UMASS/AMHEH&I 312066 0333 3015 5 LIBRARY MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE No..ka5i3-_-DATE.4.-:iS&| souRCE,liatcK_..V.und. 5r V' \^16 JvAj-i^^M- r^ O U I S VAN H O TJ T X E . avmaianr, jvlt IS, 1876,] ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY JOUMAL HORTICULTURE IN ALL ITS BRANCHES. FOUNDED BY WILLIAM EOBINSON, F.L.S., Author of ''Aipiira Plowsks," &c. THIS IS AN AET WHICH DOES MEND NATURE ; CHANGE IT RATHER : BUT THE ART ITSELF IS NATURE.— Shakespeare. VOL. IX. LONDON: OFFICE: 37, SOUTHAMPTON STREET, COVENT GAEDEN, W. C. m;idstjm[m;er, xstg. I SCTPtEMTWT, jrLT 15, 1&7*J. C_ 1876 «1 TO THE MEMORY OF LOUIS VAN HOUTTE, NuiFeryman, of Gbent, Belgium ; Founder of the " Flore des Serres " ; skilful cultivator and enthusiastic lover of Plants , THIS NINTH VOLUME OF "THE GARDEN" IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. W. R. BtfPFLIHBVT, JULY 16, 187*.] THE GARDEN INDEX. I INDEX TO VOLUME IX. Abies, Albertiana, 72 ; Alcockiana, 36i ; Bngelmanni, or commutata, -462, 483 ; excelsa aiirea, 76 ; nigra, 480 ; pecti- nata, 123 ; various kinds of, 318 Abutilon Darwini tesselatum, 277, 334 ; variegated, 616 Acacias, new false, 36 ; shedding their buds, 172 Achania Malvaviscus, 254 Achimenes, 208, 271, 345, 478, 698 Acidanthera bicolor, 166 Acorns, sweet, 342 Acre, measurements of an, 256 Adiantum digitatum, 324, 348 ; gracilU- mum, 376 ; monogi-aph of, 4 ; Ludde- mannianum, 324 ; Williamsi, 531 Adonis vernalis, 499 ^chmea, culture of the, 61 ; Weilbachia Lamprocerus, 32 jBschynanthuses, culture c£, 434 ^thionema grandiflorum, 108, 141 ; species of, 109 Aerides Mendeli, 483 Agapanthus umbellatus, 311 Agave, notes on, 376 ; utahensis, 242 Agricultural Holdings Act, the, 119 Agrostis pulchella, 640 AiJantus, the, 342 Ainsliffla Walkeri, 464 Air in forcing houses, 148 ; testing, 671 Albert Memorial in Hyde Park, 462 Alexandra Palace Show. 464 Algeria, Eucalyptus globulus in, 190 Allamandaa, 65, 249 Allium anceps, 464 Almonds, Jordan, 412 ; some varieties of, 383 ; the Earth, 243 Alocasias, 574 Aloe, the Pearly, 629 ; the Utah, 459 Alonsoa acutifoUa, 351 Alpine flowers, 3; garden, 99; plants, distribution of, 137 ; propagating. 287 Alternanthera, autumn-struck cuttings, best, 176; propagating, 272: winter- ing, 160, 223 Amarantus, Globe, 367, 477 AmarylUds, culture of, 4J7, 693 American blight, 485 American Centennial Exhibition, 560 Amherstia nobilis in India, 209 Anaectochilus, 193 ; Dawsoni, 210 AnEestia grandiflora, 356 Ananassa sativa variegata, 410 Anemone fulgens, 79, 606 ; hardiness of, 440; in the Holy Land, 137 ; palmata, 499 ; Pulsatilla in bloom, 335 Anemones at Tring, 406 ; Star and Com- mon, 196 Angola, vegetation in, 176 " Angola and the River Congo," 176 Angrfflcum ebumeum, 61 Annuals, 65, 66 ; greenhouse, 66 Anthericum Liliastrum, 12, 691 Anthurium, 339, 574 ; Saundersii, 361 Antigonon leptopus, 256 Antirrhinums from seed. 149 Ants and chalk, 479; in flower-beds, how to destroy, 407 Aphelandras, culture of, 223 Aphis, woolly, the, 486 Aphides and Tomato leaves, 292 Aplopappas spinulosus, 79 Aponogeton distachyon, how to plant, 230 ; indoors, 283 ; out-of-doors, 260 Apple and Rhubarb tarts, 463 Apple, Ben Davis, 30; Brazier's Fame, Oox s Orange Pippin, 113, 328, 600 ; ?X?^''?,T''"°° "f> 3''6 ; long keeping, 400; D'Arcy Spice Pippin, 222 263- Duchess of Oldenburgh, 422 • Gloria JJ^aij 162; Luoombe's Seedling, 148 ; Newtown Pippins, 16, 113, 192 ; nomenclature, 675; Northern Spy 72, 76; orchards, 14; Paul's Im- perial Crab, 92; Paul's Improved Crab, 383; Queen, 27; Reinette du Canada, 128 ; Ribston Pippin in Nova Scotia, 600; Ross's Nonpareil, 76 Russian and cold, 650 ; Curl-tail Pip- pin, 403 ; Golden Noble. 64 ; Scarlet Nonpareil in June, 663 ; Tom Put. 24 27, 60, 76 ; Wellington, 128 ; Wheeler's Russet. 92 ; White Calville 371 Apple-barrel header, 484 Apple Slocks, 266; Pears on, 361. 383, 404 ; trees, renovating old, 162, 196 Apples, Dead Sea, 195 ; dwarf, 203 ; hardy, 383 ; keeping, selecting, 162 ; new race of desirable, 4 ; picking; over, 248, 361 ; premrying the flavour of, 128; prices of, 62; Ribston Pippin in Constantinople, 383 ; want of good dessert, 443 ; and Siberian Crabs, hy- brids between, 444 Apricots, 64; as standards, 533; blos- soms, spring protection of, 300 Apricot trees, spring protection of, 400 April, floral decorations for, 338 ; gar- den vegetation during, 476 Aquarium, floating garden in an, 310; flower show at Westminster, 4, 372 Aquilegia ccerulea, 460; chrysantha, 640 ; varieties of, 384 ; hybrid, 663 Aquilegias as biennials, 423 Aralia elegantissima, 487, 606 ; quinque- folia as a hardy shrub, 28 ; specta- bilis,6n6; splendidissima,606 ; Veitchi gracillima. 487, 488, 511 Araucaria Goldieana, 487 ; imbricata, 131 ; in Ireland, 492 ; in the Isle of Wight, 665; the great, at Dropmore, 84 Arbour Day, 419 Arbor-vitas edgings, dwarf, 433 Arbutus, the, in Greece, 179 Ardisia crenulata, 410 ArisEema praecox, 293 Aristolochias, 100 Aroid, a graceful, 293 Arran, Tree Perns, hardy in, 543 Artichokes. Globe, 48 ; in succession, 307 ; spring-planted, 333 ; Jerusalem, history of the, 189 Artocarpus Cannoni. 606 Arum, White, 612 ; the hardy, 137, 172 Arundo conspicua, 137, 639 Asarum canadense as an aromatic, 544 Asclepias curaparica, 210 Ashes, wood, 28 Ashes in the Garden, 190 Asimina hiloba, 663 ; in England, 570 Asperula odorata, 287 Asphalte V, wood-pavement, 370 Asparagus beds in winter, 11 ; bunch- ing, 261; French bunching, 580; Conover's Colossal, 418, 429, 439, 468; culture in India, 168 ; dearness of, 376; different kinds of, 307 ; French, in London narkets. 468 ; forcing. Russian mode of, 95 ; forcing, new method of. 163, 581 ; forcing in open-air beds, 330 ; for table decora- tion, 116 ; in trenches, 213 ; large, 557 ; planting, 235 ; ridge-and-furrow growth of, 124; Rose Hative, 540; without digging or forking, 418. Ataccia cristata, 231 Atoms. 9 Aucubas, as house plants, 343 ; pollen of, 390; fertilization of. 318. 348; berried, 28, 68, 117, 131, 147, 143, 179, 230 ; in London gardens, 364 ; graft- ing, 124 ; orange-berried, 123 ; scarlet- berried, 123 Australia, vegetation in, 412 Auricula, Alexander Meiklejohn, 396; Bessie Ray, 396; Charles Lidguard, 440, 464 ; double yellow, 388 ; Gertrude Knight, 440 ; History of the, 63 ; Mrs. Purvis, 419 ; Slough Rival, 396 ; Topsy, 376 ; William Bragg, 413, 464 ; at London shows, 352 ; Alpine, 378 ; Alpine seedling, 407 ; from seed, 149 ; select, 372 Azalea, Duke of Edinburgh, 440 ; Flam- beau, 487; var. Diplomatist, 464; indica imbricata, 638. 608 ; Jean Vervaene,497,488; Apollo, 464; mollis, from seed, 448 ; culture of. 265, 290, 603, 658, 697 ; at Brussels, 440 ; Ghent, in bloom, 663 ; new selections of, 695 B. Balsams, 67, 477, 478 Bamboos, hardy, in the wild garden, 671 ; various kinds of, 321 ; Metake, the hardiest, 364 Bank, a wild, in Devon, 51 Baobab, the, 119 ; in Angola, 177 Barbarea vulgaris, fl. pL, 691 Basket plants. Pelargoniums, as, 6 hanging, Nemophila insignis for, 272 Bay. the, in Greece, 179 Bayham Abbey Gardens, Kent, 128 Bean, dwarf, French, Pooley's Prolific, 70 ; French, Carter's White Advancer, 608 ; broad, culture of, 249 ; sowing, 36 ; haricot, 614 ; kidney, early sum- mer, 688 ; scarlet runner, in trenches, 355 ; preserving for winter use, 356 ; tropical varieties of, 277 Beauty, the influence of, 635 Bedding Calceolarias out-of-doors in winter, 48 ; plants, preparing, 217 ; spring, propagation of, 25, 64, 84 Beech, seedling, for hedges, 64 ; Copper at Clumber, 570 Beet, Dell's Black-leaved, 286 Beetroot, wintering, 47 Begonia, double tuberous-rooted, 99 ; propagation of, 401, 410 ; Frosbelii, 77, 99 ; Gloire de Nancy, 99 ; insignis for winter decoration, 35 ; Lemoinei, 99 ; octopetala Frcebeli, 304; salmonea, flore-pleno, 616 ; culture of, 653 ; grubs oa. 144 ; hybrid, in greenhouses, 163 Bellis rotundifolia ccerulescens, 9 Berberries,pinnate-leaved,17 ; sweet,612 Berries for birds, 600 Biennials, 66 Bignonias, 577 Bilbergias, culture of, 301 Bird Cherry, the, 266, 491 Birds in Regent's Park, 76 Birmingham, new park for, 584 Bitten, spring flowers at 164 Blackberries from root-cuLtings, 15 Blanching Celery, tan for, 46 Blandfordia flammea var. princeps, 118 Bloom, cut, Laurustinus for, 48 Blue Daisy, a, 9 Blue Grass a.ter locusts, 300 Bog Arum, the, 137 Bog Bean, the, 137 Boilers, incrustation of, 50 Boiler-water beneficial to plants, 283 ; for plants, 388. 403 BoUea Lalindei, 512 Bonnet flowers. Josh Billings on, 9 Borage in garden, 476 ; under glass, 512 Border, spring, a bright. 336 Borders, herbaceous, 208 ; digging, 321 ; spring treatment of, 288 ; value of, 145 ; mixed, 366 ; shrubbery bare, 409 Boronia elatior, 488 Bosnia, account of, 167 Botanic garden at Southport, 4O0 ; Chi- cago, 301 Botanical names for English readers, 346 ; tour in the Tyrol, 391 Botryanthus szovitzianus, 376 Bougainvilleas, 139, 409, 693 ; glabra, 533 ; spectabilis, 83 ; flowering, 116 ; in India, 93 Boulevard, a planted, for London, 376 Bouquets, fan-shaped, 76, 141 ; Lycopo- dium deuticulatum for, 283; pot, 233 ; royal, 236 Bouquet flowers, ILst of, 38 ; for Feb., 140 Boussingaultia baselloides, 123 Bouclieapseudogervao. 361 Bouvardias, 121, 633; hybridising, 168 Box in Washington's garden, 491 ; varieties of, 82 Box-edging, protecting corners of, 93 Boxes for cuttings, 48 ; for seed, 48 Brahea filamentosa. 321 Brambles, cultivated, 670 ; snowy-white flowered, 617; showy, 586 Breakdown, the South Kensington, 274 Briers, seedling, root-grafting, 406 ; Roses on the, 33 Broccoli, a good late. 453 ; Champion of England, 491 ; culture of, 235; from Enfield, weights of, 540 ; heeling-in, 69, 117, 121. 163, 138, 213, 236; how to cook, 23 ; late. 582 select, 439 ; Snow's, 47, 94, 117, 219 ; the best, 418, 557 ; variegated, 488 ; Walcheren, 47 ; win- ter varieties of, 47 ; Wood's selected White Cape, 468 Brodieea californica, 377 Brompton Stock, New Giant White, 636 Broom-fibre, 119 Browneas, at Glasnevm, 170 ; Cork, 48 Brugmansia, the, 244 ; sanguinea, 400 Brussels Exhibition , the, 360, 439 Brussels Sprouts, Welch's Giant, 117 Bryophyllum calycinum, 266, 363 Buckeye, the Californian, 371 Bulb beds carpeted with Saxifrages, 399 Bulbocodium vernum, 335 Buttercup, The Great Double, 643, 684, 686 Butterfly, the White Cabbage, 329 Butterwort, the White, 610 Cabbage, Cocoa-nut, 249 ; red, 249 Cabbage Sprouts, 304 Cacti at Baden-Baden, 218 ; gigantic, 679 Cactus familj', growth of, 683 Calabash tree, the, 124, 2(i9,235 Caladiums, 206, 314, 410, 673 ; Mme. de la D^ransaye, 610, 612 ; Mme. Herve, 613 Calathea leucostachys, 118 Calceolarias, 67, 367, 372 ; bedding out- of-doors in winter, 48 ; damping off. 696; dwarf herbaceous, 164; for seed growing, 398 ; from seed, 160 ; herba- ceous, 236, 529 ; winter treatment of, 10 ; tenella. 639 Calla ffithiopica, 264. 612 ; for Church decoration, 399 ; at home and in cul- tivation, 388 Calochortus, forcing, 83 ; successful cul- ture of, 530; venustus, 132; various spe- cies of, 132 ; citrinus, 165 ; glaucus, 71 Caltha leptosepala, 340 ; palustris mon- strosa, 476 Camassias in bloom, 616 ; alba, 590 Camellias, culture ol, 154, 264, 265, 279, 411, 517, 673, 697 ; cutting back, 116 ; dropping their buds, 310; out-of-doors, 396, 481 ; removing, 606 ; renovating unhealthy, 3; single white, 173,210; soil for, 530 ; Count Nesselrode, 300 ; hardiness of the, 311 ; Bacooi nova, 35 Camoensia maxima, 177 Campanula calycanthema, 438 ; persi- cifolia, 688 ; pulla. 488 ; pyramidalis, 438 ; pyramidaUs alba, 438 Campsidaum, 411 Candles, heating by, 396 Cannas,29; dark-leaved, 80 ; hUflora,167 Canterbury Bell as a pot plant, 683 Caoutchouc trees, cultivation of, 371 Caper plant, the, in flower, 32 Capparis spinosa in flower, 33 Capsicums, sweet, 99 Caraguata musaica, 126 Caraway, a new tuberous-rooted, 189 Carbo,ys into hand-lights, 515 Carbolic soap u. ants, 420 Cardamine pratensis, 488 Oardoon in the sub-tropical garden, 266 Carica candamarcensis. 166 Carludovica palmata. 423 Carnations from seed, 160 ; in window boxes, 74 ; new way of striking, 310; select, 176 Carnivorous plants, 73 Carrot, French Early Horn, 70; culture of, 548 ; French, in Covent Garden, 491 ; Horn, late sown, 163 Cassia corymbosa, 438 Castor-oil plant, the, as a tree, 460 Cauerpillars, Hawthorn, 130 Cathcart's. Lord, Potato competition, 41 Cattleya Blunti, 636 ; bulbosa, 75 CauUflowers from Paris gardens, 610; to cook, 23 ; Veitch's Autumn Giant, 249, 255 ; Snowball, 47 ; at Erfurt, 212 Cedars on Lebanon, 56,210 Cedar of Lebanon, a gigantic, 120 Cedars of Lebanon, 200 ; scarcity of, 28 Cedar, the Virginian, in winter, 200 Cedrela sinensis, 41 Celastrus scaudens, 165, 192. 256, 278 Celery, 234 ; Irenches for, 255, 307, 355, 637 ; au gratin, 120 ; boiled, 120 ; cul- ture of, 21, 366; common errors in, 235 ; hollow or spongy, remedy for, 331; Incomparable, 254; Red, 212; Williams' Matchless, 213; tan for blanching, 46; the virtues of, 582; trial of atOhiswick, 94; White. 213 Cellars, Mushroom culture in, 551 Celosias, 478, 574 ; in autumn, 257 Celosia pyramidalis, 80, 149; (var. Beid's Perfection) , 168 Cemeteries, flowers in. 254 Centaurea cyanus. 491 ; ragusma win- tering out-of-doors, 137 Centigrade and Fahrenheit, 375 Centranthus Lucianus. 340 Centra! Hort. Soc. of Prance, 216, 680 Ceratozamias, various, 308 Cercis canadensis. 492 Chalk and ants, 479 ; as fuel, 209 Chateau de Segrez, trees at, 665 Cherrj-, the bird. 266, 491 ; the winter, as a vegetable, 3)3; early. 639; forcinst, 63 ; select list of, 63 ; Weeping, 312 Chestnuts, Horse, select, 341 Chestnuts, some uses of, 120, 371 Chestnut tree, Longfellow's, 492 Chicago, South Park, 634 Chickweed. Golden, 236 Chicory v. Witloof, 333 China Grass, 518 Chinese Cherry, the Weeping, 342 ^ Chiswiek, bedding Pelangoninms tnea at, 458 ; Onions at, 20 ; trial of Fncn- sias at, 466 Chlidanthus fragrans, 396 Chlorogalum Lei»htUni 690 THE GARDEN INDEX. [aUPPLB^IBirT, JCTLT. 15, 1870. Chlorophyl, want of, in seedlings, 116 ; in variegated Beedlings. 160 ChoiBja temata, flowers of, a eubstitute for Orange blosBom, 342 Chorozemas, treatment of, 5'"2 Christmas Roses, 26, 163. 175, 2€0, 2SS ; large-floweied, 32; the Giant, 137 ; large, 165 ; new, 73 ; seeding of, 24, 67, 476, 518, 566 Clirysanthemums, 98, 224, 455; as bed- ding plants. 460; for conservatory decoration, 267; for exhibition, 267; from seed, 150, 210; Pompone, 267; pyramid, 268 ; selection of, 269 ; stand- ard, 268 ; summer, treatment of, 466 ; a late white, 33 ; virginale, 96 ; cut- tings, culture of, 319 Chufa. the 242, 278 Church decorations, 4, 39, 399 Churchyards, gardens in, 24,488, 643 Chysis, the genus, 592 Cinerarias, 67, 647 ; from seed, 150 ; her- baceous, 225 ; in bloom round Loudon. 304 ; in greenhouses, 153 ; new dwarf race of, 125 ; double King Alphonso, 512,488; Prince Imperial, 512 ; seeds, saving of, 448 Cinchona trees, cultivation of, 371 Cinnamomum sericeum, hardy, 28 CiBsus discolor, festooned, 353 CiBtems, cheap, 531 Citrus trifohata, stock for Oranges, 340 City of London Flower Show, 608 Clapham Common improvements, 99 Clarkia elegans flore-pleno, 80 Clematises for the wild garden, 643 ; new, 457 ; Messrs. Jackman's, 408 ; raising from seed, 27 ; Countess of Lovelace, 487 ; Devoniensis, 563 ; Duke of Connaught, 659 ; Enchan- tress, 659 ; indivisa lobata, 272 ; lanu- ginosa violacea, 488 ; Ligusticifolia, 341; montana, 666; President, 348; Princess of Wales, 487 ; Proteus, 44u ; Venus Victrix, 659 ; Vesta, 408 Clerodendron Balfourianum, 250 ; Kjempferi, from seed, 699 Clianthus, a new, 175 Climbers and shade, 673; British berry- bearing, 137; hardy, 148, 216; hardy evergreen ornamental, 467 ; on dead trees, 474,515; roof, 172 Cliveden, in 3876, 595 ncal, the formation of. 312 ^oca plant, the, 280, 300, 304, 415 (joelogyne cristata, 76, 170 Qoffee, making, 120 Qoffee plants, African species of, 456 Qockscombs, 67, 478, 574 cockroaches, cure for, 168 Qocoa-nut, the, in Florida, 223 Qocos Weddeli, 410 Columbus, the, 381; as biennials, 428 ; in Utah, 200 ; hybrid, 663 ; Rocky Moun- tain, 460 ; Yellow, 640 Colchicums, failui'e of, 136 Coisworts, winter, 22, 71 Cold, and Russian Apples, 650; in its relation to height, 549 Col^^^ifi. seed and the microscope, 208 Ccioi^red plates, preservation of, 112 Colours by gaslight, 53 Coltsfoot pushing through Asphalte, 399 Colleges, Horticultural, in U.S., 50 Commons, London, 684 Conifers, Rev. Mr. Fraser on, 93, finCi 600 ; hardy, in marshy districts, 328 ; hints on propagating, 57 ; pruning, 397 ; seeds in 1 lb., number of, 371 ; Belect, 414; the cause of stem-bleeding in, 665 ; variegated, 83 Conservatories, 61, 85, 138 ; creepers for, 311 ; lamps for warming, 331 ; rocky screens in, 6 ; winter in, lO Constantinople, fruit and vegetables in, 302 ; Ribston Pippins in, 383 Coppice-plant, the Redwood as a, 364 Coprosraa Beaureana variegata, 56 Coral plant, the herbaceous, 472 Cork as a tree-guard against game, 490 Cork, Browneas in, 48 Corridors, plants for, 38 Corsica. Daisies of, 260 ; plant collecting in, 193 ; vegetation of, 514 Cornel, dwarf Canadian, 259 Cornflower, the earliest, 491 Comus canadensis, 259 ; various, 342 Cornwall, fruit prospects in, 360 ; RhO' dodendron Dalhousi:^ in, 570 ; the late frost in, 48 Coronillas, culture of, 647 Corylus americana, 167 Cotton-wood tree, 178 Cotyledon teretifolia, 583 Cow Pea, the, 348 Cowper as a gardener, 263 Crab-apples, Siberian, and Apples, hy- brids between, 444 Cranberry culture, statistics of, 168 ; the American, in Europe, 441 Crospedia Richei, 491 Crassula Bolusi, 71 Creepers, 311 ; varieties of. 394 Cresses, improvement of, 196 Crickets, cure for, 168 Crocus, 175; forcing, 83; early, 198; failure of, by deep-rooting, 136 ; from seed, 258 ; Boryi, 47 ; ctruscus, 304 ; hellenicus, 260j velucheusis, 165 ; Wel- deni, 191 Crops, systematic rotation of, 112 Crotons,' 344, 674 ; theu' cultivation, 667 ; Macafeeanum, 398, 511 ; Mooreanum, 611, 559 ; Mortei, 606; trdobus Alberti, 388 Croweas, 264 Crowfoots, garden, 666 ; select, 465 Crystal Palace Flower Show, 510 Crucianella stylosa, 663 Cucumbers, bitter, 429, 463 Cucumber culture in the open air, 370 Cucumis sativus (Sikkimensis), 165 Cultivation, the, of flowering stoves, 34 Culture for transport, 116; Nut, 40 Cupania fiUcifolia, 411 Cupressus Lawsoniana in flower, 318 Curculigo recurvata variegata, 410 Currant, a Green, 360, 396; a White Black, 383 ; Black, green -fruited, 404; Black, Lee's Prolific, 198 Currants, new large, 2-48; Red, trial of at Chiswick, 383; White, trial of at Chiswick, 383 Custard Apple, 570 ; N. American, 563 Cuttings by post, packing for, 87 ; pot- ting-off, 27 ; speedy way of striking, 150; striking, 110; striking in water, 672, 593 ; transmission of, 176 Cyclamens, 372, 647 Cyclamen Purple Gem, 277 Cydonia japonica, 352 ; sinensis, 390 Cytisus, culture of, 547; filipes, 340 Cypella ccerulea, 464; peruviana, 191 Cyperus alternifolius variegata, 345 ; esculentus, 278 Cypress wood, large plant of, 179 Cypripedium, the, 524 ; acaule, 328 ; humile, 238; Passerianura, 80; Roezli, 254 ; Sedeni, 563 ; silligerum, 483, 612 ; spectabile, 238 Dacrydinm Franklini, 216 Dactylis glomerata latifolia aurea, 606 Daddy-long-legs, the, 530 Daff"odilB, 225; Butter-and-eggs, 323; hardy, value of, 400 ; in Victoria Park, 516; three good, 358 Dahlia gracilis, 583 ; Maximiliana, 335 ; from seed, 160 ; grafting, 141 Daisies, double, select, 428, 465, 475 ; for window boxes, 462 ; Hen-and-Chick- ens, 543, 634; of Cor ica, 260; single or double, 543 Daisy, blue, 9 ; the Turfing, 259 Dandelion, the, 644; as salad, 683 Daphnes, the, 567 ; Cneorum forced, 448; indica, 367; rupestris, 243, 686 Darwin, Charles, and plants, 4 Davallia Moorei for rooms, 304 Decabelone Barklyi, 165 De CandoUe on Carnivorous Plants. 644 Decorations, floral, 38 ; dining-room, 63 Delphinium Cashmirianum, 47; forrao- sum as a cut flower, 108 ; new, 199 ; nudicaule, 569 ; the Scarlet, 563 Dendrobium am(.enum.365 ; Bosalli, 336 ; chrysotis section, the, 338 ; chryso- toxum, 396 ; Falconeri, 472 ; fuscatum, 464 ; Heyneanum, 258 ; Utuiflorum, 258; nobile section, 337 ; teretifolium, 75, 96 ; Wardianum section, 300, 336 Dendrophilia, 227, 316, 414 Deutzia gracilis, 264 Deutzias, 464 ; for small gardens, 450 Deodar, the, as a vase plant, 83 ; trans- planting, in May, 436 Desfontainea spinosa in Ireland, 83 Dieff"enbachia illustris. 683; Shuttle- worthi, 606 Dictamnus Frasinella, 195 Digging, 95 Dion edule, 47 Diplacus glaucus, 438 Disease among Lilies, 8 Diurus alba, 118 Dog's-tooth Violets, Califomian, 335 Dogwood, the, 342 Dorset, fruit trees in, '486 ; Roses in, 486 Draba Mawi, 47 Dracienae, 344, 674; as berry-bearing shrubs, 412 ; at Brussels, 440 ; Goldieana, 437 ; indivisa in Phoenix Park, 253; insignia, 606; Rex, 487; triumphans, 487 Dracocephalum altaiense, 464 Drains, tree roots choking, 452 Drumlanrig, new rango of glass at, 663 Dryness at the root in winter, 117 Duckweed, fruiting, 422 Eastern Counties, weather in the, 371 Eche vena- eating insects, 348 Echinocactus cylindricus, 569 Edgings, 368 ; Box, protecting, 96 ; Festnca viridis, 108; London Pride, 96 ; Ophiopogon japonicus, 32 ; dwarf Arbor-vitte, 436; flint, 288; garden, 200 ; in shady places, 476 Eglinton Castle, hybrid Pansies at, 640 ; Violas at, 540 Egyptian gardens, tropical fruits in, 641 Elder, Golden, 608 Electricity splitting trees, 315 Elm, American, an ancient, 274 ; gigantic, at Schirasheim, 389 ; the Weeping, 256; old, in Ringmer church- yard. 436 ; Wych, in Dublin, 3oO Embothrium coccineum, 491, 492 ; in England, 570 Endive for spring use, 618 England, the Hemlock Spruce in, 600 Epacris onosniKflora fllorc-pleno, 236, 281 ; new double white, 281 Epipbyllums, a new stock for, 472 ; as wall plants, 183 ; propagating, 250 Episcia erythropus, 351 Eranthemum pulchellum, dwarf, 116; roseum. 683 ; tricolor, 403 Eremostachys laciniata, 690 Ericas at home, 362 ; hardy, 93 Eriodendron anfractuosum, 173 Eritrichium nanum, 468 Erythrina Crista-galU in the open ground, 499 Erythronium giganteum, 335, 328 EryngiumLeavenworthi,78; eburneum, 164 Erythroxylon Coca (see Coca) Eucalyptus coccifera, hardy, 390 ; glo- bulus in Derbyshire, 179, 200; Cam- pagna, 163 ; Algeria, 190; as an insecti- fuge, 119, 492; pendulain Arran, 491 Eucharis, a new, 26 ; amazonica, 184; Candida, 360 ; a houseful of, 218 Eugadine, flowers of the, 3 Euonymus, 213 ; as a window plant, 48 ; the fruit of, 179 Euphorbia in bloom,463 ; jacquiniaif olia, 134, 250 Europe, Oil trees of China in, 190 Euston Square, 144 Evergreen banks, 179 Evergreens, branches of, in flower-beds, 176; for damp situations, 492, 535; poisoning by, 179 ; pruning, notes on, 397 ; under trees, 23u Explaining, 216 F. Fahrenheit and Centigrade, 375 Failure of Wmter Spinach, 47 False Acacias, new, 56 Feather Grass, 199 February, a garden at Riviera in, 262 ; garden vegetation in. 260 ; thirteen years' temperatures of, 260 Fences in parns and gardens, 59 Fencing for tree plantations, 316 Fennel, Sweet, 463 Fermentation in flowers and fruit, 16 Ferns, 658 ; cool treatment for, 170 ; culiure of, 36, 477 ; greenhouse, 11, 37, 2u7, 265, 363, 454, 533, 536, 598 ; half- hardy, 37, 111, 320, 464 ; hardy, 454, 620; stove, 11, 37, 61, 185, 265, 363, 454, 533, 593 ; Tree, hardy in Arran, 643 Fern, Ostrich Feather, 233 ; the Hart's- tongue as a room plant, 462 Fern leaves for mattresses, 200 Fernery in the Isle of Wight, 65 ; half- hardy, 698 ; hardy. 111. 598 Ferniehurst, Orchids in bloom at, 616 Ferula (Euryangium) Sumbul, 71 Festuca viridis tor edgings, 108 Fever Gum Tree, the, in the Campagna, 163; in Derbyshire, 179, 200 Flax, 'New Zealand, land, 467 , ,, ^, ^„^ " Flora Orientahs," the, 4/9 Floral decorations, 33. 140, 225 ; April, 333 ; May, 455 ; June, 538 Floral cfl'ectB in Norway, 358 '• Flore des Serres " (Van Houtte), 140 Florida, the Cocoa-nut in, 223 Flower-bods, arrangement for, 352 ; a show of, 260 ; branches of evergreens in, 176; edgings for, 233; forming in snow, 135 ; furnishing, 442 ; mixed, effective, 198 ; preparing and plant- ing, 517 ; to destroy ants in, 407 Flower borders, 394 Flower garden in a churchyard, 352 Flower-vaao, the Lacrosse, 643 Flowers, a firm root-run for, 252; fer- mentation in, 18 ; Alpine, drawings of 468; on the Pyrenees, 691 ; border, to 'be sown in June. 690 ; change of names in France, 672 ; cottage, 334 ; cut, Delphinium formosnm for, 108 ; preserving in winter, 74 ; how to pro- serve, 462 ; distilling the odours of, 300, 334 ; dried, preserving colours of, 260; early, at Bitton, 161; florists*, from seed, 149; for the poor, 488; flower in Scot- for the woods, 253, 288 ; in chorch- yards, 543 ; hardy, of the week in Lon- don gardens, 332, 356, 378, 404, 426, 418, 472, 498, 520, 544, 564, 688; hardy, 372, 42 f, 511 ; and Enghsh names, 373 ; herbaceous, 207 ; early, 199, 278; outskirting, 552 ; select, 487 ; how fertilised, 87; how to pack, 498; in cemeteries, 254; influence of light on the colours of, 448 ; in the house, 256; June, in the north, 561 ; models of, 195 ; simple, a vase of, 462 ; spring colours of, 75 ; spring, 145, 176, 183, 198 ; spring effective, 242 ; hardy, 398 ; wild, transplanting, 399 ; woott- land, and wild gardens, 407, 457, 461 Flowering stove plants, 34 Flower garden, the, 597 Flower gardens, English, 453, 506; in churchyards, 438 ; in Norway, 358 Flower-pots, new material for, 258 Flower Show, Great, at Brussels, 439 Flower Shows, parochial, 480 ; influence of, 534 ; and their influences, 684, 606 Flower-sticks, 216 Fibre, Ochra as a, 147 ; Typha as a, 238 Ficus elastica, 206; minima, 340; minima, hardy, 348 Figs, 86 ; drying, 383 ; fresh, in March, 403 ; rusting, 606 ; the caprification or, 404 ; the earliest, 222, 248 ; the Adam, 420; the small creeping, 340 ; culture under glass, 605 Filberts, preserving, 190 Filbert tree, Waterton's, 72 Findlay, Mr. B., a testimonial to, 683 Finnochio, 463 Fire-bush, the, 491 Fire-heat, Vines without, 673 Firs, Douglas, rapid growth of, 120 Fir, Silver, height of, 123; leaTM, curious movement of, 131 Fseniculum dulce, 463 Fog, effects of. on Orchids, 123 Food, fruit as, 16 Forcing Asparagus in open-air, 330 Forced vegetables, 346 Forcing-houses, 61, 110, 185, 345 ; giving air in. 148 Forcing Irises, 272 ; Lilacs, 327; Pinks for, 399 ; Strawberries, 261 ; vege- tables, 251, 291 Forest trees, 155 Forests, conservation of, 390 Forestry and poetry, 273 ; statistics respecting, 157 ; the art of, 157 Forget-me-not, Perennial Mountain, 499; the Weirleigh Surprise, 474; the Wood. 443 Foxgloves, 241 ; the Golden, 243 France, gardens in the south of, 534 ; the last vintage in, 191 Frasera Pairyi, 79 Fraxinellas, the, 174, 200 Freesia Leichtliniana, 388 Fritillary, the Golden, 684 Fritillaria aurea, 71, 584; macrophylla, 6j3 ; meleagris var. Hector, 362 Frost, effect of, on trees, 162, 200; in valleys, 113 ; line of greatest dajiger from, 77 ; newspaper coverings for, 15 ; registry of, trom October 1, 1354, to April 30, 1376, 475 ; the late, in Cornwall, 43 ; r. Apricot blossoms, 300 Fruit, 6U7 ; and birds, 261 ; as food. 16 ; blossoms, a simple protection for, 348 ; setting, imder glass, 443 ; cnr, Ame- rican, 24 ; crops and the weather, 404; culture, Mr. Hibberd on, 182 ; fallacies in, 220. 283 ; hills v. hollows for. 248 ; progress in, 368 ; in kitchen gardens, 359 ; department, indoor, 291, 321 j firm root-run for, 252; in Constanti- nople, 302 ; flavour of, 24 ; gathering, a new ladder for, 292; garden, the, 454; germination withm the. 66, 117; hardy. 37. 140, 186, 226, 266, 322, 369, 411, 456, 603, 548, 599 ; houses, 60 ; how- preserved in Russia. 444 ; indoor, department. 250 ; market, the, 571 ; mission, 605 ; preserving in the open air. 15 ; prospects for 1876, 222, 292, 301 ; in Northamptonshire, 348 ; in Cornwall, 360 ; in Ajigola, 173 ; in Natal, 166; in West Middlesex, 347 j new varieties of, 15 ; tropical, in Egyp- tian gardens. 544 ; undeveloped, 571; thmmng out, 538 ; c. malaria, 600 ; weights of, 261, Fruit trees do not wear out, 277 ; dwarf- ing stocks for, 182 ; for the north walls of gardens. 204; French treat- ment of, 170; in Dorset, 436 ; left lO Nature. 204; in orchard-houses. 639; mauagement of, 441; natural age of , 131 ; on gable ends, 202 ; on north walls, 24; pruning for a crop, 97; preparing for, 183; pruning of, 148; restriction r. extension of, 39 ; too many varieties of, 248 ; top-dressing, 127 ; good wash for, 662; stone, root- grafting, 183 SDMLSMBITI, JCL7^ 6, 1876.] THE GARDEN INDEX. vix Fuchsias, cultnie of, 225, 264, 407, 602, 573 ; best varieties of, 152 ; for arches, 666 ; from seed, 150 ; garden, the various races of, 284 ; inarchius, 209 ; in pots, 241; Laing's Hybrid, 607; planted out, 244; as basket plants, 679 ; trials of, at Chiswick in 1875, 466 ; winter treatment of, 10 ; Eoli- ^-iana, 402; Sunray, 530 Fuel, chalk as, 2'J9 Kungi and fruit diseases, 522 ; danger- ous, 112 ; on the Date Palm, 56 Furze, Spanish, 600 G. Gage Plum, the Transparent, 226 Galanthus Elwesi, 31'5 Garden, a country parson's, 1 ; at Riviera in February, 263 ; mixed, 233 ; public, how to mismanage, 322 ; wild, in Oxfordshire, 513 ; Cardoon in the, 256; destroyers, effect of petroleum on, 315 ; house sewage in the, 307 ; floating, in an Aquarium, 840 ; frames, 403 J flower, 501, 532; kitchen, 532, 634. 561, 673, 675 ; cropping the, 307 ; irrigation of, 58 L ; lime in the, 190 ; market, planning for horse culture, 468 ; products, date of exhibition at the American Centennial, 30O ; sea- gulls in the, 672 , the wild, 225, 321 ; and hedges, 461 ; at Tew Park, 535 ; by the water-side, 563 ; Clematises for the, 543 ; hardy Bamboos in the, 571 ; in spring, 146 ; plants for the, 240 ; water-plants in the, 541 ; Welsh Poppies in the, 666 ; winter, at Laeken, 170 ; vegetation in February, 260 ; during April, 475 ; in May, 566 ; walks, iron clinkers for, 70 Gardenias. 33, 345, 633 ; all the year round, 352 GardpTipr, Cowper as a, 263 Gardeners and the '• Sat, Rev.," 275 Gardener's soliloquy, 352 ; life, 528 Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Institu- tion, Festival of, 563 Gardeners' Society, the Wimbledon, 168 Gardening, hardy spring, 233 ; for pleasure, 12 ; in towns, 23 ; street, 518 ; in Mysore, 48 Gardens, character in, 540 ; (cottage) v. Shows, 518 ; French, the produce of, 385 ; farmers', 552 ; geometrical and sub-tropical plants, 474 ; geometrical and old houses, 286 ; in New Guinea, 640; in the south of France, 584 ; Lon- don, hardy flowers of the week in, 332 ; London, effects of noxious vapours on, 347; London churchyard, 24; liquid manure in, 549; small, laying out, 374 ; market in San Francisco, 620; modem, the " Saturday Review" on, 252 ; town, 606 ; the Temple, 675 ; variety in, 323 ; wild and woodland flowers, 407 Gas, effect of, on tree roots, 179 Gaslight, colours by, 53 Gateway, architectural, a mistake, 309 Gentiana vema, 167 ; gelida, 123 Geraniums from seed, 160 ; Gauntlet, 3^8 ; Robertianum album. 60S Germany. Plane trees in, 278 Germination in fruit, 56. 117 ; in ice, 190 Gesnera cinnabarina, 388 ; for winter decoration, 36; for table decoration, 99; elongata, 472 ; for greenhouse in winter. 169 ; winter-flowering, the best, 388 ; Houtteana coccinea, 340 Gladioli in trenches, 306; raising from seed, 31 ; Cooperi, 76 Gladwyn, the, as undergrowth, 32 Glass, toughened, 172, 213 Glass-houses, painting, 13, 83 ; preserv- ing woodwork, 126 ; open laps, 283 Gleichenias, the, 445 Gloxinias, culture of, 206, 473, 698 ; raising from seed, 605 ; excelsior, 669 Gnats in the garden, 430 Gooseberry bads and birds, 360 ; Fuch- sia-flowered, a, 586 Gooseberries, evils of early pruning, 192 ; for exhibition, 128 ; training, 444, 500; Lancashire Show, 195 ; wild Ame- rican, 484 Grafting Ancubas, 124; Conifers, hints on, 67 ; Dahlias, 141 ; herba- ceous, 150 ; on large branches, evils of, 404 ; on roots, 385 ; Periwinkles, 116 ; root, stone fruits, 183 ; Vines, 123 ; with fruit-bearing wood. 15 Grape Hyacinths, select, 327 Grape (Golden Hamburgh;, in pots, 605; GrosColman, 113; market, the, 660 ; Pearson's Golden Queen, 262 ; Royal Vineyard, 24 ; the Early Ascot Frontignan, 180, 623 ; Vrcege Van der Laenen, 496 Grapes, burying, 16 ; Califomian, 61 ; colouring badly, 40 ; early, in pots, 623; influence of light on, 412; on greenhouses, 161; new Belgian, m Covent Garden, 403 ; over-thmned, 484, 496 ; rust on, 423, 444, 485, 610, 623 576, 605 ; saving a crop of, 660 ; thinning, 683 ; White Almeriau, 376 ; White, the best, 180, 223 Grasses, ornamental, 24 Gravel walks, making, 190 Great St. Bruno's Lily, 591 Gieece, the Bay and Arbutus in, 179 Greenhouses, 110, 433 ; Grapes in, 151 ; lean-to, heated by flues, 116 ; Eho- danthe in, 190 ; toughened glass for, 172; winter gardens in, S7 Grevillea Prassii, 236 ; Priesii, 321 GriSinia ornata, 234, 553 Groundsel (Tyerman's), 572, 691 Grounds, pleasure, renovating, 300 Growth without light, 135 Grubs on the Begonia, 144 Guano early, mention of, 13 Guava, the purple, 183 Gum trees, the hardiest, 390 Gunnera scabra in the Fernery, 331 ; a large specimen of, 663 H. Habrothamnus elegans, 602; NewoUi, 612, 669 Hair a plant protector, 164 Hairbell, the Peach-leaved, 6SS Halls, plants for, 38 Hampshire, Roses out-of-doors in, 48 Haworthia subulata, 529 Hawthorn caterpillars, 120 ; the Weep- ing, at Hyde Park Corner, 641 Hazel Nuts. American, 167 Beating by lamps or candles, 448 ; chalk for', 209 ; houses, 60 ; lamps for, 531; plant-cases, 23, 61; with small connecting pipes, 113 Heating-pipes, effect of gas tar on, 196 ; paint for, 126 ; varnish for, 120 Heaths, 454 ; Cape, at home, 353 Hedge-cutting, 84 ; cutters, 286 Hedges, 369 ; ornamental, 461, 510 ; planting, 36 ; seedling Beech for, 54 Hedychium Gardneriannm, 438 Hedysarum Mackenziei, 78 Height, cold in its relation to, 649 Helianthus cucumerifolius, 78 Heliotropes, 606 ; winter, 99 Hellebores, large, 166 ; the foetid, 199; seeding, 476, 513, 566; from seed, 176; various, 175 Helleborus abchasicus, 137, 163, 2°8; altifolius, 260 ; angustifolius,73 ; atro- rubens, 260 ; foetidus, 199 ; guttatus, 163 ; maximus, 33 ; niger- 25 ; seeding of, 67; niger major, 28o; purpuras- cens, 165 Hemp, the Slender-leaved Bowstrmg, Hepaticas in pots, 115 ; Barlowi, 242 ; rubra, 283 Heracleum giganteum, 499, 540 Herbaceous borders, value of, 145 Herbaceous plants. Moss for, 30 Herbs, culture of, 165 ; Spanish, 293 Heteranthera limosa, 47 Hibiscus CoUeri, 606 Highlands, value of timber m the, 390 Hilaire. M.. a gardener, 68 Hippeastrum, Rev. J. Staniforth, 192 Junius, 192 ; Phoebe, 192 ; Agatha, 192 Sultan, 193; Circe, 192; Clio, 277 Thalia, 277 Holy Land, Anemone fulgens in, 137 Hollyhock, the, 39, 67 ; from seed, 150 Hollies in berry, 460 ; transplanting, in May, 436 Honeysuckles in the dwelling-house, 304; Evergreen Trumpet, 666; the Winter, 179 Hoodia Gordon!, 639 Hops, spent, 190 Horse Chestnut- buds and sparrows, 412 Horseradish, import of, 99 Horticultural Club Library, 61 Hot-beds, 184 Hot-water pipes, paint for, 120, 126 Houses, superiority of span-roofed, 60 Humea elegans, 163, 438 Hyacinth, Princess Louise, 334; Sultan, 277- Golden Lion, 277; Shah, 277; Twining, 377 ; Wood, 468 Hyacinths, facility of increase of, 194 ; for forcing, 173 ; Roman, 35 ; select, 277 ; single, best for forcing, 150 Hyacinthus candicans, 74 Hybrids, various kinds of, 443 Hydrangeas, 407, 438 ; at Covent Gar- den, 323; blue, 200; in Cornwall, 67, 123; flowers, 654 Hyde Park, the mounds in, 300, 327 ; the Weeping Hawthorn in, 540 Hyeres, plants in bloom at, 198 Hydrophyllum plants, 371 Hydrophobia, specifics against, 630 Hypoestes aristata, 464 Hypolepis Bergiana, 419 umbellata handsome, 493 Iberis correoofolia, hybrida nana, 80 Ice-house in the open air, 76 Ice without an ice-house, 211 Ice-watering indoor plants, 236 Illustrations, Vick's, 211 Imantophyllum miniatum, 311 Implements for Potato culture, 613 Incrustation of boilers, 51 Indian Corn petrified, 300 India-rubber trees, cultivation of, 371 Insect destroyers, 10; remedies, 546; vaporisers, 191 Insectifuge, the Eucalyptus as an, 119 Ireland (South), OUves in, 117 Iris Darius, 693 ; fcetidissima as underg owth, 32; longipetala, 540 new winter-flowering, 29 ; reticulata, 136 ; forcing of, 27 ; the Iberian, 474 the Japan, 476 ; the Persian, 246 Irises, forcing, 33, """ ' ^ Iresine AUeni, 396 Islands, miniature floating, 423 Isle of Wight, fernery in, 66 Italian garden at Botanic Gardens, Regent's Park, 663 Ivy and Woodruff, 592 ; and the poets, 48; and trees, 50, 76 ; in houses, 354; not injurious to trees, 4; on stakes, 415 ; tree in shrubberies, 8 Ivies, garden, their uses, &c., 377 Ixora iavanita, 616 ; regina, 426, 606 ; at Bangalore, 66 ; culture of, 26, 115 J. Jaborandi, 361 Japan Privet, the, 140 Jasmines, the, 41 Jessamine, White-flowered Indian, 338 Jasminum nudifiorum, 72 ; Sambac, 383 Judas trees, flowers of, in salads, 390 Juglans intermedia pyritormis, 393 ; regia and varieties, 361 June, floral decorations for, 538 Juniper, a tall, 453 Justicias, 230 Jute- plant, the true, 118 K. Kalosanthes, 455 Kaulfussia ameUoides kermesina, 80 Kensington Gardens, decay of trees in, 70 ; tree pictures in, 515 Kentia Mooreana, 487 Kerria japonica on walls or pillars, 483 ; the single, 376 Kew Gardens, new buildings at, 531 ; Orchids in bloom at, 400 King plants for table decoration, 193 Kitchen garden, the, 453; rotation of crops in, 112 Knebworth, roof tree at, 114 Kniphofia caulescens, 563 Knotweed, the, as an edible plant, 400 Labels for wall trees, 204 Laburnum, the evergreen, 600 Lachenalias in greenhouses, 153 Lachnanthes tinctoria, 276 Ladder, a new, for fruit gathering, 293 Ladies' Smock, double, 468 Lady's Slippers, 624; the Japan, 616 Laeken, winter garden at, 170 Ltelia anceps Dawsoni, 51 Lagenaria vulgaris, 236 Landscape gardening. 311, 374 LandsUps, the cause of, 312 Lantanas, 455 Lamb's Lettuce, 190 Lamps for warming conservatories, 531 Lamp-stove, the " True Friend," 144 Lapagerias, culture of, 290, 602 ; white, hardiness of, 67 Larkspurs, perennial, 469 Lathyrus Sibthorpi, 692 Latin names of varieties, 531 Laurel, a new, 83 ; banks in pleasure grounds, 306 Laurustinus, standard, 123 ; for winter flowering, 243 ; for cut bloom, 48 Buston Square Garden (Allen v. Mar- tin), 144 . Service, leaving a without notice (Sim t>. Goss) , 420 Lawns, renewing, 80, 366 ; turf for, 133 Leaves', how to dry, 24 Lebanon and its Cedars, 56, 200 Leeks, 255, 530; cottagers', 531 Lentils, where to be bought, 662 Lettuce, Cabbage, E.arly Paris, 683 ; Stanstead Park, 633 : how ti pack, 47 ; Wheeler's Tom Thumb, 692 Leucophyta Brownii , indoors, 246 Libertias, select, 634 Libonia floiiounda, 464 Light, growth without, 135 ; influence of on Grapes, 412 ; on the colour of flowers 448 on plants in high lati- tudes, 684 ; instrument for measnring, 123 Ligustrum japonicum robustum, 170 Lilacs, forcing, 337 ; hedges, 318 ; in pots, 376 ; pruning the, desirable, 400 ; white, new large-flowered, 635 Lilas alba grandiflora, 635 Lilies of the Valley, forcing, 248 ; home- grown, for forcing, 470 Lilies, culture of, 647, 673 ; disease among, 8 ; Great Sf. Bruno's, 12, 640 ; in pots, 163, 183, 319 ; Japan, 290; rare 684 Lily, the crimson-anthered, 204 Lilium giganteum in Scotland, 8 ; trans- planting. 608 ; longiflorum, 679 ; ne- palense, 77 ; polyphyllum, 218 ; Szo- vitsianum, 204 ; Thompsonianum, 008; auratum at Weybridge, 51 Lime in the garden, 190 Linaria Cymbalaria in the window, 606 Linum trigynum, 320 Litchi, Chinese, 51 Lithospermum scandens underglass,246 Livingstone's Last Journeys, 243 Loam, storing, 486 Loasa hispida, 80 Lobelia ccerulea albo-marmorata, 607 Locusts, growth of Vilfa vagina^folia after, 3uO ; in Spain, 374 London, a plea for trees in, 492 ; com- mons, 584 ; parks, 684 ; trees in, 75 London Pride as an edging, 96 Lonicera fragrantissima, 179; semper- virens, 666 Lucerometer, 123 Lungwort, the Virginian, 483 Lycopodium denticulatum indoors, 383 M. Mackaya bella, 168 MagnoUas, hardy, 54S; conspicua, 328 ; Soulangeana, 415 Mahonias, pinnate-leaved, 17 Maize, best varieties of, 183 Mains floribnnda, 422 Manchester Horticultural Society, 563 Manetti, spring-pruning on the, 236 Mauley Hall Gardens, 588 ; Rhododen- drons at, 663 Manure, a new, 370 ; ashes as, 190 farmyard, 23 ; liquid, in gardens, 619 ; spent Hops as, 190 ; soot as, 22 ; su- perphosphate of lime as, 190 Marantas, culture of, 206, 574 ; Massen- giana, 606 Marker, garden, a handy, 391 Market gardening, 38 Market gardens, acreage of, in Great Britain, 300 MasdevalliaDavisi, 47, 75, 606; Ephip. pium, 60 ; Bstradse, 679 ; Harryana, 491 ; ignea, 491 ; Veitchi, 491 Massachusetts Horticultural Society, schedule of prizes of, 280 May, garden vegetation in, 568 ; floral decorations for, 455 Mealy bug, clearing Vines of, 113 ; remedy for, 236 Measurement, standard, 178 Measuring instrument, a new, 157 Meconopsis cambrica, 566 Melianthus major, 467 Melon, Austen's Incomparable, 182 : culture, 494 ; Gilbert'sVictory of Bath, 183, 196 ; in Murcia, 182 ; from May to November, 91 ; splitting, 606 ; beds^ Mushrooms in, 313 Menyanthes trifoliata, 137 Mesembryanthemum trunoatellum, 93 Mespilus, the Showy, 256 Microlepia anthriscifolia, 569 Mignonette, Victoria, 304 Mimulus moschatus Harrisoni, 659 ; hybrid, 612 ; Clapham's strain of, 543 Mint, forcing, 22 Mirror-globes in gardens, 443 Mistletoe, the American, 600 Mixture, a graceful, 643 Monkey Fruit tree, the, 119 Monopyle racemosa, 633 Moon-creeper, the, 24 Moon, old-time notion respecting, 158 and the Weather, 216 Mormodes luxatum ebumeum, 607 Moss for protecting herbaceous plants, 30 • bedding in, 272 ; Dovedale, 490 Mousetrap for garden, the best, 490, 535 Moutans, the best, 197 Mulchings, materials for, 12; summer advantage of, 614 Muscari, varieties of, 327 Mushroom culture in cellars, 551 Mushrooms in Melon-beds, 213 ; in saw- dust, 23, 43; on a brick wall, 429, 463; on the walls of turf -pits, 630 Mustard, 184 ,,, ■ Myosotis dissitiflora, indoors, 115 ; m pots, 300 ; Imperatrice Elizabeth, 165 ; rupicola, 499 ; sylvatica, 443 Myrsiphyllum from seed, 343 Mysore, gardening in, 48 THE GARDEN INDEX. [SUf PLEKEHI, JrXY 15, 187 N. Nails, how to prevent rusting, 600 Names, the riuestion of, 360 ; of plants, 491 ; of varieties, Latin, 631 NarciBsns, select, 443; bicolor, 358; Empress, 358 ; heminalis, 258; Horse- fleldi, 328, 368 ; maximus at Dublin, 258; monophyllus, 236, 269; White- hooped Petticoat, 259 Nasturtiums, my, 671 Natal fruits. 166 ; vegetables, 166 Nectarines, culture of, 62 ; forcing, 221 ; red spots and cracking in, 661 ; Byron, 246 ; Ld. Napier, 246 ; Humboldt, 246 Neil Prize, the, 208 Nemophila, culture of, 232 ; insignis for hanging baskets, 272 Nertera depressa, 422 Net protections lor fruit, 429 ; for vege- tables, 429 Nettle, the, as a vegetable. 300 New Guinea plants, 311 ; gardens in, 610 Newspaper- writers, advice to, 9 Newspaper protection against frost, 16 Nicot ana Tabacum (var, truticosa), 165 Nightshades. 137 Niphobolus Heteractis, 419 Normandy Pippins, 420 Norway, floral eflects in, 358 ; window plants in, 375 Nova Scotia, Ribston Pippin in 500 Nursery grounds, acreage ot, in Great Bntam. 300 Nurserymen, congress ot, 315 Nuts and Niit culture, 40; American Hazel. 167; prices of, 62; purple- XT !?^,??' ^°^' ^'''! Sapucaya, 61 wuttallia cerasiformis, 79 328 Nympha;a dentata, 178; stellata, 178 o. Oak, Anderson's, 200 ; an ancient, 436 ; the Hungarian, 83; live, sea-shore, ,„i • ""^ Major, at Thoresby Park, 492; growing where sown, 28 Obituaet : — Barillet, M., the late, 323 Headly, Mr. Richard, 430 Houtte, M. Louis Van, 464 Jamin, Jean-Laurent, M., 120 Kingsley, Henry. 612 Le Roy, M. Andr^, 268 Mumby, Mr. Giles, 420 St. John, the Rev. Geo. Wm., 660 Ochra, the, as a fibre, 1 47 Odentoglossum Chestertoni, 277 3'4 • cirrhosum 318. 376. 401 ; great rosy: flowered. 577 ; Insleayi leopardinum, 464; roseum,376; tripudians,639; vex- lllarium, 468. 664. 677. 595 ; a new, 328 Odontoglossums, the Miltonia-like, 637 Ctnothera smuata, 79 Oil Trees, Chinese, in Europe, 190 O eander, grafting Periwinkles on, 116 Ohves m the south of Ireland, 117 Omphalodes Luciliie, 4J3 Onions a cure for sleeplessness, 315 ; at Chiswick, 20; autumn-sown. 211- mltivation ot, 211.646; experiment^ with, /5; method of fastening in light soils, 332 o uE iu Onion-fly, the. 81 Ophiopogon japonicus as an edging 3" Oranges Citrus trifoliata a stock for. 340; home-grown, 1?5 ; profits ot growing, 500; Malta Blood, seedless, 183 ; the myrtle-leaved, 26 ; the Yube 491 ; when fit to gather. 62 92 Orange-blossoms, weight ot, in per- fumery, 165 > "^ i^ci Orange trees in the open air, 137 Orchards acreage of. in Great Britain, JUO ; m the valley of the Thames. 328 ■ manurmg,4U; plantmg. 128; reno: «? IS- \^^'- ™"'"'>T, 300; houses, «z, 456 ; fruit trees in, 639 ; calture. notes on, 203 Orchids, 207, 395. 456, 488, 633, 674, 699, 607; a new pot for, 693 ; at Ferniehurst, mn' Ik..^^T',?-^' *"'■ a' Stamford Uill. 663; at Victoria Nursery, 116- baskets i: pots, 398 ; early-flowering, ^'8 ; epiphytal, potting, 424; cul- ii?'' °J- J^^- •»"8' ^OS ; ground, 411 ; hard.v, 4-0; greenhouse, 470; in bloom, 238, 376 ; in London 218 ■ in Oovent Garden, 4 ; Messrs. Veitch's, 26; newly imported. 489; notes on. ^''.''?,S'''°'"- 119; shading, 373; select, 510, 612; treatment of 559 warm-house, effect of fog on 123- houses, ventilation of, 578 Orchis, Bee, 396 Osmunda palustris, 612 Ornithidium coccineum, 268 Urobus cyaneus, 378 407 Osiers for boggy land, 364 Oxahs arenaria, 47 ; Deppei, 234; notes on 194 ; roiea alba. tO ; rosea, 234 ■ Valdiviana. 234 ' ' Oxydendrum, 436 Ozone and plants, 200 P. Packing Lettuce, 47 Paeonia Whitleyi, 616 Paint Root, effects of, on pigs, 276 Painting glasshouses, 13, 83 Palm, fungus on, 68 Palm-leaf baths, 479 ; water baskets, 479 Palm, the hardy, in flower, 668; dwarf Fan, for house decoration, 340 ; In Angola. 177 Pampas Grass at Longleat, 76 Pan, Ware's Shelter. 377 Panama Hat Plant, the. 423 Pancratium rotatum, 551 Pandanads, 410 Pansies. bedding, trial of, at Chiswick, 418 ; blooming in water all the winter, 462 ; hybrid, at Eglinton Castle. 540 ; from seed, 150; show, properties of . 335; the best, 334; double, Lord Waveney, 640 Papavcr arenarium, 79 ; umbrosum, 79. 543 Paradise ot Flowers. 3 Paradise stock, the French. 223, 351 Paris, estimate of rain in. 400 Park for Birmingham, another new, 581 Parks. London. 684 ; public, 291 Parocha^tus communis, 376 Parsley all the year round, 331 Parsnips, Cow, 499; the Great Cow, culture ot, 219. 616 Pasque-flower, the, in bloom, 335 Passiflora, culture ot, 265; treatment of, 602 ; pectinifera. 80; princeps, 310 Passion-flowers. 504. 554 Paullinia thalietrifolia, 256 Paulownia imperialis, 555 Pavia califomica. 371 ; macrostachys,280 Peach, Alexander, 699 ; culture near the sea. 522 ; Early Beatrice, 348. 422 ; June budding ot the, 583 ; the dwarf Aubinel. 327 ; the Purple-leaved 318 • the Wilder, 441 ' Peach leaves, blister on, 676 ; spot in, 610 Peach trees, gumming in, 496; spur- pruned, 151 ; roots, suckers on 148 Peaches, 62. 601 ; ants injurious to. 576 • hardy, 650 ; forcing. 221 ; Belgian, in Covent Garden, 403; preparing for forcing, 10 Pear, Beurri! Sterckman's, 222 ; Easter Besrre the best late. 328; Dana's Hovey. 400; JosiSphine deMalines, 15 ■ ripening, 236, 262, 347 ; late, 292 ; Ne Plus Meuris. 75; Souvenir du Con gross, 347, 372 ; the Japan, on walls 318 ; the Lawrence, 182 ; Christmas 14. 40; cracked, 127; dwarf, pruning 246 ; few and good, 92 ; Hacon's In comparable, 383 ; in Leicestershire 16; on Apole stocks, 351, 383, 404; prices of. 62 ; quality of, 256; select, 152 ; Christmas, 40 Pear tree, a continuous-bearing, 262 renovating old, 219 Peas and mice, 255; early, 11, 181 332 539, 682. 687; culture of, 71 ; Laxton'f Standard. 70 ; on hot sandy soils '>13 sowing, 36 Peat, 62 Pecan tree, the, 392 Pelargonium, Bridesmaid, 606 ; Charm- ing, 606; grandiflorum var. Queen of Stripes, 440 ; var. Gipsy, 464 ; H. P. Rvder, 606 ; Happy "Thought, 306 hybrid, Ivy-leaf. Gem, 669 ; inquinans, 467 ; Madame Vaucher tor cutting, 388 ; Mrs. J. C. Quennell. 607 ; oblon gatum,351; Purity, 606; Sappho, 606 Silver Tricolor Kmpress ot India, 636 Wallace, 606 ; winter treatment of, 10 Zonale, var. Vanessa, 396 ; Exquisite 610. .iiz ; John Jenner Weir, 610, 612 Mnrmion, 512 ; PuriliS, 510; Wonder ml, 362, 536 ; in greenhouse. 153 for winter decoration. 33 ■ in winter 21 ; culture of, 67, 225, 346, 407 477 602 ; as basket plants, 6 ; bedding! tiled at Chiswick, 453 ; fancy, grafted 595 ; grown on turves, 461 • new Ivy leaved, 610; select, 607 Pella'o. Ornithopus, 536 Pentstemon Clevelandi, 79 ; Crimson, bedder, 406 ; puniceus. 79 Peonies, tree, the best, 197 ; other, 643 Perennials, 66 Perennials p. weeds, 225 Pernettya Pentlandi. 118 Perthshire, Picea Cephalonica in, 216- Wellingtonia in, 218 ' Periwinkles, grafting on Oleander, 116 Peruvian Trumpet, the, planted out.244 ■ in pots, 244 Petrtea, climbing, 678 ; volubilis, 678 Pescatoria cerina, 71; Dayan'a, var. Rhodacea, 191 Petroleum consumers, caution to, 72 ; r. garden destro.yer8, 315 Petunias, culture of. 367. 573 Fhatenopsids, effect of fog on, 123- various, 170, 312 ; from seed, So Phalaenopsis intermedia Brymeriana, 364; Lowei, 312; Manni. 300. 396; Porlei, 268 ; Schilleriana, 218, 238. 528 ; the Beaked, 312 ; Veitchi, 238, 258, 277 Philadelphus laxus, 588 Phlox Drummondi grandiflora splen- dens, 80 ; reptans. 373 ; spring, 378 Phloxes. Alpine, seedling, 491 ; diseased, 49s, 616 ; herbaceous, origin of our best, 334 ; the best, 165 Phoradendron florescens, 600 Phylloxera Commission, report of, 258, 639 ; destroying bv flooding, 123 ; in London gardens, 573 ; only attacks the Vine, 583 ; remedies for, 481 Phyllanthus roseus pictns, 396, 611 Phyllocactus Ackermanni, 545 PhysianthuB albens, 24! Ph.vsalis peruviana, 641 Phyteumus, the, 24 Piccadillv, Plane trees in, 69 Picea cephalonica in Perthshire, 216 ; Parsonsiana, 72 Picotees, select, 176 ; from seed, 150 " Picturesque and beautiful," the, 299 Picturesque Europe, 230 Pimientos dulcis, 99 Pine-apple, Black Prince, 292 ; Cayenne, smooth-leaved, 2S, 372; Prince Albert 144; seedling, 123 ; St. Michael's, 376, 401 ; the best winter, 371 ; the King, 39 ; Twin, 14 ; white scale on, 204 Pine beetles destroy Spruce, 483 Pine, the Chili, in the Isle ot Wight, 665 : the Hnon, 216 Pine trees, influence ot, on tempe- rature, 119 ; Umbrella, height of, 123 ■ Weymouth, large, 120; in Wilts, 168 Pinus Orobus, 120, 168 Pipes, small connecting, heating by, 118 Piptanthus nepalensis, 600 Pink, Lord Lyon, 566 ; Wadson's White. 304 Pinks, forced, 376 ; for forcing, 399 ; new way of striking, 20O ; striking in water, 543 : wild Austrian, 476 Pinguicalaalpina, 610 Pits and frames, 601 Plane trees in Germany, 278 ; in Picca- dilly, .59 Plant-cases, heating, 23, 61 Plant collecting in Corsica, 193 ; in the Tyrol, 406, 488 ; exchanges, 490 ; houses, 60 ; names, ill-spelt, 191 ; poisoning, 19 ; protector, hair a, 164 ; remedies for tape-worm, 315; stand, an effective, 146; specific against hydrophobia, 631 ; table, graceful, 679 Planting hedges, 36 ; law for the encou- ragement of, 665 ; orchards, 128 ; thick, evils of, 364 Plantations, fencing, 316 ; thinning, 369 Plants, Alpine, 207 ; sowing seeds ot, 210 ; and ozone, 200 ; basket, 394 ; bedding, 205, 217, 288, 343, 393, 408 ; spring, for propagating, 26, 54 ; Chry- santhemums as, 460; in Moss, 272, boiler-water beneficial to, 283, 388, 403 ; carpet. Mossy Saxifrages as, 378 ■ carnivorous, 72 ; De Candolle on the, 514; climbing, British berry-bearing, 137 ; conservatory, 394 ; cold v. tepid water for, 170 ; early-flowering, 175 ; efl'ect ot gas tar on, 283 ; evils arising to from tar, 388 ; exhibition, sale of, 410 ; flowering and fino-foliaged, 658, 659 ; flne-toliaged, select, 487 ; for the sub-tropical garden. 206 ; for the wild garden. 240 ; greenhouse, 224, 289, 372, 393, 636, 607; select, 611, 512; in late Vineries, 318 ; for spring gardens, selecting, 459 ; growth of, affected by latitude, 196 ; hard-wooded, 221 ; her- baceous, sowing seeds of, 240 ; hardy, early-flowering in the north, 335; best early-flowerine, 238, 241 ; protecting from slugs, 461 ; hardy, 536 ; how to dry, 516 ; in bloom in December, 178 ; at Hyeres, 188 ; indoor, 205, 223 ; ice- watermg, 236 ; potting, 138 ; in high latitudes, inflnence of light on, 681 ; in rooms, 139 ; " Insectivorous," Dar- win's, 216 ; miscellaneous, 278, 324, 348, 372, 420, 440, 511, 612, 658, 669, 607, 608 ; natural habit ( f, r. trained, 604 ■ new, 27, 361, 636, 539; New Guinea. 311 ; new and rare, 558 ; new, at Brussels Flower Show, 410; of the New York Horticultural Association, 419 ; pillar, 391 ; pottmg, 171 ; sensa- tion in, 192 ; stove, 205, 249, 344, 372 477, 632, 536, 673, 698 ; In winter, 310 ; winter-flowering, 393 ; select, 611, 612 ; sub-tropical, culture of, 368; and geometrical gardens, 474; table, select, 4S7 ; taking impressions of, in colour, 583 ; thawing, 606 ; used in perfuming Tea, 210; vase, and vases. 232 ; window, in Norway, 376 ; winter- blooming, 633 Plates, coloured, preservation of, 112 Plumbago capeneis, 14«, 180, 366 ; TWea, Plum, double-flowered Chinese, 192 Gage, 2'26 Podocytisns caramanicus, 490 Polemonium c, 170 Pruning, early v. late. 192 ; evergreens, notes on, 397 ; spring, Roses on the Manetti, 286 ; standard Roses, 269 ; the Lilac desirable, 400; Vines, the spur system of, 404 Psidium Cattleyanum, 183 Pteris scaberula, 321 ; cretica albo- lineata. 321 Pulmonaria virginica, 488 Pyrenees, Alpine flowers on the, 691 Pyrethrum aureum laciniatum, 4-10, 487, "692; Tchihatchewi,259 Pyracantha, white-berried, 256 Pyrola secunda, 32 Pyrostegia ignea, a well-bloomed, 352 Q. Quercus Andersoni, 200 ; conferta, 83 Quince, Chinese, flowers of the, 390 ; Rea's Mammoth, 16 Quisqualis sinensis, 683 Rabbit-guard, cork as a, 490 Radishes. 36, 184 ; good and bad, 620 Raffio, 312 Rain, estimate of weight in Paris, 400 R&manas Rose, 640 Ranonculus, the 31 ; amylezicatiliB, 71 • SrPPLBMENT, JULY 15, 1876.] THE GARDEN INDEX. speciosus, -113 ; Tarban, 491 ; plant- iuR, 218; select, 666 Raphiolepis, the genus, 696 Kaspberry-bcds, duration of, ISl Raspberries and their culture, 623 ; autumn, 113, 128 ; prowth of, 219 ; from root-cuttings, 16 Red lead, protection against bivde, 23 Redwood trees, colossal, 390; for cop- pices, 384 •'Reminiscences of Fen and Mere," 386 Rheum officinale, 376, 461, 490 ; as a decorative plant, 40ti ; nobile, 47 ; pal- matum. ag a fine-foliaged plant, 260 Rhodanthe in the greenhouse, 190 ; Manglesii, 367 Rhododendron argenteura, 150, 195 ; Califomian, 540; caucasicum, 371; Countess of Haddington, 370; Duke of Edinburgh, 512. 570; Princess of Wales, 324, 348; Princess Frederica, 606 ; P. George, 608 ; P. Leopold, 606 ; Queen Victoria, 511 ; a new race of, 540; at Manley Hall, 663 ; from seed, raising, 536 ; select, 191 ; suitable soil for, 304 ; the best time for moving, 83 Rhopala pubescens, 606 Rhubarb, 224 ; and Apple tarts, 463 ; at Christmas, 348; culture, 467; Offici- nal, 376, 481 ; Officinal as a decorative plant, 406; the true, in England, 552 ; medicinal, sources of, 163 Ribbon border, a, early in June, 592 Ribes speciosum, 586 Richardia sethiopica, 411 Bicinus Gibsoni, 75 ; select varieties of, 460 Riviera, a garden in February at, 262 Rivinahumilis, 410 Robinia hispida, 483 ; pseud- Acacia, 36 Rocket, the Double Yellow, 591 Rook-work, the, at Westminster Aqua- rium, 123; in conservatories, 6; v. root-work, 23, 32 Rcehmeria nivea, 618 Roman Hyacinths, 35 Rondeletia speciosa, 598 Roof-tree at Knebworth, 114 Rooks and rookeries, 396 " Rookeries in wrong places, 491 Root-cap, the, 386 Boots, grafting on, 385 Root, dryness at the, in winter, 117 Root-grafting seedling Briers, 403 Roots, growth of, 131 Root-suckers. 148 Root-work, 77 ; v. rock-work, 23, 32 Rosa rugosa, 26 ; a continuous bloomer, 465; alba, 640 Rose, Captam Christy, 77 ; Catherine Bell, 266 ; the Giant, 137 ; Comtessa de Bereuyi, 324 ; cuttings, transplant- ing, 165 ; Duchesse de Vallambrosa, 324 ; Duke of Connaught (Hybrid Per- petual), 419, 440, 643 ; J. B. M. Camm (h. p.), 487 ; Jean Ducher (Tea), 487 ; John Stuart Mill (H. P.), 487 ; Magna Charta (H. P.),512; of Japan (Sama- nas), 452; from root cuttings, 4j7 ; a continuous bloomer, 465; Princess Louise, 192; Sultan of Zanzibar, 156; Duchess of Edinburgh (Tea), 60; Madame Francois Jamin (Tea), 324 ; lore, 461 ; pot, a specimen, 554; Bweet is the, 306 ; varieties of scent in the. 123 Roses, 61, 224, 439, 534, 599 ; Cheehunt Seedling, 156; seeding of, 67, 476; new, 73 ; climbing, and their uses, 592 ; Cloth of Gold, 4 ; cut, staging, 377; foxcing, 126, 139; forced, 278; from cuttings, 260, 306 ; groups of, in Lycopodium, 352 ; in Dorset, 486 ; in the suburbs, 241 ; in pots, 291, 456, 597; for the London markets, 593 ; at Aquarium, 468 ; select. 511, 512 ; in spring, 8 ; Moss, select, 499 ; for mar- ket, 590 ; on Briers and on their own roots, 377 ; on the Seedling Brier, 32 ; outdoor, 322 ; out-of-doors in Hants, 48; prizes for. 168; select. 420, 487; spring pruning on the Manetti, 286 ; standard, spring- pruning, 259 ; on the Brier, age of, 334 ; against, 335 ; Tea, near London, 375 ; grafting, 442; varieties, of named, &c., 35S Rose trees, a bank of, 406 Royal Agri. Soc. of England, 573 Royal Bot. Soc, 324, 419, 511. 588. 