherbourne, The collection was specially awarded, and attracted much attention.
They were perhaps the best examples ever exhibited — James's Keeping, Nuneham
Park, Danver's Yellow, New Giant, White Tripoli, Giant Eocca, Giant Madeira,
and White Lisbon, were the most remarkable.

Floral Committee. — There was a goodly number of florist flowers sent to this
meeting, especially Dahlias. Messrs Veitch & Sons sent new plants — amongst
them, Amaranthus salicif(>lius. It is one of the finest plants of the season, and will
be invaluable for subtropical gardening. The j^lants sent were lifted fi om the open
ground, and were exceedingly robust and htalthy ; the foliage resembles that of
Croton angustifolium in its graceful weeping appearance, of a purplish crimson
colour, some of the leaves having an orange tinge : Masdevallia (amabilis ?), a
very pretty species in the way of Lindeni, which has recently been introduced by
them. Both plants received first-class certificates. The same award was given
to Mr "W. Bull for Draciena splendens, a compact plant with short bronzy metallic
leaves.

M. Jean Vershafifelt of Ghent sent a very fine collection of recently-introduced
Agaves. The following were selected for first-class awards : A. dealbata compacta,
a neat-growing, Yucca-looking plant, with short glaucous leaves; A. Toneliaua, A.
Celsiana albida, and A. nigrispinis. Second-class certificates were voted to A.
dealbata compacta and A. angustifolia. The following Dahlias received first-class
certificates : Mrs Saunders, yellow-tipped white, a large, well-built flower ; Sou-
venir de Herbert Turner, fine white; John Standish, bright red; and Kate Haslam,
a large lilac-rose flower, with well-formed petals, from' Mr C. Turner; "William
Keynes, an orange-red flower, of great depth and perfect arrangement of petal ;
Dolly Varden, fancy blush white, tinged and striped crimson, from Mr Keynes
of Salisbury ; Maid of Essex, petals blush-tipped purple, a compact, well-formed
flower, from Mr Rawlings of Romford ; Lady Herschel, a very neat crimson-
tipped flower, from Mr Parker of AVinkfield. Second-class certificates were given
to ]\Irs Waite, from Mr Turner ; William Laird and Marchioness of Lome, from
Mr Keynes ; and to Model, from Mr C. Lidgard of Hammersmith.

From the seedling Verbenas exhibited by Mr Perry, Emma Weaver was selected
for a first-class certificate ; it is a promising blush flower. Lady Edith, white
carmine, red centre, and Pluto, brilliant crimson-scarlet, fine large flower, received
the same awards, from Mr Eckford. Mr J. J. Chater, Gonville Nursery, Cam-
bridge, received a first-class certificate for Hollyhock Peerless, a fine bufF-coloured
flower, with a high centre and distinct guard-petal. Jeanie, a fine white flower,
and Piose of Sharon, rosy-crimson, from Mr D. Mackellar, gardener, Colewortb,
Bedford, were thought worthy of the same distinction.

Mr TiUery, gardener, "Welbeck, sent seedling Gladioli, to one of which —
Celestial, a novel flower, white ground, with a distinct margin of deep red — a first-
class certificate was awarded. J, Douglas.

1871.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 481

Royal Caledonian Horticultueal Society. — The autumn exhibition of this
Society was held in the Music Hall, George Street, Edinburgh, on the 13th of last
month. As an exhibition of fruit and flowers it was cue of the best ordinary-
autumn shows the Society has called forth.

The attendance of visitors was above the average, judging by the sum of money
taken at the door, which was £20 more than on the same occasion last year; and we
never saw so large a gathering of gai-deners at an ordinary exhibition in Edinburgh
before, all taking a deep interest in the productions on the tables, and proving
that such exhibitions are of great value from an educational point of view, and
deserving the support of all interested in horticultural pursuits.

The fir^t prize for the collection of eight plants iu pots was awarded to Mr Pat-
terson,' Gardens, Millbank, who had well-grown specimens of Erica Marmockiana,
E. Atonia, E. Aitoniana, Miltonia bicolor, Eucaris amazonica with 24 spikes of
bloom, Statice profusa, Clerodendron Balfouriana, and Odontoglossum grandi-
florum. Mr Lees of Tyninghame was a good second with Catleya Dowiana,
a lovely plant ; Erica TurnbuUii, a very fine autumn-flowering Heath, raised by
his uncle, Mr Turnbull of Bothwell Castle, who has done more for this class of
plants than any other man ever did ; and had he been at the exhibition on the
occasion, he must have felt proud to see the display his seedling Heaths made ; — E.
Linnseoides, E. Austriciaua, E. Marnockiaua, and Vallotta purpurea with 33 fine
spikes of bloom.

The exhibition of fruit was a fair average of other years, W' ith the exception of
Black Hamburg Grapes, which in point of finish were not up to the usual
standard.

In Mr Johnston of Glamis's collection were very fine Muscats and Black Prince
Grapes, fine Melons, Figs, Peaches, Nectarines, Cherries, Strawberries, and Plums.
Mr Temple, Balbiruie, produced on the occasion some excellent fruit, as did
many others, as will be seen by the list of prizes. Mr Turner of Slough exhibited
a stand of splendid new Dahlias ; amongst them we noted as of superior excellence
John Standish, a perfect flower, James "Wilder, Laura Haslem, and Hope. These
got first-class certificates awarded to them.

Among Seedling Hollyhocks, Messrs Downie, Laird, & Laing showed some
fine flowers; two of great excellence were selected for first honours, and named
John Stewart and Mrs Laing.

Messrs P. Lawson & Son filled the orchestra with Conifers and other graceful
plants, and, like all the other Edinburgh nurserymen, contributed to the general
display by filling tables with showy plants. The most striking novelty in the
ball was the Amaranthus salicifolius, exhibited for the first time in Scotland by
Messrs Veitch of Chelsea. This new and most strikingly graceful plant was sent
from Manilla by the late John G. Veitch. It is a hardy summer annual, growing
about 3 feet high, and as many in diameter, producing long AVillow-like leaves, as
its name indicates ; the colour of various shades of pink and bronze. We believe
that seed of it will be ofi'ered to the public next spring, and it will form a striking
feature wherever it is grown, whether on the greenhouse stage, the conservatory,
or the flower-border.

The following is a list of the awards : —

class I. — FRUIT.

Two smooth Cayenne Pine-Apples —
R, Foulis, gardener to Mr G. W. Hen-
derson of Fordel.

One heaviest bunch of Grapes — L
J. Dickson, gardener to Mr J. Jardine,

Arkleton ; 2. Charles Irving, gardener
to G. Wilson, Heronhill.

Two bunches Black Hamburg Grapes
— .1. Charles Irving ; 2. Thomas Boyd,
gardener to W. Sanderson, Oaklea,
Galashiels,

Two bunches Muscat of Alexandria

482

THE GARDENER.

[Oct.

Grapes — 1. J. Johnston, gardener to the
Earl of Strathmore, Glamis Castle ; 2.
George Greig, gardener to Mr William
Christie, Craigeud Park.

Two bunches Muscat Hamburg
Grapes — 1. James Turner, gardener to
Mr Mark Sprott of Kiddel ; 2. M.
Temple, gardener to Mr John Balfour
of P>albirnie.

Two bunches White Lady Downes —

1. George Greig ; 2. James Gordon,
ganlener to ^Ir Wauchope of Niddrie.

One bunch Black Alicante Grapes
(special prize by Messrs Thomas j\leth-
ven & Sons) — 1. George Greig ; 2. J.
Dickson and J. Fraser, equal.

One bunch Finest-Flavoured White
Grapes — 1. George Greig ; 2. J. John-
ston.

One bunch Finest-Flavoured Black
Grapes— 1. M. Temple ; 2. J. W. For-
tune, gardener to Mr E. Jardine of
Castlemilk.

One bunch Finest Black for Finest
Bloom — 1. and 2. J, Fraser.

Best bunch of any Grape not named
in this schedule — 1. J. Johnston ; 2.
George Gi'eig.

A collection of Twenty Sorts of
Fruits, not more than four sorts of
Grapes, two sorts of Pines, and two
sorts of ]\Ielons — 1. J. Johnston.

A collection of Sixteen Sorts of Fruits
(exclusive of Pines) — 1. M. Temple ; 2.
J. Turner ; 3. J. Brunton, gardener to
Sir W. Kinloch, Gilmerton.

One Melon, green-fleshed — 1. G. W.
Fortune ; 2. D. Ptoss.

One Melon, scarlet-fleshed — 1. B.
Wetherston, gardener to Mr J. Wilson,
Restalrig ; 2. James Wright, Howden.

Six Apricots — 1. John Gumming,
gardener to Earl of Wemyss, Amisfield ;

2. J. Brunton.

Twelve Plums, Four Sorts, three of
each — 1. J. Brunton ; 2. J. Gumming.

Six Peaches, any sort — 1. Thomas
Lees, gardener to Earl of Haddington,
Tyninghame ; 2. C. M'Taggart, gar-
dener to Mr R. Dundas of Aruiston.

Six Peaches, grown on open wall — -

1. A. Anderson, gardener to Mr Brown
of Ashley ; 2. James Vair, Maybie.

Six Nectarines, any sort — 1. T. Lees ;

2. George Barrie, gardener to Mr Fletcher
of Saltoun.

Six Nectarines, grown on open wall —
1. J. Gumming ; 2. J. Brunton.

Six Jargonelle Pears, fit for the table
— 1. T. Lees ; 2. J. Camming.

Six Pears, Two Sorts, three of each

(exclusive of Jargonelle), fit for table —
L J. Foulis; 2. J. Brunton.

Cdlectiou of Baking Apples, six
sorts, three of each, ripe or unripe — 1.
J. Gumming ; 2. J. Brunton.

Six Dessert Apples, fit for the table,
two sorts, three of each — 1. J. Gum-
ming ; 2. J. Brunton.

Pint of Gooseberries — 1. Alexander
Gibson, gardener to Sir J. G. Baird,
Edmonston ; 2. J. Brunton.

Pint of Bed Currants— 1. D. IMacfar-
lane, gardener to Sir R. Hay, King's
Meadows; 2. J. Brunton.

CLASS ir. — OPEX TO GARDENERS AND
AMATEURS.

Eight Stove and Greenhouse Plants
in Flower — 1. J. Paterson, gardener to
Mr J. Syme, Millbank ; 2. T. Lees ; 3.
J. Currie, gardener to Mr W. Nelson,
Salisbury Green.

Three Cape Heaths, of sorts — 1. J.
Currie ; 2. T. Lees ; 3. J. Paterson.

Four Plants, with fine foliage — 1 . J.
Paterson ; 2. J. Currie ; 3. G. R. Mill,
gardener to Mr H. M. Inglis of Logan
Bank.

Four Ferns, exclusive of Trees — 1 . J.
Gordon ; 2. D. Kerr, gardener to Mr
A. B. Shand, Glencorse.

Tree Fern— L J. Gordon; 2. M.
Murray, Carleton Lodge ; 3. J. Currie,
Salisbury Green.

Two Fuchsias, of sorts — 1. J. Cowper,
gardener to Mr W. A. Wardrope of
Balfron ; 2. J. Walker, gardener to Mr
J. Wood, Piosehall.

Two Fuchsias, in 8-inch pots — 1. J.
Cowper ; 2. J. AValker.

Two Cockscombs — 1. A. Anderson ;
2. G. Pv. Mill.

Three Zonale or Bedding Geraniums,
sorts, in pots not larger than 8 inches
— 1. John King, gardener to Sir George
Warrender, Bruntsfield House ; 2. J.
Currie.

Three Variegated Geraniums, of sorts
■ — L W. Gray, gardener, Craig Park ; 2.
C, Macfarlane.

Three Bronze Geraniums, of sorts —
1. A. Dougall, gardener to Mr J. Cowan,
Beeslack ; 2. B. AYetherston,

Twelve Cut Roses, of sorts — 1. R.
Rutherford, Courthill ; 2. W. Knox,
gardener to Mr J. Hay, Leith ; 3. W.
Pirie, gardener to Earl of Rosslyn,
Dysart.

Twelve Gladioli, of sorts — 1. A.
Dougall ; 2. D. Taylor, gardener to Mr
J. Dickson of Saughtou.

71.]

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS.

483

Six Gladioli, of sorts— 1. B. Wether-
ston ; 2. J. Ridpath, Edinburgh.

Twelve Quilled Asters, of sorts — 1.
J. Taylor, luveresk ; 2. D. Taylor,
Saughton.

Twelve Chrysanthemum - flowered
Asters, of sorts— 1. D. Wright; 2. J.
Taylor.

Six Phloxes, of sorts— 1. D. Macfar-
lane ; 2. D. Taylor.

Nine Spikes of Hollyhocks, of sorts
—1. D. Macfarlane ; 2. D. Marshall,
gardener to Miss Have, Vingston Grange.

Twelve Hollyhock Blooms, of sorts
— 1. Jas. Fraser; 2. D. Marshall.

Six Hollyhock Blooms, of sorts— 1.
J. Fraser ; 2. D. Kerr.

Eighteen Dahlia Blooms, exclusive
of Fancies, of sorts — 1. W. Brown ; 2.
J. Walker; 3. Wm. Mattock, Niddrie
Mains.

Twelve Dahlia Blooms, exclusive of
Fancies, of sorts — 1. A. Dougall ; 2. A.
Tait.

Twelve Fancy Dahlia Blooms, of
sorts — 1. T. Reid, Bangholm Bower ;
2. J. Walker ; 3. A. Dougall.

CLASS III. — FOR KUESERYMEN ONLY.

Twenty-four Dahlia Blooms, of sorts
— 1. John Garthove, Sons, & Co., Fal-
kirk ; 2. J. MacphersoD, Aberdeen.

Twelve Fancy Dahlia Blooms, of sorts
— J. Stewart, Dundee.

Thirty Gladioli, not more than two
of a sort — 1. Stewart & Mein, Kelso ;
2, J. Macpherson.

Best assorted Table of Plants in
Flower or Foliage, not exceeding 20 by

3 feet — 1. P. Lawson & Sons, Edin-
burgh ; 2. T. Methven & Sons ; 3. J.
Dickson & Sons.

CLASS IV. — OPEN TO GARDENERS AND
AMATEURS.

Two Cucumbers— 1. J. Turner ; 2.
R. Robertson.

Four Cauliflowers— 1. J. Mill ; 2. J.
Eraser, Belmont.

Two Stalks Brussels Sprouts— 1. J.
Gordon ; 2. A. Anderson.

Four Stalks Celery— 1. J. Mill ; 2.

B. Wetherston.

Four Beetroot — 1. B. Campbell,
Alva ; 2. D. Marshall.

Six Leeks— 1. R. Robertson, Sea-
cock ; 2. J. Ridpath.

Twelve Onions— 1. D. Marshall ; 2.

C. Macfarlane.

Collection of Vegetables, twelve sorts
— 1. C. Irving; 2. A. Anderson.

CLASS V. — AMATEURS ONLY.

Basket of Yegetables, eight sorts — J.
Ridpath.

Six Gladioli— J. Ridpath.

Best six Rose Blooms— G. L. Brown,
Millburn Cottage.

Best one Zonale Geranium — N. M.
Cairns, Niddrie.

Six Phloxes, varieties — 1. J. Rid-
path ; 2. G. L. Brown.

CLASS VI. — COTTAGERS TO COMPETE
FREE.

Best Fuchsia— X. M. Cairns.
Best Hydrangea— N. M. Cairns.
Two German Greens— IST. M. Cairns.

Two Savoys— N. M. Cairns.

First-class certificates were awarded to Mr Charles Turner, the Royal Nurseries,
Slough, for Seedling Dalhias John Standish, James Wilder, Laura Haslam, and
Hope; to Messrs Veitch & Sons, Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, for Amaranthus
salicifolius ; to Messrs Downie, Laird, & Laing, Coates Nursery, for Seedling
Hollyhocks John Stewart and Mrs Laing; to Mr G. M. Butter, Nurseryman,
Greenock, for Sibthorpea europea argentea variegata.

The members of the Society dined together in the afternoon in the Albert
Hotel— Councillor Methven, of Messrs T. Methven & Sons, presiding, supported
by Mr Williams and Mr Veitch, both celebrated nurserymen, from London; Mr
R. A. Arnott, of Messrs Mitchell, Arnott, & Co., Hanover Street, officiating as
croupier. The chairman, in proposing the toast of the evening, "Prosperity to
the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society," stated that the exhibition of that
day was the finest he had seen for many years, and expressed his regret that the
public did not patronise the shows of the Association so well as they might do.
Other toasts bearing upon the interests of horticulture were afterwards proposed
and responded to.

The Glasgow and West of Scotland Horticultural Society. — This
Society held its autumn exhibition in the City Hall on September 6th, and it was

484

THE GARDENER.

[Oct.

one of the best shows ever held in the West of ScoUand. Both plants, cut
flowers, and fruit were numerous and fine. AVe have just sjjace to append the
list of prizes.

The judges were: — On Plants — Mr Dickson, the Gardens, Ferguslie ; Mr
M'Keuzie of Edinburgh ; Mr J. Mitchell, Panuiure House, Dundee ; Mr Benja-
min "Williams, Paradise Nursery, London. On Vegetables — Mr R. King, Barrow-
field, Eastwood ; Mr J. Clark, gardener, Clayslap ; Mr R. Ingram, Eldert-lie, by
Renfrew ; Mr D. Boyd, Thornton, Uddit)gston. Fruit and Bouquets — Mr J.
Connon, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh ; Mr C. Hume, Rochsoles, Airdrie ; Mr J.
Sutherland, Helenslee, Dumbarton. Cut Flowers, Dahlias, Holljhocks, Pansies,
and Gladioli— Mr R. Andrews, Neilston ; Mr J. Peddie, Holm, Cathcart. Cut
flowers— Mr SLanks of Gartliston, Coatbridge ; Mr Grierson, Coltness ; Mr J.
Methven, Blythswood.

OPEN TO ALL.

Six Geraniums, varieties — 1. Archd.
Chapman, gardener to Mr John Goldie,
Lauijjside ; 2, Neil Campbell, gardener
to Mr Jas. Couper, Cathcart ; 3. Jas.
F. Mills, Hutchesontown Gardens.

T wen ty -four Bl'oms Pansies, varieties
— 1. Matthew Pollock, Newmilus ; 2,
Jas. Orr, gardener to Mr W. Marshall,
Lady burn ; 3. Thomas Findlay, Mauch-
line.

Three Orchids, varieties — James
Murray, gardener to Mrs Crum, the
Rouken,

One specimen Heath — 1. William
Clark, gardener to Mrs Thomson, Camp-
hill ; 2. James Orr ; 3. James Murray.

FOR GARDENERS AND AMATEURS.

House Plants. — Twelve specimen
Plants Ornamental Foliage Geraniums
— 1. Neil Campbell ; 2. Wm. Boyd, gar-
dener to Mr Thos. Fmdlay, Easterhill ;
3. Thomas Stobo, Hutchesontown Gar-
dens.

Three double-flowering Geraniums,
varieties— William S. Bookless, Hutch-
esontown Gardens.

Six House Plants, varieties, in flower
— 1. James Buchanan, gardener to Mr
A. Miller, Busby; 2. James Murray and
Wm. Boyd, equal.

Three House Plants, varieties, in
flower — L Thos. Hogg, gardener to
Mr David Tod, Ironbauk, Partick ; 2.
Robert Caskie, gardener to Mr A.
Graham, Thornwood, Partick ; 3. J.
Buchanan.

Four fine Foliage Plants — 1. James
Ollerhead, gardener to Mr S. Higgin-
botham, Killermont ; 2. James Buch-
anan and Archd. Chapman, equal ; 3. A.
Cameron, gardener to Mr A. B. Stew-
art, Langside.

Three Ericas, varieties — 1. James

Cant, gardener to Mr Robert Cuthbert,

the Craigs ; 2. T. Hogg ; 3. R. Ca.skie.

Three Fuchsias, varieties — L James

Macleod, Thistlebank, Helensburgh ;

2. A. Cameron ; 3. Alex. Walker, gar-
dener to Thomas Hill, Esq., IMerrjlee.

Three pots Liliums, varieties — 1.
Alexander Walker ; 2. James Macleod ;

3. Robert Caskie.

One pot Lilium auratum — James
Macleod.

Tiiree trained Petunias, varieties —
John M'Nab, gardener to James Wil-
son, Esq., Paisley Road.

Four Ferns— I. James Buchanan and
Thos. Hogg, equal; 2. Archd. Chap-
man and Joseph Fleming, gardener to
J. C. Wakefield, Esq., Eastwood Park,
equal ; 3. James Canr.

One Tree Fern— 1. Thos. Hogg; 2.
Joseph Fleming ; 3. A. Cameron.

One specimen Todea superba — 1.
James Buchanan; 2. Jas. Murray.

Two specimens Todea — 1. A. Cam-
eron ; 2. Thos. Hogg.

Four Cockscombs — 1. George Robert-
son, gardener to S. Adam, Esq., Green-
ock ; 2. Robert Kerr, gardener to Jas.
Smith, Esq., Greenock ; 3. William
Boyd.

Six varieties British Ferns — 1. Mat-
thew Miller, gardener to Thos. Lead-
better, E^q., Both well; 2. Hugh Camp-
bell, gardener to Thos. M 'Milking,
Esq., Helensburgh: 3. Jas. Murray.

FOR NUESERTMEN.

Cut Flowers. — Twenty-four Blooms
Dahlias, varieties — 1. George White,
nurseryman. Paisley ; 2. William Paul,
nurseryman. Paisley.

Twenty.four Blooms Roses, varieties
— 1. George Gordon, gardener to John
Todd, Esq., Finnich, Drymen ; 2. W.
Pari an e, Roselea, Row ; 3. Robertson
& Galloway, seedsmen, Glasgow.

iSyi

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS.

485

FOR GARDENERS AND AMATEURS.

Twenty-four Blooms Dahlias, var-
ieties—!. Neil Glass, gardener to J. C.
Bolton, Esq., Carbrook ; 2. Archibald
Duncan, gardener to Dr Bruce, Trees,
Barrhead ; 3. James Orr.

Twelve Blooms Dahlias, varieties — 1.
Geo. Fife, gardener to Miss Buchanan,
Bellfield, Kilmarnock; 2. William D.
Logan, Kilbirnie ; S. R. Glass.

Twelve Blooms Dahlias (fancies),
varieties — 1. Niel Glass ; 2. Archibald
Duncan ; 3. Jas. Watson, gardener to
Mrs Rowan, Holmfauldhead.

Six Blooms new Dahlias, varieties,
of 1870-71 only — 1. Archibald Duncan ;

2. John M'Nab.

Twenty- four Annuals, varieties — 1.
M. Hendei'son, Ardrossan ; 2. Wm.
Boyd, Easterhill ; 3. William Clark,
gardener to Mrs Thomson, Camphill.

Twelve Annuals, genera — 1. M.
Henderson ; 2. J\r. Miller ; 3. Robert
Montgomery, Kilbirnie.

Twelve Spikes Gladioli, varieties — 1.
Matthew Smith, Kilmarnock ; 2. (equal)
Robert Hetherington and Ales. Camp-
bell, gardener to Colonel Latham,
Greenock ; 3, Thomas Findlay, Mauch-
line.

Six Spikes Gladioli, varieties — 1.
Matthew Smith ; 2. Thomas Findlay ;

3, Robert Hetherington.

Nine Spikes Hollyhockp, varieties —
1. Thomas Walker, gardener to Colonel
Hozier, Taunochside ; 2. Neil Glass ;
3. H. G,bb, Garscadden.

Twelve Blooms Hollyhocks, varieties
—1. Thomas Walker ; 2. J. Campbell ;
3. James Cant.

Twelve Blooms Pansies, varieties —

1. Andrew Brown, Deans, Cambuslaug ;

2. Matthew Pollock, Newmilus ; 3.
James Orr.

Twelve Herbaceous Cut Flowers,
varieties — 1. William Boyd; 2. Alex.
Reid, Bouhill Place, Renton ; 3. M.
Henderson.

Twelve Blooms Quilled Asters, var-
ieties— 1. John Livingston, Crossflat,
Paisley ; 2. George Crawford, Bunswynd,
Beith ; 3. James Watson.

Twelve Blooms Asters, varieties — 1.
George Fyfe ; 2. George Gordon ; 3.
Robert Hetherington.

Twelve Verbenas, varieties — 1. T.
Walker ; 2. Wm. Boyd ; 3. Matthew
Miller.

Six double Stocks, varieties — 1. A.
Walker ; 2. George Bauchope; 3. Robert
Caskie.

Six Phloxes, varieties — 1. Matthew
Miller; 2. John Hamilton, Gareloch-
head ; 3. William Chrystal, gardener,
Bankhead, Rutherglen.

Six Pentstemons, varieties — 1. A.
Duncan ; 2. Matthew Miller ; 3. Neil
M'jNlillan, Victoria Gardens.

Twelve Blooms French Marigolds,
stripes— 1. James Orr ; 2. Alexander
Johnston, Mountstuart, Bute; 3. John
Livingston.

Twelve Blooms African Marigolds —

1. Robert Robertson, gardener, Seacote,
Leith ; 2. James Orr ; 3. John Brown,
joiner, Drumpellier.

Twelve Blooms Roses, varieties — 1.
William Parlane, Roselea ; 2. Robert
Hetherington ; 3. James Graham, gar-
dener to Sir G. Campbell, Garscube,

Table Bouquet — 1. John Conning,
gardener to Provost Morton, Greenock ;

2. Alexander Campbell ; 3. Neil Camp-
bell.

Hand Bouquet — 1. James Milne,
Ramsay, Helensburgh ; 2. Wm. M'Neil,
461 St Vincent Street ; 3. John In-
gram, gardener to Mr John Gordon,
Aikenhead.

Hand Bouquet of Everlasting
Flowers and Grasses (natural colours) —

1. Thomas Rowe, Lesmahagow; 2.
Wm. Chrystal, gardener, Bankhead ; 3.
William Thomson, gardener to Mr J.
B. Risk, Dumbarton.

Floral device — 1. James Walker,
gardener to jMajor Fullartou, Paitsley ;

2. John Johnstone, Whitburn ; "^3.
Alexander Reid, Bonhill Place, Ren-
ton.

Specimen Dessert decoration — 1. W.
H. Lewin, gardener to Colonel Buch-
anan, Drumpellier ; 2. John Methveu,
gardener to Colonel Campbell, Blyths-
wood.

Three bunches Black Grapes — 1.
John George, gardener to Mr D. Y.
Stewart, Barassie ; 2. Ronald Pater-
son, gardener to Mr E. Collins, West
Balgray ; 3. Daniel Smith, gardener to
the Countess of Stair, Bargany.

Three bunches White Grapes — 1.
William Rose, gardener to Sir James
Lumsden, Arden House, Lochlomond;
2. Alexander Crosbie, Rossdhu, Luss,
gardener to Sir James Colquhon ; 3.
Ronald Paterson.

Two bunches best coloured Black
Hamburg Grapes— 1. Daniel Smith ;
2. John Smith, gai-dener to Mr An-
drrnv Hoggan, Billhead House ; 3.
Matthew Miller.

486

THE GARDENER.

[Oct.

One bunch heaviest Grapes — Ronald
Paterson.

Six Peaches — 1. William !^PIutyre,
gardener to Bailie Taylor, ilearns ; 2.
John Robertson, gardener to Captain
Thornton, Lanark ; 3. James Graham.

Que ]\Ielon, best flavoured — 1. Geo.
Robertson; 2. Alexander " Baird, gar-
dener to Colonel Finlay, Boturich Castle,
Dumbartonshire ; 3. James Muiray.

Tvvelve Baking Apples, varieties— 1.
John M'Gregor, gardener to William
Hinahaw, Esq., Barrochan; 2. Alex-
ander Johnston ; 3. George Watson,
gardener to Hugh Walker, Esq., Green-
ock.

Twelve Dessert Apples, varieties — 1.
William Sharpe, gardener to Sir John
Stewart Richardson, Pitfour Castle,
Perth ; 2. Alexander Johnston ; 3.
IMatthew Turubull, Rothesay.

Twelve Pears, varieties — 1. Alex.
Crosbie ; 2. William Sharpe ; 3. R.
Wilson, gardener to C. R. Dunlop,
Esq. of AValkinshaw.

Twelve Plums, varieties — 1. Alex.
Crosbie ; 2. William M. Robertson,
Karnes Castle ; 3. William Sharpe.

Six varieties Hardy Fruits — 1. Wm,
Sharpe ; 2. Alexander Crosbie.

A Basket of Fruit — 1. Alexander
Crosbie.

VEGETABLES.

Two Cucumbers — 1. William M'ln-
tyre ; 2. Robert Taylor, gardener to
Captain Stirling Stewart, Castlemilk ;
3. Geo. Bauchope, gardener to Mr Wm.
Mann, Inglefield House.

Three Cauliflowers — 1. Thos. Walker,
gardener to Colonel Hozier, Tannoch-
side; 2. Alex. Johnstone; 3. Neil Glass.

Two Cabbages (excludiug Red) — 1.
Wm. Boyd ; 2. llobt. Taylor ; 3. Alex-
ander Walker.

Two Red Cabbages_l. Robt. Taylor;
2. Alexander Walker ; 3. Robt. Hether-
ington.

Two Savoys— 1. Robert Taylor; 2.
James Graham ; 3. Wm. Boyd.

Twenty-four pods Peas — 1. William
Frame, Craighall, Larkhall ; 2. Hector
Munro, gudener to Thomas Allan,
Esq., Maryhill; 3. Jas. Heron, gar-
dener to Sir W. Stirling Maxwell of
Pollok.

Twenty-four pods Beans — 1. James
Cornock, gardener to E. J. .Jones, Esq.,
Bonhill; 2. Ja8. Faulds, Kirkmuirhill ;
',). James Simpson, Castlemilk, and
Robert Taylor (equal).

Twenty-four pods French Beans — 1.
James Coruock ; 2. James Heron; 3.
Wm Rovvatt, Northfield, Largs.

Six Leeks— 1. Archd. Duncan, Trees,
gardener to Dr Bruce, Barrhead ; 2. R.
Wutson, Crossford ; 3. Robert Wright,
Denny.

Twelve Onions — 1, James Taylor ; 2.
Neil Glass, Carbrook ; 3. Robt. Craig,
Bellshill.

Six Turnips — 1. James Raynard,
Beechwood, New Kilpatrick ; 2. Wm.
Thomson, Dumbarton; 3. Wm. Frame,
Craighall, Larkhall.

SixCari'ots — 1. J. Walker, Stewarton ;
2. W. M. Robertson, Karnes Castle ; 3.
D. Smith, Cardross.

Three heads Celery— 1. Robt. Taylor;
2. Thomas Walker ; 3. John Sime, gar-
dener to Mr R. Galbraith, Govan.

Six Parsnips— 1. John Ingram ; 2.
James Dickie, Yoker ; 3. R. Hethering-
ton.

Four Beet — 1. James Thomson, Fair-
hill, Hamilton ; 2. James Heron ; 3.
John Sime.

Twelve Potatoes — 1. J. Campbell,
gardener, Carruth ; 2. Wm. M'Quis-
ten, Lainshaw, Stewarton; 3. J. Simp-
son.

One pot Parsely, single plant — 1.
James Faulds, Kirkmuirhill, Lesmaha-
gow ; 2. Andrew Shankly, Douglas
Castle ; 3. Matthew Miller.

Twelve varieties Peas (named) — L
Wm. Frame ; 2. John Fairlie, Auchin-
heath.

Six varieties Potatoes (named) — 1.
Robt. Taylor ; 2. Geo. Bauchope.

Heaviest Gourd — 1. Geo. Watson,
gardener to Hugh Walker, Esq. , Wood-
burn, Greenock ; 2. Wm. Clark ; 3.
Thos. Walker.

Twelve roots Nutting's Select Dwarf
Red Beet — 1. Jas. Heron; 2. Jas. Oiler-
head; 3. Wm. Boyd.

A Box or Babket of Vegetables — 1.
Robt. Taylor ; 2. George Bauchope ; 3.
James Ollerhead.

i87i.]

CALENDAR.

487

©alentrau

KITCHEN-GARDEN.

Asparagus will soon be showing a
yellow tint, gradually ripening : when
ripe it should be cut down. The beds
or rows require to be cleared of weeds.
Some cover the whole surface with a
coating of manure or soil ; many leave
it alone. Asparagus is a hardy plant,
but when grown so large as it is often
met with, it is tender, and liable to rot
in the ground. Frost and wet often
finish it. "We believe that keeping
the plants as dry as possible, especially
in northern and damp districts (where
the plants are late in maturing their
growth), has moi-e to do with keep-
ing the roots healthy than is generally
recognised. Cabbage is often planted
in quantity in the south at this season,
but in the north it is better to keep the
plants in sheltered quarters and plant
them in March. The smaller plants
are often left where they were sown, but
it is better to lift them and replant
them in sizes, leaving them equidistant.
Lettuces should not be allowed to re-
main too thickly in the beds. When
thick they are easily destroyed by frost
and damp. More may be planted under
walls on ridges, or in turf-pits. A
quantity of full-grown plants may be
lifted and placed under shelter, giving
them all the light and air possible.
Dustings of lime, soot, or small coal-
ashes should be placed among young
plants to keep slugs in check. Endive
may be blanched by placing a board
over the plants, keeping them from the
air. Tying them v;p answers well for
blanching, but only a few should be
done at one time, according to demand ;
they soon root when weather is damp.
Cauliflowers, if not already planted
under hand-lights, should have attention
soon, keeping the covers on when
we.ither is severe, but giving all the air
possible while mild weather prevails.
Celery should be earthed-up to its full
height before the weather renders it
impossible to do the work well. Many

are still opposed to the "one-earthing"
system, which is attended with more
risk if left very late and weather should
set in wet. Carrots may be lifted and
allowed to lie on the ground a few
hours to diy a little, and then be placed
under cover, with straw thrown over
them, or placed in pits the same
as potatoes. Beet may be treated in a
similar manner. Keeping them from
being shrivelled is a great object. The
tops should not be cut off too close to
cause bleeding. A few Parsnips may
be dug up at short intervals as required.
They generally keep best iu tlie ground
till they are about to grow at the crowns.
Onions, if still out, may be lifted and
trimmed as the tops die down ; if they
can be exposed to sun and air some
time before they are stored in cool dry
quarters, they will keep all the better ;
any that are likely to decay should be
kept separate from the sound ones.
Keep Parsley free fi'om decaying leaves,
and all inferior kinds kept off. Keep
Spinach from becoming too thick ; let
the plants at least stand clear of each
other. The sooner Potatoes are lifted
now, the better they will keep. They
should be stored away dry. Vegetable
Marrows, French Beans, Tomatoes, and
ridge Cucumbers can often be kept
growing weeks longer than they other-
wise would if timely protection is
afforded. Salads, such as Mustard and
Cress, may now be grown in boxes,
allowing them to have plenty of air for
some days before being used. If a good
breadth of Eadishes is coming into
use, they will keep late in the season
in good tender condition. Every vege-
table crop should have the soil stirred
frequently, and no decaying leaves be
allowed to remain. All vegetable refuse
should be cleared to a suitable place,
where it can be mixed with other ma-
teria], to rot and form "dressing,"
which is valuable for many purposes.
M. T.

FORCING DEPARTMENT.

Pines. — Suckers potted in August
and early part of September will now
grow freely, and will require to be well
aired to prevent their drawing, espe-
cially if they are plunged rather thickly
than otherwise. After the middle of

this month the night temperature
should not range higher than from 60°
to 65°, according as the nights are cold
or mild. The bottom-heat should be
lowered to range from 75° to 80°.
Should there be any fear of the largest

488

THE GARDENER.

[Oct.

and earliest of them becoming pot-
bound before sprins/, it is better to give
them a small shi:t, and eive them a
little more room between plants, than to
allow them to be cramped in small pots.
"With the decline of sunshine and heat,
the amount of moisture, both in the
Boil ai)d air, requires to be graduMlIy
reduced. Just keep the soil from be-
comiui^ mealy dry. Succession plants,
intended to fruit early next season, will
now have well filled their pots with
roots, and in other respects be in a
well-matured condition, and must be
kept in a state of comparative rest for
the next three months. Drop the tem-
perature to 60^ at night by the end of
the month, and the bottom-heat should
be proportionately low — 75° to 80° is
quite sufficient to keep the roots in
good condition. When with sun-heat
the day temperature exceeds 70°, give
air to prevent it rising to an exciting
degree. If the pots are plunged firmly
to the rim, they will require very little
water through the winter, and no more
should be given than is necessary to
prevent the soil from becoming dust-
dry. Keep a moist atmosphere in pits
or houses where fruit are swelling, and
range the night temperature from 70°
to 75°, according as the weather is mild
or cold ; and shut up the house early
on the afternoons of fine days, running
the temperature up to 85° for a time,
and gently sprinkle the plant overhead
every other day when the weather is
bright. See that no check is allowed
from want of water at the root, but
avoid over-waterintr, e-pecially if the
soil be rather tenacious than otherwise.
Keep the bottom-heat at 85°. If it is
dependent entirely on leaves or tan,
and if it has decliaed much below 85°,
let some fresh tan or leaves be mixed
into the top of the bed, and replunge
the plants again. Pines never swell
their finit properly after this season,
unless the bottom-heat is kept steadily
at the point named. Ripe fiuit can he
kept for a month or more in first-rate
order, if they are removed to a dry
fruit-room. Suckers of smooth Caj"-
ennes and other autumn and winter
fruiting sorts can be taken oflF and
potted as they become large enough.
They will root and establish themselves
before winter, and will not be so likely
to become drawn as when left to grow
on the parent plant.

