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FRUIT,
FLOWER, AND KITCHEN
GARDENERS’ COMPANION.
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Front view and ground plan of 2 Palm-house, Hot-house, and Green-house.
THE PRACTICAL
Pon U Foe,
FLOWER AND VEGETABLE
GARDENER’S COMPANION,
WITH A
CALENDAR.
BY
PATRICK NEILL, LL.D., FR.S.E.,
SECRETARY TO THE noth CALEDONIAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Adapted to the United States.
FROM THE FOURTH EDITION.
REVISED AND IMPROVED BY THE AUTHOR,
EDITED BY
G@. EMERSON, M.D.
EDITOR OF JOHNSON’S FARMERS’ ENCYCLOPEDIA.
WITH NOTES AND ADDITIONS,
BY oR.: G:: PARDEE;
AUTHOR oF “MANUAL OF THE STRAWBERRY CULTURE.”
WITH ELEGANT ILLUSTRATIONS.
NEW YORK:
C.M. SAXTON &CO.,,
AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHERS.
1855.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by
C. M. SAXTON & CO.,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Southern District of New York.
~
JOHN J REED,
Stereotyper and Printer,
16 Spruce street,
eS ft te
x
PREFACE
TO THE
AMERICAN EDITION.
‘Tue small but very comprehensive work here presented
to the American public, is the production of one who for
more than thirty years was secretary of the ‘‘ Caledonian
Horticultural Society,” and whe enjoyed every facility for
acquiring the very best information relating to the subjects
upon which he treats. That it has been favorably received
in England and Scotland, would seem very clear from the
fact of its having gone to a fourth edition in a very short
time. The treatise presents, in a condensed form, a sum-
mary view of the condition of horticultural knowledge in
Britain, and especially in Scotland, from whence we derive
the most intelligent and successful gardeners. The superior
skill of these in the management of plants and the culture
of many rare kinds of fruit, is doubtless owing in a great
degree to the extraordinary exertions they have been
accustomed to put forth to secure success in a climate far
less genial to fruits and flowers than that of most parts of
the United States. In endeavoring to adapt this valuable
manual to the condition of things in the United States, it
has been thought best to retain all the original matter,
however apparently irrelevant, since most intelligent per-
Vill PREFACE.
sons can make proper allowances for changes of circum-
stances, and are interested in knowing how many things
ean be accomplished where greater obstacles to success are
presented than they themselves are forced to contend
against. ‘To persons interested in Horticulture and Fruit
culture, residing in the more northern sections of the Union,
and especially the British provinces, where considerable
difficulties are met with from the shortness of summers, and
rigor of winters, a work containing the latest and best
_ information relating to the modes of rendering the natural
sources of heat as efficient as possible, cannot fail to be
acceptable. ‘The same may be said of those who in every
section of our country desire to be able to raise fruits, veg-
etables, and flowers, under protection, and by the most
judicious application of artificial heat, bring these to per-
fection in every month of the year.
Within a very short time the vine culture has met in
the United States with extraordinary success, and the pro-
duction from native grapes of wine rivaling some of the best
kinds derived from the Rhine and Moselle, has occasioned
no little surprise, especially among those who entertained
the prevailing theory that no good wine could be produced
on the eastern portion of a continent. Mr. Longworth of
Cincinnati, the chief among many pioneers, by refuting this
dogma has laid his countrymen under the greatest obliga-
tions, and added a new resource to the already teeming
wealth of the American soil. It is the importance which
we think invests this subject, thathas led us to devote such
particular attention to American grapes and the modes of
culture adopted successfully in the vicinity of Cincinnati,
for much of which information we have been indebted to an
extremely valuable publication made last year by Robert
Buchanan, Esq., of that city.
PREFACE. ix
Any one who has given attention to the subject must
have been struck with the waste of ground devoted in the
United States to the culture of fruit of indifferent charac-
ter. As it is obvious that good varieties occupy no more
space than inferior ones, we have endeavored to aid in their
choice those who set out orchards or cultivate fruit in
any manner, by giving them the decisions of the American
Congress of Fruit-growers, which has held several annual
meetings in New York and elsewhere—a highly respectable
body of intelligent and practical men, meeting annually to
discuss the merits and promote the culture of the best fruits
of allkinds. A few years will demonstrate to the country
the most valuable results from this association of accom-
plished and experienced pomologists.
ab abcde { beste: ‘tine
| F a stave
ae
4
,
——
hai
PREFACE
TO THE
REVISED AMERICAN EDITION.