606 Royal Hort. Soc, 193, 216, 236, 277, 299, 396, 488, 659, 608 ; anniversary of, 146 ; history of, 141 ; prizes for 1876, 99 Rubus australis, hardy, 364 ; deli 79, 517, 5S4 ; Roezli, 71 ; spectabilis, Rush carpets, 313 S. Saccolabium Hendersonianum, 351 Saffron in Greece. 260 Sages, the varieties of, 430 Salix alba, 450 Salpiglossis. varieties of, 241 Salvia Boliviensis verticillata, 54 ; car- Spindle trees, 213 duacea, 79 ; Pine-applo, 413 ; san- Spiraaa palmata in Covent Garden, 400 ; guinea grandiflora, 80 ; splendens autumn, 257 Salvias, the -rarieties of, 3'J7, 430 Sanchezia nobilis, 574 San Francisco, vegetables in, 190; market gardens in, 520 Sanseviera cylindrica, 387 Saponaria Ocymoides, 9 Sarracenia Williamsi, 535 Sash-Unea for greenhouses, best mate- rial for, 311 Sawdust, Mushrooms in, 48 Sasifraga Burseriana, 67, 170; crassi- folia at Dublin, 358 ; mossy, 490 ; peltata, 476 ; purpurascens, 376 ; Stracheyi, 377 ; the, 586 ; bulb-beds caroeted with, 399 ; broad-leaved, at Kew,123 ; Mossy, as carpet plants, 378, 467; hardy bulbs dotted through, 362 Sea-coast, planting trees on, 227, 316 Scale, white, on Pine-apples, 204 Scarlet Runners, the, 48 Schizostylis, 455 ; coccinea, 31 Science Primers (Botany), 356 Scilla nataleosis, 3S3 Scillas in the wild garden, 305; in bor- ders, 305 ; natans violacea, 468 Scotland, seed and nursery association in, 328; New Zealand Flax in flower in. 467 Screens in parks and gardens, 59 Scutellaria mocciniana, 410 ; macrantha, 428, 488 Seaforthia elegans, 170 Seagulls in the garden, 572 Seakale, culture of, 234, 330 ; ChristmaP, 348 ; lorced, 463 Sea-shore, Uve Oak, 48. 56 Season, past, peculiarities of the, 573 Sedum villosum, 9 ; pulchellum, 434 Seed and nursery trade in Scotland, 328 ; bed, a large. 230 ; culture of Primula sinensis for, 472 ; growing Calceolarias for, 393 ; raising Glox- inias from, 505 ; large v. small, 38 ; Phalcenopsis from, 35 ; Potatoes raised quickly from, 278 ; raising Poly- anthuses from, 476 ; in the dark, 235 ; Crocuses from, 358 ; Rhododendrons from, 535 ; sowing, 416; in wet sea- sons, 467; Pour Seasons Strawberry from, 550 Seed and galls, jumping, 386 ; and seed raising, 383 ; Conifers, number of in 1 lb., 371 ; experiments with, 258 ; large, the best, 163, 183, 337 ; of Alpine plants, so.-.ing, 240; of herbaceous plants, sowing. 240 ; quickening the germination of, 255 ; self-covered, 355 ; superiority of large, 124 ; vegetables, germination of, 582 ; vitality of, 13 Seeding of Christmas Roses, 566 Seedlings, want of chlorophyl in, 116 Senecio (Kleinia) chordifolia, 191 ; pulcher, 573, 591 Sequoia sempervirens, 390 Sericographis Ghiesbreghti, 409 Sewage, house, 347. 355 ; ingaiden, 3j7 Serpentine, water-line ot the, 4 Shading, importance of, 13 Shallots, a new way with, 333 ; in Suf- folk, 47 Shamrock Pea, 376 Strelitzia regina3, 54 Shrubberies, Ivy tree in, 8 Shrubs blooming, relative order of, 443 ; hardy, forcing branches of, 246 ; in bloom, 40O; transplanting, 13 J Silene penduli compacta, 563 ; sapo- naria, 80 Sisyrinchium Douglasi, 245; grandi- florum, 234 Sleeplessness, Onions a cure for, 315 Slugs, 347; in the flower garden, 335; protecting hardy plants from, 461 Smilax, the, as a window plant, 119; medica, 467 ; Shuttleworthi, 606 Snails, how to destroy, 118 Snow, forming flower-beds in, 135 Snowdrop, a new, 305 Snowdrop tree in bloom, 4,GS Snowdrops, 175 Soils, classification of, 255 Solanum capsicastrum, 153; pseudo- capsicum, 153; pseudo - capsicum variegatum, 248 Solanums, culture of, 330, 366, 411 ; berry-bearing, 245 Solomon's Seal as a pot plant, 337 Soot as manure, 23 Sophora japonica, the Weeping, 600 Sorrel or Sour Wood Tree, 436 Southampton, tree-planting at, 313 Southport, Botanic Garden at, 400 Spain, locusts in, 374 Span-roofed houses v. walls, 383, 403 SparLium junc?um, 119 Spinach, ^ ew Zealand, 33 1 ; winter, 22 ; failure of, 22 japonica, 510 ; Thunbergiana, 639 ; (Hoteia) japonica, 477 Spiraeas, culture of, 455 Spirits of wine (camphorated) u. taealy bug, 336 Spring contrast, a pretty, 407 ; garden- ing, 333 ; Roses in, 8 Spruce, Alcock's, 361 ; the Black, 430 ; destruction of by Pine beetles, 4S3; Mistletoe, the, 482; the Hemloct, in England, 600 Spruces, select, 313 Spurge Laurels for undergrowth, 236 Spurges, the herbaceous, in bloom, 488 Squash, the Turban, 413 Squashes, American, 75 ; not Gourds, 47 Squills, Siberian, 4 Standish portrait, the, 563 Stapelia olivacea, 351 Staphylea colchica, 71 Statices, hardy. 125 ; tender, 125 Stauntonia latifolia in Wiltshire, 33 Stem-bleeding in Conifers, cause of, 555 Stephen's Green, Dublin, 170 Stigmaphyllum ciliatum, 291 Stipa pennata, 199 Sticks, 6^ Stove plants, flowering, 34 Strawberry, a durable, 383 ; Colonel Cheney, 300; culture, M. Gloede on, 601 ; Garibaldi, 445 ; LaGroase Sucree, 293, 584; Land, a, 584; the Pour Seasons, from seed, 550 ; scarlet, 538 Strawberries, 86 ; double-sided pots for, 605 ; early, 538 ; forcing, 261 ; hard rusty, 539, 576 ; hardness in, 604 ; late, in pots, 262 ; mulching, 15 ; porous glazed pots for, 58 4 ; rust on, 583, 604 S truth iopter is germanica, 288. 3il Succulents at Regent's Park and ii flower, 506 Suffolk, Shallots in, 47 Sundews, 543 Sun-dial, Pitman's, 196 Superphosphate of lime, 190 Surface-stirrings, deep, 581 Sweetbrier, in pots, 443 Sweet Peas for the greenhouse, 383 ; ii pots, 588 Sweets, 327 Sylva, the North American, 483 Syringodea pulchella, 353 Table decoration, 53 ; Ansectochilua for, 193; Asparagus for, 116; Gesnera cinnabarina for, 99 Table plant, Poinsettia, as a, 74 Taberncetnontana at Bangalore, 56 Tacsonias, treatment of, 365, 502 Talinum Arnotii, 351 Tamarisk, the, 196 Tamarix plumosa, 196 Tan for blanching Celery, 46 Tapeworm, olants remedies for, 315 Tar, coal, efifect of, on plants, 388 ; gas, effect of, on plants, 233 Tea plants, 435 ; used in perfuming, 310 ; varieties of, 163 Temperature, influence of Pine trees on, 119; January, 174; low, germination in a, 190 Tents, exhibition, lighting of, 549 Tew Park, The Grove at, 585 Thea Bohea, 435 ; viridis, 435 Thermometers, deranged, 4 Thibandia Hendersoui, 71 Thiers a gardener, 120 Thistle, ways of destroying, 532 Thorn, white Evergreen, 19 ■ Thrift, as a window plant, 606 Thuja elegantissima, 555 Thunbergia Harrissi, 116 Thyme, Golden, 236 ; variegated, 72 Thyrsacanthus rutilans, 354 Timber and rights of life tenants, 23 ; value of, in the Highlands, 390 ; how to stack, 555 Tipula oleracea, 630 Toadflax, the Common, as a window plans 506 Tobacco, Latakia, source of, 544 Tomato leaves and aphides, 292 ; Tro- phy, 683 ; culture of, 257, 288 Tool-room, the, 274 Top-dressing fruit trees, 127 Town gardening, 52 Transplanting deciduous trees in full leaf, 325 ; Deodars in May, 436 ; Hol- Ues in May, 436 ; large trees in sum- mer, 200; Lilium giganteum, 68; root care in, 434; shrubs, best time for, 130 ; trees, best time for, 19, 130 ; new ligh»*on. 364, 389 ; vegetables, 587 Trees, calculating age of, 124, 163; end of a celebrated American, 384 ; foliage brilliant, 390 ; growth, slow, 364 ; planting, 256 ; planting in streets, mistakes in, 3 0; on the sea-coast, notes on, 316; at Southampton, 318; suggestions on, 3i3 ; pictures in Ken flington Gardens, 515 ; protector, 376 ; roots choking drains, 452 ; roots, efl'ect of gas on, 179 ; stocks, fruit, rotation of, 34S; stumps, how to get rid of, 3i7 ; in bloom in London parks, 491 ; covering for wounds in, 492 ; plea for in London, 492 ; and Ivy, 50, 75 ; and plants, Australian, growth of, in Arran, 491 ; and shrubs, 317, 330, 369. 456. 503; for exposed situations, 350 ; and shrubs, new, at the Chateau de Segrez, 655 ; curious effect of frost on, 162, 300 ; decay of, in Kensington Gardens, 70 ; deciduous, transplant; ing in full leaf, 325; domestic, 28; Evergreens under, 230; forest, 155; for Portland Place, 120; forest, growth of in New England, 570 ; fossil, Scotch, 393 ; fruit, on gable ends, 293 ; in orchards, food for, 495 ; in Trafalgar Square, suggestion for, 555 ; large, transplanting, in summer, 30O ; man- ner of electricity splitting, 315 ; over- crowding of, in London parks, 570 ; planting, in summer, 49 ; shade, In Washington, 492 ; dead, climbers on, 474 ; Ivy on, 229 ; in Whitechapel, 134 ; teh on great mountain ranges, 600 ; street, 435, 453 ; submergence of, 167 ; to prevent bleeding of, 131 ; town, 143 ; transplanting, 130; new light on, 364, 339 ; tropical, during the dry season, 390; varieties of, for London, 663 ; labels, 204 ; protections for, 358 Trichomanes Bancroft!, 487 Trilliums, new and rare, 476 Tropteolum polyphyllum, 334 Truffle, hunting and planting for, 556 English, 429 ; dogs trained for, 417 Tuberose culture, 83 Tulip, species of, 77 ; sale, the late Mr. R. Headly's, 433 Tulipa Eichleri, 47 Tulips, a few species of, 474 ; select, 278 ; varieties of, in bloom, 324 Turnip, Cattells Silver Ball, 378 Turf-pits, Mushrooms on the walls, 520 Tu8silagofragrans,99; farfara through asphalte, 399 Typha as a fibre plant, 236 Tyrol, a botanical tour in, 391. 406, 438 u. Ulex hispanica, 600 Umbrella plant, the, 476 Undergi-owth, as, the Gladwyn, 32 Utah, Columbines in, 200 V. Valerian, the Greek, 516 Vapours, various, effects of on London gardens, 347 Vase, a drawing-room, 192 ; plants, 232 Vegetable market, new, in the City, 360 Vegetables, choice early, 4, 188 ; forcing, 62, 251, 291 ; firm root-run for, 253 ; in Angola, 178 ; in Constantinople, 302 ; in Natal, 166 ; in San Francisco, 190 ; banks for, 255 Vegetation in Australia,413; in January, 174 ; in March, 377 ; of Corsica, 514 Ventilation, Tobin's system of, 346 Verbena venosa for seed, 342 : new, 67 ; culture of, 453; as hardy annual, 174 Vermin-infested soil, dressing for, 168 Veronica Chamsedrys pedunculata, 79 Vetch, the Blue Bitter, 378 Viburnum dilatatum, 191, 390; macro- cephalum, 491 Vilfa vaginiefolia after locusts, 300 Vine, warta on the, 331 ; pest, the, in London gardens, 373 ; remedies for, 434; roots dead, 74; u. smoke, 550 Vines and red spider, 501 ; border for, 395 ; clearing of mealy bug, 113 ; grafting, liS ; in inside borders, planting, 247 ; large, the best, 549 ; old, 163; phylloxera on, destroyed, 123; pot, in small gardens, 293; keeping back in ice-houses, 248 ; started early in autumn a disadvantage, Z2i, 444; for early forcing, 564; pruning, the spur system of. 383, 404, 421 ; root-pruning, 73 ; best for unheated orchard-house, 223 ; training on walls, 93 ; water at roots of, 26 ; without fire-heat, 573 Vineries, 243; amateurs', 262, 437 ground, and spur-pruning, 421 ; late, greenhouse plants in, 319 ; preparing for forcing, 10; span-roofed, position of, 128 Vintage in France, the last, 191 ; for 1375, 300 Vineyard, a famous, 16 Viola hybrida, Jupiter Black, 510, 612 Violas, bedding, trial of at Chiswick, 413 ; hybrid, at Eglinton Castle. 540 ; north and. sout-U, 664 ; the best, 334 Violet, culture of, 238, 335, 349 ; Marie THE GARDEN INDEX. [slTTPLXlClirT, JVLT Ifi. 1878. Louise, 426 : Prince CoDSort, 334 ; in Paris, 196 ; in pots, 375, 630 ; in winter and epring, 137 ; now, 241 Vitex Lindeni, 639 w. Wahlenbergia Kitaibelli. 47 Walks, garden, iron clinkers on. 70 ; gravel, making, 190; formation of, 234 ; sawdnst as a foundation for, 255 Wallflower, the Harbinger, 100 Wallflowers, single, 106 ; yellow, 459 Wallasia princeps, 165 : Walls, garden, size of wire for, 301 ; , span-roofed houses in place of, 403 ; ] the Japan Pear on. 318 Wall tree protections. 358 Walnut, and its varieties, 361 ; the Pear- shaped. 392 ; huskleas Chinese, 52 , preserving, 23, 190 Warts on Vine leaves, 221 Wash for fruit trees, a good, 562 Wasps, 3-17 Watercress aa a therapeutic, 375 ; v. American Water-weed, 218 Water Hemlock, poisoning by, 30O Water-plants in the wild garden, 611 | Waterproof garments, how to, 156 i Water, striking cuttings in, 572, 693 Water-weed, American, destroying, 166 | Weather, the, and the moon. 216 ; in the , Eastern Counties, 371 ; and the fruit I crops, 404 I Wellingtonia gigantea, 58 ; in Perth- ' shire, 218; shelter for, 343 Welwitschia mirabilis, 178 ' Westminster Aquarium, 26, 99, 120, 123, 635 Weymouth Pine in Wilts, 168 Wheelbarrow, the Shanghai, 70 j Whiskey, new use for, 196 Whitechapel, trees in, 124 Wigandia latifolia, 448 Wild gardens and woodland flowers, 457, 481 Willow, the, on the growth of, 450 Willows, flowering time of, 131 ; leaves, dear, 230 Windflower, Cyclamen-leaved, 499 ; the Scarlet, 506 Window boxes, Carnationa in, 74 ; Daisies for, 462 ; plants, Buonymi as, 48 ; Myrsiphyllum, as a, 119 Winter, bedding Calceolarias out of doors in, 48 ; Begonia ineignis for, 35 ; Zonal Pelargoniums for, 33 ; gardens, 123; in greenhouses, 97; flowering, Laurustinus for, 2-16 ; Iris, new, 29 ; landscapes, beautifying, 190; Spinach, failure of, 47 ; stove plants in, 310 ; the Virginian Cedar in, 200 ; Gesuera cinnabarina for, 35 Wintering Beetroot, 47 Wires on walls, mode of straining, 113 ; size of, for garden walls, 301 Wistaria grown as a bush, &c., 563 ; the White, 483 Witloof, 96 ; V. Barbe de Capucin, 238 Wood ashes. 28 Woodwork of glasshouses, preserving, 126 Woodwardia radicana, 320 ; cristata, 487 Wood, a new use for, 192; unripe, v. fertility, 292 Woodruff, the Sweet, 287 ; and Ivy, 692 Woods, flowers for the, 253, 288; i coppices, acren^e of, in Great Britf 300; Oregon, 371 Wonnfl in pots, how to destroy, 272 Xanthoceras sorbifolia, 258, 277 ; propa" gation of, 436 Xiphion Histrio, 29 Xylophylla facata, 396 Y. Tew, the Dovaston, 341 ; Irieh, with single stems, 371 Yucca, an edible, 608 ; baccata, 6W ; brevifolia. 351 ; califomica, 593 ; greenhouse, 554 Zamia intermediate, 487 I Zinnia Darwinii, 80; new race of, 8 I Zonal Pelargoniums for winter decora- tion, 33 ILLXJSTR^TIOlSr S Authericum Liliastrom ^thionema grandiflorum Calochortus venustus .., Clematis Vesta Columbine, the Alpine Cox's Orange Pippin ... Cypripedium niveum... Dendrobium Bosalli ... COLOU RED Page Eucharis Candida Gage Plum, the Transparent Grape, Early Ascot Frontignan Lilium Szovitsianum ... Lily, Great St. Bruno... PLATES. Ma gnolia Lennei Nectarines, three new Phalasnopsis Lowii Poinsettia, new double Ramanae (Rose of Japan) .., Eaphiolepia salicifolia Robinia Pseud-Acacia Rose, Catherine Bell „ Sultan of Zanzibar Salvia farinacea Tea Rose, Duchess of Edinburgh.. TheGraat Araucariaat Dropmore.. Tyerman's Groundsel Page WO O D C U T S African Forest, an 243 Aloe, the Pearly 529 AnsectochiluB 193 Anemone palmata 620 Apple - barrel header, a non- patented 484 Apple tree, dwarf, on the Paradise stock 203 Aralia elegantissima 605 Arisaema priEcox 293 Arums, hardy 173 Asparagus buncher 254 „ bunchers, French (6 illustrations) ... 680, 681 1, under bottles 681 Bamboos, hardy, in the wild garden 571 Bayham Abbey Gardens, Kent ... 129 Baobabs in Angola 181 Begonia FrtBbeli 77 Bellis rotundifolia coerulescens ... 9 Berillet. the late, portrait of 323 Black Tea plant, the 437 Bog Arum, the 137 Bog Bean, the 137 Bouquec, apot 223 Butterfly, the lesser White Cabbage 339 ... 164 Calceolaria, dwarf Camoensia maxima i«« Carludovica palmata and its fruit 423, 426 Castor-oil Plant, the, as a tree ... 460 Cauliflower growing at Erfurt ... 212 Cedars of Lebanon at home 201 Celosia pyramidalis 149 Ceratozamia mexicana 308 „ fruit of ... 309 Chrys anthemum. Anemone- flowered 271 Chrysanthemum incurved 261 „ pyramid, trellis for 268 „ standard, trellis for , 268 (, white. Anemone- flowered ... 33 Cineraria, dwarf 126 Coca Plant, the 446 Cockscomb, Pyramidal 149 Conifer, herbaceous scion of 67 Conifers, grafting (4 illustrations) 57, 58 Conover's Asparagus buncher ... 254 Conservatories, rocky screens in ... 5 Comus canadensis 259 Dahhas, grafting Daisy, the Turfing Dwarf Pear trees pruned Elm at Schimsheim Epacris, the new double white Euphorbias, gigantic Feather Grass, the 199 Fernery, a, in the Isle of Wight ... 65 Flowers, hardy of the week in Lon- don gardens— in all, 160 illustra- tions—333, 357, 381, 405, 427. 449, 451, 473, 497, 521, 546. 665, 689 Fraxinella, the 175 Frontispiece, Louis Van Houtte Fuchsia, an erect-flowering 285 Galanthus Elwesi Garden Marker, a handy Garden mouse-trap, a , General Strachey's Saxifrage Gleichenia dicarpa Gooseberry, Fuchsia-flowered Grafting Conifers {4 illustrations) Grafting Dahhas , Grape-room at Heckfleld, section o Green Tea Plant, the Griffinia ornata , Helleborus fcetidus , ... 199 Hemp, Slender-leaved Bowstring ... 587 IliuBtrationa, Vick*s 211 Implements for Potato culture (8 illustrations) 618 Iris, the Persian 366 Jasminum nudiflonim Page I Pi ... 41 Potting House, section of a I Primroses, the (31 illustrations) 101, I Pritchardia fllifera Lamp for wanning conservatories 531 Protections for young plants (6 illu Laurel cut back 397 trations) Lettuce -packing 47 Pyramidal Pear trees , Mahonia, pinnate-leaved Maize (" Sweet Com "). best varie- ties of Major Oak, the, in Thoresby Park... Mediterranean shore garden, a Melianthua major Moss Rose, the Common Moutan, a double-flowered ,. a single-flowered Mushrooms from mUltrack spawn... ,, on a brick wall Myrsiphyllum, sprays of Narcissus monophyllus 239 „ White Mountain 404 Nemophilas 232 Odontoglossum cirrbosum (2 illus- trations) 401 ,, vexillarium at Gun- ncrsbury 677 Onion Fly. the 81 Oxalises, the 234 Packing cuttings for post 87 Pan, Ware's Shelter 379 Papaver somniferum 197 Podocytisus caramanicua 481 Peach tree, spur-pruned 151 Pear trees, renovating old (3 illus- trations) 219 Phalsenopsids, section of a lean-to house for 313 Pine Apples. Twin 15 Poppv. the Double Opium 197 Pot fur Orchids, a now 693 Pot-saucer, section of 403 Potato fungus, rest-spores of ... 68 „ seed rack 155 Quiballa, hilly country i Rack for Potato seed 166 Root-graft of Wistaria 383 Rosa rugosa alba, ripe fruit of ... 462 Rubus deliciosua 617 I Salpiglossis, hybrid 241 ' Sideboard, centre-piece for a ... 63 i Sonchns elegantissimus 679 St. Bruno's Lily, abnormal bloom ! of 691 Stipa pennata 199 Sweet Fennel, the, or Finnochio ... 463 Syringodea pulchella 353 Vegetation in Australia 413 View near Virginia Water 231 Vines, French mode of training ... 92 Walnut, the Pear-shaped (5 illustra- tions) 392 „ and its varieties (20 il- lustrations) ... 361-36S Water Dock, the Great 512 Water Lily, the Yellow 642 the White 541 Weeping Sophora, the (summer aspect) ... 601 „ the (winter aspect) ... 600 Welwitschia in Angola 177 Woodruff, the Sweet 287 Wire straining on walls 113 Xiphion Histrio 29 Yew, the Dovaston i,upPLB«.ifi.jtn,T 16, 1876.3 THE GARDEN M. LOUIS V^N HOXJTTE. The late Louis Van Hohtte was not only a great Nurseryman and the founder of wliat was considered the most important establishment of its kind in Europe; he was also an enthusiastic lover of plants for then- own sake, and a man who in many ways was a benefactor to his Profession. His estabhshment has long been regarded as the best of its kind, not only in Belgium but also on the Continent, affording, as it did, employment for about 200 persons, and doing business not only in Europe, but also largely in North and South America, China, and Japan. Some idea of the extent of business done here may be gleaned from the fact that about 500,000 plants of Camellias alone were disposed of every year from this nursery. Remarkable among speciaUties were Palms, and new seedling Azaleas, fine-foliaged and Gesneraceous plants, among which were some fine hybrids. One of M. Van Houxte's earUest attempts at hybridising was crowned with success, the result being the brilliant Gladiolus gandavensis, together with some very beautiful cross-bred seedlmg Alstroemerias, of the beauty of which the late Dean Hekbeet spoke most enthusiastically at the time ; and, as is well known, many lovely varieties of Azalea mollis have been originated in his establishment. One of his latest successes in this way was the production of Bertolonia Van Houttei, one of the most beautiful of all Melastomads, and an acquisition of which he might well be proud. He energetically followed up the introduc- tion of new plants from the Tropics, and it is interesting to find that one of the most successful of all modern collectors, M. Benedicte Roezl, was brought up in M. Van Houtte's establishment, which was a good school for young gardeners, being remarkable for its completeness in all departments. Not only were plants raised here and sent to all parts of the world by the thousand, not only were catalogues and descriptions of them prepared, printed, and sent out, but one of the most beautiful and useful of all serial horticultural works was edited and the coloured plates prepared under M. Van Houtte's personal supervision. This work has reached its twenty-second volume, and contains 2260 plates, about the same number of woodcuts or lithographic etchings, and about 4500 articles and notes on plants and other horticultural subjects. From the original drawing to the last printing from the stone and final touching up by hand, these beautiful plates were fimshed in the nursery, a long corridor-like building being fitted up with tables, presses, and other apparatus for the use of artists and printers. He died on the 9th of May, 1876, aged sixty-six years, and at his funeral the expression of regret at his loss was universal. The Count de Kerchove, Burgomaster of Ghent, said :—" Gentlemen— The Royal Agricultural and Botanical Society of Ghent has just rendered its last homage to one of its most illustrious members, one who has contributed more than any other to the brilliancy of its fetes and the greatness of its reputation ; it has said its last farewell to that emment horticulturist, who, thanks to his energy and scientific attainments, has founded one of the best horticultural establishments in the world. In his youth, Louis Van HouTTE was an ardent lover of plants, and as a botanist, in more mature years, he made them his constant study. He therefore eagerly accepted an offer which was made to him to go to Brazil as a collector. In this capacity xii . THE GARDEN. [anPFiBmHi, juk is. isre. be paid a visit to the vast forests which border the Amazon, and later on to the verdurous solitudes of Eastern Africa. He possessed a constitution which successfullj withstood the climatic vicissitudes of the Tropics, where the more important of his botanical treasures were collected. On his return to Belgium he was appointed director of the Botanical Garden at Brussels, where he found himself again among the j'lants which he loved so well. A botanical garden, however, did not afibrd him all that he desired; he still longed to dwell among those elegant Palms, those sweet-scented Orchids, and those delicate Ferns with which he had met in his foreign travels, and this at length led to his founding the fine establishment at Ghent with which his name has been so long associated. It is unnecessary to advert to the influence which this nursery has had on the horti- cultural world. As a man Van Houtte was indefatigable, resolute. Even during his last illness he went to Brussels, in order that he might be an eye-witness of his success at that exhibition. His establishment was ever open to all who took an interest in plants and plant culture, both amateur and professional. No eflPort seemed too much for him, provided horticulture was benefited by it ; and this leads me to direct attention to the beautiful house which he had constructed to shelter the Victoria Kcgia and his fine collection of Pitcher Plants and Orchids which he so much loved. His loss, as far as horticulture is concerned, is not, therefore, confined to Ghent; but that city, of which he was the first magistrate for many years, will miss him in other respects. Notwithstanding the high position which he attained, and the honours conferred on him. Van Houtte remained a kind-hearted and modest man, his chief pride consisting in gaining the affection of those under him. His disposition was at all times generous, and his fricndshiiJ sincere. In short, while horticulture continues to engage our attention, his name will live." THE aA-HDEisr. ^ THE COUNTRY PAESON IN HIS GARDEN* By REYNOLDS HOLE. The Country Parson sometimes ref resheth himself, as knowing that Nature will not bear everlasting droopings, that all men shun a perpetual Severity, and that instructions, seasoned with Pleasantness, both enter sooner and root deeper in that ground, which hath been described by the Psalmist as the Ground of the Heart ; and so long as he doth remember to put bounds and hoops to his Hilarities, and to Pick out of Mirth, like stones from out his soU, Profaneness, filthiness, abuaiveness, he doth verify unto himself, and likewise to his friends and neighbours, that proverb of the wise King, which saith, " A merry Heart doeth good, like a Medicine." Wherefore the Parson, as knowing that he should be unto his people and companions a Teacher and a Guide, striveth to exercise a brave Abstinence and a thoughtful Discreetness, when he chooseth a Recreation, and enjoyeth his ease ; keeping himself aloof from evil company, because sins make all equal, whom they find together ; and resisting all such excess in the outlay of his Money or his Time, as may prove a robbery and hurt unto his Flock or unto him ; all such excitements, as do afterwards unfit men for their duties, leaving them, as ;do strong Drinks and Dainties, in drowsiness and stupidity; and all such Amusements as have no better purport than to amuse. " If I forget Jerusalem in my Mirth," he saith, " let my right hand forget her cunning." Even in Laughter will my heart be sorrowful ; and the end of that Mirth is Heaviness. And so, albeit the Country Parson hath delight in horses, esteeming them as noblest of all Beasts, and most admiring them outstretched at Speed, and would gladly go forth with his neighbours to witness their Honest contention, yet keepeth he away from the Course or Race, as one who knoweth that lewd fellows of the baser sort, yea the very Abjects, be there gathered together, not to please themselves with the Beauty, the Grace, the Swiftness of the Steed, nor yet with the Skill and Courage of his Rider, but to outwit and to defraud one the other, and to make a jest of Dishonour and Vice. He seeth how that fair Houses be desolate, and ancient Estates be estranged, by the Gambling and Wagering of reckless men, who might have made those Homes Happy, and bequeathed those broad lands to their Heirs ; he readeth how that Madness and Suicide have come unto Fools, who have staked all that remained upon a Race, or upon a Throwing of Dice ; and in the wail of the widow and in the exceeding bitter cry of the fatherless, robbed of their Heritage, he heareth and heedeth a • Writ after the manner of George Herbert. Some of the sentences, and everal of the phrases, are from the writings of Herbert Voice, that warneth him and all, " Enter not into the path of the Wicked, and go not into the way of evil men." And though the Country Parson hath learned to ride, in those days, when, as the Latin Poet writes, unbearded Youth in horse and hound rejoices, and though he hath Knowledge, it may be, from a brave Experience, how to clear the strong Wall of Stone, the Fences of Oxen, and the Brook, running broad and deep ; and though he honoureth the Chase as an Exercise Brave and Healthful, teaching men to be cool yet bold in danger, and above all as bringing them together, that there be more Friendship and larger Sympathies ; though it delighteth him to see the young Squire coming home, with the Brush at his Saddle-Bow; though he leaves the unfinished sentence glistening on his Sermon, or the Lunch half-eaten on his plate, should his ears catch the sounds, or his eyes the signs, of the Hunt ; and though his long Clerkly Coat may be seen flying over the Dike and topping the Stake-and-Bound, with half his parish jianting in bis wake ; yet is the Chase (unless his cure be small, and his means large, and he ride not oft, but Valorously), beyond his reach and precinct. It hath a greater disbursement, both of Gold itself, and of the Hours which are yet more golden, than agreeth with the income of a Minister, or with the duties of a Priest. Next, and as doth concern the Shooting with a Gun, albeit the Country Parson walketh openly and without Shame, if Conscience hinders him not, amid the Stubbles and Turnips of his Glebe, the Coverts of my lord, the Sedges of the Brook ; and though the whirring Partridge, the rocketing Pheasant, the gliding Woodcock, the quacking Mallard, the twisting Snipe, and the nimble Coney, escape not his steady aim ; — yet, because of jealousies as concerns the Glebe aforesaid, which, for the most part, too small to furnish sport by itself, interferes with the Preserves of others, and because he liketh not the system now in vogue of slaughtering by hundreds poor home- bred birds, so tame that they will hardly rise unto destruction • — the Parson goes out but rarely to seek his Recreation with the Gun. As to Angling with the rod, there be seldom found among Parsons he that takes to this diversion, as good Master Isaac Walton and others, a mighty Affection, one who causeth the Fly to fall so lightly on the stream, and the Minnow to spin so Minnowishly in it, that the wiliest of Fishes look and die. A good fisherman is rare, as a Judicious Hooker among the Clerks, and indeed for that matter among the Laymen too ; and, where may be the Desire and Ability, there lacketh oft the Opportunity. Nor must they, who are commanded to be Fishers of Men, go far or frequently in search of it. The Country Parson has loved Cricket, man and boy, these thirty years or more, and will never lose that Love. He is the Founder and Friend of the village club, and cannot pass his THE GAEDEN. [Jan. 1, 1876. Schoolboys, playing oq the Green, without bowling a Ball or hitting it. It stirreth his pulse, and maketh his Heart glad, to run up, when he taketh his holiday, unto the Ground at Lord's, and to see the Boys of his School, or the Youths of his University, or the Men of his County, contend for victory. But he thinketh it unseemly to present himself Publickly in the similitude of a Bale of Flannel, and in the costume of one, who Saweth the Stone ; and he loseth moreover early in man- hood that Agility of Hand and Speed of Foot, without which ho may uot Excel. None the less, though he hitteth too late to Leg, and misseth the Catch to Point, and breatheth audibly between the Wickets, his heart is with the Grand old Game ; and one of the first duties, which he teacheth his sons and the sons of his parishioners is to Play with a Straight Bat. In Archery, the Country Parson, whose forefathers fought at Agincourt, and who hath firm faith in Robin o' th' Wood, doth take a pleasant pride, and it is unto him a Wholesome and Cheap exercise of the Muscles, and a welcome Restoration of his mind. But unto few of his Order is given such space of level sward as the Pastime needeth, or that leisure for prac- tising the Art, as he must have, who would succeed therein. Of all Games that, as it seems to me, suiteth him best, which {though it be very ancient, being identical, or, if not identical, resembling closely the Sphaii-islih; of the Greeks) hath but recently been brought to us — to wit, Lawn Tennis. Not so much because it be in name Episcopal, and suggestive to the Parson of the duties, which he oweth to his Ordinary, or of the highest Honoui's to which his Hope aspires, but because it revives the Racquets of his youth, and without over- straining the locomotive capacities of his Manhood, brings to him, amid cheerful Companions, that glow of Exercise and elevation of Spirit, so refreshing, and so helpful to his bodily Health. But few Rectors, fewer Vicars, and no Curates, have grounds large enough for a Tennis-Court, or friends at hand to play, if they had. The Country Parson careth not for Croquet, and though he doth, as a rule, discourage that style of phraseology, which goeth by the name of Slang, and doth condemn all severe and sweeping Denouncements, yet hath he been seen to smile his consent, when his Squire hath pronounced his conviction, that " Croquet was utter Rot." Seeing, then, that these Diversions do carry with them, so far as we clergy be concerned, both difficulties and Dissuasions, and seeing that at best they are but for the minority, and then only for a Season, we must pursue our inquiry after some other Recreation, which, like the Cup, which cheers but not inebriates, shall Refresh without relaxing the Country Parson. We shall find it, if I mistake not, in The Garden. In the Culture of a Garden, as it seemeth to me, the Country Parson hath a Refreshment, pure and pleasant, within his reach always, and withm his income also, because Horticulture, if it be discreetly done, tendeth to increase rather than to impair his means of Maintenance ; a Refreshment, which, as my lord Bacon saith, is greater than all others else, seeing that it doth renovate Mind and Body alike, without any such Excess or Excitement as doth bring on afterwards a Weariness and Debility. As to other Pastimes, Sports, and Recreations— albeit I do commend them in their temperate uses and their righteous applications— men must go abroad and roam afield in quest of them ; and they be given for our Enjoyment at certain Seasons only; and ofttimcs they are hindered by unkindly Weather, by Winds, and by Rains, by Droughts, and by Frosts ; and their Vexations and Disappointments are not few, as, for example, when he who Hunteth the Fox liketh not a Fence, and goeth a circuit, and seeth the Hounds no more ; or when he, who Shooteth Jealously, misseth the Game, and his Rival (as the phrase is) Wipeth his Eye. Whereas I do Alhrm, and will humbly endeavour to Attest, that the Country Parson hath in his Garden, not only a Healthful Pursuit and a Happy Pastime, appropriate to his means and to his Voca- tion, but an Enjoyment, moreover, which, as the Lover said of his Phyllis, " never fails to please." First of all, I would maintain, that there is no Garden so small but that it may constantly supply a Delight and Interest, to those who tend it with Love and care, in the Spring, the Summer, and the Autumn; and that there is no Purse so small, but that, when there is the wish. Economy may afford the little Green- house and the Frame, which prolong, through dull Winter, the Gardener's joy. As a rule, the Parish Priest is poor, and when he remembereth the Birthplace at Bethlehem and the Home at Nazareth, he may well learn from his poverty there- with to be content ; but it would be hard, indeed, if he could not purchase unto himself that which hundreds of Artizans, by the fair Town of Nottingham and elsewhere, can buy from their wages — " a Bit o' Glass." Assuredly, I say, there is no Garden so small, but that the fair Flowers of the Season may visit it in their course, from the Christmas to the Autumnal Rose ; and there is no Greenhouse so small, but that Beauty shall glow therein, if only Affection Watch. " Allers summut to cheer one up, summut bright for th' eye, and m' appen sweet for the nose, indoors or out, summer and winter," said a Mechanic ; and surely the Country Parson in the purer air, far away from the smoke of the Town, and having his Plot of ground and his Glass at his door, may achieve a like success, and make his Garden a Joy for ever. What Treasures he may collect,'though his Space be small, what Gems, varied and lustrous, though he doth hold, as it were, the Casket in his hand — yea. Pearls more Blue than the Turquoise, more Purple than the Amythest, more Green than the Emerald, more Golden than the Topez, more Crimson than the Carbuncle, and Whiter than Pearls — he who maketh for himself as, now. Happily for themselves, so many make a Rock, or Alpine, Garden. Just a few large Stones — and I would have him who placeth them betake himself first where he may best observe how Nature maketh her gardens amid the Rocks — and intermixed soils. Dry and Damp, Sand, Loam, and Peat, some for the Sunshine and some for Shade, for he shall have plants Diverse and Multiform ; and then, if he will study with his Mind and admire with his Heart, Nurse the Weakly, and Nourish the Strong, Exhume the Groundsel, and Inhume the Slug. Oh, for him, what visions of Loveliness ! What an Alphabet is here for the young pupil's eye to learn : — Acoena, Alyssum, Anemone, Arabis, Aubrietia ; Bellis and Bluebell ; Campanula, Cerastium, Cheiranthus, Cyclamen ; Daphne, Dianthus ; Erica, Erythronium ; Fumaria and Funkia ; Gentian and Geranium ; Helianthemum and Houseleek ; Iberis and Iris ; Lithospermum and Lychnis ; Menziesia and Myosotis ; Nertera and Nierembergia; Orobus and Oxalis ; Phlox and Primula ; Ramondia and Ranunculus ; Saxifraga and Sedum ; Thymus and Trillium ; Veronica and Viola ; and when he has mastered these, what volumes for him to read. As a book- hawker's pack is to the Bodleian, so are all other Libraries to the illustrated Library of Flora. Next, be it well considered that a Garden hath for the Parson goodly thoughts and Ins.tructions, for it doth Remind him continually how Blessed was the first Gardener, so long as he kept Innocency and obeyed his Maker, and how Briar and Blight, and all that is evil, are the curse and consequence of Sin, and can only be uprooted with Sweat of Brow. If he bo sorrowful when he marketh Decay and Death around him, as he who wrote — Then went I to a Garden, and did spy A Gallant Flower, The Crown Imperial. " Sure," said I, " Peace at the root must dwell. But, when I digg'd, I saw a worm devour What sbew'd so well ; " he findeth Comfort and Hope with it when he seeth the Resurrection of the Spring and thinketh of his own ; he remembereth Who bade him, " Consider the Lilies ; " and he hath Faith that the same Power and Love, which brought so much Beauty from the mean, dry Bulb, can bring Angels out of the dust of the Grave. AVhen he tieth out a branch or pruneth it unto the Shane which he deemeth the best, he must be oft reminded of the yoimg " trees of the Lord, full of sap," which it is his Duty to train Heavenward ; and how that sharp knife with which he cuts away excess, deformity, and disease, is like the Iron of Repentance in the Sinner's Soul. And not only in his Meditations, but in his Ministrations also, shall his Garden be the Parson's Friend. He rejoiceth fervently to make an offering of his fairest Flowers to Hnr, Whose Breath perfumes them And Whose pencil paints. Jan. 1, 1876.] THE GARDEN. upon the Altar, which is to him a Royal Throne — Solmm Gebisti, as it was called of old. He taketh them to Brighten the dreary chambers of the sick, and there he maketh them his Text, and persisteth, that though man cometh up and is cut down like a Flovrer, like a Flower he is not dead but sloepeth, and shall bloom to an Eternal Summer, upon the New Earth, which will be Heaven also. A PARADISE OF FLOWERS. We have already to lament the vulgarisation of so many beau- tiful places, both here and on the Continent, by hordes of summer tourists, attracted thither either by hygienic repute, or by the enthusiastic descriptions of those who have been fortunate enough to see the laud in its primitive loveliness, that it becomes an instinct in those whoarenot merely content to do this or that tour, and pass on to do some other in like manner, to be discreetly silent and keep their own counsel about new scenes and routes. Were I to become the lucky discoverer of a new station in this island for one of our r.ipidly disappearing native plants, such as Cypripedium Caloeolus or Men/.iesia coerulea, no ordinary bribe would induce me to publish the same in Tue Garden or any other paper ; for the result would surely be a flight of hungry botanists, terrible with trowel and tin case, who would swoop down and loot the treasure, as sure as Kales are curly. But it is other- wise when a vast tract rich in flowery wealth, and lying out of the regular tourist route is visited. The resources of an Alpine region are so inexhaustible on account of the inacces- sible storehouses of flowers, and the season during which it can be visited is so comparatively short, that the injury done by a whole battalion of botanists, is infinately less than is caused in this country when prizes are offered (as too often they are) at country flower shows for the best bouquet of rare wild flowers. No one who loves them truly can ever forget his first visit to the home of Alpine flowers. It was my fortune this year to visit with a congenial companion one of the richest valleys in the Ober-Engadine, and although the season was well-nigh spent — it was early in September — many flowers were still recognisable and a few in full blossom. The drive from. Coire to Ponte over the Albula Pass is very fine. It occupies twelve hours, and as the road is very steep, half the time may be spent on foot, walking up the hills in front of the deligence. On the Swiss side of the pass the most conspicuous flower in the forests at that late season, was the Swallow-wort Gentian (Gentiana asolepiadea), and the Alpine Toadflax (Linaria alpina), with bright purple, scarlet-tipped flowers appeared to grow even brighter than on rock-work at home, where it is not seen as often as it should be. Here and there a stray blossom of Gentiana ciliata, verna, and bavarica, reminded us that June is the month to visit these high regions. Just before reaching Weissenstein, the highest point of the road, 7,000 feet above sea level, we get above the forest, here composed almost entirely of Spruce and Piaus Cembra. A vast treeless waste surrounds the tavern at Weissenstein ; we noticed there a dwarf lilac-rayed Aster lighting up the roadside, and sheets of a blue Monk's- hood, probably Aconitum autumnale, were very gay among the granite boulders. The ever present Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) straggled along the roadside even at this high level, but did not seem half so irrepressible or at home as in lower regions. We did not flnally lose sight of it till we descended the Maloggia Pass into Italy. The modest British Eyebright (Euphrasia) here appeared as a handsome erect and many- branchedplant, 6incheshigh,bearingplume-like sprays of many- pencilled flowers, much larger than we are accustomed to see exhibited by the same plant in our lowlands. Our destination was Pontresina, which we reached at six p.m., about two hours' ride beyond Ponte. The situation of the vfllage is most striking. It lies 6,000 feet above the sea at the junction of two streams, issuing respectively from the Rosegg and Morteratsch Glaciers, the end of the former being 4 miles, of the latter 6 miles from the village. The vegetation is wonderfully varied and profuse. The forests cease 1,000 feet above the village, and are com- posed entirely of Larch and Siberian Cedar (so called, or rather mis-called, for it is the Pinus Cembra). A few bushes of Juniper and Cotoneaster are the only noticeable shrubs, but flowers are almost innumerable, and early in the season they must indeed be delightful. The meadows round the village were still rich with Meadow Saffron (Colcbicum autum- nale), Dianthus (a large pale variety, reminding one of Hedde- wigii, but with a delicious fragrance of Honeysuckle), Cam- panulas, and Asters ; an orange-coloured Composite, of a very pleasing tint, was also couspicuous. The woods are carpeted thickly with Rhododendron, Pyrola, Linna3a boreaUs, and Blackberries ; and, above the tree level, the rocks are fairly wreathed and encrusted with such plants as Saxifraga pyra- midalis, oppositifolia, Rocheliana, &c., Sempervivum arachnoi- deum and chrysanthum, Epilobium Dodonwi, Primulas of many sorts, Azalea repens, Crowberries, and Campanulas; while the Scottish Heath or Ling maintains a thrifty life to the very verge of eternal snow — not, however, as we are accus- tomed to see it, clothing whole mountains in soft purples and russets, such as no other plant can give, but in stunted starve- ling tufts. We had not time to explore the Rosegg valley, but confined ourselves to that of the Morteratsch, the eastern side of which, being less densely wooded, appeared richest in flowers, especially where the debris forms a well-marked line with the vertical limestone face from which it has fallen. The Val del Fain, or Valley of Hay, opens to the eastward at the head of the Morteratsch Valley, near the summit of the Bernina Pass, 7,000 feet above the sea. It is well named Valley of Hay, for never did I see so many square miles under the scythe. The treeless mountain lawns are smooth enough (though not level enough, of course,) for tenuis, broken here and there with masses of rook and little thickets of Daphne Cneorum and Alpine Rose. Both of us being Scotchmen, we involuntarily exclaimed, " What magnificent golf-links ! " an expression that conveys a good deal of description in a few words to our fellow- countrymen. Through the centre of this elevated valley, closed at the upper end by the bare vertical walls of the Lan- gard Range, and at the lower end by the dazzling snow-fields of the Diavolezza, a mountain torrent, clear as glass (lower down it receives the milky turbidity of the Morteratsch Glacier), has cut its way deep through a bed of primitive limestone. The walls of this gorge or canon are thickly clothed with a truly Alpine vegetation. We secured a quantity of bulbs of Lilies (which, I fear, will for the most part turn out to be pom- ponium) and other kinds. Gentians, from the large yellow lutea to the dwarf bavarica and verna, were very abundant. The gracefully -tufted seed-vessels of Anemone alpina waved over the short crisp turf, as those of A. Pulsatilla do on the chalk downs of England; and, mingled with these were seed-vessels of a genus, so singularly alike that it was only by looking at the root leaves that they could be distinguished. We obtained also some roots of a pretty hairy Campanula, with drooping bells of pale blue. But our most showy prize was half-a-dozen stout tufts of the much- extolled Edelweiss (Guaphalinm Leontopodium), of which we found a mass on the cliff overhanging the stream. To wear a bit of Edelweiss of your own plucking in your cap is reckoned a sort of certificate of your matriculation in Alpine climbing. It is so much sought after by tourists and natives — by the latter to be sold to the former — that it has disappeared from most accessible places near the villages, so we considered our- selves in luck when we came upon this bed of it. The plants of it which I brought home are spending the winter, not, as heretofore, in a snow wreath, but in a cold frame. To all fellow-lovers of flowers who visit the Engadine I would say go in June, take an air-tight tin case, a geologist's hammer, and a collector's trowel, and you will be amply rewarded. But do not appropriate any of the tempting little seedling Pines in the forests, for there is a wise decree in this canton that for every Pine so stolen detection entails a fine of 60 francs. Salmoniceps. Renovating Unhealthy Camellias. — Last season I set about growing Camellias, in.y stock of which consisted of two dozen plants. They ranged from 2 to 4 feet in height, and the whole scarcely produced a dozen flowers. The appearance of the plants being anything but promising, I removed the old soil from the back of our late Peach-house 1 foot deep — or perhaps more — put in rubble for drainage, and planted the Camellias close to the back wall with their root soil intact, giving them good holding loam. They have grown well, and I have this season a good crop of flowers.— G. K. THE GARDEN. [Jax. ], 1870. IVY NOT INJURIOUS TO TREES. Being a devoted admirer of Ivy, allow me to offer the folIowiDg remarks, which I hope may tend to induce your readers to nse their own observation with regard to this beautiful and invaluable climb- ing plant, and not be led away by the repetition of remarks and assertions which lead to its destruction on ill-founded accusations. Ivy does not extract nourishment from trees. In a young state it is furnished with little soft feelers, by which it is enabled to cling to the bark and grow upwards. As it advances in age, these appliances die away and wholly disappear, and the seem of the Ivy has no more to do with the tree than a rope would have loosely coiled round it. Anyone may then pass their hand between the stem of the Ivy and that of the tree around which it coils, and that it does not injure the growth of trees, excepting when it becomes too heavy for the boughs on which it rests, I can prove from numberless instances ; but I will only name two of the most remarkable. More than fifty years ago, Ivy was planted at the foot of an Apple tree, in a flower gard°en (now in my possession) ; the Ivy flourished, and made the tree a complete evergreen umbrella, which it is to this day, and yet, not. withstanding neglect as regards prnning, which would have been desirable to lighten the weight of Ivy from the upper boughs, that Apple tree flowered and bore annually, and still flowers and has borne fruit to a comparatively recent period. I do not adduce this instance with any idea of recommending the use of Ivy for increasing the produce of the orchard, but I do so to prove that it cannot impair the vitality of a tree, if an Apple tree can flower and bear for the greater part of a century, having been loaded with Ivy for more than half that period. Another instance is that of a Chichester Elm, also in my grounds, the rapid and fine growth of which elicited the wonder of the late Sir William Hooker. This tree has only been planted between thirty and forty years, and for size, height, and beauty it is the admiration of all who see it. Ivy was planted at its base at an early period, and has grown with its growth ; the stems of the Ivy are now as thick as small cables, and between them and the tree, which it adorns with its evergreen foliage, at the present season when its natural leaves have fallen, there is a complete hollow. Ivy is also unrivalled in its wall.drying qualities, and sometimes is the only cure for a damp wall through which rain is driven by wind, a fact of which anyone may convince themselves, by the continual appearance of cob- webs if Ivy is torn down from a wall. The small wall Ivy is a very slow grower, but (an admirable preserver of stone walls; it does not go between the stones, but forms a strong network over the face of the whole. A. Ll. Church Decoration.— The following is the way in which we decorated a Church in this neighbourhood. The wall behind the altar we panelled and dressed with green Box or Yew, the an<^les and centre being Golden Holly. On this we fastened bunches of "berries the effect of which, backed up by the yellow leaves, was strikinKly beautiful. On the sides of the panels, half way between the corners, we put clusters of yellow.berried Holly, which, on the dark ground looked well, the position of the dillerent.colonred berries and leaves being reversed in each alternate panel. Elsewhere the pane s were trimmed with silver.leaved Holly, mixed with common small wild Ivy, which was allowed to run gracefully, more or less into the panels. In this case, no berries were used. Behind the altar was a cross, covered with green Moss, with very small Ivy embedded in it, and dressed with eight fine Eucharis Sowers, viz two at the base, four up the middle, and one on each side, forming a chaste and beautiful centre-piece.— .lonx Garlaud, Killertoii, E.reter. Deranged Thermometers.-The directionsforadiustingregis- tering thermometers which may have become out of order, as given at page ^,6, Vol. VIII., of The Gaiu.e.v, apply only to the horizontal spirit minimum self-registering thermometers ; the upright maximum and m'nimum instruments referred to by "Enquirer" (see p. 537 Vol. VIII.), which arc filled partly with alcohol and partly with mercury, are too complicated and of too delicate a nature for any but a skilled workman to set right when once out of adjustment The reason why one side reads higher than the other is that the thermometer, which is constructed for nse only in a vertical position, has been laid down, and the two fluids have thus been displaced! _ inquirer also complains that the index now follows the fluid instead of remaining in the tiibe at the maximum or minimum points, or requiring the aid of a magnet to move it in the tube, as originally was the case. This defect arises from the gradual loss of elasticity of the human hair (used as a spring to retain the index in the tube), by exposure to the action of the sun's rays. These thermometers should be placed strictly in the shade, as none but mercurial thermometers will resist the sun's heat without risk of being pnt of adjustment.