Vines. — All Grapes intended to

hang through the winter should be
perfectly ripe by the 1st of October,
and where they are not so let them be
assisted with lire heat, and a circula-
tion of dry warm air. Look over all
Grapes that have been ripe for some
tinje two or three times a-week, and
wherever a mouldy berry appears
remove it at once, before it taints
otheis. Keep everything about them
as dry as possible by occasional fires,
and a free circulation of air ou fine
d;iys, and by keeping the house shut
when it is wet and foggy. Keep Vines
from which the fruit is all cut cool and
well aired, unless in cases where the
wood is not perfectly ripened, such as
young vigorous -growing Vines, which
should be fired till the wood is per-
fectly brown and hard. Green leaves
and brown wood is a very desirable
condition, while brown leaves and
green wood is the most undesirable.
Vines planted this year, and that have
continued to grow till now, should be
ripened foithwith by the application of
a little extra fire-heat, and, if at all
crowded, by the removal of some of the
lateral gro^Yth, to allow a free play of
light and air about all their parts.
Vmes from which Grapes are to be
ripened early next year should be
pruned immediately, if not already
pruned. Remove all loose bark from
their stems, but avoid the " s^craping-
to-the-quick " system. If there has
been any spider on them this season,
scrub them with a hard brush and
water, and then coat them over with
sulphur, cow-dung, and clay, in equal
proportions, and of the consistency of
thick paint. Thoroughly clean all the
wood and glass, remove the surface
soil, and replace it with fresh soil, so
that all may be in readiness to start
forcing next month. If pot-Vines
have been standing outdoors, remove
them to some place where their roots
can be protected from heavy rains.
Where very early Grapes are required,
the earlust of these may be started
towards the middle or end of the month;
and if they can be plunged in bottom-
heat, they will start into growth sooner.
If they have been cut or pruned in any
way, dress the wounds twice over with
f-t\ ptic, or they will be apt to bleed.
Put a few more into heat than are re-
quired for the space, in case any of
them fail to show well. It is use-
less to start thus early with any but

1871.]

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

489

early and well - ripened Vines, and
they require to have a higher tempera-
ture to excite them than two months
hence — 55° at night will be necessary.

Peaches. — Where new borders and
fresh plantations of trees are contem-
plated, this is an excellent time to
transplant the trees, just as they are
beginning to show their leaves. There
is, however, danger in beginning too
early ; for if not sufficiently matured,
the process of removing them will
cause the wood to shrivel. Trees
planted a season or two ago, and that
have grown too grossly, may now be
partially lifted and root-pruned. Keep
trees that are well ripened well aired
and cool, but where the wood is rather
green a little fire-heat will much assist
their ripening.

Melons. — Late crops will now re-
quire more assistance from fire-heat.
The night temperature should not be
less than 70°, and when ripening
warmth and dryness are indispensable
to anything like good flavour. Melons
can now be kept longer, after being
ripe, in the frait-room than in warmer
weather.

Cucumbers. — Keep up a genial
growing atmosphere, not allowing the
temperature to sink much below 70°
at night ; give air in the early part of
the day, and shut up early with same

heat, and lessen the moisture in the
soil and atmosphere as the season
becomes more dull and sunless ; but
where the roots are near the hot pipes,
see that over-dryness of soil is not
allowed. Stop them at every joint,
and do not allow them to become over-
crowded, which produces a thin weakly
foliage, which is much more apt to
damp off as the weather becomes more
damp and sunless. Do not allow them
to bear too much fruit at one time.

Figs.— Generally speaking, all Figs
are gathered by the middle of this
month, and the trees may be kept drier
at the roots and the house cool, but see
that extreme dryness of soil is not al-
lowed. All wood not required to fur-
nish the trees for next season had bet-
ter be removed at once. Early plants
in pots should now be protected from
heavy rains.

Strawberries in Pots. — If former
directions have been attended to, these
should now be ready to burst their
pots with roots, and have large well-
ripened crowns. During heavy rains,
lay the pots on their sides, if they can-
not be placed in cold pits or frames.
When plants are late, place them in
pits or frames, in a warm light place,
and put glass over them to induce them
to mature their growth better than if
left in the open air.

Inquirer. — Sow your Alpine Strawberry-seed in February, in boxes, in a tem-
perature of 55° to 60°, and as soon as they can be handled prick them off in frame,
or handglasses 2 inches apart each way. About the middle of May transplant
them with balls on to good well-worked soil, and they will bear a crop in Septem-
ber and October of the same year, and the following year will be most prolific.
The best is the Scarlet Alpine. The way to prepare Strawberry-seed for sowing
is to wash away all the pulp from the seed ; dry it, and keep it in a dry place till
spring.

A Subscriber. — Your Grapes are evidently suffering from what is known as
"shanking," for which a great many causes have been assigned. We believe
that anything that injures the constitution of the Vine will cause shanking,— such
as over-heavy cropping, ill-matured wood and roots the previous season, drought,
and over-much wet at the roots. If your wood is not hard and brown, fire your
vinery till it is, and give a circulation of air. See that there is no stagnant
water about the roots, also that in a dry season the border is not allowed to get
too dry. Crop moderately and keep red-spider at bay, and, all other things being
ecjual, your Grapes should not shank. Very likely your dropping to fire suddenly
in cold weather paralysed the system of your Vinee, and they have rebelled as
described. Avoid sudden checks.

2 M

490 THE GARDENER. [Oct. 1871.

T, P. — The best early-forcing Peaches are Stirling Castle, Violette Hative, and
Koyal George. These can be ripened by the middle of April. Walburton's Late
Admirable and Barringtou are two good late sorts. We have gathered the Admir-
able under glass as late as October 24th in East Lothian.

Allamandas. — "Will some of your correspondents kindly give us a chapter on
AUamandas, especially the Allamanda cathartica, as we have plants here, both old
and young, but neither flower as I think they ought ? — E. W.

[Will any of our correspondents favour us with their experience ? — Ed,]
Pine-Apple. — Smooth Cayenne and Charlotte Eothschild are two of the best
winter Pines, and can be kept for weeks after they are quite ripe. White Provi-
dence is not worth growing unless it be a very few plants where room is no object.

P. A. — Any respectable nursery firm can supply you. We never recommend
tradesmen.

W. E. B. — The best trees for standing the sea-breeze, and otherwise best for
your purpose, are Pinus austriaca and P. maritima. Sea Buckthorn is the best
of all seaside plants, but not so appropriate for an avenue. The only herbs suit-
able for a cold frame in winter are the ordinary culinary herbs, such as Thyme,
Sage, Savory, &c. Sow Parsley in April, and plant in frames in June or July for
winter supply. Hardy evergreen plants fit for table decoration are email plants
of Thuja aurea, Cupressus of sorts, especially Lawsoniana, berried Aucubas, Skim-
mia japonica, Yucca recurva pendula, Myrtles.

Rev. H. E. — It is generally considered that the blue flowers of the Hydrangea
are caused by the presence of oxide of iron in the soil, and peat impregnated with
this mineral causes the blueness regularly. Your best way is to test several
samples of soil.

T. F. — The best way to propagate Golden pyrethrum is from seed. It is much
more disposed to bloom from cuttings, and does not make such fine foliage. This
is a fine plant for decorative purposes, but it is much too lavishly used in many
instances.

A Subscriber. — Cut the tops of your Drtecenas and insert them in small pots
in light sandy soil, and plunge the pots in a bottom-heat of 80°. Keep moderately
moist and shade from sun. The old plants will break with several young shoots,
which can be rooted in like manner. Propagation is also eff'ected by taking the
thick knobs formed by the roots and putting them in sandy soil in bottom-heat.
Keep the temperature for the plants you name at 65° at night throughout autumn
and winter.

J. Gayton. — Shanking in Grapes is caused by several conditions. See our
reply to another correspondent on the same subject. It is not easy for us to
say what in your case is producing it, unless we are furnished with more particu-
lars than you state.

A Young Hoeti. — Must let us have your name and address before your com-
munication can be noticed.

H. PiGGOT. — I shall be obliged if you could find room in 'Gardener' for full in-
structions to enable amateur to grow Anthurium Scherzerianum, including the time
when it should be dormant, when it should be growing, and when it should
flower, the quantity of watering, and the temperature of houses and of water, &c.

[Will any of our correspondents oblige us with a paper on the culture of this
Anthurium 1— Ed. ]

A. T. Thomson. — Plant your Carnations out at the end of March or beginning
of April.

THE

GARDENER,

NOVEMBER 1 871.

THE ADAPTATION AND KEEP OF GARDENS.

AST month we made some remarks on the laying out of
pleasure-grounds, referring more especially to those con-
nected with the rapidly-increasing numbers of places of
moderate dimensions. We then attempted to point out
what we conceive to be the principles on which such grounds should
be dealt with by the landscape-gardener, in order to convey as much
as possible the impression of expanse and seclusion, instead of con-
tracted intricacy; and have now a desire to supplement these remarks
with a few others which naturally present themselves as a sequel to
the same subject, and which have a bearing upon matters that we
think of considerable importance to all who wish for as much enjoy-
ment as can possibly be derived from the ownership of a garden.

While it may safely be recognised that the idea of extent and vari-
ety is natural to most minds, and that it cannot be otherwise than de-
sirable that small grounds should if possible be so laid out as to be
productive of the illusive effect of seeming to be larger than they
really are, we may be considered paradoxical, if not bold, when we
affirm our conviction that scarcely anything would tend so much to the
improvement of gardening, and to the heightening of that enjoyment
which is derivable from gardening, than that half the pleasure-grounds
in the country should be absolutely reduced in area instead of increased.
In taking this position, we raise no objections to mere extent; all
other things being equal, the more extensive the better. There is,
however, no getting rid of the conviction, that one acre of garden well
laid out, and kept in first-rate order, is far better calculated to yield
the highest pleasure and enjoyment than three acres indifi'erently

2 N

492 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

laid out and badly kept. Order should be the first law of every gar-
den from which pleasurable enjoyment is expected. It matters not
how much nature with her own peculiar beauty has done for a garden,
how masterly have been the ideas of the landscape-gardener, or how
thorough and high the cultivation in certain phases ; if cleanliness,
taste, and order in the keeping of the grounds be absent, there must,
in the very nature of things, be present all that is calculated to grate
and jar upon any well-regulated eye. Whenever it becomes manifest
that there is a struggle between nature and art for the mastery —
when a pleasure-garden ceases to be well kept and dressed — it ceases
to be worthy of the name, and will most certainly fail to serve its end
in the present economy of things, and, on the contrary, prove a source
of dissatisfaction and annoyance to all concerned.

We feel confident that we are now contending for a principle which
should never be lost sight of in determining how much of any policy
should come under the designation of kept garden-ground. The ex-
tent should be fixed by the means which the proprietor is able or will-
ing to devote to such a purpose ; for it should always be borne in mind
that a highly-kept garden presupposes one for which sufiicient labour
is allowed— for it not only requires a maximum of labour, but it de-
mands it almost incessantly. It requires no evidence to prove that
this is a point which owners of gardens far too often lose sight of ;
and the undue extension of such grounds as we are now treating of, is
an error from which gardeners do not always steer clear. There can
be no denying the fact that gardeners would go into their business
with far more spirit and energy, and with satisfaction to both their
employers and themselves, if they had sufficient labour force in all cases
to keep the gardens under their care in the highest possible trim. But
far too often it is the other way ; and there need be little hesitation in
saying that it is diflScult to point to anything else that would so much
improve the whole aspect of gardens, and increase the pleasure and sat-
isfaction of all related to them, as an adjustment of the grounds to be
kept and cultivated to the means allowed for that purpose, — either the
grounds to be reduced and brought down to the means, or that the
means be augmented in proportion to the work required. We are
not sure that it would matter much in the real interests of gardening
which of these steps be taken to remedy the evil of disorder, and the
want of those finer touches of keeping, without which it verges on a
misnomer to apply the term "pleasure" to our grounds or gardens.

We consider this to be a point of great moment, and worthy of the
attention of all who have in any way to do with flower-gardens or
pleasure-grounds. An immense garden, in the very highest style of
keeping, is an object from which few ever withhold their meed of praise

iSyi.] ADAPTATION AND KEEP OF GARDENS. 493

and admiration ; but a smaller garden in the same high order is far
more fitted to delight the mind than the largest when deficient of
order and high keeping. And we do not know of any one more truly-
worthy of commiseration and sympathy than he who, with a naturally
orderly mind, is called upon to attempt the extraction of pleasure by
means of high keeping from any garden for which sufficient labour is
not allowed. But this is not all, for we are persuaded that horti-
culture in all its ramifications could be generally vastly improved by the
great majority of the present practitioners, if either some part of the
grounds were allowed to merge into the wild, or if means in pro-
portion were allowed to cultivate and keep it properly.

Then there is another point which perhaps deserves to be approached
with more delicacy. It is, the attempts to crowd into gardens, how-
ever small, a little of everything that can be thought of, without con-
sideration of adaptability of situation, soil, and climate. If the
capabilities of a garden — as to what should be the leading features of
horticulture which most befits its character, and which could be
attempted with good hope of success — were more fully considered, it
would be vastly better for horticulture generally than the introduction
of so many features indiscriminately, where many of them can never
be more than the veriest abortions. There are few reforms that
would tend so much to advance gardening to a higher standard, as
that individual places should be made celebrated for those particular
branches of cultivation and decoration for which their peculiar
characteristics render them well adapted. That certain places are
superbly suited for one thing, while these sam.e places afford the
worst possible foundation for successful results in some other thing, is
a self-evident fact. It might be asked, what it is that has so very
much tended to superlative culture of one particular class or family
of plants or trees, and our answer is not far to seek. It is, that one
cultivator has thrown the power of his resources, and turned the
peculiarities of situation, soil, and climate into some particular branch
of gardening, and has in consequence done vastly more towards its
development and progress than if a heterogeneous multitude of subjects,
for few of which the place might be suitable, had divided his attention
and consumed his resources. This refers with equal force to superior
culture and to improved varieties. We owe much to those w^ho have
taken to specialties for which their situations and predilections made
them a name. It may not be out of place to recommend those who
are about to lay out and plant for themselves gardens, in the first
place to employ the best talent they can procure. It will be their
cheapest and most satisfactory course in the end. To all such, a man
who can give sound advice as to the capabilities of a garden, and direct

494 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

what to avoid in one case and adopt in another, must be an invaluable
adviser. If in nothing more than in the selecting of the varieties of
fruits, shrubs, and trees that are likely to give satisfaction in different
soils and situations and districts, the satisfaction of having been
advised with discrimination is worth very much, to say nothing of
the absolute gain.

NOTES ON "AMERICAlSr" OR PEAT -SOIL SHRUBS.

POLYGALA.

Of this somewhat extensive and popular genus, the only ligneous
species hardy enough for open-air culture in Britain is chamoebuxus, a
pretty dwarf evergreen, found wild in several countries of continental
Europe, particularly Austria, where in some districts it occurs in
great abundance, growing in mountain forests and on heaths.

It is one of the most useful of our diminutive peat-soil shrubs, its
dense dwarf habit of growth, never exceeding a few inches in height,
elegant box-like foliage, and thorough hardiness, admirably adapting
it for the margins of beds, or as an edging plant in the American gar-
den ; while it may be associated in mixed beds with Heaths, Menziesias,
and other plants of similar habit, with the happiest effect.

With the ordinary soil and treatment necessary for the other Ameri-
can plants it thrives to perfection, and seldom fails to produce its gay
light-yellow flowers profusely during the greater part of the summer.

EPIG^A.

The species repens, the only representative of this genus in cultiva-
tion, is a beautiful little creeping evergreen, never rising above the
surface of the ground, producing freely its long tubular white, and
sometimes light-pink, fragrant flowers from May to July. The leaves,
of a cordate-ovate shape, are about the size of the common Lauristinus,
and are, along with the stems, densely clothed with minute hairs.

Though a native of pine -woods, shady rocks, and stony hills in
many districts of Canada and the United States, it has been found
barely equal to our climate ; and unless the situation is peculiarly
favourable, requires some such protection as is afforded by a hand-
glass or Spruce branches during the severer portion of the winter —
an indulgence which it richly deserves, as there are few plants more
pleasing when in flower, and more deserving of careful attention. It
requires a good supply of rough sandy peat, and to be planted in a
dry, somewhat shady situation, such as the east aspect of a rockery or a
bank partially shaded with trees. A few rough pieces of sand or small
stones scattered on the surface will be found beneficial, by preventing

iSyi.] NOTES ON '^AMERICAN" SHRUBS. 495

evaporation and keeping the soil cool, as the Epigsea is very im-
patient of excessive drought in summer, its roots being extremely
delicate, and never penetrating deep into the soil.

ARCTOSTAPHYLOS.

The few species of which this interesting group of evergreens is
composed were formerly referred to Arbutus, and though by no means
strikingly showy either in foliage or flowers, are yet sufficiently distinct
and interesting for admission to even a small American garden.

The species -usually cultivated are natives of America and the
colder countries of Europe, inhabiting dry heathy mountains and
rocky exposed situations, and are valuable in this country for clothing
rockeries and sterile banks on which it would be difficult to induce
other shrubby plants to grow. When introduced into the American
garden, it will be necessary to raise the beds sufficiently above the
surface to insure thorough drainage, so that they may ripen their
wood thoroughly, as in a damp or very rich soil they have a tendency
to continue their growth till late in autumn, and be damaged by the
winter's frost.

All of the sorts flower freely, and produce abundance of bright-red
berries, which are most eff'ective in winter, and eagerly eaten by game.
This, along with its thorough hardiness and its facility of cultivation,
renders the common species "uva ursa," the bear-berry of our moun-
tains, a most desirable plant for cover, and we are convinced that it
might be planted on bare waste moors extensively for that purpose
with great advantage.

We note the following sorts as among the most ornamental and
most suitable for garden decoration : they are all more or less procum-
bent in their habit, and resemble very much in general appearance
some of the well-known forms of cotoniaster : — alpina, arbutoides,
serpilifolia, uva ursa.

BRYANTHUS.

The tiny evergreen known to cultivators as B. erectus is a hybrid,
obtained many years ago by the late Mr James Cunningham of the
Comely Bank Nurseries, Edinburgh, the parents being Menziesia
caerulea and Rhododendron chamoecistus, and we think would be more
properly called Menziesia, to which genus it really belongs, and with
which it has so many characters in common.

Under whatever name it may be known, however, it is unquestion-
ably one of the prettiest of our dwarf peat-soil shrubs, and ought to
find a place in every collection.

It forms a neat compact bush about 6 inches high, and flowers pro-
fusely about June, the whole surface of the plant being covered with

49G THE GARDENER. [Nov.

its large briglit-pink Kalmia-like flowers, which, being of a thick waxy
substance, remain a long time in perfection. Like its parents, it is
perfectly hardy, and though preferring a shady situation, grows and
flowers freely in the ordinary peat-beds when properly drained, and is
an excellent rockwork-plant, where it should have abundance of sandy
peat, which in planting should be firmly pressed round the ball, and
receive a good soaking of water once or twice in very dry seasons.

CLETHRA.

This genus is perhaps best known through its representative
arborea, an old-fashioned and popular greenhouse evergreen of great
beauty, but unfortunately too tender for our winters out of doors.

There are, however, several fine hardy species, two of which we feel
cannot be too highly recommended for admission to a collection of
American plants ; these are alnifolia and tomentosa, both handsome
deciduous shrubs from Carolina and Virginia, growing from 3 to 4 feet
high, and much valued for their large showy foliage, that of alnifolia
being glabrous on both surfaces and boldly serrated above, while that
of tomentosa is, along with the young branches, densely clothed with
fine light-coloured hairs, giving the plant a distinct velvety appearance.

The flowers come out in August and September, and form beauti-
ful spicate racemes of snowy -white bell- shaped florets, delightfully
fragrant.

All the species require a rich peaty soil, and to be planted in a
dampish shady situation ; and though both of those we have re-
commended are perfectly hardy in this country, they are found to
thrive best when they are protected from violent winds.

Hugh Feaser.

ROTATION OF CROPS IIST THE KITCHEN" - GARDElSr.

A REGULAR rotation in the kitchen-garden of crops of vegetables of distinctly differ-
ent botanical character, is usually eu joined by all writers who casually touch ou the
subject, as being profitable and practically judicious, and some would even say
necessary to the production of good crops. Soil is sometimes supposed to get
sick of a crop of long standing, or often repeated — a saying in which there is some
truth, only it is the crop which gets sick of the soil. Most good gardeners, whose
operations are on an extended scale, do endeavour to carry out a compeosatory
rotation as far as possible. We are far from thinking that such is absolutely
necessary for the production of good vegetables, or even developing the capabili-
ties of a garden, as the soil and subsoil of a garden may vary very much, some parts
being more suitable than others for particular crops. But even if considered
necessary to vary the crop, it is found practically very difl&cult to do so, seeing
there are such a variety of vegetables which occupy but a comparatively small

1871.] THE ROTATION OF CROPS. 497

space — while others, and notably the Cabbage family, may sometimes monopolise
three-quarters of the whole.

Farmers who farm under a lease, are, as a rule, bound down to adhere to an im-
posed rotation, but we do not find that the rule is imposed for the farmer's
benefit, to make him grow better crops than he otherwise would ; but, under the
half -tillage that the great bulk of land receives, the rule is necessaiy in the interest
of the landowner. We hear of many enterprising men who farm their own pro-
perty, who take many crops of corn off the same land in successive years without
injury, but then the tillage is thorough. We do not hear that the large market-
gardeners around our great cities are restricted in any way with regard to their
mode of cropping the land, and yet the land in their occupation might in many
instances be called garden-farms. It emphatically would not pay the market-gar-
dener to starve his land. Kotation of crops is the hungry mode of farming : it is
like working the horse to within an inch of his life, just giving him enough to eat,
and no more, to keep him up to a certain amount of work. Kitchen-garden land,
to produce good, crisp, and tender vegetables, must be fit, by deep cultivation and
plenty of manure, to bear any crop, and if it is not in that condition, no rotation
that we can propose can make up the difi"erence. — [This is the road to success. — Ed.]

The crop of the largest spring-sown Onions we ever saw, and for samples of
which the grower lately received honours in London, was grown on land which
has borne the Onion crop for 20 years. We have known a patch of ground
which also bore Onions for 20 years, which was annually manured with the
clearings of a large pigeon-house. We have grown Potatoes on the same land for
many years running without any diminution of the crop, and no doubt many thou-
sands of cottage-gardeners could say the same. AVe have also known even Brussels
Sprouts on the same ground for many years running. So far as the necessities of
a crop are concerned, the same vegetable might be grown on the same land for any
number of years with deep cultivation and manure.

But while we think that a change of position is not materially necessary to such
transient crops as Peas, Cauliflowers, or Onions, still it could be shown to be
necessary to crops of a more permanent nature. For instance, a quarter which has
been under Strawberries or Asparagus for years ; it would be bad management to
trench, manure, and plant again with the same unless unavoidable — and yet we
have seen even this done. Having said thus much, we hope we shall not be
thought to favour no rotation of crops at all for the kitchen-garden, or that we
adopt a haphazard system of cropping. AVe believe in and practise a rotation
of crops for various reasons. One reason is, that the land gets more thoroughly
cultivated, and with greater certainty ; another reason is, that certain crops follow
certain other crops more conveniently from the management the soil has received.
Another reason is, and not a small one, that there is system in it. It simplifies
labour, and men anticipate their work ; their interest gets fixed in the matter as
well as the masters'. We once lived in a very large ducal garden in the far north,
where it was the duty of the kitchen -garden foreman to make out a fresh plan of
the garden every year, with the crops for the various quarters mapped down to
succeed those of the previous year, according to a given system of rotation. We
dismiss the proposition that a previous crop may rob the soil of the constituents
necessary to the wellbeing of the succeeding one, as not to be entertained in kit-
chen-gardening. If a crop of Cabbage impoverish the soil too much to be followed
by another crop of the same, that soil is also too poor for Peas, Cauliflower, or
Spinage. Vegetables, to be worth the name, must be, we repeat, crisp and succu-
lent : 60 per cent of their weight will be water, not tough and woody, as if seed was
the object for which they were grown, and the stems of the winter Greens suited for

498 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

Jersey walking-sticks. Such being the case, recourse must agcain be made to the
manure-heap, the spade, and water-pot as the talisman. We proceed to detail iu
a general way our own mode of rotation. Celery with us is considered a sort of
lead ing-ofF crop: the Celery quarter is chosen from gi'ound which has been occu-
pied probably more than one year with Sprouts, Brocolis, and winter Greens.
Ridges for single rows are thrown out 5 feet apart ; this, with the eartbing-up,
amounts almost to a trenching. "When the Celery is gone, or it may be when only
a part is cleared, an opening is made at one end of the quarter, crosswise to the
ridges, the soil is turned over to the depth of the ridges and levelled, then rotten
manure thrown on the surface as the work proceeds.

After a few weeks' exposure to the weather, the land is broken over with wooden
rakes, which mixes the manure with the surface-soil, and Onions are sown in
lines : this management, with a dusting of guano after the crop is thinned, is
found sufficient, with attention to watering, for a fine crop of Onions. In
September, after the Onions are gathered off, the ground receives a dress-
ing of manure, and a portion of it is planted with Cabbages which have been
once transplanted from the seed-bed, the remainder of the ground being filled up
in spring. Unless part of the ground is wanted, the quarter remains under the
Cabbages until winter again, a crop of good Cabbage-sprouts being got after the
first cutting. The land is now trenched 2 feet deep, the leaves and stumps of the
Cabbages thrown in the bottom, a dressing of manure given just over the first
spit of soil. When the trench is turned over, the manure will be about 15 inches
from the sui'face, and the quarter is ready for Carrots, Parsnips, Salsify, or
Scorzonera. The quarter, it will be seen, has had two manurings at different
depths — namely, the Cabbages at bottom, then the manure in trenching. After
the Carrots are removed, the ground is again manured on the surface, and only
dug this time, and it is ready for Peas 5 feet apart, with rows of Spinage between ;
the Peas find depth and a good pasturage in this way, and ought to be watered
abundantly. We forgot to remark above, that the best Spinage and Lettuces are
grown on the tops of the Celery ridges, sometimes Turnips and Cauliflowers. It
might be supposed that some seasons this would be too dry a position for any of
these crops, but it is not so, the additional depth and warmth of the soil com-
pensating for the seemingly disadvantageous position. After the Peas come
winter stuff again — Savoys, late Brocolis, and winter Greens as cottagers' Kale
and Borecoles.

The above is a course of rotation for some of the main crops in a garden, but,
of course, it does not include all. The parts and crops of a garden are fragment-
ary and miscellaneous. A south border is generally chosen for early Peas. In
the south the Peas are off in time for the second sowing of Kidney-beans : these
are followed by Endive for winter use. In the following spring the ground will
be available for early Cauliflowers, Turnips, or Lettuces. Breadths of early
Potatoes on south borders are followed by autumn Cauliflowers or Snow's winter
Brocolis. Turnips for winter, winter Spinage, and spring Brocolis, can always
follow Potatoes as they are dug up.

A good patch of Asparagus is annually lifted for forcing ; the ground with simple
digging . answers for a second planting of Cauliflowers, to be trenched on the
removal with additional manure. Land which has been under Asparagus is not
poor if the Asparagus has been very highly cultivated ; it answers well for Straw-
berries after the Cauliflowers. We trench down annually, after the fruit is gone, a
large piece of Strawberries ; if these have been annually mulched with a good thick-
ness of short grass to keep the fruit clean, and again in the autumn with manure,
the ground will be by no means poor, though the Strawberry plants will be inad-

iSyi.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 499

missible after the third year. The trenched ground answers admirably for spring
Brocolis and Coleworts, they being first transplanted for a week or two from the
seed-bed ; these will be gone in time for Beet without manure, and Scarlet-
runner Beans, and a late planting of broad Beans with manure, to be followed
again by the main crop of summer Cauliflowers.

North borders are generally well occupied in summer with Lettuces, Turnips,
and Cauliflowers, a portion being under Red Currants and Easpberries : in winter
it is the best position for late dwarf Brocolis to come in late in spring or early
summer, to shake hands with the early Cauliflowers. We have a particularly
fine strain of those^ not in the market. Between the rows of newly-planted
Strawberries of 24 feet apart, one row of Tripoli Onions may be planted in
spring ; it is an admirable position for the Onions, at least if space is limited, and
does not injure the Strawberries. Winter Greens and Brocolis may also be
grown between the rows of late Potatoes, if planted 3 feet apart. And Peas do
splendidly between the rows of Celery ; the Peas shade the Celery to some ex-
tent in the hot season, and do not interfere with the manure in the trench ; but,
on the whole, we dislike mixed crops. East and west borders are always in de-
mand for Parsley, Coleworts, seed-beds. Lettuces, sweet herbs. Radishes, &c.
Seakale, Rhubarb, Globe and Jerusalem Artichokes, Horse-radish, and the various
culinary herbs, do not work into a rotation of annual crops : indeed, one or two
of them are troublesome weeds, and should have a territory of their own outside
a kitchen-garden proper.

After all, the necessities of the time being and various circumstances influence
every gardener in the choice of ground for his crops ; and, as we have hinted,
much depends on the soil of a garden. Part of it may lie low, with damp deep
soil ; another part may be high, dry, and thin. These considerations will compel
him to localise many crops. Again, a soil may be strong adhesive clay, and will
unite with very wet or very dry weather to thwart the gardener's plans, refusing
to be dug at one time or broken at another. Time being inexorable, the gardener
will have to yield his theory of rotation, and take practical necessity as his cue.

The Squire's Gardener.

HINTS FOR AMATEURS.— NOVEMBER.

"While weather is suitable for planting, it should be pushed forward
without delay. Though trees are planted every month between Octo-
ber and April, there is a proper time, and that is before winter fairly
sets in. When they are then nicely placed in healthy soil, protected with
litter over the roots, and secured against wind, the wood pushes more
readily than when planted under the same advantages late in the sea-
son ; besides, much other work comes on in spring which cannot be
delayed if success is to be expected. Pruning will now require atten-
tion, whenever the leaves are off the trees and bushes : the work may
be done as early as possible. Apples and Pears grown as dwarf trees
may require little done now further than shortening the shoots from
the summer cuts. Where shoots have been left to replace old bearing
wood, a little tying to keep them in their positions may be necessary.
Though handsome trees are not essential to free bearing, yet it is very

500 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

desirable to see order and neatness in a fruit-garden. Xo crowding
should be tolerated. Branches crossing one another should have the
knife applied to them. Old spurs cut out, moss scraped off, applica-
tions (such as are often recommended) for blight, (Szc, are some of the
things which require attention when trees and bushes are cleared of
their foliage. Currants (red and white) are generally spurred in to
one or two buds : though abundance of fruit is had in this way, a suc-
cession of young wood to take the place of any old branches is neces-
sary, thus keeping the tree vigorous and producing liner fruit. The
same applies to Gooseberries, but more wood may be left in them,
keeping the growths as upright as possible. The top shoots left as
"leaders" should be the strongest and shortest, so that they will
require little or no cutting back. Open centres and regularity should
be always kept in view, when bushes are pruned. Black Currants
do best by having the shoots thinned out to proper distances, cutting
out those which are unshapely and crossing on,e another. Bushes
should be kept free from each other, and all suckers taken off cleanly.
Manure may be given liberally by forking it in over the roots,
keeping the roots free from injury, but not covering up the clean
stems, as suckers would soon set to work. Old trees in orchards
might be much benefited by a little thinning and clearing off the
moss so often seen on them. Examples of neglect of this kind we
lately saw in a district where orchards are very extensive. The trees
were only in bearing condition at the points of the branches ; any
fruit in the centre was green, small, and cracked. Lifting and any
root-pruning necessary should be finished as early as possible, though
it is best to prune in roots, where necessary, when growth is going on.
Few care to make a sacrifice of fruit to get the work done so early.
Where soil is bad and trees are not thriving, careful lifting of the
roots, placing them in fresh healthy loam, and a good mulching
placed over the surface, will do much to help them on. If large trees
which cannot be lifted are to be operated on, it does best to do a
portion one season, the remainder to be left till the following year.
Crops may thus be saved, and the trees brought into good condition.
"Where roots are rambling far from the tree, and the soil not in healthy
condition, canker may be expected ere long, if it is not actually at
work. Root-pruning, lifting, or any other doctoring, should not be
practised without a just cause. Wall-trees may be pruned (Peaches,
Nectarines, and Apricots excepted) as soon as the leaves are off: where
proper management has been in practice during the summer months,
there will be little work for the knife ; and we here agree with the
remarks of the " Squire's Gardener " on summer management, though
some may not have understood by his saying that pruning was not

i87r.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 501

necessary, as summer pinching, stopping, &c., are generally understood
under the head of "summer pruning," All fruit in store will require
to be looked over occasionally for some time after it has been placed
in its keeping quarters ; and after all is dry, keep the room close, cool,
dry, and dark.

Flower-gardens (if not already done) require a thorough clearing, and
the "foliage" plants, shrubs, tfec, to fill up in winter should be planted
without delay, as severe weather might set in, and last long enough to
make winter-dressing not worth the trouble. Leaves will be nearly off ;
they should be taken away before the grass is injured by them. See
that Dahlias are safely under cover where frost may not reach them ; they
should be stored away dry. Myrtles, Fuchsias, Aloysias, and any tender
plants remaining in the ground, should be protected with Fern, branches
of trees, or similar material. Dry coal-ashes placed over their roots,
forming a cone, makes capital protection. Plant all hardy bulbs still
out of the ground ; arrange them systematically as to height and colour.
Protect tender Roses ; they may be lifted and placed in turf -pits, or
under a wall where straw can be placed over them : this applies chiefly
to " Teas." Plant shrubs as formerly advised, and see that none are
in danger for want of stakes. Mulching is of great advantage to them
till they get hold of the soil. Auriculas, Pansies, Carnations, &c., in
pots, should now be in their winter quarters, and air given on every
favourable opportunity. Hardly any water will be required : frost and
rain should be excluded. Chrysanthemums coming into flower will require
plenty of water ; neglect will shorten the blooming period. All forcing
plants should be safe from frost ; those not lifted from the ground
should have attention at once. Plants established in pots force much
better than those newly lifted. Skimmias are very useful for winter
decoration, and can be lifted from the open ground, potted, and watered.
They stand much rough treatment. Bedding plants will require to be
looked over frequently. Sulphur may be applied to Verbenas, &c., if
mildew makes its appearance. It should be attended to before it
becomes too late to stop the evil. Surface watering is one of the worst
evils to all plants : bedding plants especially are often killed by the
hundred from this cause alone. All plants when watered should have
enough to moisten the whole ball of soil, throwing as little as possible
about in damp short days. Primulas, Cinerarias, Calceolarias, Cycla-
mens, which are to come in for later work, must not be allowed to
become pot-bound when the pots are full of roots, and watering is
necessary. Good surfacings of rotten manure and good soil are of
much service when the pots are full of roots; but a wet surface (which
is likely to occur) is not to be a guide when watering is performed.
Surfaces are often saturated when the active roots are perishing.

502 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

Pelargoniums will now require to be kept in a dry atmosphere ; cold
and damp will bring " spot " on them. To allow the shoots to become
close and matted, while there is so little sun and so much moisture in the
air, gives poor specimens. As much pains have been taken to get all
greenhouse plants safely under cover, there should be no falling back
of attention with them while their treatment is under glass : cutting
frosty winds, fire-heat and sun-heat together, and confined damp, are
some of the evils which make hard-wooded plants look stunted-like
when winter is past. Cleanliness should have strict attention. In-
sects should be shown no quarter. Plants should stand so that worms
cannot enter the pots. Examine bulbs, such as Hyacinths, Narcissus,
and Tulips under their temporary cover, and if roots are coming
through the soil and the crowns have grown a little, the pots may be
washed and gradually brought into light, and afterwards placed in heat
if they are wanted soon. Lily of the Valley should be brought for-
ward in a shady position, and allowed plenty of light as it grows.
Mignonette and Stocks in pots may have all the light and air possible,
keeping off frost and rain. Little water is required by them at this
time of year. M. T.

— a-s.^'^^&e^s-s- —

CULTURAL HINTS ON ALLAMANDAS.