In the preparation of this Edition for the press by the
publisher, it has been thought desirable to adapt it, in a
still greater degree, to the wants of American Readers.
In order to accomplish this, much new matter, and seve-
ral entirely new articles of especial interest at the present
time, have been-prepared and added to the work.
The standard Fruits of our country which have obtained
the sanction of that intelligent body, the American Con-
gress of Fruit-growers, up to, and including their last meet-
ing, in Boston, in September, 1854, is given in full under
their appropriate heads—
A more select list of reliable fruits has also been pre-
pared and placed after the Calendar, and which is particu-
larly commended to those selecting for the Middle and
Northern States.
In order to make room for all of this, some of the origi-
nal matter of the English Edition has been extracted from
this, but it consisted almost exclusively of comments on
English Apples, and other fruits, unknown or proved value-
less in this country, and the greater part of them have had
xii PREFACE.
their day even in England, and already passed on to their
rejected lists,
This work is preéminently suggestive. The reader will
be surprised at the amount of valuable thought and accu-
rate information herein embodied. We are not acquainted
with any similar work in our country whieh extends over
so wide a range of fruits, vegetables and flowers. True,
many things are referred to briefly and yet distinctly.
The work is quite full and complete on the subject of
Hot and forcing Houses; their construction, heating by
Steam, Hot water, &c.; the cultivation in them of the
Grape, the Peach, Fig, Pine Apple, &c.
The illustrations of the work are worthy of particular
notice on account of their great accuracy and beauty, and
the farmer, the gardener, the fruit-grower, or the amateur,
will find it when carefully studied, a very useful and
acceptable help, and prove worthy of extensive circulation.
New York, 1855.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION, - - 3 a 4
Fruit and KircHen GARDEN in general.
Situation, shelter, water, walls, and wall-bor-
ders, espalier-rails, soils and manures;
Orchard, - - - - -
Fruit GARDEN.
Propagation of Fruit-trees by seed, by layers,
and by grafting, - - - -
Planting and training of Fruit-trees, - -
Culture of different kinds of Hardy Fruits.
Grape-vine, - . - - -
Be ee 8 ne ee
Peach and Nectarine, - - - -
Almond, Apricot, Plum, and Cherry, - -
Pears, early and late, - - ~ -
Apples, dessert and stewing, - - -
Quince, Medlar, Service-tree, Mulberry, Hazel,
Walnut, and Chestnut, - - -
Small Fruits.
Red, White, and Black Currants, - -
Gooseberry, Raspberry, and Blackberry, -
Strawberry, Cranberry, &c., - : -
KITCHEN GARDEN.
Cabbage Tribe: Heading Cabbages, Savoys,
Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Broccoli, -
Leguminous Tribe: Peas, Beans, &c., -
Esculent Roots: Potato, Turnip, and Carrot,
Parsnip, Beet, Radish, &c., - -
PAGE
L529
21-37
37-50
50-54
63-90
90-94.
94-111
111-123
123-136
136-141
141-148
148
149-155
155-167
167-174
175-178
178-195
XiV CONTENTS.