— Neguetti & Zamiira, Holboni ViaJact NOTES OP THE WEEK, At present, when the water-line of the Serpentine is 3 or 4 feet below the kerb stone placed around it, the folly of placing this stone edging there may be more fnlly seen than usual. Of course it must come away some day. The right margin here, as in most cases, is sand or gravel. Amo.ng choice vegetables now obtainable in Covent Garden Marjiet are fresh green Peas — forced indoors, of course. Asparagus may also be had ; Truffles, from Hampshire, are tolerably plentiful ; French Lettuces, Endive, Witloof or Chicory, and young Radishes are of excellent quality for salads ; and winter Cucumbers may also be had in good condition. There is yet a wide field for raisers of new Apples of first rate quality and which will keep. Now, at the end of the year, specimens of our two best flavoured Apples, Cox's Orange Pippin and the Ribston, are obtained with difficulty, whilst the latest specimens are beginning to decay, and American fruit commands the best prices. Raising large cooking Apples, of which we already have too many, is needless work. Among the most beautiful of all pot-plants now brought to Covent Garden Market is the lovely little Siberian Squill, with drooping flowers of the clearest and most vivid blue colour imaginable. We have previously alluded to the charming potfuls of scarlet Tulips, intermixed, with Lily of the Valley and ilaiden-hair Fern now to be seen in the market, and we hope to see this Squill used in the same way. Indeed, nothing could well be prettier than pots of Lily of the Valley and tender young Ferns, neatly but not too regularly margined with this beautiful little Alpine bulb. It is proposed to hold, in connection with the Westminster Aquarium, which is to be opened to the public early this month, a series of flower and fruit shows on the following dates — April 12th and 13th, Forced Rhododendrons, Azaleas, itc. ; May 10th and 11th. Roses in pots, Azaleas, Palms, and Decorative Table Plants ; May 30th and 31st, Grand Exhibition of Plants and Fruit ; July 5th and 6th, Great Rose Show and Dinner-table Decorations ; and October 4th and 5th, Great Fruit and Chrysanthemum Show. The amount offered in prizes at those exhibitions is £2,500, the prize money to be paid on the first day of the show. We have frequently alluded to the rare Orchids which now find their way to the florists' shops in Covent Garden, and it is with pleasure that we see glimpses of the time when these plants shall bo obtainable by anyone who cares to grow them. Cypripedium insigno is now sold as an ordinary decorative plant, and this week we have noticed flowers of the beautiful Pilumna fragrans, one of the purest and sweetest of all white-flowered Orchids, Roezl's, Pescatore's, and the Alexandrian Odontoglots; also the tiger-spotted species (O. grande), Oncidium cheirophorum, 0. tigrinum, Lailia anceps, L. autumnalis, and L. furfur.acea, to say nothing of a whole host of Lycastes and Dendrobes of the commoner kinds. Mr. James Barnes writes to us, as follows, respecting somo trees of the Cloth-of-GoId Rose, in Devonshire : — " Near Mr. Ella- combe's vicarage, at Clyst St. George, lives a small tradesman, a great Rose fancier, who has growing at the end of his house the finest Cloth.of-Gold Rose tree I have ever seen. It covers tho whole gable end of his house, has a stem as thick as one's arm, and produces flowers in such abundance as to surprise all who see it when in bloom. The only attention which it receives is pruning out the weak wood and tacking in tho long, strong shoots fall length. Another Rose tree, of the same variety, close to Exmonth, grows up the side of a house to a height of from 30 to 33 feet, the growth beiug rough and rambling. This tree makes young wood 10 and 12 foet in length, and when loaded with blossoms, which it annually is, its appearance is strikingly beautiful, inter- mixed with other climbers. A MONOGRAPH of the genus Adiantum, by A. Keyserling' appears in the " Memoires " of the Academy of St. Petersburg, Vol. XXU., part 2 (1875). I.N the limited apace afforded by our index supplement we, this week, have had little more than room to hint at the great amount of attention that Mr. Darwin has throughout his life given to plants, and to his claims to be included among great gardeners. He has little afiinity with the numerous botauists who coneeru themselves with the names of plants only. He has tried to fathom some of the mysteries of plant life and has often succeeded, and often pointed to the direction from which light will probably come. Many of his most interesting experiments were carried out with living plants in his own garden in Kent, and in his own green, house. Jan. 1, 1876.] THE GAEDBN. THE INDOOR GARDEN. ROCKY SCREENS IN CONSERVATORIES. It is often desirable to hide a Tvall or some other unattractive surface or objectionable feature in a -winter garden or conser- vatory. How to do this effectually and gracefully is often attempted in the garden. Happily, it has often been most effectually done, and we this week engrave a photograph of a rocky screen erected in a conservatory near Hampton Court, by Messrs. Weeks & Co. In this case a view of certain out- houses, &c., necessitated a screen, and a rocky screen erected by Mr. Pulham is, as many of our readers know, a beautiful object, especially when Ferns and Mosses begin to feel at home on it, and free-growing climbers fall from point to point. By leaving interspaces for plenty of soil, fine-leaved plants may be well grown, their massive leaves contrasting admirably with the delicate grace of the Perns and Mosses. In a conservatory or glazed structure of any kind, where the atmosphere is, to large baskets with the Pelargonium family. The bottom of each basket was lined with fresh green Moss, and large plants of the Ivy-leaved varieties, such as L'Elcgant and Willsii roseum, were planted at the edge, and pegged over the outside of each. The centres were then filled with free-flowering Zonals, scarlet, pink, and white, and a few plants of tricolor and scented-leaved varieties. They were hung up out of doors under the partial shade of trees for a month until well esta- blished, when they were removed to their light, airy, winter quarters at the top of a large conservatory ; since then they have been continually glowing with splendid trusses of bloom. The many beautiful varieties of Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums now in cultivation show to greater advantage in this way than under almost any other circumstances. As soon as the under part of the basket is covered the shoots should be allowed to depend naturally, when their graceful habit will greatly add to the beauty of their showy, but stiff-habited, Zonal brethren. The good or bad effects of baskets depend greatly on the graceful and natural manner in which the plants are arranged. Great Rocky Screen in a Conservatory. some extent, under control, it is easy to sustain an abundance of graceful plant life on a rocky screen, particularly it it is made after a fasbion that allows a good deal of soil to be placed here and there. But, even without any soil, numbers of plants root freely and live healthfully on tufa, and even on hard rocky surfaces. PELARGONIUMS AS BASKET PLANTS IN WINTER. In' lofty conservatories the addition of hanging baskets con- siderably enhances their attraction. One condition of snccess in growing basket plants is the careful selection of plants that will really flourish in the strong light and dry atmosphere of such a situation. After trying several experiments, I must give the pre-eminence to the several varieties of Pelargoniums, both tor the length of their period of flowering and for the great variety of colour, both in leaf and flower, which they exhibit. About the middle of August last we filled several care must be paid to the watering of all basket plants ; they are much exposed to drying currents of air, and therefore suffer sooner from lack of moisture than plants on the floor or stages of the house. While speaking of the free-flowering properties of Pelargoniums tor winter decoration, allow me to add that most cultivators are very differently situated to your correspondent. Dr. Denny (see page 515, Vol. VIII.), who, like many enthusiastic cultivators of some particiilar class of plants, thinks his own hobby worthy of more attention than others feel disposed to pay to it. While fully admitting all that your correspondent can urge in favour of the Pelargonium as a winter-blooming plant, T would remark that, in furnish- ing conservatories .it this or any season of the year, one of the things to be avoided is too great a preponderance of any one class of plant. That course is calculated to weaken the effect of a conservatory, and is in fact a repetition of the evils of our summer bedding system. James Groom. Henham. THE GAKDEN. [Jan. 1, 1876. THE FLOWER GARDEN. THE POLYANTHUS. In old books ou tho cultivation of the Carnatiou aud other llorista flowers, published in 1822, 1 liiid that in treating ot tho Polyanthus, a list of no fewer than forty-two named varieties of the line old gold, laced type is given ; and of this number, as far as I can learn, only one variety was in caltivation thirty-hvo years later. I got this information through searching published lists of that time. The most complete list that I can lay my hand on gives only thirteen varieties, and of these perhaps not more than half a dozen are now in cultivation. In the south of England, named Polyanthuses are almost unknown, except in a few rare instances, bnt they can bo met with in Lancashire and Yorkshire, thongh by no means in plenty, even in districts so eminently suited to tho successful cultivation of the Polyanthus. At the exhibition of the National Auricula Society at Jlanchester in April last, it was noticeable that, while Auriculas, both show and Alpine, wore produced in large numbers, the former especially, only a very few Polyanthuses appeared in the classes set apart for them, and they came from only two or three exhibitors, and consisted of Sanders's Cheshire Favourite, Cronshaw's Exile, and Bullock's Lord Lincoln. A really good Polyanthus — good in so far as it answers to the requirements of the standard of quality set up by the old florists — is a very beautiful flower. Of the forty-two varieties mentioned by Hogg, what has become of them ? I should imagine that a lai-ge number of them died out because of the higher quality found in the flowers that succeeded them ; but of the varieties that superseded them, how many could now be found ? I am doing my very utmost to get a coUpction, and have already obtained some three or four, fonnd in a list of the best varieties given in 1856. If half-a-dozen or so can be got together, a good groundwork would bo formed, out of which to produce some new varieties. The best estimate of properties in a good laced Polj'anthus was set forth by the late George Glenny, as follows : — Of the pip. 1. The single pip or flower should be perfectly flat and round, aud be slightly scalloped on the edge, and three-quarters of an inch in diameter. 2. It should bo divided in six places, forming six apparent flower leaves, each of which should be indented in tho centre to make it a kind ot heart-shaped end ; but the divisions must not reach tho yellow eye. 3. Tho indenture in the centre of the apparent flower, leaves should be exactly the same depth as the indenture formed by the union of these flower.lcavos, so that it should not be known by the form of the flower which is the actual divison and which is the indenture — in other words, which is the side and which the centre of the flower.leaf ; and all tho indenture should be as slight as possible to preserve' the character. The tube should be one. fifth of the whole width of the flower, and stand up at tho edge above the surface of the yellow eye. 4. The flower should be divided thus : tho yellow tube in the centre being measured, the yellow eye around the tube should be the same in width as its diameter ; and the ground colour of the flower should be the same. Or draw, with the compasses open to the sixteenth of an inch apart, a circle for the tube or centre ; open them to three, sixteenths, aud draw another circle for the eye, then open them fur. ther to five. sixteenths, and draw a circle for the ground or daik colour. Beyond these circles there is a yellow lacing, which should reach round every flower leaf to the yellow eye, and down the centre of every petal to the eye, and eo much like the edging that the flower should appear to have twelve similar petals. The ends of these twelve should be blunt and round like so many semi-circles, so that the outline ot the circle should be interrupted as little as possible. 5. The tube should be nearly filled up with the six anthers, which are technically called the thrum, and the flower should not exhibit tho pistil. 0. The edging round and down the centre of the leaves formed by the divisions should bo of even width all the way, and universally of the same shade of sulphur, lemon, or yellow as tho eye, and there must by no means be two shades of yellow in the eye. 7. The ground colour should bo just wh.at anybody likes best, but clear, well.defined, perfectly smooth at the edges inside, next tho eye, to form a circle ; and outside, next the lacing, a black or a crimson ground, being scarce, is desirable; but tho quality ot the colour as to clearness, rather than the colour itself, constitutes the property. Of the plant — 1. The stem should be strong, straight, eliistic, and from ■!■ to 6 inches in length. 2. The foot-stalk of the flowers should bo of such length as lo bring all the flowers well together. 3. Tho truss should comprise seven or more flowers, and be neatly arranged to be seen all at once. 4.' The foliage should bo short, broad, thick, and cover the pot well. To these rules Glenny also added some .applying to tho exhibition of pairs of plants, or pans ot plants, as collections of more than two are termed. The pair, or pan if more, should com. prise flowers of different and distinct colours, either the ground colour or the yellow of each being sufliciently different from the rest to be well distinguished. The whole fchould be so nefir of p, height aa to range the heads of bloom well together. The great fault of the Poly- anthus now, even among the best soits, is that the divisions between tho petals arc so wide as to make tho flower look stai'ry, whereas there should bo no more gap whero tho divisicn is than is in tho indentation of the petal itself. To many these rules may appear needlessly minute, and oven arbitrary; but when they are most dis. played in any flower, the beauty of that flower is at once apparent. An ordinary Gold-laced Polyanthus grown in a border has many attractions ; but one of tho fine varieties, that has been subjected to pot culture, has the beautiful lacing which constitutes the chief beauty of the flowers most charmingly arranged. History. How the Gold.laced Polyanthus of the florists originated appears difficult to ascertain. Possibly, by means of some old books, its gradual development might be traced, and the time when it was first taken in hand by tho florists discovered. In one of his interesting reminiscences, the late Dr. Horner, of Hull, who was a leading cnlti. vator of the Polyanthus in his day, states that " the Polusanthos, Poly-anthus (many-flowered), is a direct descendant from tho Primula vulgaris, the common Primrose ; yet what a change have the labours of the florist wrought here ! — so great, indeed, that wo are compelled to resort to the more exact science ot botany to assure us of its undoubted origin. For, not only has cultivation imparted to it a new as well as a distinct arrangement of colours, but the sessile stem of the Primrose has been converted into the scape, or elevated stem, bearing an umbel ot flowers, as in the recognised Polyanthus of florists. That the Polyanthus is indeed thus derived, the florist is too often vexatiously reminded, in witnessing among his cherished hopes in a bed of seedlings, a fair sprinkling of Primroses, both plain aud coloured; while the cnltivated seed of the Primrose will not unfrequently produce coloured flowers, and that on an elevated stem." I have heard of an old florist, a great lover of these flowers, who regarded all except what we call "show Polyanthuses " as Primroses, whether they bloomed on single stems or in an umbel, and he distinguished the former as " single bloomer?," and the latter as " cluster bloomers." From whatever it may have sprung, it is certain that succeeding generations of florists have brought into cultivation and largely improved the Gold-laced Polyanthus, and eventually named varieties, a few of which survive to the present day. Of late years named varieties of the Gold-laced Polyanthus have been raised and sent out round London ; but a comparison with such line standard flowers as Cheshire Favourite, Lancer, and Exile, shows how much below these they must rank when tested by the rules which constitute quality. Cultivation. The only sure guidance in the artificial cultivation of a plant is tho observance of its natural condition and habitat ; and where grows the Primrose, in its wild luxuriance, but in the shaded lane or wood, land ? And, though it is sometimes seen to adorn in the spring the sunny bank ot a hedgerow, yet, ere the summer's sun can visit it, even there it will be found that Floi-a has kindly sheltered her favourite amid the shadowing growth of others of her train. The Polyanthus, then, should always be grown in a cool bed or open border, which has an eastern aspect, or which is otherwise wholly shaded from the summer's sun, for it is most impatient of heat and draught, and, it may bo added, of confinement and smoke also ; and hence it can never be well grown in the immediate vicinity of large towns. This is Dr. Horner's experience, and it is quite in accordance with that of a great many others who have endeavoured to cultivate this flower. No mode of culture shows off the Polyanthus to better advantage than growing it in pots ; at tho same time, in order to succeed, it is a process requiring some care and attention. There was much more truth than appears on the surface in tho remark of an old florist that " hard well.burnt unporous pots and thorough drainage" are essential to its Buccessfnl culture, and 48 and 32.9ized pots — using them according to the size of the plants — are the best for the purpose. So mnch for the size of pots for the Polyanthus. In regard to soil good fibry loam from a pasture, the top spit of which should lie by for a year or so till thoroughly decomposed, leaf mould, powdered charcoal, and dung from a spent Cucumber frame, well mixed together, the loam about ono-h.ilf of the whole, is the best soil in which tho Polyanthus can be grown. The usual rule is to pot up the plants for spring blooming about tho month of ,Inno and July, thongh some do it as early as M.iy j and when this is done, the plants should be quite shaken out of tho soil in which they have been growing, and a good portion of tho long stumpy tap root cut away, retaining only that part nearest the le.avea that has plenty of young fibres. It should be borno in mind that the young or fresh roots ot the Polyanthus are thrown out close to, and oven among, the leaves, and, in conse. quence, when the Polyanthus is planted in suitable soil in the open Jan. 1, 1876.] THE GARDEN. gronnd, and allowed to remain undisturbed for any length of time, the tap root gradu.ally becomes of great length. At the time of this early summer potting, offsets aro removed from the plants, and the treatment of these shall be dwelt on presently. In the act of potting the cultivator should form the soil in the pot like a cone, and on this the root stem of tho plant should rest, with the roots hanging down on all sides ; and in this way pot them, putting the plant pretty deeply in the soil, remembering what was just now stated, that the young roots come from about the leaves. Eear in mind that it is always more easy to top-dress a plant, and by so doing bring it nearer the surface of the soil, than to lower a plant that has grown ont of the soil. The latter difficulty can only be met by re-potting. After potting, water the plants freely, in order to settle the soil well about tho roots. The plants should then be placed in a shady situa- tion, in an old frame with a good ash bottom raised well above the surface of the ground ; but at the same time they must have abund. ance of air. The plants will not need further watering till the roots begin to lay hold of the soil. It is well to protect the plants from heavy rains. In October the surface of the soil should be stirred, and if any green growth has accumulated, as sometimes happens, it should be removed, and replaced with some fresh soil. It is a usual practice to top-dress at this season of the year. Wintering tlie Polyantlius. This should be done in a cold frame, but the frame should be banked up on the outside with ashes, or earth, or leaves, to keep it warm in times of severe frost. The plants should be placed on bricks, inverted flower pots, or wooden frames, and be raised to about a foot from the glass. By thus raising the pots, the air can freely circnlate among the plants, which is of great value at this season of the year. Or the pots can be brought into a cold greenhouse, but placed on a raised shelf. Green fly is apt to afl:ect the plants during the winter, and they should be looked over occasionly, and any iusect pests removed with a camel's-hair brush. Slugs will sometimes attack the plants, and they must be looked after also. When frost is imminent, the great thing is to have the plants as dry as possible ; and really they are much more liable to be injured by wet than by frost. The plants should therefore be kept moderately dry during November, December, January, and February ; at the end of the latter month they will begin to push into growth, when more water may be applied. About the first week in March, the old practice is to top-dress the plants by taking away an inch of the surface-soil and substituting some rich compost. In removing the soil, care must be taken that the rootlets, which are pretty near the surface round the base of the plants, be not disturbed. After the top-dressing the flower-spikes soon put in an appearance ; and, in order to have finely, developed pips, the old florists used to thin out the flower pips so as to leave about six outside ones. By the end of April the plants would be in fine flower and fit for the exhibition table. It is neces. sary at this stage to shade the flowers from the sun to preserve their colours, and to have them as fresh and the lacing as perfect as possible. After blooming, the plants should be removed to a northern aspect, and kept in the shade, but not under the drip of trees, and stand on an ash bottom, and here they may be at rest for the summei-. The plants should be kept free from dead foliage, and the attacks of thrips and snails be guarded against. The soil about the roots should be kept moist, but not excessively so. A little top-dressing may be added during the summer, to induce the plants to root high up, and, as it sometimes happens that a tap root decays, the surface roots maintain the vigour of the plants. Any variety required to produce seed should have a hand-glass placed over it, if any extra protection is deemed necessary. It is the practice of some growers to turn the balls out of the pots about the beginning or middle of June, and with- out reducing them in any way, plant them out in a shady and well- drained border, where the plants will remain till they are re-potted and divided in August ; and this brings me to the matter of offsets or root division. Propagation by Division. The Polyanthus can scarcely be said to throw off offsets in the same way as the Auricula ; rather it throws up two or three or more strong crowns, according to the strength of the plants, and perhaps one or two smaller ones. The crowns should be divided, and the strongest potted up to flower in spring, as already directed, and the smaller crowns potted singly into small pots. The old florists contended that a single crown produced by far the finest flowers. As to soil, good sod-soil from an old pasture, to the extent of about two-thirds, enriched with old manure and leaf mould, the latter in good proportion ; in such a mixture the Polyanthus cannot fail to do well. Though the leaf mould is not absolutely necessary, yet it will ever be found, both in respect of the Auricula and the Poly- anthus, that whenever there occurs in the soil a little mass of decaying leaves or sticks, there the roots will be most nnmorous and vigorous. Such practical hints on natural tendencies the observant florist ever treasures up, and it is by their observation and application that he becomes a more successful cultivator than his fellows. While I have been treating of the old Gold-laced Polyanthus, I must not over, look the claims of the Fancy kinds, as they have a great decorative value much beyond that possessed by the Gold-laced varieties. They are all very vigorous growers, and do not possess the delicacy of constitution peculiar to many of the high-bred Gold. laced varieties. In point of colour they range from pure white to deep purple, the individual pips are of great size, a^d the trusses correspondingly large. They well deserve to be taken in hand as exhibition plants, and this will no doubt be done before long, as some fine named varieties have been distributed. Among them are The Bride, white ; Etna, magenta-crimson; Field Marshal, velvety, crimson; Jessie, bright rosy-violet ; Viceroy, sulphur ; and Warrior I'ich shaded magenta. ' Cultivation in Beds in the Open Ground. The proper time for planting is the last week of July, the end of the period of the summer rest, and when the old plants have attained such maturity and size as to admit of easy division. It was always considered that this period of planting should be strictly observed in order that the plants might have all the advantages of their natural autumnal growth, thereby becoming thoroughly established in the soil before winter, and ensuring a vigorous bloom in the spring as well as obviating all chances of disease or death from the severity or changes of weather in their winter season of rest. " The plants should be carefully divided with a sharp knife, or neatly detached with the fingers if nearly separated, but not slit or torn up, though such injurious and unscientific pi-actice has by many been recom. mended, on the whimsical theory that a lacerated wound in the Polyanthus or Auricula is sooner healed than an incised one ! Lace- rated wounds, both in plants and animals, are most dangerous." So wrote, in sober prose, one of the fine old Polyanthus cultivators of the past generation. In the case of planting in beds, as in pots, the main or tap-roots should be shortened to within an inch of the inser. tion of the leaves, that a few of the young and more vigorous roots only be retained. At the time of planting out, the roots should be divided as recommended in the case of plants potted, as previously set forth. The method of planting is perhaps the most important feature in the culture of the Polyanthus ; it must be set deep in the soil. Having made a hole in the earth with a trowel, place the plant so deep therein that the very crown of the root is covered one inch with soil, for it is from this upper part that the young roots proceed ; and hence it is essential that they at once meet with earth in which to grow and ramify. If this condition be not afforded, the plants will either dwindle and damp off from the perishing of these young roots, or we shall witness stunted plants, with bunches of curly fibres, struggling to reach the surface of the earth — a very common sight in a neglected border of Polyanthuses. The plants should be placed in rows, and be 8 inches apart each way. When planted thoroughly water the bed, and the plants will require no fai-ther care, unless a spell of dry weather sets in ; and then, if the beds occupy an exposed position, they should be occasionally watered, and some leaf mould scattered over the surface to keep the soil cool and moist. All coverings in the way of protection during winter are wholly unncessary, and even hurtful. In the spring the surface of the bed around the plants should be made neat and clean, and when the flower stems have risen and the flowers are about to expand, they should be protected by an awning from the rain or sun, or the freshness and richness of their colours will be deteriorated. If required for the purposes of exhibition, or for ornamenting a cool, airy greenhouse, or even a cold frame, they may be readily taken up, without risk or injury, with a ball of earth, and put into common, sized Auricula pots, being at the same time liberally supplied with water ; when no longer required for such purposes, they must again be returned to the bed. When the bloom is over, and during the summer months, the plants still require no care beyond the ordinary attention of keeping them clean, and the earth moderately moist by occasional watering ; for if the Polyanthus be subjected to excessive drought the plants are extremely apt to become infested with red spider, as indicated by the yellow mottling of the foliage. Raising from Seed. Seed should be sown in August soon after it is ripe. The great advantage derived fi'om doing this is that the plants become of good size by spring, and flower the following spring finely, displaying their characters to the best advantage. The seed should be sown in pans or shallow boxes, and, as soon as large enough, pricked off into 48-sized pots, in some good snil, about six plants in a pot, and grown on strong during the summer. As a matter of course, when the THE GARDEN. [Jan. 1, 1876, seedlingg flower only tho very beet should be retained and the indifferent oaea thrown away. A large number may be raised from seed taken from the very best flowers, bat only a very few of them are likely to have all the characteristics of a first-class Gold.laced Polyanthus. Seed of the fancy varieties will produce something much more satisfactory, because in this strain the grower is not con. fined to one particular type of flower. Quo. Liliura giganteum in Scotland.— Perhaps it may interest some of the readers of The Gakden, to know that this magnificent Lily grows cut of doors, and is quite at home even farther north than Edinburgh. Handsome, no doubt, as was the specimen that grew in the garden of Professer Owen, yet I am happy to inform those interested in Lily culture, that two specimens of this Indian Lily grew on the banks of the Ciareloch, that even surpassed the one at Sheen. In the summer of 187t, twelve bulbs were planted in a shady Rhododendron border, facing the west (previously they were grown in pots for the conservatory, but never gave satisfaction), and this summer I was pleased to see two flower-stems spring up. One grew to the height of 1) feet, and bore eleven fine flowers 7 inches in length ; C> inches from the ground the stem measured 7 inches in circumference. The other grew to the height of 7i feet, and had ten flowers. I gave the plants no protection whatever from frost, and last winter was an unusually severe one in the west of Scotland. — D. McLean, West Shatvlon Gnr.lfnf. Roses in Spring. — I am anxious to have some good Rose trees, that will blossom in the spring, having no greenhouse or conservatory to fall back upon. Ilitherto, I haveouly been able to have afew window Roses, and the disadvantages of a poor aspect to contend against. If some of the authorities on Rose culture, as Mr. Reynolds Hole, with his usual gallantry, would kindly assist a lady amateur by giving her a few hints as to what kind of frame to construct, the kinds of Roses to purchase, and when to prune and plant them, she would feel deeply grateful for the kindness. — M. L. W. [Though 1 am fully occupied by clerical work, I am constr.ainod, by a summons from a lady's voice, to pass for a few minutes " from grave to gay," and to inform " M. L. W." that she may grow beautiful Roses in a frame during the season of spring, if the said frame is made frost- proof by artificial heat, for which purpose a boiler and pipes with hot water are by far most efficacious. My Rose pits are 2 feet C inches high at the back, and 1 foot 6 inches high in front (brickwork and woodwork inclusive), above the ground, and 1 foot deeper within. The sashes are 6 feet by 4 feet 6 inches. I place Dawrf Roses, either on their own roots, the Briar (seedling Briar preferred), or Manetti, which have been re-potted, or taken up from the open ground and potted, and pruned in October in the pits, accordingly as I want the flowers, from this time (my first batch are now in healthy foliage) until February, so that I may have Roses in March, April, and May, before the garden Roses bloom. I have given a select list of the varieties which do best in pots in the last edition of my " Book about Roses ; " but if " M. L. W." has it not, she may safely venture upon nearly all the more robust kinds, such as Marquise de Castillane, Etienne Levet, Baroness Rothschild, and others. Let her diligently obey, as laws which, like those of tho Medes and Persians, alter not, the following injunctions — to force her Roses as gradually as she can, avoiding variations of temperatures ; to give air whenever the air is neither rough nor cold ; to destroy insects bymild and frequent fumigation. — S. R. H.] Tree Ivy in Shrubberies. — By way of change, I was induced some years ago to try Ivy in a kind of wilderness or grove that we have here. It occurred to me then to collect some large roots of trees that had been felled, and on which some of the fine roots had been allowed to remain. Of these, which were similar to those sometimes used in the construction of Ferneries, three or four were laid together roughly, and in no arbitrary form, to a height of from 2 to 4 feet. Some plants of Ivy were then planted all round and twisted in between the small roots ; and with very little attention afterwards they were soon covered over. The result doubly repaid for the labour by the improvement that was effected in the appearance of the shrubbery, which was planted with common kinds of shrubs, chiefly evergreens, with a few flowering kinds ; whilst the border next the path con. tained various kinds of dwarf Vincas in masses. Between these are beds of Lily of the Valley, common Ferns, Daffodils, Primroses, with other spring flowers, which produce a very pretty effect. An irregular avenue of Beech trees runs through the centre near the path, and all the plants seem at home under a grateful shade. I find that the Irish Ivy answers best, as it grows better and covers more quickly. One root I pliinted with a small-leaved kind, but it has not done so well. I have not tried the variegated kinds, and I fear they would be too delicate.— W. Divers, Wierton, Maidstone. DISEASE AMONG LILIES. Mr. a. S. Fuller, tells a sad story in " Moore's Rural," of the destruction of a large collection of Lilies, by a disease which he fails to account for. It is not often that disease attacks our hardy orna. mental plants, although the agriculturist frequently suffers severe losses from rust, smut, and mildew in his grain fields, or rot among the Potatoes. Ten years ago Lilies were an especial favourite of mine, and I would scarcely dare tell of the investments made in rare kinds imported from abroad. But the Golden. banded Lily of Japan at £(j per dozen and Lilium Browni, at a no less price, were two that came in for a goodly share of attention. But it is not necessary to consult my cash book in order to arrive at the fact which I desire to place on record at this time. I will say, however, that at a certain period, not more than half-a-dozen years since, 10,000 Lilies bloomed in my garden, and of the various species and varieties found in different parts of the world. Thero were in one bed 5,000 of the Golden-banded (L. anratum) all in bloom at one time, and in another 1,000 of the long-flowered white (L. longiflorum), also about the same number each of the showy speoiosum or, as it is more usually termed, lanoifolium. Then there were half-dozens and dozens of the more or less rare kinds scattered about to make tho collection complete. My success in the culture of this showy family of plants was so great that I began to think strongly of devoting my entire grounds to Lilies, and of eventually entering tho market with the produce ; but alas ! there is usually an end to air castles as well as those of more substantial structure. The next season, after my grandest supply of Lilies, I noticed that some few varieties showed signs of disease; the stems and leaves assumed a rusty appearance, and small black spots appeared on the bulbs, as well as on parts above ground, such affected plants failing to bloom, and the bulbs in autumn were soft and immature. I lifted the bulbs and re-planted in new beds, applied ashes, lime, and various other substances, in order to stay the progress of this disease, if possible; but all to no purpose. It continued to spread, taking in its course even the old Tiger Lilies, as well as the common wild species which had been transplanted from the fields and swamps near by into the garden. Bulbs taken up from tho garden and placed in my green, house immediately assumed their wouted vigour and health, and not a sign of disease ha^ ever appeared upon a plant grown in pots ; but of my fine collection left out not a half-dozen bulbs survive. The bed once occupied by auratums has been planted with ever greens, and last summer I saw two or three stray plants blooming, half hidden among the dense foliage of some Arbor-vita33, and these, with one lone double Tiger Lily, are the only representatives left in my grounds of the noble family of plants which a few years since made large demands upon my purse and time, as well as excited my admiration and pride. Now, it is not pleasant to recount one's failure in such matters ; still, it is just possible that by recording the disaster which followed my " Lily fever" some novice in floriculture will be put on his guard, not to count chickens until they are out of danger of the pip. Perhaps it will be well to state that my land is a light, sandy loam, well under-drained naturally; consequently, if the Lily disease was caused by incongenial soil, it must have been on aocount of its being too warm and dry. But the Lilies did thrive remarkably well for a half-dozen years or more, and I think the rust was introduced among the imported Japanese sorts, as no sign of any disease was ever seen among my Lilies until the latter were purchased and planted out. A New Race of Zinnias. — The " Gardeners' Chronicle " de. scribes some new double Zinnias raised on the Continent, which show considerable variety of colour, and represent four diverse types, differing, it would seem, in habit and stature. One of them, Z. Dar. winii major, is described as of compact br,anched habit, with large globular flower-heads. These flower-heads reached us in a some- what shrivelled state, but they were densely double, and measured fully 2 inches across and about Ih inch in depth. The leaves (those only just beneath the flowers being seen) were sessile, triangular, ovate with an acute point, and three-nerved. The colours of the flowers included scarlet, orange-scarlet, orange-yellow, rosy.purple, sulphur, and white. Z. Darwinii vittata had striped flowers, includ. ing such combinations as white with purple flakes, purple with white flakes, yellow with crimson flakes, sulphur with purple flakes, &c. Others labelled Z. Darwinii were described as being of dwarf com. pact-growing habit and extremely free-flowering ; the flower-heads were conical and imbricately double, and differed from the others in being smaller, about 1 ^ inch across and 1 ', inch deep, very full double, with a high centre; the colours were considerably varied and included white, sulphur, yellow, orange, and two or three shades between purple and crimson. Z. Darwinii pyramidalis vittata is taller in habit, growing like an inverted pyramid, and the forms sent Jan. 1, 1876.] THE GARDEN. 9 were moatly pale-coloured, more or less flaked. This new form of Zinnia is, we learn, a hybrid raised between Z. Haageana (mexi- canum) and Z. olegans, and is said to be very constant. It is abnn. dantly distinct in character from the beautiful double forms of Zinnia elegans now becoming popnlar, and, so far as can be judged from cut flowers, appears to bo quite an acquisition for the flower garden. With the Zinnias came two forms of garden Beet with coloured foliage, not of any special merit. The best had the leaves smooth and of a glossy somewhat liver-coloured red ; the other had the leaves rough and of a dull purplish hue. A BLUE DAISY. To our ordinary Daisies, now so much used for spring decoration, this will prove a valuable addition. It is described as being one of the commonest of spring flowers in different parts of Morocco, abonnd- iug in fields with a rich soil on the hills near Tangier, and occurring in great profusion by the water courses of the valleys of the Greater jitlaa in latitude 31°, at elevations of from 4,000 to ll.OOOfeet. This blue variety, first found by M. Balausa during his journey in Moroccco in 1SG7, has been introduced to this country by Mr. Maw, and it is already tolerably well known in our best gardens. The best specimen of it which we have yet seen was one in the herbaceous Bellis rotundifolia cisrulescens. border at Chiswick in the autumn of the present year, a dense little tnft 9 inches in diameter, bearing twenty. one fully-expanded flowers. It appears to like a deep rich soil, and to require no particular atten- tion. It is best propagated by carefnl division in the spring. B. Sedum villosutn. — Though this pretty species is not uncommon by the sides of Alpine rills in Scotland and the north of England, it is, I believe, not generally known in the southern parts of onrisland. I saw it in great beauty growing in a shallow brook near to St. Moriti in company with Sundews and Butterworts. The i^lant itself was immersed iu water, the panicle of deep lilac rtowers alone rising above the surface, and resting on the water. Its habitat seemed so much at variance with the succulent leaves of the plant, that I thought it could hardly be a Sedum ! A viscid glandular pubescence clothes the upper parts of the plant. Koch speaks of it as a biennial, and he describes the petals as roseate, with a purple dorsal streak. In drying, I find that the colours have become darker in hue. — Peter Inchbald, Hovimjliam Lodge, Yoi-h. Saponaria Ocymoides on the Continent.— Of all the Saponarias I have seen, during my visits to the Continent, none is so beautiful and conspicnons as this species. It occurs abundantly in the eastern parts of Switzerland— such as Tyrol and the Grisons — where it seems to delight in a loose and stony soil. It is as dwarf in habit, and as free to flower as S. calabrica itself ; but its flowers are larger, and deeper in colour, and in warm, sunny nooks, the little tufted plants ard covered with flowers, so that the leaves and stems are quite hidden by them. It must bo an e.xoellent plant for rock.work, for I noticed that it soon seizes npon freshly-built earth- work, insinuating itself into the crevices of the stones, and hanging down in dense masses of deep rose. I first saw it in the Albula Pass, and at the time I wondered what it could be, mistaking it, as so many do, for a Lychnis, but on gathering it I soon found out my error. — Peteu Inchbalu, Hovingham Lodge, York. POLYGONUM CUSPID ATUM COMPACTUM. This is a beautiful form of a well-known species which is really more distinct in character, for ornamental purposes at least, than many of the so-called species introdnccd to us. The writer observed the plant recently in the nursery of Mr. Parker, at Tooting, and was very much pleased with its beautiful compact habit and its florifer. ousness. P. cuspidatum is tall and straggling in growth, with a thinness of foliage and looseness of flower-spikes which leaves much to be desired in it for ornamental purposes. The dwarf variety is, however, one of the most ornamental autumn-flowering plants that I have seen for some time. It is the counterpart of the tall form, with the stems compressed to about a foot in height. Along with this shortening of stem there is little or no reduction of the number of joints, and consequently the foliage and flowers are much more dense. The leaves are shorter and narrower than they are in the normal form, and the flower-spikes are shorter, more crowded, and nearly erect ; but the colour is the same in both forms,— a beautiful straw colour. It flowers during September and October. The plant originated in Mr. Parker's nursery some time ago, on a spot where the tall form had been previously grown, and luckily it was not destroyed, under the supposition that it was the ordinary form, until its superior characteristics were observable. It stands in need of a dis. tiuctive name, and I would suggest that it should be compactum, as being the most suggestive of the desirable features of the tall form betng joined without diminution to a very compact habit. It is a beautiful plant for the herbaceous or mixed border, and for rock, ■n^ork.— " The Gardener." [We regret to see any attempt to judge such plants as the stately and valuable Polygonum cuspidatum, from a florists' point of view. It is the flne free habit of this giant Polygonum which makes it effective in the picturesque garden.^ Mr. Parker's plant may be a desirable one, and an interesting variation, but we may state these facts without undervaluing one of the beet hardy plants ever introduced. As to its being "out of place in select positions," Mr Gibson used it with good efi'ect at Battersea, m the sub-tropical garden. As a lawn plant, singly in small groups, near shrubberies, it is very fine in rich soils.] Newspaper Bye-Laws.— 1. Be brief. 2. Be pointed. Do not write all around a subject without touching it. 3. State facts, but do not stop to moralise. Let the reader do his own dreaming. 4. Eschew preface. Plnn'ge at once into your subject, like a swimmer into cold water. 5. If you have written a sentence that yon think particularly fine, draw your pen through it. 6. Condense. Make sure that you really have an idea, and then record it in the shortest possible terms. 7. When your article is completed strike out nine. tenths of the adjectives. Atoms.— By four dift'erent modes of argument derived from different parts of science, and pointing mainly to the same conclusion, Sir W. Thomson has shown that the distance between two molecules in a drop of water is such that there are between five hundred millions and five thousand millions of them iu an inch. He expresses that result in this way— that if you were to magnify a drop of water to the size of the earth, then the coarseness of the graining of it would be something between that of cricket balls and small shot. Or we may express it in this rather striking way. You know that the best microscopes can be made to magnify from 6,000 to 8,000 times. A microscope which would magnify that result as much a"aiii would show the molecular structure of water. "Billings on Bonnet Flowers.— Floms are worn this seazon quite mutch on bonnets. I saw a luv of a hat last week at Madame Frisky's. It Inokt mutch like a bokay for a target excurshun, presented bi sum alderman to the coustiueuts ov his ward. Thare waz Sunilours and 1 ond Lilys, Holly hawks and Dandylions, enufl'to stok a f orty aker garden. 1 waz told that the bonnet waz the very kream ov style, and the price was a mere son", only seventeen pounds. I wanted to buy the dear thing and set it out in my front yard and water it and see it gro, but it had been sold to a ''"" The show of the Society was the best ever held since its or<»anisation," is a sentence which should be " kept standing ' m every well-regulated newspaper establishment during the flower show season. 10 THE GARDEN.' [Jak. 1, 1876, THE AMATEUR'S GARDEN. By THOMAS BAINE3. Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, and Fuchsias. — Pelargoniums, inteuded for floweriug early, will uow have made considerable growth. Although, for decorative pui'poaea, it is neither needful nor advisable to train them as is usually done when they are intended for exhibition, yet — in order to keep the shoots from becomiug " drawn " — they should be well opened out, so as to admit plenty of light to those in tho centre. All sticks, required for their support when in flower, should at once be placed to them, and the shoots tied thereto ; for, later iu tho season, tlio soil gets filled with roots, and the insertion of the sticks then often causes serious mutilation. Fancy varieties should also have sticks placed to them : but they do not need so much support as large-flowered sorts. Such plants as bloomed latest during the past summer, and which were not cut down and shaken out until lato in the season, will now require placing in their flowering-pots. These also will be better for being tied at once. The points of the shoots ought to be pinched out, which will have tho effect of causing them to flower later, aud thus form a succession to the earliest, which should not be stopped at all, except such as are young and very vigorous. Place them as near the light as possible. The earliest-sown herbaceous Calceolarias should now be moved into their floweriug pots. These rapid-rooting subjects get hold of the soil iu a very few weeks, and do much better for being moved to their blooming pots early; for this final shift, let the soil be rich aud light, using amongst it agood quantity of leaf mould, a material in which the roots of soft-wooded plants delight, aud it may not be out of place to remind those who have not had much experience in plant-growing that the ability to produce an abundance of flowers with most pot plants, especially those of quick growth, in a great measure depends upon the amount of roots which they possess. Old plants of Fuchsias rested under greenhouse stages, or in similar out. of-the-way places, should not be allowed to become dust-dry, as in that case many of the roots perish. Ou the contrary give them a little water at intervals so as to prevent such an occurrence. They should now be pruned, cutting back the side shoots to within a couple of eyes ,'of the main stem, and shortening the latter to about 18 inches above the pot ; for, if left too high, the bottom of the plants do not get furnished with flowering shoots. It is always better to prune Fuchsias some time before they are started into growth than after- wards, as, if not so treated, they frequently bleed so much as to weaken them. Where any of these old plants are required in bloom early they should be at once placed in a light situation, but do not excite them by putting them into heat. Vineries. — Vines should at once be pruned, an operation in which it is not advisable to be too much guided by mere appearances ; gardeners experienced in Vine culture generally prune close, as when Bo managed the canes look best, but this is frequently carried too fai', consistent with the certainty of obtaining good crops. Vines under the care of amateurs, seldom have their wood well ripened, especially after such a damp dull autumn as the last, and when this is the case, very close pruning is calculated to still further reduce the chances of a crop. Amateurs should not therefore prune too close, but should leave at least two eyes to each shoot after being cut back. Long spurs are certainly unsightly, and by thus treating the shoots, the spurs soon get a considerable length, but it is better to leave them long than endanger the crop ; if, when the Vines break both eyes show bunches, that which is furthest from the spur can be rubbed off. It is usual after pruning to dress Vines with some mixture, calculated to destroy the eggs of red spider or thrips that may liave infested them during the summer, for it seldom happens that red spider at least is altogether absent. To more efl'ectuaUy eradicate all traces of this pest, it is customary to strip off the old bark, a questionable practice ; but no harm can result from removing any that is loose. To Bcrape off the whole covering, as is often done, is, however, unnatural, the baneful effects of which are evident from tho fact that Vines subjected to such treatment never thicken out as they ought to do. The dressing just alluded to onght to be applied as soon as they are pruned ; for, if delayed until the buds begin to swell, they sometimes get injured, especially if sulphur is used in considerable quantity. The safest mixture is clay and water well worked up to the consis- tency of thick paint; in this mix a little fresh cow-dung to make it stick, and to each gallon of the mixture add 1 pouud of sulphur and a Uttle soot, keeping the whole well stirred as it is used, otherwise the sulphur will settle to the bottom ; for laying it on, an ordinary paint-brush may be employed, or the more customary substitute made of bast tied to a short stick may be resorted to. The chief point is to see that the mixture gets into every crevice, so as to cover tlie whole, from the surface of the soil to the extreme points. It is the more requisite to get every part of the young wood covered if thrips has been present during the preceding summer, as the eggs of this pest will bo found on the young wood, sealed up under small, black, varnish-like spots, under which they Ho secure until brought to light by warmth. If there are inside borders, a couple of inches of the surface soil may be taken off and replaced with fresh material. The wood.work should also be well scrubbed with soap and water, painted, it required, previously washing the glass and lime-washing the brick, work. The Vines, when dressed, may be tied lengthways across the front lights or lower part of the roof, where they can remain till tho buds have broken. Early forcing ia not to be recommended, except under experienced cultivators, as the chances of losing a crop, iu the case of early-started Vines, are much greater thau if they are pushed iuto growth later in the spriug. Peaches.— Where these arc grown under glass they should at once be pruned, as if deferred later the buds will begin to swell, after which they are easily rubbed off. In pruning Peaches and Nectarines, judgment is required not only to leave the best-placed shoots for the present season's crop, but also such ai will produce bearing wood to furnish the trees evenly for the following year. Do not leave the shoots too close, as anything approaching overcrowding is worse in its effects with trees under glass than in the case of those on open walls, where there is nothing to obstruct light. Wood.buds are easily distinguished from fruit. buds by their being so much smaller and more elongated. See that one of these thin buds ia left at tho point to which every shoot is cut back, for if they are absent there can be no growth made from the end of the shoot, the effect of which will be that the fruit upon it will not swell freely owing to there being no shoot to draw up tho sap. When pruned, the trees should immediately receive their winter dressing, for which purpose ■ Gishurst and similar compounds are often recommended ; but, unless nsedby those who are experienced serious mischief is frequently the result, the bloom buds often falling off in quantities. Even if applied with the greatest care this W'H happen, if the dressing ia too strong. A mixture, similar to that recommended for Vines, ia much safer, and if applied so as to reach every crevice, will be found perfectly effectual. Iu laying it on, care must be taken to touch the buds very lightly or they will be injured. When this kind of work is finished let the trees be tied ; in doing this the bast should in all cases be crossed between the wire and the shoots, so as to keep the latter from coming in contact with the iron ; never let the ties be drawn tightly; on the contrary, leave enough room for the expansion of the shoots. Give the house a thorough cleaning, both woodwork and glass, so as to impart to the whole a neat, orderly appearance, and admit as much light as possible ; scrape off an inch or two of the surface soil in the way already recommended, aud re-place it with new loam and rotten manure. On no account allow Peach borders to get dry. Peaches are never quite at rest ; even when without leaves the buda are slowly awelling, and if over the soil gets too dry they are certain to suffer more or less, frequently resulting in large numbers falling off. Peaches and Nectarines, with their roots in inside borders, often suffer more through this cause thau any other. Conservatories. Continue to wage war with all insect pests, such as thrips and scale. Half measures are of no avail with these ; indeed, nothing but hand- washing or immersing the heads of plants infested with them in strong solutions of Fowler's or some other insecticide will rid them of these pests. Where it can be done, the latter is the quickest and surest way of destroying them, as with hand-washing some are almost sure to escape, and these soon re-stock the plants with their ijrogeny. By taking the plants in hand at once, while they are at rest, they will stand a much stronger solution of insecticide than at any other time. Iu the case of thrips aud scale, it requires from 4 to 6 ounces of insecticide to the gallon of water to make sure of its being effectual. White scale, the most troublesome of all insect pests, is sure to effect a lodgement on the old stems of Tacsonias, and it not cleared off, they soon make their way to the young leaves and branches. Where the stems of creepers are infested with these, they should at once be scrubbed with a tolerably hard scrubbing-brush, using, at the same time, any of the insecticides to work into the crevices. As tho young wood of Tacsonias goes out of bloom, it may be gradually cut away, so as to induce them to break well back, and start afresh with increased vigour. Guard carefully against damp by removing any dead or decaying leaves or petals as they occur. Maintain a uniform temperature of 45 to 50, which will be found quite warm enough to accommodate almost any flowering plant at this season, excepting the more tender stove varieties. Where Camellias have to be subjected to artificial heat, they should have a gentle be-dewing with clear soft water, so as to keep the leaves and buds moist, or the latter will be apt to fall off. Others expanding their bloom must be kept in a cool dry atmosphere, or the flowers quickly become discoloured. While swelling their buds, aud carrying a crop of bloom, they must have Jan. 1, 1876.] THE GARDEN. 