In compliance with the request of one of your correspondents, who desires a
chapter on Allamandas, I beg to offer the following remarks, in the hope that he
may derive some assistance therefrom.

The AUamanda, without question, is one of the most splendid stove-plants we
have, whether as regards the beauty of its flowers, or the length of time over
which some of the species produce blossoms without interruption. The varieties
A. cathartica and A. nerifolia very much resemble each other both in flower
and habit, partaking more of what may be termed the style of a bush, under par-
ticular treatment. Then again, A. Hendersonii and A. nobilis are better fitted to
cover a rafter, or for winding spirally around a set of stakes when grown in pots
for specimens. AVith these difierences in view, we shall proceed to discuss a few
of the different methods of treatment, commencing with propagation. Perhaps
early in March is the best period to make the cuttings from the young growths.
The points of these, when about three joints, strike freely, inserted under a
bell-glass, amongst soil composed of well-reduced leaf-mould and silver-sand in
equal proportions. The bottom temperature into which the pots ought to be
plunged should be kept at 70°, with the atmosphere at 65"" to 70°. Light shading
should be resorted to in bright sunshine, until the cuttings have absorbed sap
sufficient to sustain themselves erect under the influence of the sun, when shading
ought to be dispensed with, unless when the sun is extra strong. Pot the plants
when rooted into separate pots, retaining as much soil as will adhere to the roots,
so that the plants exhibit no signs of suffering by the change. The soil which we
prefer is composed of rich, moderately light, turfy loam two parts, one part equal
portions of sharp sand and old leaf-mould, and the other part old Mushroom

1871.] CULTURAL HINTS ON ALLAMANDAS. 503

manure. These ingredients, well incorporated, form an excellent compost for
this and all the subsequent pottings required. Pots from 3 to 4 inches diameter
should be used in the first instance ; these will afford ample room for the bulbs
and roots without breaking. Allow plenty of broken pots, to secure ready drain-
age, and pot with the finer parts of the soil. After potting, return the plants to
heat again, and water sufficiently to moisten the whole soil. Shade, and maintain
heat and moisture about the plants to accelerate growth. Pinch out the centre of
each plant at the first indication of active growth, so that laterals may be obtained ;
and those laterals, when long enough, should be trained separately into uniform
distances, to make a nice foundation for specimens, or indeed for climbing pur-
poses as well. Pots two sizes larger should be supplied on every occasion of
shifting, while the crocks ought also to be covered by the turfy lumps of the
compost to keep the drainage clear. Continue by those means to keep the
plants in active growth, syringing overhead mornings and evenings in hot, dry
weather, along with abundance of air. Pinch again when the first set of growths
have produced laterals 6 inches long, and allow all the other succeeding growths
to grow without pinching — all the attendance necessary after this being com-
prised in training the growths neatly as they make progress, and affording larger
shifts when the condition of the roots demand such. Flowers may sparingly
appear on some of the points as they ripen, but those, as a rule, are few in number
at this stage of growth — the next set of wood produced the following summer
being the flower-producing portion of the wood.

Passing onwards to September, we will find, should all have prospered, ' the
plants mostly occupying 10-inch pots, with splendid heads of wood and foliage.
At the same time indications of exhaustion will be exhibited, the plants are ap-
proaching ripeness, and will require to be cautiously dealt with, to preserve the
roots and harden the wood, by in a great measure withholding water until the
succeeding February, when preparations for fresh growth ought to be attended to.
Meantime stand the plants in a dry airy place in the stove, where no opportunity
is afforded for them rooting beyond the pots. Wintered in this manner,
with only enough of water given to keep the foliage from flagging, they will be in
admirable condition to suit the desired end.

Early in February turn out tlieir balls and reduce the same, taking care to
preserve all the fresh roots while separating as many as possible. Repot into
pots of 12 inches diameter, and while in the act of potting, press the compost
unusually firm about the roots. Then supply tepid water copiously, so that the
soil is thoroughly penetrated. Plunge for some time following this in smart
bottom-heat, that fresh roots and growth may be produced, after which the
plants may occupy a place on the stage fully exposed to the sun. Tie in the
shoots as they advance, with an eye to harmony and neatness of plant. And in
the course of summer these shoots will furnish bloom, and continue to keep up
a succession on some of the varieties to the end of October following. Finally,
when it is fully ascertained that flowers are in formation, add to their water a
small portion of guano. Xever once allow the plants to get dry at the roots, nor
permit shade to affect the plants, else the flowers will droop half developed.
Either strong shade or insufficiency of water at this period or stage is sure to
have that effect. As the winter again approaches, manage as recommended for
the winter preceding, — and so on. A. Kerb.

504 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

PROTECTING THE BLOSSOMS OF FRUIT-TREES.

During the severe frost last winter, I found considerable diflSculty to fix upon
some plan that would effectually serve for the above purpose. I had previously
seen the eflScacy of various kinds of coverings ; but of all those known to me, the
best seemed to be one similar to that which 1 now mean to give a description of,
and which may be designated the hay-net.

I mentioned what I wanted to one of the most intelligent men employed in the
garden, and he then told me that the wall-trees here years ago used to be protected
by a similar covering ; and on inquiry, I found that he knew how to proceed in
the matter. AVithout any delay we made preparations for getting a lot of nets
made, and the first thing that we required was a frame in which to make them.
This we soon procured, which I can compare to an old-fashioned wooden bed-
stead without the cross-beams in the area. In addition it had a few wooden pins
round it for holding the nets, as will be seen afterwards. The size of the frame
was 11 feet long by 5 feet broad, and about 3 feet high, which was thought
the most convenient. When the frame was procured, hay-ropes were made, for
that material was ready at hand, and fixed upon it. We soon got a lot of nets
made in one of the garden-sheds, where the men were not exposed to the severe
weather.

In getting the ropes laid upon the frame for making our nets, the first one was
laid round the edge outside the pins for a margin ; the next was placed diagonally,
from one corner to the other; then others were laid in the same direction as the
latter, at about 5 inches apart, till the space on both sides was filled up. Then,
again, from the opposite angle was laid another diagonal, taken in and out between
the others already fixed, after the fashion of wicker-work. A corresponding number
of ropes were worked in on each side of the latter till the net was framed out. All
the ends of these ropes were fixed to the margin in due course, and when a tie
with tar-cord was given at each crossing of the ropes, the net was ready for use.

We made as many nets in this way as protected about 150 yards of wall ; and
the rate we made them at was about 1 net per day for each man.

As the season advanced, and as soon as the first blossom began to expand, we
put on our first set of nets. That was of course upon the Apricots ; and in order
to get them protected, the first part of our work was to place a lot of poles,
and fix them, one every 5 feet, at an angle of about 65° to the wall ; these were
to answer the width of the nets, as will be understood, to keep them properly
ofi" the wall ; behind, the poles were fixed ; then we got on our nets, which we
tied breadthwise to the topmost wire of the trellice, just under the coping. All
that was now required was a wooden pin, put in to keep the two lower comers of
the nets together, which were not kept in position by the poles, and the covering
■was completed.

We had all our Peaches and Apricots covered in this way, excepting one wall
of the latter, and that we had protected by a double ply of herring-nets and
another of hexagon netting together. This we tried for comparison with the hay-
nets. What of the result of these two modes of covering ? From the trees that
were protected by the herring-nets we have scarcely had a crop ; whereas from
those that were covered by the hay-nets we have gathered an abundant crop, and
we thinned as many fruit off them as would have made six good crops. These
results speak for themselves, and show the superiority of the one mode of cover-
ing over the other.

On all favourable occasions when we thought that we could render any assist-
ance to the blossoms to insure their fertility, we lifted the nets up and doubled

iSyi.] THE CYCLAMEN. 505

them back upon the top of the wall ; and at all times when there might be some
danger from frost they were let down again and pinned as before. These nets
will be found to husband warmth considerably — at least they break the cold
winds in a great degree — and they admit much more light than a person would at
first imagine.

To conclude these notes, I can only say that I know of no better covering for
wall-trees — excepting glass — than the hay-net ; and I should advise all those who
require to put up a temporary protection, and who have not ah-eady proved its
efficacy, to give the plan a trial. Robert Mackellar.

Elvaston Castle Gardens.

THE CYCLAMEIT.

There is nothing better adapted for conservatory decoration, from the
present time till late in spring, than the Cyclamen. Some years ago
it was a badly-used plant, placed in out-of-the-way places, where, if it
bloomed, it was all very well — if not, it was a matter of indifference to
some gardeners. Fortunately, of late years it has begun to claim the
attention it so well deserves. A word or two in regard to the success-
ful cultivation of that class of plants may not be out of place to some
readers of ' The Gardener.' This is a good time to sow the first batch
of seed, and whichever strain the grower fancies, any respectable nursery-
man can get it for him. The seed must be sown regularly over a well-
crocked pot or seed-pan, covering it over with some nice free and rather
rich soil. "Water, and place on a shelf in the stove or the warmest
end of a greenhouse ; if they can be covered with a piece of glass
until they germinate so much the better. In about five weeks they
will be making their appearance ; as soon as the second leaf is up they
will be fit for handling. Pick out the strongest of them, having small
60's in readiness, well drained, and a compost made up of good loam,
old dung from a Mushroom-bed, and sand, in equal parts. Let the
little tubers be fairly covered in potting. AU that is required now is
to keep them growing. We consider them worthy of a frame them-
selves, therefore make up one entirely of leaves, having plenty at com-
mand. They must be attended to carefully with water, kept as near
the glass as possible, and syringed with a fine rose, when it can be
done with safety. About the beginning of July they will require
another shift to 48's, using the same kind of soil, only it will not
require to be so fine ; pot pretty firm ; and now is the time the grower
is interested in them. If kept near the glass the foliage is stout, and
beautifully marked. The earliest of them will be in bloom in less
than twelve months from the day they were sown. By sowing twice —
say October and December — you wiU have bloom all winter and spring.
They should never be allowed to dry down as they were years ago.

506 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

When they stop growing, give them water to keep them from flagging
only, until they begin growing again. They must then be examined,
the most of the old soil taken off them, and most likely a size larger
pot, — and so on from year to year. We find them unsurpassed for
drawing-room decoration. They are always attractive, whether in
flower or not, and seem to be special favourites with our ladies.

Castle Semple.

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS.

{Continued f 7^0111 page 4G8. )

THE STRAWBERRY.

The soil which is best suited for the Strawberry is a heavy loamy clay, in which
all except the scarlet varieties will succeed best. For the scarlet class — that is to
say, Grovend's Scarlet and suchlike — the soil best suited is a good rich loam of
a mediiim texture, in which they will produce immense crops. I know a market-
garden, within a very short distance from here, where the soil is a heavy blue
clay, similar to that generally used for brick-making — in fact, the adjoining field
is at the present time in full working order as a brick-work, and in which the
finest and largest crops of Strawberries I ever saw are annually grown. I must
not forget also to inform the reader that, besides all this, the plants bear fruit to
a very great age, as indeed, at the present time, there is a plot of the old Chili
Strawberry planted seventeen years ago, and which yearly produces first-rate
crops. This is the oldest plantation in the garden, but there are several others
over ten years of age, and bearing very large crops. The present has been a
most unusually bad year for the Strawberry-grower ; nevertheless, in the garden
referred to, fair crops have been the result. In one instance, however, the most
enormous crop I ever saw, or perhaps ever was grown anywhere, was produced
there during the past season. The variety grown was Robertson's Wizard of
the North, a fine free-bearing variety, and the space of ground occupied by them
was about 16 Scotch poles. From these 16 poles the enormous quantity of about
1 ton of fruit was gathered,* reahsing to the grower something about or over £30
sterling. I saw the crop before it was pulled, and can fully believe the accuracy
of the grower's statement. The ground had more the appearance of having had
hamperf uls of fruit tumbled upon it than the reality of bearing a living, growing
crop. If the grower had been fortunate enough to have had an acre or two of
this, as he has of some other varieties, it is easy to calculate what an enormous
sum per acre he must have realised — something about or over £300 — a sum we
venture to think which never has been equalled, if ever surpassed, in the history
of market-gardening. While we thus speak of this one variety, it must not be
considered that this is the only one that succeeds well, for almost every variety
grown there produces larger and better crops than are to be found in any
other garden in the county. I of course exclude, as I said before, the scarlet
class, and with them I may also exclude the Keen's Seedling, which never has

* We have seen marvellous crops of the Wizard ; but while we do not doubt
Mr M'Millan has been informed that 1 ton has been gathered from 16 poles, we
do doubt the accuracy of the calculations that show such a result. — Ed.

iSyi.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 507

done well in this part of the country, and more particularly during the last few-
years. This piece of market-garden ground is without a doubt the most suit-
able place for Strawberry-growing we have ever seen. It is, and must have
been, an ungainly piece of ground prior to its being converted into Strawberry-
grounds, and many a good gardener might have had grave doubts about the
possibility of ever doing any good upon it. Nevertheless, the present tenant,
who is the first ever working it as a market-garden, has almost closed his first
nineteen years' lease, and will very shortly enter upon his second lease of a like
jieriod ; thereby proving that the ground has come up to his expectations,
although I know he had many misgivings at the time he entered upon his first
lease. I therefore have come to the conclusion that a heavy clay soil is best
suited for general Strawberry culture, and that no one need fear to plant upon
such ground, even if it should be suitable for brickmaking.

Having thus spoken of the nature of the soil best suited for the Strawberry,
we will now revert to the preparation of the same. Our own practice is always
to plant after a crop of Onions, so that the preparation for the one crop is in a
great measure a preparation for the other : I will therefore explain the pre-
paration of the Onion-ground. Manure — good, rich, stable and cow manure — is
laid down at the rate of from 30 to 50 tons per acre, according to the quality of the
manure and the nature of the soil. After this we start trenching the whole
over four spit deep, which is about the depth of our soil ; above every spit of soil
is laid a layer of manure, so that the whole soil to the depth trenched is incor-
porated therewith from top to bottom. This operation is generally performed
in autumn. In spring all the night-soil about the place is spread over the sur-
face of the soil, to which is added both soot and gas-lime. These are all dug in
with steel forks, and the ground lies over till dry and fit for the seed being
sown. That crop having been sown, grown, ripened, and gathered by the
second week in September, the ground is dug over without any manure, and
the Strawberry plants planted from the nursery-beds. It depends a great deal
upon the quality of the fruit and the size of the berry at what distances the
plants ought to be planted. The smaller-growing varieties, including Black
Prince, we generally plant in 4-feet beds, planting seven lines in each bed, and
allowing 6 inches between each plant. By planting thus in early autumn, we
generally manage to get fully a half crop during the first season. Other varie-
ties we plant 2^ feet between the rows, and 1 foot plant from plant. These
distances we consider wide enough for all practical purposes, while if much
closer they would become too crowded — so much so, that it might tell injuri-
ously against the size and quality of the fruit. Where fruit of the highest
quality is desired, the finer kinds and larger-fruiting sorts ought to be employed.
To allow them every facility for development, they ought to be planted from
2i to 3 feet apart every way, and never allowed to form rows, but kept in stools
or separate plants, with at least 1 foot of free space, so that the light and air
may freely circulate about them in all directions. In this way finer fruit is
generally produced than by any other method, and the quantity will often bear
very favourable contrast with those grown upon any other plan. The planting
having been comj^leted, the after-cultivation becomes the next matter for con-
sideration. The smaller- growing varieties are allowed to ramble at will until
the bed has become a comi)lete mass of fruit-bearing plants. The alleys are all
kept free, to allow of an open passage for gathering the fruit and cleaning the
weeds away. Our reasons for this mode of cultivation are, that we get a crop
of fruit more quickly, and that these varieties bear best, as a rule, during the
first two or three years of their existence. The larger-growing kinds requii-e

2 0

508 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

more careful cultivation. After planting, it is necessary to stir the soil fre-
quently with a Dutch hoe, not only to keep down weeds, but also to keep the
soil open and free to the influences of the atmosphere. The first year the larger
varieties ought not to be allowed to fruit, and for this }>urposc all flowers ought
to be removed upon their flrst appearance. This will not only encourage the
growth of the plant, but will also be the means of encouraging a healthy and
fruitful constitution. We are not of those who think that the runners ought to
be removed upon their first a])pearance. Upon the other hand, we think that,
if the runners are removed, say in the middle of July, it will not be again
necessary to remove them until the growth of the season has been completed.
The runner does not injure the ])arent plant to the same extent as the produc-
tion of fruit and flowers, for while the latter are compelled from their position
to obtain all their nourishment from the parent plant, and that too in an increas-
ing ratio as the process of development proceeds, the former only requires
nourishment for a very short period, until such time as the runner has formed
roots fit for gathering food for its own sustenance.

As the Strawberry delights in moisture, it is a very good plan to mulch
between the rows — for the purpose, in the first place, of preventing evaporation ;
and in the second place, to keep the fruit clean. This operation may be per-
formed any time from the middle of May till the middle of June, but we
prefer doing so towards the end of ]May. Various materials have been used
for these purposes, each and all of them having special recommendations of
their own. What we ourselves use is short grass, brought from the lawns and
spread about 2 inches deep all over between the rows. This proves a very tidy
mulching, easily procured and easily applied, but with this drawback, that it
is one of the very worst to use for the encouragement and protection of snails
and slugs. Other cultivators use straw which has recently been used in
the stables, and which does not j^rove such a harbour for vermin, but we
object to it u.pon the score of cleanliness. The best materials, however, are oat
and wheat straw pure from the stackyard. These no doubt prove rather ex-
pensive mulching materials, but as no objections can be made against them
upon the score of cleanliness, nor do they so comfortably harbour vermin, I
should prefer them above all other materials if I only had my own wishes to
fulfil.

If the ground has been prepared as directed, the young Strawberries will
require no manure for several years, more especially if liberal waterings with
manure-water be given while the fruit is swelling. At the end of three or four
years, however, it may be necessary to assist them in one way or another.
For this purpose we recommend liberal top-dressings in early winter of rich
rotten manure, spread over plants, crowns and all. All the care necessary in
this matter is to be careful not to bury the plants. We prefer this method to
the common practice of spreading the manure between the rows and digging it
in, as experience and observation have led us to believe that digging is not con-
ducive to the wellbeing of the Strawberry, imless it cannot be avoided, on
account of weeds and other dirt which may have accumulated to such an
extent as to be only disposed of in this way.

We now come to speak of the diseases and insect enemies to the Strawberry.
Of diseases it may be said there are none ; for while there may be diseases
among Strawberries to some extent, yet these, so far as we have observed, were
generally more the result of circumstances than hereditary or constitutional.
Of insect enemies, snails and slugs are the worst, and the only means to dimi-
nish their nimabers is to apply a dusting of lime. Mice and rats are sometimes

1871.] AUTUMN AND WINTER PLANTS. 509

very troublesome : trapping is the only plan for tliem. Of insect enemies there
are very few, and consequently the crops seldom suffer from their attacks. The
larvae of St Mark's fly (Tipiila ]\Iarci) sometimes attack the flower-stalks, cut-
ting them over by the ground. To destroy it, search for their haunts, which
are indicated by the presence of fine earth, and have them destroyed by re-
moving the soil and having it burned. There are other two enemies mentioned
by Mr Thompson in his 'Gardener's Assistant' — viz., Hepialus lupulinus and
Otiorhynchus tenebricosus ; but as it is so rare that they ever attack the Straw-
berry to any great extent, it is unnecessary to do more than name them.

James M'Millan,
{To he contiiiued.)

NOTES ON AUTUMN AND WINTER
FLOWERING PLANTS.

{Continued from page 453.)
SOLANUM CAPSICASTRUM.

This is a common but very useful plant for autumn decoration. Its
dark-green foliage, and shining red fruit or berries, render it a very
effective plant. When properly treated it grows rapidly, making
goodly-sized plants in one season from seed. Seed sown in March in a
brisk bottom-heat soon vegetates, and as soon as the young seedlings
develop two rough leaves, prick them into pans about 3 inches apart,
using rich fibry loam, with about equal proportions of leaf-mould and
a little sand. Place them in a close moist atmosphere, with a temper-
ature of 65°, and syringe them freely. Here they will grow rapidly,
and as soon as they grow to touch each other, pot them off into various
sizes of pots likely to be most serviceable for various purposes when
well berried. By putting a single plant into a 5-inch pot, and three
into a 6-inch pot, they make nice dwarf bushes loaded with berries
all winter. When large plants are required, shift on single plants as
the smaller pots get filled with roots, fix a stake to each leading shoot,
and pinch the lateral growths. In this way fine pyramidal hand-
some plants, equal in shape to any Fuchsia, can be obtained. Grown
as standards they look extremely well, and to grow them as such
they require to be manipulated the same as recommended for tree
Mignonette.

Solanums delight in good rich compost, and, after the pots are filled
■with roots, frequent watering with manure-water. When it is desir-
able to have large plants the first season from seed, keep them in a
temperature of 70° close to the glass all the season, which, with a good
supply of moisture, will make large specimens loaded with berries.
But we find those grown in 6-inch pots the most useful, as they

610 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

fill up corners and baskets on shelves, and they stand the tear and
wear of room decoration better than most plants. Those in the
smaller pots do well in cold frames, when kept rather close and well
syringed, and closed up with sun-heat rather early in the afternoon.
In this way, and with comparatively little care, they make beautiful
little berried bushes, and well repay the care bestowed upon them.

In spring, when the berries begin to shrivel, diminish the amount
of water for a short time, and if a little rather dry heat can be given
them to ripen the wood, so much the better : after this, prune them
in freely, and place them in a newly-started vinery or Peach-house.
Syringe them well two or three times a-day, and they will soon break
into numerous young growths ; and when fairly started, turn them
out of their pots, carefully reduce their balls a little, and put them
into pots a size larger, returning them to the same quarters. They
will soon grow rapidly, and if inclined to become straggling, pinch the
points out of the young growths. AYhen they come into full bloom,
cease syringing and give more air, and nearly every bloom will set.
By autumn they make splendid plants, loaded with fruit almost as
large as Cherries, and are most useful for ornamental purposes of every
description.

THE AUCUBA.

Another grand berried plant for winter decoration, — for many of
these, besides their fine clusters of bright berries, have foliage almost
equal to Crotons in richness of colouring. When grown in 6-inch pots,
they are most serviceable dinner-table plants, as well as very effective
in vases, baskets, and on conservatory shelves. When past their best
in the spring, the best way, when larger plants are required, is to shift
into larger and well-drained pots, using the same soil recommended
for Solanums. Plunge them out of doors in a sheltered situation, but
where they can have plenty of air and full sun. By plunging a few
male plants amongst them, and using a camel-hair brush when both
blooms are in a proper condition, there is little difficulty in getting a
good set of berries : sometimes the male blooms are open when the
females are not, in which case preserve the pollen in tinfoil paper, by
which means it can be kept for a long time, and the female blooms
impregnated with it as they expand. Attend to them very carefully
throughout the summer with water, and when the weather is dry and
warm let them be well syringed at least every other evening, and in
autumn they will be fresh and beautiful in leaf, and well studded with
berries.

SKIMMI\.

S. Japonica and S. oblata are very useful little berried plants, and
neat small bushes can be grown in small pots, and do good service in

iSyi.] PLANTS FOR ROOM DECORATION. 511

forming edgings round baskets and vases of larger plants. They stand a
deal of rough treatment in this way without being injured. They thrive
best either planted out in summer or plunged in their pots. If planted
out, choose a free open soil, forking in a dressing of rotten leaf-soil
before planting. In this they grow freely and set plenty of berries.
Great care is required in lifting them in autumn, for if many of the
roots are broken they are apt to drop their berries. When potted, place
them in a close frame for a few days, sprinkle them frequently over-
head, and they will not suffer. A. H.
Thoresby Gardens.

HARDY AND HALF - HARDY PLANTS FOR TABLE
AND ROOM DECORATION.

Lily of the Valley — Convallaria majalis. — I know no more beautiful and fragrant
hardy plant for blooming indoors or for cut flowers than this. The handsome
leaves of tenderest green, and the chaste sweet flowers arching elegantly on their
stalks, present a union of charms rarely beheld in one plant — a fact which the
flower-loving public appear duly to appreciate. For to say nothing of the estima-
tion in which it is held for button-hole and other bouquets, and other purposes to
which it is applied in the cut state, the thousands of pots forced annually in nursery
and florists' gardens about towns, to sweeten and enliven sitting-rooms, sufficiently
evince the admiration bestowed upon it. A very large proportion of this supply ir
imported annually from Holland. The Dutch have sent us in the few bygone years
sufficient to have stocked hundreds of acres to overflowing, but we are no richer in
Lily of the Valley for it : imported stock is not even equal to the demand the present
season, and the home-grown supply is not plentiful : nor is it so well favoured as the
foreign. And what becomes of it all, the thousands of pots of home-grown and
imported together, that find ready customers in winter and spring ? la private gar-
dens, where much of it is forced, the gardener knows well the value of the old plants,
and would as soon think of destroying anything else that is deemed worth keeping
as of throwing them on the rubbish -heap, A year's nursing and extra good culti-
vation will put forced Lily of the Valley in condition for forcing again ; and no
doubt nurserymen and florists w^ould be glad to get back their old plants from
their customers in such a state as that there would be a reasonable chance of
recovering their lost stamina. As it is, however, they never return. They become
the property of the police, falling into their hands by the way of the dust-bin and
the agency of Polly the housemaid. This is a poor fate for a thing of beauty that
is yet capable of being made beautiful as ever ; for the same care and skill that
developed its charms before are able to revive them again in due time. Our
present subject is one of perennial duration, and is, moreover, hardy and endur-
ing to the utmost. It will even survive the dust-box, if quickly reclaimed while
yet a little life remains ; but it loves generous treatment, and well repays it. The
imported Dutch clumps and crowns give flowers superior to our home-grown
ones ; it is even held to be a distinct variety, difl'ering from ours in being more
robust and luxuriant. It does not, however, retain this peculiarity, but quickly
degenerates when subject to the conditions of our commonplace treatment. Any
superiority it shows under forcing is due, I think, rather to the better climate and
soil of Holland, and the special treatment given it by the Dutch. We should not

512 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

expect many or fine Strawberries in winter .and spring from plants lifted to force
from tlie quarters a week or two before putting them into heat; and though Lily
of the Valley is better adapted for forcing than the Strawberry, our expectation of
the best results from it by ordinary eflfbrts is only, therefoi'e, a little les8 unreason-
able. Forced as it usually is about private places, in clumps lifted from an old-
established bed, the pots have as many crowns in them producing leaves only as
there are crowns with flowers and leaves ; and the abortive ones, besides leading
to overcrowding, compete from first to last with those that flower for the food
the pot contains, the contest being always more or less to the detriment of the
latter. There is no reason to doubt but that, if we adopted something like the
Dutch plan of preparing our plants for forcing, the results would be quite as good
in every way with our own as with their plants. We would require to break up
our beds in the first instance, and carefully divide and select the crowns to such
an extent as our demands suggested, and to plant them, the strongest and weakest
by themselves apart, in rich well-trenched ground, an inch and a-half asunder.
The best time to do this is early in October, as it is also the best time for lifting
and potting for forcing, but it will not yet be too late to do it when this comes to
the hands of our readers, if the weather is open and mild. After planting — and
in doing so the crowns ought to be almost buried — a mulching of old manure to
the depth of 2 inches should be laid on the beds, and be beaten moderately firm with
the spade, and blinded afterwards with a slight coating of soil. Any one having
old-established beds, and unwilling to bi'eak them up for this purpose, need not
do so necessarily, The crowns in such a bed may be thinned out by means of a
knife carefully inserted below the one to be removed, so as to sever it from the
underground stem without injuring those that are to remain. Only the strongest
in this case should be taken, and those that are left will benefit by their removal.
On this plan of treating Lily of the Valley, improved plants for forcing would not
be our only gain ; our stock would also greatly increase, and this, to the nursery-
man and florist at least, is a very important point. It may be grown at home at
half the cost of the imported roots, and every one who indulges in the luxury of
a pot in his room would ultimately share in the good of this economy. When
lifting for forcing, or any other purpose, it is usual to discard all underground
stems as useless. This is a mistake, for they may be made the means of largely
increasing the stock in hand : every joint is prone to send up a crown when cir-
cumstances are favourable — that is, when there is room enough and pasturage suf-
ficient for their development ; and for the first two years it need not take up
much room — a bushel of it may be put in a bed 4 feet by 6 feet. lb is necessary
in laying it in, to draw the soil oS" the bed wholly to the depth of a couple of
inches, laying it on either side for handiness in putting it on again. The stems
are laid on the bed thus prepared equally and evenly, and covered up with the
soil, finishing off with a mulching in the same way as with the nursing-bed for
crowns, as described above.

Every one that has to supply cut flowers or plants in flower for conservatory
and room embellishment in winter, knows how to force Lily of the Valley ; and
our remarks on its treatment, to aid beginners, may be very brief. As early as
the leaves are ripe the ci'owns should be lifted and potted, using rich sandy loam
to pot them in. Put no manvire in the soil ; any enriching it may want is better
applied in the liquid state after the plants are well started. Pot very firm ;
it is scarcely possible to make the soil too firm* by pressure of the fingers merely,
supposing it is in the proper state of dryness for potting. When finished, the
tips of the crowns only should appear above the soil. They may then be watered,
and put away in a cold frame till they are required for introducing into heat. It

iSyi.] PRUNING EARLY VINES FOR A CROP. 513

is always desirable to have the roots in action before the crowns begin to swell
much. Mild bottom-heat, applied in a cool atmosphere, secures this. I have
started Lily of the Valley and other commonly-forced hardy subjects on the top
of a heap of heating leaves in the open air in winter, giving them such top pro-
tection of straw or Spruce boughs as the weather rendered necessary, and was well
pleased with the results. Plants so treated come away quickly and sturdily when
they are brought into heat. Our subject will not bear rapid or hard forcing ; a
temperature ranging from 50° to 60° suits best in early winter, but later on it will
bear a few degrees higher. Keep it moderately moist till after the leaves and
flowers burst the crowns, when the supplies of water must be gradually increased,
and be alternated with applications of clear mild liquid manure. The syringe, if
used at all, should be discontinued some time before the leaves and flower-spikes
are half-grown, especially if they are crowded in the pot ; but it is preferable never
to use it, taking the other ordinary means rather of keeping up atmospheric moisture
instead. An over-moist atmosphere is favourable only to the production of fine
flabby leaves and scanty weakly flowers that are liable to damp off on the occasion
of the first check in temperature, and which under no circumstances continue to
be long beautiful.

Hoteia japonica. — This gracefully pretty plant, so very liable to get injured by
late frost in spring in most parts of Scotland and northern England, is a very good
subject for room and table decoration. It may be very successfully forced, if not
hurried too much or started too early. The present is a good time for lifting and
potting it, but an early start is desirable, and I would advise lifting early in
October, and the genei-al treatment recommended for Lily of the Valley. The
soil may be lighter, but equally firm potting is necessary ; and manure of any kind,
except liquid manure, is objectionable, causing, when applied to the majority of
herbaceous plants that are forced, too much leaf-growth, while the flowers are
benefited little or nothing by the application. A little peat, however, is a very
good addition to the compost for this plant. I would advise giving this a fort-
night of bottom-heat, either in the open air or in a freely-aired pit or frame,
before putting it in a higher atmospheric temperature, such as that of a forcing
house or pit; and in other respects the treatment should be the same as for Lily
of the Valley. W. S.

MiNTO.

PRUNIlSrG EARLY VINES FOR A CROP.

The time is fast approaching when everything connected with our
early vinery must be put in readiness for another season's forcing.
The usual routine is generally gone through with no doubt a measure
of success ; but is it not possible in some instances to make a little
deviation from the trodden path to insure with greater certainty a
crop of fruit "^

Our early vinery, I am sorry to say, is showing the same effects as
hundreds have done in various places before it. It has been forced
so that the system of the Vines is completely worn out ; and although
I believe that it is not impossible for them to be again renewed, it
would not pay to do that ; and it is preferable to try the common

514 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

practice of tearing tliem out in due time and replanting witli young
Vines.

The Vines in question are not yet pruned, and it was on tliis sub-
ject that I have been tempted to pen these few lines. I was very
much pleased with a saying of our Editor's on pot-Vines, that more
depended upon the way in which the Vines had been prepared than all
else besides, which was just what I was convinced of myself; and
that the same theory might also be applied in many cases in our early
vineries to advantage, at least in worn-out ones such as ours ; and I
believe there are many like it throughout the country. Looking at
the Vines, you will find that on this year's Avood the best of the eyes
are a good way from the permanent rod — from G inches to 1 foot, or
perhaps a little more. Now in the usual mode of pruning, all the
shoots would be shortened in to an eye that can scarcely be seen.
This is the most approved way of pruning, and I quite admit that it
looks much in keeping with first-class cultivation ; but in the case of
worn-out Vines such as ours, I question very much whether it is the best
method to adopt. If I cut or prune in all the Vines I refer to in this
way, they will no doubt break well enough ; but, may I ask, will they
show hunches so freely ? [Very weak Vines will not. — Ed.] Now if
I leave the shoots a little longer, as I intend doing — for Vines can be
disbudded more freely by-and-by, as I only mean to take another
crop off — they will show more bunches probably than the Vines can
carry. In this w^ill be the difference between the two modes of
jDruning. I will have so many more chances for getting bunches to
show, at least from the one compared with the other. I hold that it
is not scientific to prune Vines to cause an extra strain upon the plant
to produce fruit, when naturally it is storing up material in the
shoots already formed, showing it in the prominent round buds which
are annually cut off, without ever, may I say, being in any way taken
notice of. Robert Mackellae.

RANDOM NOTES ON FLOWER - GARDENING.

Two of the driest and warmest seasons on record, followed by one of the
wettest, most sunless, and cold in the annals of meteorology, must be
regarded as extremes of the most trying order to the system of flower-
gardening which for many years back has been in fashion. Such
circumstances and their results must inevitably play a part in deter-
mining the future destiny of that which is popularly designated the
bedding system of flower-gardening. Judging from the tone of some
utterances, one would be apt to conclude that this system, instead of

iSyi.] NOTES ON FLOWER -GARDENING. 515

continuing to be wliat it is at present — an improving one — must be
improved out of existence altogether. Judging from a somewhat
extensive survey of British gardening, the conclusion arrived at is just
the very reverse of such a consummation. Everywhere, in the course
of a four weeks' wandering among the gardens of England, the idea
most forcibly confirmed has been that flower-gardening, after the fashion
of the last twenty years, is improving, extending, and gaining a firmer
footing than ever it had. Inferior plants are being discarded, and those
of a more effective and suitable character are being added, while plants of
an entirely different character to any that were used for grouping not
many years ago have been added, with the most marked improvement
in effect. We are now referring most especially to succulents, and
plants with graceful and more gigantic features. This does not refer
to any one particular locality, or to any special class of gardens. What
we have just stated we found manifested alike among the villas and
dukeries of the midland counties, in the Castle garden at Windsor, at
Kew, and the public parks of London, and in the northern and wilder
districts of Scotland. The two links which were so long amissing are
being added wherever there is the chance of their success ; and we owe
much to Mr Gibson, now manager of Hyde Park, for thus inaugurating
these features in British decorative gardening, which, but for him, we
must have crossed the Channel to have seen. Succulent and singular-
looking plants, and those with picturesque and graceful foliage, are fast
toning down the vulgarities of mere colour, and breaking up the mon-
otony of even surfaces, where such is suitable. All this, we have no
hesitation in saying, is greatly improving, modifying, and establishing the
most effective system of flower-gardening which has ever existed in this
country. And with satisfaction let it be said tliat this is going on
contemporaneous with an increasing interest in hardy border plants as
compared to what has been the rule for some years back. In fact, the two
orders of flower-gardening are being improved and allotted their rights.
In our own immediate experience of two excessively dry summers, fol-
lowed by one of excessive cold and wet, we have had nothing very singu-
lar in relation to the adaptability of particular plants to the two extremes
of weather. The records which we had to make of the behaviour of some
Pelargoniums in 1870 is only confirmed by the experience of the past
season. Our favourite Pelargoniums among scarlets are still Vesuvius,
Glorious, Glow, and Violet Hill. Among older varieties, Trentham
Scarlet {alias Improved Frogmore), Trentham Rose, Amy Hogg, and
William Underwood, are the cream of a large collection. Among Pinks,
Christine and Blue Bell do best, and are famous wet season and autumn
flowerers. Among silver variegated Pelargoniums we would not, so far
as suitability for our purposes is concerned, care much if we were

516 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

robbed of all, provided we were left with old Mangles's Variegated,
Flower of Spring, and Fair Helen : if we were to be limited to one
variety only, our choice, without hesitation, would rest on Mangles's,
on account of the variety of ways in which it can be so eflectively used.
Our way of managing this variety is somewhat peculiar. It is kept
in heat from October till the end of January, and kept constantly
pinched. Under this treatment each cutting forms itself into a stool,
which when potted off in spring grows into a bushy plant, with many
growing points, instead of a tall ungainly plant. It grows with far
more variegation in the west of Scotland than it did with us in the
east. Among golden varieties, Cloth-of-Gold did so badly in the dry
hot seasons that we ceased growing it so largely, and have stuck more to
good old Golden Chain. Lut Crystal Palace Gem is the best we have
seen of this section, although, owing to the more pretty and effective
habit and colour of Golden Pyrethrum, it is not now considered neces-
sary to grow so many of these more tender and labour-giving Pelar-
goniums. The Pyrethrum is a lovely plant when raised annually from
seed and grown in rich moist ground. It has been much too profusely
used in many places this season, jaundicing in many cases gardens to a
sickening extent. We suppose this is one of the consequences of its
easy propagation.