PAGE
Alluaceous Plants : Onions, Leeks, Hops, Shallot,
and Garlic, - - - - 195-203
Spinaceous Plants: Spinach, Tetragonia, Qui-
noa, &c., - - - - - 203-206
Asparaginous Plants: Asparagus, Sea-kale,
Artichoke, and Cardoon, - - - 206-218
Salads, §-c.: Lettuce, Endive, Succory, Celery,
Rhubarb-Stalks, Sweet Herbs, - - 213-222
Melons, Squashes, Pumpkins, ¢¢., - - 222-231
FLoweErR GARDEN in general. ;
Soil, Walks, Edgings, &c., . - 231-243
Ornamental Shrubs, and Rosary, - - 243-249
Showy Herbaceous Plants, - - - 249
Florists’ Flowers : Hyacinth, Tulip, Ranuncu-
lus, Anemone, Carnation, Pink, &c., - 259
Botanical Structures: Green-house, Conserva-
tory, Stove, with Ornamental Plants suited
toeach, - - - - - 282
Cultivation of Tropical Orchidacee, - - 295
Forcine GARDEN, 298
Different kinds of furnaces, - - - 301
Heating by steam, - ~ . - 802
hot water, - - - - 307
Admission of Air and Light, - - - 317
Vinery, - - - - - - 325
Peach-house, - $ = = = 331
Cherry-house, Fig-house, and Orangery, = 336
Pinery, Nursing-Pit, Succession-Pit, and Fruit-
ing-house, - - - > - 34]
Culture of Pine-apples, - - - 357
Melonry, various forms of Pits, - - 362
Cucumbers, Gourds, and Mushrooms, zi 369
CaLenpar of Horticultural Duties in the various
months, - - - - - 377-400
Sextect List oF Fruits, - - . - 400-402
HORTICULTURE.
INTRODUCTION.
Horricu.ture is that branch of rural economy which
consists in the formation and culture of Gardens. Its
results are culinary vegetables, fruits, and flowers. On
one side it is allied to Agriculture, from which, how-
ever, it is distinguished by the nature of its products,
and by the smaller extent and greater complexity of
its operations; on the other side, in its processes of
embellishment, it approaches the department of the
Landscape Gardener and the Forester, from which, how-
ever, it also retires in the comparative minuteness of its
details.
Like other arts, Horticulture borrows its principles
from the general sciences. To Botany it is beholden
for the facts and theories of vegetable physiology; to
Chemistry for assistance in reference to soils, manures,
and artificial heat; and to Meteorology for a knowledge
of many circumstances which very materially affect the
labors of the gardener. With these subjects, the phi-
losophical horticulturist will not fail to make himself
familiar. But itis very desirable that such information
should be extensively diffused among practical men; as
16 INTRODUCTION.
it is only from this quarter that much improvement, in our
present state of knowledge, can be expected. Truth, how-
ever, obliges us to admit that gardening has been most
successfully practiced when treated as an empirical art.
Few of those who are minutely conversant with its numer-
ous manipulations have undergone such an intellectual
training as to enable them to wield general principles with
effect. Many who are not inexpert or unsuccessful while
they follow the routine practice (a practice be it remem-
bered, founded on long experience, and close observation),
egregiously fail when, with imperfect information, or ill-
advised ingenuity, they endeavor to strike out new paths
for themselves. The object of the art, too, limits the ap-
plication of the deductions of science. Its whole business
consists in the imitation of Nature, whose processes may
indeed be, in some measure, originated, as when a seed is
inserted in the ground, or modified, as in the artificial
training of fruit-trees, but which may not be entirely con-
trolled, much less counteracted. The principle of vege-
table life will not endure interference beyond a certain point,
and our theoretical views-should be so directed as to inter-
fere with it as little as possible. Observation and experi,
ment are the grand means by which the art has arrived at
its present state of advancement: at the same time, it is
obvious that an enlarged acquaintance with science will
aid us in imitating the processes of nature, will guide the
hand of experiment, suggest contrivances, and enable us
to guard against error; and, above all, will tend to dispel
those prejudices aineh practitioners in ae empirical arts
are so prone to cherish.
Gardening, Mr. Walpole observes, was probably one of
the first arts which succeeded to that of building houses,
and naturally attended property and individual possession.