11 plentiful supplieg of water, as the energies of the plants are then taxed to the utmost. Clarified soot. water, mixed with clear liquid manure, will be found of the greatest assistance during the period of blooming. Soot water imparts a luxuriant green tinge to the foliage, and is one of the safest and best fertilisers it is possible to employ. Weak solutions of guano-water, in the proportion of two tablespoonfuls to four gallons of water, have likewise a very beneficial effect, and they have the advantage over ordinary liquid manure of being usable without being offensive. With Primulas, Cinerarias, Libonias, Epacrises, Heaths, Mignonette, Cyclamens, Schizostylis, &c., there is no lack of bloom even at this dnll season. Backs of green, house stages, or other similar places under glass, may be turned to good account in forwarding many of the deciduous plants intended for forcing. By placing them in positions of that kind they come on slowly, and require much less forcing than if left exposed to the weather. Such things as hardy Azaleas, Wiegelas, Iiilacs, and numerous other plants of that class, may even be helped forward in any close shed by keeping them well syringed. Stove and Greenhouse Ferns. In too many instances cue house has to serve for both of these classes, and, where this is the case, neither can have the proper treat- ment they require, without in some way interfering with the health and well-being of the other. The stove varieties being of most value, and the first to suffer if the temperature of the house is unduly depressed to suit other kinds, should of necessity have the first con- sideration, and the treatment of the greenhouse kinds be made subor- dinate to these. Most of the former will winter safely in a tempera, ture of 50' to 55', with a slight rise during the day, and nothing is gained by having more heat than is absolutely necessary. In the case of some of the most tender, snch as the Gymnogrammas and some of the Nothochliouas, the lightest and warmest part of the house should be chosen to place them in during the winter months. By keeping them moderately dry at the root, so as to prevent flagging, and with the atmosphere as dry as is consistent with the safety and welfare of the other occupants of the house, they will be found to winter well, and start with more vigour in the spring than if sub- jected to a higher temperature. Where greenhouse kinds have to be grown in the same house they should be ranged at the coolest end, and be kept as dry as possible without allowing them to flag, so as to prevent them starting iuto growth. Peat and loam should at once be got under cover, that it may be kept dry and in good con- dition for potting purposes, as the time for this is at hand — ,1. S. W. P. Indoor Fruit Department. Vines. — In many instances fruit will be sot on the earliest started pot Vines, and where all the bunches that have appeared are still hanging, they should all be cut off except the best formed and set, six of which will be enough for a crop. It often hai^pons that the finest bunches are produced close to the top of the cano, and if those lower down are indifferent, the bulk of the crop may be left on the top. The berries on the bunches left must be thinned as soon as they are the size of small Peas. Black Hamburghs must not be thinned so much as they require to be on established Vines, as in the case of pot Vines they seldom swell more than three-quarters their natural size. Eoyal Muscadine, Duchess of Buccleuch, and Grizzly and White Frontignans are naturally very small berried sorts, and great care must be taken not to over-thin them. As the bunches on these varieties are also small, strong Vines may be allowed to bear eight of them. After the thinning is over each shoot should be con- stantly pinched at two joints beyond the bunch. Shoots with no fruit on them maj' be restricted to tour joints. Syringe every after- noon with tepid water, give the roots a little gnano at every alternate watering and continue to do this until the fruit begins to ripen. The temperature may be kept at about 70' at night, and 75° throughout the day. Where Vineries are being started, high temperatures must be positively avoided, 55° at night and 60" during the day will be quite heat enough, the exception being 5' more %vith sun heat, or 5' less on extremely cold nights. A good bed of leaves and litter should be placed On the inside border and see that cold is excluded from that on the outside. Continue to stop and tie the shoots of perma- nent Vines, and when they come into bloom cease syringing. The atmosphere, too, should then be kept comparatively dry, and cold draughts must be guarded against. Pines. — Queens lately placed in a forcing temperature will now be starting into growth, and should be liberally supplied with water at the root. Where the pots have been loosened to permit excessive bottom.heat to escape, replace the plunging material firmly about them, when the heat has subsided to 80°. The atmospheric tempera- tures may now be increased 5' ; keep succession Queens at rest and look over suckers in small pots in order to see that the roots are not Buffering from want of water. If the plunging material is very dry, as it is apt to become under constant firing, give it a good watering so as to keep it in a fresh healthy state. — .J. MuiR. Kitchen Garden. The kitchen garden must, of necessity, ever stand at the head of all the departments of gardening ; not because it requires more skill in its management, but because so much is expected from it, and that daily throughout the year. The allowances generally so freely made for the fickleness of fruit crops through bad weather, do not extend to the vegetable department from which supplies must at all times, and under all circumstances, be forthcoming, llence the reason I attach to it so much importance, and I would urge on youug gardeners, especially if they wish to succeed, the desirability of thoroughly mastering this branch of gardening. I am sorry, however, to say that I have occasionally met with young men who have had the greatest contempt for kitchen gardening. To young men of this description, my notes will be of little ser. vice, but to those who, like myself, are specially interested in kitchen gardening, the hints which I shall give from week to week during the coming year, will, I hope, prove of value ; first, as reminders of work to be done, and secondly, as to how and when to do it. The continuous rains which we have had throughout the autumn and early winter months having prevented the performance of trenching, digging, and draining operations, on every fine day now snch work should be advanced a step, in order that the ground may have the full advantage of the action of frost upon it, such action being especially desirable on heavy, retentive soils. Ou frosty mornings, when the ground is firm and dry, manure should be wheeled on to vacant plots ready to be dug or trenched in on the disappearance of frost. Clear the dead stems off Asparagus planta- tions, and cover them thickly with rotten manure ; afterwards give them a liberal dressing of coarse salt, to be washed in by the rain. I do not approve of the ordinary way of growing this vege- table, viz., in 4 feet beds, with a deep alley between them, half the roots being naked. I prefer to plant on the level ground, in rows 2 feet apart, dressing and manuring them annually, as has just been named. Sow a few Broad Beans on a ridge or warm border, Early Dwarf Cluster and Early Long Pod being the best kinds for the purpose. Also, sow a few rows of Peas, such as Eingleader and William the First. The last-named variety is a wrinkled Marrow, as early as Ringleader, and more productive. Any Peas that are up should have some soil drawn to them, as a pro- tection from cutting winds, frost, and vermin. Birds (sparrows in particular) are very fond of pinching out the points of the young shoots as soon as they are through the ground. A good deterrent, and also a valuable fertiliser, is an occasional sprinkling of soot over the rows. Brussels Sprouts, a vegetable in use all through the dead of winter, require a very long season if wanted to be extra fine ; they are, therefore, best sown in autumn, and left in the seed bods till spring. If not sown then, however, sow at once, in drills, 9 inches apart ; cover the seed very slightly, and protect it with netting from birds. Imported seed is the best, because it grows the tallest, and consequently produces the largest number of Sprouts. Cauliflower plants under hand-lights, cloches, or in frames, should be fully exposed whenever the weather is favourable. These are generally kept too close, the impression being that such treatment will cause them to head early ; but that is a mistake, as they will come in no sooner, and are much more liable to " button " than when brought up sturdier. We have yet a few heads of that best of all Cauliflowers, Veitch's Autumn Giant, a kind which has furnished a supply of good Cauli. flowers till Snow's Broccoli came in. From the latter, we have been cutting for some time, and others are ready to be taken up and put in sheds or frames on the first appearance of severe weather. Early kinds of Potatoes may now be started to sprout in warmth. Lay them in shallow boxes filled with sifted leaf mould, and give them occasional sprinklings with a line rosed water-pot or syringe. As soon as sprouted and well rooted, pull off all the shoots except two, and plant them deeply on warm borders that can be readily protected if required. Start and treat them in a similar manner, for planting in pits, frames, or pots. Our first supply is always from pots, and it generally turns out satisfactorily. Three tubers are planted deeply in a 8-sized pot, and are earthed up as the haulm progresses ; the temperature of a newly-started Vinery or Peach house suits them well, and they can be easily moved to other quarters when desired, llave the necessary protection ready for Celery, Lettuce, Endive, and Parsley, in case of severe frost ; straw hurdles are the neatest, handiest, and most effectual protectors that can be employed for such purposes. Keep up successional supplies of Asparagus by making up a fresh bed about every three weeks. In bad weather look over storus of Beet, Potatoes, Onions, Jerusalem Artichokes, and Carrots, removing evpry trace of decay, as one bad root soon infests a large number.— W. Wilds-MITh, BeckjiM. 12 THE GARDEN. [Jan. 1, 1876. THE GREAT ST. BRUNO'S LILY. Drawn by F. W. BURBIDOE. Tills is a noble variety of a very beautiful alpine flower. It is as pure in colour as the White Wood Lily of the North Amtriean woods (Trillium grandiflorum), and is unlike the common alpine form, tall and stately as a true Lily, with long and elegant grassy leaves, and a delicate and welcome odour. We have not seen this large form in a wild state, if, indeed, it .so exists. When the early summer traveller first crawls down from the cold and snowy pass of a Savoy Alp into the grateful warmth and English-meadow-like freshness of the valley, most likely the first flower ho notices in the fresh Grass on the side of the valley is a small Lily-like blossom, standing about level with the tops of the blades of Grass and the Orchises. The blooms, about 2 inches long, so clearly and delicately white that they might well pass for emblems of purity, have each division faintly tipped with pale green. One or perhaps two stems spring up here and there all over the meadows, and the effect of the half-pendent Lilies is very beautiful. The description and .synonyms given of this plant in " Curtis's MagaJiine " are the text for a good deal of amusing comments on botanical nomenclature aud its difficul- ties in the first number of Mr. Ruskin's " Proserpina." His favourite, however, seems to be the branched Antherioum Liliago, which is by no means so fair a flower as the single- stemmed and true St. Bruno" .s Lily. The variety now figured I saw for the first time last summer in Messrs. E. G. Hender- son's nursei'y, at St. .Tohn's Wood, and from the specimens then gathered and brought to Tin: Garden office Mr. Bur- bidge made the sketch of which our plate is a reproduction. It speaks for itself. The plant will be found to be one of easy culture on warm free soils. Slight .shelter would prove bene- ficial, and that may readily be obtained by planting it among rather dwarf shrubs. It is valuable for the mixed border, and, when plentiful enough, would prove worthy of naturalisation in open spots in semi-wild places where the soil is good. It may be most readily increased both by division and seeds, but is as yet scarce in nurseries. W. B. THE LIBRARY. " GARDENING FOR PLEASURE."* Tills is a, handy little book, and one for which we have a hearty welcome, for it is rarely that we find so much sound and prac- tical advice given so plainly, or contained in so small a compass. Extending through 2o0 well-printed pages, and amply illustrated throughout, we have ably written and exhaustive little essays on soil and locality, drainage, manures, lawns, designs for gardens (which, by-the-bye, are not first- i-ate, and convey no new ideas to the intelligent reader), bulbs, propagation by seeds and cuttings, grafting and budding, tropical bulbs aud seeds, potting plants, winter flowering plants, remedies for unhealthy plants, hanging baskets, and window gardening. Wc have also chapters on the cultivation of plants ill rooms, wardiaii cases and Fern shades, how to force certain plants, greenhouses. Graperies, heating by hot water, cold Louses and pits, combined cellar and greenhouse, hot-beds, insects, and diseases, besides many other suggestively-written pages on the fruit and vegetable garden, with excellent selec- tions of the best and most profitable kinds to grow. The chap- ters on fruits and vegetables arc well illustrated, as is also the essay devoted to garden implements, while the whole book is aptly concluded by a most excellent monthly calendar of opera- tions. As a matter of course, this book is written for American readers, and the selections are made with a view to suit a climate ■wliich differs in many important points from ours ; notwith- standing this, however, it would be useful to many English cultivators. To such wo can confidently recommend it as being generally a straightforward little book from the hand of a thoroughly practical horticulturist. We here give Mr. • " Gardening,' for Pleasure. A Guide to the .\mateur in the Fruit, Vcsctablo, iinil Flower Garden," &c. By Peter Henderson. New York : Orange Judd Com- pany. 1S76. Henderson's remarks on mulching and shading, which will convey to the amateur some idea of the practical and sugges- tive contents of this work : Mulching. — Litter of any kind, placed around newly planted trees to prevent evaporation from the soil, was the original meaniuf of mulch, but it is at present extended to include a covering of the Boil applied at any time, and for very different purposes. Good cultivators apply hay, straw, or other litter to the surface of the soil to protect the roots of certain plants against the action of frost, it being useful, not so much against freezing as to prevent the alternate freezing and thawing, that is apt to occur in our variable and uncertain climate, even in mid. winter. As mentioned under Strawberry culture, the mulch applied in the fall protects the roots during winter ; it is allowed to remain on the bed where, if thick enough, it keeps down weeds, and prevents the evaporation of mois- ture from the soil during the dry time wo are apt to have between the flowering and the ripening of the Strawberry. Besides all this, it makes a clean bed for the fruit to rest upon, and should a driving shower come np as the fruit is ripening, there is no danger that the berries will be splashed with mud and spoiled. The utility of a mulch is not confined to the Strawberry among fruits ; Raspberries and Currants are much benefited by it, and by its use a gardener of my acquaintance succeeds in growing fine crops of the fine varieties of English Gooseberries, a fruit with which very few succeed in onr hot summers. Newly planted trees, whether of fruit or orna- mental kinds, are much benefited by a mulch, and its application often settles the question of success or failure. We have known a whole Pear orchard to be mulched, and the owner thought its cost was more than repaid by saving the fallen fruit from bruises. The rooting of a layer is by some gardeners thought to be facilitated by placing a flat stone over the buried branch ; the fact being that the stone acts as a mulch, and prevents the soil around the cut portion from drying out, and greatly favours the rooting process. Even in the vegetable garden, mulching is found useful, especially with Canli- flowers, which find onr summers quite too dry. The material of the mulch is not of much importance, the effect being purely mechanical, one kind of litter will answer as well as another ; the material will be governed in great measure by locality ; those living near salt water will find salt-hay, as hay from the marshes is called the most readily procured ; those who live near Pine forests use the fallen leaves, or Pine needles as they are called ; in the grain. growing districts straw is abundant, and nothing can be better ; it can be applied more thoroughly if run through a cutter, though the thrash, ing-machine often makes it short enough. Leaves are Nature's own mnlch, and answer admirably ; if there is danger of their beiu>» blown away, brushwood laid over them, or even a little earth sprinkled on them will keep them in place. Tan-bark aud sawdust may serve for some uses, but they are very bad for Strawberries, their finer particles being about as objectionable as the soil. One of the best materials to use for summer mulching is the green Grass mowed from lawns. This applied, to the thickness of 2 or 3 inches, around the roots of all kinds of small fruits, will be found not only to greatly benefit the crop, particularly in dry weather, bnt will save greatly in labour by preventing the growth of weeds. One of our best pri. vate gardeners in the vicinity of New York has adopted this summer mulching with the Grass from the lawn for nearly twenty years, and has succeeded in growing all kinds of small fruits in the highest degree of perfection. Shading. — In mulching the object is to prevent evaporation from the soil, as well as to shield the roots from sudden changes of tem. perature ; it is often necessary to protect the whole plant in this respect, and this is accomplished by shading. Although on a larr-e scale, we can do little in the way of shading plants in the open ground, yet the amateur will often find it of great utility, as screening will frequently save a recently transplanted plant, which without it would bo quite ruined by a few hours' exposure to the sun. For shading small plants in the border, such as traus))lanted annuals, a few shingles will be found very useful, one or two of these can be stuck iu the ground so as to completely protect the delicate plant, and yet not deprive it of air. Six-inch boards of lialf-iucb stuff nailed together, to form a V-shapcd trough, arc very useful iu the garden ; they are handy to place over small plants during cold nights, and may bo turned over and set to make a screen against strong winds, or used for shading plants in rows. Seedlings often suffer from the heat of the sun in the middle of the day ; the seedUngs of even the hardiest forest trees are very delicate when young. The seeds of such trees when sown naturally almost always fall where the young plant will be shaded, and tho amateur who experiments in this very interesting branch of horti. culture, tho raising of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs from seed, will find it necessary to imitate Nature and protect his young seedlings from the intense heat of the sun. There are several Supplement to The Cardeti, Office 37, Southampton Street, Covent Rarden, London, W.C. to irlii"^ GREAT SX BRUNO'S LILY. ANTHERIC DM LILIASTRUM VAR. JAif. 1, 1876.] THE GAKDEN. 13 ways of doing this ; if the aeeda have been sown in an open border, let him take twigs aboat a foot long, evergreen it they can be had, but, it not, those from any deciduons tree, and stick them a few inches apart all over the bed. This will give the seedlings very much such a protecliou as they would naturally have had in the shade of other plants, and though evergreens will look better for a while, the dead leaves of deciduous twigs will give quite as useful a shade. It is always safer to grow seeds in a frame, as the young plants are then under more complete control. Frames are easily shaded by means of a lattice made of common laths. Strips of inch stuff, 1^ or 2 inches wide, are used for the sides of the lattice, and laths are nailed across as far apart as their own width. One lath being nailed on, another is laid on to mark the distance, the third one put down and nailed, and the second one is moved along to mark the distance for the fourth, and so on. With a screen of this kind there is abun. dant light, but the sun does not shine long at a time on one spot, and the plants have a constantly changing sun and shade. This lath screen may be used for shading plants in the open ground if supported at a proper height above them. In a propagating-house, where it is necessary, as it often is, to shade cuttings, a lattice laid upon the outside of the glass answers a good purpose. The laths are some- times tied together with strong twine, the cord answering the place of slats, and serving as a warp with which the laths are woven ; the advantage of a screen of this kind is that it can be rolled up. Plants kept in windows dui'ing the summer months will, if in a sunny exposure, require some kind of a shade, and if the one provided to keep the sun from the room shuts out too much light, or excludes air as well as sun, something must be pro. vided which will give protection during the heat of the day, and still allow sufficient light and an abundant circulation of air. Anyone with ingenuity can arrange a screen of white cotton cloth to answer the purpose. The old practice of stripping the green, house in summer is falling into disuse, and by a proper selection of plants and sufficient shade, it is made as attractive then as at any other season, but even for tropical plants the glass must be shaded. For a small lean-to, a screen of light canvas or muslin arranged upon the outside, so that it may be wound up on a roller when not wanted will answer, and it it be desired to keep the house as cool as pos- sible, this should be so contrived that there will bo a space of 6 inches or so between that and the glass. But upon a large house, or one with a curvilinear roof, this is not so manageable, and the usual method is to coat the glass with some material which will obstruct a part of the light. The most common method is to give the outside of the glass a coat of ordinary lime whitewash ; this . lakes a suffi- cient shade, and is gradually dissolved by the rains, so that by autumn the coating is removed, or so nearly so that what remains may be readily washed oft. A more pleasant effect is produced by spattering the glass with the same wash, which can be done by a dexterous use of the brush, and stippling it so as to leave the wash in numerous fine drops, like rain-drops. Others use whiting and milk for the same purpose. Whatever may be the means of effecting it, we find that in this latitude shading of some kind is required from about the 1st of May to the middle of September, by nearly all plants grown under glass. Ferns, Lycopods, Caladiums, Primulas, Fuch- sias, Begonias, Gloxinias, Achimenes, Lobelias, Smilax, and plants of that character require the glass to be heavily shaded, while Koses, Carnations, Bonvardias, Poinsettias, Geraniums of all kinds, and nearly all succulent plants, do not need so much. The method of spattering the glass outside with thin whitewash, allows the shading to be light or heavy, as required. When first done, it is spattered very thinly, merely to break the strong glare of the sun, just about thick enough to half cover the surface. As the season advances, the spattering should be repeated, to increase the shade, but at no time for the plants last-mentioned do wo entirely cover the glass. In England, especially for Fern. houses, Brunswick green mixed with milk is used, to give a green shade, which is thought to be best suited to these plants. The blue glass for greenhouses which was so highly lauded a few years ago, has not met with much favour, but X'ecent experiments in glazing with ground glass, have given such results as to warrant a more careful investigation into the use of this material. PAINTING GLASS-HOUSES. White lead, mi.xed with linseed oil, is the best paint for the wood- work of glass-honses. The wood should be thoroughly dry through- out when it is put on, for internal damp soon works out, and blisters and destroys the paint. The long dry period in summer is the best time to put it on, but the wood of new houses being erected now, should be well painted over once before it is brought out of the work, shop, and other coats should be applied as the weather will permit. To let the wet penetrate the wood before it is painted is a sure means ot starting decay, which no after attention will remedy. Few houses are improved in appearance by being painted in a great many colours. Two are generally sufficient, and these should consist ot a stone colour on the wood, and some shade ot blue on the iron. The most eft'ectively painted house I have seen lately, is a very large new one, in which the colours are a very light lemon and a French grey, the former being put on the wood, and the latter on the iron. Blue is a colour much used on iron, and sometimes along the lower edges ot the ratters ; it and a pearl-white look well together, but the latter should only be used in conservatories and other places where the atmosphere is quite clear. In stoves, forcing pits, and similar structures, the wood- work should be painted a dark stone colour, as the filth which soon gathers about the lower parts of these houses, is not so easily seen on this shade as on a lighter one. For the same reason the ontsides of all houses should be ot a dark hue; near towns, stokeholes, or chimneys, the smoke soon makes the paint very black, but further than looking dirty this does no harm. The out- side generally requires painting oftener than the inside. With ordinary usage the inside need not be painted oftener than every six years, whilst the outside in most cases needs re-coating every third year. Nothing is to be gained by letting the wood become bare ot paint ; in fact, avoiding this is the only way to make the wood last. In old- fashioned houses where the principal supports are veritable logs of timber, it is perhaps not so rapidly followed with decay and down- fall, but the durability and preservation of light framed wooden structures, can only be ensured by keep them constantly well painted. J. Mum. VITALITY OF SEEDS. Although there is no doubt that the seeds of many plants retain their vegetative powers for a long period under certain conditions, absolute proof is still wanting to confirm the supposed germination of grains of Wheat, &c., taken from Egyptian mummy-cases and other sources. Carefully-conducted experiments by scientific men of different countries have furnished little beyond negative results. We ourselves have tried in vain to raise various seeds, ranging from fifteen to twenty-five years old, which had been more or less exposed to atmospherical influences — that is to say, they were kept in paper bags. Buried in the soil to a certain depth, it seems quite possible that some seeds would retain their vitality for an indefiuate number ot years. This is so far true that in some districts where the arable land has been very much infested with the Charlock, and the farmer has succeeded in nearly exterminating it, he is very caref nl not to plough deeper than usual, which invariably brings a quantity of fresh seed within germinating distance of the surface of the soil, and is the cause of weed increasing and spreading again with renewed vigour. Having similar facts in view, Dr. H. Hoffmann has been experimenting with soil taken from the diluvial beds of the Rhine districts. We should mention, too, that he hoped to obtain some interesting results affecting the transmutation theory, and some explanation of the peculiar distribution of certain plants found in the Middle llhine district. The results he has published in the " Botanische Zeitung " (Nos. 43 and 43, 1875). For the purposes of the experiments, about three-quarters of a hundredweight of the Loss soil was taken out at a depth ot 12 feet below the surface, when the earth was being levelled for the railway station at Monsheim, near Worms. A newly- broken spot was selected, and the tools previously cleaned with well, water. In fact, every conceivable precaution was taken thronghout the experiment to prevent the intrusion ot foreign seeds or spores. Notwithstanding all this care, various common Mosses, Ferns, and flowering plants sprang up in the pots, which were closely covered with bell-glasses. It is noteworthy, too, that all the species that sprang up in this way were common cither in the greenhouse or its immediate vicinity, and not in the locality whence the soil was pro- cured. A similar set of experiments was instituted with white tertiary sand, and the result was the same. And the experiment with Loss soil was repeated again. In this instance the only plant that could possibly have sprung from a seed in the long buried soil was Festuca pratensis, but this was a delicate plant, probably from a very small light seed, that might have been conveyed by the air. It will thus be seen that all these experiments gave results ot a negative character. But the author has put them on record, and wisely, we think, to show the difficulties in the way of obtaining satisfactory proof in experiments of this natnre. Altogether (hey go to strengthen the view that " Egyptian mummy AVheat " was accidentally introduced with the actual grain taken from the cases. — "Academy." Early Mention of G-uano.— The earliest mention of guano is said to be by UUoa in his work on Peru, published after his return from that country in 1745. The next known mention of it is by Humboldt. You may be interested, therefore, in publishing the following extract from a 14 THE GAEDBN. [Jan. 1, 1876. Mtlu book which I accidentally "picked up" a few days ago. The men- tion of guano in it is probably the earliest use of the word in any book in the Englisli language. The title of the book is, " The Art of Metals, ic.,in 1 wo Books, written in Spanish by Albaro Alonso Barba, Master P' ■f-''t. Curat? of St. Bernard's Parish, in the Imperial City of Potosi, in the Kingdom of Peru, in the West Indies, in the year 1040. Trans- lated m the year IGGO. By the K. H. Edward, Earl of Sandwich. jLiondon : Printed for S. Mearne, Stationer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, 16/1. ' The extract is from pp. G, 7 :-" Out of islands in the ftoutu bca, not far from the City of Arica, they fetch earth that docs the annoelleutasthe last afore-mentioned (Britauica). It is called guano ( t.e. dung), not because it is the dung of sea-fowls (as many would have It uuaerstood), but because of its admirable vertue in making ploughed ground tertile. It is light and spungy, and that which is brought from ttte 'sland ot Iqueyque is of a dark grey colour, like unto tobacco ground small. Although from other islands near Arica they get a white earth meaning to a sallow, of the same vertue. It instantly colours water wuereinto it is put, as if it were the best leigh, and smells very strong. I lie qualities of vertues of this, and of many other simples of the new world, are a large field for ingenious persons to discourse philosophically upon, when they shall bend their minds more to the searching out of tiutu than riches." I may mention that UUoa was captured by us on Ills voyage homo from Peru, but, on his arrival in England was at once liberated and made a F.R.S.— " Athenseum." THE FRUIT GARDEN. DECEMBER PEARS. Thk following is a condensed list of the choicest December pears, which, together with the October and November lists, will make up a thorough, and I think, reliable catalogue of antnmu and winter Pears, at least so far as the three months mentioned go. If the most select are required, they may I think with confidence rely upon those marked with an asterisk. I have been engaged in the arduous task of collecting, cnltivating, and proving all, or nearly all the sorts I could procure, and my collection contains many new kinds, which it will take some time yet to test properly, and so eonld not be included in these lists. It is my in- teution however, during the winter .and early spring, to give you all the information I possess at present about them. The sizes, as in the former lists, are indicated by 1st, 2nd, and .3id. Al]''lil'/'T;~n°''-' ''«,s'\™"i°"' T"''-^ J"'"-^- ='"'' 'lo'icately perfumed. Adele do St. Denis-let, flesh mcltins and buttery, juice excessive, sugary, ai. ^ei^y JOicy, sugary, vinous, and delicate. Fide me— 2nd, melting, juicy, sugary, and delicious. " .r ri, ,i'Hw;v • ?;°""'S' inice excessive, and agreeably jicrtumed. " delicate *'°"^'^''"-2°'l. melting, very juicy, aromatic, and " *vi'!.l°it;^^';»?'l"ir^' ^f y •'"'"y- ^"^^-'y- »"'' highly perfumed. '• „';"?""=^—V/'''*'^'™^'""S. very juicy, and delicate. „ Phillipe Delfosse-lst very melting, jmce e.xcessive, sugary, highly perfumed and delicate. = ji fe .» „ 'Ranee— 1st, when grown against a wall, which it should always be it 18 then unsurpassed as a Christmas I'car. " l!;'™nt«^„7^"i''',''''^'',.'''°''°'™'''"°^' c-'":es»ively juicy, withaflncaroma. „ Samoyeau-. ^ell perfumed. Brandes— 3rd, very melting, sugai-y, and with a savoury perfume. Broom Parklinrt' h^uZ^rf'"'' ""'■" """'""S' '"S"y' ^°<' '"^^^^ perfumed. Broom Park-2ml half.n elting, very juicy, sugary, and refreshing ; very like .r.j.., ■■, Shobden Court, and of much the same quality. •Cadet de Vaux-lstrneltmg, juice excessive, rich, and sugary, continues from r-i „ , u- . o P'l''^'?"^'' '° March, and sometimes to May. Clement Bivort^Snd, flesh fine, molting, juicy, rich, and sugairy. Colmar— 1st, flesh halt-molting, juice abundant, and very sweet; requires a wall to bring it to perfection. ,, 'Delahaut — 2nd, very juicy, halt-melting, rich, and aromatic. •Comte de Flandres— 1st, extremely juicy, rich, aromatic, and exquisite. •Comtesse d'Alost— 1st to 2nd, flesh close and very melting, juice exceBsivc, and savoury. ,, de Chambord— flesh molting, refreshing and delicate. •Doyenne d'Alen^on- 2ud, very melting, very juicy, sugary and aromatic. ,, de Rouen — 2nd, very melting, juice abundant and delicate. ,, Sieullc — 2nd, flesh flue, half-melting, juicy, sugary, and delicate. •Dnchosso de Bordeaux— Ist, melting, very juicy, refreshing, and dchcatc. Kniilie Bivort— 2nd, very melting, delicious, and. perfumed. •Figue d'Alenfon— 1st to 2nd, juicy, buttery, and highly flavoured; very good. This delicious Pear requires a wai-m soil to bring it to perfection. •Graslin — 1st to 2nd, very melting, juice excessive, sugary, delicate, and perfumed. M. Decaisne says, that this and Beurre Superfin Hie the same ; but they arc entirely difl'erent — one ripe in October, the other in December. Henrietta Bouvier — 2nd, flesh breaking, very juicy, sugary, and acidulated. •Josephine dc Maliiies — 2nd to 3rd, veiy melting and delicious ; a valuable Pear. •Monarch — 2nd and 3rd, one of our most valnable winter Pears. Louis Vilmorin— 1st, flesh fine, molting, very juicy, sugary, and with -i hue perfume. Mart'Chal Vaillant— 1st, very lai-ge, flesh half-melting, juicy, sugary, and perfumed. Marie Benoist— 2nd, melting, juice excessive, sugary, vluoos, and delicately perfumed. „ *.ralais — 2nd, melting, very juicy, and delicious. •Mariette de Millepieds — Ist, flesh very fine and melting, juice excessive, sugary, acidulated, and exquisitely flavoured ; ia oating fruoi December to April ; a valuable winter Pear. Orange d'Hiver — 2nd, flesh half melting, and very delicious here ; in some localities too astringent. PaEse Cjlmar — Ist to 2nd, melting,'juice abundant, rich, and sugary. Petite Victorine— 3rd, melting, juicy, sugary, and acidulated. •Royal Vendt-e— 2n(l,Iflcsh very fine and very melting, juice abundant, and very agreeable. •Sabine — 1st, flesh very melting, juicy, sugary, and very savoury. St. Germaine Gris — 2nd, flesh firm and melting, juicj-, sugary, and perfumed. Sarrasin — 2nd, flesh breaking, very juicy, sugary, and acidulated. •Supreme Coloma— 1st; described in November, but it is also delicious in December. Vauquelin — 1st, flesh firm and very melting, juice very abundant, rich, and agreeable. Vernusson — 3rd to 2nd, flesh very fine and melting, juice excessive, aromatic, and delicate. WilUams d'Hiver— 1st ; this fine new Pear should be grown on an east or west wall, to bring out all its good qualities. •Zephrin Louis— 2nd, melting, juicy, sugary, perfumed, and savoury. The above are all the best December Pears. There are not so many of them as of the two preceediug mouths, but more of them are marked with an asterisk. I have always deemed the late autumu and winter Pears to be the most delicious ; they are richer and more aromatic than the early kinds, which have often nothing to recommend them but their juiciness and sweetness, although there are a good many exceptions. The shelves of my fruit room are beginning to look bare, and there are now, on them, only about eighty sorts to be examined and several of these are cooking varieties. January, February and March will nearly e.xhaast the whole, as the sorts which last beyond March are tow and far between. J. Scorr. OLD AND NEW APPLE ORCHARDS. The enquiry is often made—" Shall I continue my old Apple orchard, of which some of the kinds are dying, or cut the trees down and plant new ones ? And shall I plant on the same ground ? " We answer — keep the old orchard as long as you can get anything from it. Do not plant on the same land ; but while you keep the old trees in good condition as long as practicable, have a young orchard coming on in another place. If you cut down your old trees and plant a yonng orchard, you will be \vitbout fruit for several years. Old orchards, well managed, will grow and be.ar good fruit for some twenty years longer than if nitirelj' neglected. Apples are nsnally good for sixty years, and under favourable influences will often last for seventy or eighty. Wo have seen a tree known to be about 100 years old, but this was an exception. The oldest thrifty and bearing trees we have known, stood on the borders of gai'dens, where at least half the roots were in a cultivated and constantly enriched soil. Those standing neglected in Grass and weeds, at the same age, were declining, the limbs dying, and some had gone to decay. For an old orchard standing in Grass, we would not recommend unconditionally ploughing up the sod. A portion of the roots is necessarily cut or torn more or less by the plough ; and while such a root-pruning (performed, of course, while the trees aro dormant), may do no harm at all to a young and thrifty orchard, it might tend to chock the growth of old trees, unless the mellowing of the surface might counterbalance the effect. It is safer therefore to top-dress the ground where old or decay- ing trees stand, with manure in autumn or winter, and to keep the Grass grazed short in summer with sheep, these animals also destroy, ing the codling moth in the fallen fruit. Cut out all the dead limbs at the same time, and reduce the amount of the top by thinning out evenly the small shoots or branches. By thus reducing the number of shoots, those that remain will make a vigorous growth, and bear as good ^AN. 1, 18?6.] l^iiB GAiibt)^. 15 fruit as j-oanger trees. We have known some which had already lost a part of their branches by old age, restored to vigour and a moderate degree of productiveness, by stimulating the roots and thinning the top. It is important, however, to continue annually the care they receive, or they will soon fall back again. All this care is not great, and is well repaid by the crops which tho old trees will continue to afford while the young trees are coming forward into bearing. When it is not practicable to obtain large supplies ot uianure for top-dress- ing, it may bo best to break up the Cirass sod under the trees by a shallow ploughing or digging early in spring before tho buds swell ; aud by keeping the surface clean and mellow through the summer, a small application of manure broadcast will afford important assist- ance. A dressing of ashes, leached or uuleached, if not more than litty bushels per acre, will be nseful to most soils. If the soil in which the trees staud is deep, aud the roots c.'ctend downward several feet, the digging may be done without fear of injury. If, on tho contrary, the sod happens to be quite shallow, and nearly all the roots are near tho surface, greater caution must bo used with old trees, although with younger orchards the small amount of muti- latiou which tho roots thus receive is overbalanced by the benefit of the cultivation. — " Cultivator." Twin Pine-apples. — The annexed is a representation of a twin Pine, drawn by the late Lady Boyne. It was grown at Braucepeth Castle, and each of the fruits weighed nearly 4 lbs. ; the kind is the Welbeck Seedling.— J. Hustek, Lamhton Castle, Durham. JosepMne de Malines Pear. — With us this is one of the most satisfactory of winter Pears grown ; although not so large as many Pears that ripen at the same time, its excellent quality fnlly compensates for lack of size. With us it usually produces more bloom buds on the young wood than any other variety, and commences to bear freely at an earlier age than many varieties. It succeeds well as an espalier, but deserves a wall. The great number of varieties of Pears now in cultivation, renders it a matter of some diflSculty for those with limited space, to select from even the best arranged catalogues. — J. Groom. New Varieties of Fruit. — At the recent International Exhibi. tion at Ghent England, was first with hothouse Grapes, and France obtained first honours for other kinds of fruit. MM. Baltet, pomo- logists at Troyos, obtained for their collection three prizes given for the most numerous, the most interesting, and newest fruits. The following are amongst the least known and the most valuable : — Peaches (late)— Lord Palmerston, Lady Palmerston, Salwey, Smock Freestone, Baltet, Teindou, Princess of Wales, Stump the World, Troyes, De Bozleu, and Belle de Toulouse. Nectarines — Albert, Lannois, and Pine-apple. Plums — Bryanstone Gage, Coe's Violette, Verdache, Jaune Tardive, Violette Galopin, Madame Nicolle, Mira. belle Tardive, Reine Claude de Wazon, Reine Claude d'Althan, and Tardive Mnsquee. The last. mentioned, raised by MM. Baltet, has been certificated by the Pomological Congress at Ghent. Pears — Alex- andrine Mas, Antoine Delfosse, Augnste Mignard, Belle de Bolbec, Bergamotte Pbilippot, Bezi Incomparable, Beurre BaUet P&ie, Beurre Bloudel, Benrre Lade, Beurre Lebrun, Beurre Rouge, Brindamonr, ComteLelieur,DoyenneBoisuard,Duchessed'Angouleme Bronzue, Fon. dante Thirriot, FortuneeBoisselot, Goodale, Uebe, Grossed' Avril, Lucie Audusson, Madame Hutin, Madame Andre Leroy, Madame Loriol de Eai'uy, Madame Grogoire, Mario Benoist, Olivier de Serres, Passe Crassane, President Mas, British Queen, Eon Chretien Prevost, Souvenir de Leopold I., Souvenir du Congroa, Sueroe do Montlucor, Vice-President Delehaye, Royale A'endee, and Ellis. Apples — Amelie, Belle des Suits, Belle et Bonne de lluy, De Citron, De Sole, De Lait, Du St. Sepulcre, De Wydcu, Do Vigne, Fraise do Hoflinger, Josephine Kreuter, Prince Lippe, Reinette d'Etlin, Reinette Titup, Keinette Gi'ammout, Souvenir de Botzen, Rouleau Rouge, Posson de France, the superb Transparente de Croncels (certificated by the Congress), and the Menagere, which measured over 6 inches in diameter. — C. Baltet. Fruit-preserving in the Open Air.— Under this title the "Jloniteur Horticole Beige"' describes a simple and inexpensive process of keeping Apples, taken from the " Maison Rustique." Choose a dry place naturally protected by trees, evergreens preferred ; and then place the fruit in a conical heap and cover it with leaves in the pro. portion of twice the bulk of the leaves to one of fruit. Under these conditions the Apples in contact with the soil receive a moderate and uniform heat ; the leaves keep out the cold and water, and are main- tained in their place by the trees, which protect them from winds. Fruits preserved in this manner are in better condition in spring, and decidedly more fresh than those wintered in ordinary fruit-houses. It is not rare for those who dwell in the country, to find Pears or Apples concealed under leaves very well preserved, better even than others with which great care has been taken ; besides, this plan comprises the essentials for keeping fruits, the most important of which is protection against atmospheric variations. Again, not only are they better preserved, but they are more fresh and firm, which is due to the almost complete absence of evaporation, and hence their tissues are swelled out full, like freshly-gathered fruit. The economy of this plan is another important consideration. It is well worth trying, with a view of prolonging the season of some of the most nseful keeping sorts. Raspberries and Blackberries from Root Cuttings. — Mr. Fuller's directions for carrying out this plan are as follows : — Dig up the plants to be propagated late in autumn, with all the roots that can be secured. Cut the roots into pieces abont 2 inches long, and place them in alternate layers with sand or fine Moss in a box. Place the box in a cool cellar to pi event growth ; keep the sand or Moss moderately damp. Early in spring ihe cuttings will have well- developed buds. Plant them out in drills in rich ground 2 inches deep. If well cultivated they will make good plants by autumn. Evidence as to Mulching Strawberries. — Mr. A. M. Purdy gives a successful instance of mulching in the "Fruit Recorder." A grower, becoming tired of keeping his Strawberries clean, covered the whole plantation with straw early in autumn so as to hide all the plants. In spring they grew np through the straw and sent up a dense profusion of fruit stems. The season was very dry from May to July, but he obtained a large crop ot fine berries which sold at Is. per quart, yielding at the rate of 100 bushels per acre. Other plantations, not mulched, gave 20 or 25 bushels to the acre. Newspaper Coverings and Frost.— I have had much experi- ence of the value of newspapers as a protection from frost, in the case not only of plants, but also in that of Appies and Potatoes, and I have always found them serviceable. Laid lightly over plants that are even in height, they not only exclude frost but also drip. They should be laid on in the evening, and not be removed until after the frost is entirely thawed next morning, when they should be thoroughly dried and rendered fit for use next evening. In small unheated houses, such protections are nseful in warding off moderate amounts of frost. In Apple and Potato stores such coverings need not be removed until all danger from frost is past. The value of paper coverings, however, depends greatly upon the construction of the shed or store, as, if it admits frost at every joint, it will require something more substantial than newspapers to keep fruit, at least, safe. Moreover, if Apples or Potatoes be stored on open or trellised shelves, even with a thin layer ot straw on them, it will be seen that they are doubly exposed ; but, it the shelves consist of stout boards set close, and a layer ot straw is also used, then a good close cover- ing of newspapers will be ot great value in excluding frost. — A. D. Grafting with Fruit-bearing wood.^ — I have been in the habit tor a number of years of practising the different modes of grafting nearly all kinds of fruit trees, and have often found the shoots to flower the same spring. Three years ago I took a fine healthy shoot about a foot long with fruit-buds and spurs from 2 to 16 THE GARDEN. [Jan. 1, 1876. 4 inches long from an old tree of the Magnum Bonum Plum, and put it upon a strong healthy stock. With a little extra care, it took very kindly, flowered, and set freely. I thiuned the fruit down to half-a-dozen, which ripened and were quite as large as any on the parent tree. The next year it grew very strongly, and made shoots from 2 to 3 feet long, but no flowers. This year it bore a very fair crop. I may add that the tree is in a pot, and that every attention has been paid to it. — J. G. T. Cocks, in the " Gardeners' Magazine." The Newtown Pippin at Home. — The discussion on this Apple at the late poniological meeting at Chicago, was of an inter- esting and somewhat conflicting character. In Virginia and North Carolina it sncceeds admirably, but not on the lowlands. Hundreds of barrels are shipped from Washington. It does not bear well in Maryland. Mr. Ragan, of Indiana, stated that ihe green variety was the only one worth anything at the west, the yellow being worthless. Messrs. Breckenridge, of Maryland, and Overman, of Illinois could not find two varieties. Messrs. Barry, of New York, and Hovey, of Boston, thought the two were only different conditions of the same Apple. Mr. Ragan found the trees identical in the nursery and orchard growth, but the yellow variety bears a larger Apple, which does not keep well. To these opinions we may add the remarks of the late Mr. Charles Downing, who stated that " the yellow is hand- somer than the green, and has a higher perfume; the flesh is rather firmer and equally high flavoured. The green is more juicy, crisp, and tender. The yellow is flatter. Both grow alike." — "Albany Cultivator." A Famous Vineyard— The famous Clot Vougeot ia a remark, able instance of the prolonged fertility of a Vineyard with but little artificial aid. In a.d, 901, the " Clos " was a waste of about 1-15 English acres, of which a couple of acres were set with Vines. About this time the Benedictine monks, and afterwards the Bernardines, who came into possession of the land, began clearing. The surface blocks of stone which covered much of the ground, and were rarely found adherent to the subjacent rock, were removed and formed into piles. The soil was levelled and dug to a uniform depth of 16 inches or so, and the ground set out with Vines. By-and-by, hollows and irregularities were filled up with stones from the piles, with a light covering of soil, and planted in like manner, as were also the sites of the piles themselves. The last Vines were planted in 1234, and are still known as the "young Vines." This is no fancy sketch. The history of the ground has documentary evidence to vouch tor it, and what is more, the details of the planting are still distinguished by the Vintagers. It has been said that the Vines propagate themselves. As the old rods are headed down they leave in the ground stools, which appear to be almost proof against decay. These stools form a sort of continuous carpet about 12 inches below the surface of the soil, being thickest under the Vines of 904, and thinnest under those of PEARS IN THE NORTH-MIDLAND DISTRICT. Mb. W. lN inches long by 2 inches broad, and with from three to four strong spiny teeth on each side. They are of a dark shining gi-een on the upper surface, pallid beneath on the younger-leaves, but frequently tinted with purple on the older ones before they fall ; the lower pair of leaflets are also much the smallest and are placed close to the base of the petiole, while the terminal one is much the largest, fref|uently measuring 3^ inches in length and from 2} to 3 inches in breadth, with a Tei-y stiff, triangular, spiny point. The flowers are rather large, of a bright yellow, and are pi-oduced in April in numerous dense, terminal, upright, simple racemes, from 4 to 6 inches long, which issue from among the broad, acute-pointed, persistent scales of the terminal buds. The berries are oval or roundish, large, and deep purple, covered with a fine glaucous bloom. This kind is found both in the northern parts of China and in Japan, and is called Sasa Nanting by the Japanese. Mr. For- tune first met with it in IS-tS in an old Chinese garden, in the district of Hwuychow, a place famed for its green teas, and from 100 to 1-50 miles north of Shanghai. It is perfectly hardy. Three-forked-leaved Mahonia (M. trifurca). — This kind forms a bush from 4 to 0 feet high, with leaves from 12 to 15 inches in length, thick and leathery in texture, and with from seven to nine pairs of leaflets, and an odd one. The leaflets are oblong-lanceolate, 2j inches long and li inches broad, with the lower pair much the smallest and close to the base of the petiole, and the terminal one fre- quently trifurcate. The other leaflets are distantly placed along the leaf-stalk, are sessile, truncate at the base, bright yellowish - green, pallid beneath, and five-nerved, and with from three to four sharp spiny teeth on each side. The flowers, ■« hich are bright yellow, and produced in nume- rous dense erect I'acemes, from 4 to 6 inches long, issue from among the scales of the terminal buds in April. The berries are oval, rather large, and deep purple, covered with a glaucous bloom. It is a native of the northern parts of China. Mr. Fortune first met with it in a cottage garden, and was informed that it was cultivated extensively in tbe province of Chekiang, on account of the dye which it furnished. This kind bears considerable resemblance to the Nepal variety in the greater number of its leaflets ; but differs fi-om it in its much thicker and more leathery leaflets, and in the young shoots being covered with scales of a clear reddish-purple, a colour which gives them a very marked appearance. It is fjuite hardy, and is sometimes named Mahonia intermedia, Bealii, and Japonica intermedia. Lindley considered this kind a distinct species ; but it appears to be little more than a variety of the Mahonia japonica. Fortune's Chinese Mahonia (M. Fortunei). — This kind forms an upright shrub from 4 to 0 feet high, with several stems, which become naked when old, and with but few branchlets. The leaves are frequently V* inches long, dark green, with a bluisii tint on the upper surface, and with from three to four pairs of distinct, sessile, long, narrow leaflets, and an odd one, the three upper ones being always close together. The leaflets are narrowly lanceolate, tapering much to the point, wedge-shaped at the base, frequently 4 inches long, and half-an-inoh broad, with from sixteen to eighteen distinct, straight, shallow, spiny serratures on the margins, pointing towards the apex of the leaflet. The flowers are small, light yellow, and produced in numerous closely-arranged terminal erect racemes 2j inches long, which rise from among the brown scales of the terminal buds in the spring in England, and in the autumn in China ; the berries, which are dark purple, are in terminal panicled racemes less than half the length of the flowers. It is a native of the northern parts of China, and tolerably hardy about London. Mr. Fortune found it culti- vated in the Chinese gardens about Shanghai, where it is a favourite plant, and is called " Che-wang-chok," or the blue and yellow Bamboo, on account of the bluish tint of the leaves, the yellow colour of the flowers, and the naked appearance of the old stems, which somewhat resemble those of a Bamboo. The Nepal Mahonia (M. nepalensis). — This kind forms an erect-growing shrub, from 4 to 6 feet high, with leaves from 12 to 18 inches long, and with from five to ten pairs of leaf- lets, and an odd one ; the lower pair are much the smallest and close to the base of the petiole, the others being rather distantly placed along the leaf-stalks, and all are of a bright shining, yellowish-green colour. The leaflets are ovate, or oblong- lanceolate, about 3 inches long and 1 inch broad, cuspidate or frequently tricuspidate at the ends, gradually enlarging from the base, sessile, five-nerved, rounded or obliquely sub-cordate at the base, repandly toothed, with from five to ten strong spiny teeth on each side, and not nearly so thick and leathery in texture as the Japan kinds. The flowers are rather large, bright yellow, and produced in March and April, in numerous (sometimes twelve or fourteen from the same terminal bud) erectly-spreading, dense, simple racemes, occasionally 6 inches long, and which issue from among the brown scales of the terminal buds in fascicles. The berries are large, oval or oblong, dark purple, and covered with a fine glaucous bloom. It is a native of the mountains of northern India, particularly in Nepal and at Ootacamnnd on the Neilgherry range, and is said to extend as far to the eastward as the Alunipore country. This kind is hardy in the neighbourhood of London, and there IS THE GARDEN. [J.vx. 1, 1870. is a fiue plant of it iu the pleasure grounds at Sion House, which has stood out there unprotected and uninjured for the last twenty years. Its synonyms aro Mahonia and Berberis, acauthifolia, Micea, and Leschenaulti. Group II.