Amongst a host of bronze zoned varieties of Pelargoniums, Beauty of
Calderdale and Bronze Queen are considered the best, taking most quali-
ties into account. Imperatrice Eugenie and several other newer sorts
are splendid pot varieties, but do not stand the tear and wear of exposure
so well. I think it may safely be affirmed that for general usefulness
Mrs Pollock bears the palm among tricolors ; Louise Smith, Miss Bat-
ters, Sophia Cusack, and Lady Cullum are also good doers ; but for
distant effect in extensive flower-gardens, these tricolors and bronze are
next to useless. From what we have seen this year, these remarks may
be applied to a very wide variety of districts. But there is no doubt
some varieties that do well in one jDlace are next to worthless in others
— as, for instance. Improved Frogmore is splendid at Drumlanrig, but
was found next to useless at Archerfield.

Everywhere Imperial dwarf Ageratum has been most effective, and
from its immense array of lively lavender flowers, it is superseding
Blue lobelia for distant effect, and from its compact growth for small
scroll-work. Seen at a distance, Lobelia is not worth growing as com-
pared to this Ageratum.

Anthemis (Chrysanthemum frutescens) is unequalled for producing
a perfect sheet of white flowers that withstand aU sorts of weather up
till November. It is somewhat tall — IJ foot — and best suited for
the centres of large beds and mixed borders; and for back-lines to ribbon

iSyi.] NOTES ON FLOWER- GARDENING. 517

borders it is first - class, Tliis and A. grandiflorum are plants not
nearly so well known and grown as they deserve. Tliey do with the
same treatment as yellow Calceolarias.

Alternantheras, especially A. amabilis and A. magnifica, have taken
a very prominent place about London and the south, and from their
behaviour in the midland counties of Scotland, have established a claim
to a fair trial in Scotland generally. They are very easily propagated,
and admirably suited for carpeting and small beds and edgings.

Centaurea ragusina and its varieties are, generally speaking, the best
of the more robust-growing silver-leaved plants, although, strange to
say, with us they are scarcely worth growing as compared to Cineraria
maritima, an old plant which deserves more attention than it now re-
ceives. The influence of soil and climate is very marked in a case of
this sort, and shows how necessary it is to select ]3lants according to
such influences.

Calceolaria Princess Louisa w^e regard as the best of all dwarf yellow
Calceolarias ; it blooms most freely and continuously, and from its
dense twiggy habit withstands storm and rain the best of any Calceo-
laria we have ever grown. Veronica Andersonii variegata and Euonymus
radicans variegata are two silvery variegated and almost hardy plants
that deserve extensive culture, they are so effective and fine in habit.
The same may be said of the variegated Periwinkle, which, when kept
well and regularly trimmed, makes a most lovely permanent edging. A
large circular bed of this Periwinkle, thinly planted with Yucca recurva
pendula and edged with a massive row of Sedum fabarium (spectabilis),
is one of the most effective beds we have met with this season.

Sedum spectabilis is a most effective autumn hardy border-plant, and
makes a fine pot-plant.

Lonicera aurea reticulata is not nearly so much used as its merits de-
serve. It makes one of the prettiest edgings that can be grown. True,
the frost will in hard winters cut it down, but it springs up with
increased brightness and beauty; and we would recommend it to be hard
cut down every spring, as it springs up with increased and more
beautiful variegation. The same applies to the variegated Periwinkle.
These are two plants which, with the Euonymus and Veronica already
named, we would strongly recommend, esj)ecially to those who are short
of accommodation for growing variegated Geraniums and other more
tender light edging-plants.

Gazania splendens appears to be more a locality plant than most other
bedding plants. In the south it is not nearly so welldoing as in the
north, and we may say that until we saw it in full bloom here we never
saw its wonderful powers of bloom. When the blooms are open they
nearly meet in the bed.

518 THE GARDENER. [Xov.

We were iniicli surprised to find Trupceolum Cooperii, a variety-
raised in England, next to unknown about London ; and yet we con-
sider that of all Tropoeolums for scroll-work and general massing it
has no rival, to say nothing of an equal. Everywhere, wherever we
have seen it, its character for brilliancy has been the same. It is
equally fine in a dry season and in a moist one, and in every sort of
soil that ever we have tried it.

Our intention to refer to succulents, <tc., and combinations, must be
postponed, for these Notes are already too lengthy an instalment.

HOW I GROW MY CINERARIAS.

Ix recent numbers of the ' Gardener ' a good deal has been written about this most
viseful spring and winter flowering greenhouse plant, and as I value it highly
and grow it by the hundred from seed, I wish to let it be known, through the
medium of the pages of the 'Gardener,' how I grow them, as I think my treatment
differs a little from what I have read. I have followed this plan for years, and
have Cinerarias in bloom from October to July. This year the first lot came into
flower the last week of September : referring to my note-book, I find the seed was
sown on the 11th of ]\Iarch, in a seed-pan, and taken to the propagating-pit. There
they remained until the plants were covering the soil; the pan was then put into
a cooler house, and on the 22d April the young plants were pricked out into com-
mon cutting-boxes, and put into a cold frame and shaded for some days, the soil
used being sand and leaf-mould with a little loam. On the 23d of June they were
potted into 6, 7, and 8 inch pots, according to size of plant : only a few were put
into 6-inch pots. I never use small pots for Cinerarias ; the soil I give them is,
loam two parts, rotten cow-dung one part, leaf-mould one part, and sand one part,
and a few ^-inch bones. They are grown in a cold frame all the summer, and after
they are fully established in the pots the sashes are drawn off altogether, and only
put on during high winds or heavy rains. I sow a second lot ; and on again refer-
ring to my note-book I see they were sown on the 18th of May. I have not, how-
ever, noted down when they were put into boxes or when they were potted, but
they get the same treatment as the first lot, only they are all put into 6-inch
pots, getting a larger shift some time in March, and then they come in for late
flowering. I have given over growing named sorts, being convinced that seed-
lings are better, and I generally get very good seed ; indeed, some of my last year's
flowers were as good as any named sorts I ever saw. This year, however, my
plants are not nearly so good as usual, and I attribute that to the following causes :
I said the plants were grown in a cold frame all summer ; the frame is a large
three-light one, with a fixed stage in it for growing Auriculas. The plants grew splen-
didly, but the foliage got spoiled by high winds; and as the foliage was a good bit
above the frame, I could not get the sashes drawn on to shelter them ; my stock
of potting-soil got done, and I had to begin on a heap not sufficiently rotted, and
used a little more leaf-mould than usual amongst it. That, I think, caused the plants
to grow stronger and softer than in former years. Our conservatory is now gay
with Cinerarias, small plants of Zonal Geraniums, and Vallota purpurea, Primulas
&c. J. Heath.

Clement Pakk, Lochee.

1871.] NOTES ON GARDENS IN FIFE. 519

NOTES ON GARDENS IN FIFE.

St Brtcedale (thougli apparently under a dozen acres within the
boundary-wall) has the appearance, from the centre of the grounds, of
being a place of considerable extent, and the old trees show that it is
by no means a youthful residence. The planting has been arranged
with considerable skill : walks lead right and left from the principal
lawn, giving the idea of extent and variety, when one is actually
within a few yards of the principal street of the " Lang Toun." There
is width of grass, and not cut up into fragments, as is too often the case
(see " leader " of ' Gardener ' for October) where ground is limited ;
poverty and scarcity are bad enough without being exhibited to all
comers. This brings to mind a number of what might have been
beautiful villas in the neighbourhood of Eyde, Isle of Wight. When
visiting a friend there a few years ago (who lived at really a beauti-
ful place), Ave went to see the numerous residences in the neighbour-
hood, and, with very few exceptions, they had the appearance of well-
kept cemeteries — so numerous were the statues ; and the grounds,
generally not extensive, were cut up into shreds with flower-beds.
It might be well if some of the proprietors there read the leading
article in the ' Gardener ' for October. At St Brycedale the flower-
beds were proportionate to the surroundings, and placed right and
left of the dwelling-house, well belted with shrubs. As an example
of one of the finest planted pleasure-grounds, with well -arranged
woods, walks, water, &c., we give Caen Wood, near Highgate, a seat
in possession of the Earl of Mansfield. The first time we walked
through that beautifid place, impressions were made which we cannot
forget — the steep walks leading into dense woods, which woidd
suggest to a stranger that he was in the centre of a very rural district ;
and w^hen the outer boundary was reached, the illusion was dispelled,
as the city of London with its dense cloud of smoke was in full view,
and within a very short distance. W^hatever may be the qualifica-
tions of the present generation of gardeners, I am not sure that we
are equal to our forefathers as landscape-gardeners. But returning to
St Brycedale. On the lawn, at a little distance from the house, stands
a very substantial conservatory. Its heavy rafters, &c., show that
expense was a secondary consideration when the structure was erected.
At the time of our visit there were some very fine " stage " Pelar-
goniums, though much past their best. There were some huge Bal-
sams, sturdy and proportionate in size, and the flowers very double.
We seldom see these old-fashioned plants in such good condition.
The Balsam stood very high with cultivators a number of years ago,
and when well grown it was considered a " feather in the cap " of the

520 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

grower. In our youth, wlicii we could grow Lalsams 4 feet liigli, and
as much through, we considered it an acconiphshment of some merit ;
but the great demand for plants to decorate rooms, dinner-tables, &c,,
has put the Balsam almost into oblivion, and I confess that I am not
an admirer of them now. (This is l)y no means intended as an arrow
shot at IMr Hignett's excellent advice on the culture of the Balsam.)
In this conservatory were some gigantic Ericas, and other hard-
wooded plants. However, this class generally lose their interest
when they become old, and I have no doubt that Mr Murray (the
industrious gardener at St Brycedale) had in some sheltered part of
the grounds duplicates of his stock, or even triplets of the best kinds
in A^arious stages, coming on to take the places of those which should
be discarded when they lose their vigour. Greenhouse plants, though
ever so well flowered, or ever so handsome in shape, are not interesting
wdien growth is not vigorous and of a lively green. The fruit-houses,
plant-pits, vegetable garden, &c., are at the west side of the grounds,
carefully shut out from view by trees and shrubs. In two nice vineries,
crops of Grapes were heavy — indeed, partaking of that general fault
of the locality — cropping being generally too heavy to keep up sup-
plies of finely-coloured and highly-flavoured fruit for many years in
succession.

One thing which specially took our attention in an unpretending
corner was a splendid border of dwarf Sweet "William, which outstript
in appearance the finest beds of Geraniums or Verbenas. This crimson
border had the appearance of a velvet cushion. Leaving this neat and
orderly place, we drove about half a mile westward, and entered the
grounds of Raith, a seat which ranks amongst the finest in the country.
The position is very fine, and the portion which fronts to the Forth
has a most imposing appearance. The mansion (which is by no means
in proj^ortion to the surroundings) stands several hundred feet above
the level of the sea ; and seen from a great distance, Raith is like too
many of the finest of Scotch seats, partaking more of the character of
a wood than a jxirk. Judicious thinning could do Avonders for this seat.
A fine feature, lying at the base of a slope running from the house, is a
beautiful lake ; it is artificial, but its bold outline and crooks are so
easy and pleasing to the eye, that no one could desire anything more
beautiful and natural. The fine belting of shrubs, chiefly Rhododen-
drons, is arranged with much taste, and showing, in a great measure,
the love which the late Colonel Monroe Eergusson had for this fine class
of plants, as well as Coniferoe, &c. Gardeners who have lived at Raith
for generations have left traces of skill and refinement behind them.
The gardens are not far from the highroad, well sheltered with trees
on all sides. Since the lamented death of the late Colonel, the garden

iSyi.] NOTES ON GARDENS IN FIFE. 521

establishment has been under temporary reduction, and tlie vegetable
plots, which are extensive, are not all under crop for culinary purposes.
We say " plots," as the word " garden " can scarcely be applied to the
ground, there being no garden proper, but a number of small fields
divided by low stone-walls. Notwithstanding their unshapely out-
lines, they have been long in the hands of men who knew how to make
the best of them : deep tilth evidently has been in practice for many
years, as exemplified by the fine crops in Mr Eintoul's (the present
gardener) time, and before he lived at Raith. Conspicuous were re-
markably fine Onions, well matured, handsome, and of great size;
Danver's Yellow, apparently, is one of the best. Grubs being so de-
structive, it has been found necessary to depend on autumn sowings
for the main crop, and the practice is most satisfactory. Peas were
extra fine and abundant. Entering through a door in a high brick
wall, the floAver-garden is before us : it is somewhat extensive, but
smaller now to what it formerly was ; and we think the reduction a
great improvement, giving more relief — grass and shrubs being defi-
cient in proportion to the breadth of cultivated ground. A few dwarf
graceful shrubs (which have probably been planted ere this time)
would appear to advantage on the beautiful green plots of grass lately
laid down to curtail the " bedding."

The plants were very vigorous in growth, arranged with taste, and
offering to flower abundantly. A lofty range of glass houses covered
a wall at back of flower-garden. They are chiefly used for Grapes,
Peaches, and plants. The Peaches at the time of our visit were turn-
ing in for use. The crops were heavy, fruit fine in quality, and the
trees in robust health. A large plant-house was gay with flowering-
plants. Conspicuous were Fuchsias, Statices, Zonal Geraniums, and
some telling " foliage " plants. We thought it a pity that such a fine
house should be used for plants which certainly do not show them-
selves to the greatest advantage on the almost perpendicular stage — an
arrangement which only shows the under-sides of the plants, their
flowers being exhibited to the roof These old-fashioned stages are
rapidly becoming things of the past. In a large square yard behind
this range were a number of pits, frames, &c., which were well filled
with Cucumbers, Melons, &c. A nice vinery lately erected was filled
with strong rods of the later kinds of Vines, which would require a
liberal use of fuel to mature the wood this cold damp season. From
Paith we drove northwards, leaving Kirkcaldy, Avith its numerous
tall chimneys and beautiful villas (many of which are in the course of
erection) in our rear. We were soon Avithin the grounds of Dunnikier,
the seat of J. T. OsAvald, Esq. Entering from the west, we pass an
orchard ; and over the stone walls we glanced eagerly to see if the

522 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

crops of Apples and Pears were anything like what they have been in
former years. "But we soon saw that the crop was light — too much
like what Ave had seen elsewhere during the day. Entering the
gardens, we met Mr Dewar. The day by this time was far spent ;
and some of our friends having to go by train after returning to our
starting-point, our visit was short, but we saw enough to convince us
that Mr Dewar was still up to the times, and his wonted energy was
exhibited in all under his care. Passing through the framing-ground
(in which were well-filled structures of useful material), we entered
the range of fruit-houses. These have been (ever since they were
erected) every season loaded with crops of fruit, chiefly Grapes and
Peaches; and this season is no exception, the later kinds, however, being
the best in way of Grapes. Peaches were in clusters, chiefly for late sup-
plies. The kitchen-garden is honct fide a vegetable garden, though the
useful kinds of cut flowers are grown along a border in abundance.
There is no ground taken up with " bedding," but every space is well
filled with useful stuff for culinary purposes. Notable were very fine
crops of Celery, and all the Brassica tribe was well represented, the
soil showing what it can do when well " fed and laboured." Leaving
this department, we passed along a finely-sheltered walk, well planted
along its sides by thriving Rhododendrons. These plants are peculiarly
at home in this place, and grow with great vigour everywhere
through the grounds. We entered the flot\^er-garden, which is in
front of the mansion. This residence (though not elevated [like
Raith) is very pleasantly situated. The garden in front, nice shrubs
and fine trees, with an opening out to the park, the Eorth, Inch-
keith, Arthur Seat, and other fine objects in the distance, give this
place a cheerful character, such as is seldom surpassed. The flower-
garden we thought well done : a good mixture of foliage plants gave
the beds a tasteful appearance ; and as flowers were not well out, their
absence was in a great measure made up. Eoliage also makes up for
the loss of flowers when battered off by rain. We were again turning
our thoughts and faces homewards, and a quick drive of a few milee
brought us within the broad lands of Balbirnie. The beautiful park,
studded with its gigantic beeches, &c., the long drives and extensive
grounds, show that this fine seat has for generations been in the pos-
session of proprietors who have had a keen eye for the beautiful, and
have done much for local improvement. The management of the place
shows '' footprints " of men whose skill was established before we were
in existence. Here our Notes must end. To go further would be
almost as absurd as the eulogium passed by a son of Erin on his
native town. A friend and myself were questioning him (in Dublin)
on the beautiful towns which he had visited in England and elsewhere.

iSji.] PLUMBAGO CAPENSIS CULTURE. 523

He was loud in praise of them all, especially their ales and spirits,
and he concluded with emphasis that, after all he had seen, no
town vv'as equal to his native city, " dare old Doobhn." It may be
remarked that if the foregoing is a fair representation of the gardening
of Eife, there is nothing " sensational " in it. JN'either there is ; and as
for plant-growing, there is no such thing as fine specimens in the
county. But there is abundance of what is desired by the emjDloyers ;
all means at command are turned to useful account, and the produce
will compare favourably with many other counties. M. T.

PLUMBAGO CAPENSIS CULTURE.

Most plants, to grow them well, require cultural management peculiar to them-
selves or to their own wants. Plumbago Capensis does not form an exception to
this rule. It is seldom met with amongst collections of plants, and more seldom
seen in flower. Little difficulty attends the growing of it, but it is not easily
bloomed.

Speaking of the qualities of P. Capensis, I think it merits a place in the
foremost rank of summer-flowering greenhouse plants, No other plant furnishes
a more abundant profusion of blossom when properly managed ; nor do we know
any that will eclipse its trusses of delicate pale blue. When cultivated for climb-
ing purposes, it must have the lightest, the warmest, and the airiest part of the
house. The soil it prefers is of a light, moderately rich, porous kind, with more
than the ixsual amount of drainage ; and while in growth, water must be copiously
supplied, always warmed to the heat of the house before being applied to the
roots. As soon as the flowering season is over, water ought in a great measure to
be withheld, as all the working energies of the plant go to sleep with the dropping
of the last truss of flowers, unless, indeed, a few trusses of seed follow the flowers.
"Water only to keep the foliage from drooping, for this is sufficient until
fresh signs of active growth are indicated in early spring, which should be the
signal to have the shoots of the former year's growth cut partially back; and at
the same time affording fresh stimulus to the roots by a top-dressing of fresh com-
post of equal parts loam, old cow-manure, sand, and leaf-mould, properly mixed
together, following and ffompleting the operation b}' a good soaking of tepid water.
In the course of its growth water seldom but without stint when affording sup-
plies, but being always sui-e that water is really wanted before giving any, as no
plant is more impatient of cold and damp than this.

After a time, when good stubby growths have been produced, and indications of
hardness in the young shoots are apparent, it is better to withhold water until signs
of distress are evident from the want of it, by the foliage getting fagged and dry-
like. But this must not be overdone either, or the leaves will drop oS" the lower
parts of the shoots. These hints attended to, renew the waterings, but in much
less proportions to that supplied throughout the first stages of growth, and a rich
display of blossoms will repay the attention and labour given.

Pot-Culture as Spedmeiis. — Commencing with rooted cuttings early in spring,
they should be potted into pots 3 inches in diameter, then plunged in bottom-
heat of 65°, with a few degrees higher atmospheric temperature, avoiding a too close
or moist air. The usual means must be afibrded to maintain healthy and vigorous

2 P

524 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

growth, by potting when the wants of the roots demand extra room, and pinch-
ing to keep the form symmetrical and well furnished. At the same time, the
plants should occupy the most airy and sunny aspect of the house, as near the
glass as practicable.

When the plants are large enough to suit the tastes of the cultivator, have them
removed from the forcing-house to another where a drier air with more light pre-
vails, at the same time sufficiently warm to harden the young shoots into ripeness, so
that the plants may furnish flowers in autumn. When winter approaches, water
must be given sparingly, and the plants placed in warm, dry, sunny quarters,
and otherwise managed as recommended for climbers while winter lasts.

Early in February prune back the last season's wood half-way, and partially
shake the soil from the roots, supplying fresh soil and clean pots. Drain these pots
properly, and use the same compost as that recommended for the climbers. Pot
firmly, and after staking the growths neatly out and watering abundantly, so as to
reach the lowest part of the soil, place the plants in a newly-started vinery to
make fresh wood ; and when this has been accomplished, return them to a green-
house, where flowers will soon begin to form. A. Kerr.

CULTURE OF ANTHURIUM SCHERZERIANUM ANT>
ALIiAMANDA CATHARTICA.

As you ask for a paper on the culture of the above in your last num-
ber, I Tvill state my experience with them. They are both stove-
plants of easy culture. The Anthurium is of recent introduction, but
it is now plentiful, and can be purchased at a cheap rate ; it is, more-
over, a most beautiful plant, and worthy of a place in the most select
collection. As to culture, it requires to be carefully potted, using
clean pots and a liberal proportion of drainage. The best compost for
it is tough fibry peat, torn in pieces by the hand, and using only the
rough portion of it ; to this should be added some silver-sand, a small
quantity of Sphagnum moss, chopped fine, and a few broken pieces of
porous bricks or potsherds. Some fresh Sphagnum moss should be
placed over the drainage. In potting give a liberal shift, and press the
compost in firmly with the fingers : the plant should be slightly raised
on a mound in the centre of the pot. The plant should occupy a some-
what shady position in the house, as exposure to the sun is injurious
to it. Another recommendation to it is, that it is not only free in
flowering, but the spathes last a long time in perfection. I had some
last winter which were perfect for three months. Care must be exer-
cised not to allow water from the syringe to touch them. The plant
alluded to above began to flower last year in October, and continued
to throw up flower-spathes all through the winter in a temperature of
from 55° to 60°, and at midsummer it had upwards of a dozen flower-
spathes on it at one time. As to watering, it is simply impossible
to state how much a plant would require — it ail depends on surround-

1871.] YOUNG GARDENERS AND OVERTIME. 525

ing circumstances. The Anthurium should be kept rather moist during
active growth, but on no account allow the plant to be sodden.
It ought to be allowed a season of rest in autumn when other flowers
are plentiful; it will then produce its flowers freely during winter
and spring. When at rest little water will be required, but do not allow
it to become quite dry : it may be kept in a lower temperature, but I
have not ventured to place it in the greenhouse during rest. Always
use water that has stood from twelve to twenty-four hours in pots near
the hot-water pipes. There are a great many different forms of it in
commerce. A neighbour pointed out three distinct varieties to me in
his plant-stove, and they were all different from the variety that I culti-
vate. By far the best variety I have seen in London this season was
exhibited by Messrs Veitch of Chelsea ; the spathes were very brilliant,
and were 6 inches long by 3 inches. Those who do not possess this
plant should purchase it, and stipulate that the best variety only be
sent.

Allamandas are very handsome stove climbers and a noble fea-
ture in large houses. Their glossy green leaves and large rich lemon-
yellow flowers are exceedingly effective. In small houses they have
room to develop themselves to a very limited extent, and ought to be
grown in pots, although where there is plenty of room I prefer plant-
ing them out. A. cathartica is a very free-flowering species, either
grown in pots or planted out ; it will produce five flowers for one of
A. Schottii, but Schottii has the largest and best flowers. A. grandi-
flora, A. nobilis, and A. Hendersonii are all very desirable species of
more recent introduction, and are now grown in preference to A. cath-
artica and A. Schottii. A. grandiflora makes a very fine exhibition
plant. All the species strike freely from cuttings in sandy loam.
The best compost for growing them in is turfy loam two parts and
turfy peat one part, using it rather rough ; enough sand should be ad-
ded to keep it open : in this they will flower profusely either planted
out or in pots. There is a plant of A. cathartica planted in the stove
here which produces hundreds of flowers annually, and is in flower
from June to October, when the plant is severely pruned, as the thick
green leaves keep the light from plants underneath. They require
plenty of water when growing, and a limited supply when at rest dur-
ing winter. J. Douglas.

YOUNG GARDENERS AND OVERTIME.

Referring again to the overtime movement, and whilst all must admit that
there is room for an emancipation bill on behalf of young gardeners, still a little
allowance must be made for circumstances. All gardeners are not situated alike
as regards assistaace and the freedom of their employer's purse. We are well

526 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

aware there are those wlio exact exorbitant demands of their men, who
could remedy the evil if they only wished to do so by remonstrating with their
employer or his representative. But, on the other hand, there are those vpho
are restricted almost to a shilling ; and we are inclined to think that were "An
Old Gardener " placed in such a position, he would endeavour to make his best of
it, like other folks. "We have had charge of houses under three different masters,
and in each case we were obliged to work in the evenings to keep the work in
advance. We think there is no department of any garden establishment in so
much need of reform. Imagine a foreman and his men toiling late and early all
the late spring and early summer months, and perhaps his best man turned out
upon the walls to nail, in the winter, so that inside work in a good many second
and third class places is nothing short of a continual drag all the year ! Before
closing our remarks, we shall presume to ask "An Old Gardener" one question.
We shall suppose him a young gardener waiting a foreman's situation in a nursery.
The nurseryman hears of a situation likely to suit him ; all arrangements are made
between him and his new master ; he is to have the entire responsibility of the
houses, with two or three to assist : but, as the busy season arrives, he finds his
hands inadequate to fulfil the duties for which he was engaged within the recog-
nised working hours. The work falls behind-hand every day, and at last he doesn't
know which end to begin at. We think it a more cheerful method to keep the
work in advance (even without compensation). We have spent many a pleasant
evening in a Vinery or Peach-house of our own option. In our article on the
Balsam, we laid no emphasis on things as they should be, but on the state of
things which really exist. A gardener who occupies any position of importance
can compensate his men threefold by using his influence in finding them situations,
instead of allowing their names to drop into oblivion, as though they might be
numbered with the things that were. We felt deeply annoyed that "An Old
Gardener " misunderstood us over the shake of the hand and the certificate. That
clause or sentence was more meant for the old gardeners than the young ones.
We have known several such cases, but have always looked upon them as ungen-
erous. In conclusion, allow us to thank " An Old Gardener" for his criticis^m,
and his very high opinion of our style of men. In our present situation we have
got to work almost as hard as those under us. Should we ever be elevated to a
position of more importance, it is to be hoped we shall endeavour to treat others
as we would they should do unto us. Wm. Hixds.

[Working of your own accord and pleasure is a different thing from being
requested and expected to work overtime and receiving no remuneration. — Ed.]

GRAPES AT THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL '
SOCIETY, OCTOBER 4.

The 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' writing of these, says: — "True, indeed, there was
no foreign competition on this occasion, but even had there been, the splendid
display made by Messrs Lane was such that they would have had nothing what-
ever to fear. Their Muscats were simply magnificent; . . . . and doubtless, since
there are many more examples of the various kinds remaining behind at Berkbamp-
stead, some of the visitors to London may be tempted to go and see for themselves.
The strange point is, that although drainage and heated borders are deemed
essential to crack Grape-growing, and no doubt are in a general way useful aids
thereto, yet Messrs Lane's Go-apes are close to, and almost on a level with, per-

iSyi.] SEEDLING PINE-APPLE. 527

petually running water, which must necessarily percolate among their roots and
keep them constantly damp. May not shanking and shrivelling, after all, be the
result of root-drought rather than root-damp ? "

What say our Fowlers and our Johnstons to water percolating constantly
among the roots of Vines ? Our contemporary says that Messrs Lane won in
a canter the gold medal for the finest collection of Grapes, as well as the medals
for the best collection of White Grapes, in both of which collections were magnifi-
cent specimens of Golden Champion. The ' Journal of Horticulture ' corrobor-
ates this report. It would be interesting to know when these Golden Champions
were ripe, for some state that they will not keep after they are ripe. We are using
it now — middle of October — of as rich a golden yellow as ever we have ripened
Muscats to, and without spot or shrivel, from a Vine on its own roots. They were
ripe at the end of July, and the Vines were planted in March 1870. The INIadres-
field Court Grape has well maintained its position at this great gathering of
Grapes. There is no doubt it is an easy Grape to grow, and therefore all the
more worthy of a place in all collections ; and it ripens in cool vineries, although
it is best in a Muscat temperature.

LARGE HOUSES AND STROJSTG SOILS FOR VIISTES.

Many years ago we had experience in very small vineries. This experience
led us some years ago to advocate large, airy, light vineries in the pages of the
' Scottish Gardener.' Further experience and observation tend to strengthen the
conviction in favour of houses enclosing a large volume of air, as being most in
unison with the habit of Vines as to space for growing in, and most likely to
give highly-coloured, fine-flavoured Grapes, with better keeping qualities, and as
afibrding circumstances better adapted for keeping Grapes than are possible in
small houses with a much more fluctuating temperature. A private correspondent
writes us that he finds Lady Downes and other late sorts in large houses equal in
flavour in October to any that he has grown in small houses at Christmas. In all
our wanderings this summer, we invariably met with the best Grapes — other things
being equal — in strong, holding soils. And there can be no doubt that strong,
rather moist soils will produce the finest samples of Grapes for the greatest length
of time.

SEEDLIlSra PINE-APPLE.

We recently had the pleasure of seeing eight or ten fruits of what we consider a
wonderfully fine Pine-Apple at Lambton Castle gardens. It is certainly, as those
of our readers who have seen it can readily endorse, the most handsome of all
Pines. It grows into a most shapely cone, with a very moderate-sized fruit.
When we saw them in August, it was considered that when ripe they will range
from 8 lb. to 10 lb. each ; and the plants, owing to the extensive alterations and
improvements that have recently been going on at Lambton, have not had justice
done them. Mr Hunter informed us that he ripened it last winter along with
Smooth Cayennes, and it was found more juicy and better- flavoured than the
Cayenne. In conjunction with its handsome appearance and free-bearing character,
these qualities will render it a great acquisition among Pines.

528

THE GARDENER.

[Nov.

WIRING WALLS FOR TRAINING FRUIT-TREES.

It is surprising how pertinaciously the old system of training wall-trees with
nails and shreds has been adhered to. In this respect, speaking generally, we are
no further advanced than our great grandfathei-s. The nail-aud-shred system has
little or nothing to recommend it. It destroys the best-built walls, creates un-
limited breeding and hiding places for vermin that are injurious to both trees
and fruit ; and the same may be said of the shreds themselves, while the nails
very often prove injurious to the wood and the fruit if not most narrowly watched.
The work of nailing is one of the most tedious and trying that the gardener has to
perform. Indeed, we do not know what to say in its favour. In some cases,
where nailing has been departed from, the system of driving studs into the walls
has been adopted ; but if an improvement at all, it is a very slight one. We are
happy to see that in some of the best-arranged new gardens the reasonable, better-
looking, and much easier method of wiring the walls at once is being adopted.
Once done, there is no incessant knocking in and drawing out of nails, to the ruin
of garden-walls. Trees are much easier cleaned when infested with insects. A
circulation of air is allowed about the foliage and fruit, and the work of tying is
much easier and pleasanter than nailing. Judging from the vigorous way in
which these fittings, as well as espaliers of the same material, are being advertised,
it is to be hoped the system will soon be generally adopted.

M'LACHLAN'S NEW PATENT VERGE-CUTTER.

Is it not surprising
garden implements ]

that so little that is new or improved has been added to
With the exception of the mowing-machine, and perhaps
Park's steel fork, garden implements remain very much as
they were in the time of our great-grandfathers. We all
the more heartily welcome this new edging-cutter, invented
and patented by Mr M'Lachlan, Dungourney Gardens, near
Greenock, and consider it a vast improvement, in every
respect, on the old edging-tool. It has received several first-
class certificates. As will be seen from our engraving, the
machine consists of a small iron frame, which is set on a
couple of I'ollers, and has fixed at the right side a knife of
about 6 inches long, the point of which is turned in as a
sole. This blade is fixed by means of a screw, and can be
set in an instant so as to cut verges from 1 inch to 6 inches
deep, while the sole part of the knife detaches from the base
the portion of edging detached from
the side of the walk, thus doing
with one action the work which re-
quires an edging-tool and a Dutch
hoe. This piece of simple mechan-
ism is fitted to a wooden handle, 6
feet long, and the instrument is
worked by the same sort of action
^ required for Dutch hoeing. We

have used this machine with our own hands, and find it very easily worked, and
that it makes a very speedy and superior job. Mr IM'Lachlan recently had a pub-
lic trial of his invention, but the competitor with the old edging-tool soon gave

1871.] REVIEW. 529

up the contest. The testimony of the gardeners who saw the contest is as
follows : —

"We, the undersigned, met for the purpose of proving of Mr M'Lachlan's
edging-machine, and find that it is all that could be desired for the purpose, and
a great improvement on the old system of edging. Mr M'Lachlan, with the assist-
ance of one man picking up the trimmings, cut with the sole-knife a verge 90 yards
long in the short space of 7^2 minutes."

Signed by sixteen gardeners present at the trial.

The work performed by the new machine was full twice as much as was done
by the old edging-tool, and a comparison of the work showed the great superior-
ity of the work performed by the new one. The old tool either scatters
that part detached from the edging over the walk, or requires a man or boy to
follow with a Dutch hoe before it can be picked up ; while that cut by the new
one remains where it is cut, and can be gathered up without disturbing the walk.

REVIEW.

Hardy Flowers : Descriptions of Upwards of Thirteen Hundred of the Most
Ornamental Species, and Directions for their Arrangement and Culture, &c.
By William Robinson, F.L.S. London, Warne & Co.
Another volume from the busy pen of Mr Eobinson ! and one of the best he
has yet written. If hardy border-plants do not soon become as popular as their
merits deserve, the author of this book will not be to blame. He seems passion-
ately fond of this class of plants himself, and writes much about them that is cal-
culated to make his readers look upon them with the same affection. In this
handy volume everything connected with the culture and arrangement of these
plants is minutely and elaborately dealt with. Mixed borders of hardy flowers;
hardy flowers for mixed shrubberies, for beds and groups, for isolated specimens,
and for being used as bedding-plants ; hardy plants for the rock-garden, the wild
garden, for water and for boggy ground, — all come under treatment and minute
botanical description. The concluding part of the work deals with selections for
various purposes, and bears evident marks of skill and care, and is especially cal-
culated to be useful to those who have yet to learn how to utilise hardy peren-
nials in dressed ground — a task which is by no means easily combined with that of
keeping a flower-garden always trim and fresh -looking. We quite agree with Mr
Robinson that the mixed border composed entirely of hardy perennials should be
cut off entirely and distinctly from ordinary flower-gardens, for with all the inter-
est that is undeniably attached to a selection of these, they cannot be appropri-
ately combined with plants suitable for artistic flower-gardens. But that is no
reason why hardy flowers should be banished from our grounds. This is a point we
are happy to find Mr Robinson dealing with in a more temperate spirit than his
usual, for we have often thought his condemnation of flower-gardens too sweep-
ing ; and we feel convinced, now that he is soon to be in regular editorial har-
ness, that he will find the bedding system, as it is popularly called, to have a
strong hold. But that is no reason why hardy plants should not have a stronger
hold than they have, and to all who want to learn all about them, ' Hardy
Flowers ' will be a most useful and interesting volume.

530 THE GARDENER. [Nov.

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS.

Royal Horticultural Society, September 20,— There were but few prizes
ofiFereJ by the Society, and little or no competition in any of the classes. Begonias,
Celosias, Penstemons, Stocks, Zinnias, &c., were the subjects invited.

Fruit Committee. — A new seedling white Grape named Winter Muscadine was
exhibited by Mr W. Paul, of Waltham Cross. It was much admired, and the
Committee requested that it be sent in the winter to show its keeping qualities.
The Potatoes were well represented by the best growers. ^Mr 11. Fenn, of The
llectory, Woodstock, sent a number of seedlings and graft-hybrids. Of the last-
named the opinions of practical men are wide as the poles asunder, but nine out
of ten are agreed that it is a very uncertain speculation. The seedlings raised by
Mr Fenn, on the other hand, are of hii^h merit ; both in shape and quality there is
not much room left for improvement. Rector of Woodstock, a veiy fine white
round variety, has already received a first-class certificate.

Floral Committee — A& it is now getting late in the season, there were but few
new plants exhibited. Messrs Veitch, of Chelsea, exhibited a choice group of stove
and greenhouse plants, Orchids, &c. Vriesiabrachystachys, a handsome compact
plant with spikes of gold and crimson flowers, and Agave rotundifolia, received
first-class certificates. Mr Green, gardener to W. W. Saunders, Esq., Hillfield,
Reading, received the same award for Hechtia argentea ; as did Mr Denning,
gardener to Lord Londesborough, for Pescatorea Wallisii. The same award was
given to Mr Knight, Hailsham, for his new climbing Rose Princess Louise : it was
exhibited in June. The flowers are medium-sized, pale rose, and nicely cupped.