INTRODUCTION. LZ
Culinary, and afterwards medicinal herbs, were objects in
request by every head of a family; and it became conven-
ient to have them within reach, without searching for them
in woods, in meadows, or on mountains, as they might be
wanted. Separate inclosures for rearing herbs were soon
found expedient. Fruits were in the same predicament ;
and those most in use, or the cultivation of which required
particular attention, must early have entered into and ex-
tended the domestic inclosure. Such may be deemed the
leading heads of a conjectural history of the art; and, in-
deed, if we would ascend into remote antiquity, we can
have recourse only to conjecture; for although, in the
Sacred Writings, and in the earliest profane authors, allu-
sions to gardens occur, little is told us either of their pro-
ductions or their culture. At the close of the Roman com-
monwealth, the catalogue of fruits had become considerable,
the principles of grafting and pruning were understood and
practiced, and shortly afterwards, even artificial heat seems
to have been partially employed. With the decline of the
empire, horticulture seems also to have declined, or to have
become stationary ; but, at the revival of learning, it arose
from the slumber of the Dark Ages, encumbered, it is true,
by the dreams of the alchymist, the restrictions of unlucky
days, and the imaginary effects of lunar influence. From
these fetters it was ere long emancipated by the diffusion
of knowledge, and it has hitherto kept pace with the gene-
ral improvement of society. Modified by climate and
other circumstances in different countries, its advancement
has been various; but nowhere has it made greater pro-
gress than amongst ourselves. Introduced into England
at an early period, gardening became conspicuous in the
reign of Henry VIII, and his immediate successors, and
met with considerable attention during the reigns of the
18 INTRODUCTION.
Stuarts. In the first half of the eighteenth century, Mil-
ler, Switzer, and others, labored with success in improving
the operations, and unfolding the principles of the art;
and these were succeeded by Abercrombie, Speechly, and
a host of writers, who added greatly to our stores of know-
ledge. In 1805 was established the Horticultural Society
of London, which was followed, in 1809, by the institution
of the Caledonian Horticultural Society at Edinburgh;
and in their train have sprung up a multitude of provin-
cial gardening societies, all of which have given an impulse
to the public mind, and stimulated the exertions of indi-
viduals. Experimental gardens have been formed, in which,
amongst other things, the important task of distinguishing
and classifying the numerous varieties of our hardy fruits
has been zealously prosecuted. The mass of information
now collected is very great, and the labor expended in its
diffusion unwearied. Judging from the literature of the
day, and passing downwards from the sumptuous Transac-
tions of the Metropolitan Society, through the numerous
periodicals, to the penny information for the people, we
shall scarcely find any art, however nationally important,
which receives more attention, or on which the liberality
of the wealthy is more abundantly bestowed. The public
nursery-gardens, too, both at London and elsewhere, es-
tablishments intimately connected with our subject, and
which, in a manufacturing nation, are not the least wonder-
ful amongst the applications of skill and capital, prove the
extent and perfection to which gardening has advanced.
Although, however, there is not, perhaps, in the annals of
invention, a chapter of higher interest than the history of
Horticulture, the limits prescribed to us do not permit us
to enter farther into details: we must, therefore, refer to
_ the late eminent Mr. Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Garden-
INTRODUCTION. 19
img, a work, which, for minuteness of exposition, copious-
ness of illustration, and general accuracy, is perhaps un-
rivaled amongst the didactic treatises of our times.
The objects of culture are so numerous, the operations
so varied, and the materials so copious, that, in presenting
what can claim only the character of a sketch of our sub-
ject, it will be necessary to follow a plan of selection. It
would be unprofitable to describe add the methods of cul-
ture to be found in practice at the present day; we shall
therefore notice such only as are deemed the best.
The subject naturally divides itself into the Fruit, the
Kitchen, and the Flower Garden: but as the first two
generally occupy the same locality, or are intermingled
with each other, and as everything connected with their
formation is inseparably involved, we shall, to some extent,
take them together. Then will follow the Flower Garden;
and, by way of conclusion to the whole, a short Calendar.
i a Mee sa | |
nesiagy
me
ru
Neg a suse’ Sapeeai sehen ia hi pe A. ee
| ect rales wing isk wes! Bah aalauianighi ok TE iy ea
Eayeh Yi Peet ied: Slatcret an yt
sy “ ‘aienlint ipa weal ry, a aaa anh
itn Beer sition satis anigles rhe, gn beaep enh
“oe fina io bid Nea whith igen hieinayhiars
ee a oreetie cis swe aati Read e
a dyl
yl
Le
Fi iy
a ae ty
SN
ri cri ped 8 .
FRUIT AND KITCHEN GARDEN.