— Natives of the North- west em parts of North America. The Chaffy-stemmed Mahonia (M. glumacea). — In England this kind forms a close bush from 12 to 18 inches high, but according to Torrey and Gray, the stem is so low in the wild state, that it often scarcely rises from the ground, and is at all times much shorter than the leaves. The leaves are nearly 18 inches long, erectly-spreading, pale green on the upper surface with reddish petioles, and usually with six pairs of leaflets and an odd one. Leaflets ovate, pointed, sessile, remotely spiny toothed, and with from twelve to fourteen teeth on each side. The flowers are pale yellow, larger than these of the common Holly-leaved variety, and are produced in March and April, in numerous simple, upright, spicate racemes, from G to 8 inches long, crowded with flowers, and rising from among the scales of the terminal buds. The berries are o-lobular, deep blue, covered with a fine glaucous bloom and ripe in July. It is perfectly hardy and a native of North America on the western coast, iu shady Pine forests at the mouth of the Columbia River, and on the Pacific coast, and derives its name from the stems being covered by the long persistent lanceolate scales of the leaf buds, which continue to clothe the stem like coarse chaff for many years. Its synonym is JIahonia nervosa. The Creeping Mahonia (M. repens). — This kind forms a dwarf bush seldom exceeding 1 or 2 feet in height, the shoots of which consist chiefly of short nnbranched suckers, and it owes its name to its great tendency to form what are called creeping roots under ground. It has leaves from (! to 8 inches long, somewhat glaucous on both surfaces, and with from two to three pairs of leaflets and an odd one. The leaflets are rather large, roundish-ovate, not pointed, truncate at the base, entire or obscurely toothed on the edges, of a dull flaucous green, and about 2 inches long and li broad, with the lower pair very distant from the base of the petiole, and the terminal one much the largest. The flowers are of a rich yellow colour, in numerous short, diffuse, fascicled-racemes, which rise from among the scales of the terminal or axillary buds in April. The berries are globular, and deep purple. It is a native of North-west America, on the east side of the Rocky jMountains at the junction of the Portage river with the Columbia, and is said to extend into New Mexico. This kind, which is considered by some botanists as only a wild form of the common Holly-leaved one, crosses freely with that kind, and has produced several varieties, all of which have the large round leaves and dull glaucous green colour of the creeping Mahonia. It is quite hardy, but one of the least ornamental. The Common HoUy-leaved Mahonia (M. Aquifolium. • — This kind forms a many-stemmed bush from 4 to 8 feet hio'h, of which there are numerous forms, which differ chiefly in the size and shape of the leaflets, but none of them are so fine as the original one first introduced by Douglas from the Rocky Mountains. The leaves ai-e from 6 to 9 inches long, with from three to four pairs of leaflets and an odd one. The leaflets are ovate, pointed, flat, equal in size, 2\ inches long, and rather more than an inch broad, sessileand slightlyrounded at the base, spiny toothed on the mtft-gins.with from six to nine aerratures on each side, of a rich deep shining green colour on the upper surface, not closely placed along the leaf -stalk, and with the lower pair remote from the base of the petiole. The flowers are in erect, much crowded, short terminal racemes, of a bright yellow colour, and produced in April and May. The berries are globular and deep purple, thickly covered with a fine glaucous bloom. It is found in woods all over the North- western parts of North America, from New Albion to Nootka Sound, and is abundant along the banks of the Columbia River in rocky places, and in the Oregon territory. Group III. — Natives of New Granada, Mexico, and California. Hartweg's Mahonia (M. Hartwegii). — This is a beau- tiful shrub, from 5 to G feet high, with large, deep, lucid green leaves, often 18 inches in length, and with from eleven to thirteen leaflets. The leaflets are ovate-lanceolate, flat or very slightly undulated on the edges, spinosely-serrated or entire on the margins, sessile or roundly truncated at the base, closely placed along the leaf-stalks, and from 3 to d}, inches long and 1\ inches broad. The flowers are in ramosely-panicled, elongated, loose racemes, frequently a foot in length, with alternate forked branches, having from three to fifteen flowers on each, on short pedicels, of a deep yellow colour, and pro- duced in great profusion in April and May. The berries are globular and deep purple. It is a native of Mexico, on the Rancho de los Gallitos, a narrow valley situated on the eastern declivity of the great table-land between Zacatccas and the mining district of San Louis Potosi, also iu the valley of Los Gallitos, on the ascent from San Barbara, on the road from Tamipico to San Louis Potosi, and at the foot of a bluff rock called El Contradcro, between Tulo and San Barbara. It is too tender for the open border about London, and should be treated as a greenhouse or conserv.atory plant. The Lance - leaved Mahonia (M. lanceolata. — :This forms a handsome, erect-growing shrub, from 5 to 6 feet high, with straight, stiff, erectly-spreading leaves from 6 to 9 incheslong,andwith from thirteen to seventeen leafletsof a deep green colour, somewhat lucid on the upper surface ; leaflets, long, narrow, lanceolate, slightly undulated on the margins, very acute pointed, sessile and wedge-shaped at the base, quite straight, rather closely placed along the leaf-stalk, from 3 to 5 inches long, and from i to J inch broad, regularl}-, spinosely serrated on the edges, and with the lower pair remote from the base of the petiole. The flowers are in long, loose, branching racemes, a little shorter than the leaves, of a bright yellow colour, and produced in April and May. It is a native of Jlexico, where Mr. Hartweg found it inhabiting the mountain ravines of Apulco and at El Contradero, between Tulo and San Barbara. This kind, like the last, is too tender for the open border in the neigliboui'hood of London, and should be treated as a greenhouse plant. The Slender-leaved Mahonia (M. tenuifolia).— This forms a handsome shrub, from 10 to 12 feet high, with a single stem, and leaves from 9 to 12 inches long, spreading or bent downwards when fully developed, and with from four to five pairs of leaflets and an odd one ; the leaflets are ovate- lanceolate, short, thia in texture, pale bright green, perfectly free from all traces of toothing on the margins, distantly placed along the leaf-stalk, from 2i to 3 inches long, and -J inch broad, and with the lower pair remote from the base of the petiole. The flowers appear in simple, erect or nodding, open slender racemes, frequently a foot or more in length, naked at the base, and issuing from the terminal buds. They are on long pedicels, bright yellow, agreeably sweet-scented, and are produced in great abundance from October to December. The berries are globular, nearly black, and in drooping racemes, often a foot iu length. It is a native of the warm climate of Vera Crnz and Zaquapan, in Mexico, at an eleva- tion of not more than 3,000 feet on the eastern declivity of the snow-clad Orizaba, and is so tender that it must be regarded strictly as a greenhouse plant. Its s3Tionym is Mahonia fraxinif olia. The Pallid - flowered Mahonia (M. pallida). — This forms a fine shrub from 6 to 8 feet high, usually with a single stem, and rather slender leaves, from G to 8 inches long, and with from eleven to thirteen leaflets of a dry, hard texture. The leaflets are ovate or ovate-lanceolate, undulated, and irregularly spiny-toothed on the margins, sessile, rounded or somewhat wedge-shaped at the base, distinctly placed along the leaf-stalk, of a pale yellowish -green colour, and from 1 ' to 2 inches long and 1 inch broad. The flowers are in loose, slender, open, branching racemes, 8 or 10 inches long, at first erect, but afterwards, when fully developed, nodding at the ends. The flowers have whitish sepals, small pale yellow petals, and are produced in threes at the ends of the secondary branches of the flower-stalk during the months of January and February. The berries are globular, deep pxirple or nearly black, and ripe in July. It is a native of Mexico, and is found at an elevation of 8,000 feet at the hot springs of Atotonilco el Gi-ande, near Real del Monte, on the Cardonal la Najada, San Jose del Oro, and Zacualtipan, and is about as hardy as M. fascicularis. Its synonym is Mahonia Ehrenbergii. Jan. 1, 187(3.] THE GARDEN. 19 The Slender-branched Mahonia (M. gracilis).— Tliis forms a very pretty shrub, 5 or 6 feot high, with slender brauchcs, and leaves from o to 5 inches long, having bright red petioles, and from three to live loaliets. The leaflets are ovate or ovate-lanecolato, sessile, dry, and hard in texture, slightly undulated, and denticulately spined on the margins, wedge-shaped at the base, rather distantly placed on the leaf-ltalk, from 1 to li inch long and J inch broad, of a bright shining green on the upper Surface, some- what three-nerved beneath, and with the lower pair remote from the liase of the petioles ; the flowers are rather small, deep yellow, and produced in i\[arch and April in numerous simple, sub-fascioulated, open racemes, ^^ inches long with bright red pedicels ; the berries are globular and deep purple. It is a native of Mexico, near the hot springs of Atotonilco el Grande, on the barren hills of Zimapan, the Cardonal Jfountaiu, near Eeal del Monte, near the village of S.anta Maria, and on the Vulcau de Ague, in Guatemala, at an eleva- tion of 9,000 feet. This kind is too tender for the open border in the climate of London, but is an effective object when planted at the l^ase of a south wall. The Crowded - racemed Mahonia (M. fascicularis). — This kind forms a handsome, robust, many-stemmed bush, with leaves from 6 to 8 inches long, of a dull glaucous green, and with from three to five pairs of leaflets and an odd one. Leaflets, ovate-lanceolate, very rigid, wavy or somewhat twisted, sessile, rather distantly placed along the leaf-stalk, with the lowest pair near the base of the petiole, spiny- toothed on the margins, with four or five prickly teeth on each side, and of a dull glaucous green colour; the flowers are in large, terminal, erect, much crowded, and compact r.acemes, of a deep yellow colour, and produced in April and May ; the berries are ovjil and deep purple. In its native state this kind is chiefly confined to the lowlands of California and North Mexico. Mr. Hartweg found it on the Gigante, the highest ]ioint of the range of mountains of Guanajuata, in Mexico, and near Monterey, in Califoi-nia. It is too tender for the open border near Loudon, but makes a fine shrub for training against a conservatory wall. Its synonym is Berberispinnata, and there is the following hybrid variety. The Hybrid Mahonia (M. fascicularis hybrila). — This kind forms a robust many-stemmed busli, from 5 to 8 feet high, with [(uite the arborescent habit and general aspect of M. fasciculai'is. The leaves are from 6 to 8 inches long, with from four to six pairs of leaflets, and an odd one ; they are also of a deeper green than those of M. fasoiculai'is. The leaf- lets are ovate, pointed, and distant along the leaf-stalks, from li to 2 inches long, and about 1 inch broad, sessile, truncate, or slightly rounded at the base ; a little waved, and spiny- toothed on the margins ; with from eight to ten regular, coarse, angular serratures on each side, and of a bright green ; a little lucid on the upper side ; and much lai-ger and thinner than those of M. fascicularis. The flowers are deep yellow, and are produced in great pi-ofusion in April and May, on short, simple, dense racemes in terminal close fascicles. Berries, globular, deep purple, and only sparingly produced in short clusters. It is perfectly hardy, and very superior to any of the forms of M. Aquifolium ; it is said to be a hybrid production raised between JI. repens and fascicularis in the nursery of Mr. Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth, in Hertfordshire. Its synonyms are Mahonia repens-fascicularis and M. Aquifolium-fascicularis. The New Granada Mahonia (M. Tolumensis).— This kind forms a robust many-stemmed bush, .5 or 6 feet high, somewhat resembling M. fascicularis, but with slender bright green leaves from 8 to 10 inches long, and with from five to six pairs of leaflets and an odd one, which is sometimes the lai'gest, and 4 inches in length ; leaflets, ovate-lanceolate, acute- pointed, and distantly placed along the leaf-stalk, with the lower pair remote from the base of the petiole ; they are sessile, a little rounded, or obliquely truncate at the base, thin in te.xture, flat, slightly undulated on the edges, and from 2i to 4 inches long, and from |- to 1 inch broad, regularly spiny toothed on the margins, with from eighteen to twenty slender sharp serratures on each side, and of a bright green, a little lucid on the upper surface ; the flowers are deep yellow, and produced in racemes in April and May. It is a native of the mountains of Tolu, in New Granada, and about as hardy as M. fascicularis. Its synonym is Borberis Tolucanis. The Narrow-leaved Mahonia (M. angustifolia). — This kind forms a neat, slender, upright shrub, from 4 to 5 feet high, with leaves from o to o inches long, and with from four to six pairs of leaflets and an odd one ; the leaflets on the adult plants are oblong-lanceolate, very small, narrow, and acute-pointed, while those on young plants are much broader and less pointed ; the leaflets are rigid, sessile, somewhat undulated and spiny-toothed on the margins, rounded or a little tapering to the base, nearly an inch long, and 2 or o lines broad, with four or five regular, sharp, spiny serratures on each side, and the lower pair of leaflets near the base of the petioles and remote from the others, which are somewhat distantly placed along the leaf-stalk, and all of a light glaucous green, with a Ijluish tint on the upper surface ; the flowers are small, in short, dense fascicles, on rather longish pedicels, bright yellow, and produced in March and April ; the berries are globular, light red, with a glaucous bloom and sweet-tasted. It is a native of New Granada, and of the mountains between Pachuca and Aotopan in Mexico, and is about as hardy as M. fascicularis. The Three - leaved Mahonia (M. trifoliata.)— This very beautiful and distinct species forms a branching shrub from 3 to 4 feet high, with leaves from 3 to 3^ inches long, having three terminal, sessileleaflets, beautifully marbled with blue, dull green, and delicate pale veins, the slender leaf- stalks being sometimes 2 inches long ; the leaflets are in threes, ovate, acute-pointed, rigid, sessile, wavy, and spiny-toothed on the margins, with from three to five coarse, sharp, angular, spiny sinuosities on each side, rounded, and a little tapering to the base, from 1 to li inches long, and f inch broad, of a glaucous blue colour, marbled with dull green on the upper surface, as has just been stated, and light green beneath. The flowers are rather small, bright yellow, and produced in April and May in few-flowered axillary racemes on short peduncles. The berries are small, globular, light red, and sweet-tasted. It is a native of Mexico, where it is found covering large tracts of the high table-land near the Hacienda del Espiritn Santo, an immense plain on the road from Zacaticas to the mining- district of San Louis Potosi, and is called by the inhabitants " Acrito ; " the fruit, which is rather sweet-tasted, is much eaten by children. It is rather too tender for the open border about London, but makes a beautiful plant for training against a south wall. The White Evergreen Thorn. — This plant (Crata3gng Pyracantha alba) is very highly spoken as a Ledge plant in " Moore's Rai'al." Among the many plants experimented with for hedges in the eastern states, the White Evergreen Thorn (Cratiegus Pyra- cantha alba) is certainly the most promising. In the grounds of Messrs. Parsons, of Flushing, where it has been gi-owingfor the past fifteen years, it thrives admirably. Old specimen plants (of which there are many) standing upon the lawn form natui'ally a dense mass. So closely interwoven is the small Thorn-studded spray that a sparrow would find it difficult to enter or pass through. The plants bloom in Jane, and in autumn and winter they are covered with very showy orange-coloured berries. The Evergreen Thorn is a slow grower, seldom producing young shoots of more than 12 to 18 inches in length in one season ; but the plants fill up as they progress, consequently require very little pruning, and when fully established, no ordinary animal would ever make more than one attack upon their thorny surface. This variety of Pyracantha should not be confounded with the more common sort, which has round leaves, and is not hardy. The White Evergreen Thorn has small, oblong, pointed leaves, and they remain permanently upon the plant daring the coldest winters. It is propagated by cuttings and layers, and hedges should be formed with one or two-year.old plants, as older ones are not so readily transplanted, owing to their strong, deeply, penetrating roots. It is also necessary to plant in autumn or very early in spring, as the sap moves the first warm weather ; and after growth has commenced there is great danger of loss in removing. Plant Poisoning. — Numerous authenticated cases are on record in which horses and cattle have been poisoned by eating Yew leaves ; horses which have eaten Acacia buds and Laurel leaves have died of violent intestinal inflammation ; both Yew and Laurel are much more dangerous in the months of May and June than later, because the new shoots contain a much larger quantity of prussic acid. Rhododendron.s have been known to poison goats, and the Andromeda cows. 20 THE GARDEN. [Jan. 1, 1876. THE KITCHEN GARDEN. REPORT ON ONIONS GROWN AT CHISWIOK:. Serb for tliis trial, whicli took place at Chiswick this year, was furnished by the following, viz. :-Messrs. Barr & Sugden, Carter & Co., Cutbnsh & Son, Benarv (Erfurt), Nutting & Son, Sutton & Sons, Veitch & Sons, Vilmorin & Co. (Paris), Harrison & Sons, Stuart & Mem, Picoirillo, Hovey & Co. (Boston, U.S.A.), Dancer, J. Perry, A. Parsons, and R Dean. The seed was sown on March 16th in well pulverised moderately rich soil, which had, the previous season, been well manured for Celery. The season was, on the whole, favourable for the growth ot Onions so' that the trial was, so far, of a very satisfactory character. Altogether 155 samples were sown, representing ninety-eight diSferent names, of which number twenty are here described as quite distinct. The report only extends to those varieties which have been proved to be well adapted for spring sowing and early autumn or winter use, the remainder of the Tripoli and Silver-sHuned sections being agam sub- mitted for trial as autumn-sown Onions. „ ^ „ , t 1. White Spanish [syns., Banbury (Perry), Banbury Im- proved, Nuneham Park, Improved Nuneham Park, Beading, Improved Reading, Nazeby Mammoth (Carter & Co.), Oxonian Prize (Nutting & Son) Cutbush's Al (Cutbush & Sons), Portugal, Cantello s Prize (VVaite, Burnell & Co.)].— This variety is the one most generally cultivated. The plant is of free growth, the neck of medium size, and ripens off early and well. The bulbs are large, a fair-sized specimen measuring about 12 inches in circumference, and from 2 to 2i inches in thickness. The shape is Battened, the base broad, flat, frequently a little hollowed and uneven somewhat globular towards the stalk in the best forms, bkin pale straw, falling off readily and exposing the pale greenish-yellow outer flesh The flesh itself is firm and solid, almost white, and of excellent auali'tv This variety keeps generally in good condition up to the month of March. The Banbury and Nuneham Park types were the most "''''2? Large Straw-coloured (Vilmorm)— [syn.. Yellow Flat (Hovey ^^ Co" )j _Tbis is only to be distinguished from the White Spanish by the darker colouring of the outer skins. Yelloiv Leseure (Vilmorin), Yellow Cainh-ai (Vilmorin).— These were considered very spurious stocks of the large Straw-coloured. 3 White Globe.— Plant of free growth, forming in general a small neck- ripens off early and well. The bulbs are of medium size , from 9 to lo'inches in circumference, and about 2} inches in. depth. The shape is somewhat globular or obovate, with a finely rounded high crown. I he skin is pale straw, like the White Spanish, audit is, indeed, similar to that variety in every other respect but its more globular form. It is an excellent keeping sort, and much esteemed. „,,.„,„, . , White Intermediate and Oicar (Cutbush & Sons).— These are mixed and indifi'erent stocks of White Globe and White Spanish. 4. Trebons (Vilmorin & Co., Stuart & Mein).— Plant of free growth but somewhat tender, succeeding best in a warm season. Neck somewhat gross The bulbs are of very large size— about 13 inches in circumference, and from 3 to 3i inches ia depth. The shape is obovate, the base some- what broad and flat,l whilst the top tapers more to the stalk or neck The skin is pale straw, and peels off readily like that of the White Spanish. 1 he flesh is pale and rather soft and flabby, but of mild and excellent quabty. This is a very large and handsome Onion for early autumn use. It does not keep well, and generally begins to shoot before Christmas. It bears a close resemblance to the imported Spanish Onions. , r, \ 5. Yellow Danvers (Hovey & Co., Vilmorin & Co., Carter & Lo.) fsyn.' Danvers' Yellowl.— This is a very fine and distinct Onion. The plant is of free growth, the top slender, of a rather pale green colour, and with a very fine slender neck, so that it ripens off well. The bulbsare of medium, but very even and regular, size, from 10 to il inches in circum- ference, and about '2i inches in depth. The shape is roundish-globular, very regular, with a small base and a small neck. The skin is of a dark straw colour, the outer coating peeling off freely, but not exposing the flesh the inner coating remaining firm, giving the Onion a very neat, clean appearance. The flesh is very firm and solid throughout, and of finequaUty. A splendid keeping variety. ,, , Neil) German (Veitch & Sons).— This bears a close resemblance to Danvers' Yellow, but scarcely appears to keep so well. 6. Brown Globe Fsyn., James's Keeping].- This is of the same character as the White (jlobe, but has darker or reddish-brown skins ; some are pale-fleshed throughout ; others, these being the darker- skinned, have a slight shading ot red as an outside coating of the various iayers as in the red varieties. It is an excellent keeping variety, and much esteemed. The James's Keeping of some is more flattened near the crown, forming a sort of shoulder to the stalk, and of others again it is similar to the Pear-shaped. . ^, t, r., 1 Magnvm Bonum (A. Parsons) is a fine selection of the Brown blobe. Brown Intermediate. Bedfordshire C/iahijJion.— These are mixed stocks of Brown and White Globe. 7. Pear-shaped [syn., Pyriforrae].— This is alhed to the Globe section, and may be described as an elongated form of that variety. The plant is of free growth, the great majority producing very thick necks with very little bulb, so that they do not ripen oft' well. The true form is like that of a long Pear tapering mostly towards the stalk from 7 to 8 inches in circumference, and from 4 to 5 inches in depth or height. The skin is of a dark reddish-brown, and falls off' readily. The flesh is mode- rately firm and sohd, but it is not a very good keeping sort, and its shape does not recommend it. A good selection of this is sometimes sent out as James's Keeping. 8 Deptford [syns., Brown Spanish, Improved Brown Spanish. Strasbnrgh, Strasburgh Dutch, Pale Red Niorte, Light Red Stra«bnrghJ, —Plant of free growth and very hardy, forming a small neck, and npen- incr early The bulbs are of medium size, flattened or oblate, of pretty even and regular form. The skin is ot a dark reddish-brown colour. The flesh firm, solid, tinged with red. An excellent keepmg variety. ^ 9. French Strasbourg fsyn.. Pale Red St. Bneuxj.— This is distinct from the Deptford or English Strasburg. The bulbs are smaller, of very uneven shape, and frequently spht open into several .crowns. They are ot a dull reddish colour. They are very inferior varieties of the Deptford class. , , , n t> lu 10 Deep Blood Bed.— Plant of free and hardy growth. Bulbs of medium or rather small size, flattened or oblate, and generally of very even and regular form. The outer skin is of a dull red colour ; the inner coating of a deep glossy red. The flesh itself is pure white, it being only the outside coating of the various layers that are coloured, and these become paler towards the centre. It is very firm and solid throughout. This is the strongest-flavoured Onion, and the latest keeper. On these accounts it is a valued variety. ... ,. Blood Bed.— This is simply a paler-skinned variety of the preceding, and the most common. , „ , „ .^ t> t 11. Wethersfield Red (Hovey & Co., Carter & Co., Benary & Son) — [syn.. Bright Red Mczicres (Vilmorinlj.— Plant of free and robust growth^ The neck small, ripens off freely. Bulbs large, flattened or oblate, very even and regularly formed, about 12 inches in circumference and 2 in depth. The outer skin is of a light dull red colour, and peels off^ freely the inner coating being light purplish, shading greatly from the crown to the base, where it is very pale. The flesh is pure white, the outer surface of the coating only being coloured. It is very finn, solid, of mild and excellent quality, and keeps well. A remarkably fine and handsome Onion from America. The finest type of Red Onion. _ 12. Early Red (Hovey & Co.).— This is a rather early red variety. The bulbs are of medium size, flat, and of a very dull red colour, llie flesh is firm and solid, and of good quaUty. It shows a tendency to produce several crowns, which burst and spoil the bulbs. ' 13 Two-bladed.— This name is given to denote its peculiarities ot only producing two blades or leaves. These form small bulbs very eariy in the season, and soon ripen off. A great majority, however, grow into larger bulbs, and these have the ordinary number of leaves. Ihe true two-leaved type has small roundish bulbs about an inch in diameter. The skin is of a dull yellowish-brown colour ; the flesh, greemsh-whit«, and frequently a little coloured. They are very firm and sohd, and keep well Its small size makes it useful for pickling purposes. 14. Teneriffe (Benary & Son).— This greatly resembles m afpear- ance the smaller types of the Two-bladed. , . -r,- , ,- 15 Silver-skin (Nutting & Son)— [syns., Sdver-skin Pickling (Veitch) Early White Silver-sldnned (Benary & Son), White Round Early Hard Dutch (Vilmorin & Co.)].— The bulbs are of medium size, roundish oblate ; a great many are apt to split open. The outer skin is pure white or silverv, peeUng off freely and exposing the next coating, which is white with green veinings. The flesh is pure white, exceed- ingly firm, and solid. Keeps remarkably well, and is useful to those who prefer very white Onions. This is quite distinct from the Pans Silver- skin, which does not keep well. „...„,., _ . ^. . 16 Queen [syns.. New Queen, PicciriUo s New QueenJ.- Ihis is a very small and very early variety of the Silver-skinned section. It forms bulbs almost as quickly as a Radish, and has rarely more than two or three leaves. They were fully grown last season by the 1st of June, about fifteen days eariier than the White Italian Tripoli, which vanety, in the late trial, it most neariy resembled. Many large and kiter-growin.g examples were observed in each sample, which, if the seed was not mixed implies a tendency to deterioration. In this, as in other respects, it exactly resembles the Nocera, as introduced from Italy about thirty years ago, and the Florence White of earlier date. N B —All the section of Silver-skinned Onions, including the Queen, White Italian Tripoli, Marzajola, Nocera, Paris Silver-skin, Early White Naples and \Ta\te Lisbon, also the Giant Tripoli section, including the Giant Roeoa, Red Sallow, Madeira, &c., which are found valueless a.s spring-sown varieties, will form the subject of a separate report when their respective merits have been tested as autumn or winter-sowni 17 Potato Onion [syn., Underground Onion].— This is not propa- gated by seeds. The small bulbs are planted in the gi-ound like Shallots, and around these a number of new bulbs are produced. The bulbs are of average size, of somewhat iiTegnbr shape. The skm reddish-brown, hangint'°very loosely. The flesh is tolerably firm and solid, and of fair quality! It does not keep well, but is useful for procuring an eariy supply. 18 Egyptian [syns., Egyptian Bulbiferous, Tree Onion, Garden Rocambole].— This variety when planted throws up a stem on whicli instead of flowers, small bulbs are produced of about the size of small marbles, which are very excellent for pickUng. It is propagated by planting these bulimies (the largest of which will bear bulbs the same season), or by the bulbs which are formed in the ground, and which have not formed stems. . .-, . i n ^ 19 American Perennial Tree, or Top Onion (Carter & Co.). —This produces small bulbules in the same manner as the Egyptian Bulbiferous, but of a smaller and inferior character. No bulbs are formed iu the ground. The plant is perennial, the roots long and fibrous. 20. Welsh.— Of this there are two varieties, the Red and the Green. The iilant is an herbaceous perennial, and forms no bulbs; the roots are long and librons. The gi-een tops or leaves only are used. It may be propagated by seed or by division of the roots. A. F. Babeon. Jan. 1, 1876.] THE GARDEN. 21 CULTURE OF CELERY. Good Celery is still the exception rather than the rule in the majority of small gardens. Therefore no excuse can be need- ful for ouce more adverting to its cultivation. Spring Celery for soups, planted out in September and even in October, should not be earthed up till the following spring. They must be protected during winter by a little litter or a few leaves around their stems, and earthed up in February, such Celery is seldom first-rate for cheese or salad, but is most useful in other ways, as it is found almost impossible to preserve Celery blanched before winter after the following March. It either rots or bolts, whereas the late planted crops, unblancbed during winter, may continue sound till May or even June. By that time green Celery, sown in January and February in heat and brought on, will be forward enough for flavouring, while it is possible to have blanched Celery early in August, so that Celery for flavour, at least, if not for cheese, may thus be had all the year round. To ensure this succession, throe or four crops of seeds should be sown in a season. The first in January, to plant out in the middle of May, to come in early ia August. This crop is much given to " bolting," and should be a small one. The second in March, to plant out in June, to come in through September and October. This crop generally does well, and should be a large breadth. The third in April, to plant out in July, to come in in October, November, and December ; and the last crop, early in May, to plant out through July and August, to come in through January February, and March. In addition to these a small crop may be sown at the end of May or beginning of June, and planted out in September and October, as already described, for spring Celery. In the majority of gardens two sowings only are made — one in February, for the earliest, and a second in March or April for the main crop. To have large Celery it is needful to sow pretty early to give the plants time to grow into bulk during the warm weather. For though the Celery is a hardy plant it grows but slowly, and little in a temperature under 55° or 60°. In a wild state Celery is a marsh plant, and this fact gives the key to its culture, for though we change its uses we do not change its nature by cultivation. Therefore from the time the seeds germinate till the Celery is served in salad or with cheese, or used for flavouring soup, it should not once become dry. Dryness and poverty of soil constitute the sur"st means of ruining Celery crops. For marshes are not only moist, but, as a rule, they are remarkably rich with decomposing vege- table matter. In such, or its equivalent in the form of rich manure, Celery luxuriates and grows into size and quality if the cultivator will allow it. For next to the two modes already named the progressive earthing up of Celery is the surest mode of ruining it. It shuts out the water from the roots, envelops the plants in a mass of earth, and retards their growth. The object of progressive earthing up is, of course, to blanch the crop, an object by no means facilitated by the process ; for Celery, to be of the highest quality — white, crisp, and sweet — should be all blanched at once. It should there- fore bo grown first and blanched afterwards. The simplest mode of blanching is by the use of earth, though paper cylinders, drain tiles filled with ashes, and other contrivances are often used to facilitate the process and to keep the stems straight and clean during its performance. A certain amount of shade is also helpful to the growth of Celery. This is generally effected by intercropping with Peas or Scarlet Runners. Let us, however, proceed to give some specific instructions, beginning with the sowing of the seed, and finishing with the taking up of the crop. Early Celery is, of course, sown in heat. The seed vegetates slowly, and comes up best in a temperature of 60° or 65°. Even in that tempera- ture it will often take a mouth or six weeks to vegetate ; •while in a lower temperature it takes still longer. Whether sown in heat or out of doors it should be sown in light, rich soil, lightly covered, and kept moist through all its early stages. As soon as large enough to handle the plants should" be pricked out— early crops in a hot-bed under glass, and late ones on a bed of manure formed in the following manner. Some use 60-sized pots for the first crop, so that the plants shall not be at all disturbed in being finally planted out in the trenches. In that case the pots are filled with rough half- rotten dung, and surfaced with soil, one plant being placed in each pot. As soon as the roots fill the pots, the plants should either be shifted into others or finally planted out. On no account must the plants become much pot-bound, or they will run to seed. The more general practice is to make a bed of half-rotten dung about 6 inches thick on a hard bottom, and cover it with 1 inch of rich black vegetable mould. On this prick out the plants at distances of 4 or 6 inches square. Cover with glass or not, according to the season. Water and shade, if necessary, to prevent the smaller plants flagging. As soon as they get a fair hold they will make rapid progress, soon forming healthy leaves, and quickly filling their allotted spaces with a perfect network of roots. At any season after the middle of May till October, Celery may be successfully planted out. The most general mode of planting out is in trenches, at distances i-auging from 2 to 6 feet, according to the width of the trench, and the mode of inter- cropping. The depth of the trench is also varied, the most common and convenient depth being from 12 to 18 inches, after being bottomed with at least 6 inches of good manure. A convenient width is 15 inches for a single row, 20 or 24 inches for a double line. Some also grow Celery in wide trenches and sunk beds, varying from 1 foot to 5 or 6 feet across, and plant the Celery in rows 9 to 12 inches apart, across the trenches. Of course the width of the inter-spaces will chiefly be determined by that of the trench, from 2 to 6 feet being convenient widths. The use of the trench, even though almost universal, is by no means absolutely necessary. It is a labour-saving and a moisture-conserving expedient, that is all, though it must be admitted that it is easier to water the plants in trenches than on level ground. Trenches also facili- tate the operation of earthing up. Having prepared the trench by digging out the earth, and virtually doubling its depth by the simple process of forming a ridge on either side with the excavated earth, and having also richly manured the bottom, the Celery plants must be carefully removed and planted in it at distances of 9 inches, 1 foot, 18 inches, or 2 feet apart, according to the size of the varieties, the season of the year, and other considerations. The removal of the plants from the nursery bed to the growing trench is the most important step in the whole operation of Celery cultivation. The object is to transplant without giving the plants the slightest check. Bach check means the risk of bolting as well as a loss of quality. Begin at the outside of the nursery bed, and move each plant with 4 or 6 inches of roots and manure intact, and place it in the trenches a trifle deeper than it was before. Before doing so, however, look round the plant and remove any suckers from its base with a sharp pointed knife. The plants should bo pulled out with a small fork or tho fino'ers. Each piece of manure will then be furnished with roots running out from its ragged edges in all directions. If these pieces are carefully planted, and the projecting roots pointed into the manure in the trenches and the plants are well watered, they will receive no check. It is well, however, if possible, to choose a dull or a showery time for the final planting out of Celery ; and should dry weather ensue, frequent sprinklings and a slight shade with a few boughs will be useful. On no account must the plants be allowed to flag. From this time watering, weeding, and the careful removal of suckers will be all that are required until within a month or six weeks of the time when the Celery is wanted for_ use, when it will require to be blanched. Preliminary to this all suckers should be removed, and the plants might be loosely tied up with thick strands of matting. It is also good prac- tice to top-dress at this stage with a little guano, or rotten manure, or several soakings of house-sewage, manure-water, or even clean soft water. It is of much importance that the roots should not be dry, for they will receive no more water for the season after being earthed up. Neither, however, must the opposite extreme be indulged in— nor should Celery be earthed up for a day or two after a copious watering. It greatly facilitates the process of earthing up to shave down the earth from off the sides of the ridges, and if three men can be spared for the operation, it then becomes a simple matter. One should stand over the plants and pack the fine earth firmly round them as he holds them closely together with his other hand, another at either side cuts down the earth and breaks it fine. Of course one man can manage it all, but it is 22 THE GARDEN. [Jan. 1, 1876. much more tedious and slow. The great point is to keep the plant straight and firm, so as not to allow the earth to enter into its heart, nor get between the leaves. The entire plant may be earthed up from its base to within 6 inches of the end of its longest leaves. It is necessary to leave the.se leaves out to preserve the plant in health, and to prevent it rotting off from the sudden shock to its system. In a month or five or six weeks the Celery will be blanched white and be ready for use. Celery rorjuires some careful management in taking it up and prepar- ing it for table. Begin at one end of the trench, and dig the plants out in succession. Seize them firmly by about the middle of the stalk, remove all the outer leaves, cut off the roots in a slanting direction, and if for cheese or salad draw off the leaves close till all that is left is white as crystal, reserving, however, the best of the rejected leaves for soup. For kitchen purposes a much rougher dressing suffices. If it is desirable to keep Celerj^ for many hours out of the ground it must by no means be dressed close or washed until wanted, as Celery soon loses its nutty flavour, when exposed in a bare state to the air. In winter, however, or in bad weather a week's supply of Celery may safely be taken up at one time and kept in a rough undressed state, stored in earth or sand. Successive crops should be all treated in the same way, with the exception of the winter and spring Celery, which is to be managed as already indicated. As to varieties of Celery almost every one has his favourite sort, and they are numerous. If Seymour's Superb Solid White and Red can be had they are still perhaps as good as any. Cole's White Perfection, Sand- ringham NVhite, Veitch's Incomparable AVhifce, Matchless White, Hooley's Conqueror, Prize Ked, Leicester Eed, Harri- son's (solid, cMsp, and fine Savoured), Lang's Mammoth (one of the finest large varieties). But quality in Celery is far more a matter of culture than of sort. Liberal preparation and rapid growth without check or hindrance from seed-bed to cheese plate or salad bowl, are the chief points to bear in mind in the culture of first-rate Celery. D. T. Fish. FARMYARD MANURE. Discussing the subject of manures and composts, more with regard to their general use and procnrablenees in fjardeus than to their order, I cannot possibly pass over the above. Horse manure, though stronger than cow manure, is not so generally useful. For digging in among or mulching out-door crops it is excellout, but for pot plants it is not adapted either in a fresh or spent state, being rather light and a breeder of worms. In Moloa or Cucumber beds worms increase at a prodigious rate, and become positively injurious j we have long discontinued using it for such purposes. It ia a good manure for mixing in Vine soils, but when employed in newly- prepared turfy borders in any quantity, wo have known it produce unexpected results by causing violent fermentation, which lasted for months. When it has to be used in this way, or fcr composts, it should be previously mixed with the soil, and allowed to lie for some time. As it comes from the stable yard, it is often in dry, mustv, flakes, which should be thoroughly teased out before it is added. Its texture fits it for heavy soils, which will ab.sorb a large quantity of it with advantage, if applied periodically ; but we do not care to use it for potting composts, let the loam be ever bo heavy, so long as we can get leaf-mould or peat and sand as lightenera, and any other manure. Cow manure, if less rich than that of the horse, is more lasting, and, being a cold manure, it is one of the best for light, dry soils i for Vine or Peach borders that have become partially exhausted hardly anything better can be recommended as a dressing. We could furnish instances of Vines bearing heavy and excellent crops annually for twenty years or more, the result of periodical applica- tions of cow-dung, sometimes mixed with soil. The manure was applied fresh, being dug into the border. Some of the Largest Peaches we ever saw were from trees that had been treated in a similar manner. Of course, cow manure may be applied with great advantage to mostly all garden crops, when it is procurable for such purposes ; but in the garden it is usually reserved for select subjects and for pot. plants. It cannot be used fresh for the latter, but should always be laid up in a heap until it becomes black and rotten, but not too much so; it is generally fit for use when its greenness has disappeared. That which is collected from the fields is the best for horticultural purposes, being pure and free from litter. As a rule, it can be got in this form for the gathering, and a store should be laid in once a year. When rotten, it loses its tenacity and breaks up as fuie as peat, in which condition only it should be used fur potting. To such things as Camellias, and mostly all stove and greenhouse plants, that thrive in a mixed compost of loam and peat or leaf mould, it is acceptable in greater or less quantity, according to the habit of the plant. Liquid cow manure we do not esteem very highly, and we say so, knowing tbat'it is often applied in this way. But the manure alone is better used in a solid state, as its value depends almost as much upon its coolness and moisture-retaining qualities as its feeding properties. J. S. Failure of Winter Spinach.. — On retentive soils the failure of Winter Spinach seems to bo general this season owing to the increased rainfall. Our earliest sown bed for autumn gachering has nearly all disappeared, but tlio later sown crop on a south border with a considerable inclination to the sun is in good condition. A warm dry site for at least a portion of this crop is in some places a necessity. If it were not so, there is a considerable advantage in the early growth, which a warm site ensures. In the spring, when Spinach begins to bolt or run np for seed, in gathering it for use, instead of picking off the leaves in the usual way, I find it more profitable to cut off stalks and all together, picking the leaves from the stalks afterwards. When thus treated, a new and luxuriant growth starts up quickly from the crown of the roots with a less dis- position to seed, and the produce is increased immensely. This treatment has more conspicuous effect upon later sown crops than Buch as are sown in July for autumn use. — E. H. Soot. — We once heard an intelligent Midlothian farmer remark that the time would come when the sweeps would be glad to sweep our chimneys for the privilege of getting the soot. At present it is one of those manures which is not sufficiently appreciated. It can generally be procured in considerable quantities about houses where the chimneys are swept periodically. On such occasions it should bo collected at once, and stored in old barrels or boxes, and put under cover. Soot is a safe manure for garden purposes, and yet powerful in its effects upon some crops, such as Onions, Grass, Potatoes, and root crops generally. Mixed with about a tenth of its bulk of common salt, it acts still more decidedly, aud is more powerful than many dressings of farmyard manure. To pot plants it should always be given in the form of liquid manure. We have applied it in this way to almost all kinds of pot plants with the best results, always keep- ing a little diluted in the tanks, so that the plants get it in a weak state every time they are watered. For such purposes it certainly is a cheap stimulant, and perfectly inoffensive as regards smell. For Carrots and Turnips there is hardly anything better. Scattered liberally over the plants when just coming up, and afterwards washed in with water, it hurries them into rough leaf, and they so escape the fly. Applied to Grass lawns it improves the sward in a very short time ; it should be put on in wet weather. — J. S. NOTES AND QUESTIONS ON THE KITCHEN GARDEN. Mushroom Growing and Sawdust.— Will some of jour readers kindly say if sawdust used as bedaini? iu stables aud mixed with horse droppings is pre- judicial or the reverse to the growth of Mushrooms. — R. R. Forcing Mint —Green Mint may be easily obtained now by placing a hand- ful of roots uuder an inch or two of soil in the corner of a hot-bed or in a cutting box covered and watered, and put in a house where the temperature is about 60".— M. Good Winter Spinach in Undng Ground.— For seven years past I have alw,iys had abundance of good Spinach. My plan is to sow it the first week in August, when the early Peas como off the ground. The secretin growing Broccoli — in fact, all the Bra^sica tribe— ia to plant in good firm land without its being dug. The Pea stakes being removed, we give the land a good hoeing and raking, draw the drills 1 toot apart, and sow the seed, treading it in ; I slightly level the land with a rake afterwards.- R. G. Coleworts in Private Gardens -Mr. Dean wonders why gardeners do not grow those useful Greens. I think he will find that they are grown largely in private gardens. I grow half an acre of them, and liud that nothing is better in the way of vegetables than good Coleworts. I am rather puzzled to hear that Peas follow Coleworts, when, jia a rule, market gardeners do not grow Peas at all. Mr. Steel, a near neighbour of Mr. Dean's, is one of the very best market gardeners— oerhaps be will tell us. I dare say the Editor of Thk Gabdbn would not object to market growers becoming writers too. If 60, wo should learn a good many things.- R. Gilbbet, Burrihley. Soot as a Manure-- Anyone using this as a manure must be careful how they apply it. Although highly beneficial to established crops in a mild or diluted form, it is of too turning a nature if applied in a raw stale and in large quantities to young tender crops. I have seen rows of Peas and Beans heavily dressed with soot to keep off rats and mice, which so weakened the young plants that they never overcame the evil effects of the soot. I consider lime and soot require great care in application, or more harm than good may result.—- J. Gaoou. How to Cook Broccoli or Cauliflower. —To have really good Cauhflower, large quantities of mauure in some shape are requisite, so much so that they become "strong" in flavour. To obviate this, they should be parboiled in the morning of the day when wanted. When parboiled, place them on a hair sieve and put them in the larder ; 20 minutes before they are wanted for table, re-boil them steadily, aud the strong tasto will be gone— R. G. Jan. 1, 1876.] THE GARDEN. 23 TOWN GARDBNma. The oity gardener has to learn what to grow and what not to grow, what will thrive with him and what will not ; and, therefore, he hag to be more than careful in his attention to the wants of his pets, or they bid him a sad adieu. The country gardener, on the contrary, with ordinary care, can induce moat plauts from a temperate climate to grow in perfection. The city cultivator, especially if he takes to amateur gardening, has to fall back upon the broad-leaved and Insty Pelargonium, the Fuchsia, the Wallflower, the Ten-week Stock, and the Mignonette, among flowers ; and the Anouba, the Lawsou Cypress, the Sweet Bay, the Laurustinns, the small-leaved Arbutus, among ornauiental evergreen plauts. True, he can manage bulbs of most sorts, such as tho Hyacinth, tho Tulip, the Croons, the Snow- drop, and the Squill ; but he has to struggle hard to keep np anything like an effective display. And can we wonder at it when we see mnltitudes of chimneys that, notwithstanding sanitary regulations, still beloh out black smoke. When one gets into the suburbs, con. ditions improve a little; and it would bo well to join together, in a co-operative way, in order to secure a bit of ground in tho outside of smoky towns, where oneself and family could cultivate in perfection a few flowers in summer, and, it may be, a small kitchen garden. There. fore, let us see how this is to be effected. A garden frame will of course, be in request to nurse tender plants and seedlings from the cold blasts of March and April, and even May ; bat a glass protection alone is not sufficient for that purpose. Forthe raisingof artificial heat, fermenting material is generally employed ; it may bo manure from the stable, or it may be leaves, or Fern, or any other matter capable of gene- rating heat. Stable manure is best, and of that several cartloads must be obtained, to supply one of the fundamental needs of flower gardening. Bat, to return to town gardening; notwithstanding its acknowledged disadvantages and difficulties, the man determined to succeed may produce, not only green crops, but flowers, even in a north aspect, and under the very shadow of a gasometer. The prob- lem is how to grow flowers in a soil of cinders and an atmosphere of smoke — flowers which, of all things, revel in sunshine, and demand it as their right. Town gardening, as at present practised, is indeed a sorry affair. Neither the scientific gardener lior the enthusiastic lover of natural beauty carries his garden with him to the town when necessity compels him to live amid smoke. Neither of them dream that city life might be vastly improved if a few flowers were asso- ciated with it. Yet the love of flowers seldom wholly dies out. In the musty courts and alleys. Wallflowers, Stocks, and Musk plants are purchased every spring, and planted, some in boxes and some in the proverbial spoutless tea-pot, in mould in which nothing can possibly thrive. ■ Geraniums pass a torpid winter life, under such conditions, on window-sills and in dark parlours. In summer they put forth a few shoots of every tint but green, and sometimes a blossom or two, but, after a brave attempt to grow and flourish, they become affected by root-sickness, get leafless, and often die. Thousands of beautiful plants are every spring and summer brought from the nurseries round London and sold in the city to undergo an existence similar to that just described, their demise being accele- rated by copious supplies of water at improper times, and none at others when really needed. In the suburbs, matters, as I have already said, improve. For shop fronts we get green iron railings, enclosing small plots of garden ground. Here, overgrown Box borderings give shelter to sooty patches of London Pride, Heart's-ease, and Nasturtiums, that rival Pumpkins in size and rankness. In spring, we have a few clumps of Primroses and Polyanthuses ; and when these are gone, they are succeeded by Wallflowers, early Stocks, Sweet Williams, and double Daisies, all of which are usually ■ purchased of some itinerant florist, who supplies them at various prices, ranging from one to ten a-penny. Forthwith, the garden breaks, as it were, suddenly into bloom. But, alas! its duration is but short. Towards midsummer, a few Geraniums may be seen, arrayed in bright scarlet ; and, with these, are perhaps intermingled a few Verbenas and a blue Iris, some Marigolds, Love-lies-bleeding, Chrysan. themums, and Hollyhocks, all more or less blighted by smoke or ill- treatment ; dingy Hollies, too, rise out of pyramids of stones ; stiff Laurels look as if they were cast in bronze, and have scarcely grown an inch since they were planted ; dilapidated Lilacs form Arcadian retreats for cats and slugs ; Lime trees are every year cut so as to look like square boxes set on pedestals ; and occasionally one finds on the walls a Virginian Creeper, the Ivy green, and a straggling Jasmine. These constitute the chief contents of front gardens, each of which would be a Psestum, were it not that the Boses, hitherto nnmentioned, never blossom. Nevertheless, all this might be improved, provided right means were adopted, and that, too, without exorbitant toil, or great expense. It is, indeed, one of the pecu. liarities of gardening that one may spend upon it just as much as one can afford, and no more, and yet have a satisfactory result MeoAoa-banl-. James Anderso.v. Boot-work V. Bock-work. — Tonr correspondent, " W S." (see p. 543, Vol. VIII.), objects to root-work as being entirely unsnited to either Alpines or hardy Ferns. I do not think that either root.work or rook-work is absolutely essential to a garden, but I fail to see why plants that flourish in rock-gardens, should not grow equally well on properly constructed root-work. As regards hardy Ferns, I have seen clumps of Hart's-tongue quite a yard in diameter, growing by " natural selection " on old Moss and Lichen. covered tree stumps that have stood for an indefinite period in hedgerows; clumps, such as these, removed, stumps and all, to our Fernery, gave it quite a furnished and finished appearance at once, which it still retains. I cannot agree with " W. S.'s " remark that root.work should never be used except for the formation of screens to be quickly covered with climbing plants. Such hard and fast rules, without exceptions, would destroy that greatest charm of onr gardens — individuality. On some of the principal points in the formation of gardens all of ua ai-e pretty well agreed, but minor details should, I think, always be left to be worked out in harmony with the surroundings of each individual place, whether it be large or small. No two gardens should reflect each other's features, as in a mirror. — J. Gkoom, Henham. Heated Plant Cases. — Allow me to thank Mr. Boyle (see p. 531, Vol. VIII.) for his suggestions in reference to the heating of plant cases, and to express my satisfaction that he agrees with me in condemning an exclusive application of bottom-heat. I am entirely of his opinion that ventilation is a most important question in a heated case, but I believe I have provided for a sufficient circu- lation of air in the arrangement which I propose to adopt. The statement in my former letter that I desired to grow stove Ferns, and perhaps other plants requiring similar treatment, appears to have led Mr. Boyle to believe that I intended placing stove and greenhouse plants together, but this, I need scarcely say, was not my meaning. My idea is to have a miniature stove with a group of plants thriving under the same conditions of temperature and moisture, a plan by which I hope to be successful. — Philo-flos. Red Lead an Efifectual Protection against Birds.— No bird, rat, or mouse, will eat any vegetable substance that is well coated with red lead. I have used it for many years for all kinds of seeds that birds attack, just damping the seeds, and then stirring a little of the lead amongst them till they were quite red, and I never saw either a bird or vermin meddle with them ; whereas, without it, we cannot get such things as seeds of the Brassica tribe and other vegetables through the ground ; .consequently its use is reduced to a system here. For Gooseberry, Currants, and fruit tree beds it is equally effective, but I find I cannot apply it through a syringe, so as to coat the buds thick enough to keep the birds off, in which way I tried it some years ago. To apply it to our bushes and trees with a brush takes more time than we can afford, and would not, I think, pay for the fruit saved. I may add that the late Mr. Robert Fish recommended its use nearly twenty years ago. — J. S. W. Preserving Walnuts. — The complaint of your correspondent (seep. 556, Vol. VIII.), respecting the difficulty of keeping Walnuts through the winter, reminds me of two plans which I have been assured are equally efficacious — one is the Belgian or Dutch plan of never taking off the green outside until the Walnuts are required to be eaten ; it is said that if laid on a dry board and turned when neces- sary, they will keep perfectly fresh, although the green husk will by degrees turn black. The other plan was mentioned by a lady, whose attention had been turned to the fact that if Nuts or Walnuts, laid up by the squirrels, had been forgotten — as is not nnfrequentiy the case when those little animals have an abundant harvest, and forget to revisit all their store-houses — their Nuts are found in spring and summer to be as fresh in hollow trees and Mossy corners, where they are deposited, as on the day when they were gathered. This lady tried the experiment of patting her Walnuts out of doors, exposed to damp, though not immersed in water, and the result was her never failing to have fresh Walnuts throughout the winter. — A. Ll. Timber and the Bights of Life-Tenants.