The following florist flowers received first-class certificates — Verbenas, Lady
Braybrook, Lady Gertrude, and Mauve Queen, from Mr Eckford, gardener to the
Earl of Piadnor, Coleshill. Seedling Dahlias have been unusually numerous this
season, and some of the flowers exhibited were of a high order of merit. Mr C.
Turner, of Slough, again sent Mrs Waite. This time it received a first-class award,
as did Livonia and Mephistopheles. Mr Parker, Maidens Green, Winkfield, sent
a very fine fancy named Admiration, which received a first-class, and John Batten,
a maroon-coloured flower, second-class certificates.

Second-class awards were also given to Mr Turner for Master M'G rath. Ranun-
culus, and Bucks Lass ; to Mr Rawlings, of Romford, for Golden Beauty and Mrs
Bennet. Worthy of special note was a magnificent spike of Saccolabium Blumei
Dayanum, 20 inches in length, from Mr Russell, of Mayfield, Falkirk, and a cut
spike of Cattleya elegans. The first named was thought worthy of a medal, and
the Cattleya received a special certificate.

Oct. 4. — This was the usual meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society's Fruit
and Floral Committee, Exhibition of Grapes, of edible and poisonous fungi.
An international exhibition of fruit was also announced by the Council. Only
four weeks' notice was given, but valuable gold and silver medals were offered
for collections of fruit. Both home and foreign exhibitors were invited, and the
result was the best exhibition of fruit held in London since the International of
1862, Apples came first on the list, and numerous meritorious collections were
put up. Mr W, Paul, of Waltham Cross, gained the gold medal with 171 distinct
varieties, culinary and dessert ; MM, Baltet fr^res, of Troyes, France, being a close
second. At first sight the foreign collection seemed the best, the fruit in most
instances being larger ; but on a closer examination the solid, cleanly-grown, and
even-sized fruit sent by Mr Paul was at once apparent. For collections of dessert
Apples, ]\[r Chaff, gardener to A, Smee, Esq., Carshalton, was first with fifty dis-
tinct sorts ; Mr R. Webb, Calcot, Reading, being second. In culinary Apples, Mr

iSyi.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. . 531

S. Ford, gardener to W. E. Hubbard, Esq., Leonardslee, Horsbam, Sussex, was first
with eighty dishes ; Mr Chaff coming in second. To particularise even the prin-
cipal collections would be a hopeless task, but I noted as the best dessert Apples
the following — Adam's Pearmain, Dutch Mignonne, Golden Pippin, Kerry Pippin,
King of the Pippins, Manx Codlin, ISTonparei], Orange Pippin (Cox), Pearson's
Plate, Ribston Pippin, Reinette du Canada, &c. Of culinary varieties, there were
fine examples of Alexander, Blenheim Pippin, Cox's Pomona, Dumelow's seed-
ling Cellini, New Hawthornden, Lord Derby, Bess Pool, Lord Sufiield, Tower
of Glamis, and Warner's King.

For the most complete collection of Pears, the gold medal went to MM. Bal-
tet freres — for a most magnificent collection containing over 300 distinct varieties
of large, clean, well-grown fruit. The same exhibitors carried off the first prizes
both for dessert and culinary Pears ; the most conspicuous for size and beauty
being of dessert — Beurrd Bachelier, Beurre de Nantes, Beurre Baltet frere, Beurre
Superfin, Beurre Diel, Beurre Hardy, Conseiller de la Cour, Columba, De
Tongre, Duchess d'Angouleme, General Todleben, Fondante Chirriot (a new
variety), and Triomphe de Jodoigne; of culinary varieties there were fine ex-
amples of Crassane d'Hardenpoint, Belle Angevine, De Livre, Lieutenant Poitevin,
and Catillac.

The gold medal for the collection of Grapes fell to Messrs Lane, of Great Berk-
hampstead, with excellent examples : the Muscats were magnificent ; the varieties
were Gros Guillaume, Trebbiano, Bowood Muscat, Muscat Hamburg, Alicante,
Buckland Sweetwater, Pope's Hamburg, Esperione, Golden Champion, Black
Hamburg, Lady Downes, Duchess of Buccleuch, Frankenthal, B'ack Prince,
Foster's Seedling, West's St Peter's, Mrs Pince, and Burchard's Prince. ]\Ir Mere-
dith, of Garston, was second with bunches inferior to what he generally exhibits.
For a single bunch of "White Grapes, Messrs Lane were first with Bowood Muscat.
The best bunch of Black was a well- finished one of Alicante from Mr E. Clark,
gardener to J. C. Brown, Esq., Horsham. The heaviest bunch of Grapes came
from Mr Bannerman, gardener to Lord Bagot, Blithfield Hall, Rugeley, a fine one
of Gros Guillaume weighing 6 lb. The best collection of Black Grapes also came
from Mr Bannerman, six varieties ; Messrs Lane were second with thirteen var-
ieties,— the last-named exhibitors coming in first for the collection of white
Grapes with nine distinct sorts. A very interesting collection was sent from the
Society's Gardens, Chiswick. The stoneless Monukka and Madresfield Court were
remarkable. The last named is decidedly the best of the new Grapes, the examples
exhibited being grown in a cool house with Black Hamburg, and were superior in
flavour to that good old sort.

Splendid fruit of Brockworth Park Pear were exhibited by Messrs Wheeler. They
were of large size, but are very similar to the best examples of Louise Bonne
of Jersey.

Fruit Committee. — This was one of the most interesting meetings of the season.
Some very fine collections of Potatoes, Onions, and other vegetables were
exhibited. Messrs Veitch of Chelsea received a special certificate for collections of
Beet and Endive. The best Beets for flavour and appearance were Cattell's Crim-
son, Dewar's Dwarf, and Dell's Crimson. The Endive was very remarkable :
Veitch's White curled. Green curled, and Moss curled were the best sorts. Mr
J. Parsons, of Leamington, sent bunches of the Abercairney Grape ; they proved to
be excellent examples of Alicante. Many new Grapes were sent to this meeting.
Mr Bannerman exhibited a seedling black variety with immense berries. Mr A.
Ingram, Alnwick Castle, sent a black variety similar in appearance to Mrs Pince,
but more juicy and of good flavour. Mr Pearson, Chilwell, Nottingham, sent

532

THE GARDENER.

[Nov.

Abram r)ass, a new black Grape of much promise ; the berries are large, oval, of
excellent flavour, and it forms a large compact bunch. A special certificate was
awarded to Mr Cox, of Madrcsfield Court Gardens, for fine examples of Victoria
Nectarine.

Floral Committee. — Mr "Williams, of Ilolloway, sent ^Macrozamia spiralis, a dense-
growing species, with graceful recurved dark-green leaves. A new hardy shrub,
Desmodium penduliflorum, a very floriferous plant of graceful appearance, with
drooping racemes of purplish crimson flowers, came from Mr "W. Bull, of Chelsea;
both the above received first-class certificates. Several groups of plants were ex-
hibited. Mr Bull, of Chelsea, had a large collection containing some fine plants.
Messrs Yeitch had a small collection of choice things : Cattleya exoniensis, with
fine spikes ; this is one of the most startling results of ]\Ir Downing's labours as a
hybridist : C. Dominiana, another superb hybrid ; and Cypripedium Harrisianum,
the best hybrid Cypripedium ; the pure-white Saccolabium Harrisoni, and some
others. Messrs Standish exhibited hybrid Gladioluses, the results of crosses between
Cruentus and the Gandavensis and Brenchleyensis section, but he has not yet
raised any startling novelty. J. Douglas.

KITCHEN-GARDEN.

In this department there will now be
abundance of work ; and if the weather
keeps free from severe frost, every effort
to {ret ground-work forward should be
made : manuring, trenching, draining
wet cold land, &c., are some of the
operations most pressing. When such
work is forward now it will tell favour-
ably in spring. Before manure is
wheeled on the ground, it is well to
make arrangements for next year's sup-
plies, at the same time taking into con-
sideration what has been or is now in the
ground. Changing the crops is well
known to be of primary importance ;
and notes on paper, with a bketch of
the garden, will do much to simplify
the management, as well as do justice
to the ground. Manure is easily
wheeled out on frosty mornings, and it
should be kept compact in the heaps
and ridges ; and to prevent it losing
its virtues, a coating of earth should
be thrown over it. When manure is
rough, it may be turned in two
spades deep ; and if well decayed, one
spade below the surface answers well.
Trenching is seldom performed too
often, and when done now the surface
should be left roughly in ridges to get
the benefit of frost. If ground is light
and the subsoil heavy, it may be im-
proved by bringing up a little from the
bottom to the surface. A sandy bottom

can also be made to assist a heavy sur-
face. Caution is necessary, as a sea-
son's crop might be much injured by
injudicious management of subsoils.
When draining is performed, it is neces-
sary to go deeper than trenching ever
will in the soil. A fall to a main drain
or ditch is necessary ; and if a tank can
be placed at the outlet, in which water
can be stored, it might be invaluable
when seasons were extra dry. Broccoli,
which may be high in the stems, can
be laid down facing the north. Opinions
vary much on this practice. When
stems are weakly drawn up they are in
danger of severe frost. Ground in a
warm sheltered position may be pre-
pared for a sowing of early Peas and
Beans : a portion of each may be sown
from the middle to the last week of the
month. If they escape vermin, a good
early crop may be secured. If sown
near the surface, and covered with
chopped furze or dusted with red-lead,
they may escape uninjured. If kindly,
light soil is thrown over the seed before
they are covered with the ordinary gar-
den-earth, it will do much to help them.
Sowing on turf, in boxes, pots, or tiles,
and placed in frames during February
and March, is now generally preferred
to autumn sowings ; but many have
only the latter system to depend on,
and they should be more liberal with

lyi.]

CALENDAR.

533

the seed than spring and summer sow-
ings. Sangster's No. 1 and " First
Crop " are both good ; Mazagan Beans
are generally used for early work. To
keep up successions of small salading,
frequent sowings should be made in
boxes and placed in heat till nearly
large enough for use, then exposed to
fresh air some days before it is cut.
American and Golden Cress, which are
excellent for winter use, should be pro-
tected to keep the leaves crisp and
eatable in frosty weather : a batch
of Parsley under hoops, or temporarily
framed to be protected in severe
weather, will be useful. Keep using
the strongjest first. Endive, Lettuce,
Autumn Broccolis, &c., may be taken
into sheds for protection in severe
weather ; turf pits or similar contriv-
ances are very useful for such purposes.
In damp, low - lying localities, winter
crops suffer severely from damp. It is
often necessary to lift Celery with root
entire, and store it under protection.
A quantity of dry litter should be at
hand to throw over the Celery ridges
in severe weather, but to be taken off
when a thaw sets in. Whenever op-
portunities occur, the surfaces between

FORCING D
Pines. — Those suckers potted in
early autumn will now be well rooted
and established, and will require
cautious treatment, so as to rest them
■without stinting them. After the
middle of the month the night tempera-
ture should never exceed 60' in mild
weather, and a few degrees less when
the weather is cold and calls for extra
firing ; and a little air should be given
every fine day when the temperature
exceeds 6.5°. The bottom-heat should
be steadily kept at 75°. The atmosphere
should be dry rather than otherwise, but
not by any means parching. Very little
or no water at the root will be required
if they are growing in a bed of leaves
and tan. The plunging material is
generally moist enough for the main-
tenance of Pine-roots in a healthy con-
dition, for the soil in the pots is regulated
at this season by the state of the plung-
ing material. Where the bottom-heat
is supplied entirely by hot-water pipes,
and the plunging material is shallow, an
occasional watering will be necessary.
Eecently-potted suckers should be kept
5° warmer till they are tolerably well
rooted, and if in very light pits may be
kept growiug gently through the winter,

Cabbage, Spinach, and other growing
crops, should be well stirred. Seakale
forcing wil 1 no w require attenti on : wh ere
it can be lifted in quantity, and kept in
secure quarters to be taken into a house
with a little warmth, answers as well
as any system. Where covering with
warm manure and pots or boxes is still
practised, it has to be done cautiously,
as changes of weather affect it materi-
ally, and burning or sudden chills have
to be guarded against. Other means of
forcing may be practised, such as a
rough box with some soil in the bot-
tom placed near the manure - heap,
where tree-leaves or other warm ma-
terial can be placed over it. 60° is warm
enough for forcing Seakale ; less heat
will bring it on stronger, and better
fitted for the table. Rhubarb may be
forced along with Seakale, but does bet-
ter with light and air, while Seakale has
to be kept quite dark. Chicory may be
placed in a cellar or anywhere to spring
its tops for salad. Jerusalem Artichokes,
Parsnips, and other crops in the ground,
should have litter placed over them.
Globe Artichokes should have dry litter,
coal-ashes, or some other protection
i placed round them. M. T.

EPARTMENT.

especially if the condition of the stock
of young plants makes this desirable.
All plants intended to be started into
fruit soon after the turn of the day
should be kept at 60° at night, with a
few degrees more bottom-heat than has
been recommended for suckers. These
will require the same treatment with
regard to watering as has been directed
for suckers. Plants intended to fruit
in succession to these will do with
exactly the same treatment recom-
mended for suckers, only be very watch-
ful that they do not get dust-dry, and get
such a drying as is likely to cause them
to fruit prematurely when increased
moisture and temperature are given to
them by - and - by. Smooth Cayennes,
and other winter varieties that are
swelling off their fruit, must be kept
steadily moist at the root, with a
night temperature of 70°, and 8° or
10° more by day — the bottom-heat
to range as near 85° as possible.
Avoid syringing overhead after the
beginning of the month, but main-
tain a moist genial atmosphere more
by sprinkling the floors and surface of
the bed than from the steaming appar-
atus. An over -moist atmosphere at

534

THE GARDENER

[Nov.

this season ia productive of large
crowns, which are a great disfif^nremeut
to Pines. When more fruit ripen
thon are required at any given time,
they can be kept for a long time by
removing the plants, without cutting
the fruit from them, to a dry room
where the temperature is about 50°.
Take good care of all fruit that may
ch.ince to show this month. These,
kept in a temperature of 70° all wdnter,
will come in very acceptably in t^pring,
when Pines are generally scarce and
much appreciated. Get covering ready
for covering pits during severe weather,
which is nnich to be preferred to keep-
ing up temperature by hard firing.
Frigi domo is excellent for this pur-
pose.

Grapes. — November is perhaps the
most critical month for Grapes of the
whole keeping season. Damping off is
generally a greater enemy now than
in the following months. Look care-
fully over the bunches at least three
times weekly, and remove every berry
that shows the least signs of decay, for
one mouldy berry destroys many more.
Hamburgs especially require this care.
Make fii'es sufficient to warm the pipes
slightly on the morning of fine days,
giving air at the same time, so as to
expel the damp. The practice of
making fires only in damp days is jjro-
ductive of more evil than good. It
just causes the moisture to condense
on the cold surface of the berries,
instead of, as on fine days, sending it
out of the house. When frost occurs,
keep the temperature about 45°. There
should not be a plant requiring water in
vineries where fruit is hanging in win-
ter, although this is advice easier given
than practised in those days of num-
berless plants. Prune all Vines that
have cast their leaves, remove all the
loose bark and dress them, and other-
wise clean the vineries as directed last
month. Presuming that the early
vinery has been primed and otherwise
prepared for starting this month as
directed in former Calendars, a
quantity of leaves mixed with a little
stable - litter should now be formed
into a bed or ridge in the centre of the
house. This will soon ferment and
heat, and a portion of it should be
turned over every day so as to create
a little steam or moisture. This body
of warm material will, in ordinary
weather, keep the temperature suffi-
ciently high, with little or no fire-

beat. Where this can be practised, it
is by far the surest way of getting
Vines to break regularly and strongly
at this season ; and if the roots are m-
side, they also derive some warmth from
the bed. The outside border should
bo thorougldy covered up with 2 feet
of leaves and litter, and either thatched
or covered with shutters to throw ofif
the rains. Sling down the Vines
from the rafters, so that the top part
of them be brought into the same
temperature as the lower parts,
which will assist in getting them
to start more regularly over their
whole length. Syringe them gently
twice a -day with tepid water. Pot-
Vines started last month may still be
kept at 55° at night until they break,
when they will require 5° more heat.
In their case make the most of every
ray of sunshine that occurs, as in all
forcing the less artificial heat used to
keep up a given temperature the better.
Examine the outlet or main drains
from all Vine -borders, and see that
they are acting properly. In wet dis-
tricts it is an excellent plan to cover
the whole of the outside borders with
wooden shutters, or some material that
will effectually protect the border and
roots from rains. We believe that in
the course of a few years corrugated
iron, the same as is used for roofing,
would prove the cheapest material that
could be used. See that all heating
apparatus is in tight repair and acting
properly before severe weather sets in.

Peaches. — Lose no time in getting
those that are intended to be started
next month pruned and tied. If there
has been any red-spider about them
last season, dress them as directed
for Vines last month. Remove the
surface-soil from the border, top-dress
with rotten manure, and cover over
with an inch or tw'o of soil ; and if the
border is dry, give a good soaking of
water, and towards the end of the
month shut up the house, and keep the
temperature from falling below 40°.
Treat the outside as directed for Vines.

Cucumbers. — We have now long
damp nights and dull sunless days, con-
ditions very trying to Cucumbers. The
temperature should range from 65° at
night to 70° by day, with a few degrees
more when the sun shines. Water
and moisture in the air must be more
sparingly applied : give a little air on
all favourable occasions. Do not allow
the plants to bear more fruit than are

iSyi.] NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 535

absolutely required ; for if heavily crop- dust. Put up in this way, they can

ped now, it will weaken and injure for
future bearing. Keep young growths
regularly stopped, and do not allow
any crowding of foliage. If green-fly
attack them, destroy it by two moder-
ate smokings with tobacco on two con-
secutive nights.
Strawberries in Pots. — Th ese should

readily be protected from severe frost
by throwing mats or litter over them.

Figs. — Prune and tie as soon as all
the leaves have fallen. If, however, a
proper system of summer pinching and
thinning has been adopted, there will
now be very little surplus wood to
prune away. If they are growing in

now be plunged in cold frames, or re- limited borders, remove the surface soil

moved to cold late Peach-houses, where ; and replace it with fresh turfy loam and

they will be .sheltered from rains. Or ' rotten manure in equal proportions,

where no such protection can be made I Keep the house cool all through the

available for them, build them into j month. Those in pots can be stored

stacks, laying the pots on their sides ; away in any cool pit or shed for the

with the plants outwards, and fill up the j present,
space between them with ashes or saw- i

All business communications should be addressed to the Publishers, and com-
munications for insertion in the ' Gardener ' to David Thomson, Drumlanrig
Gardens, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. It will further oblige if all matter intended
for publication, and questions to be replied to, be forwarded by the middle of the
month, and written on one side of the paper only. It is also requested that
writers forward their name and address, not for publication, unless they wish if,
but for the sake of that mutual confidence which should exist between the Editor
and those who address him. We decline noticing anij communication which is
not accompanied with name and address of writer.

Will Mr A. Kerr, Carvert Castle, and Mr Hammond, late of Wells, please to
favour us with their addresses in full ?

A Subscriber. — Dr Lindley, Felicien David, Imperatrice Eugenie, James
AVatt, Lady Franklin, John Waterer, Lord Byron, iMadam Domage, j\Ieyerbeer,
Milton, Newton, Prince of Wales, Peine Victoria, Shakespeare, Sir Joseph
Paxton, Charles Dickens, James Carter, Thomas Methven, La Poussin, Plino,
Koi Leopold, Meteor, Fulton, Eurydice.

A Young Gardener. — The cause of your Grapes cracking is a rich moist border,
and the light crop increases the tendency. Keep your border dry, and cut the
shoots on which the bunches are half through below each bunch. This will
prevent so great a flow of sap to the bunches.

A Young Horti. — You will find your request complied with in our present
issue.

F. W. — Very likely it is as you suppose, that your ground is too damp and
cold for Alternantheras. They thrive best in a rather elevated situation, in light
rich soil, and under such conditions they do not easily sufiFer from watering or
rain. They should do well enough in your locality, and we would advise you to
give them another trial, preparing the beds with light rich soil, and slightly
raised above the ground-level. They are very beautiful where they do well, and
Amabilis and Magnifica are probably the best worth growing. The plant you
enclose is Tradescantia discolor. It may do on a rockwork outdoors for a short
time in summer, though it will never be so beautiful as under glass.

536 THE GARDENER. [Nov. 1871.

J. B. AV. — Gladioli keep better iu the ground all winter than any way else
that they can be stored, but it must bo in a dry loamy soil. It would be a risk
if your soil is heavy and wet. We have loft thousands of them in the beds all
winter in East Lothian, in fine open loamy soil, and never saw bulbs keep so well
in any other way. It is necessary to spread some litter over them to prevent
severe frost from reaching them. If your soil is heavy, we would recommend their
being lifted at once and stored in some dry place where frost will not get at
them.

A Reader. — We cannot afford to act on your suggestion. We give 48 pages
monthly of original matter, and the addition you refer to could not be carried out
unless we doubled the price, and then we think the addition would be a poor six-
pence-worth.

Young Gardener. — Thoroughly study Lindley's * Theory of Horticulture,'
which is the best work on the theory of horticulture ; and get also his ' Treasury
of Botany,' a work which should be in every gardener's library.

A Well-wisher. — We have not the slightest intention of noticing in any way
the writer to whom you refer ; he is not worth powder and shot.

S. M. — Keep those Pines that you want to show fruit in February at 60° till

the beginning of January, then raise the temperature to 70°, and the bottom- heat
from 85° to 90°, and if they are well-matured plants they will start. Successions
will do well at 55° at night in cold weather. See our monthly calendar.

J. C. — Black Prince, Prince of Wales, Wizard of the North, and Grove End
Scarlet. These are accommodating and free-bearing sorts in most soils and situa-
tions. The Wizard is a marvellous cropper where it does well. We would ad-
vise you to try a collection of twelve plants each of a score of approved sorts.
By this means you will be more likely to find out which are most suitable for you
than by any other means.

An Amateur. — The common white Jasmine is one of the easiest plants to
manage. From what you say, your plant must be growing in very rich soil, and
making too vigorous growth to bloom freely. Try what a little root-pruning will
do for it. Thin out the growth in March, and spur others the same as you would
a Pted-Currant bush, and we think it should flower better next season. Your
Gloire de Dijon Rose must be cut well back, to induce it to make growths nearer
the base of the wall. This has not been a good season for either Dahlias or Roses —
too cold and wet. The yellow substance is no doubt a fungus, and if next is a
better season it may not appear.

Sir, — In the Kitchen-garden here, almost the whole of the fruit on the Goose-
berry plants were during the recent season affected by a reddish roughness,
nearly all over, resembling what is known as rust on Grapes. I came here
only last spring, and consequently knew nothing of their past worth, but on
inquiry at the workmen I learned they had been shifted to the present quarter in
the autumn preceding. The soil is si deep moss, and the situation is close by
the sea. It would afford me much satisfaction if you or any correspondent could
suggest a remedy, or throw any light whatever on the circumstances, through the
pages of the 'Gardener.' D. Mackie.

DuNLONiT Castle, Islat.

[Can any of our correspondents favour us with their experience in such a case
—Ed.]

THE

GARDENER.

DECEMBER 1871.

EXTHEMES IN GRAPE - GROWING.

HEN four months since we called attention to the fact
that some of the finest Grapes ever exhibited were pro-
duced in districts where the rainfall is very much above
the average, and put the question, " Have the premier
Grape -growers of England appeared from the driest counties, such
as Kent and Surrey, or from counties where the rainfall is above the
average, &cJ" we scarcely expected such a reply as that furnished
by the magnificent exhibition of Muscats and other tender Grapes
by the Messrs Lane of Berkhampstead at London on 4th October,
which, according to the 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' were produced by
Vines growing in a border "close to and almost on a level with
perpetually-running water, which must necessarily percolate among
their roots and keep them constantly damp." Whether this constant
percolation of water about the roots of the Vines in question is an
absolute fact, or merely a deduction of our contemporary from the
proximity of water to the roots or border, does not appear to us very
clear. An absolute fact, beyond all doubt, it ought certainly to be,
before issuing it to the horticultural world, to add another storey
to the already huge and conflicting Babel of theories propounded
about Grape-growing. It need not now be a matter of surprise to
hear that the large Vine at Hampton Court owes its long-.sustained
energy and productiveness to its roots having — instead of merely
drawing supplies from a sewer or two — carried on a spirited com-
petition with the Lilies for possession of the running water close by ;
or that the still more gigantic Vine at Cumberland Lodge owes its
success to its having sent its roots three-quarters of a mile to Virginia

2 Q

538 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

water, there to prove that great A^ine-growing is dependent on some-
thing like hydraulic action.

If the running stream has the power of sending its waters to con-
stantly percolate among the roots of the Vines at Berkhampstead, it
would certainly be interesting to know if the cultivator has the
means to check or entirely cut off the irrigation at intervals of time,
such as during autumn and winter, when of course the stream will
sometimes, if not always, run at a higher level, and when the Vines
are at rest, and perhaps Grapes required to hang on them throughout
the autumn and winter. Confident as we are that the Vine at inter-
vals and certain stages of its annual growth has an immense capacity
for water in conjunction with thorough drainage, we are certain that
our readers will agree with us that the particulars referred to above
are due to the public, after propounding what must appear a theory
the most extreme in connection with a branch of horticulture now
more than ever and increasingly important, from the numbers who
are groping their way through a maze of the most conflicting state-
ments to success in Grape-growing.

Some years ago, very superior examples of IMuscats were exhibited
in London from the Denbies Gardens, Surrey, and the success in
their case was attributed by our contemporary to the borders being
chambered and heated ; and thenceforth heated dry borders were the
necessary conditions to the production of large golden samples of
Muscat Grapes. Now we have circumstances the opposite chronicled
as productive of the same results — a constant percolation of running
water, and, as a necessary accompaniment, coldness ; for we are con-
cluding that the stream at Berkhampstead is not from a boiling spring :
and in the interests of Grape-growing we most respectfully suggest to
our venerable contemporary that it would be most interesting to us,
and a great multitude of men engaged in Grape-growing, to have
more particulars of the conditions which it has so briefly referred to in
the case of the Muscats in question.

Our ideas of the conditions, so far as soil and water are concerned,
necessary to the most certain production of good Muscats, would lead
us to take every possible precaution against water, from whatever
source, finding its way constantly into the border and about the roots ;
and if compelled to make a Vine-border near to a stream, we should
do all that could be done to protect the border and the roots against
its constant inroads, just because our experience of constant water in
cultivated soil is that it soon reduces it to a pasty puddle, in which no-
thing but semi-aquatic plants can possibly exist ; and Muscat Vines
can scarcely be placed in such a category. We believe that ninety-nine
out of every hundred men who have had experience in Grape-

iSyi.] EXTREMES IN GRAPE -GROWING. 539

growing will coincide with us when we say that the most likely
conditions to produce fine Muscat Grapes are, — As a base, a rather
strong loam, so thoroughly drained that all rains and artificially-
applied water can pass freely from it and leave the soil in its normal
condition. During the season of growth and dry warm weather,
copious waterings to be applied, and their moistening eff'ects to be as
long preserved as possible by mulching the surface of the border,
bearing in mind that too frequent waterings and rapid evaporation are
also evils to be avoided as well as a dearth of water. When the
Grapes have arrived at the ripening stage, and the foliage and wood are
consolidated, and making less demand on the roots for moisture and
nutriment, we would cover the border, to protect it from the cold
autumn and winter rains in localities where these were heavy / and
anything like water constantly playing in the border and about the
roots then would be regarded as an evil.

Where is the Grape-grower, whose observation and experience are
anything long or extensive, who has not witnessed the evil eff'ects of
puddle borders in the shape of mildew and other maladies 1 And if
such be the case, it cannot fail to be a matter of very considerable
interest to have more particulars regarding the Vines now in question.

In Grape-growing, as in everything else, ^'extremes are dangerous."
There have been some very forcible examples of this — from those
Vines which have been literally destroyed from the eff'ects of carrion-
borders, in which for a very short time at first the Vines make
a vigorous but delusive appearance, and eventually fall into a
condition of atroj^hy, speedily ending in all but literal extinction to
those eases where the other extreme of elevated, light, shallow borders
maintain the Vine — a plant which requires substantial but simple fare
— in a state of perpetual starvation. The most outrageous extreme of
the former sort we ever came across was in Middlesex, in one of the worst
cholera years, where we were shown, by lifting a trap-door, a ditch
running parallel with the front of the Vine-border kept constantly full of
blood and off'al by contract with a city butcher. The stench was sicken-
ing ; and the idea was that of feeding Vines, which, on examining them,
were found suffering the most miserable death by literal poisoning that
can be imagined. This was avoiding destruction by starvation, but
rushing on death in the opposite extreme. And so it appears to us
that while the Grape-Vine very frequently suffers from borders that
are allowed to get too dry, and perhaps too much heated by artificial
means, there is imminent danger in rushing to the other extreme of
having water from a stream constantly percolating about their roots,
which must reduce the border to a puddle, and keep its temperature
at a minimum. The middle course we have all confidence in recom-

540 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

mending. Make borders 3 feet deep, and drain them so that no water
can ever remain long about the roots or soil, to cool and paralyse the
one, and render the other unfit as a nourishing source.

"Whence came those magnificent examples of Muscat Grapes, backed
by 200 similar bunches, exhibited before the London Fruit Committee
last month by Mr Johnstone, Glamis Castle ? From borders faultlessly
drained and traversed by air-drains, where a constant flow of water
from any source is carefully guarded against, but where periodical
waterings and mulchings are as carefully attended to. The very same
conditions apply to the production of those splendid examples of
Muscat and other tender Grapes so frequently shown by Mr Fowler,
Castle Kennedy. He is most careful on the drainage point, but
equally careful as to watering and mulchings, and such we are not far
wrong in saying are two of the chief points in all Grape-growing that
has been continuously successful.

Referring to pot-grown Grapes, we have seen crops ruined by standing
the pots in pans of water, while the best crops we have ever seen were
with the pots standing on a bare stone or wooden bench, so that the
water could drain entirely away every time the plants were watered.
Of course a bountiful supply of water was one of the chief conditions
of success, but to allow of its standing about the roots or soil was re-
garded as an evil to be scrupulously avoided.

NOTES ON "AMERICAN" OR PEAT -SOIL SHRUBS.

VACCINIUM.

In this extensive genus, popularly called Whortleberries, we have a
great number of species well adapted for cultivation in this country,
most of them sufficiently interesting and distinct in their habits and
general appearance to justify their being recommended as desirable
hardy Shrubs ; and while we venture to name a few of those we con-
sider most useful for a select collection, there are many others ornamental
enough for admission to any American garden in which space can be
afforded for their reception.

All the sorts produce more or less abundantly wholesome and pal-
atable berries, which are largely used in a variety of ways in their
native localities, and in some cases form important articles of com-
merce. The season of flowering is May and June, the fruit being ripe
in October. To grow these plants well, a rich peaty soil and a damp
situation are indispensable, and though with these conditions they are
found to thrive in the ordinary open borders, they prefer an eastern

iSyi.] NOTES ON '^AMERICAN" SHRUBS. 541

aspect, or one partially shaded from the rays of tlie mid-day sun.
Several of the dwarf evergreen species make pretty edging or carpet
plants in damp shady woods or shrubberies ; their close habit of
growth, shining green foliage, and elegant flowers, rendering them
attractive at all seasons.

SELECT SPECIES AND VARIETIES.

ArdostapJiyJos. — From mountain woods on the coast of the Black
Sea, is a handsome deciduous species growing from 6 to 8 feet in
height, with leaves of an elliptic acute shape minutely serrated, hairy
beneath, and from 2 to 2 J inches long. The flowers are white, slightly
tinged with purple, and produced in racemes from the wood of the
preceding year j the berries are of a fine purple colour.

Frondosum. — From woods in New Jersey and Carolina ; forms a
neat shrub of about 3 feet high, and with deciduous leaves of an
obovate oblong shape about 2 J inches long, glaucous beneath, and
sprinkled with minute resinous dots. The flowers are white, produced
in racemes from the wood of the preceding year; the berries are
bright blue.

Macrocarpus. — Found wild over the greater portion of Canada and
the United States in almost every situation which supplies peat and
moisture ; is the well-known American Cranberry, a pretty prostrate
evergreen shrub, w^ith sweet pink flowers, small heath-like foliage,
and large red berries, which, though ripe in October, hang on the
plant during the greater part of the winter.

Ovatum. — From the banks of the Columbia river, and abundant on
the north-west coast of America ; is a beautiful evergreen about 2 J
feet high, with a dense habit of growth, smooth shining ovate leaves,
and pretty black berries, which remain long on the plants.

Stamineum. — An interesting and distinct deciduous species from
the swamps of New England, growing about 2 feet high, with fine
glaucous foliage nearly 2 inches long, the 'flowers pure white, and the
berries very light green, almost white.

Vitis iclcBCL — Found wild over a large area in North America, the
northern countries of continental Europe, and abundant in the moun-
tain Heaths of Britain ; is one of the most beautiful of dwarf evergreen
shrubs, growing from 6 to 12 inches high, and densely clothed with
glossy-green boxlike foliage, bearing terminal racemes of waxy pink-
coloured flowers and showy red berries, which, like many of the other
species, hang for months after they are ripe. It forms a pretty margin
or edging plant, being perfectly hardy, and of a neat compact habit of
growth. The varieties "major" and "maximum " are American forms
with larger leaves, more robust, and equally ornamental with the
species.

542 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

EMPETRUM.

Of this family of diminutive evergreens, little more need be said
than that, though wanting in that showy appearance which renders some
of their allies such universal favourites, they are all pretty little plants,
and interesting as varieties in a collection, forming useful edging or
permanent bedding plants, their dense procumbent habits of growth
eminently fitting them for such purposes. In foliage and general
appearance they resemble the Heaths, with which they were formerly
associated. They all bear edible berries in considerable abundance,
which are ripe in November. All the kinds grow freely in the
ordinary peat-beds, but prefer a damp shady situation. Among the
species and varieties generally grown we select the following two as
being on the whole the most desirable.

Nigrum. — The well-known Crowberry of our moors ; is also found
distributed over a wide area in northern Europe and North America,
growing in similar situations. Its small Heath-like leaves are dark
green, the flowers are of a purplish-white colour, and the berries jet
black and very ornamental.

Ruhrum. — A native of the southern coast of South America; resembles
the other species in habit ; the leaves and branches have white woolly
margins; the flowers are of a dull purple colour, and the berries bright
red. This is the finest of the genus, and has a most beautiful efi'ect
when associated with other foliage plants in spring or permanent
bedding ; it is equally hardy with the European species.

MTRICA.

With inconspicuous flowers produced in brown scaly catkins, resem-
bling those of the Birch, the Myricas would scarcely be admitted to the
American garden if floral display was the only passport; they are neverthe-
less graceful shrubs, with elegant foliage possessing a delightful aromatic
fragrance, a quality which of itself should insure them a larger share
of attention than they have hitherto received. They grow freely in
almost every situation if supplied with a moderate quantity of peat,
and have a pretty efi'ect in mixed collections of shrubs, either in the
American garden proper, or in the ordinary pleasure-grounds. The
young twigs blend most beautifully among cut flowers in bouquets,
their value for this purpose being enhanced by the scent, which is
pleasant to most tastes. Among the species and varieties known in
our gardens the following may be recommended as the most ornamental.

Cerifera. — Well known as the Candleberry Myrtle; is a shrub grow-
ing from 5 to 8 feet high ; a native of swamps in Canada and the
United States, having shining green leaves of a lanceolate form, and
flowering in this country about the beginning of May ; the berries or

1871.] NOTES ON "AMERICAN" SHRUBS. 543

drupes are ripe in October, and are covered with a white vegetable
wax, which is separated by boiling in water, and in some parts of
America extensively used, either alone or in combination with animal
fat, for making candles. Of this species there are two or three well-
marked varieties, among which latifolia, with broader leaves and a
more robust habit of growth, is the most ornamental.

Gale. — Sweet .Gale or Bog Myrtle is a deciduous shrub growing
from 2 to 4 feet high, found wild in moors in this country, and over
a wide area in northern Europe and America ; is the most fragrant of
the Myricas, and forms a neat shrub with pretty foliage, and well
worth a place in collections of peat-soil plants ; to grow it well it
should have a damp situation and plenty of peat.

Calif or nica. — From California and the north-west coast of America ;
is a handsome bushy evergreen, growing from 8 to 12 feet high ; the
leaves are very fragant, of a narrow lanceolate shape, and densely
arranged on the branches ; the flowers, which are of a light-green
colour, come out in July in short axillary spikes, succeeded by small
berry-like fruit of a dull-red colour, ripe in September. It is quite
hardy in this country, and though, like the other species, preferring
peat, it grows well in any rich loamy soil ; and though comparatively
little known, is a valuable ornamental shrub.

COMPTONIA.

The singularly graceful deciduous shrub known as C. asplenifolia
is the only representative of this genus in cultivation ; and though, like
its near allies the Myricas, it has little to recommend it as far as flowers
are concerned, its fine foliage, pleasing aromatic fragrance, and neat
habit of growth, render it worthy of admission to even a select collec-
tion of American plants, to which, from its distinct and handsome
appearance, it gives a variety which is attractive in the extreme. It
is found wild in peaty woods in the colder parts of Canada and the
United States, and though it was introduced into Europe nearly a
century and a half ago, is as yet rarely found in British gardens ; and
this is the more remarkable from the fact that it is perfectly hardy,
and that it grows freely in the ordinary peat-beds, if planted in a
shady aspect. The leaves are of an oblong-linear shape, deeply cut on
each side into rounded lobes, resembling small fronds of the well-
known fern Ceterach officinarum ; the flowers, which are produced in
catkins, are of a rusty-brown colour, and are in perfection about the
beginning of April.

DAPHXE.

Though all the Daphnes delight in a peaty soil, and are sometimes
associated with American plants with the most charming effect.

544 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

they are not usually classed with them, seeing that they are found,
with one or two exceptions, to be equally at home in ordinary gardens
and shrubberies. One of the most important of these exceptions is
that of D. cneorum, which, if we would see its beauties fully developed,
must be liberally supplied with peat ; and well does it deserve the
best place and the kindliest treatment that can be given it, as there is
not a lovelier gem among hardy shrubs. It is a native of Switzerland
and several other countries in central Europe ; evergreen, with a dense,
twiggy, procumbent habit, rarely rising above one foot from the
ground ; the leaves are small, of a lanceolate form, sharply pointed, and
of a light shining green colour ; it flowers about the beginning of May,
every twig producing its terminal cluster of deliciously-scented, rosy-
pink blossoms. The berries are pure white, but rarely if ever come to
perfection in this country.

Of several varieties, two are sufficiently distinct to be worthy of
special notice. The one called elegans or variegatus has smaller leaves,
narrowly margined with yellow ; and the other, majus, with a more
robust and compact habit, larger and deeper -coloured flowers, and
blooming earlier than the species, is a most useful plant for spring-
bedding, and invaluable for potting for the early decoration of the con-
servatory. All the sorts have a pretty effect in rockeries, or as
margin-plants, and are unsurpassed for massing by themselves in per-
manent beds.

In concluding our papers upon peat-soil shrubs, we may remark that
there are many highly-ornamental plants, which, either from their being
herbaceous, or the facility with which they grow in common soil, do
not properly come within the scope of our notes, but which grow well
in peat, and may, with skilful selection and judicious arrangement, be
introduced into the American garden with the happiest effect, pro-
longing the flowering season, and by their distinct foliage imparting
a richness and beauty which could not otherwise be obtained. If there
is a weak point in a garden specially set apart for American shrubs, it
is the paucity of flowers in midsummer and autumn ; and in the selec-
tion of such plants preference should be given to those that bloom
after the Rhododendrons, so as to secure a succession during the greater
portion of the year. Among the many plants suitable for this purpose,
we may instance Yucca gloriosa, recurvifolia, and filamentosa ; Tritoma
uvaria and Burchellii ; Gynerium argenteum (Pampas grass) ; Arundo
donax variegata and conspicua, the latter resembling the Pampas
grass, but more slender and elegant, besides blooming earlier in sum-
mer ; Phormium tenax, and its pretty variety, variegatum ; the various
species and varieties of the Royal Fern, Osmunda ; and the Gladiolus,
with its many shades of colour — which, without interfering with the

iSyi.] FLOWERING -PLANTS FOR DECEMBER. 545

growth of the shrubs, have a grand appearance in autumn, as they pre-
sent their gaudy spikes among the green foliage which surrounds them.

Hugh Fraser.

FLOWERING - PLANTS FOU DECEMBER.

December — dreary, the fag-end of the year, mid-winter, and a whole
catalogue of dismal associations — has yet its cheerful aspects. Christ-
mas, like May, is said to be merry, as we wish all our readers will be at
that season ; and if there be any truth in a hidden telegraphic system
of spirits and sympathies among animated beings in the universe, we
shall be all the better if the readers of the ' Gardener' wish us a Merry
Christmas in return. From a floral point of view, we are not by any
means certain that December is the most dismal month of the year.
November, and even October, are often greater floral blanks ; we appre-
ciate all evergreens more in December, especially those with berries,
and indoors there is a greater wealth of flowers.

We propose to take a survey of the plants which occur to us as being
in season at that time, with comments ; and first we shall begin with
stove flowers, as they present themselves to our mind's eye. One of the
finest of all stove climbers for winter is Thunbergia Harrisii, a most
chaste and grand flower, the colour a delicate blue, produced in large
clusters, flowers all wdnter, and of the easiest culture : a cutting of
September 1870 planted out covers more than fifty feet of rafter with
abundance of its racemose clusters. Next comes Passiflora kermesina,
with clouds of crimson bloom on its elegant spray : the flowers make an
elegant margin to a basket of cut flowers.

Ipomoea Horsfallias will be at its best in December, an immense grower
and bloomer, producing heavy bunches of flower-buds at every joint,
which open in succession : it also is crimson. The crop of Passiflora
princeps will not be over until December ; it is, perhaps the prince of
Passion-flowers. Bougainvillea glabra beats the Fuchsia as an accom-
modating plant : it blooms perpetually, or may be had perpetually in
bloom. Our largest supply of it will be in December. A cutting of
September twelvemonths is now an immense plant, and has literally
bushels of bloom on it : it is one of the very best plants for cut flowers,
as the flower-stalks can be cut any length. The last winter climber
we shall mention is Manettia bicolor, a very elegant plant with a
profusion of orange scarlet flowers, after the style of a Cuphea
or Libonia. This is really a very beautiful plant, and can be had
in 6-inch pots. Stalked with a few twigs of birch, it is an ele-
gant vase plant. Of stove flowering-plants for pot culture there are
abundance. Gesnera elongata, an old and showy plant easily made

546 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

into a specimen for a vase : small plants for furnishing can be easily
propagated in spring, when the old plants should be well cut back : it
is a woody plant. The various herbaceous Gesneras are now in perfec-
tion ; we specially like the green-foliaged varieties. Thyrsacanthus
rutilans, a noble plant for the centres of stands, should be grown in a
moist cold pit in summer. Sericographis Ghiesbreghtiana, not so
much grown as it deserves. Justicia formosa, which fev/ new plants
will equal when well done, can be made into a huge specimen or tiny
plants for edging vases. Eranthemum pulchellum, of which the same
may be repeated, both with flowers of the richest colour. Libonia
floribunda, not strictly a stove-plant, but requires a warm place in
winter. This, with a lot of other things, we intend growing all summer,
planted out in a cold pit, and pot them up in September. Cypripedi-
um insigne an4 venustum, Calanthe Yeitchii and vestita, may be all
classed with ordinary stove-plants for December. Begonia fuchsi-
oides, Landersii, and insignis, the last especially, are fine December
plants, and should be grown in quantity : insignia is a most useful plant
for dinner-table decoration and house-work. Epiphyllums of every
shape, size, and variety can be had in perfection in December, and
answer every purpose. Euphorbia jacquiniflora is the prince of pot
stove-plants for winter : we grow it in battalions of different sizes ; it
does for any sort of work. Specimens are elegant for the centres of
vases, edged round with something, say Panicum variegatum, to con-
trast. It answers for edging small baskets by cutting the curved spikes
and pegging them down. Its brilliant colour enlivens any place where
it may be put ; we also plant it out largely, which makes it show itself
to advantage. It is by no means a shy plant, and will grow against the
back wall of a conservatory or intermediate house if the roots be in
well-drained soil. The Poinsettia is for December what scarlet Ger-
aniums are for the flower-garden in summer, and Zonales for the con-
servatory. It can be started and grown in a cold pit in summer, and
from the 1st of October and onwards in the stove. It is best propa-
gated from the young wood in July and August. In September four or
five cuttings may be put in 4-inch pots for dwarf plants. We have
grown it from 6 inches to 16 feet high. For the decoration of stair-
cases, halls, &c., large plants are invaluable ; indeed, it can be used for
any decorative purpose. It soon loses its leaves, however, in a cool con-
servatory. Heat is essential in winter.

Turning to greenhouse plants, we know of a large plant of Tacsonia,
van Volxemi, trained over a roof which will be covered with blooms
all December. We have it planted outdoors like a Vine, its head
being trained to the rafter inside. We have it also inarched on the J.
manicata for a stock, and also on its own roots inside. Hyemalis, Wil-

iSyi.] FLOWERING -PLANTS FOR DECEMBER. 547

moreana, and gracilis Heaths are easy of culture, and can be liad in
quantity for conservatory, or single specimens for rooms : the first men-
tioned is really superb. For December there are other Heaths, but
these are the best. They should not be crowded amongst other plants,
nor do we care about them for cutting. Epacrises must be placed on
a par with the Heaths just mentioned: they are all exceedingly bright
and showy, but not well suited for cutting from : at least, we like to
cut them as little as possible. The Camellia is in full force in De-
cember, even out of doors, in the south : any gardener with a lot of
Camellia blooms in December will know well what to do with them.
Chinese Primulas are perhaps the next plant we should mention
as being of a staple character. Large plants, well bloomed, are
exceedingly neat for small vases. Small plants in 4 - inch pots are
excellent for edging : these should be grown in battalions for various
purposes. Tree Carnations of different colours are a leading feature
for December, and of easy culture. Large plants which have been well
attended to out of doors on a sunny border, pinched and watered,
lifted in October full of buds, make a fine display in winter ; the blooms
last a long time after being cut. Spring-struck plants grown in small
pots are useful for mixing in stands in the conservatory. Cyclamens
of sorts come in in quantities for all purposes, like Primulas. Small
seedling plants make neat edging-plants for small stands ; and the
pretty little Oxalis tricolor is, if possible, more showy for winter, but
does not last so long. This is a plant which should also be grown in
quantity, and managed along with the Cyclamens. Cinerarias early
sown will be in bloom in quantity, in light airy houses, and are of great
use as conservatory plants. The plant does not stand the heat of
rooms, and the flowers soon fade when cut. Schyzostylis coccinea will
be at its best in December. This is an exceedingly easily-managed
plant, and very showy, planted out in spring and lifted in October
when the flower-spikes are up. Ours were not lifted until the month
of November, and are now in a cool orchard-house, waiting their turn
of the conservatory in December. This plant can soon be got up in
quantity from seed. Angelonia angustifolia, another perpetual-bloom-
ing plant, with strong purple spikes of flowers, should be grown from
cuttings in spring, planted out and lifted ; wants a dry airy house ; can
also be had early from seed. Mignonette, of which we cannot dis-
cover more than one sort, although we have sown several, only just
wants to be mentioned, because it must never be forgotten for the win-
ter. Trees trained umbrella-shaped in the usual way can be used
in stands, with the surface dressed with smaller flowering-plants,
otherwise they are rather gawky. We have a plan for Tree-
Mignonette, where the shoots are not tied down, but tied to wires

r)48 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

•which are made to radiate from the top of the centre stick, like
a chimney-sweep's brush. The trees do not look so stiff, and the
blooms are bristling outwards in a round head, like little standard trees.
Roses of the Tea section will have a sprinkling of bloom, and even the
Hybrid Perpetuals housed in October with the buds formed. Souvenir
de la Malmaison, old though it be, is most useful in this way ; also Madame
Bosanquet and Gloire de Dijon. Heliotrope, with a little forcing, will,
like Mignonette, be in in quantity, and never fails to be useful and
admired. Neapolitan Violets are, like the Tree Carnations and the
two last-named flowers, always in demand, and most appreciated in
December. The bulk of them will be in cold pits and frames, but a few
dozens are useful in pots for the conservatory, if the foliage be green
and crisp, and the plants bristling with flowers. They are best potted
up in October. This is a moisture-loving plant, and we never had it in
such fine condition as on the south coast, approaching the climate of
Nice and Mentone — big fat blooms on stalks as long as a black-lead
pencil.

Forced flowers still remain, which come in easily in December ; and
first of all is the white Indian Azalea, which contrasts so well with the
scarlet Poinsettia. Hybrid Rhododendrons, especially Nobleanum, Per-
sian Lilacs, Deutzias, Jasmin um nudiflorum, Forsythia viridissima,
Spirea prunifolia, &c., all come in flower early in December with little
forcing, if the plants be well prepared. Roman Hyacinths with almost
no forcing, Dutch Hyacinths, Van Thol Tulips, and Narcissus also come
in easily if potted in time, and plunged deep in sawdust in the open
air in the full sun, care being taken not to over-force when taken under
glass, as that will retard them more efi'ectually than cold. A few Hoteia
Japonica and Lily of the Valley will come in about the end of the
month.

We might still return and enumerate more plants of the various sec-
tions noticed which now occur to us, but enough are mentioned for the
floral illustration of the month. We mention only one more, Luculia
gratissima, a grand winter plant ; we have it against a back wall, also
as a tree planted out with Hydrangea-like leaves and blooms, and we
mean to try it out of doors against a wall.

The Squire's Gardener.

TRAN-SPLANTING OLD FRUIT-TREES.

r>Y the time these remarks appear, transplanting operations will not be much
more than commenced in many places ; for though November is the most
favourable month for moving most kinds of fruit-trees, it brings so many duties
of its own that such work cannot always be proceeded with.

"What we have got to say, therefore, on the above subject, may not be inap-

iSyi.] TRANSPLANTING OLD FRUIT-TREES. 549

plicable in some circumstances, and may possibly help to dispel the doubts of
some one who contemplates similar operations.

In 1867 we wished to move between forty and fifty Apple and Pear trees from
different parts of the garden, in order to arrange them in a more systematic way,
and also to induce fruitfulness. As far as we could ascertain, one lot of the trees
must have been planted about twenty years ; the others perhaps about thirty or
thirty-five years, judging from the thickness of the stems and branches. la
November we had the borders where they were to be planted thoroughly
trenched, and in December we commenced lifting. The appearance of the
roots of the first tree, when taken up, was of a kind to raise doubts of ulti-
mate success, as, owing apparently to the trees never having been root-pruned
since they were first planted, no such thing as fibrous roots were to be found
within a radius of 5 feet from the stem, — nothing, indeed, but long bare sticks,
that penetrated far into the stiff loam. It was necessary, however, to go through
with the job at all hazards, so the roots were chopped oS" about 4 feet from the
stem, and lipped about every 9 inches with a knife, to induce the making of root-
lets in greater quantity. January saw them all transferred to their new quarters,
and mulched thickly as a protection against frost in winter and drought in sum-
mer ; and but for this precaution, I do believe not one of the trees would have
been alive at the present time. 1868, as every one will remember, was from April
excessively hot and dry : it was especially so in this district, and aggravated in our
own case in consequence of alterations going on in our water supply necessitat-
ing an almost empty reservoir, so that the transplanted trees were almost de-
pendent on the mulching alone, which just enabled them to retain their vitality
throughout the summer, and nothing more. Towards the end of May, four or
five trees out of the lot put feebly forth a few leaves at the points of the shoots,
which in a few weeks shrivelled up ; and these few trees died, or were, at least,
so far gone at the end of the season as to be worthless, and were taken up and
replaced. "With the exception of these, none of the other trees put forth a leaf
during the whole summer ; nor could I say that even the buds moved percep-
tibly, but remained perfectly dormant, and the trees naked and leafless from
November 1867 till the spring of 1869, thereby actually losing a year of their
existence. Their forlorn appearance attracted more attention than was altogether
agreeable. Professionals wagged their heads over them in a discouraging man-
ner ; but still, though the bark on the branches shrunk visibly, sections of the
buds showed that vitality was still there, so we did not despair ; and we felt more
comfortable when the fall of the leaves in autumn made the trees in question
less conspicuous.

In winter we examined the roots, and found that they bad made a considerable
quantity of fibres, though the branches had made no leaves. By June following
all the trees were clothed pretty luxuriantly with foliage ; and though they made
no shoots, they made a perfect spray of fruit-buds all over, which resulted in a
good crop of Apples last year. Some of them have borne famously this season
again, and all the trees are now in vigorous health and good bearing condition.
So far as my experiences goes, I believe it is not frequent that deciduous trees
remain dormant a whole season after transplanting and live. In the above
instance I imagine the excessively dry summer to have been the chief cause —
assisted, no doubt, by the crippled condition of the roots, unavoidably caused in
lifting them. J. S.

"WORTLET.

[We once transplanted some large scarlet Thorns which remained dormant a
season, exactly as Mr S. describes in the case of the Apple and Pear trees.— Ed.]

550 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

HINTS FOR AMATEURS. -DECEMBER.

WnERE all leaves are off trees, bcddiiig-plaiits trenched down, refuse
of crops cleared away, and the garden comparatively bare, it is easily
seen where the strength of the cultivator lies. In summer, when there
is profusion of everything, the more skilful portion of the gardener's
work is often passed by unobserved. But now there is nothing to
take off the attention from the more important things, it is well to
have them in condition, so that they will bear inspection. The
primary objects in a garden at this season are walls filled with well-
trained trees loaded with fruit-buds, the wood trained regularly over
every space, except about a foot above ground to keep the fruit free
from dirt. No canker, rough naked branches, old trees which never
produce fruit, or worthless sorts, should be tolerated in the smallest
garden. Bushes and trees of all kinds should "be clean in the bark,
healthy in their growth, and not too high or crowded. In orchards
they may be different ; where the fruit-garden cannot bear inspection,
there is yet plenty of time to get it in order this season. Though
November is the month in which many plant their trees, there are
many who never think of doing it till far on in the season, when
work of all kinds is abundant, and trees have not half the chance of
doing well as those planted in autumn. We would say to those who
have empty walls, or borders for dwarf standards, x>lant without delay,
give plenty of fresh soil, keep the trees well above the surrounding
level, mulch well, and secure against wind. Pruning, nailing, and
tying should be brought to a close as early as weather will permit. If
there is any doubt by the inexperienced in regard to pruning Pears,
they may be left till their plump fruit-buds are easily distinguished.
If the spurs are very thick on the trees, those growing outwards may
be cut off. Thinning them judiciously will do much to secure crops of
fine fruit ; but if the growths have been strong, soft, and badly ripened,
no system of pruning will make the trees fruitful ; root-lifting or root-
pruning can alone give satisfaction. Pruning of trees should not be
performed when the wood is frozen, as the bark is then liable to be
injured, causing canker and other evils.

JSTailing, where there are no wires to fasten the shoots to, is generally
performed by severely injuring the walls, as well as making endless
nests for insects. We have for a number of years given up the use of
shreds, and very few nails are used after the tree has grown to its full
size ; leading branches are trained regularly over the walls, and the
side shoots are kept regular, so that when the wood which has carried
fruit during the past season is cut out, the shoot for next season's supply
takes its place, and is tied to the nail which has been in use before ; and

1871.] HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 551

if a nail sliould happen to be in the way, it is better to break it over than
injure the wall and make shelter for insects. While the work proceeds
it is necessary to see that no old shreds or ties are injuring the bark ;
room for growth should be left. Where shoots are growing outwards
they should be cut clean off.

Stems of Standard Plums, Peaches, Apricots, and Cherries, should
be bound round with fern, straw, or hay-bands. The j)ast season has
been damp, cold, and sunless, and if severe weather should set in
much damage is likely to be done, especially in damp low-lying local-
ities. Raeps may now be prepared. Cut out all the weakest canes, dig
up what suckers are not required, cut down the fruiting-canes to 4
or 5 feet in length, according to strength. They may be trained to
wires stretched on posts 8 inches apart ; bending and arching them
answers well. Make fresh plantations ; choose for them deep, cool,
and rich soil. Where birds are troublesome it is a good old system
to tie fruit-bushes in bunches till late in the season, when they may
be pruned ; lime dusted among the branches when they are wet helps
to keep birds off. Plenty of manure may be forked over the surface
of roots of old bushes to give them vigour. The surface-soil around
Gooseberries may be taken off 2 inches deep, and replaced with fresh
soil. This practice will do much to keep caterpillars in check. Prun-
ings of the best kinds of bush fruits should be kept for raising fresh
stock. A few bushes in a spare corner are very useful, and are kept
with little trouble. Strong shoots 15 inches long, with all the buds
picked out except three at top, may be stuck into any waste ground,
1 foot or less apart ; they will soon take root in the growing season.
Others in store quarters may be lifted, the ground manured, the roots
shortened back, and the bushes replanted. They can be kept in this
way for some years, and when planted in permanent quarters on good
land they grow well and fruit abundantly. Much work under cover
may be done now, when weather prevents outdoor oj)erations from
being pushed forward. Stakes, labels, and slireds, where they are used,
may be made, nails cleaned, pots washed, mats tied at ends, and
all work done which will help to reduce labour when days are longer.

In the pleasure-garden every part may now have a thorough clearing ;
leaves may be collected and stored, beds untouched may be turned up
roughly to the weather. Turn walks ; roll them, and give a surfacing
of fresh gravel first, then level and make them smooth. Loose walks
should not be tolerated if means can be had to make them smooth.
Gladioluses, Hollyhocks, and other plants of a similar character, are the
better of being protected by coal-ashes, or they can be lifted and
placed in pits among sand or any light soil. Eoses may now be
mulched, or have evergreens stuck among them. The stems of stan-

552 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

dards may be covered by haybands, or Ferns tied round tliem. Stocks
for budding on may be collected, trimmed, and planted in rows.
Young green stems for budding on are most desirable. Pinks and
Pansies in the open ground may be protected with. Evergreens. Car-
nations, Picotees, Auriculas, &c., in frames and pits, require to be kept
free from damp, decaying leaves, and unhealthy surfaces of pots. Give
air whenever weather will allow. Violets in frames require plenty of
air ; healthy moisture may be kept at their roots, but they should not
be allowed to become wet. Slugs should be kept out of all structures,
and cleanliness should not be neglected wherever plants are growing.
Tulips and other bulbs may be protected in severe weather. All bed-
ding-plants should be examined occasionally for insects : thrips and
greenfly are always ready to prey on such plants as Verbenas. Tobacco-
powder dusted among them will put an end to vermin for a time ; dust
sulphur wherever mildew appears on any plants. Cinerarias, Cal-
ceolarias, and Primulas require plenty of light and air when, it can be
allowed ; cutting winds are to be avoided. Geraniums may be kept
growing slowly, and water used only when it cannot be wanted. An
atmosphere for growing plants should not be allowed to become
parched with fire-heat, as it would soon do irreparable injury in a
short time, besides wasting fuel. Eire-heat should be always used as
a necessary evil ; sun-heat should be harvested by closing structures
early ; 40° will suit most greenhouse plants at this season ; 45°, as a
rule, should not be exceeded. Bring flowering-shrubs and bulbs on
gradually, as formerly advised. M. T.

OUR CROP OF PEAS DURING THE PAST SEASON".

This crop with tis during the past season has been a very abundant one. From
the locality in which our garden is principally situated, we are rather later than
usual in first commencing to gather ; but when we do begin, we apparently have
them in abundance, as we are favoured with a good medium for the production
of good crops of most vegetables.

When making out our seed-list early in the year, I thought, from what I had
seen formerly, that I could not do better than keep mainly to the good old-
established kinds. I selected a quantity to that effect. The ground that we
had under Peas was about a quarter of an acre ; and, summing up the varieties, I
find I grew between twelve and fifteen kinds.

Our eai-ly sowing was made up of Sutton's Kingleader and Carter's First Crop.
From these we got a good crop for early work, so that it, as it generally is, was
very satisfactory to get a good crop for the first. Our second sowing was of the
same kinds, which, although good, was scarcely equal to the former, which was
no doubt owing to some little difference in the border in which it grew. Our
third sowing, which was the first of those sown directly out of doors — the two
former ones having been reared in boxes in the houses, and in due time trans-

iSyi.] GARDEN REFUSE. 553

planted out — was of a kind recommended to me by a neighbour as the best
early — viz., Maclean's Little Gem. With the crop of this sowing I am not
pleased, and it is one of the varieties I will not sow again, because I consider it
worthless as a cropper. "With our next sowing we began to crop the open garden-
quarters — the former ones being confined to early borders ; and I put in a quan-
tity of Dillistone's Early, Early Auvergne, and Champion of England, so that
their crops would come in regularly. "Well, from Dillistone's Early we had :he
most splendid ci'op ; so many of the pods were ready at one time that i' A^as a
great satisfaction to look upon such abundance. The Auvergne followed, a good
crop ; and the Champion of England came up to its usual mark by producing a first-
rate crop. Our next two sowings were made up principally of Hundredfold or the
Cook's Favourite, and of the abundance of the produce of this variety I cannot
speak too highly, for I think no one could have looked for a better crop. After
the Hundredfold came what we had of the Australian or Mossy Pea. We had
two good long rows of it, and when this was in blossom, it had the finest appear-
ance of them all, there being nearly as much to appearance of the white of the
blossom as of the green of the foliage. In due course it too produced a splendid
crop ; and as I am writing from memory, I believe it was questionable whether
this variety or the Cook's Favourite was to bear away the palm as the best crop-
per. After the Mossy Pea we had sowings of Ne plus ultra and British Queen,
both of which produced good crops ; and as late Peas I believe they generally do so.
Lastly, of any account, came Veitch's Perfection, which, although it was about
average, did not do nearly so well as I have seen it, no doubt owing to the
diflferent piece of ground in which it was growing.

To sum up our opinion on the various kinds we grew : Sutton's Kingleader
and Carter's First Crop, for early work, did well. Dillistone's Early produced
splendidly in the open-garden quarter. Champion of England had a full crop.
Hundredfold bore an enormous and continuous crop. The Australian or Mossy
Pea, with its showy blossoms, produced a fine crop, Ne plus ultra and British
Queen bore their usual good crops ; and, lastly, Veitch's Perfection was about
average, but I cannot say that it got a fair trial.

Most people interested in the production of a large supply of Peas will admit
that the tall-growing varieties are the best croppers ; and if the recipient is asked
whether he will have a few finer-flavoured or a large quantity of ordinary caste,
he will soon tell you which lot he will prefer. Robert Mackellab.

[We are surprised that Lynn's Black-eyed Marrow is not more grown. As a
late Pea it is invaluable. — Ed.]

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DISPOSE OF DECOM-
POSABLE GARDEN REFUSE?

There are few gardeners, perhaps, that will not candidly confess to a weakness
in favour of ample supplies of manure and composts or soils ; and equally few that
willingly cry enoiigh of either, even when they are best served. Like the other
good things of life, generally these good things of horticulture are not very
equally distributed. Some much-to-be-envied individuals appear to wallow in
their abundance of these essentials to good gardening ; to many others it is a con-
Btant struggle to get the means to accomplish the end in one or other or both
these matters. Much scraping and collecting together of everything that is likely

2 R

554 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

to be useful in eking out and taking the place of the limited but more valuable
stores in baud has to be uudertaken periodically as the usual lot of pinched
means ; and only those who have some experience in this line can realise what is
meant and entailed by this work of scraping and collecting together materials
for composts. It means makeshifts and substitutes often inferior in character
and efficiency ; it entails an increase of labour rarely taken into account, because
nothing is known of it by employers, and that can only be justified by peculiar
necessity ; and it entails often an amount of anxiety and vexation on the gardener
that only his professional enthusiasm and devotion can enable him to endure.
All these considei-ations point to the desirability of utilising everything in any
way fit to be converted into substitutes for manure or the better class of soils,
at little cost of labour and time.

Among all matters that may be so converted into manure and soil there is
perhaps nothing more available and useful than vegetable or garden refuse. Com-
posed as it is of the remains of the used-up crops of the kitchen-gai'den, the ex-
hausted occupants of the flower-garden, whether in the shape of frost-bitten bed-
ding-plants, the stems, leaves, and flowers of herbaceous perennials and annuals,
the mowings and sweepings of short grass, charred weeds and prunings, and
the miscellaneous accumulations of decomposable matter that result from the
operations necessary to the dressing and keeping of gardens, it must, at least, be
admitted to be varied enough as regards components. I have an impression that
more might be made of garden -refuse than there generally is in most places. I
have met with very few cases in my own experience where the principle of sav-
ing and storing every particle of it was insisted on as a jjart of the general man.
agement of the place. In some cases it may be unnecessary, owing to the require-
ments in manure and soil being easily supplied from better sources ; yet even in
such cases I would ask. Whether on the score of economy the matter in question
should not be saved ? There need be no fear that it will not come in handy and
useful. Compost of this kind is of the greatest value in the planting of shrubs and
trees, and for establishing young fruit-trees, especially in cases where they must
be put in ground that has been occupied previously by similar subjects. As
dressings for llower-beds and borders it is superior to manure, and for many
vegetable crops, Saladings, Potatoes, and Turnips, I find it almost equal to manure.
In my own case I am by no means stinted in manure supply, nor in compost soils
either, though they are not so fine as I could wish ; but for many purposes they
are easily improved in quality and texture by additions and mixtures from the
lighter rot-heap material. I find also that I have greater command of soils for
composts, both in variety and quantity, from my habits of saving the refuse. I
can make an equitable exchange with the home-farm, or with any of the neigh-
bouring farmers, when old pastures are being broken up. Load for load is gene-
rally considered a fair bargain between us, and I consider good old pasture-turf
cheap at that price. "Without any appreciable addition to my labour, I can easily
muster about 30 tons of decomposed refuse annually, from the various items
above mentioned, to which I would now add the refuse from the potting-bench
and houses, in the shape of old potting-stuffs, the cleanings from the houses, and
the annually removed spent-surfaces of Vine and Peach borders, and occasional
dustings of lime, applied merely with the view of deodoi'ising the heap when any
considerable bulk of green matter is laid on it, and it, in consequence, becomes
unsavoury.

So much for the uses of garden-refuse, and the ways of disposing of it about
larger gardens, in a brief way ; and now a word respecting its use in small ones.
It is in those latter that the benefits of carefully husbanding all matter of a decom-

iSyi.] AUTUMN AND WINTER PLANTS. 555

posable nature will be most felt. By small gardens, I mean those of the class of
establishments where there is neither farm nor stable departments kept up— where
all manurial and compost matters must be paid for in hard cash. I would urge
on all possessed of such gardens the importance of saving every scrap of green and
dry refuse that may be reduced to compost in twelve months. In the garden or
out of it, on the premises or beyond them, let all matter capable of being reduced
to plant food by means of fermentation or fire be drawn together in one place and
frequently turned. Two heaps may be advisable — one for gross materials, those
which, having much woody fibre in their composition, will require to be treated to
liberal applications of quicklime ; and the other for leaves of all kinds, and the
remains of herbaceous stuffs generally : in fact, anything that will ferment of itself
may be put on this last heap, and each successive addition should have a little
quicklime mixed with it for the purpose of combining with and fixing some of
the gaseous constituents and promoting the decomposition of the woody particles.
Some attention given to these points, and to the desirability of adding to the heap
or heaps on every favourable opportunity, will have the effect of lessening the
expenses of the garden in the first place, and will afterwards lead to the improve-
ment of the soil. The kind and quality of manure that is generally purchased for
gardens of the description contemplated is usually of a heating and highly stimu-
lating kind, under which few soils can long remain equably productive. They are
especially unsuitable for thin dry soils, whereas the compost is the best applica-
tion that can be made to such. It in a few years sensibly increases its depth,
and annually adds to its productiveness. The compost will sustain excellent
crops of all kinds of vegetables, which, if not so luxuriant as those from dung at
first, will be more sweet, crisp, and firm.

Wm. Sutherland.

[In case this paper may appear to some a plagiarism in any way from a leader
in ' Gardeners' Chronicle' of 11th November, we beg to state that Mr Sutherland's
paper was written before he saw the ' Chronicle ' of the above date. — Ed.]

NOTES ON AUTUMN AND WINTER
FLOWERING PLANTS.

{Continued from page 511.)
ARDISIA CRENULATA.

This is another fine scarlet-berried plant for winter decoration. It is
not particular to situation, only give it heat and moisture in its grow-
ing stages. After the berries are scarlet, it will stand at the warm
end of the conservatory for a long time, without any ill effects to the
future well-being of the plant. To have nice plants in a short tinie,
sow a quantity of the berries early in March, in light sandy soil ;
plunge in a brisk bottom-heat, with a top-heat of 75°. They will soon
make their appearance, and when fairly up, if at a distance from the
glass, raise the pot and place it nearer the glass for a few days, so
that there will not be too great a check to the plants by being pricked

556 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

off and lifted from the bottom-heat at the same time. When the
second pair of leaves is well developed they should be pricked off
singly into thumb -pots, the latter having previously been well
cleaned and drained, using a compost of equal parts of loam and peat,
rather fine, with a good sprinkling of silver -sand. After being
potted give them a good watering, then place them in their old quar-
ters, if space can be found for them ; even plunging would be bene-
ficial to them for a short time. They will grow very quickly into nice
plants, which will soon want another shift into larger pots, using the
compost recommended above ; only this time let it be a little rougher,
with some charcoal, the size of beans, mixed amongst it. When
potted, let them be placed in a temperature of 70° for their summer
quarters ; with daily syringings they will grow into fine plants by
autumn, be fit to put into 6-inch pots the following spring, and, grown
on in the temperature above recommended, will be loaded with berries
by the autumn ; and for table-decoration nothing is handsomer than A.
crenulata in a 6-inch pot, and 14 inches high.

THE ROSE

Is a plant which can scarcely be had in large enough quantities at
any time. They are universally admired in their natural season of
blooming, and when forced into bloom throughout all the early spring
months, they are much more appreciated, and are most useful for de-
corative purposes. Early spring is the best time to start with the
Rose in pots for the following season's plants. In the purchasing of
the plants (if they have to be bought), by getting them a little in
advance of the usual sizes sent out will be found the cheapest by the
end of the first season.

We find those that grow freely do well on their own roots for pots,
as they frequently send up suckers, so that they renew themselves.
After receiving them in spring, the first thing is to examine them all
carefully, shifting those that require potting ; a good strong loam, if
to be had, with a little old stable-manure, well mixed, makes a good
soil for them. Let the pots be carefully drained; when potting is
finished, if a cold frame can be spared, let them be plunged in it far
enough apart, so that they may stand all the summer without getting
crowded : as a great deal of their future success depends upon how
they have been treated the previous season, therefore let every plant
have the full benefit of the sun, so that the wood gets well ripened.
By keeping the lights on all the summer with plenty of air, attending
to watering and syringing regularly, and nipping all blooms off as they
make their appearance, by October they should be fine plants.
When the wood begins to ripen, water should be withheld to a certain

iSyi.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 557

extent until the foliage is all off, then give no more than keeps the
wood and buds plump. If wanted to flower in March a few should
be started early in January. The temperature of a vinery or peach-
house just shut up, where they can have frequent sy ringings, will
suit them. AVhen in full growth let them have liquid manure every
other time they require watering. If a little soot is mixed along
with the liquid it will be the means of giving the foliage a beautiful
rich green appearance.

A sharp look out should be kept for green-fly. If allowed to get a
footing it spoils the plants altogether. If only a few plants are aff'ec-
ted, and standing in a large house which would take a quantity of
tobacco to smoke it, boil 4 oz. of quassia chips for ten minutes in a
gallon of soft water, adding another gallon of water when cold
enough, and either dip or syringe those plants which have the green-

fly-

Mildew is certain to make its appearance if the house is kept too
close and damp : when such is the case dust with sulphur. To do
them well a pit or small span-roofed house should be devoted to them-
selves, so that the atmosphere could be kept to suit them. We have
to-day, 8th November, put in a batch of Teas, which have a quantity
of buds, some just formed, others further advanced, with a little heat,
from which we will have a supply of blooms very soon. These plants
were in bloom early in spring, and when all danger from frost was
gone, were plunged out of doors, being well attended to in summer
with water and picking the buds off as they made their appearance.
About a month ago they were put into a cold frame and kept a little
close. With these and more of the same class to succeed them, we
hope to keep up a supply until we get the Hybrid Perpetuals into
bloom. A. H.

Thoresby.

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS.

{Continued from page 509.)

CONCLUDING CHAPTER.

Having regularly caddressed the readers of the ' Gardener ' from month to month
upon the cultivation of hardy fruits for the last three years, I now lift my pen
for the last time upon the subject, and would briefly address them upon the art
of nailing. It must not be understood, however, that my reasons for so doing are
because I consider that the nailing of trees to the wall with cloth and nails is the
best method. I consider that where the gardener can get his employer to face the
walls with a wire trellis he should by all means accept the ofifer at once, as there
is no plan I know of at all to compare to this, whether we take into consideration

558 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

the amount of labour necessary to keep the trees in trim, the difference of the
prices between the materials employed for the work, or the cleanliness and health
of the trees under cultivation.