— The " Law Journal " contains an elaborate report of the case of Honywood v. Honywood, which is most valuable as containing a full exposition of the law with regard to timber, delivered by the Master of the Rolls. First, then, what is timber? This is a question which must be answered partly with reference to the general law of England and partly with reference to the special customs of various localities. The general law of England is, that Oak, Ash, and Elm, are timber provided they are of the age of twenty years and upwards, and provided they are old enough to have a reasonable quantity of usable wood in them, or, as the text writers say, sufficient to make a good post. Now, then, as to the special customs of particular localities. Some trees which are not timber by the general law of England are timber by the custom of a particular county or locality. Beech is timber in 24 THE GARDEN. [Jan. 1, 1876 Bome connties, Hornbeam is timber in others, and in some localities Whitethorn and Blackthorn are regarded as timber. In some localities the age when a tree is to be considered as timber difEers from the twenty years fixed by the general law of England. In some places the age of twenty. four years is fixed as the proper age ; in others age is disregarded, and the test is the girth of the tree. What are the rights of the tenant for life, with regard to the trees on his estate ? If he be impeachable of waste (as the legal phrase is), he may not cut any timber, unless, indeed, the estate be a timber estate — i.e., " an estate which is cultivated merely for the produce of saleable timber, and where the timber is cut periodically." Then the timber is regarded simply as the crop of the estate, and there- fore as a matter of course, goes to the tenant for life. Now, then, what may our tenant for life, impeachable of waste, cut ? The answer is this : — He may out all that is not timber, with the following exceptions — ornamental trees, stoles of underwood, trees planted for the protection of banks, and trees which, though not already timber, only want time to become timber. These latter, i.e., young trees of the nature of timber, he may cut, if they be cut in the due course of the management of the estate for the purpose of allowing the growth and development of other timber in the same wood or plantation. This, as the Master of the Rolls said, is for the improve, ment of the estate, not the destruction of it, and therefore cannot be regarded as waste. The Boyal Vineyard Grape. — I see that Mr. Crambe (page 538, Vol. VIII.) recommends the White Lady Downes late Grape as an excellent keeping variety for a cool Vinery. I wish to notice another rather unpopular late white Grape for a cool-house, namely, the Royal Vineyard. With me it hangs unshrivelled into April and May, and, although hard fleshed, as all very late Grapes are, its flavour is very good, and, from its fine amber colour, it makes a good contrast in the dessert with the Black Lady Downes. The Muscat and Trebbiano are higher flavoured varieties, but they want a warmer temperature and longer time to ripen well, and they do not keep so long without shrivelling. — William Tilleuy, Weneck Ahhey. Ornamental Grasses (p. 539,Vol.VIII.).— It is not often that any of us can add to Mr. Niven's excellent noticesot flowers, but he has made no mention of two Grasses which I rank among the most ornamental. These are Gymnothrix latifolia and Andropogon halepenais. They are both quite hardy, but in both of them the beauty is more in the foliage than the flowers, which may account for their omission in Mr. Niven's list. The Gymnothrix is a grand Grass, with wide, deep green leaves, and a compact habit. Here it grows over 6 feet in height. The Andropogon is of a looser habit, with long, narrow, leaves, each with a white stripe in the middle. I am surprised at hearing that Pennisetum longistylum is too tender for our winter. Here it is quite hardy, and is one of the best of the low Grasses. Mr. Niven does not remember ever seeing any record of the blooming of Arnndo Donax. He will find it thus recorded in the " Hortus Collin. Bonianus : " — " Arundo Donax in flower, September 15, 1762, the first time I ever saw it; but this very long, hot, dry, summer has made many exotics flower It bears a handsome tassel of flowers." — He.vby N. Ellacomhe, Bitton Vicnmge. The Phyteumas. — The Phyteumas are the glory of Switzer. land. The rarer species are chiefly scattered over the Tyrol and the Grisons. During my many visits to Switzerland, I have gathered nearly all the Phyteumas, and seen thorn growing in their own wild homes. During a recent visit to the Val de Fain, among the Bernina Mountains, I met with a strange form of P. hnmile, with long grassy leaves and bracts overtopping the heads of flowers. These bracts were rigid and finely denticulate. Moreover, they were furnished with purple processes at the base. Sieber, from its grassy foliage, named it graminifolium. Koch speaks of this very variety in the Val do Pain as P. hnmile purpureum, in consequence of the purple processes at the base of the bracts. This species and its variety grow side by side, wedged in tho crevices of the calca- reous rocks, high up the mountains. This species was in full blue flower — the variety in backward bud. I gathered fully half a dozen plants of the grassy long leaved variety. The true P. humile was not uncommon. I have gathered P. humile in various parts of Switzerland, and also P. pauciflorum, but the long. leaved variety only in the Val de Fain. — Peter iNcnnALn, Hovitpjhain Lodje, York. Do Christmas Boses Seed (see p. 535, Vol. VIII.) P— It appears that Mr. Ellacombe is of opinion that the Christmas Rose can re-produce itself from seed— a fact concerning which Miss Hope replies that Bitton is an exceptional place, and that is true, as all must admit, who have been fortunate enough to visit it, but cer- tainly not as regards tho seeding of the Christmas Rose. It is now ten years since I purchased three plants of H. niger, and at the end of two seasons one of those had grown so large that I determined to cut it up, which division gave me twenty-five plants. This was done just before the yonng leaves made their appearance, or at the end of the blooming season, which is by far the best time to divide Hellebores, as if well looked after for a short time they soon grow on, and do not remain dormant for an indefinite period. These twenty-five plants were put into a bed in the kitchen garden, and a^ the end of two years I observed in one corner a batch of seedlings which appeared to be small Hellebores, but to make certain I allowed them to grow on until the autumn, by which time they had attained the height of G inches, when no doubt could be entertained about their being seedlings from the Christmas Rose. I am there- fore convinced that in some seasons, under certain conditions, not at present perhaps accurately known, this plant does seed, although apparently the fact is still a matter of doubt with many. I now much regret that I did not bloom these seedlings, as probably they would have shown some variations from the original, and conse- quently might have been valuable. I have tried to seed H. maximas, at present without success, but two years since I used its pollen to hydridiae H. colchicum, and from this I have a small batch of seed- lings, which, judging by the foliage, show that the cross has been effectoal. — Beeks. An American Fruit Car. — A fruit car is being built at San Francisco, says the " Boston Advertiser," for the transportation of fruit from that city to Chicago. It is provided with a fan.blower, driven by one of the car-axles, by means of which the air is driven through ice, which reduces it to a low temperature, and then distri. butea it among the fruit boxes through a large perforated pipe laid along the bottom of the car. After the cool air has passed among the fruit it returns to the blower, and is again forced through the apparatus. By this means the atmosphere of the car is kept at the uniform temperature of 40^ Fahr. If the experiment succeeds, extensive shipments of Grapes and other fruits will be made to Chicago and other cities. I about to make a coUection of leaves of different 16 what is the best way to dry them, so as to retain. NOTES AND QUESTIONS-VARIOUS. Schizostylis coccinea in Derbyshire.— This pretty border 'plant was in bloom out of doors in Dnrbyshire during the snow, and is still flowering freely. Crocus serotinus was also in bloom amid the snow,— M. S. L. Dryiner Leaves-— I ar plants. Can you inform i as nearly as possible, their natural colours and forma ?— Hebbbbt. [Good instructions for dryintj both leaves and flowers will be found at pape 196 of the second volume of The Gahden, and also at page 2 12 of our fourth volume.] The Flavour of Fruit.— There can be no doubt, and a trial will prove iti that the flavour of fruit is much more delicate under a warm temperature than a cold one. Claret and Madeira should be milk warm or nearly so, to bring out their delicate flavour and bouquet. So with fruit : but we generally want fruit cooling to the palate. No one, for instance, would prefer a rich Melon warm from the frame to one cooled down and refresbing. — W. N. Phydianthus albens. — In the account of the gardens at Battle Abbey (see p. 546, Vol. VIII.) this plant is mentioned as fruiting well out of doors. Here it fruited under similar circumstances some years ago, and an account of it, with a figure of its singular fruit was given in the "Gardeners' Chronicle," December 16th, 1865. This particular plant has since been killed by frost, but we have again some plants of it growing out-of-doors. — D. Uphill, Moreton, DorchenfpT. Fruit Treos on North Walla.— In addition to the fruits enumerated as suitaljlo for north walls by Mr. Saul (p. 633, Vol. VIII). allow me to add that many of the best of the early ripening autumn Pears are grown here on that aspect, and generally do well. Amongst these are Jargonelle, Williams's Bon Chrt^tion. Thompson's, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Fondante d'Automue. Marie Louise, and others. The last named is better here from a north wall than any other aspect. That fine Pear, Pitmaston Duchess, would undoubtedlv do well in such a situa- tion — W. Cox, Madres/ifhl Court. Zonal Pelargoniums in Winter.— No one ever wrote an article with more truth in it than ihat by Dr. Denny on Zonal Pelargoniums flowering in winter. Here now wo have them full of brilliant flowers, and fine bold trusses in many colours. The pimplicity of their culture makes them all the more valuable. Struck in small pDts in* July, shifted iato 4S-sized pots when rooted, and kept in a BucceBsinn Pine-stove at a temperature of from 55* to eo**, they thrive and flower perfectly. — R. Gilbebt, Burqhley. The Moon Creeper.— The chief recommendation belonging to this flower is its perfume, which is the sweetest and most delicate of any with which I am acquainted. Some nine or ten years ago, Mr. Vair used to cultivate this plant at Dangstoin ; and most probably does so still. The rule, there, was to cut a single bloom, about 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening, and place it in a glass of water in the drawing-room, which was soon filled with the most delicate perfume. — H. Elmott. Tom Put Apple.— At p. 5'2Q, Vol. VIII., Mr. Scott informs us thatthis excel- lent Apple was raised by a Somersetshire clergyman of that name. It would be interesting to know at what date it made its appearance. There is a tree here bearing that name, which I think is the one Mr. Scott describes. This tree cannot be less than fifty years old and probably much more ; nevertheleaa it bears regularly good crops of fruit, and it is certainly remarkable that so excellent an Apple should not have become better known than it is. — D. Uphill, Moretou, Dorvhcsfer, — — ■ It is said that this Apple seems to be very little known, but in these parts it ia very common, and few orchards are without it. Its special value is as an early kitchen Apple, following the Codlins. It is also a good cider Apple, but it ia not a good keeper.— Henry N. Ellicoubb, Bitton Vicarage. London Churchyard Gardens-- In the remarks on planting those (see p. 6ia, Vol. VIII.) Yews were inadvertently printed for Yuccas — Yuccas thriving remarkably well in London, whereas" Yews share the fate of all other evergrt'enj*. THE GARDEN. 25 SATTJEDAY. JAN. 8, 1876. " This is an art Wiioh does mend nature : change it rather : but The Art itself is Nature." — Shakespeare. STORAGE AND SPRING PROPAGATION OP BEDDING PLANTS. The constitution and habit of bedding plants differ so mucb, even among varieties of the same species, that, to be successful in keeping them through the winter and propagating them in spring without losing an undue pcr-centage requires some care and not a little experience. Hence the losses one so frequently hears of among anxious stock-holders, and hence, also, the immense trade still done by nurserymen, even in the com- moner kinds of bedding plants, as, for instance, some kinds of Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, and especially Verbenas, of which some' make a speciality, propagating them successfully in thousands every spring, and sending them by post to customers. The winter storage of the plants, whether young or old, or whether they are kept for furnishing cuttings or for plant- ing, is an important matter. Pelargoniums being the staple article for furnishing beds deserve notice first. Like Grapes, they are more or less apt to go off by damping, according to the soil and locality, or according to age and variety — that is, supposing them to be wintered in the usual cool pits or houses, with just a little heat to keep out frost or excessive damp. Autumn-struck cuttings keep better than old plants that have been lifted late in the 5'ear and potted ; but every- thing depends on the way the latter are managed. We find, always, that lifted Pelargoniums of any kind are most apt to die off when they are cut down at potting time; or if they have their branches shortened by the knife, unless nursed attentively for awhile, they are sure to die back from the cut parts ; the only way to save them, when so treated, is to keep them growing for awhile in a brisk heat. The best plan, however, is not to shorten the shoots at all, but only to thin them out. leaving those that are left entire. This makes long-legged plants in spring ; but, in bedding-out, they can be pegged down, and they come in early — even a long time before planting out — and afford plenty of cut flowers. They also yield splendid cuttings in March and April. Those of the Tom Thumb sectionl resist cold and damp best ; while variegated sorts, and, notably, kinds like Flower of the Day, Alma, Golden Chain, and the tricolors, suffer soonest. The destructive agents are always cold and damp ; and, notwith- standing attention to ventilation, and picking off decayed leaves, the shoots will continue to die back, if the temperature is low — say under 45° or 48° for any length of time together, — simply because the vitality gets low ; and nothing checks decay sooner, or more effectually, than a rise of temperature, just sufficient to excite growth. If the plants have been touched with frost before lifting, they are more difficult to keep than if they had been cut down to stumps. A very sensitive yellow Zonal variety, named Beauty, which is an excellent bedding kind, but a difficult plant to winter successfully, would have been entirely lost to us this season, had the plants not been forced to break afresh when potted late in November. As it was, all shoots died back till they were met by the returning vitality, when decay was arrested just where the buds broke first. It is a kind we prefer to propagate in spring. In kinds having coloured leaves goodfoliage is everything, as we find spring-struck cuttings grow most luxuriantly and flower the least. We have seen enquiries lately as to the propriety of storing Pelargoniums in cellars during the winter. This wo have seen tried on a large scale, and can state, that though a percentage will be saved, many will perish. When this plan is adopted, lifting the plants should be deferred till the last moment, but they should not get touched by frost, nor must their shoots be shortened. They should, after being cleaned, be set upright with their roots in dry soil, or they may be potted and set closely together, and they should not be watered during the winter, there being little or no demand upon the roots for moisture, the only object being to keep the plants alive till spring. Once or twice during the winter they should be gone over and have the decayed foliage picked off, and by February, if practicable, the plants should be removed, potted, and started in a gentle heat. Most likely the shoots of those which survive will be much shrivelled, but they will soon recover under the influence of heat and light. It is not essential that the cellar should be light, but it should be dry. Cellaring is a plan not to be recommended, however, with Pelargoniums when the preservation of the plants is of import- ance. It is much better to lay the plants in by the heels in spare corners or shelves in the Vineries or Peach-houses, or other cool structures, whore the chances of keeping them are much greater. The wintering of miscellaneous bedding stock depends upon the habits of the different subjects ; Ageratums, Verbenas, Ccntaureas,Gazanias, Heliotropes, Petunias, Salvias, Alyssuras, Lobelias, and plants of a similar description, if rooted and established at the proper time in autumn, will remain healthy and vigorous in a still dry atmosphere of 40" or 45°, if they are not shaded or kept too far from the light. None of these plants should be encouraged to grow in the least until about three weeks or a month before cuttings are wanted from them, and, as it is not desirable to propagate such stosk till about the beginning of March, their growth need not be pushed till February. Plants which have been well rested during winter always yield the best cuttings, and the young tops never fail to strike freely with ordinary care, whereas plants that have been kept moving in a sickly atmosphere during the winter produce very uncertain results. Fuchsias potted and not watered will keep in a dry shed or cellar as well as most plants till they have to be started in spring. Alternantheras, Amarautus, Iresine, Coleus, Tropa3olums, and all the tenderer kinds of summer bcdders require comfortable quarters in winter, or they will lose their foliage and otherwise suffer. Coleus, Iresine, and Tropteolum are particularly sensitive, especially the last-named, which will almost to a certainty go off if wintered in a cool house. It should be kept dry at the root, and just moving as regards growth. A dry warm shelf near the light ends is best. Calceolarias should, of course, never feel fire heat. Cuttings dibbled in early in November, in a shallow light frame, never fail to strike, and seldom damp off if they are not shifted too much in mild weather. They cannot stand both darkness and damp; but, when hard frozen, they will remain covered up with litter for a month or more without danger. This we have proved over and over again. When the temperature rises again, it is only necessary to thaw the plants before uncovering them ; and this is done by watering them with cold water from the open tank ; as soon as the leaves feel soft, and the soil about the roots seems quite thawed, they should be uncovered. We have often heard of serious losses through the plants being exposed to sunshine, while still frozen ; and we once lost a quantity through an inexperienced workman thawing them with water from a hot-house tank. In a frame of Calceolaria cuttings here, which are dibbled in so thickly as to touch each other, and which have passed through irregular and severe weather up till this date, we do not observe a single decayed leaf. Slips of Violas, put in during autumn, may be treated like Calceolarias ; but they are hardy enough, and are benefited by nothing so much as light and free ventilation. Hollyhocks and Carnations only require protection from severe frosts and damp, and are often covered with wooden shutters, which are removed or tilted up daily, according to the weather._ Succu- lents of the Echeveria class and other bedding kinds, not hardy, require a dry temperature of 45° and little or no water at the roots. E. secunda glauca sometimes stands the winter out-doors in dry situations, but it is very unsafe to trust stock of it out of doors after November. We always take the plants up and set them thickly together on a dry tank behind a north wall, and lay a few old lights over them in severe weather, and sometimes a little straw. As regards propagation, all bedding plants may be increased most freely in spring, or between February and May, by means of cuttings. It is desirable, how- ever, to propagate some kinds in autumn— Pelargoniums, for instance, that are wanted to flower freely— as spring-struck plants grow too luxuriantly ; but those which are grown for their foliage may with advantage be struck in quantities m spring. Indeed, where the general stock is small, it may be recrufted easily up till the time of planting out. Gazania splendens is a plant which is much better propagated m 26 THE GAEDBN. [Jax. 8, 1876. autumn, and merely potted off in spring, as plants struck later than the beginning oE February are late in flowering, and to take the tops off autumn-struck stock at that time is effecting a useless exchange. Lobelias, for bedding purposes, are very commonly raised from seed, but seedlings are irregular in their habit and colour, and far inferior to plants from cuttings. A few old plants of the best habited seedlings lifted, partially cut down, potted in August, and kept in a cool house during the winter, will yield fine cuttings in March, and every shoot ■will strike freely in the hot-bed; after that they should be hardened oif and pricked out in a cool frame, from which they will lift well with good balls at planting time. Verbena cut- tings, if furnished with healthy foliage, strike with marvellous rapidity and freedom in spring, and every piece with a leaf attached will make a plant. Other bedding plants already named also all strike most freely ; and one thing, which is not gene- rally known, is, that tho latest struck plants generally grow best after being planted out. For this reason gardeners gene- rally try to secure a good quantity of healthy stock plants, so as to have one or two good batches of cuttings only, which they seldom take off till March and April. AVe frequently find that the last plants which are just transferred to the beds from the cutting-pots grow away most freely. The great point in striking cuttings, and in nursing the plants after- wards when they are potted or bo.xed off, is to avoid coddling. A bottom-heat of 75° or 80° and a top-heat of from 65° minimum to 80° maximum should never be exceeded in the cutting-pit, and when transplanted and placed in the store-frames an atmospheric temperature >/ lower than the above will be suit- able— always keeping it genial by judicious ventilation and watering. Lobelias from seed should never be sown later than the 1st of February, nor subjected to a temperature higher than from 60° to 75°, night and day, till they are pricked out. Verbena venosa should be sown at the same time and treated in the same way. The Humea elegans must be sown early in the autumn previous to being planted out and potted on ; and so also should the Centaureas, but we have had good beds of these from plants sown at the same time as Lobelias. In the above remarks I have spoken of the commonest bedding plants chiefly, and such as most people grow and want to know most about. Of sub-tropical plants we may speak hereafter. J. S. Izoras and their Culture. — Will Mr. Baines kindly namo the three best Ixoras, the proper time to take cuttings of Ixoras in general, and also furnish me M'ith a few hints as to their cultare ; saying whether or not they would succeed in a stove without being plunged, as I have flo bed for that purpose P — H. [Several fine var. ieties of Ixora have come into cultivation comparatively recently, but the worst feature in connection with them is their great similarity, both as to colour of flower and general habit. The old I. coccinea is not only the best Ixora, but also the best stove plant in existence ; yet few grow it well. I. Williamsii, is a fine kind and 80 is I. araboynensis, and I. Colei and I. salicifolia are both distinct, but they grow badly ; consequently, I should advise " H." to obtain I. coccinea, I. Williamsii, and I. amboyuensis. Ixoras strike readily at all times of the year when half.ripened shoots can be obtained, but early in the spring is tho best time. All of them succeed best in good fibrous peat, to which has been added a moderate sprinkling of sand. To grow them well they require as much heat as any plant in existence during the spring and summer months, while in the winter they should not even at night he kept lower than 65'. Never let them get dry at the roots or allow the atmosphere to become too dry. An essential point is never to allow them to become over.ran with mealy bug or scale. For these last dozen years I have never plunged either Ixoras or any other plants, although I have always had in the house a good tan bed. Where plants have top. heat enough, they are better not plunged. — T. B.\ines.] Water at the Boots of Vines. — Mr. Henry Wood, of West Chester County, has furnishedus(" Mooro's Rural ") with an account of an interesting experiment in Grape culture, showing the import, anoe of a dry bottom for the roots. He had a small Vineyai'd for a family supply, placed on the slope of a hill. The trellis extended in a horizontal direction, and the ridges formed in cultivation, as a con. sequence, prevented tho free escape down the hill of the water from rains. The fruit was poor, imperfectly developed, badly ripened, and more or less mildewed. After some years, the trellis was altered, so as to extend directly down the slope. The furrows, in cultivation, facilitated the escape of the water from the soil, and the fruit then became well grown, plump and excellent. NOTES OP THE WEEK. Mr. Ware, of the Hale Farm Nurseries, sends us a noble specimen of the Christmas Rose, with some fifty large f uUy.expanded flowers on it, and many more in the bud stage. The flowers stand well above the foliage, forming a great white mass, surrounded by ample and graceful leaves. This, with many others like it, grew in the open air. Good flowers of the Christmas Rose have recently been selling in Covent Garden at halt-a.crown a dozen. The " Gartenflora," of November last, contains a coloured illustration of the doable red Rosa rugosa, a form which has been obtained in the gardens at St. Petersburgb. The Myrtle-leaved Orange is now very ornamental in tho Royal Exotic Nursery at Chelsea, bushy little plants of it, from 15 inches to 2 feet in height, being laden with fruit, some of tho usual rich orange colour and others green. This mixture of colours, in our opinion, adds considerably to the attractiveness of this dis- tinct and truly useful variety as a .decorative plant for the green, house, conservatory, and even for the window of a warm sitting. room daring the winter months. A VERY distinct and probably new Eucharis is now in flower in Mr. VV. Bull's nursery, in the King's Hoad, Chelsea. Its scapes are rather more slender than those of E. amazonica, and the flowers are far more elegant in outline than those of that variety, the segments and tube being more slender in every way, and while they hang in clusters of from five to seven on the apex of the scapes, the segments are gently reflexed and of ivory whiteness. The leaves are broadly lance-shaped, and of a bright green colour, not broadly ovate as in E. amazonica. ■ Among the most noticeable of the imported fruits brought to Covent Garden Market during the past week are some splendid samples of Smooth Cayenne Pines, perfectly fresh, ripe, and well flavoured, and varying in weight from three to seven pounds. These are in every way equal to home. grown fruit, and they can be im. ported and sold more cheaply than they can be grown in our com- paratively cold and sunless climate. No fewer than 800 of them were sold by auction on one day last week. Shaddocks are also plentiful, some of tho specimens being fully 0 inches in diameter. Among the many beautiful Orchids now in bloom in Messrs. Veitch's nursery, at Chelsea, the following are worthy of special remark : — Masdevallia Tovarensis, 15 inches in diameter, and fur. nished with twenty-eight spikes, on which there are in all seventy fully expanded flowers and buds. The flowers are of snowy white- ness, and it is difficult to imagine a more beautiful object than this plant is, especially when contrasted with some of the brighter coloured kinds. Sophronitis grandiflora is hearing twelve fully open flowers, each having broad petals of the most vivid orange-scarlet imaginable. A fine variety of Pescatore's Oiontoglot, with pure white-petalled flowers, the lip richly blotched with purple at the base and round the margin, is bearing twelve flowers. 0. Ander. sonianum has a graceful spike of fourteen flowers, as has also a very fine form of 0. Hallii. The clear yellow Oncidium oheirophorum is fur. nished with nine gracefully arching spikes, and Barkeria Lindleyana Centeria) is also flowering freely, its rosy-lilac flowers being very distinct from all other kinds, and so rich and lucid as to remind ono of stained glass. Angra3camhilohum bears a noble pendent spike of twenty pure white flowers, a number which we believe has never been exceeded. Calanthe Veitchii and Laslia anceps are also just now very attractive, as is likewise a plant of Phaloonopsis Lobbi. The directors of the Westminster Aquarium have placed the whole of tho arrangements for their floral and fruit exhibitions in the hands of Mr. John Wills, of the Royal Exotic Nursery, Onslow Square, South Kensington. Mr. Wills has to frame the schedule of prizes and arrange the shows, &c. Tni Royal Botanic Society has published its exhibition arrangements for 1876. They are — first, an exhibition of spring flowers, on March 29th and April 28th ; then an exhibition of Clematis, from Messrs. Jaokumn, of Woking, from May Ist to May 23rd ; after which commence the summer exhibitions of plants, on Wednesday, May 21th and Juno 2l3t. A special evening fete will take place on Wednesday, July 5th. The annual meeting of the committee of the Hortiealtural Club was held at the club house, 3, Adelphi Terrace, on Wednesday last. Dr. Henry Bennett, of Weyhridgeand Mentone, Captain Chist, of Beechhurst Lodge, Westerham, and Dr. Denny, of Stoke New. ington, were elected members of committee in the rooui of the three retiring members. It was determined to hold discussion meet- ings during the winter months. The first will bo held on Wednesday the 19th inst., the subject being " the principles and practice of pruning." Three new members were elected. Jan. 8, 1876.] THE GARDEN. 27 NEW VARIETIES OF THE PRIMROSE. Mk. Richakd Dean, in a paper read at Westeiham, tells us of some of the new Primrusee. A few years ago I came into possession of a so. called species of Primrose known as Primula altaica, having all the characteristics of the common Primrose, but bearing large pale mauve flowers. I have reason to believe this is not a true species, but simply the old common singlelilacPrimroseof our gardens. Almost at the same time I found in an old garden on the south-\vest coast of England a remarkable common single Primrose, having rich bright maroon. crimson flowers of fine form and a deep golden centre. I brought it home to London, propogated it, and eventually distributed it under the name of Primula vulgaris auriculosflora, because the flowers resembled a good Alpine Auricula. In this variety I found the very thing to yield high-coloured Primroses ; but while I despaired of getting anything better in its own way, I thought I might per- haps get mauve, violet, and purple tints, which would prove very acceptable. With this view, I crossed the two above-named kinds, and got some fine seedlings, having intermediate tints, and espe- cially in the way of purple and violet hues. Some of the seedlings were of a pale colour approaching lavender ; others had rosy tints, and by crossing these in various directions I at last got a progeny, yielding to uiy delight, pure white and yellow flowers. I cannot do better than give a list of the new varieties of seedling Primroses I have put into circulation, with their descriptions : Crimson Banner. — Very deep maroon-crimson (the darkest of all), rich golden centre. Qem of Roses. — Pale rose-magenta, with golden centre slightly blotched with orange. Lilacina. — Pale lilac, with yellow centre rayed with deep orange. Queen of Violets. — Clear puce violet, with striking eye. Rosy Morn. — A fine hue of rose-crimson flushed with magenta, orange centre. Sulphurata. — Clear sulphur, with orange centre; flowers large, cironlar. Sunrise. — Fiery red-maroon, with showy deep golden centre. Violacea. — Bright rose-violet, with golden centre, large, very free. Primxda vulgaris atiriculaflora. — A rich maroou-crimson primrose, with a showy orange eye. Mauve Queen. — Rose-mauve, with bright orange centre. Splendour.— 'Ijarge and finely -formed rose-crimson flowers, centre golden-yellow, and profuse of bloom. Queen of YeUotvs. — Yellow, with deep orange centre : profuse of bloom, and very early. I particularly recommend these for the rock-garden and the choice border, where they can be carefully tended, and be allowed to establish themselves. They can also be cultivated in pots for bloom- ing in a cold greenhouse or conservatory during autumn and spring, as well established plants in pots will throw up flowers in autumn from the growth of the previous summer, and again in spring from the growth that takes place in Pebruai'y and March. The plants that flowered well in pots should be re-potted soon after they have done blooming, using a soil made up of fibrous yellow loam and leaf mould in equal parts, and some charcoal broken to the size of split Peas. At the time of re-potting, any rooted side-shoots should be taken off, in order to obtain increase of any variety. When re-potting, the long tap-root should be cut away to within an inch or so of the leaves ; then plant deeply and firmly in the soil, as, when the lowermost leaves decay in the order of Nature, roots are given forth at the points where the leaves grew. This shows the importance of occasional top-dressings with rich soil. When re-potted the pots should be plunged in a bed of coal-ashes. Cocoa-nut fibre, &c., up to their rims, under a south or west wall, where they can have the sun for a few hours during the morning. Worms and slugs are apt to prove troublesome, and a little attention is required to guard against their ravages. The plants require to be kept moist during summer, and under such condttions they cannot but do well. I have several plants in pots that have been treated in this way, which are now throwing up their flowers, and are very attractive objects in my cool greenhouse. They want plenty of air on all favourable occasions ; and water to keep them fairly moist about the roots. Potting-off Cuttings. — Many plants acquire a weakly habit from being confined too long in the cutting.pots. The moment the roots have pushed from the roughly callused wound is the best time to pot, and start each plant on its separate existence. The import, ance of this is too often overlooked, and valuable time is lost. When the roots are long and matted together, it is impossible to dis- entangle them without the plants receiving a severe cheek. If potted off when the roots are not more than a quarter-of-an-inch long, there will bo very little disturbance of growth. The saving in time, if much potting has to be done, will be considerable. It may not bo always possible to carry out this plan exactly at the right moment, but it is well to bear it in mind as the right practice. — E. Houday. Iris reticulata Forced. — It may not be generally known that this beautiful Iris may be forced with the greatest ease to flower now. My practice is to lift batches of it, every second year, in July, when the tops have died down, to pick out the largest bulbs for pot culture, and to return the others to the open border, in which they are planted in fresh soil. After keeping the selected bulbs until the middle of August, I then plant five bulbs in a 48-sized pot and plunge them in ashes in a cold frame. Thus treated, by October they will havo pushed about 1 inch through the soil, when they may be introduced into a temperature of from 43° to 50°, in fact, treated like a first batch of forced Roses. The gentle forcing to which they are subjected brings them into flower by New Year's day, and they are charming flowers for a lady's boudoir, one or two blooms being si^fllcient to scent a whole room with delicate perfume. This Iris is a great favourite here, either forced or in the open border. Its colour — rich violet, with bright yellow throat — asso- ciated with that of Roman Hyacinths and Poinsettias, has a fine effect at this season of the year. To the Rev. J. G. Nelson, of Aid. borough, I am indebted for my first stock of bulbs of this Iris, given me eight years ago, and since then they have rapidly increased. To see his stock of this Iris in flower, about the last week in March, in company with a rare collection of Crocuses and Dog's-tooth Violets, is a sight too beautiful ever to be forgotten. — W. Allan, Guntoa Park, Norwich. On Raising the Clematis from Seed. — As a hardy plant now indispensable as a climber in shrubberies and for clumping, I may instance the Clematis, of which it is very easy to raise a large collection from seed in a short time. Last year I seeded some of the early.flowering sorts, such as Albert Victor, Lady Londesborougb, Lord Londesborougb, Mrs. James Bateman, Miss Bateman, Standishii, and azucea grandiflora, and, when the seed was ripe, sowed it in the autumn. None of it vegetated till this spring, for the seed is very hard and requires time to vegetate, even when in a slight bottom- heat; but the young plants have made wonderful progress this summer, and a few are now showing a bloom on them. It may be said that as plants of all the best varieties of Clematis can now be procured from nurserymen at a reasonable rate there is no use in trying to raise seedlings of them. There is, however, an excitement in trying to raise some new sorts of good properties, and in a large collection of seedlings this may be expected as they gradually come into bloom. — William Tilleky, in the " Florist." The Tom Put Apple. — This is a common Apple in this neigh- bourhood. One of my workmen, who has been accustomed to grafting and pruning Apple trees all his life, states that he recollects very old trees of Tom Put being in existence more than forty years ago. When exposed to the sun, it is a very high-coloured Apple ; but faintly coloured when grown in the shade. Its quality as a culinary Apple is first rate; but I have never thought it good enough for dessert. It is in high repute here for making Apple jelly, which, when well made, is excellent. The treeis an extraordinary bearer ; and. therefore, grows but slowly. Indeed, compared with other sorts, I have never seen a good tree of it in an orchard. The best are to be found in cottagers' gardens, where it stands alone. Its fruit sells readily in the market, and it is a good rent payer. This, Cellini, and Hawthomden, I consider to be three of the best Apples for small gardens. — John Garland, Killerton, S.veter. — — I AM pleased to have brought back to my recollection this Apple, which was a favourite of mine in my younger days, and is very common in the gardens and orchards of Devon, especially in cottagers' gardens. I believe I may say that I have seen trees of it as old as any in that part of England, some being from seventy to eighty years old, and others even more. It is a most prolific cropper, and combines the triple qualities of an excellent cooking, eating, and cider Apple. The tree is a rapid grower when young, if in good soil, otherwise I have known it to remain stationary and bear prodigiously —in fact, it then produces more fruit than foliage. The tree has a spreading habit of growth ; the wood is stout, and well studded with bloom, generally in pairs. The one great peculiarity of the Devon, shire Tom Put, and one by which the tree may be easily identified, is the knotty protruberances on the branches, though not so prominent as on the Welsh Burr Knot. The fruit of Tom Put keeps well up to Christmas. There is another excellent Apple much grown in Devon in company with Tom Put, called the Queen Apple, which is a wonderful bearer, and the fruit is generally a little larger thati the Tom Put. It is quite covered with a dark red skin, striped with a lighter shade of the same colour, which penetrates to the core. It is an excellent eating variety, and useful also for cooking, having the appearance of pink Rhubarb when served up in pies,— J. Taylob. 2S THE GARDEN. [Jan. 8, 1876. LARGE V. SMALL SEED FOR PLANTING- De. Gustav Marek has recently published a valuable paper on thia important subject, embodying the resultaof a great number of experi- ments made by him at the experimental stations at Halle and Leipsic. Most conv'ncing proof of the superior value of large seed is furnished by the results of some of his experiments in the garden. Beans and Peas were planted in the garden, small and large seeds of each kind being planted on adjacent plots, the Beans 12 inches apart each way, and the Peas in rows 10 inches apart and 2 inches asunder in the row. The crop was carefully harvested, and measured when ripe, and the progress of growth was closely watched during the season. The larger and more uniform growth of the plants from the larger seeds, from the beginning to the end of the season, is shown in the condensed tabular form in which we have arranged the results of these experl. ments. Height is given in inches and weight in ounces, if not other- wise specified. Plants from Lar^e Small Beaks. Seed. Seed. May 23r(l.— Height of plants 6—8 3—9 Average number of leaves 8 6 June 9th.— Height of plants 12— .5 10— 11 Junellth.— Number of plants in hloom .15 13 June 17th.— All the plants in blossom. Ten average plants taken up from each plot. Average height of plants 24 2^ Average number of leaves on each pl.ant 13 11 Aggregate weight of the ten plants when dry, in grains S37 676 July 3l8t.— Pods fully formed. Whole number of pods 3,133 2,799 Augn8t6th.—Crop harvested. Total weight of vines and pods ... 219 183 Weight of seed, first quality li}2 121 Weight of seed, second quality 0 25 In whatever way the jilants are compared, and however minute the measurements that are made, the advantage remains always with the plants from the large seed. The much greater uniformity of growth cannot be shown iu the table without taking too much space, but it appears all throngh the details given in the original paper. To give one or two instances : — Of the ten plants taken ap June 11th all but one of those from the large seed had its leaves as given in the table, and the odd one had twelve leaves ; on the other hand, of the plants from the small seed some had ten, some eleven, and some twelve leaves, and one had thirteen. The uuiformity of the plants from the large seed was marked. At the rate given in the above table the increased yield per acre of seed of the first quality that may bo obtained by the use of large seed rather than small would be 250 lbs. A similar course of experiments with Peas gave the follow- ing results : Plants from Large Small Ps^s. Seed Seeri May 23rd.-Height of plants 6-8 4-5 June 6th.— Height of plants IS 10— 1' JnnelSlh.-Tenaverage plants taken up from each plot : Average height of those plants 41 31 Average number of leaves **' 15 ];} Average weight of the ten plants, green ... ... 11-5 9 Ditto, dry .; ,_(. July 26th.— Crop harvested - i u Total weight of vines .md pods •>,)! 197 Weight of seed, first quality .'.is'—r, li) Ditto, second quality '.]] '" 19 3*7 In the case of the Peas as well as of the Be.ans, the plants from the larger seed were better throughout the season than those from the small seed : the superiority of the former was specially marked in respect to the quality of the seed harvested, as shown in the table Professor Lehmann, of Munich, carried out a somewhat similar course of experiments with the same plants, and with still more striking results in favour of the use of large and carefully.selected seed; and in his experiments not only did the Urger seed yield a larger crop from the same number of plants, but a much larger pro- portion of the small seed failed to germinate in the garden, or'at least to push the young plants to the surface of the ground, than of the large seed. Berried Aucubas.— It is perhaps fortunate that the berries of the Aucuba are not ripe at Christmas, as, with the mania that there exists for cutting off everything that bears the semblance of a red berry for house or church decoration, these pretty shrubs would soon bo reduced to the condition of bare stumps. I find by expe. rience that elevating the male plants above the females is the most effective way to secure a good crop of berries. Whether insect agency assists m the fertilisation or not, there can be little doubt that the pollen is conveyed in tho air over the whole of the plant to be fertilised, and all the blossoms are regularly set. In a "ardeu near here is a large female plant growing on a sloping border with a south aspect, the growth of which, though robust, is not luxuriant f nor to its flowering in the summer, a small male plant was placed in a box which was elevated above it, and the result is se < i c v ira marvellous crop of berries all over the plant. It will, before long, be a grand specimen. — A. D. Two Good New Hardy Shrubs. — I am happy to be able to inform your readers, who are fond of hardy ornamental shrubs, that the beautiful and distinct Aralia quinquefolia has proved itself per. fectly hardy in the extreme north of Ireland, where it withstood thirteen degrees of frost unprotected without suffering in the least therefrom. This plant might probably be more correctly described as Fatsia than Aralia, as it is quite in the way of the shrub known as Aralia Sieboldi, whose correct designation is Fatsia japonica. Cinna- momum sericeum has also most unexpectedly proved itself to be per. fectly hardy with me in the County Cork. Though we have bad unusually severe frost this winter for our mild, moist climate, even the young growth of this summer, which, in many reputedly hardy shrubs was burned and shrivelled up, was quite uninjured on this Cinnamon. — W. E. G. Lebanon and its Cedars. — All who have visited Mount Lebanon agree that its Cedars have become very scarce. Ranwolf, who counted them in 1.57.5, found twenty.four ; Mandrell, in 1G96, could only discover sixteen ; whilst Labillardiere, about a century later, found in all about one hundred, of which seven were much larger than the rest ; none of these three travellers could, how. ever, find any young ones. Although there are so few Cedars on Lebanon itself, I have always understood that they still exist in comparative abundance on other mountains north of Lebanon, and invariably on their summits. The fact that this Cedar loves humidity, aud is now only found on the confines of perpetual snow, has induced some to imagine that Lebanon could never have been covered by this particular tree, the term Cedar being probably a free translation of a word which might have been applied with equal right to the Cypress tribe. I should feel much pleasure in seeing in your columns a full detailed account of this memorable mountain and its Cedars. — John CoRNniLL, Biifleet. Growing Oaks where Sown. — In the spring of 1845 I planted with Acorns a piece of ground nearly 2 acres, in order to see how the Oaks would do without being transplanted. They were sown in rows 6 feet apart, and between each row we put in Larch as nurses. We had no stated times for thinning, but did it whenever we found that it was required, at the same time making selections of such as we considered the best plants for permanent growth. In pruning we left the dwarfest-growing around the selected ones, so as to get a good clear stem before allowing them to form a round head. The result is very satisfactory, inasmuch as the plantation consists of a beautiful lot of trees, averaging from 40 to 50 feet in height. The only difficulty or drawback connected with using Acorns is the depredations by mice and rooks. Eows in which were defects from this cause we re-planted, and Oaks thus raised have gone on better than any we ever raised from the nursery. I may add, that they are growing on a piece of land once cultivated by the late Mr. Loudon. — Tdwensis. Domestic Trees. — Apple trees and all fruit trees have a domestic character which brings them into relationship with man They have lost in a great measure the wild nature of the forest tree and have grown humanised by receiving the care of man, and by contributing to his wants. They have become a part of the family, and their individual characters are as well understood and appreciated as those of the human members. One tree is harsh and crabbed, another mild ; one is churlish and illiberal, another exhausts itself with its free-hearted bounties. Even the shapes of Apple trees have great individuality, into such strange postures do they put themselves, and thrust their contorted branches so grotesquely in all directions. And when they have stood around a house for many years, and held converse with successive dynasties of occupants, and gladdened their hearts so often in the fruitful autumn, then it would seem almost sacrilege to cut them down. — Nathaniel Hawthokni:. Wood Ashes. — These form a valuable manure, often pro. curable at home. It is rich in potash and soda, and may be used with good effect either by itself or mixed with other manures. Applied to lawns, it restores the verdure in a wonderful degree. A patch of underwood near here was burnt accidently three years ago, and the spot has been quite marked since by the luxuriance and colour of the Grass. About gardens, wood ashes can be had in greater or less abundance almost every year. We are in the habit of saving all prunings and cuttings of fruit trees and shrubs, and burning tbcra annually for the sake of the ashes and charcoal, contriving always to burn as much earth and general rubbish with them as possible at tho same time, to increase the value and bnlk of the material. It is a good manure for Vine borders, and is said to improve the colour of the berries. — J. S. Jan. 8, 1876.] THE GARDEN. 29 THE FLOWER GARDEN. NEW WINTER-FLOWERING IRIS. (XIPHION HISTRIO.) Tins, when .seen peeping through the ground in winter or early spring, reminds one of the common Netted Iris (I. reticulata) ; but its growth is rather taller, and the " fall petals " are broader and more conspicuously spotted, or rather blotched. Its colour is rich bluish-purple, flushed towards the base of the petals with rose-pink, the markings being of the deepest purple relieved by a medial ridge or crest of gold in the centre of the three external perianth segments. Its leaves are, like those of the Netted Iris, four-angled, and, like that beautiful plant, this also belongs to the bulbous group. When I first saw it pushing through the earth on an eastern border at Kew, in the winter of 1874, there was a little patch of snow beside the flower, and nothing could have set it off to better advantage than this, and a tuft of the vivid green Poa annua, with which it was also associated. This Iris is described as a native of Mount Lebanon and also of Mount Gerizim ; it was sent to Kew by M. Berberey, of La Ferriere, near Geneva, in March, 1873, who describes it as nearly related to I. reticulata, from which it differs not only in structural characters, but in flowering six weeks earlier than that species. We have now before us flowers of it even more delicately pencilled and blotched than that lately figured in the " Botanical Magazine," and, while the flowers are there described as being inodorous, the blossoms thus freshly gathered are deliciously fragrant. Mr. P. Barr, from whom we have received the flowers in ques- tion, informs us that it has been in bloom with him for the last fortnight without having received any protection whatever. Its culture is by no means diflicult. Treated like the last-named species it grows and blooms freely. Our engraving shows the size of the flower, and its colour as far as can be done by a wood- cut. This, with its allies, I. reticulata and I. stylosa, is well worth a place in sheltered positions in warm and deep rich soils and in every garden. B. CANNAS. Few fine foliaged plants are more useful in gardens than these, and none are more easily grown or propagated. Seeds of the more popular varieties are ofiered by all nurserymen, and are very easily raised and increased. Seeds, for instance, sown in heat in February will form good plants for planting out-of-doors in sheltered situations in June, and are useful for furnishing the conservatory and plant stove throughout the autumn and winter. The fact is that since it was discovered that Cannas and many other plants of a similar character would bear open-air treatment and fill a niche with fine foliage in the sub-tropical garden throughout the summer, glasshouses have, in many cases, been somewhat denuded of beauty to add to that of the open air garden. There is no need to make such mistakes, for Cannas in plenty may be had for all purposes in- doors and out. Cannas under Glass. Well-grown Cannas are almost equal to Musas or any other fine-foliaged plant, always excepting Palms and Ferns, for house decoration. The plants from seeds sown early in the spring, and stibjeoted to a moderate temperature of 00° or so, invari- ably have a freshness, size, and beauty of fiower and foliage which they seldom attain out-of-doors. The fiower of the Canna has been of but little use for sub-tropical purposes. Under glass, however, the elegant branched spikes of fiowers, ranging in colour through yellowish-red, orange-red, scarlet, crimson, and bright red, prove attractive. Some of them are also mottled with different colours. The seed, hard and black, from which the Canna has received the name of Indian Shot (at the base of the flower spike), is also an object of beauty and interest. Doubtless, however, the leaves are the chief attrac- tion of Cannas, and their habit and stature, rangiug from 2 to ■J feet, fit them admirably for forming gi-oups, centres, or lines in glasshouses. The effect of Cannas in pots is often much marred by growing too many together in one pot. In small houses, and as furniture to shelves or narrow borders, Cannas are most efiiective when grown as single plants. Treated thus, they produce quite a different effect to the ordinary huge masses that one meets with even in small houses, perhaps a dozen in a 12-inch pot. Again, Cannas may often be planted out with excellent effect to form group.s of foliage here and there in the centre of the bed of conservatories, to re- lieve the glare of the ordinary kinds of conservatory plants. They also look well against roof pillars supporting the base of such that are clothed with climbers of the usual sorts. Groups of them planted out are also most useful for furnish- ing shady places in the backs of borders in out-of-the-way corners — for Cannas will grow fairly well in the shade. Being easily raised alike from seed and by root division, and bearing the dry air of dwelling rooms with comparative impunity, Cannas are among the most useful plants for furnishing rooms, halls, staircases, etc., being fine foliaged plants, and at once dignified and elegant. By growing a few plants late in pots, Cannas would prove useful for furnish- ing small plant stoves that were mostly devoted to the culture of Caladiums, Gloxinias, Achimenes, &c., in summer. Such houses where no extensive collection of stove plants are grown, and but few winter-fiowering plants, often have a poor unfurnished look in winter. By furnishing them with Cannas, the houses would look well, while useful material would also be held in readiness for room or conservatory furnishing if needed. The Canna is not at all particular as to soil. Two parts of loam to one of leaf mould, or thoroughly decomposed farm-yard manure, with a little rough sand, suits it well. It is readily raised from seeds, which may be steeped in tepid water for twelve or twenty-four hours before sowing, to facilitate their vegetation, as the seeds are hard. They also come up all the sooner if sown in a Cucumber frame, or subjected to a temperature of 05" to 75°, though they will vegetate in a much cooler place. As soon as fairly up, the plants should be potted Xiphion (Iris) Histrio, 30 THE GARDEN. [Jan. 8, 1870. off singly, taking care not to break nor injure the somewliat fleshy roots. Shift oti as the plants grow, and finally ijlace them, if to be used singly, in 6 or 8, or at the most 10-inch pots. As regards their culture, it may be said that the more liberal their treatment, and the higher the temperature (u]) to 70°), in which they arc kept, the faster they will grow. But they will do very well in a temperature of 50^' or -M'. They also bear manure-water well, and will respond to liberal feeding by the enlarged size and deeper colour of the leaves, and the longer and finer spikes of flowers. The only care that Oannas in a dormant state need, is to see that neither the roots nor crowns are frozen, and that they are kept rather dry. A tem- perature of 'lO'^ to •l-'i'^ suits them well, but they ai-e so hardy that they may bo wintered in the open air. In that case tkie bottom of their root-run should be made dry by extra drain- age, so that no stagnant water can stand upon the roots. Planted in good loam, over a substratum of brickbats 6 inches in thickness, and with the crowns covered with leaves or litter in the way that Fuchsias and Tea Roses are often treated, Cannas winter well in the open air. It is, however, safer in a general way to take them up and store them closely together on the floor of a root cellar or fruit room, or under a stage in a house from which frost is excluded. Of course those grown in pots should receive similar protection ; and if any are vvinteredin the stove, they must not suddenly bo thrust out into a low tempera- ture during cold weather, or the sudden transition from heat to cold may kill the plants, roots and all. As regards the use of Cannas out-of-doors, there cannot be a doubt that they are the very cheapest, and among the most effective, of all the so-called sub-tropical plants. The simplest way of treating them for this purpose is to plant out in good rich soil either in masses or lines about the 1st of June. Water freely with manure-water should the weather be dry, and the plants must do well, unless the weather prove unusually cold. About the middle of October, lift the plants and store them closely together on the floor of a cellar, house, or cold pit. In February or March, pull the Cannas to pieces, and pot each piece separately if the object be rapid increase. A better plan than potting is to make up a slight hot-bed iu a pit, cover with G or 10 inches of loam and leaf mould, divide the Cannas, and plant them out on this bed, and liy proper attention to watering and giving air, the result will be a perfect jungle of magnificent Cannas to plant outside in June. A spade should be used for transferring the plants from the pit to their decorative quarters ; and if the plants be carefully moved and watered in their new home, they will grow away without check, and the effect will be immediate and also permanent. Tliere is yet another mode of treating the old stools — keep them entire and as backward as possible. About the middle or towards the end of May prepare rich and sheltered spots on lawns, shrubberies, or borders, by removing the old soil, and re-placing it with one yard or so of loam and manure. Plant the Cannas on these, burying the crowns a little deeper than they were before, and mark how massive and rich a single Canna root stock can become. Among the finer sorts for in-door or out are Canna metallica, C. nigricans, C. A^an Houttei, C. peruviana, C. maxima, C. ex- pansa, C. discolor, C. floribunda, C. Bihorellt, C. grandiflora floribunda, C. llcndatleri, C. rubra superbissima, C. aurea, C. glauca, C. compacta, C. Warczewiczii m.ajor, and C. Edouard Morren. Packages of seed may be had from Is. to 2s. Od. per packet, and plants of named varieties from 8s. to '2 ts. per doz. In no other tribe of plants is it possible to purchase so much per- manent tropical-like beauty for so little money. It may be added that the arrow-like flowers of the Canna, carefully mounted, have a unique effect in floral arrangements, while few plants are more useful for cutting in masses for furnish- ing large vases or baskets for ball-rooms, &c. Canna leaves may also be used in lieu of Palms, Ferns, or other fine-foliaged plants for decorative purposes. D. T. F. Moss for Protecting Herbaceous Plants.— Mr. M'Gann (see p. 613, Vol. VIII.) miKgcsts that Lcrlmcemis borilers might ho neatly cnrpctctl with Moss dnring the dead sciisou— a very pretty idea, but impracticaljlo. In this ojien weather the blackbirds and thrushes are doing good sorvioo in the bordei-s in •incetion by picking up worms, grubs, and all 8ort« of vermin. Were the borders trimly carpeted on Mr. M'Sann's plan, these busy little aaaiatants would make short work of it, scraping it up in every direction to get at food below. — Salmonicbps, THE HOLLYHOCK. I K-Vow not whether the wet summer of the present year had anything to do with it, bat it is quite certain that the much. dreaded Uollyhock fnngua has been much leas destructive this season than it was last year, when the summer was drier; yet there have not been wanting indications that it ia yet amongst us, though its destructive tendenciea have been much loss marked. This comparative freedom from the peat seems to point to the fact that the Hollyhock flourishea beat when kept moist at the root. It is a plant requiring a generous growth, for strong roots, when planted in good soil, send up shoots of amazing vigour, moisture at the root and falling rain on the fohago keeping the plants robust and healthy in appearance. As regards the propagation of this plant, it may be said that grafting is a mode that at one time waa applied more than it is in the present day ; and was effected about the month of March. First, if the growers had any seedlings in pots with stems of the thickness of a pencil, or even thicker, he would cut them away almost down to the surface of the soil, at the same time taking out a little of the mould ; then the sorts required to be increased were side-grafted on the seedling stocks. This process might be denominated whip-grafting, and the scion, made of an eye. was tied tightly to the stock by means of a piece of bast. When the grafting was finished, the mould was put back deep enough to cover the graft and e.^clude air, and the pots were then plunged in a gentle bottom-heat for two or three weeks, the plants being ready for a shift at the end of that time ; they were then gradually hardened off till required for planting out. The best plan of getting up a stock of plants is by propagating in summer by means of "eyes." All the side shoots should be allowed to remain on the plants till they get a little ripe, and this stage of growth is soon known by reason of their light brown colour. These side shoots may then be divided by cutting them below the eye and loaf. stalk, and about 3 inches above, leaving leaf and stalk on to assist in developing the eye. A small cold frame is one of the best contrivances in which to plant the eyes, placing them in a bed of sifted leaf mould and sand some G inches in depth, planting each variety by itself, and all in regular lines. It is always well to water as little as possible, and therefore the compost should be used moist, and the frame shaded, to retain this moisture in the soil as long as possible. Cuttings may be struck iu this way with great success ; and, as soon as they begin to throw up a few leaves, they are ready for potting off. Young growing plants of Hollyhocks should never be allowed to become pot-bound, or the flower-sttm is apt to be thrown up too early. Therefore, the aim of the cultivator should be to keep the roots moving previous to planting out by shifting into larger pots as required, till they are in 6-inch pots, when they will be fine plants for planting out to flower. The Hollyhock thrives best in a somewhat stiff clayey loam ; if too cold and stiff a good quantity of rotted turf and decayed vegetable refuse may be added to keep it open. The ground should be trenched 2 feet deep before planting, mixing in at the same time a good quantity of well. decomposed manure. Just previous to planting the soil should be turned up once more to get if thoroughly mixed and workable. This work should always be done when the ground is dry, otherwise it is apt to become sour, and the plants do not thrive. If a plantation of Hollyhocks is wanted, the plants shonld be about 3\ feet apart, aud some 4 feet apart in the rows. This enables the cultivator to get among the plants and give them all the attention they require. It is well to pot some leaf mould about the roots at the time of planting, as it serves to start the roots and gives them something to lay hold of at once. Planting should be finished early in April at the latest, and if the weather prove dry afterwards, and through May and June, some water must be given twice or so a week, when the flower.stems are forming. Water should be carefully applied if the spikes are wanted for exhibition pui-poses ; and, as an old florist once remarked, " If too much w.ater bo given at this stage, there is a danger of the buds forming widely on the spike, which gives it a very irregular appear, ance when in flower ; rather mulch to keep out the drought." When the flowers are all well formed and the spike is getting well covered with them, some manure-water may be applied ; but if the plants are healthy and strong, and the soil in which they are growing is rich, it 18 scarcely necessary to apply it, as the flowers are certain to be line and symmetrical. In selecting spikes for exhibition purposes, the healthiest and most regularly set spikes should be fixed upon— s.ay about three weeks before they are wanted— and they should bo shortened back to about •!■ feet of flowers. The reason for doing this is that the flowei s fdl out better and burst more regularly. As a matter of course cultivators have to depend very much on their own obser- vation. As some varieties come into flower much quicker than others, much depends on the variety and the state of the weather at the time. When the flowers begin to open they should bo shaded to keep the bottom ones back, the shading being gradually extended upwards, tdl the whole length of the spike that is required to make a good Jan. 8, 1876.] THE GARDEN. 31 one ia shaded. For exhibition purposes there is nothing like a good length of full-blown blooms. A very good material for shading the light flowers, is what is known as pack sheeting, a thin, light material, of which two thicknesses should be used on some parts if necessary, which will generally be on the side next the sun. Tiffany will do well for the darker sorts. By being too closely shaded the dark flowers often get spoiled in colour. A piece of oil-cloth, or any waterproof article, should be placed on the top in wet weather to throw the rain off, as it is of great importance to keep the flowers dry, especially when they are getting into full bloom. The cloth should be furnished with tapes to tie and untie readily, as it is some- times necessary to take the shading ofl' to allow the sun and air to dry the flowers when any dampness gathers about them. For the purpose of providing the skeleton of the shade take two poles, place one on each side of the flower-stem, about 2i feet apart, and bring them together at the top by means of a hoop 1 foot or so in diameter ; fasten a stick across the top of the poles, and to this tie the top of tho spike to keep it from shaking, as the supporting stake against the plant will be withdrawn. Then another hoop should be placed about the middle of the frame, and the hoops can be made of strong Willows, light suckers of Ash, or pieces of ordinary cane. Take a piece of strong string, fasten it to the top hoop, give it a turn round the next, and fasten tQ a strong peg driven into the ground or secure it to one of the upright stakes, similar fastenings being made on the other side. The two strings answer the purpose of two poles, and keep the cloth from rnbbing against the flowers. Such, then, is the mode in which a Hollyhock " crinoline " is formed. These crinolines are rather unsightly things in a garden, but the grower who exhibits must for a time sacrifice the pictmesque, if he would win at the exhibition table. The following list comprises some of the finest varieties of the Hollyhock in cultivation : — Alba superba, pure white; Cams Chater, reddish.crimson ; Bullion, goldeu-yellsw, extra fine ; Constance, delicate pale flesh ; Crimson King, deep cherry. red ; Eclipse, bright rosy-red ; Excelsior, rich shining maroon ; Edward Speed ; French White, suffused with deep purple ; Fire King, glow- ing reddish.crimson ; Golden Drop, deep bright yellow ; Incom- parable, heavily tinted apricot ; Jessie Dean, clear apricot tinted with yellow; James Allen, bright plum; Junia, pale primrose, suifused with purple ; Marvellous, deep orange-buff ; Nonpareil, rich dark purplish.maroon ; Queen of Yellows, clear bright yellow ; Rose d' Amour, rosy-peach ; Eosy Queen, delicate rose ; Ruby Queen, deep shining ruby; Selina, pale creamy flesh, carmine base; Triumph, very dark crimson ; Tyrian Prince, rich crimson-pi. -pie ; Waldeu King, bright scarlet ; Walden Queen, soft delicate flesh ; and Walden Primrose, clear pale primrose, extra fine. Quo. EAISING GLADIOLI FROM SEEDS. Mr. Bossin, a well-known and successful hybridiser, tells, in the " Revue Horticole," how he raises his Gladioli. Those who intend to sow them should take care to collect the seeds from the finest plants only. After removal from tho capsules, they should be laid out to dry for a few days, and then be put away in paper bags until the time comes for sowing, which will be in November or December, or in February and March. I sow every year in autumn, and my mode of proceeding is this : — In November or December I take some earthenware pans, or large pots or boxes, and fill them with peat earth to which a few handfuls of good rich loam, well mixed before- hand with rotted dung, has been added. When the pans or pots are ready, they are filled with the compost to within 1^ to 2 inches of the rim. On the top we put half an inch of pure sandy peat earth, sprinkle the seeds evenly thereon, and press them in with the back of the hand, covering them in with a quarter of an inch more of fine peat. I leave the pans or pots out of doors until rain or frost comes, and then remove them to a dry greenhouse, where they are housed for the winter, getting very little water ; and only when the soil is quite dry, as any excess of moisture would rot the seeds. Whilst they are in the greenhouse care must be taken that the mice do not eat the seeds. At the end of February, or quite the beginning of March, the seeds begin to germinate, and soon a crop of small plants is seen, presenting the appearance of fine Grass. When the winter is over, the pots or pans are placed out of doors again, choosing a good position, where they are sheltered from the frost and cold spring rains. They are then left to grow without further care beyond watering and pulling up the weeds that appear amongst them. When antumn comes — that is to say, in November — I take up the small bulbs and dry them. When dried they are packed away in large pots with some fine dry sand at the bottom, putting in a layer of bulbs and a layer of sand alternately. In this way they are kept through the winter in a dry place where it is neither too hot nor too cold, and at the end of February are pricked out at distances of 4 to 6 inches apart every way, in beds covered with frames to keep out the frost. Towards the end of May the lights are taken off and the plants are treated like old ones. In the course of the month of August some flowers will be already visible on the two-year old plants ; but for the general blooming wo must wait till the third year, when the bulbs will be somewhat larger and better shaped than in the year previous. I take them up again in autumn, and keep them in sand through the winter, as before. Early in February I prepare the beds to receive the three-year-old bulbs, choosing a suitable spot where the ground has been well manured the year before, fresh manure being detrimental to all bulbs, and particularly so to Gladioli. When the beds have been got ready and well raked over, I draw five equidistant lines across them a foot apart, along each of which I set in a row of bulbs at 12 inches apart and 3 or '1 inches below the surface. This is done about the end of February, and, if frost supervenes, the beds must be covered over with litter or mats until the danger is past. I have magnificent displays of Gladioli, treated thus, as may anyone else who will follow the dii'ec tions above given. A NEGLECTED FLOWER. THE BANUNCULUS. In the round of favourite flowers grown by florists of a generation since, there often used to come in due succession between the Pink and the Picotee, and in most refreshing contrast to all before and after it — the Ranunculus. Now its place in such a garden circle is often vacant. Not many Tulip cabinets have now their few drawers at the bottom for Ranunculuses. It is a great pity, because the flower is full of capabilities and properties attractive to the florist. It possesses great command of colour. In the self varieties there are crimson and purple.blacks, scarlet, red, rose, pink, and white. In yellows, orange, lemon, cream ; also white. There are classes of white and yellow grounds with tips and edges, mottles and stripes of various colours, usually some shade of purple, brown, rose, and red, and in addition to these are some curious roans — grey and red — that are a fancy dress peculiar to the Ranunculus. One of the chief charms of this flower, particularly to a florist, is that it is very sportive and vigorous from seed, so much so that a seedling-bed is, perhaps, the great surprise and charm of Ranunculus-growing. Even the most double exhibition flower will frequently afford a seed head when fully expanded, but very seldom any stamens. Pollen must, therefore, be obtained from well-shaped and coloured semi, doubles that afford it freely. Good seed somewhat resembles scales or flakes of bran with a slight brown germ set in the middle. It is very delicate, and like seed of the Auricula is better left uncovered by any soil, and the soil kept generally moist by a sheet of glass over it. Sowing may be done at the time the old tubers are planted — about the end of February. The Ranunculus has, no doubt, an ill name for being a crotchety, ill-tempered old flower, a punctilious tuber requiring everything to its own good liking, or else declining to bloom. The plant is, indeed, particular in some of its require, ments, but troublesome in none. It is exact but not exacting. It requires precisely its IJ inches underground, otherwise the new tuber which is naturally formed over the very neck or woolly crest of the old one will endeavour to rectify matters by diving down or coming up by means of a sort of underground stem, dropping several of its claws in the course of it, and making an awkward if not weakened root. At planting time I always wet the tubers twenty-four hours beforehand ; they then swell marvellously, and do not literally get up and walk out of bed, as they often do when planted dry. Moistening them also enables one to detect any di.seased or rotten claw, which ought to be removed, but cannot be easily detected in a dry state. The claws when thus swelled are not brittle or liable to be snapped off so easily at planting. Knocking oft' a healthy claw is so much loss of stored-up strength, and it is worth while to be careful. Another emphatic demand of the Ranun. cuius is a firm bed for growing in. If I were doomed to take thoso forced and dismal walks called " constitutionals," I would never for. get to take some over my next year's Ranunculus bed. It would be a walk " with an object." There are matters which the Ranunculus is more particular about than soil, though it likes that good and hearty. Mr. Tyso, the present representative of this flower, most wisely, because most natur- ally, says that a bed made up of turfy sods from a strong pasture where the Buttercup grows will suit our member of that family, the Ranunculus. This is the best advice that cau be given where the native soil of the garden is not a deep retentive, yet well drained loam, or one that will grow a hearty Cabbage. Enrichment of cow or hotbed manure may be used, but it must be thoroughly well decayed, and the bed is far the best when made up in October. 32 THE GARDEN. [Jan. 8, 1876, Again, another vital point in Raniincnhn cuUiire is a well.aired bed for Bleeping in— that is, a scrupulously dry storage when out of the ground. This tuber has literally to be shelved for more than six months out of twelve, owing to its foliage, which would naturally spring afresh in autumn, not being hardy enough to certainly bear our winters. It is therefore forced to rest from about the third week in .Inly to the third week in February. Where there is the slightest dampness the naked tubers are peculiarly liable to contract blue mould at the neck. It is generally fatal, disorganising the claws and eating into the heart, and when in the ground the whole strnc ture rots. The only thing I know of for affected tubers is to dust them thoroughly with dry brimstone, and keep them from further damp. Rotten claws may be detected by their soft consistency, brown colour, .and by the moistening process I have spoken of. Healthy claws are white inside. Prevention is better than cure. I reserve for my last note a deeply important crisis in the culture of the Ranunculus; this is, taking up. No amount of attention to soil or anything else will atone for negligence here. The now tubers strike directly the vigour of the bloom and foliage is past, and every new fibre struck cut and afterwards unnaturally checked is weakness to the tuber. It must not only be replaced at some expense, but easily affords a starting point for mildew to lay hold of. The bloom ought to be shaded, for the first heavy rain upon expanded flowers will beat all down, and break many. The cover should be left on till all are taken up, and it will thus keep the ground cool and dry, and free from the warm stimulants of July rains and sun upon the excitable tnbers. I never water my beds artificially, preferring to shade them against very hot sun. But a dry May is always against the Ranunculus, and watering seems to weigh little in their favour when the air is dry and weather rainless. la Rome I saw, a few years since, a bed of Ranunculuses that were just opening their buds about the beginning of February. They were double, and had some edged flowers among them, but the full quality I could not discern. I thought how grandly this neglected fiower might be grown where it could remain to form clamps, only to be moved a moment for re-arr.angement. Were it in my power this is how I would grow my Ranunculus — I would yearly top-dress the beds and re-plant immediately, affording the foliage a glass pro. tection as of a house that freely admitted light and ventilation, and was entirely frost-proof. Hut this is not the place to build glass castles in the air. I have known the florist Ranunculus since my boyhood, and I go on with it in the old way. I have had failures and successes, success surviving the partial shock of failures. Perhaps a chequered experience like this, being natural, is a usefnl sort of one to recall. I am glad to say a word for one of my dear old favourites, and if it will be of help or interest to any fellow cultivator, or it it will lead any young florist or older hand to say " I will make love to the Ranunculus," it would then repay me for a congenial scribble. — F. D. Horner, in " Journal of Horticulture." Ophiopogon japoaicus as an Edging Plant.— This plant, which has all the aspect of a Squill, was used in the beautiful gardens of Bellagio as a substitute for Box edging, especially along the walks under trees, and it seemed to fulfil its purpose most satis- factorily. It belongs, I believe, to the Liliace;e. The roots are as toi-tuous and interlaced as those of the Lily of the Valley. The flowers are quite hidden by the long, dense, and Grass-like leaves ; they are of an iron blue, and, as I have said, like those of Scilla autumnalis. The plant was new to mo, and was named for me by M. Edmond Boissier, whose name is so well known as a collector of Alpines among the Sierras of the Spanish Peninsula. He also pointed out to me a Spurge (Euphorbia marginata), supposed to be an Ameri- can species, with the leaves symmetrically bordered with white. The effect of this was charming when growing near dark-foliaged plants.^PF.TEK I.vcHBALD, U'lvin'jham Loiljc, York. The Large-flowered Christmas Kose. — I have to thank Miss Hope for giving us such ample notes abont this interesting plant, and especially for amending my statement that it is very easily increased. My reasons for saying so were : — First, that a very small plant, which Miss Hope was kind enough to give me in 1872, has increased so much in size as to have been for two months the prin. ripal ornament of the border in which it is placed ; and secondly, because I had the pleasure last October of inspecting a bed filled with young plants at Wardie Lodge. At all events, we may be grateful that this beautiful and rare plant is not so slow or difficult in propagation as, for instance, Trillium granditiornm, Rhexia vir. ginica, Spigelia marilandica, and others. The fact that this variety has not seeded seems certainly to point to a hybrid origin. Helle. l)oru3 niger is just coming into flower, with orientalis, whereas niger major or maximns began in October, and is still sending np immense flowers. The present scientific name is extremely awkward, and the variety is so perfectly distinct from any other, that I think it should be called Helleborus aberdoniensis, a name which points to the northern origin of the plant. Miss Hope deserves thanks for raising her voice against the growing habit of forcing hardy plants. There is no excuse for it. The conservatory can be supplied with namber- less e.xotics — let our seasons be marked by the return of hardy flowers at their appointed time. They will be all the dearer to us, and not less plentiful. If Alpines and hardy flowers are grown uuder cover, let it be either in pots ia a cold frame, or, better still, in an Alpine honse, which is a thing we should see oftener than we do. S.M.MO.VIC'EI'S. The History of the Auricula. — In a pamphlet entitled " Die Geschichte der Aurikel," Professor Kerner traces the history of the discovery and cultivation of this plant, from the time of L'Escluse (Clusius), who first transplanted this species and the hybrid P. pubescens, Jacq., in 1582, from the Tyrolese Alps to Belgium. The latter species, and not the true P. Auricula L., which quickly dis. appeared from cultivation, is believed by Professor Kerner to be the real ancestor of the cultivated Auriculas of our gardens. The two were known at the time of Clusius under the names of "Auricula- ursi I." and " Auricula-ursi II.," from the supposed resemblance in the shape of the leaves to that of the ear of a bear. The hybrid P. pubescens, which had been lost from the German and Austrian Alps for nearly three centuries, was re-discovered by Prof. Kerner in 1867 in a single locality in the Tyrol. Rock-;work v. Root-work. — I dislike monotony as much as anybody, and quite agree with Mr. Groom (see p. 531., Vol. VIII.), as to the need of securing " individuality " in our gardens; but the very common practice of massing a few roots or stomps together, and fancying that they will prove a home for Alpine and similar flowers, is actually a source of monotony in many gardens. It is, moreover, wrong as regards Alpine flowers, for the following reasons : — the root-work crumbles away in time, and this prevents the ground being firmly consolidated, a necessity for Alpine plants. Dry rot and evil-smelling fungi take possession of it ; it harbours vermin of many kinds ; and it is offensive to the eye in connection with Alpine flowers, because all who have seen these in their wild haunts know they seam the rocks and cushion the stones, but that roots of trees are rarely or never seen in connection with them. The roots have not at all the same effect as the rocks in preventing evaporation from the soil, and affording a cool firm feeding ground to the roots — which are absolute necessities for Alpine flowers. No doubt a person of good taste may so employ picturesque old stumps that a good effect maybe produced ; but root-work, employed as it generally is, is a great mistake.— W. S. NOTES AND QUESTIONS ON THE FLOWEE GAEDEN. Rock-work for Alpines v. Root-work. — True Alpines should never be Keen on root-work. There are many objections to root-work. It is never in itself a preity object, it harbours blugs and other vermin much more than stoiie-wurk, and Fun^rus— a sure foe to hijrher plant life— grows readily on it. If ased at all, it should be kept iu the Fernery.— Salmonicbps. Roses on the Seedling Briar.— I have just received a few dozen charming little plants on this stock. Their clean growth and really pood roots show how well suited it is as a stock for most kinds of Roses. — R. Gilbbbt. Stauutonia latifolia in Wiltshire.- This handsome foliated climber is hardy here on a south wall. I planted it in my garden some six or seven years ago, and although never protected in any way during winter, it is now a large vigorous plant. Many of its beautiful glossy leaves aro from 5 to 6 inches long, and from 2 to 2^ inches broad. It has not yet borne fruit, and its flowers are not very conspicuous, bat they are sweetly scented.— G. B., LongUat. The Gladwin (Iris foetidissima) as Undergrowth.— In addition to the merits of this plant as a herry-bearer, it makes the best evergreen under- growth below large trees with which I am aciiuainted. even when too dry and impoverished for almost anything to grow. The Gladwin, in company with St. John's Wort and Perrywinkle, makes an effective and cheerful combination at all seasons. — J. Gboou. iEchmea Weilbachia Lamprocerus-— This is one of the most useful winter flowering plants we have. It is a light green, smooth-edged Bromeliad, with purple flowers on a crimson stem. In a 3 or 4-inch pot it makes a most useful plant for general decoration. It thrives well in a moist cool Orchid-house, and it is best grown in Sphagnum Moss and sand, but any light material will answer. It is easily grown, and will remain in beauty in a room for weeks tocother. — Chevalibh. Pyrola secunda.— Of the Fyrolas, six of which are wild In Switzerland, none iutcresteil me so much as P. secunda. It differs from the others in having the i-aceme secund or unilateral. The flowers are of a whitish-green, and numerous. The style is protruded beyond the well-shaped corolla. This species is rare in England, though not unfrequent in the shady woods of Scot- land. In Switzerland I met with it in Pine woods, where I saw it chiefly growing by the forest paths.— P. I., Hovingham Lodge. The Caper Plant (Capparis spinosa) in Flower.— On the Lake of Como —growing in terraced gardens— I noticed the beautitul f^prays of this trailing plant, the flowers of which are simply lovely, and the tender and delicate green of the foliage harmonises therewith to perfection. The flowers reminded me of those of Sparmannia, with their parti-colonred stamens and whitish petals. They are axillarj', and as they burst from the sheathing calyx leaves, displaying their dappled stamens, they must win the admiration ot the most inailVoront.- 1'. I. Jan. 8, 1876.] THE GARDEN. 33 THE INDOOR GARDEN. ZONAL PELARGONIUMS FOR WINTER DECORATION. I A.U indebted to " W. D. C." for his reply to my remarks upon the winter tiowering properties of the Zonal Pelargonium, and I am pleased to find that we agree in our estimation of its value in that respect. The Zonal Pelargonium I know can- not be flowered in perfection during the winter months in a cool house, nor in a damp atmosphere. My impression was from the tenor of " W. D. G.'s " observations (see p. 53(i, Vol. VIII.) that he alluded to the decoration of conservatories that are attached to, and approached from, the dwelling-house, and are usually kept warm and dry, and supplied with a suc- cession of flowering plants from reserve houses. I had again this Christmas Daj' the pleasure of adrau'ing the display of Zonal Pelargonium flowers on my friend's dinner table, and the enlivening effect of many varieties in full flower inter- spersed among foliage plants in the conservatories. So much value does my friend's gardener set upon the Zonal Pelargonium, for its decora- tive qualities at this season of the year, that a long house is devoted exclusively to its cultivation, from which the conservatories are sup- plied with fresh plants as needed, and the house with cut blooms. This house was as full of flower as it could have been, had it been mid- summer instead of Christmas day. Another house is devoted to the cultivation of foliage plants for re- plenishing the conservatories, and for the purpose of cutting from for house and table decoration ; for the latter, of course, the varieties of Maiden-hair Fern predominate. " W. D. 0." asks me to give a list of such varieties of Pelargoniums as I consider most suitable for winter cultivation. I feel some diffi- dence in complying with this re- quest, because I cannot do justice to the productions of my brother Pelargonium raisers, my observa- tions being confined almost entirely to kinds of my own raising — asl grow only to breed from, and I must plead guilty to having drifted into the usual error that befalls most raisers of florists' flowers, viz., that of breeding in and in ; hence, the distinctive characters of our strains. One of my special aims has been to produce perpetual flowering pro- perties, and the originators of my strain, viz.. Lord Derby, Leonidas, Celestial, and Louis Veuillot, arc all free winter flowerers, especially Louis Veu- illot, from which variety, as pollen parent, most of my dark- coloured seedlings derived their origin. Diana has been named as the best variety for winter flowering. The male parent of this variety was Louis Veuillot, and Lord Derby the seed- bearing parent. I noted in flower in my friend's houses on Christmas Day Jessica, Sir John Moore, Nelson, Richard Cceur dc Lion, Rienzi, Oberon, Brasidas, Alonzo, Salathiel, ffiuone, Hebe, Astarte, Aspasia, Idalia, Imogen, Minerva, Lurliuc, lago, lanthc, and many other of my seedlings not named, which, from being considered too good to destroy, have found their way into my friend's houses, under conditions that they are on no account to go off his premises. Pain's Per- petual and Vesuvius are winter flowerers, but not of the florists' class. Several varieties of M. Postan's and Mr. George's raising I have seen quoted lately as remarkably good kinds. and I believe that Mr. Pearson's splendid strains of hybrid nosegay varieties are for the most part good winter flowerers. John Denny. Wbite Anemone-flowered Clirysanthemum. GARDENIAS. Nobody ever tires of the fragrance of Gardenias, or Capo Jas- mines, as they are usually called. Their usefulness for cutting can only be matched by their sweetness. Growers of flowers for market have filled houses with them, and in this way thej' have been made as common and as cheap as Camellias or Roses. Gardenias are divided into stove and greenhouse vai-leties ; but the distinction is deceptive, inasmuch as all Gardenias thrive best treated as stove plants when in a growing state. The latter expression again has led to misconception. Cultivators have mostly flowered their Gardenias in heat, and then forced them to rest in a cool and dry temperature till next year. This is, however, by no means necessary. By keeping the plants in heat they grow and flower, mature their buds, and flower and grow again throughout the season. Under this treatment the plants gain a robustness and vigour, and their leaves a size and a depth of glossy greenness to which they ai-e utter strangers, as a rule, under the once-flowering-in-the- year course of treatment. There- fore, for continuity of bloom and simplicity of cultureplace Gardenias in a bottom and atmospheric tempe- rature of from 63° to 70°, and leave them alone. We are usually told to prune the plants back as soon as they have finished flowering. That may be done if they are too large, but certainly not otherwise. ^ No instructions could be more inju- rious. Gardenias left to themselves after flowering, or rather, as a rule, while they are flowering, throw out from one to three shoots from the base of the flower buds. By the time the flowers fade these shoots have made from four to six leaves, and have almost finished growing and begun to form fresh flower- buds. By pruning we simply cut away all these flowers and force the plant to produce new and not half such good or floriferous shoots, thus sacrificing at least three months' time. This process of throwing out fresh shoots and forming more flower buds is con- tinuous, and, therefore, by keeping the plants growing and the knife from them, the flowering also be- comes continuous. Of course the amount of bloom will depend a good deal upon the amount of light and heat to which they are subjected. Gardenias treated in the usual Tray flower and grow best in a brisk top- and-bottom heat of from 60° to 70°. As soon as the flower buds for the next blooming season are formed or the growth finished, the plants may be moved to a lower temperature, and safely wintered in a house or pit at 4.5°. Some even keep them colder ; but 4-5" is better than 40°, and the latter more favour- able than any temperature below it. Gardenias in this state may be had in flower at any time when wanted by allowing six weeks of forcing treatment for the unfoldmg of their blossoms. G. radicans, perhaps more of a stove plant than any other: is a native of Sierra Leone, and is the only Indian or tropical variety that I think good enough to recommend and, in the case of those whose space is limited, I would grow only this kind, G. florida, and G. citriodora. i' • A Late "White Clirysanthemum. — The Chryaanthemum figured in the accompanyhig woodcut is one of the Anemone- flowered type, and is valuable for its pure white colour and lateness of bloom The disk is quite white and well raised, as shown in the cut. We found it in Mr. BuUen's nursery at Lewishatn, but the owiier has no name for it. The distinct appearance of the bloomb led to their meeting with a ready sale at the Christmas Bower market. 34 THE GARDEN. [Jan. 8, 187t>. THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERING STOVE PLANTS. Amongst tbo immense numbers of plants cultivated in pots at the present clay, many of the stove subjects stand unrivalled for tbe profusion of their gorgeous flowers and long-continued habit of blooming, alike unequalled for tbe decoration of boated glass structures and for affording a continuous supply of flowers for cutting. Tbe hot as well as tbe somewbat cool regions of tbe Eastern bemispbere, and South America, with its vast extent of territory, have furnished us with a wealth of flowering plants of almost every form and hue, suitable for tbe decoration of the warm stove and intermediate bouse. In addition to the good qualities already mentioned, most stove plants possess the merit of being much easier to grow than the generality of greenhouse subjects as regards their require- ments in both soil and water. Many kinds of stove plants, although they may do somewbat better in peat, can be grown in turfy loam, where this material cannot readily be obtained of good quality, and in respect to water they are not nearly so impatient of receiving a little more than they require or having it given them before they need it. For these reasons, many can succeed to a certain extent in the cultivation of stove plants who fail completely with the less facile inhabitants of tbe greenhouse. Auotber point in tbeir favour is that, when grown to a size that would re(|uire more root room for their support than it may be deemed desirable to give them, the beads of the plauts may be freely cut back, and tbe roots correspondingly reduced, a great portion of the old soil being taken away and replaced with new ; this may, even with many bard- wooded species, be repeated as often as is found necessai-y and does away with the necessity for such large pots as would otherwise be requisite. All plants that require tbe application of fire beat, to maintain a temperature not only some degrees above freezing point, but one that is continually higher than that of a greenhouse, come under tbe denomination of stove plants. Yet, introduced as they are from so many different parts of the world — some intensely hot, others more tempe- rate, according to the latitude or their more or less elevated position— they evidently, when existing in a state of cultiva- tion, require a considerable difference m tbe temperature they are grown in. Hence, where an extensive collection of plants exists, all needing more or less heat to grow them, there should be at command tbe means of keeping those that require it warmer than others that will thrive in a lower temperature, or in quarters of a character intermediate between tbe hot stove and greenhouse. "Where some arrangement of this sort does not exist, there must necessarily be a compromise in tbe treatment they receive, some being kept hotter than tbey need, whilst others are too cool. The respective requirements can only be met satisfactorily by tbe use of separate bouses; orwbere one bouse IS made to do duty, by having a glass division in it, and placing the plants wanting the most beat at the warmest end, and those that will flourish in a cooler temperature in tbe opposite de- partment. An approach to accommodating all,acoording to their requirements of temperature, is often attemptedby putting the most beat-loving subjects at the end of tbe bouse next tbe boiler, with the plants from tbe cooler regions at the coolest end ; but this only meets the difliculty to a partial extent in tbe matter of beat, and effects little or nothing on another very important element, the humidity in the atmospbere, as also tbe amount of air to bo given. Both these elements are of such a subtle nature that little control can be exercised over them, as regards regulating any considerable difference in their influence, in the opposite ends of a single house, so as to meet tbe requirements of tbe two sections of stove plants under consideration— tbe cooler of which in most cases, need a much drier condition of tbe atmospbere, even in the height of tbe growing season, as well as tbe admission of more air than would do well for such as are introduced from tbo hottest, lower- lying regions of tbe tropics. For instance, tbe lovely Rbidagascar btepbanotis floribunda, altbougb a plant that will bear a stron"- heat, can rarely be induced to flower freely when grown in an atmosphere as moist as that required by tbe Ixoras from India or the Brazilian Dipladcnias. In the cultivation of flowering stove plants, one of the most essential matters is a house so constructed and situated as to alford as much light as possible. Without this it is vain to expect anything above mediocrity in the results. This will be seen when it is con- sidered bow comparatively limited is the amount of cold external air that can be given, especially during the early part of tbe growing season, consequent upon its causing too great a reduction in tbe temperature, but still more by its producing too dry a condition of tbe atmospbere consistent with tbe absolute requirements of tbe plants. Their growth, as is well understood by those who have had even limited experience in the cultivation of stove subjects, is very rapid. For this and the preceding reason, unless tbey are grown in a house that will afford them a maximum of light, tbe wood and leaves arc so soft and deficient in substance as to render them incapable of producing flowers either in their wonted quantity, size, or colour, light being tbe great compensating element that in a measure makes up for the deficiency of air m which plant life under such conditions exists. Hence, as I have already said, the stove should be so constructed as to afford an abundance of light, and so placed as to be in no way under the influence of buildings, trees, or walls that will either obstructorabsorb light. This is a matter of vital importance, which cannot be too forcibly impressed upon all who essay the cultivation of these plants. With this view, the stove should always be span- roofed, with upright side lights, so deep as to come down to the level of tbe side stages. In a lean-to, hip-roofed or even balf-span-bouse, the back wall always absorbs so much light as to seriously interfere with the short-jointed, robust growth essential to success. Tbe dimensions of the stove will, of course, be determined by individual requirements. A very useful size for tbe class of plants under notice is 18 feet in width by 3-5 or 40 feet in length ; if it be narrower than this, it does not admit of the best and most economical internal arrangement ; if above the width named, it necessitates the elevation being greater than is consistent wiib an easy main- tenance of the reciuired temperature in severe weather. It should consist of 3 feet of l^rickwork all round, with movable shutters in the sides. Tbe upright side lights should bo 3 feet in depth, and fixed, as the opening of these admits air in direct contact with the plants, than which nothing can be more objectionable or more calculated to check the tender growth. There should be provision made for sufficient roof ventilation' by an an-angement of short lights hinged to tbe ridges, so as to open with lever rods ; this is so much an improvement on the old system of sliding lights that air can be given when required, even in wet weather. It is also infinitely superior to any of the contrivances of shutter ventilation at the ridge, as these always tend to darken the bouse too much. Tbe internal arrangement may, with advantage, consist of 3 feet side stages, over tbe pipes, and on a level with tbe bottom of the side lights. In a house of the above width and elevation, for tbe hottest section of plants there should be five rows — three flows and two returns — of 4-inoh pipes running round the house under tbe side stage. I do not recom- mend any piping under tbe tan-bed, being convmced that there is nothing gained by it. For the cooler stove four rows similarly placed will be enough. In all cases there should be on each side of tbe house three or four P feet lengths of trough piping— that is, hot water pipes with troughs cast on them when made — so that there can be all, or a j^ortion only, as required, filled with water for evaporating to maintain the atmosphere in the moist condition necessary for the plants. AVbero no evaporating troughs exist, and there is no means of keeping up moisture, except by syringing the pipes and sprinkling the floors, there is no possibility of the atmosphere being continuously in tbe requisite condition ; it will be at one time too moist, at another too dry. A path running on each side of tbe house about 3 J feet in width should divide tbe side stages from the centre, which ought to consist of a brick-built pit 3 feet in depth, to be kept filled with tan. Tbe side stages should be m.ide of solid slabs of slate or thin flags, on which can be placed an inch or so of fine gravel, which can be kept damp when required, and will so maintain moisture amongst the plants standing thereon. If these side stages are made of open bars of wood-work, too great heat, arising from the close proximity to the pipes, will affect tbo plants. The distance these stages are from the glass not only adapts them for standing the smallest plants upon, but will admit of moderate- Jan. 8, 1876.] THE GARDEN. 35 sized specimens on them. The largest growing subjects will, of course, occupy the centre ot the house in such an arrange- ment as the above. In some cases, to mal', with an occasional appli- cation of Standeu's manure, liower profusely during the dull months. The delicate pink flowers of this vai-iety, mixed with Ijloasoms of other shades, have a pleasing effect in the conservatory.— W. M. Siicklaitd. 36 THE GARDEN. [Jan-. 8, 187C. I^LJLTE II. NEAV FALSE ACACIAS. (ROniNIA rSEUnO-AC'ACIA.') One o£ the most useful trees ever brouglit to Europe is the common False Acacia, now as well known as it is useful. Of all other trees it is the last to retain fresh green leaves in the streets of London, and it is the only tree that has been found to stand the blazing heat of summer in the streets of Constan- tinople. Old trees of the False Acacia in the jjarks and pleasure gardens of England, as, tor example, at Pains Hill, have a singularly pictures(|ue appearance. It is, however, too well known throughout Europe to render it necessary for us to add to the many writings already published con- cerning it. We desire rather to call attention to the remarkable new varieties of this fine tree now in cultivation. Of these, one of the most remarkable is A. Decaisneana, which we now figure, and which, as will be seen, is quite distinct from the species, as regards the beauty and colour of its flowers. It is a vigorous grower, with rather an open habit. For ordinary planting, perhaps, the best of all is A. Bessoniana, a kind with fine dark foliage, largely grown by 3Ir. Anthony Waterer, at Knaphill. It is a vigorous tree, with a rapid habit of growth. In addition to these, there are the weeping variety, called pendula, and also the weeping-leaved variety, named pendulifolia, both ornamental kinds ; and, also, the large-leaved sort, called monolifera. There is, too, the very remarkable pyramidal variety, named pyramidalis, of which fine specimens may be seen growing by the sides of the flower walk in Kensington Gardens. This has the habit of a Lombardy Poplar, and is not nearly so much planted as it ought to be. Of these Acacias, MM. Simon-Louis, Frei-es, of Metz, have a remarkably fine collection, particulars of which we hope to furnish on some future occasion. THE AMATEUR'S GARDEN. By THOMAS BAINES. Sowing Peas. — In all parts of the country where the soil is not more than ordinarily cold and retentive, and consequently not adapted for producing early vegetables, some Peas should now be Bown. This is necessary even where those sown in November look promising, inasmuch as should they fail a delay in the supply will bo the result. Even whore the ground is naturally dry, it is neces- sary at this early period to sow much shallower than later in the season, for if the seed is covered too deeply it is certain to perish, more or less, should severe and continued frost or much wet set in. The trenches ought not to be made above 2 inches in depth, and over the soil above the Peas put a couple of inches of coal ashes ; this will not only protect the Peas from frost, but will pre- vent slugs from penetrating the ground and eating the young sprouts before they appear on the surface. Mice are also often trouble- some in the case of early sown Peas, doing much mischief, in spite of all attempts at trapping them. As a precautionary measure nothing is more effectual than iinely.chopped common Furze (Gorse) scattered about an inch in depth over the Peas in the trench and immediately in contact with them under the soil ; through this mice will not burrow. For present sowing there is no better Pea than William the First, which should be sown in rows about 3 feet apart. This is certainly the most economical distance, inasmuch as it allows Spinach to be sown between the Peas later in the season. The Po.os ought to be sown much thicker now than in spring, when they are less likely to rot. For this early sowing, if the laud is of a damp character, it should be formed into ridges rnnning cast and west, 18 inches wide at the base and a foot wide in height ; the Peas should be sown on the south side of these about half-way up, and covered as advised in the case of those in trenches. Thus treated the seed lies drier than it otherwise would do. In all eases the ground should be moderately rich, either by sowing after a crop that has been well manured, or by a special application for the Peas. Broad Beans. — Where these are required an early sowing should also now be made ; they succeed best in stiff soil, provided it is not wet ; they are not an exhaustive crop, and consequently do not need very rich ground ; they may, with advantage, follow any other vegetable that has been moderately manured last year. Sow, in double rows, 12 inches apart, the Beans being 6 inches asunder in the rows, with 2 feet spaces intervening. Cover the seed with about 2 inches of soi and an inch or two of ashes. The Early Long Pod is a good Bean for this sowing, and a free cropper. In localities where the land, even when well drained, is cold and late, it is better to defer sowing both Peas and Beans for some weeks yet, as, when the seed lies dormant long for want of sufficient heat in the soil to cause it t j vegetate, it becomes weakened, and, under such conditions, more is lost than is gained by early sowing. Radishes. — A bed of Radishes should now be sown, choosing a warm sunny comer for the purpose. For these the soil should be rich, as their quality is much improved by quick growth. In digging ground for Radishes, break the soil quite fine, and at this season sow moderately thick, as the plants, when necessary, can be thinned out afterwards ; rake the seed evenly in, and then cover with halt au inch of fine soil, such as old potting material or that used last summer in the Cucumber or Melon frames ; over this place a couple of inches of litter, on which put some straight Pea sticks to prevent the straw being blown about. Early Frame or Short Top Radish ia the best for present sowing. Potatoes. — Amateurs who do not even possess a supply of hot manure, or other fermenting materials, wherewith to grow early Potatoes can by a little forethought have them quite a month sooner than they otherwise possibly could, by placing over them a slight in- expensive frame formed of inch-boards, protected overhead by bast or straw mats. A frame of this description 10 or 12 feet long, and 6 feet in breadth, will bring forward a quantity of Potatoes that will be found most acceptable before they come in from the open borders. For planting under such protections, select an early kind, such as Myatt's Ashleaf, JXona's Pride, or Hammersmith Kidney, all of which are both early and good kinds. They should be placed at once in a shallow box, G or y inches in depth, in the bottom of which should be put a couple of inches of fine soil. On this set the Potatoes, sprout end upwards, and fill the box, so as to keep them in position. Then place them under a greenhouse stage, where, if possible, they will get a little warmth ; but where that is not avail- able, place them in a warm room. A mat, or other covering, to exclude light, should be laid over them until they begin to grow ; after which they should have plenty of light to keep the sprouts stout and strong. Thus treated, they will come on quicker than they other, wise would do ; and in order to encourage the sprouting, occasionally sprinkle them with water, so as to make the soil a little damp. Some weeks hence, when the sprouts have got 2 or 3 inches long, they can be planted out. Potatoes, for planting in the open ground, should also be laid singly, where they will get plenty of light ; for, if kept in the dark, the sprouts grow so long and weak that they are certain to get broken off at planting time, an occurrence which weakens them greatly, and retards their coming to maturity by several weeks. Any of the Kidneys just named, together with a few of some early round kinds, such as Kirly Handsworth or Early Oxford, to come in first, relying for the principal supply upon the yet unsurpassed Regents and a few of Paterson's Victoria for the latest after the Regents begin to get soft, will give more satisfaction than growing a host of varieties that have little to recommend them beyond novelty. All the Potatoes intended to be planted cannot be too soon got in, and treated as above advised. By planting early and second early kinds, properly prepared, for the principal supply, not only are the chances of securing sound crops increased, but an advantage is gained in getting the ground cleared for planting with winter vegetables, that will have time to grow to a useful size. Planting Hedges. — If any hedges have yet to be planted, the work should not be longer deferred, as upon its early completion, in a great mea,sure, depends the progress made in growth durino; the ensuing summer. In planting garden hedges, either for shelter or fences, the chief object is to get them up as quickly as possible ; to ensure this, the first thing to be done is, if the land is wet, to put in a drain parallel with, and at a distance of 5 or 6 feet from where the hedge is to stand ; the ground should then be well dug, and plenty of manure added. For a fence nothing is better than Quick Thorn, and for appearance nothing is superior to Holly. If Thorn is used, in selecting the plants, do not be guided by size so much as by au abundance of roots, which can only be had in the case of plants which have been transplanted whilst in the nursery, as often as they require it. Put the plants in double rows, 12 inches asunder, a foot apart in the row, and by no means be induced to follow the barbarous practice of cutting the heads off previous to plant- ing, under the impression that time will thereby be gained. This kind of decapitation has the opposite effect, and that to a serious extent; let them grow for a season, and then head them down. Treated in this manner, at the end of three years they will be double the size of those beheaded before planting. To those who have not had experience in this sort of work it may be necessary to say that this cutting back is to induce the plants to make a bushy close bottom. Where Holly is planted the work should be deferred until April. There is no Supplement to The Carden, Office J7, Southampton Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. THE ROSY LOCUST TREE ROBINIA PSEUDACACIA DECAI3NEANA. JaS. 8, 1876.] THE GARDEN. 