The concluding chapter of a series such as I have given in the * Gardener ' can
very properly be devoted to such a subject as the art of nailing, as I believe that,
notwithstanding all that has been said and ^vritten upon the other side, at least
nine-tenths of our wall-trees are at the present time trained upon the old method
with shreds and nails. The only advantage in the method is that trees can be
trained more neatly in this way than by the tying of the wood to trellis-work.
Even in the matter of economy we believe that in the end the trellis-work would
proye the cheaper, as all that is necessary for the work is a few pounds of string
yearly, which will not cost more than twenty per cent of what is necessary to buy
the nails and shreds used for nailing, not to speak of the extra amount of time
that is necessary to perform the work on the old method. Evei-ything considered,
we believe that we are not far from the mark when we say that from 12 to 15 years
is sufficient time for the trellis-work to become cheaper to the proprietor than
the old plan of nailing.

As we are not however, discussing this point, we will at once come to the sub-
ject of our present paper, and treat as briefly and plainly as possible the art of
nailing. Some may think that it is almost unnecessary to enter upon this subject,
as nailing is a thing any one can perform. That I frankly admit : any man can
nail, but every man is not a good nailer. The truth is, that very few have any
very clear or definite ideas about the matter at all. Many think all that is necessary
is to fix the shoot against the wall so as not to be broken by the wind, no matter
whether it is artistically done or not. This is a great fallacy, as it is as easy to do
the w^ork artistically as not, while it does the tree no injury if it has been regu-
larly attended to in the same way all along ; and no one can deny that a tree artis-
tically trained is a thing to look upon and admire, whereas, on the other hand, a
tree badly trained is an eyesore the whole season through. It is nevertheless
true that the mere nailing of the tree, except in one or two particular cases which
we adverted to in some of our former papers, has nothing at all to do with the fruit-
producing qualities of the tree. It will therefore be evident that artistic training of
trees is advocated by us for appearance' sake only. The first thing to be considered
at the nailing season is to have in readiness all the necessary requirements, which
include a hammer, a leather bag with straps to reach over the shoulders and round
the waist, a bunch of tarred twine for tying the stronger branches, a quantity of
cast-iron nails, and a quantity of shreds. If the bag is divided into two compart-
ments, all the better, for the nails and shreds can be kept separate. The shreds ought
to be neatly cut, in lengths of from 2 to 4 inches, and of not more than 4 an inch in
width. These things having been procured, the work may at once commence ;
the workman taking a few nails and a few shreds into his left hand, and retaining
them there, while his hammer is placed in the bag, in readiness to be used at any
moment. Commencing at the stem of the tree, he looks along every branch, re-
moving every tie or shred that is either hurting the tree, or from age and decay
has become of no service. If necessary, these must be replaced by new material;
if not, there is no use to do more than remove the old. Where a new shred is
needed, the operator selects a shred from his left hand, and also a nail. The
former he takes hold of with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, while he
places the nail between the middle and fore fingers of his right hand, with the
point facing outwards. This having been done, he places the shred round the
branch to be nailed in the position it is to occupy, and drawing the shred so that
one end is longer than the other, thereby enabling him to fold the long end far

1871.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 559

enough over the short end, so that the nail passes through three folds of cloth,
in place of two. The nail having been placed in this position, and taken
hold of by the left thumb and forefinger, the hammer is lifted from the
bag by the right hand, and the nail driven into a seam of the wall, when
the hammer is at once returned to the bag. This course is to be regularly pur-
sued at all times, always having plenty of nails and shreds in the left hand, and
the hammer always in the bag, except when in use. It is a little awkw^ard to a
man who has been ti'ained otherwise to adopt this method, for a few hours, but I
never yet met with a man who had tried it for a day or two, who would ever
think of working any other way again. By pursuing this method, one man will
perform twice as much work, in a given time, as he or any other one will do, no
matter what plan he tries. The plan adopted by most men is to keep the hammer
in the right hand almost constantly, and to select from the bag each individual
nail and shred as it is required. The first objection to this plan is, that the ham-
mer is continually in the way, often coming in contact with the branches, spurs,
or buds, and, as a consequence, injuring them to a less or greater extent ; and in
the second place, there is more time occupied in selecting a nail and shred from
the bag than is necessary. If in the left hand is always kept a stock of nails and
shreds, the moment it is opened the workman can always see at a glance the size
of shred required, and therefore not a moment is lost in the selection.

Another thing of great importance to know and understand is, in what position
the workman ought to place himself at the work. Let us start with a tree
which is in position against the wall, and only requiring to be looked over for
deficient or injurious ties and nails, and to have the summer growths neatly put
into their places. In this case the workman begins at the bottom of the wall on
either the right or left hand side — it matters not ; if on the left side, he looks the
bottom branch from the stem outwards to the point, removing all bad ties, &c.,
and if necessary replacing them by new ones. In performing this operation let
him always keep to the left of his work — or before his work, as it is termed — so
that in placing the branch into position he directs his eye along towards the stem
in order to see if it is straight. This looking along the branch must always be
done before the nail is driven, because if not done till after, the chances are that
it may require shifting, thereby causing double work. A common and bad
practice is to place the branch in its position, thereafter to give up hold of it and
select the nail and shred, and to take hold of it again, replace it, and put in the
nail. It is easy to see what a waste of time this will cause. The first thing in
every case is to take the nail and shred as directed, placing the shred round the
branch, thereafter laying dowm the branch in such a position as the eye determines
to be the correct one, and nailing it to the wall. If this course is regularly fol-
lowed, a man may work for days and never require to alter a single nail which he has
driven. The advantage in always looking along the branch towards the stem is,
that if the branch is in any degree departing from the straight the eye will at
once detect it, whereas in looking from the stem in an outward direction a devia-
tion is not so easily noticed ; in fact, in a branch 20 feet long, a deviation of 6 inches
will not be more easily detected by the latter means than will a deviation of 1 inch
be noticed in looking from the point to the stem. Branch after branch must be
gone over in this way till the top of the wall is reached, after which the workman
descends and begins at the bottom of the opposite side.

In nailing a large tree to the wall which has been entirely detached, a somewhat
difierent course must be pursued. The workman in this case must first " lay
in" the stem or leader, after which he must start at the top of the wall, laying
in the branches regularly from the top downwards. The reason for this is evi-

5G0 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

dent, because, the branches all being detached, if he were to begin at the bottom,
the loose branches would coutiuually be in his way. The leading branches, how-
ever, may be regularly spread into their permanent position ere the general
training of the tree begins.

Another thing which demands consideration, and is of great importance, is to
know upon which side of the branch the nail should be placed. The theory and
practice of the work is this : the main stem ought to be trained in an erect position ;
the nail and shred should be placed on either side alternately. After this the
lower branches must be trained horizontally, the first nail and shred being placed
upon the upper side of the branch. A common practice is to place them on the
under side ; but this is a great mistake, as by doing so the branch has a great
chance to be split away from the stem by the drag or strain of the shred, whereas
if the shred is placed upon the upper side, all the strain is in an upward direc-
tion, and will have a tendency to prevent what the other system is likely to
incur. The shred placed upon the upper side pulls the branch towards its
natural position, whereas if placed on the under side, it pulls it into the most
likely position to cause injury to the tree. All the other main branches, it will
be noticed, should be done in a similar manner, and for the same reasons.
Coming, however, to the lateral or side branches, the case is reversed, because
those proceeding from the upper side of the main branches ought to have the
first nail and shred placed upon the under side, in order that the strain ought to
be towards the parent branch from which it sprung. The reasons for this are
the same as those already given in the former case. I have only further to add,
that every workman should have a set of ladders to himself, if the work is to be
thoroughly and expeditiously done. For a wall of say 15 feet, three ladders are
required — one about 4, one about 8, and one about 12 feet in height. Unless
ladders suitable for the work are provided, it is impossible that it can be well
done.

I now draw these papers to a close, and I trust they have not been uninterest-
ing or unacceptable to the readers of the 'Gardener.' 1 have endeavoured to
place before the reader my own practice, so far as I thought it had been success-
ful ; but in many cases I have sought help and advice from those upon whom I
could rely, and whose knowledge and experience of hardy fruits, as well as their
success in management, was a guarantee that their practice would be acceptable
to the readers of the ' Gardener.' If in one isolated case these papers have proved
of any use, I will not consider my labour to have been in vain. I know that
what I have written may not, in many cases, agree Avith the practice of many
good gardeners. I nevertheless have presented my " unvarnished tale " before your
readers, not in the belief that all I have said is the best and only way to manage
hardy fruits, but in the belief that it is the best that I know. Believing as I do
that gardeners are always learning, I shall ever be ready to learn the practice of
others ; and wherever anything good or new is to be taught, there will not be a
more apt scholar in all the realms of Pomona's kingdom than the author of
these simple papers. James M'Millan.

iSyr.] ' COOKING POTATOES. 561

ON WIRING GARDEN -WALLS.

In the November number of the ' Gardener ' there are some judicious remarks
on wii'ing garden-walls. I recur to it again simply with a view of dispelling
several absurd ideas entertained by some parties on the subject. Objection has
been taken to the propriety of using wire in any shape for training Peach or
other stone fruits. Some few years ago the writer strongly recommended, in the
pages of the ' Gardener,' covering Peach-walls or the back- walls of Peach or
Orchard houses, against which trees were trained, with galvanised wire-netting,
as the best, cheapest, cleanest, and in every way the most desirable material for
such a purpose. The writer's observations were based on his own practice, he
having had nearly 300 feet run of back-wall covered with this netting. Objec-
tions were made to the plan by some who thought themselves very wise : one
was, that the trees would derive no heat from the wall, because a current of air
would circulate behind them ; another objection was, that the wire would eat the
bark, and of course gum with its results would follow ; another was, that the fruit
might grow behind the netting, and would not be got out without damage ; but
the crowning objection was some strange idea about electricity, which was to
dance along the netting and scatter destruction right and left. However, no
difficulties arose in practice ; and as proof of the efficiency of the plan, we may
mention that after an absence of four years, we again, last September, visited
the scene of our former labours, and found the trees on the galvanised netting
strong, healthy, and fruitful : in fact, we never saw a finer wall of trees. On
asking our successor how he liked the wire-netting, he replied, nothing could
possibly answer better : it needs no paint to prevent rust ; there was no trouble
with earwigs or wood-lice, because nowhere could they hide. Having before
explained my very simple mode of fixing it on the walls, I need not again
trouble you on that point.

Alexander Dawson.
November 14, 1871.

COOKING POTATOES.

Can you boil a Potato ? was the pertinent question put by a gentleman about
to engage a cook. Yes ! was the prompt reply ; and how few of us, from the
first-rate cuisinier to those who have little else to boil, would answer in the
negative. Some assert they are better boiled in the skin, others again that they
are far preferable pared ; in this, as in many other things, we believe the happy
medium is best.

Having tried various ways of cooking this valuable esculent, all more or less
faulty, a short time since the following method was recommended to us ; and as
it combines simplicity with economy, perhaps some of your numerous readers
might like to try it. Take a very narrow ring of the skin off the potatoes before
boiling (in Kidneys the I'ing should be taken long ways), and when they are ready
for table the remainder will fall off in two pieces, leaving the Potatoes like
*' flour-balls." We have found Potatoes so treated much better than when boiled
without the skin being cut ; and as the skin leaves the Potatoes in the process of
cooking, it does away with the objectionable method of peeling afterwards. We
also adopt the practice of putting new Potatoes in boiling water, and matured
ones in cold water, not forgetting the salt in either case.

5G2

THE GARDENER.

[Dec.

Those who have not the convenience of a hot plate will find by covering the
Potatoes closely with a coarse cloth immediately they are strained, putting the
lid of the pan close, and standing the latter near the fire, the I'otatoes will keep
hot and dry for a long time.

Perhaps the above may not be admissible in your pages, as belonging more to
the cumne than the garden department.

Gardener's Wife.

BEGOWIA CHELSONI.

This beautiful hybrid Begonia was raised by the Messrs Veitch,
and is the result of a cross between the well-known B. Boliviensis and
B. Sedeni. It is a free-growing variety of excellent habit. The Howers

// Cdvi^'^

Fig. 25.— Begonia Chelsoni.

are large and of a bright glossy red colour. It is very free in growth,
and continues to bloom the whole summer and autumn, consequently
its value as a decorative plant is certain to insure for it extensive culti-
vation. Our figure is from a photograph, for which we are indebted

i87i.]

DIEFFENBACHIA BAUSEI.

563

to the Messrs Veitcli. This and some of its congeners, such as B. Sedeni,
Boliviensis, B. Weltoniensis, &c., are most useful plants, blooming as
they do throughout the autumn and winter, when bloom is compara-
tively scarce ; and they have the additional recommendation of being
easily propagated and grown on into strong flowering plants.

DIEFFENBACHIA BAUSEI.

This is one of the new plants to be distributed next spring by the
Messrs Veitch ; it was exhibited and much admired at the great show
at Nottingham. It is a hybrid between D. picta and D. Weirii, and par-

FlG. 26.— DIEFFENBACHIA BaUSEI.

takes of the character of both parents, having the white spot of D. picta
and the ground colour of D. Weirii. It is very free-growing, and when
young makes a fine plant for table decoration.

i-jvS^S^^s--

5Q4: THE GARDENER. [Dec.

THE GAYEST OF AMERICAN WILD-ELOWERS.

NO. II.

It is important to note the readiness with which many plants in a state of nature
adapt themselves to altered circumstances, and on the other hand there are not a
few kinds which perish when subjected to positions very little different from those
in which their progenitors flourished. A small amount of observation and thought
on the part of one placed in a region of country like this would make the
statements just made have all the weight they are entitled to; and further,
would lead to the conclusion that, so soon as all the original forests of America
are removed, the number of species of plants then existing in their country will
be very much less than at present. Many are bound to become extinct. At
one time the site and all around the site of the present city of Lexington was
occupied by cane-brake and timbered land, and during that period many beauti-
ful though diminutive forms of vegetation now confined to the few remaining
morsels of the " forest primeval " of these parts must have had a wide distribution
over the area referred to. The considerations alluded to in the foregoing sentences
are of the utmost importance to all engaged in the growing of flowers, as I hope
to show in the course of these papers ; and if collectors would take note of the
matter, and when sending home especially anything precious, state whether or
not it has ever been observed thriving on cultivated or cleared ground, the result
would necessarily be the saving of many a valuable life ; for if a thing in its own
land cannot exist in the open field unshaded from the sun's brightest rays, I think
it is not likely to make any very great show in a land where it is a stranger.

In rambling through the woods of Kentucky very early in spring, now and then
the attention cannot fail to be ai-rested by masses of large buds pushing aside the
hard earth and making for the light, and it matters not though the ground be a
little frozen. Those buds belong to Podophyllum peltatum, and it is well worth
while to pause for a moment to examine them. In the common order of things,
if the flower of a plant is terminal, it is protected by scales or some such
contrivance whilst making for the open day, but the subject before us
presents a well-marked exception to this rule. The blades of the leaves
are neatly folded back, and the two opposite petioles stand stiffly side by side,
having only space between for the flower-bud. At this stage of the growth of
the plant the flower-bud is ahead of everything else, and just as naked as ever it
can be, and in this condition it continues until all that has got to come through
the soil has done so. That point gained, the foliage begins to lengthen rapidly,
and soon overtops the flower-bud and hides it. A lady told me that when she
was a child, living at her home in Greenville, in the southern part of this State,
she has frequently used the leaves of the May Apple for a parasol. And I
must say that the magnificence of the great masses of this plant is calculated to
excite the admiration even of one but poorly gifted with an eye for the beauties
of vegetable life. Accustomed as I have always been before to glimpses of a
poor little bit of a thing receiving the fullest exposure in the open ground, or,
worse still, ensconced in a pot intentionally and by order half full of crocks, and
"dried off" in the winter time, I was amazed, for I knew not the old friend
which I had helped to coddle so much. Horticulturally speaking, and when
treated aright, this is bound to be a grand fellow, with its sweet-scented blos-
soms opening in May, and its large bright yellow fruit ripening about July.
The fruit is eagerly sought for by children, and eaten with much relish. I un-
derstand that the "root" yields the principal part of the material for "Helm-

1871.] AMERICAN WILD-FLOWERS. 565

hold's Podophyllum Bitters," one of the patent medicines of the country. I
have never met with this plant on cultivated or well-cleared land. It is true
that now and then a few imperfect specimens may be discovered hiding behind
a fence-post, but the first stiff breeze that blows bends their heavy heads to the
dust, and a few years of this sort of treatment puts an end to their being. In
those parts of the forest where shade and shelter go hand in hand the greatest
results are obtained. There is a beautifvil glen forming part of the Glasgow Bo-
tanic Garden, and nearly every part of that glen is well adapted to the wants of
the Podophyllum ; and if these notes happen to catch the eye of ]\Ir Bullen, per-
haps he may be induced to try and naturalise our subject on the banks of the
Kelvin. It is easy to propagate this by division of the underground stem, or, as
some would call it, the "root."

Lobelia sypliilitlca, — The margins of many a little rivulet — or, as they call it
here, "branch " — are brightened during August and a part of September by tbe
very pretty blue blossoms of the present plant. This Lobelia is moderately well-
known in the old country, and prized by all true lovers of hardy flowers. It
ranges from 2 to 3 feet high, and the stem ends in a raceme. I have not sufficient
facts to justify me in venturing to lay down a rule just yet, but I think it pro-
bable that the majority of early-flowering American plants should have their seeds
sown soon in autumn ; whereas, in the case of late-flowering plants, probably the
seed had better be kept till spring before being put into the ground. This, of
course, is only a suggestion, but it may cause some one well up in the matter to
arrange what he knows, and give it to the public. I never saw Lobelia syphilitica
doing any good in a dense forest, although I have observed moderate-sized speci-
mens in tracts of woodland w^here the trees were " few and far between." This
plant delights in a rich moist loam, though, when I say that I have known it
thrive well in the poor, parched, sandy soil of Kew, it will be seen that it is not
by any means hard to please. Seed is easily obtained, but should only be used
when great numbers are required, as nothing is easier than to increase this
plant by parting, and the operation in question had much better be performed in
the spring.

Camassia \_SciUa\ esculenta. — The common American names of this plant are,
Quamash, Wild Hyacinth, Squill. It is a most beautiful plant, especially when seen
in large masses. It is quite as gay as the Hyacinthus nonscriptus, or Bluebell of
English plantations ; and every one knows what a gem that is, though so plentiful
as to make it not properly appreciated. Moreover, this plant is larger in all its
parts than the Bluebell, and naturally shows a disposition to adapt itself to quite
a variety of conditions, I have seen great grand masses of it, rising stoutly above
all the other vegetation of a rich open pasture, and gathered admirable specimens
growing beneath big old Black Walnut-trees.

This year at least the Quamash has not budded very freely about here,
but I would not like to say that it is always and everywhere so backward about
reproducing itself. Though a common American plant, I am pretty certain that
it is not abundant in the gardens of the old country. It certainly deserves to be
introduced plentifully, and would form a valuable addition to any collection of
hardy bulbs. Blossoms open early in May.

I promise myself a trip some day to the very imperfectly explored mountains
of Kentucky, and amongst the rich, rare, and may be undescribed wild-flowers of
those parts I hope to see a good deal likely to interest the readers of the ' Gar-
dener.' Not far from Lexington is the Kentucky river, along the wild margins
of which Cypripediums and other treasures are said to grow.

Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. John Duncan.

566

THE GARDENER.

[Dec.

A DISEASE OF THE GOOSEBERRY

WITH THE now to get rid of it, etc.

Fig. 27.

iEcidium cancel]atum. — a, a berry upon which it is seen growing in its natural size; b,
leaf cut showing the part where the peridia are magnified; c, a full-sized leaf affected as the
berry, appearing lilie a drop of red paint at a distance.

-(.EciDiUM (Persooii), a genus of plants belonging to the natural family of
Fungi, or the Mushroom tribe, and to the class Cryptogamia of Linnfeup.
This Fungus consists of small membranous sacs or protuberances, which are
found parasitic on the leaves, bark, fruit, &c. of several plants ; such as the Fir,
Violet, Barberry, Hawthorn, Primrose, Nettle, &c. The membrane forming
the sac has received the name of peridium. It pierces the bark or epidermis of
the leaves, and encloses very minute dust-like seeds or sporules, which are
ultimately discharged by an opening in its side or summit. In consequence of
the seeds being contained in a membrane, the genus has been referred to a
division of fungi which has been denominated Angiocarpi. There are upwards
of thirty known species of the genus, and they receive their names from the
plants on which they are found. Link has divided this genus into three
sub-genera, the ^cidium properly so called, the Raestelia, and Peridernium.
The JE. cancellatum here represented belongs to the second of those divi-
sions. It is often found on the leaves of Pear-trees. To the third division

iSyi.] THE HERBACEOUS CALCEOLARL\. 5G7

belongs the M. pini, remarkable for being the largest species, and for grow-
ing not upon the leaves but upon the bark of the Pine-tree. They vary in
colour. The species that grow on the Gooseberry and Barberry leaves are red ;
that found on the Scotch Fir is yellow, and that on the Meadow Rue bright
orange. The ^Ecidia cause considei-able deformities in the plants on which they
grow, and some of them are decidedly injurious and poisonous. The Gooseberry
-^cidium is said frequently to destroy the young fruit of that plant, which
we are quite satisfied to believe; the species fouud on the Barberry has been
stated, though perhaps eri'oneously, to be hurtful to corn growing near it ; but
as some of our horticultural friends may be desirous to know how to subdue this
pest, and erase it from their Gooseberry plantations, I will give my experience on
this point, and how I have gained a perfect cure. In 1868 and 1869, about one-
third of the fruit here (Mouswald Gardens, Dumfries, seat of Sir James J. Reid)
became blotched very much by this fungus. I give the ground amongst the
bushes a liberal dressing with lime in the autumn, and syringe them over with
a compound of alum 1 drachm, tobacco essence 2 drachms, flower of sulphur half
an ounce, common salt three-quarters of an ounce, all mixed in 3 gallons of rain-
water ; this was done twice before the expanding of the leaf, and again as soon as
the fruit appeared fairly set. This first destroyed the mycelium in the soil, and
the syringing cleared the bark of its sporules ; and my Gooseberry-bushes are
now free from all trace of fungus. John Graham.

Mouswald Gardens, Dumfries.

THE HERBACEOUS CALCEOLARIA.

This valuable greenhouse plant is one of those things which, though
of easy cultivation, is nevertheless often to be seen in anything but
first-rate condition. Its roots delight in a cool and moist compost,
whilst the leaves luxuriate in a medium of coolness and shade. With
these conditions secured as nearly as possible, the cultivator ambitious
of growing large, well-bloomed plants, has every reason to look for
specimens measuring, when in flower, from 2 to about 3 feet across.
Supposing some of your readers would like to ''try their hand" on grow-
ing large plants, the first thing to be done is to sow the seeds by the
beginning of April at latest. The compost used must be moist, and
composed of three parts loam to one of sand, if the loam is at all strong.
Sprinkle the seeds thinly, and just cover them with silver-sand, then
either plunge the seed-pot in a very gentle hotbed, or else place it in a
pot two sizes larger, filling the space between with sand, which must
be kept constantly wet. Place it in a house the mean temperature of
which ranges about 60°. Put a square of glass over the seed-pot, to
keep the moisture from evaporating, and a handful of Moss on the
glass, to keep the rays of the sun from intruding. In ten days or so
the seedlings will be showing themselves, when a little air ought to be
let in, increasing it every day till the glass is taken off altogether.
Be very careful at this stage of growth to keep the direct rays of the

568 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

sun from the young plants. Keep them moist by occasionally giving
them a gentle dewing with a syringe, and in three weeks they will
require pricking off into thumb-pots, using a compost the same as that
used for raising the seedlings. A small piece of turf is all that is
needful for drainage. Place them somewhere out of the reach of the
sun, where they can be kept cool and moist, till they are ready for
shifting into larger pots — 4-inch pots are large enough. For drainage
use one crock and a little rough turf; pot them firmly. The compost
for this and subsequent repottings to consist of five parts strong fibry
loam to one of rotted cow-dung, and silver-sand one-sixth of the whole,
putting the cow-dung through a J-inch sieve. Place them in a cold
frame, so situated as to have no sun from eight in the morning till from
four to five in the afternoon. Keep the lights off, except in wet
weather, and then have plenty of air on, both back and front. Repot
into 6-inch pots directly they are w^ell rooted all round the ball, and
return them to the cold frame. By the middle of September move
them into an airy pit, and in another fortnight shift them into 8-inch
pots. In December repot them finally into 10-inch pots, "when it will
be only safe to tie each of the shoots to a stake, in case of accidental
breakage. Up till the time they are coming into flower they require
little in the way of training. The lowermost side-shoots must be broken
off for the matter of 3 inches above the soil, and the point of the lead-
ing shoot must be taken out three pairs of leaves higher up ; pinch
them once more in September, and again in December for the last
time. With regard to watering, let at least five days elapse after re-
potting before any water be given (both the ball of the plant and the
compost ought to be moist when repotted), afterwards keep constantly
moist. Use manure-water made from cow-dung as soon as the bloom-
ing-pots are well filled with roots ; give it very weak at first, and water
with it every time the plant requires • watering. By the time the
flowers are showing, they will require watering in fine weather twice
ar-day. Keep on with manure- water till they are done flowering, as, if
they are well fed, they will keep developing flowers for a long time. A
look-out must be kept for aphis, and on their first appearance give
them a thorough smoking two evenings in succession. If the plants
get dry, they will be sure to be infested with greenfly, but even under
the best treatment frequent visits from them may be expected. Re-
move all decaying leaves from them, and do not grow anything else in
the pots except the rightful occupants, and they will in return for your
pains be a "feather in your cap."

Seed may be sown any time up till August for ordinary greenhouse
purposes, and the same general cultural remarks apply to them, differ-
ing in greater or less degree according to the time the seed is sown.

R. P. B.

iSyi.] ON THE ROAD. 5G9

ON THE ROAD.

{Continued from p. 459.)

Back again from Glasgow to Dumfriesshire. ^Ve were anxious to visit Eccles,

the seat of Maitland, Esq., where we had heard something extraordinary in

the way of Grape-growing was to be seen ; nor were we disappointed. The gar-
dens are not very extensive, but in nice order. The only hothouses are two
vineries, a Muscat-house and a mixed house ; and we must say the Grapes were
the finest we have seen for some time. The crop, we understand, was even finer
last year, and very good some years previous to that. They were hardly ripe at
the time of our visit, but promised to finish well. The Muscat of Alexandria
bunches we estimated at from 5 lb. to 6 lb. each ; Black Hambros about the
same ; Grizzly Fi'ontignac 3 lb.,- — very fine samples. Muscat Hambro at 6 to
7 lb. ; berries very large and uniform, and not an abortive one to be seen. The
gardens here are on the same formation as Drumlanrig : the soil is very red, and
the sandstone crops out a few paces from the vinery door. What we saw here
and at Drumlanrig* strengthened a conviction that has been gaining upon us for
some time — that the red sandstone formation is, to say the least, exceedingly
favourable to the production of good Grapes, and Mr Cramb did good service
when he drew attention to this subject at the Manchester congress. The question
now is. Shall we add less in the way of lime-rubbish, brickbats, &c. , to our Vine-
borders, and something in the way of broken sandstone or sand ] the experiment
is worth trying.

A visit to Eccles will repay any one while they are in the neighbourhood of
Drumlanrig, and they will be sure to receive every attention from Mr Ross, the
excellent gardener, who, in addition to good Grapes, can also show visitors one
if not the finest Beech-tree in Scotland — a grand specimen, which stands by itself
in front of the house. We had the curiosity to take a few notes of its dimensions.
The head is round and symmetrical, the branches stretch out horizontally, and
cover a circular area 110 feet in diameter. The trunk is 23 feet in circumference ;
twelve of the lower limbs extend 50 feet or more from the trunk, and average
about 5 feet in circumference a considerable distance from the centre. The tree
is in vigorous health, and seems likely to extend its dimensions for a long period
yet.

" Maxwell ton braes are bonny,
Where early fa's the dew."

Poets are supposed to have a considerable licence, but as we drove along the
valley of the Shinnel, after contemplating the "braes" from the trim lawn
in front of Maxwellton House, we were glad to pull an additional rug around us
to keep off the " dews ; " and it occurred to us that the poet had hit off the descrip-
tion accurately as well as poetically. Maxwellton, the seat of Mrs Laurie, lies
ensconced among the hills, about 7 or 8 miles from Thornhill Station, and a short
distance from the village of Moniaive, from which a wild moorland track,

"The home of the heath-cock and wailing curlew,"

leads to New Galloway and the Glen-Kells. The gardens, which are of moderate

* Although Drumlanrig is partly on the red sandstone formation, the whole of
the loam in the Vine-borders had to be taken olF the whinstone formation. We
nevertheless believe that the Vine thrives exceedingly in the red sandstone soil.
—Ed.

2s

570 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

extent, are well kept. They are under the superintendence of Mr Prichard, who
also discharges the onerous duties of land-steward, &c. In such a moorland
district we were quite surprised to see the display of bedding-plants. There was
considerably more bloom than in many places we had seen in the south, and
vegetables and small fruits were excellent. The gardens lie Avell to the sun, and
the valley is warm during summer. There are some nice new hothouses here,
and well furnished. Vines not long planted were bearing a nice crop. Here, as
elsewhere in this part of Dumfriesshire, we noticed that the trees, from the Oak
to the Currant-bush, were grey with lichen, indicating a very damp climate.
!Maxwellton, we would say, is one of those places where a good large orchard -
house would be a safe investment. Altogether it is a pleasant place, and we left
it well pleased with our visit.

On the road again. A brief halt at Dumfries enables us to get a half-clandestine
peep at the well-furnished and well-kept nursery of Messrs Kennedy, and to
pay a visit to the shrine of Burns, like every true Scotchman, when we are ofif
again by the Caledonian Railway via Lockerby, through one of the loneliest mountain-
tracks in Scotland. A fast train, however, soon transfers us from the Solway to
the shores of the Firth of Forth. Few towns are more associated with gardens
and gardeners than Edinburgh. Young Horty at one time more than now, per-
haps, did not consider his curriculum complete without a turn in " Auld Reekie,"
often to his advantage, it may be admitted, and often, alas ! the other way. In
canny Aberdeen, it is said, gardeners are struck in batches and sent to Edinburgh
to be potted off. Certain it is the Scotch journeyman, in misfortune or otherwise,
turns his face towards Edinburgh as if by instinct. In Edinburgh he will have a
chance on his own merits ; nor can it be disputed that for good, skilful workmen,
that can turn their hand to anything, in doors or out, Edinburgh holds her own,
and more.

At this stage of our journey we are bound to state that discharging the obli-
gations of old acquaintanceship and relationship among a somewhat numerous
circle compelled us, if not to shorten our programme, at best to complete the
horticultural part of it in less time than we intended. We had just time to have
a run through the gardens at Dalkeith, and to notice the fine crop of Grapes in
the late vinery there, a fair sample of the produce for the last twelve years or more
— to glauce at the numerous collection of Orchids — the splendid Heaths, recog-
nising in every specimen an old acquaintance — and to admire the heavy crop of
Peaches in the long Peach-house, and be off. I^ext we had a peep at the Rev. B.
Bushby's vinery, at the Parsonage, a few paces from the park-gates, where we saw
a magnificent crop of Muscat Grapes, perfect in bunch and berry, and the Vines
in high health. The bunches would apparently run from 2 to 4 lb. a-piece, and
were finishing beautifully. "\Ve have been more or less intimately acquainted with
the history of this vinery for nearly fourteen years, during which time the crops
have been uniformly excellent. Many Grape-growers have risen and fallen in
that time, but none that we know of have accomplished so much as Mr Bushby.
Yet Mr Bushby has no particular theory to communicate, nor is his success due
to any special treatment. The vinery is an ordinary span-roof, of no great height ;
and the Vines, we believe, have always been pruned on the spur system. Origin-
ally the border was chiefly or partly composed of the ordinary soil of the garden,
and occasionally since then Mr Bushby has added dressings of cow-dung or fresh
soil, and mulched and watered abundantly — the points of paramount importance.

From Dalkeith to Archerfield seems a natural transition. We had only an hour
to spend at this fine place, and just time to note the fine display at the flower-
garden, the excellent crops of fruit and vegetables, and the thorough good order

1871.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 571

and tidiness that prevailed in every department. The new Pine-pits there are a
feature of the place, and seem well adapted to their purpose. Mr Kettles had two
fine batches of smooth Cayenne Pines swelling off, at different stages, that would
run on the average from 4 to 5 lb. a-piece. "\Ve were struck also with the fine
Apricot-trees here, which were bearing a splendid crop of fruit, and the healthy
look of the fruit-trees generally.

We were now about setting our face towards the south again, after a very
agreeable three weeks' holiday, but dropped off at Galashiels, thinking a visit to Mr
Thomson's vineyard would be a fitting termination to our programme. A run out
from Galashiels on the Innerleithen line for about three miles, lands the traveller at
the little station of Clovenfords, a lonely nook among the hills, and one of the
last places in the world where he would expect to come upon one of the great-
est grape-growing depots in the kingdom. He is not long in the neighbourhood,
however, before he discovers that Mr Thomson's establishment is already ranked
among places of interest in a locality already rich in that respect. To the uniniti-
ated in matters horticultural, it certainly cannot appear otherwise than astonish-
ing that what was, not much more than two years ago, part of a sheep-run, is now
a vineyard under glass, already bearing thousands of pounds' weight of Grapes.
To horticulture the feat is highly creditable, and is a chapter in its history ; and
perhaps no man's name could be more fitly associated with the undertaking than
that of Mr Thomson. Passing along the noble corridor which forms the base
line, and is also filled with Vines, we cast our eye along one vista after another of
span-roofed houses 24 feet wide, nearly as high, and two hundred feet in length,
covered with wood and foliage to the top, and carrying a heavy crop of fruit two-
thirds up the roof. The wood of the permanent Vines and supernumeraries was
remarkably strong ; and if we recollect aright, the latter were carrying something
like ten or twelve bunches each without showing any signs of distress, evincing the
highly-sustaining nature of the soil, which is a deep and strong loam. Hundreds
of pot-vines are also grown along the back walls of the Pine-stoves and other
available spaces, where the foliage could be exposed to a good blaze of light, as
pot-vines ought to be grown that are intended to produce anything ; and we have
no doubt the robust, leathery-leaved plants which we saw at Clovenfords will
bear out their promise. Pines grown in the same soil as the Vines were if any-
thing worthy of even greater commendation than the Vines, hundreds upon hun-
dreds of fruiting and succession plants in long light houses ; Queens, Smooths,
Eothschilds, Prince Albert, Black Jamaica, and Envilles, &c., all grand plants.
The fruiting-batches were late, intended for winter and spring, but the "shows"
which were coming up broad and red, supported on massive stems, showed at a
glance what they were likely to be. In a cursory paper of this kind, it is of course
impossible to convey anything like a correct impression of such an establishment,
but we would just say to others as was said to us, '* Go and see." J. S. W.

horticulturaij exhibitions.

EoYAL Horticultural SociExr, November 1. — On this occasion prizes were
offered for Chrysanthemums, out-of-door Grapes, and Potatoes. The meeting
for November is usually fixed for the first Wednesday in the month ; and this,
even in the most favourable seasons, is too early by at least ten days for Chrysan-
themums. This flower is exceptionally late this year, so that for cut blooms only
one exhibitor put in an appearance, and but two in the classes for plants. Mr

572 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

Rowe, gardener to Mrs Lewis, the Rookery, Roebampton, carried off all the
first prizes. Ilia specimen plants were trained in the usual bush-form, and con-
sisted of Mrs George Rundle, pure white, with a delicate rose flush when the
flowers get old— this is the best and most useful of all large-flowered Chrysanthe-
mums—Prince of AVales, Mardchal Duroc, Gloria Mundi, and Lady Hardinge.
The second prize was awarded to Mr Goddard, gardener to H. Little, Es^q.,
Twickenham, with plants trained in a natural manner, without pinching or
bending of the shoots. The prizes for Pompones were awarded to the same
exhibitors.

For twenty-four and twelve cut blooms the prizes were awarded to INIr Rowe,
but most of them were of a very poor description, being forced out of character,
and dressed in a most distasteful manner ; some half-expanded flowers were shown
with the centres torn bodily out of them. The few good flowers were Golden
Beverley, Lord Derby, Prince of Wales, JMrs George Rundle, White Globe,
Guernsey Nugget, Lady Talfourd, Mr Brumlees, Aurea multiflora, Novelty,
Empress Eugenie, and Cherub.

Decorative berried plants were very indifferent. The first prize was awarded
to Mr George, gardener to Miss Nicholson, Putney Heath. The collection con-
tained Solanum ciliatum, Ardisia crenulata, Aucuba, Cotoneaster, &c., as well as
a small Orange-tree ! Mr Rowe was second.