37 worse time in the whole year for moving plants of this decription than the present. The distance apart at which Hollies for a hedge dhould be planted depends upon the size of the plants ; when of the ordinary trade size, sold for such purposes, 15 or IS inches will be the right distance asunder in a single row. When a hedge is required tor a screen or for shelter, but not as a fence to turn cattle, there are few plants equal to the oval. leaved Privet, the rapidity of the growth of which in good rich soil is surprising. In five or six years, it well attended to. Privet will, form a perfect hedge 7 or 8 feet in height. It required for dividing a kitchen garden from a pleasure ground or similar purpose, a Hose hedge is both appropriate and has a good effect when in bloom. Any strong-growing, free. flowering variety or, still better, varieties may be used ; they should be on their own x'oots, the ground heavily manured, and planted at once. Indoor Fruit Department. Vines. — Vine eyes should now be put iu, and they should be selected from the firmest looking upon the wood which has been saved. The thickest wood does not always produce the finest canes, and it frequently does not start into growth so freely as that of medium strength. For starting in pots, the eyes require to be made in a different manner from those intended for striking in beds of soil. In the first case the wood should be cut close above the bud, leaving 2 inches below it, the cut being made in a slanting direction about an inch in length, and a small notch should be made on the side of the wood opposite the bud. For placing in beds of soil the slant cut should be made at both ends, as the longest one has been for pot propagation ; the wood should extend an inch and a-balf each way from the bud, and both ends must be made slanting, a sharp knife being used in the operation, or the wood may be injured. Pots of the 4-inch size should be used ; they should be quite clean and thoroughly drained with small crocks, and must be firmly filled with good fibrous loam, and no other ingredient should be used. Kich manure is not favourable to the production of healthy roots, and when used to any extent the soil has a tendency to become sour before root action begins. As each pot is filled a hole should be made in the centre with a dibble sufliiciently large to admit the cutting, which should be pressed in with a little silver sand around it. The whole should then be watered through a fine rose, and allowed to remain on the potting bench, or some similar place until the time arrives for placing them in heat. Those intended for beds of soil cannot be placed there at present, but should be put into a mixture of loam aud sand, and treated in a similar way to those iu pots, when they will form a callus, and root freely after being transferred to their growing quarters. Fines. — As the root soil of recently started Queens should now be damp enough to start the fruit, do not give much more water until it appears. The object of this is to get the fruit on before the plant grows too much, as a rank growth is often unfruitful. As the days lengthen give a little more air on every favourable opportunity to all Pines. Suckers in small pots, which will be re-potted in the course of a few weeks, may have the heat increased 5', and be given a little more water at the root, that they may be in a slightly growing state when they are shifted. — J. Mum. Hardy Fruit. Where summer pruning — that is, disbudding, pinching, or stopping the shoots — is regularly practised, little, if any, winter pruning is required. For established plants of most kinds of fruit summer pruning is the most natural way of inducing fruitfulness, as, by it, growths that would otherwise develop into gross shoots with wood buds only, are, by the check which they thus receive, made to form fruit buds; and, at the same time, the necessity to root.prune is reduced to a minimum. Unfortunately, however, for the full appli- cation of this principle of pruning, there are at that period so many operations claiming attention that time cannot be found to keep pace with the growth of the trees; where, therefore, such was the case last summer, let all pruning required be done forthwith, beginning with Apricots, as these are the earliest to flower. In pruning avoid all unnecessary amputation of large branches, and other injuries to the wood or bark, and remember that nothing is gained by layin" in the shoots too thickly. Planting of every kind of hardy fruit trees should now be completed as soon as circumstances will permit, and the variety to be planted should be well considered. There are now so many good kinds, that it is not worth while to plant uncertain ones. When the ground is hard through frost, and planting is ont of the question, soil for the purpose may be prepared, and wheeled into position, in readiness for use when favourable weather sets in. Stakes may also be cut for newly -planted trees; and any that are rotten, in the case of espalier-trained trees, may be renewed, i.e., when proper espalier fences are not used. Manure may likewise be wheeled ready for mulching purposes. Strawberries should have the first attention in this respect, provided they were not mulched, as has been recommended, in the autumn. Orchard trees and Nuts may also furnish employment in bad weather, the former by clearing them of Lichen and Moss, aud dressing the stem with quicklime or brine; the latter by removing suckers, and regulating the branches. Birds are already becoming troublesome ; and, if not watoh«d, and means of prevention adopted, they will soon relieve Pears, Plums, and Goose- berries of all their fruit buds. — W. Wildsmith, Heckfield. Conservatory. Except for the purpose of expelling damp, very little fire heat will be necessai'y while the weather remains in its present mild state. Should fogs or wet prevail so as to cause a moist state of the atmo. sphere, a little air should be admitted by the ventilators while the fires are going, so that any excess of moisture inside the house may be driven out instead of condensing on the flowers. Any superfluous growth in the roof climbers should be at once cut out, so that all the light possible may be admitted at this dull seasou. Fresh plants should be admitted as others go out of bloom, and occasionally an entire re-arrangement should be effected, so as to give fresh interest. This may sometimes be desirable even while the house is still gay, as plants, seen under the same conditions day after day, soon cease to be as attractive as they were at first. Richardias are exceedingly useful at this season ; and, by introducing a few into heat as occasion requires, a regular succession of their highly esteemed flowers may readily be kept up till quite late in the spring. A few plants of these always produce a very pleasing effect when placed amongst others, so as to allow their stately foliage and flowers to stand promi. nently out. Where sweet-scented flowers are prized. Heliotrope is sure to be in request. Any old plants that were saved in the autumn may be soon had in bloom by subjecting them to a gentle heat of from from 50' to 60^. In doing so they should be kept well up to the glass, so as to enjoy every ray of light, or the flowers will be defective both in colour and form. Mignonette is a special favourite at all seasons, and particularly so just now; a dry atmo- sphere, a temperature of about 45'', with plenty of light and air, will ensure having this in the greatest state of perfection all through the winter. See that it does not become dry at the roots or the under leaves soon turn yellow. On the other hand, it must not be kept too wet, as it is very impatient of excess of moisture and soon dies off. Clear soot water is the best stimulant for this plant, and imparts a healthy deep green tinge to the foliage. Any in bloom or approaching that period of its growth will be greatly benefited by an application of this whenever watering is necessary. In the greenhouse. Azaleas, Acacias, Epacrises, aud other plants subject to thrips or scale should now be looked over, and receive a thorough cleansing. For scale, a solution of Gishurst's or Fowler's insecticide, in the proportion of from 4 to 6 ounces to a gallon of water, will be necessary. Where many plants require the application of this solution, a sufficient quantity should be made, so that the heads of the plants may be immersed, after which they should be laid on their sides to drain, care being taken, at the same time, that none of the solution is allowed to soak into the soil round the collar of the plant. Thrips is the most troublesome insect to Azaleas, and, if allowed to get established, it soon cripples the plants, and renders it difficult to get them into a satisfactory condition afterwards. It is almost useless attempt- ing to reach these by fumigating, as they are securely hidden around the flower buds and under cover of the close-lying leaves that enfold them. Even if it were possible to reach them with tobacco smoke their eggs would be uninjured by its fumes, and these, hatching in the spring, would soon re-stock the plant. This being the case, several dippings in strong tobacco-water will be found the most effectual. A pound of tobacco soaked in 2 gallons of boiling water to which 4 ounces of Gishurst's or Fowler's insecticide has been added, will make a wash sufficiently strong for the purpose. By holding the heads of the plants over a large tub while they are being syringed with the liquid, the greater portion of it will be caught, so that it can be used several times over. In this way a large number of plants can be wetted without much expense being incurred. See that every leaf is reached by the liquid, and then leave the plant to drain, so that it does not run into the soil. Repeat the wetting at the end of a week or so to ensure a thorough cleaning.— J. Shepp.\rd. Stove Ferns. At this season of the year most of the fronds of stove Ferns are in a thoroughly mature state ; and, consequently, in a better condi. tion to withstand the effects of fumigation or the application of any insecticide that may be found necessary to rid them of scale, to which, unfortunately, some of them are rather subject. This is especially the case if any of the varieties happen to be in a higher 38 THE GARDEN. [Jan. 8, 1876. temperature than they require. Thrips generally attacks the broad- leaved varieties, snch as the Neottopteris Nidus, Blechnums, Lonmrias, and others o£ that class; and, if allowed to effect a lodgement, they soon cause a good deal of disfigurement, that cannot be effaced till a fresh growth takes place and admits of the old fronds being removed. Therefore, the whole stock should now be looked closely over to see if any are at all infested by these pests, and, if so, they should at once be fumigated, the same operation being repeated at intervals of a few days till the insects are completely destroyed. Many of the more tender varieties are easily injured by tobacco smoke, and, there, fore, any that are clean and do not require to bo subjected to it, should be removed from the house. Adiantums, perhaps more than any other plants, are most susceptible of injury in this way ; and, as they are rarely attacked by thrips, it is seldom necessary to run any risk by allowing them to remain with the others while fumigation is going on. The turtle or brown scale is the most troublesome insect to which Ferns are liable, and nothing but careful hand-washing with a sponge and suitable brush will be found at all effectual, as any insecticide solution made strong enough to destroy the scale by dipping the plants would, in all probability, kill or injure the fronds. Keep all quiet and resting for some time longer by having the tem- perature within bounds, ranging from 50" to 60°, according to the state of the weather. Very little atmospheric moisture will be sufficient just now, and this may be got by damping the floor and other cold surfaces, but avoid steaming the pipes. Tree Ferns that are getting too high and push their fronds against the roof, or that are too redundant ic growth to bo confined to the spaces allotted to them, may, with safety, have their stems shortened to the desired height, and a portion of their old fronds cut off, which will greatly check any tendency to strong growth for the next year at least. Where it may be found desirable to shorten the stems a few of the old fronds should be removed at the same time ; and, after the trunk is again re-planted, both it and the remaining fronds should be kept well syringed. Should the trunks not have made plenty of roots round their sides, it may be necessary in some cases to bind them up with Moss to induce them to do so. Greenhouse and Half-hardy Ferns. Many of the remarks made with regard to the stove varieties, as to insects, cleaning, fumigating, &c., are applicable to these also. Most of the viviparous varieties will be found to be carrying numbers of minute plants on their fronds. These may now be taken off and placed in pots in a close moist place, where they will soon emit roots, and form fine plants. Woodwardia radicans bears a plant at the end of almost every frond, and although these may not be required for indoor cultivation, the whole should be saved, as it is one of the grandest Ferns it is possible to have for planting in the hardy Fernery, where it stands well with only slight protection. Little remains to be done in the hardy Fernery just at present beyond seeing that a'U of doubtful hardiness have the necessary protection to carry them safely through the winter. This is most readily afforded by a thick layer of fresh fallen leaves, snob as Oak, that will lay and keep well together. An evergreen branch or two, or some dry Fern fronds will ensnre this. Planting, except for the very strong and robust kinds, had better be deferred for the present, and even these may with advantage be left till March. The Hardy Fernery. The site for this should be well sheltered, both from winds and sun. shine. A dell, hill side, or sloping bank, dipping to the north, north, east, or north-west, affords the best situation, and, if overshadowed by deciduous trees, standing at a distance, so that their roots do not intrude and rob the soil of its moisture, the spot will, in every way be favourable to grow any of the hardy Ferns to perfection. Any- thing approaching to rock-work had better be avoided, unless it can be well carried out, as any attempt to imitate Nature, without incur- ring considerable cost, must have a very puerile appearance, and end in utter failure. If rock or stone-work is used at all, it should be in the shape of huge boulders, jutting out here and there, that they may have the appearance of cropping up naturally. Stones piled up are not rock-work, nor in anyway an imitation of it, and, unless for the purpose of burying up, so as to add to tho moisture and help to keep the irregular.shaped mounds or steep banks in position, they had better be left out altogether than be used in an objectionable way. Where a hill side having the proper aspect is not available, large irregular cuttings should be made, and the soil that has to bo thrown out can be used on each side, to give increased height to the banks, which should be as broken and rugged as possible. For the sides to maintain their position, the inclination of the soil must not bo too steep, and any stones buried may be made of use to prevent it slipping. In making the cuttings so as to form the various banks and mounds, they should be made of great width, so as to leave plenty of room to face all over with a good thickness of suitable soil in which to grow the Ferns. Taking into consideration the space required for these to grow and spread their gracefully-arching fronds, and the depth of good soil necessary to grow them to perfection, the width of tho cutting at the base should be at least from 10 to 15 feet. If water is not present, it may bo introduced or brought as near as possible, for without abundant supplies of this during dry weather they will not long maintain that luxuriant growth, or remain in the fresh, healthy condition for which Ferns are so mnch admired. The soil most suit- able for hardy Ferns is a good yellow loam, such as maybe obtained by digging the top spit of any old pasture. To this add a third of good peat, leaf soil, trimmings of banks, or any gatherings of that kind that are rich in vegetable matter. Halls and Corridors. — Select for situations ol this kind any plants of bold type, having thick leatheiy leaves, such as Aralia Sieboldii, Ficus elastica. Aspidistra lurida and its variegated variety. The beautiful silvery green and handsomely cut leaves of the Melianthus major, render that one of the most valuable plants for associating with those mentioned above. Large plants of Echeveria metallica, with their glaucous rigid looking leaves, are very suitable for decorating halls and corridors, as the absence of light, and the dry atmosphere of such situations has but little effect on them, unless kept there an unreasonable time. — S. W. P. Floral Decorations. To those who have stove and greenhouses from which to cull, and to those who have access to Covent Garden Market, and have the means wherewith to purchase what thej' fancy, the following lists will be of little service. There must, however, be very many readers of The Garden who are denied such privileges as these, and who are obliged to leave it to others to select for them, or who have to write out a list of their wishes, which they may often do withotit feeling at all sure that they can have what they propose to ask for. To them it will be serviceable to have the opportunity of referring to the first number in each month of this paper, wherein they will find lists of the principal flowers and coloured fruits which are obtainable during that month for decorative purposes. It is believed that the tisefal- ness of these lists will be much enhanced by classifying the flowers aud fruits according to their colours; so that either contrasts or harmonies may be carried out at pleasure, whether it be for vases, bouquets, head-dresses, or any other application of flowers orna- mentally. It must not be supposed that these lists have any preten- sions to completeness — many rare flowers, such as Orchids, are yearly becoming commoner ; some common flowers, particularly annuals, such as Nemophila, Mignonette, Rhodanthe, &c., are often to be met with at unseasonable periods ; to these no reference is made because a supply of them cannot be depended upon. Notwithstanding these omissions, there will, I think, be found sufficient variety, even in the winter months, to prevent anyone in future from asserting that there is ** nothing to be had." It should not be forgotten that some of the prettiest arrangements are made out of " nothing," i.e., "nothing particular." The following are procurable in January ; — Bhie — H3'acinth and Siberian Squill. Piirjule — lleliotrope. Hyacinth, and Violet. Manre — Ueath and Tulip. Pijii' — Begonia, Bouvardia, Camellia, Carnation, Chinese Primrose, Cyclamen, Epiphyllum, Fuchsia, Heath, Hyacinth, Rose, Tulip, and Zonal Pelargonium (single and double). Crimson — Camellia, Cyclamen, Epiphyllum, Fuchsia, Hyacinth, Poinsettia, and Rose. Scailet — Bouvardia, Carnation, Fuchsia, Tulip, Zonal Pelargonium (single and double), berries of Cotoneaster, Holly, Solanum capsicastrum, and Euphorbia jacquiniaiflora. (Jrange — Carnatiou, Rose, and Tulip. Yelloio — Carnation, Rose, and Tulip. Tr/ii(t' — Andromeda, Azalea, Bouvardia, Camellia, Carnation, Chinese Primrose, Cyclamen, Eucharis, Gardenia, Heath, Hyacinth, Irish Heath, Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Paper-white Narcissus, Roman Hyacinth, and Stephanotis. — W. T. T. Market Gardening. Out-door operations must necessarily depend at this time of the year upon the weather. The main point to be kept in view is to be always ready to take advantage of favourable opportunities, endeavouring, as much as possible, to make work and weather harmonise. Nothing is to be gained by setting men to any kind of work that entails unnecessary exposure and discomfort to them, for the time spent in attempting to beat warmth into the chilled body and benumbed fingers will always be more profitably employed by a good manager. To sot men to suob work :is pruning, nailing, &o., in very cold weather can only result in dissatisfaction to the men Jan. 8, 1876.] THE GARDEN. 39 and loss to the employer; but, with proper managemout, no time need be lost — wet, snowy, or dry frosty weather may all be utilised. Wet days should be provided against by always having indoor work ready for men to go to, and much ot the outside labour may be forwarded under cover ; it makes a vast difference in the amount of work to be done on fine days, when materials of all descriptions are ready to hand, properly prepared for use. Largo stakes, for the support of young fruit trees, of which some are certain to be displaced by the winter storms, and sticks of various sizes should be cut and tied up in bandies, with a pi-oper supply of tar string, twine, wire, &o. The French employ a great quantity of lead wire, which is very convenient to use, being pliable and easily broken between the linger and thumb. Labels of all kinds, both for inserting in the ground and for hanging on trees, should be made and painted, the latter wired, as twine soon rots. If clay is employed for grafting, a portion may be got in and prepared, us it can hardly be too much beaten. Putty should be made, for glass is sure to get broken in covering, and nothing looks more deplorable than rows of frames with shattered panes, which allow the heat to escape and moisture to enter. Seed Potatoes should be frequently looked over ; those who have convenience for laying them out thinly in a dry, light, airy place, have the advantage of not being obliged to plant quite so early. Short, green, spur-like shoots, with the rudimentary roots being formed, and ready to grow as soon as set are best. Kidney Potatoes aro much benefited by this treatment ; there will be no blanks, and they come up much stronger if this system is followed. If covering is required for frames, straw mats should be made, a supply of hand-threshed rye-straw being in readiness ; a good straw-mat will keep out 15^ degrees of frost, is quickly put on and removed, and, with proper care, will last several years. I find that the materials cost about a halfpenny the square foot ; women and boys can make them, and if constructed like the French paillassons, they have an extremely neat appearance. I should like to see them much more extensively employed in this country than they are. A general review of the seed stock should be held, the amount of each kind required calculated as nearly as possible, and where any deficiency occurs the needful supply should be at once laid in. Small seeds should be carefully cleaned, neatly put up, plainly labelled, and all put away carefully, but so as to be found at a moment's notice. Let tools ot all kinds be looked to, and where any repairs are required, they should be done at once. Water-pots should be painted inside with a thin coat of red lead, and the bottoms outside coated with a mixture of tar and pitch or varnish. Take advantage of dry frosty days for carting and wheeling manure, trenching, and digging. Trenching is always better done then than in wet weather, when the top spit oioen becomes trodden into hard lumps. Strawberry plantations that have not been dressed should be forthwith operated upon ; worms and the rain will work the manure well in before the approach of spring. All spare pieces of ground should be thrown np well into ridges, and the larger the lumps the more thoroughly sweetened will it become. Old fruit trees ought to be looked to, the moss cleaned off, old wood cut out, and the younger subjects judiciously thinned. Young plan- tations will also require some supervision, and all kind of pruning should bo finished as soon as possible. Put rubbish of all descrip. tions together to decay, and have old compost heaps turned over in frosty weather. Lettuces and Cauliflowers in frames need constant care and plenty of air, dry ashes or sand being dredged upon the soil to keep down damp. Some boxes of Lettuce may be sown in gentle heat to be afterwards pricked off. This sowing is often found extremely useful. Select the dryest and most sheltered situations for Peas, Beans, and early Radishes, paying especial attention to the covering of the latter during the earlier stages of their growth ; with care, this crop may be made very profitable if a little extra time and labour be expended on it. — John Coknhill, Byfieet. Church Decoration. — Allow me to acknowledge the assistance and benefit which I have derived from Miss Hassard's excellent hints in reference to " Church Decorations at Christmas." One fine old church at Whalley, in Lancashire, has a venerable history ; portions of the present edifice date from the fourteenth and fifteenth cen. turies ; the arches of the nave are in the decorated style ot architec- tare, the under portion of the span being flat. For these we adopted Miss Hassard's suggestions of bands of wood covered with scarlet, and Holly rosettes and red berries placed at equal distances. In the recesses at the base of the chancel windows we put fresh Moss, and, in the centre of each, tins of diffeient designs containing natural flowers and Ferns ; these have been much admired, appearing, as they did, behind the dark Oak stalls of beautiful " perpendicular " work, the latter having been removed fromtheadjoining Abbey when the Conventual Church was destroyed. — M. L. W. THE FRUIT GARDEN. RESTRICTION v. EXTENSION OF FRUIT TREES. On a dry bottom, with a good depth of suitable soil, and favoured as regards shelter, fruit trees of all kinds may be allowed to extend themselves with advantage. There is, and must always be, an evenly maintained balance between root and branches. If the roots are growing in a cold wot soil, its effect is soon seen in the shape of watery unripe wood. On the same principle, anything that checks the growth of the branches, such as attacks of insects, or extreme exposure to cold cutting winds, reacts prejudicially upon the action of the roots. I remember, some years ago, that a very thriving orchard was completely ruined by ciitting down a belt of trees, in order to open up a vista, The cold wind being let in checked growth, chilled and destroyed the blossoms, and, one by one, the trees actually perished, and had to be removed. This may be an extreme case ; but in some districts, shelter is absolutely necessary for the attainment of success in fruit culture. Under favourable circumstances, as to soil, climate, and shelter, the fruit grower's difficulties are reduced to a minimum ; and any cultivator who has spent most of his time under such conditions, and noted the advantages of a natural system of management,, may well be excused if he looks upon all forms of restriction as barbarous. Whilst the cultivator who has been all his life battling with adverse circumstances comes to the conclusion that a system of restriction is the very perfec- tion of fruit culture, errs in the opposite direction. There is, however, no doubt that, under favourable circumstances, very profitable results in the culture of all kinds of fruits have been obtained by allowing the trees full and free development. In the case of Vines, Figs, and other kinds of fruits, I have often noticed the advantages of allowing a healthy, vigorous tree to extend itself, even if, by so doing, it was necessary to remove a weaker neighbour. This, in fact, under the conditions I have named, is only giving effect to an acknowledged law of Nature, which secures the survival of the fittest to fill the place. On the other hand, however, in the case of soils not so favour- able for fruit culture, it has been found necessary to adopt a modified form of restriction by using dwarfing stocks for graft- ing on, by root-pruning, and by a close attention to summer pinching, and I am of opinion that this latter process is deser- ving of far more attention than it generally receives. That it is sometimes carried too far I will not deny ; but it is far oftener too little attended to. In summer pinching, the age and con- dition of the trees should be first considered ; if a vigorous young tree is pinched iu too closely, there will be no fruit, as the back eyes will break into growth, instead of matu- ring blossom buds. To successfully manage fruit trees on the restrictive principle requires more skill and a higher order of intelligence — if 1 may so express it — than when growth is allowed to go on in a more natural manner. The truth is, that under any system of restriction the conditions of growth are more artificial than under other circumstances ; increased care and attention are, therefore, required, in order to maintain au exact balance between roots and branches, without having much recourse to the pruning knife ; keep the wood properly thinned out and pinched back, according to the strength and vigour of the tree, and expose, in fact, every leaf to the influence of sun and air. This will thoroughly mature the buds, lay the foundation of fruitfulness, and, at the same time, make far less demand upon the roots than when multi- tudes of soft shoots are allowed to grow. When fruit trees are allowed to produce quantities of soft, useless wood, useless at least as far as fruit-bearing is concerned, the roots, unable to find the necessary supply of moisture near the surface are compelled to descend to a lower stratum for it, and then, in order to rectify this evil, it becomes necessary to have recourse to root-pruning. If summer pinching could be more sedu- lously attended to there would be less root-pruning required. Ramsey Abbey. E. Hobday. The King Pine-apple. — An old Pine grower (see p. 507, Vol. VIII.) asks for information regarding the old King Pine. In the " Transactions of the Horticultural Society," second series, Vol. I., p. 7, 1 find it described as a smooth.leaved variety with green wavy leaves 40 THE GARDEN. [Jan. 8, 187f3. entirely free from mealiness. This Pino, according to Martin, in his edition of "Miller's Dictionary," was raised from seeds taken oat of a rotten fruit, which came from the West Indies to Mr. Henry Heath, cote. It is a very handsome fruit, of middle size, and generally weighs from 3 lbs. to -1 lbs., but is rather tardy in fruiting. The Pineapple ia a far more variable fruit than is generally imagined, and fifty. two Tarietiee are described as distinct in the volume above cited. — B. GRAPES COLOURING BADLY. " K. K." (see p. 538, A'ol. VIII.) will find that widening his Vine- borders and leaving his tap-roots in the sub-soil will be of little or no benefit to his Vines, and that if they are not worth cultivating properly they are not worth any trouble at all. Your correspondent should procure some good fibrous turf — if of a calcareous character, all the better — first mowing the Grass off close, and if the turf is in a dry state it should be used at once chopped np roughly, and mi.-sed freely ■with refuse brick that has been broken up to the size of ordinary road metal. If oyster shells are obtainable, burn them, and they may then be used instead of bricks. When the material is ready, com- mence at the front of the border, removing all the soil with a fork, to the depth of the border, but taking care to preserve the whole of the roots, except those running into the sub-soil, which should be cut off, as low down as convenient, tying the others against the front of the Vinery, protected with damp litter and mats. Then prepare the site for the bottom of the border, allowing a gradient from the Vinery to the extremity of 1 inch in a foot, and cover the site over with i inches of concrete. A main drain, running parallel with the border at the front and 9 inches below the concrete, should be cat, and, at right .angles across the border lines of 2. inch drain tilesshould beplaced 6 feet apart, filling carefully in between with refuse brick or stone. This will ensure perfect drainage, and carry off heavy rains or the water from overflowing spouts. Cover over the drainage with turf, with the grassy side down, and make up with the chopped turf to the depth of 3 feet close to the A^inery, making solid, and allowing a good incline to the front, to admit of top-dressing, when required. Damaged portions of the roots should be cut off in a slanting direction, spreading out the rest sti-aight, covering them with not more than 3 inches of soil, and the entire surface with 8 inches of fresh litter, laying wooden shutters over this. The border is thus protected from heavy rain and snow, and a gentle heat, produced from the decomposition of the green turf, which is congenial to the well-being of the roots, and prevents the Vines suffering from any check. All manure should be applied on the surface, the rain carrying it down by degrees, the border being thus kept in a sweet and healthy condi- tion, and the Vines in a good bearing state for many years. Waterdale. James Smith. "K. K." (seep. 538, Vol. VIII.) need not e.xpect his Grapes to colour or ripen in perfection, so long as the tap and other roots are in bad Boil. Had the border been rightly constructed at first \yith a layer of concrete at the bottom, the roots would not have got down into harm's way. As it is likely that there will be many roots emitted in the good material close to the surface which has been added, these should not be disturbed, if possible ; but the tap root shonld be got at by digging a hole 2 or 3 feet from the stem, and tunnelling into it, when it should be cut at 2 feet from the surface, for the entire border could not be overhauled without destroy, ing a great many roots, and giving a severe check to the Vines. Black Hamburghs frequently colour badly, from being overcropped ; but, although lacking colour, they are often very sweet. Vines derive very little benefit from oyster shells in any form, and scallop, shells are no better; where the soil is very retentive, they help to keep it open ; but, for this purpose they are no more effectual than small brick-bats or lime scraps. Half-inch bones may be used with greater advantage in Vine border compost than any other kind of material ; half-a-hundredweight of them should be added to every cart-load of soil. j. Ji. NUTS AND NUT CULTURE. To Mr. Webb, of Calcot, we are indebted for several improved varieties of Kuts, called Webb's Prize Cob Filberts, specimens of which we have seen, and know to be excellent. In alittlcpamphlet, published by Mr. Webb, in reference to Nut culture, he says : — Finding the demand for Cob Filberts increasing, in 1855 I planted all the ground I had (10 acres) with them, in the following manner : — I put my trees in squares, 8 feet 3 inches apart, and therefore it took 610 trees to plant an acre; now as my trees wore getting to a good size, I planted Potatoes between them, and had a good crop on the same ground for seven years in succession, and only manured once since the first planting, and over these I have Apple, Pear, and Plum trees, all in bearing order. Now if the 640 trees annually bear Nuts to the value of Is. each, the amount will be i;32 per acre per annum, and if they should produce to the value of lOi. each tree, it would bring in the almost fabulous return of £320 per acre. It is not, however, too much to suppose they will yield even more than that ; and, as a proof of this, I had six people employed for a quarter of a day gathering the Nuts off one tree, and they were all witnesses to the weight, 110 lbs. of Cobs Nuts. Looking, then, at the price obtained in the market — always a sure one — and at the fact that they are certain bearers six years out of seven — I am of opinion that no crop can be planted which will yield so much money per acre. Let any man purchase 20 acres of land (for it should be freehold) at ,£100 per acre, and plant it with Cob Filberts ; in seven years, it will be worth £1,000 a year to rent — to purchase, ten times the original cost. So certain am I of the correctness of this statement, that I have planted all the ground I have with these trees. Another circumstance is that these trees will grow on every soil, so that much of the waste land about Chobham and its neighbourhood would be a very profitable investment to purchase and plant. Some people are afraid of the expense, but they should, I think, also look at the returns, which are more than cent per cent., and the value goes on increasing year after year. If in America, an enterprising man were to get the grant of 1,000 acres, and at once clear and plant it with Cob Filberts, he would find it one of the most remunerative transactions of his life — their transit to this market is easy, and they are not injured from being two or three months in tubs, a circumstance which renders them as easy of carriage by land or sea, as flour. In Wales again, a quantity of waste land might be turned to good account if planted in this way ; many parts also of Ireland and Scotland would be well adapted for such plantations if people could be found who would try ; pay it would and that wonderfully well. The only draw- back is the time you have to wait for the return, but even this is more than compensated for by the other crops grown on the land for the five or six years j'ou have to wait, so that no time is lost. I say again, no investment can prove half so remunerative on almost every soil. I shall be happy to show my plantation to anyone who may wish to see it, and also to give any information I may possess on the subject. The land should, of course, be once dug every year, for the first seven years, and kept clean by hoeing, which will increase the fruitfulness of the plants, as well as their growth. Particulars of Produce. As regards the Cob Filberts, which constitute the foundation of these calculations, they have become a very profitable speculation, and to prove the fact I will now state the result obtained from parts of my plantation, which will be quite sufficient for our present purpose. Early in September we commenced gathering, and from half an acre of ground we had 1,300 lbs. of Cob Filberts, and also upon another three-quarters of an acre 1,700 lbs., besides Apples, Pears, and Potatoes, above and beneath. Let us first look at the value of the produce upon the half-acre where we began, viz. : 1,3UU Iba. Cob Filberts, sold at £7 per lUII lbs . . .t'Jl U 0 40 Bushels Apples 2U U 0 Potatoes 7 10 0 £118 10 0 This return is equivalent to £237 per acre. Again, the 1,700 lbs. on three-quarters of an acre, planted with Cob Filberts, actually sold at £7 per 100 lbs., and some at £7 lOs. Let us, however, say £7 per 100 lbs £liy 0 0 50 Bushels -\pples \ 35 0 0 20 „ Pears . ; J Potatoes 5 0 0 £159 0 0 Add one quarter more for the remaining quarter of an acre . . . • - ■ • . • 3i> 15 0 Return per acre £1PS 15 0 ^ I think, therefore, after many years' experience, that I am justified in anticipating what I have stated, that from £200 to .£300 per acre may be easily realised in growing Cob Filberts and other Nuts of the best quality. I have left off digging between the trees for Potatoes, and now plant thom on the top of the ground and draw the mould over them with a hoe ; after being planted ten years in succession, I think my Cob Filberts will pay quite well enongh without their assistance. _^______^ ^' ^' Three Good Christmas Pears.— The three varieties of Pears in use here now (December S.'ith) ore Passe Colmar, Eyewood, nnd No Plus Meuris, all of which ore most ciccllcut, Ejewood being, perhaps, the richest in flavour. Glou Morceau and Easter Beum' arc fast approaching maturity. These two feast the e.ye as well as the palate.— K. Giibebi, Bvnihlry. Jan. 8, 1876.] THE GARDEN. 41 TREES AND SHRUBS. THE JA.SMINBS. The genns Jasmine or Jesaamine comprises a large number of ever, green, sab.evergreen, and deciduous shrubs, chiefly o£ a soandont habit of growth, natives of the south of Europe, many parts of Asia, and Africa. They are all very ornamental, and well worthy of cultivation for their handsome foliage, and beautiful, exquisitely fragrant flowers. From some of the species, particularly .T. ottioinale, the well-known white Jasmine, a fragrant essential oil, is obtained in suflicient quantity to form an important article of commerce. Of the many known species, a very small proportion are suSiciently hardy for our climate in the open air ; some, indeed, will only thrive in the stove ; while the great majority require to be treated as ordinary greenhouse plants. There are several, however — and these not the least interesting and attractive — which may be classed among the hardiest of our ornamental shrubs; and of such we note the most distinct and desirable. The Shrubby Jasmine (J. fruticans).— This species difl'era from most of its congeners in having a shrubby rather than a scandent habit of growth. It is an evergreen, or in severe winters a sub. evergreen, growing about 10 feet high, indigenous to a wide area in the south of Europe, and introduced to Britain about 1570. The leaves are trifoliate, the leaflets of an obtuse obovate form, arranged on the shoots alternately, and of a bright glossy green colour. The The Naked-flowered .Tasraine (Jasminura nudiflorum). flowers, which, under ordinary circumstances, are produced very abund. antly in June and July, are bright yellow, and borne in peduncles at the points of the branches. In our shrubberies it is a dense irregular bush, with numerous suckers from the root. When these, however, are regularly removed, and the plant is trained to a single stem, it forms a neat symmetrical specimen, well suited for a lawn or prominent position in the shrubbery border. From its liability to suffer damage from severe frosts, this fine plant should be planted in a sheltered situation. In the colder districts it is most commonly planted as a wall. shrub ; and as such it has a pretty effect, rarely losing its leaves in winter, but growing luxuriantly and flowering freely year after year. It thrives best in a deep rich soil, and in a situation open to the sun. The Naked-flowered Jasmine (J. nudiflorum). — This is a distinct and very interesting species, with a trailing habit of growth, the stems from 10 to 12 feet long, slender, very numerous, and much divided into small twiggy branches. It was first introduced in 1844 from the north of China, where it is not only found abundantly in a wild state, but extensively cultivated as a wall and verandah plant. In the warmer parts of China, and when cultivated in this country under glass, it is sab.evergreen, but is invariably deciduous in the open air. The leaves are trifoliate, the leaflets bluntly ovate, small individually, but very numerous, and of a deep glossy green colour. The flowers are large, bright yellow, and borne in great profusion along the sides of the young shoots. In mild seasons this fine shrub begins to develop its showy blossoms so eai'ly as December, occasionally much earlier ; but the usual time is from the beginning till the end of January, the flowers continuing to expand for nearly a month. When in full bloom it is a beautiful object — the grassy green but leafless branches contrasting pleasingly with the Primrose. like blossoms, which are all the more appreciated from their appearing at that dead season, when, ont.of-doors at least, there is an almost entire absence of floral beauty. Since its introduction it has been extensively employed for covering walls, for which its free-growing rambling habit renders it peculiarly adapted ; and being very hardy, it is equally valuable for planting on bowers or trellis screens. It should always have a warm sunny aspect, and prefers a rich deep soil. Of this species a variegated form is in cultivation, and known as aurea variegata. It is a prettry plant, and well worth cultivating for its leaves, which are prominently edged with bright yellow. The Common Jasmine (J. officinale). — This grand old. fashioned plant is said to be indigenous to various countries in the south of Asia, and, according to some authors, has been in cultivation in Britain for nearly 300 years. It is a robust growing sub.evergreen, with numerous slender stems, attaining lengths of from 20 to 30 feet, and frequently making growths of above G feet in a single season. The leaves are bright green, pinnate, with from five to nine ovate sharp-pointed leaflets — the terminal one much longer than the others. The flowers are produced in corymbs at the points of the young shoots from June to August ; they are pure waxy white, and deliciongly scented. Of this well-known and highly valued shrub it is scarcely necessary to say, apart altogether from its beautiful fragrant flowers, which render its presence always acceptable, that it is one of the handsomest and most useful in cultivation for clothing lofty walls, bowers, or verandahs, as it is perfectly hardy, and also grows with the greatest luxuriance in almost every situation and in every variety of garden soil. The flowers are, however, most freely produced when it is planted in a dry soil, and in an aspect fully open to the sun. Among varieties, of which there are several to be met with in collections, the most desirable is aurea variegata, the leaves of which are blotched or margined with bright yellow. It is not nearly so robust in its growth as the parent, and is somewhat susceptible to injury from frost. It is found to succeed, however, in the milder districts on walls, but is more frequently cultivated as a greenhouse climber, and as such it is very effective. The Curled-flowered Jasmine (J. revolutum). — Found wild over a wide area in northern Hindostan and Nepal, chiefly in high mountain valleys, forming a rambling sub-evergreen shrub of from 10 to 20 feet in height. It has been cultivated in British gardens since 1812. The leaves are pinnate, with from five to seven leaflets of a dark glossy green colour. The flowers are bright yellow, very fragrant, and borne in corymbs from the points of the young branches. They begin to expand about the end of May, and continue in more or less perfection till October. It is a remarkably free-growing wall shrub, quite hardy in most localities, and so attractive in foliage and flowers as to render it very desirable for the ornamentation of garden walls, or other buildings where a really handsome shrub is required. In severe winters it frequently casts its leaves entirely, but in most cases a considerable portion of them remain on till the return of the growing season. It succeeds well in any ordinary garden soil if moderately rich, and to secure a plentiful display of bloom, it should always be planted in a warm sunny aspect. Dr. "Wallich's Jasmine (J. Wallichianum) . — This is sometimes called pubigerum, but it is now best known under tbia name, which was applied to it in compliment to Dr. Wallich. Like the preceding, it is found wild in various parts of northern India, whence it was first introduced in 1827. It grows to similar heights as J. revolutum, and otherwise so closely resembles that sort as to justify the suggestion of some writers that it is probably only a variety, and not entitled to be ranked as a distinct species. It is, however, very distinct — the habit of growth being more dense, the shoots more slender, and both flowers and leaves smaller, than those of that species. The leaves are pinnate, with from seven to nine leaf- lets of a dark-green colour. The flowers are bright yellow, and are generally produced very profusely from June till October. Like all the other Jasmines, it is a grand wall plant, quite hardy, and of easy culture in any kind of rich soil, and flowers best in a sunny aspect. — " The Gardener." Cedrela sinensis.— Mr. Ellacombe asks whether Cedrela sinensis and some other north Chinese plants are in cultivation? According- to the "Revue Horticole," Cedrela sinensis is in cultivation in France. It is quite haidy in Paris, where there is a tree, in the Jardin des Plantes, 25 feet high. M. Carritiro at first supposed it to be a new species of Ailautus. and described it uider the name of A. flavescens. Subsequently he identified it with Jussieu's Cedrela sinDnsis.— W. B. H. 42 THE GARDEN. [Jan. 8, 1876. THE KITCHEN GARDEN. LORD CATHCART'S POTATO COMPETITION. The foUowinp; ig Mr. Carruthers' report on the results of the com- petition ot 187 1 for tho society's prizes for Potatoes that should be free from diseae for three years in succession : — The ignorance prevail, ing in regard to the true nature of the plagnewhich for thirty years has been so destructive to our Potato crop was singularly manifested to the judges who undertook the task of adjudicating the prize offered by Lord Cathcart in the autumn of 1872, for the best essay on " The Potato Disease and its Prevention." The ninety-four competition essays were written, with very few exceptions, by practical men — growers of Potatoes — but only a small proportion showed any acquaintance on the part of the authors with the agent which destroyed the Potato. Unable to advise the bestowal of the prize on any of the competitors, the judges, considering the importance of the subject, the renewed attention given to it, and the defects in our knowledge ot the jiarasite causing the disease, resolved to recommend to the Boyal Agricultural Society to take the matter up as a subject of investigation, in the hope that some genuine addition to knowledge might be made, and some practical hints for the future guidance of cultivators might be secured. The society, approving of this recom. mendation, resolved to promote investigations as to the more strictly scientific aspect ot the subject. They entered into correspondence with Professor De Bary, whose important additions to the knowledge and history of the Potato fungus, and whose elaborate memoir of the group to which it belongs, pointed him out as the fittest botanist to undertake this part ot the work. Professor De Bary has cordi. ally entered into the society's plans ; and has now for some time been carrying on experiments and observations with the view of determining those points in the histoi'yof the parasitic fungus which are yet unknown. The society further resolved to look at the subject in its practical bearings, and endeavour to gain facts from the past experience of Potato. growers, and from experiments to be instituted, which might concur with the more purely scientific inves- tigations to a definate apprehension of the Potato disease in all its bearings. A series of questions were accordingly addressed to exten. Bive Potato growers thi-oughout the United Kingdom ; the answers have been digested by Mr. Jenkins, and published in his report on the subject in tho last volume of the Society's Journal. It is there pointed out that in two cases where Potato crops fol- lowed Turnips they had been free from disease; and having suggested that the fungus might pass through different stages of its life on different plants, Mr. Jenkins proposed that observations should be made to discover if any connection existed between the previous cereal or Clover crop and the presence or prevalence ot the disease. Still further, it having been asserted by many that certain varieties ot Potato were free from disease, and this opinion being believed by many cultivators as well as dealers, the society resolved to offer prizes for early and late Potatoes, possessing good cropping, cooking, and keeping qualities, which would continue free from disease for three years, during which time they would be cultivated in different localities, under the direction of the society. It was required that the competitors should forward a ton ot each sort intending to compete in twenty bags containing each 1 cwt. To prevent any but those who had some confidence in their Potato entering as competitors, it was required that the owner ot any sort which should bo attacked by disease during the experiment, should undertake to pay a considerable sum towards the expense incurred in growing his unsuccessful Potato, although this condition was not eventually put in force. Before the end of February, 1871, six varieties of Potatoes had been delivered to the society's agent to compete for the prizes, two being early and four late varieties. They were as follows : Early Potato, No. 1. — Wheeler's Gloucestershire Kidney. — This was raised from seed in tho neighbourhood of Bristol about twelve years ago, but it is not known by whom. Its owners consider the special features which distinguish it to be freedom from disease, earliness, and good size and colour ; it has also a fine flavour, and is a good keeper and an excellent cropper. The competitors are J. C. Wheeler & Son, Gloucester. Early Potato, No. 2. — Carter's Ash-top Flukes. — This was raised from seed by the competitors about five years ago, and is characterised by them as bein early, very productive, a good boiling kind, and remarkably tree from disease. 'The competitors are James Carter, Dnnnett, &. IBeale, London. Late Potato, No. 3. — Carter's Improved Bed-skin Elour-ball. — This was selected by the competitors in 1871 from a variety called Champion of England, raised by Mr. Barkshire, of Beading, and is characterised by its owners as being prolific, white- fleshed, and remarkably free from disease. Tho competitors are James Carter, Dnnnett, & Beale, London. Late Potato, No. 4.— General Grant.— This was raised by Mr. D. Cunningham, ot Athy, Kildare, from a few tubers which he received from America. Its special features, according to the com. petitors, are that the shaws keep green when other varieties are blackened, the tubers are large and well formed, and it is the only late variety which resists disease. Tho competitors are Thomas M'Kenzie i Sons, Dublin. Late Potato, No. 5.— Gleason's Late, or Hundredfold Fluke. — The origin of this Potato is not known, further than that it was imported by a Potato salesman in 1870. The competitors characterise it as having the haulm robust, branching, about 2i feet in length ; stem, ot a reddish tinge ; leaflets, flat-pointed, green, with coloured veins ; (lowers, purple, generally sterile ; tubers, large, generally broad, flat, sometimes irregular in form, as it two or three were joined together ; eyes, few and full ; skin, smooth, very pale, with large bands or patches of rosy-purple ; flesh, white, and rather hard ; it is, though late, a good average cropper. The competitors are James Carter, Dnnnett, &, Beale, London. Late Potato, No. 6.— Peach Blossom. — This Potato was raised by the competitor from tubers received in 1869 from New York. It is characterised as a good prolific Potato, and without disease during the tour years it has been grown in this country. It is not ripe tor use until November or December. The competitor is Baron Middleton, Boisdale House, York. The committee fixed on twenty localities in which to grow these experimental Potatoes, selecting them in districts where Potatoes are extensively cultivated, and securing as far as possible as great a variety ot climate, and method ot cultivation as could be obtained within the United Kingdom. The hearty co-operation of the following gentlemen practically interested in the culture of the Potato in these various districts was obtained. They undertook to grow a cwt. of each ot the six kinds of competing Potatoes. 1. Kenf.—'Hr. Robert Lake, Oakley, Higham, Kochester. 2. Ussex.—M-r. Richard Spencer, Brooklanda, Birchanprer, Bishop's Stortford. 3. Bedfordshire.— ilr. G. J. Cocking, College Farm, Bedford. 4. SlaffordMre.—Ur. John Brawn, Sandhills, Walsall. 6. Lincolnshire. — Mr, J. Algernon Clarke, Long Sutton. 6. Torkshire.—CiLpt. R. S. Best, Moorfields, Goole. 7. Northumterland.—iir. John Angus, Whitefleld, Morpeth. s. East Lothian.— Mr. Samuel D. Shirreff, Saltcoats, Drem. 9. Pf.— Mr. Richard Simpson, Out Rawclille, Sarstang. 15. Cit,i,bffhnid. — Mr. Thomas Gibbons, Bumfoot-on-Esk, Longtown. Itj. .i'lr^hirr. — Mr. Robert Wallace, Braehead, Ayr. 17. Munst,:r. — Mr. A. J. Campbell, Fermoy. is. Counaiighl.-iiT. John Nesbitt, Gartaally, Ballinasloe. 19. Li-iuster.—Mr. J. A. Farrell, Moynalty, Co. Neath. 20. Vhter. — Miss Rose, MuUaj^hmore, Monaghan. These various growers were supplied with instructions as to how the experiment should bo conducted. They were requested to plant the competing Potatoes in adjacent plots in the same field with their own Potato crop, keeping each sort distinct, and submitting all to the same treatment as their ordinary crop. Each cultivator has, in answer to a series of questions, supplied information as to whether his district is open or wooded, and has much hedge. row or other timber on the land ; as to the soil, sub-soil, drainage, and slope of the particular field in which the Potatoes were growing ; as to tho previous cropping of the field ; the kind of Potato forming his general crop ; the processes followed in preparing the land for the Potatoes, including a statement ot the manure emuloyed, the dis- tance at whicli the seed. tubers were planted, and the quantity planted in relation to the space occupied. These different items of information have been brought together in