Potatoes is the next class on the schedule ; and both for the Society's prizes, and
for those offered by Messrs Carter & Co., exceedingly fine collections were staged.
Mr R. Dean, seed-grower, Ealing, was first for the Society's prize with a well-
grown collection of thirty-six distinct sorts. Some new varieties raised by Mr
Fenn, of Woodstock, had a particularly fine appearance. Of round varieties. Rector
of Woodstock, John Fenn, Eliza Fenn ; and of Kidneys, Woodstock Kidney,
Yorkshire Hero, Fenn's Perfection, and King of Potatoes were the best. Mr
Lumsden, Bloxholm Hall, Sleaford, Lincoln, was second with fifty-one sorts.
Mr Lumsden was first for Messrs Carter's prize with a fine collection : the best
shaped round were the Bloomer, Carter's Main Cross (red). Early Goodrich,
Breeze's Peerless, and Early Coldstream ; of Kidneys, Birmingham Prize, Lap-
stone, Prince of Wales, Ashleaf Kidney, Sandringham Kidney, Jackson's Superb,
and Rivers's Royal Ashleaf.

The Rev. G. Kemp offered prizes for the best six bunches of Grapes grown out
of doors. The best came from Mr J. Norris, Francis Court, Broadclysh, Exeter,
Royal ]\Iuscadine being the variety. This is unquestionably the best of all for open-
air purposes.

For collections of six dishes dessert Pears, distinct, there was a close competi-
tion, and considering the untoward season, the quality was wonderful. Mr W.
Forrle, gardener to Sir H. St John Mildmay, Dogmersfield Park, Hants, was
first with grand examples of Flemish Beauty, Pitmaston, Duchesse d'Angouleme,
Beurre Clairgeau, Hacon's Incomparable, and Coneeiller de la Cour ; Mr J.
Garland, Killerton, Exeter, was second ; Mr Stephenson, gardener to F. C.
Barker, Esq., Leigh Hill, Essex, being third. Thirteen collections were shown.

Fruit Committee. — Although late in the season, this was a very interesting
meeting. Mr Johnstone, gardener to the Earl of Strathmore, Glamis Castle,
Forfar, sent three magnificent bunches of Muscat of Alexandria Grape as an
example of a house where he has two hundred such bunches hanging. They were
even in bunch and berry, the latter being very large, of a beautiful golden colour : the
three bunches weighed 10 lb. 6 oz. A special certificate was awarded. Mr John-
stone also sent a new Black Grape of good flavour, and likely to be a late-keeping
sort. Mr Rose, gardener to her Majesty, Frogmore, sent three handsome fruit of

1871.] HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 573

smooth-leaved Cayenne Pine-Apple, grown from rootless suckers planted Septem-
ber 21, 1S70 : their united weight was 22 4 lb. A special certificate was
unanimously awarded. Mr Powell, of Frogmore Gardens, also sent a new Pear
raised by himself, and named Premier. It is distinct and good, partaking of the
character of Winter Nelis, but larger in size. Black Hamburg and Muscat
Hamburg Grapes were sent by Mr "Wells of Southend, grown in his ground
vineries. The Muscats were highly flavoured, and received a special certificate.
Thes3 useful little structures, though despised by the practical gardener, are
nevertheless a capital invention, and are invaluable to persons of small means.
Even this season, though a most unfavourable one, I have seen excellent Black
Hamburg Grapes grown in Rivera's vineries. They are not half the expense of
Wells's, are quite as useful, and are not patented. From personal experience I
recommend them.

Most excellent fruit of Musa sapientum was sent by Mr J. Jaques, gardener to
H. P. Canliffe, Esq., Hooley House, Coulsdon. The individual specimens weighed
1 lb. each, the whole bunch weighing 62 lb. A special award was made to it.
Exceedingly fine Celery for the season was sent by Mr Lidgard, Albion Road,
Hammersmith. The best white sort was Knight's new White Grove. William's
Matchless White was more pithy. William's Matchless Red was the best-flavoured
Red, and Manchester Red the largest and most solid. This also received a special
certiflcate.

Floral Committee. — This was a poor meeting, both as regards new things and
those of a miscellaneous character. Messrs E. G. Henderson & Son sent Sedum
acre elegans, a variety with creamy-white variegation. As it promises to be a useful
edging plant, it received a first-class certificate. The same award was given to
Mr Green, gardener to W. W. Saunders, Esq. , Reigate, for Bilbergia chlorosticta,
from Brazil, a species with brownish-purple leaves, blotched and spotted with
green ; also to Zomatophyllum Saundersii, with long, narrow, fleshy, sharp-pointed
and toothed leaves. Messrs Standish of Ascot sent a collection of Gladiolus, the
result of crossing hybrids of Gandavensis and Brenchleyensis with G. cruentus.
This last-named species has seldom more than one pair of flowers open together on
a spike ; so that the result of crossing with this has been to materially shorten the
flower-spike, and all of them where the crop was apparent were wanting in shape :
one variety named Alice Wilson is very distinct, and has narrow recurved petals
like some of the Lilies. The same firm also sent a plant of a new late-flowering
form of Lily of the Valley ; the leaves were quite green, very broadly ovate in
shape. It will, if it sustains its character, be a very useful plant. The flower-spikes
are very similar to the old variety.

I also ought to state here that the beautiful new ^Masdevallia exhibited by
Messrs Veitch of Chelsea, and noticed in the October number under the provi-
sional name of amabilis, has proved to be distinct from that variety, and also from
Lindeni, which it resembles. It has been figured in the ' Floral j\Iagazine,' and
named by Professor Reichenbach, in honour of Mr Harry Veitch, Masdevallia
Harryana. Cultivators of cool Orchids will welcome this little gem, and eagerly
add it to their collections if they can get it. J. Douglas.

574 THE GARDENER. [Dec.

THE WEATHER NEAR LONDON.

I AM no weather prophet ; neither would I draw conclusions as to the coming
winter from passing incidents : one fact I will mention, during a practice of forty
years I never knew the ice-house filled so early as the 14th of November until
this day, and this day it has been done, with nice ice, much of it from 2 to 24
inches thick : the place is within 18 miles of London. AVe have before now saved
our ice in November, and found that the winter afforded no second chance ; it
may not be so this season. S. X.

WEATHER REPORT.

Mean temperature for July — min. 47°. 4, max. 71°; rainfall, 2.90. Rain fell on
twenty-four days of this month, and thunder was heard on the 1st, 4th, 5th,
10th, 23d, 26th, and 30th, Lightning was only eeen on the Ist and 4th. It will
be seen from the above that rain fell on almost all the days of this month, but
not to any great extent; on the 4tb, 0.48 inch was the greatest in twenty-four
hours.

Mean temperature for August — min. 47°. 5, max. 72°. 6. The thermometer on
the 10th registered 86° in the shade, which was the highest recorded this sum-
mer ; lowest, 37° on the 22d. Eainfall, 1.72 ; days of fall, eight. No rain fell
from the 30th of July up to August 17th.

Mean temperature for September— min. 42°.5, max. 62°.l. The min. ther-
mometer read 32° on the 29th, which was the lowest; rainfall, 5.04 inches. On
nineteen days of this mouth rain fell, on the 24th and 27th 1.21 and 1.01 inch
respectively fell in twenty-four hours.

The disease amongst the Potatoes is very prevalent in this neighbourhood this
year, and there is very much difi'erence in the varieties as to being attacked with
the disease. Early Ash Leaf Kidney, about 10 per cent are diseased ; Prince's
Early Prolific and Myatt's Kidney, 5 per cent ; the Ash Top Fluke quite 80 per
cent ; and Smith's Early is very bad — they are nearly all gone together : but the
Potatoes that are cultivated in the field are a fair average crop, and not more than
5 per cent are gone, JoiiN Finlay.

JMeldon Park, Morpeth, Northumberland.

KITCHEN-GAEDEN.

In early positions Peas and Beans may
be coming through the ground this
month. When this is the case, more
soil may be drawn over them, or a
quantity of coal-ashes placed along the
tows, which keeps slugs off, as well as

efiectual means of getting rid of the
pests as anything. Poison should be
used carefully, and in a way that
pheasants, domestic fowls, dogs, &c.,
cannot reach it. While it is necessary
to get the manure-yard cleared as early

affords protection. Timely staking of j as possible (to make room for leaves.
Pease is advantageous, especially if they and all kinds of material for future use),

are exposed to easterly or northerly
winds. Evergreens placed along the
rows in small pieces also do good ser-
vice. Those who have not the better
means of raising their early Peas and
Beans under glass in turf, tiles, boxes,
&c,, require to be all the more attentive
to their crops when exposed to so many
evils in the open ground. Mice and
other vermin are in some places very
destructive. Traps are perhaps as

we would not recommend to lay the
manure down at random, simply be-
cause the space was vacant, but judge
how the ground was prepared last
season, and what amount of crop it
carried. Where plenty of manure was
given to the last crop, the ground after
being well trenched may be in capital
order for such crops as Potatoes,
Turnips, Beet, and Carrots. A good
quantity of the best manure should be

iSyi.]

CALENDAR.

575

kept in reserve for Leeks, Celery, Let-
tuce, Cauliflower, &c., as they are
likely to be grown next year on ground
now in crop. Brussels Sprouts and Late
Broccolis stand till far in the season, and
come in well for some of the more im-
portant crops. Changing the crops as
much as possible, we maintain, is of
much importance. Though a season
t>r two may not show any difference in
well-worked ground, which has been
well supplied with manure, in time it
tells, when crop after crop of the same
kind is grown, roots especially, and
Potatoes not the least. In a district
in this locality, where Carrots are grown
extensively and good, the cultivators
never attempt to grow their crops two
years running ; experience has taught
them a lesson. In a cottager's garden
near this. Potatoes, after being many
years grown on the same ground, refused
to grow ; change of seed and trenching
did no good ; but we have planted (for
experiment) the ground this season
with Kale, Leeks, Brussels Sprouts,
and Cabbage, and the crops are ex-
cellent both for bulk and quality.
We agree on the whole with " the
Squire's Gardener's " remarks as to
cropping (see last month's 'Gardener').
Plenty of manure and command of
labour will surmount many difficulties,
while in its absence there are many
failures. Market-gardeners' motto is,
*' Plenty in and plenty out." They are
aware that they could not make ends
meet if manure and labour were not at
command. Having been in my youth
employed in market establishments
around London, I know that they are
the most systematic class of cultivators
with whom I am acquainted, and rota-
tion of crops and double cropping at
the same time they practise almost to
a fault ; but their highly cultivated
ground refuses to grow nothing, even
though through economy they may plant
one crop of Lettuce, Cauliflower, or
French Beans, on the ground where

FORCING D

Pines. — Early autumn potted suckers
that are well rooted, and wintering in
dry light pits or houses, with bottom-
heat supplied by hot-water pipes, will
require to be carefully examined at
intervals, and watered before they be-
come "dusty" dry. Although it is
undesirable to excite these to much
prowth at present, yet if allowed to
become too dry and stunted, there is

a crop of the same kind was just
cleared off. They are not like growers
who have to wait till the crop is taken
off in small quantities, and a great
many successions are necessary to give
supplies as they are wanted in private
establishments. Market-gardening is
more allied to farming than kitchen-
gardening in private e3tablit«hments.
Asparagus ground may now be i^re-
pared; deep sandy loam, well manured,
and a well-drained position, suit this
vegetable. In heavy wet soil good
heads are produced, but often in it
(through the crowns not ripening in
autumn) the roots die off. Endive,
Lettuce, and Broccoli, not protected,
will be in danger of frost. If taken
into sheds, cellars, or anywhere, they
will keep for some time, and be of
great value for some time to come.
Turf-pits, or pits sunk in the ground
with wooden covers, are of much value
at this season, and can be easily made
by any handy labourer. If weather
should stop operations in the ground,
roots should be looked over, large
labels made for crops in the vegetable
garden, pea-stakes may be made and
packed flatly and closely together,
manure and soils turned over, gravel
sifted and prepared for walks, seeds
cleaned when worth the labour (and
as it is so difficult to get some things
true, it is in such cases worth while
savingsomeof them). Everything ought
to be done to keep labour forward in
spring. Successions of Rhubarb, Sea-
kale, and Chicory should be taken in
as formerly advised. Sowings of small
Salad may now be kept up where there
is heat of any kind ; fresh air, however,
is necessary to give it flavour. Sea-
Kale, Rhubarb, and anything in the
groimd to be lifted, should be protected
with ashes or litter. Where leaves,
manure, or other material is used for
heat, look well after it in changeable
weather.

M. T.

EPAETMENT.

more likelihood of a good many of them
starting prematurely into growth in
spring ; and this must be guax'ded
against by watering those that require
it at intervals. This applies most
forcibly to a time of cold weather, when
more firing is required to keep up the
proper temperature, which should now be
at its minimum, the days being generally
sunless and short. AVe have wintered

57G

THE GARDENER.

[Dec.

stock now being treated off with the
best results at a temperature not ex-
ceeding 55° for at least six weeks at
the dullest part of the year. If these
are becoming crowded, it is much better
to sacrifice a few plants in order to
make room for the rest, than to let
them stand too thickly. At this season,
when autumn fruit has been mostly
cut, more room can generally be given
to young stock. Where early Pines are
an object, a number of the earliest and
most likely to start should now be
subjected to a temperature of 70° at
night, with S° or 10° more when there
is a blink of sun by day, the bottom-
heat to be kept ranging from 85^ to 90°.
If these have been wintered so far, as
directed in former Calendars, they will
be dry at the root, and require to be
watered, after being a few days in the
temperature named. Keep the atmos-
phere generally moist, but not to such
an extent as will cause condensed
moisture — if the roof be flat — to fall
into the centre of the plants. The
remainder of the next season's fruiting-
plants may still be kept rather dry, and
at a temperature ranging from 55° to
60° for the present. Continue to sup-
ply to those swelling their fruit a rather
moist atmosphere, a temperature of
70° in the air and 85° at the root.
Examine the individual plants weekly,
and water those that require it, so as
to keep the soil in a moderately moist
condition. Suckers on stools from
which the fruit have recently been cut
should now be potted, and if plunged
in a brisk bottom-heat and temperature
of 65°, in a light pit, they will soon
root, and make fine plants for shifting
as a succession to those potted six or
seven weeks ago. If these are strong,
and potted now into 6 and 7 inch well-
drained pots, according to their size,
using turfy soil, they will grow in these
till Ma}^ and can then be shifted at
once into their fruiting-pots. Where
there are what we shall term half-sized
plants — that is, plants in 8-inch pots —
well rooted, we would have no hesita-
tion in shifting them after the middle
of the month into 11 -inch pots ; push
them on, plunged thinly in a light place,
with the view of fruiting them in
autumn of 1872.

Grapes. — Continue to keep a strict
watch on all Grapes that are still hang-
ing, as directed last month. Where it
become? a necessity to introduce plants
requiring water into vineries where the

fruit still hangs, it will be best to cut
the fruit with a portion of the wood at-
tached, and put them in bottles of
water in a dry room, where the temper-
ature can y)e kept steadily about 40°,
after which the Vines can be pruned
and dressed as recommended in former
Calendars, the house cleansed, or, if re-
quii-ed, painted ; the border top-dressed,
and then lilled with plants that do not
require a temperature above 40°. As
soon as the early-started Vines fairly
bui-tit their buds, raise the temperature
' a few degrees, and when the young
growths are half an inch long raise the
night temperature to 60°, and that of
the day to 65° in mild weather. Pot-
Vines that are required very early may
have a degree or two more, but it is far
safest not to force too huniedly, while
the days are so short, cold, and dull ;
but to get well under weigh, and be
ready for more rapid work when there
are longer days and more heat from the
sun. High night temperatures are not
desirable, and where hard forcing has to
be done, it should be done chiefly with
day, and if possible sun, light. A great
many vineries are started this month,
and instead of repeating last month's
directions in reference to starting them,
we refer our readers to them. Prune,
and otherwise get ready for starting
succession-houses. Now is a favourable
time for making preparations for plant-
ing young Vines in spring, where such
is Contemplated. The chief source of
success undoubtedly is, a good border
on a good site. Perfect di'ainage is of
great importance, and it should be so
perfect that stagnant water, or water
from adjoining ground or streams or
ponds, will be an impossibility. In wet
localities we w^ould recommend a third
of the border to be above the ground-
level, if the soil is naturally heavy and
damp. We do not, however, approve
of shallow borders, and would not make
a Vine-border less than 3 feet at the
front of the vinery, sloi^ing to 2^ feet,
or 2 feet 9 inches, at the extremity of
the border. As to soils, we have come
to the conclusion that mixtures of such
as loam and ordinary yard-manure or
leaf-mould are an evil in the case of
many plants besides the Vine. For
Vines, however, we would recommend
a sound loam, with some crushed bones,
and, it may be, horn shavings ; and
all other stimulating material to be
afterwards applied in the shape of top-
dregsings. ^

iSyi.]

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

577

Peaches. — The early house prepared
as directed last month may now have
fire-heat regularly applied, keeping the
temperature about 50° in mild weather,
and a few degrees lower when cold.
Proceed with caution for the first few
weeks. Sj'ringe the trees morning and
afternoon with tepid water, give a little
air early every fine day, and husband
every gleam of sun-heat that can be had.
Prune and tie succession - houses.
Where planting young trees is con-
templated, now is a good time to make
ready. The drainage should be thorough
and the loam rather strong than other-
wise, and it is most undesirable to use
much if any strong manure in making
the border. It will tend to produce
rampant unfruitful wood. Future top-
dressings can be applied at the time
when stimulants are required, and such
have a tendency to induce the roots to
work near the surface.

Figs. — Where early Figs are requir-
ed, a place should be got in readiness,
where those in pots can be started after
the middle of the month. Bottom-
heat is of great advantage thus early :
it obviates the necessity of much arti-
ficial heat for a while at first if a bed
of Oak leaves can be made up, in which
the pots can be plunged in a bottom-
heat of about 80°, with a night temper-
ature of 50° to begin with. They not
only break more freely and strongly
into growth, but young fruit formed in
autumn are not so likely to drop off as
when forcing is commenced without

bottom-heat. Syringe the plants on
fine days, and just give fire-heat enough
till they break to keep the tempera-
ture at 50° ; and when water at the
roots is required, let it be given at a
temperature of 80°. If the plants have
been grown several years in the-same
pot, top-dress them with something
rich, and water with guano or sheep-
dung water.

Cucumbers. — See last month's
Calendar, and avoid hard forcing in
very cold sunless weather, or the leaves
will become thin, and the whole jDlants
weakened. When the weather is se-
vere, it is very desirable to cover the
surface of the glass, and fire more
moderately.

Strawberries in Pots. — Put a
quantity of these into heat, according
to the number of plaints and available
room. The early Peach-house, or a
shelf near the glass, is a good place to
start them, as they do not do well with
much heat thus early. If they can be
set on a fermenting bed of leaves in a
pit near the glass, it will be a great
advantage to them. The mild bottom-
heat will start them more kindly.
Before putting them in heat, remove
all decayed leaves, turn every plant
out of its pot to see that the drainage
is not deranged, and water them with
clear lime-water to kill all worms,
which, if not got rid of, will begin their
injurious work immediately they are
put into heat.

'^ioiut^ to €oxxcB:^oix^tni^,

All business commimications should be addressed to the Publishers, and com-
munications for insertion in the 'Gardener' to David Thomson, Drumlanrig
Gardens, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. It will further oblige if all matter intended
for publication, and questions to be replied to, be forwarded by the middle of the
month, and written on one side of the paper only. It is also requested that
writers forward their name and address, not for publication, unless they wish ir,
but for the sake of that mutual confidence which should exist between the Editor
and those who address him. We decline noticing any communication which is
not accompanied with name and address of writer.

We very much regret having, from want of space, to postpone several papers,
for which we thank our correspondents, as well as for the hearty support they
have afforded us throughout the year.

We have received a long and interesting letter from Mr John Duncan (whose
paper on American Wild-Flowers we publish this month) on America as a field
for young gardeners, a portion of which we will publish next month ; and we are
certain it cannot fail to be interesting to those whom it concerns.

578 THE GARDENER. [Dec. 187 i.

Strawberry Cultivation.

Sir, — Eegarding your note appended to my paper in last month's 'Gardener'
upon the subject of Strawberry cultivation, I beg to say that what I wrote is exactly
what I was Jed to believe, by a conversation I had some time ago with the grower,
to be correct. I may say, however, that I did not inform him of my intention of
publishing the information, and that therefore he might not be particular to a
nicety regarding the figures. I have, however, seen the grower regarding the
matter, and I find that the figures I gave were all correct regarding the money
drawn and the quantity of ground occupied, but that I had either misunderstood
him or he had made a mistake in telling me, as the quantity pulled was consider-
ably lets than a ton. However, the other figures tend to prove that the crop
produced at the rate of £300 per Scotch acre, as stated in my article.

James M'Millan.

An Old Subscriber. — As your locality is unfavourable for keeping Grapes,
we cannot, as we otherwise would, recommend you to plant Black Hamburg, which
is available for December. The same applies to Mu?>cat Hamburg. These two
are the best black Grapes available for the season you name. But under your cir-
cumstances we recommend you to plant for black equal proportions of Alicante
and Black Lady Downes. As a white Grape, you cannot plant any Grape to
equal the Muscat of Alexandria. But if you think that under the circumstances
you would not be able to keep it, then plant equal proportions of Raisin de
Calabria, Trebbiana, and White Lady Downes, putting the Muscat, if you plant
it, and Trebbiana, at the hot end of your house.

H. A. Stanhope. — Cut your Vines down to the bottom of the rafters, or to
the strong buds to which you refer. I agree with you that the thrashing theory
is an absurdity.

Robert Dickie. — We presume you are referring to M'Intosh's ' Book of the
Garden.' It was published in 1855 by Messrs Blackwood.

Wm. Kater. — We cannot but concur with the spirit of your veiy humorous
remarks, but are sure that you must agree with us in thinking that to publish
more on the subject at present would not be in any way for the interests of
gardening or gardeners.

An old Gardener. — We have other communications besides yours on young
gardeners and overtime, but do not see what good can come of our publishing
more on the subject just now. We think the practice is dying out, and whoever
expects gardeners to work overtime without being properly paid for it, must be
regarded as nothing short of unkind and unjust to a class of men already in re-
ceipt of too low wages compared with other skilled workmen.

Francis Booth. — Do not let the Daisies flower and seed, and weed them out
and fill up the places with fine soil, and sow the lawn with lawn seeds, which any
respectable seedsman can supply. There is no other way of getting rid of them.
Some soils are more favourable to them than others.

J. B. Lawton, — Two parts rather heavy loamy soil, and one part well-decom-
posed cow-manure, will grow your Pansies well. It should be two feet deep.
Soil that has been twenty years in the bottom of a wood heap cannot be of
much use for plant-growing.

J. Watson. — We do not know the history of Prince Albert Pine- Apple. Per-
haps some of our readers can supply the information. It is a very handsome
and excellent winter Pine.

T. D. F. — Duly received, and will be published when space permits.

Errata. — In "Notes of Gardens in Fife," page 520, line 6, for "Mr Hignett's,"
read "Mr Hind's." — In "Seedling Pine-Apple," page 527, line 8 from foot, /or
"moderate-sized fruit," i^cad "moderate-sized crown."

INDEX.

Acorus, culture of, 281.

iEchmea fulgens, for table decoration,
220.

Allaraandas, cultural hints on, 502, 524.

Almond, the, its cultivation, 223.

Amaryllis, culture of, 222.

Amateurs, Hints for, 30, 76, 112, 158,
214, 260, 302, 358, 396, 447, 499,550.

American or Peat-Soil Shrubs, notes on,
251 — Azalea, ib. — Andromeda, 298 —
Kaloiia, 346 — Erica, 394 — Menziezia,
395— Rhodora, tJ.— Ledum, 444—
Gaultheria, 445 — Pernettya, 446 —
Polygala, 494 — Epigiea, ib. — Arcto-
staphylos, 495 — Bryanthus, ib. — Cle-
thra, 496 — Vaccinium, 540 — Empe-
Irum, 542 — Myrica, ib. — Comptonia,
543 — Daphne, lb.

American wild-flowers, the gayest of,
267, 564.

Andromeda, culture of, 298.

Anthurium and Allamauda, culture of,
524.

Aralia Veitchii, 402.

Arctostapbylos, culture of, 495.

Ardisia crenulata, culture of, 555.

Areca YerschafFeltii, 156.

Arum, culture of, 281.

Aucuba, culture of, 510.

Australian Pea, the, 479.

Autumn and Winter flowering Plants,
notes on, 161, 222, 262, 310, 354,
406, 452, 509, 555.

Azaleas, hardy, their culture, 251.

Badger's ' Cottage Gardening, ' review of,
190.

Balfour House gardens, the, 424.

Balm, culture of, 255.

Balsam-growing, a word on, 327.

Basil, culture of, 254.

Bedding-plants, notes on a few extra-
fine, 83.

Begonia Chelsonii, 562.

Begonias, Winter-flowering, 355.

Black Currants, the cultivation of, 371.

Borage, culture of, 255.

Borders for wall-trees on bad subsoils,

making, 27.
Broccoli, a few words on, 280.
Bi-yanthus, culture of, 495.
Burnet, culture of, 255.
Caladium argyrites, 461.
Calanthe, cultivation of, 63.
Calceolaria, the herbaceous, 567.
Calceolaria Golden Prince of Orange, 184.
Calceolaria plantaginea, 358.
Calendai', Kitchen-Garden, 46, 91, 142,

190, 242, 290,338, 385, 434, 487, 532,

574 — Forcing Department, 47, 92,

144, 191, 243, 291, 340, 385, 435, 487,

533, 575.
Calif ornian annuals, autumn— sowing of,

419.
Calla, culture of, 282.
Canker in Apple-trees, cure for, 325.
Cannell's boiler, 372.
Carnations, 408.
Castle Kennedy Fig, the, 451.
Chamomile, culture of, 256.
Chestnut, cultivation of the, 279.
Chinese Primula, the, 163.
Chrysanthemum, the, 35, 79, 134, 282,

310, 366.
Cineraria, 312 — its culture from offsets,

275 — culture from seed, 314.
Cinerarias, a few words about, 217 —

how I grow my, 51 S.
Clethra, culture of, 496.
Coleus, for table decoration, 460.
Comptonia, culture of, 543.
Correspondents, notices to, 49, 96, 147,

194, 245, 293, 342, 387, 437, 489, 535,

577.
Crops, rotation of, in the kitchen-gar-
den, 496.
Croton Johannis, 470 — multicolor, 403.
Crotons for table decoration, 460.
Currants, the cultivation of, 368.
Cyclamen, the, 505.
Cypripedium concolor, 321 — Domin-

ianum, 226.
Cypripediums^ notes on, 204.

580

THE GARDENER.

[Dec.

Daphne, culture of, 543.

December, flowering plants for, 5^5.

Decoration, table and room, and plants
for it, 101).

Delphinium nudicaule, 357.

DietFenbachia Bausei, 563.

Dielvtra chrysantha, 357 — spectabilis,
407.

Dinner-table plants, Palms, 156.

Doemonorops melanochfetes, 157.

Drainage of pots, the, 417.

Dunnikier, the gardens at, 521.

Dysart House gardens, 474.

Echeveria metallica, propagation of, by
cuttings, 465.

Elm grafted on the Hornbeam, the, 433.

Empetrum, culture of, 542.

Epigrea, culture of, 494.

Epiphyllums, notes on, 354.

Erica, culture of, 394.

Eucharis amazonica, 406.

Euphorbia Esula, 474.

Evergreen or Shrub gardens, a plea for,
149.

Fennel, culture of, 214.

Fife gardens, notes on, 423, 474, 519.

Fig, cultivation of the, 9, 72.

Figs, 120.

Filbert, cultivation of the, 277.

Flower -gardening, random notes on,
514.

Flowering plants for December, 545.

Foster's White Seedling Grape, 413.

Frost, protecting fruit-trees from, 307.

Fruit-trees, the fates of, 17 — the prun-
ing of, 117 — protection of, from late
frost, 307 — protecting the blossoms
of, 504 — old, transplanting, 548.

Garden refuse, disposing of, 553.

Garden walls, on wiring, 561.

Garden superintendence, 23.

Gardens, the water supply of, 197 —
adaptation and keep of, 491.

Gaultheria, culture of, 445.

Gentians, culture of, 38.

(iesneras, 453.

Gladiolus, the, 42.

Gloriosa superba, 28.

Gloxinias, 399.

Golden Champion Grape, 412.

Gooseberry, cultivation of the, 317.

Grafting, on, 78, 138, 183, 324.

Grape-growiug, extremes in, 537.

Grapes, 295 — at Pitcairlie, 274 — keep-
ing, and state of Vine-roots, 172 —
keeping, throughout the winter, 182
— large bunches of, 265, 312 — notes
on recently -introduced, 411 — at the
R. H. S., 526— setting, 316, 348, 368
— and Peaches, setting of, 152.

Hardy fruits, the cultivation of : the
Fig, 9, 72— the Mulberry, 124— the

Quince, 173— the Medlar, 174— the
Almond, 223 — the Walnut, 225—
Xuts, 277 — the Gooseberry, 317 —
Currants, 368 — Raspberries, 414 — the
Strawberry, 466, 506 — on nailing,
557.

Hardy herbaceous plants, notes on :
Gentianacete, 37 — Gentians, 38 — Lira-
nanthemum, 40 — ^Meuyanthes, 41 —
Spigelia, ib. — the Lily, 131— Aroiderc,
280 — new and rare, Delphinium nudi-
caule, 357 — Dielytra chrysantha, ib.
— Calceolaria plantaginea, 358 — Orchis
maculata superba, ib.

Hardy and half-hardy plants for table
decoration: Lily of the Valley, 511
— Hoteia japonica, 513.

Heating and Ventilating, 247— and Cab-
bage culture, 374.

Heaths, notes on, 355.

Heliotrope, the, 162.

Herb -border, the, 166— Mint, 167 —
Sage, ib. — Tarragon, 168 — Thyme,
212— Savory, 213— Marjoram, ib.—
Fennel, 214— Basil, 254 — Borage, 255
— Burnet, ib. — Marigold, ib. — Balm,
ib. — Hyssop, i5— Chamomile, 256 —
Rue, 306 — Wormwood, ib. — South-
ernwood, ib. — Horehound, ib. — Lav-
ender, 307 — Eosemary, ib.

Hibbert's 'Garden Oracle' reviewed,
137.

Hogg's 'Gardener's Year-Book' review-
ed, 137.

Hollyhocks, a few words about, 130.

Horehound, culture of, 306.

Horticultural breakers, 256.

Horticultural Exhibitions, reports of, 44,
89, 139, 185, 231, 285, 333, 376, 427,
479, 530, 571.

Horticulture, the science and practice of,
389.

Hoteia japonica, 311, 513.

Hunter, Mr W., death of, 383.

Hyacinths, culture of, 263.

Hyssop, culture of, 255.

Ipomoea Horsfallias, 81.

Kalmia, culture of, 346 — latifolia, 409.

Kitchen-Garden, the : No. X., Senkale,
20 — No. XL, Spinach, 352— Rotation
of crops in, 496.

Laurestinus, the, 163.

Lavender, culture of, 307.

Ledum, culture of, 444.

Limnanthemum nymphseoides, 40.

Lily, cultivation of the, 131.

Lily of the Valley, culture of, 222, 511.

London International Exhibition, the,
138— Water- Cresses, 229.

M'Lachlan's new Verge-cutter, 528.

Madresfield Court Black Muscat Grape,
411.

iSyi.]

INDEX.

581

Marigold, culture of, 255.

Marjoram, culture of, 213.

IMedlar, cultivation of the, 174.

Melons, several crops of, 301.

Menyanthes trifoliata, 41.

Meuziezia, culture of, 395.

Metropolitan Floral Society, the, 90,
127.

Mignonette, Standard trained, 210 — cul-
ture of, 262.

Mint, culture of, 167.

Mrs Pince's Black Muscat Grape, 411.

Mulberry, cultivation of the, 124.

Muscat Champion Grape, 412.

Mushroom-growing, 129 — remarks on
its cultivation, 130.

Myrica, culture of, 542.

Narcissus, culture of, 263.

Nepenthes Sedeni, 471.

Nevrman's 'British Butterflies' reviewed,
284.

On the Road, 455, 569.

Orchis maculata superba, 358.

Palms as dinner- table plants, 156.

Passiflora quadrangularis, 71, 166, 228,
320.

Peach-tree training, on, 85.

Peach-trees, on the extension system,
321 — on the extension or spur system,
477.

Peas, our crop of, during the past sea-
son, 552.

Pelargoniums, Tricolor and Bronze, cul-
tural notes on, 87 — double and zonal,
452.

Pernettya, culture of, 446.

Phlox, the, 66.

Picturesque beds, 99.

Pine-Apple, seedling, 527.

Pine- Apples, seedling, 65.

Pine- Apple plants, fruiting young, 392.

Pitcairlie, Grapes at, 274.

Plants suitable for table decoration.
See Table.

Plants, hardy and half-hardy, for table
decoration, 472 — Sedum fabaria, 473
— Euphorbia Esula, 474.

Planting season, the, 175.

Pleasure-grounds, 441.

Plumbago capensis culture, 523.

Poinsettia pulcherrima, 109.

Polygala, culture of, 494.

Pots, the drainage of, 417.

Potato, jottings on the, 95.

Potatoes, cooking, 561.

Primulas, hardy, their treatment for in-
door decoration, 180.

Pruning, 462 — of fruit-trees, the, 117.

Quince, cultivation of the, 173.

Raith, the gardens at, 520.

Ranunculuses, 326.

Raspberries, cultivation of, 414.

Red Currants, the cultivation of, 368.
Rhododendrons, notes on, 6, 59, 103,

164, 200.
Rhodora, culture of, 395.
Robinson's 'Wild Garden,' review of, 189

— 'Subtropical Gardening' reviewed,

332 — 'Hardy Flowers' reviewed, 529.
Rose, culture of, for autumn and winter,

556.
Rosemary, culture of, 307.
Roses and Mildew, 426.
Rue, culture of, 306.
St Brycedale, the gardens at, 519.
Sage, culture of, 167.
Sang, Messrs, the nurseries of, 476.
Savory, culture of, 213.
Science and Practice of Horticulture,

the, 389.
Schizostylis coccinea, 161.
Seakale, the culture of, 20.
Sedum fabaria, 473.
Sempervivum urbicum and canariense,

264.
Shelter, 404.
Shrub or Evergreen gardens, a plea for,

149.
Skimmia, culture of, 511.
Soil-supply of garderjs, the, 343.
Solanum, culture of, 509.
Southernwood, culture of, 306.
Spigelia marylandica, 41.
Spiuach, the culture of, 352.
Stephanotis floribunda, 273, 324.
Stoking and ventilating, 361.
Strawberries, 468.
Strawberry, cultivation of the, 466, 506

—forcing, 107, 154, 208, 228, 258,

323.
Succulents, 118.
Succulent and curious-looking plants,

beds of, with illustrations, 51 — for

bedding, notes on, 409.
Sutherland's ' Hardy Herbaceous Plants,'

review of, 230.
Table decoration, plants suitable for, 13,

460 — Qilchmea fulgens, 220 — Dracsena

Cooperii, 14 — D. rubra, 15.
Table and room decoration, 109.
Tarragon, culture of, 168.
Temperature, low, in March, 189.
Thomson, ]\Ir, dinner and presentation

to, 329—' On the Vine,' review of, 433.
Thyme, culture of, 212.
Todea superba, cultural hints on, 350.
Transplanting old fruit-trees, 548.
Tricolor and Bronze Pelargoniums, cul-
tural notes on, 87.
Tulips, culture of, 263.
Vaccinium, culture of, 540.
Vegetables, special pi'izes for, 136.
Veitch, Messrs, plants suitable for win-
ter decoration at, 122.

582

THE GARDENER.

[Dec. 1871.

Verge-cuttor, new, 528.

Veronica, Imperial Dark Blue, 408.

Victoria Nectarine, the, 446,

Vine- borders, 208.

Vine-roots, state of the, 172.

Vines and Vine-borders, 3, 62, 115 —
propagatinjr, from eyes, 170 — in pots,
fruitinsr, 3G5, 454 — in Italy, depth of
soil, 464 — early pruning: of, 513 —
large houses, &c., for, 527.

Wall-trees on bad subsoils, making bor-
ders for, 27.

"Walnut, its cultivation, 225.

Water-Cresses, London, 229.

Water-supply of gardens, the, 197.

Watering, notes on, 270.

Weather, 1870, reports on the, 96, 141
—1871, 240, 290, 332, S84, 574.

Weather-wise, 68.

Wemyss Castle gardens, 425.

West Meadows, Edinburgh, the, 177.

Williams' 'Orchid Grower's Manual' re-
viewed, 284.

Winter decoration, plants at Messrs
Veitch's suitable for, 122.

Wiring walls for fruit-trees, 528, 561.

Wormwood, culture of, 306,

Young Gardeners, 375, 478 — and over-
time, 525,

New York Botanical Ga/mtm iVi'i H^f i

3 5185 00253 5308