In this compartment are cultivated the articles which
are necessary for the supply of the kitchen and the dessert-
table. In England, it is usually enclosed with walls, not
only for the sake of security and general shelter, but to
afford the means of cultivating in that climate the finer
fruits by training the trees close to the walls. In the
United States, little or no protection against cold is neces-
sary, unless it be in the more northern sections. But the
English garden must be furnished with hot-houses, melon-
frames, and similar contrivances, by which the fruits of
warmer climates are subjected to an artificially increased
temperature, and thus brought to maturity.- The size of a
walled garden ought evidently to bear some proportion to
the splendor of the mansion-house of which it is an append-
age, to the extent of the park, and the means of the family.
Where the demand is large, such a garden should not com-
prehend less than from four to six acres. In many places,
this extent will not afford an adequate supply of culinary
vegetables, but some of the bulkier crops, such as peas, po-
tatoes and turnips, may be raised in the orehard, or on the
home farm. From an acre and a half to three acres may
be regarded as forming a respectable middle-sized garden;
but, within the limits already mentioned, it is better, in the
first formation of a garden, to inclose too large than too
small a space.
22 FRUIT AND KITCHEN GARDEN.
The productiveness of such an establishment will depend
chiefly upon the natural fertility of the soil, and the favor-
able kind of situation, but also in a considerable degree
upon the labor bestowed upon the culture. Where a gar-
den is wnderworked (to use a gardener’s phrase), the finer
products must necessarily be scanty, for whatever requires
care requires time; and it not unfrequently happens that a
gardener fails in some crop, not from defect of method or skill,
but because he had not been able to overtake it, or has been
obliged to make his preparations in a hurried and insufii-
cient manner. All circumstances being favorable, a British
garden is perhaps unrivaled in fertility by any cultivated
spot in the world. A copious supply of esculents flows
into the kitchen at all seasons; and after a rich abundance
of fruit has been afforded during summer and autumn, the
winter stores may be easily prolonged till the early forced
fruits come again to the table.
Weshall first treat of the general properties and append-
ages of the Fruit and Kitchen Garden.
Situation.—The position of the garden in relation to
the mansion-house properly belongs to the province of
Landscape-Gardening, as it obviously should be in keeping
with the general features of the park scenery. There
should intervene a lawn, or piece of green sward, of larger
or less dimensions; and great-attention should be paid to
the original formation of such lawn. After the surface of the
ground has been leveled and made fine, some such selection
of grass-seeds as the following (calculated for half an acre)
should be adopted: Lolium perenne tenue, (Slender Rye-
Grass,) 8 lbs.; Trifolium repens, (white Dutch Clover.)
3 lbs.; T. minus, 1 lb.; Cynosurus cristatus, (Orchard
Grass,) 3 \bs.; Festuca duriuscula, (Hard or Smooth Fes-
SITUATION. 23
cwe,) 2 lbs.; F. ovina tenuifolia, (‘Slender Sheep’s Fescue,)
1 lb.; Poa nemoralis sempervirens, (Annual Meadow
Grass,) 2 lbs.; and Anthoxanthum odoratum, (Sweet-
scented Meadow Grass,) 1-2 lb. If the soil be light or
sandy, more of the fescue-grasses may be sown, and 1-2 lb.
of Lotus corniculatus (Common Birds-Foot Clover, or
Trefoil) added. It may, in general, be remarked that, ag a
place of interest to every well-informed proprietor, the gar-
den should be so near to the mansion as to be conveniently
accessible on foot, probably within little more than a quar-
ter of a mile; while it should be so distant as to avoid the
possibility of offence arising from the necessary gardening
operations, and the resort of workmen. A position on one
side of the house is to be preferred, unless a much more
eligible one occur in the rear. Wherever it be placed, it
should be so masked by evergreen shrubs, and by trees, as
not to be visible from the principal lawn, or from the walks
in the shrubbery and flower-garden. If the surface of the
domain be undulated, the garden is almost unavoidably seen
from some point or other, and the cowp-d wil of the in-
closure walls is apt to present the idea of a huge box; an
unpleasant impression, which should by all means be avoid-
ed or lessened by plantations judiciously introduced.
Ground possessing a gentle inclination toward the south
is desirable for a garden. On such a slope effectual drain-
ing is easily accomplished, and the greatest possible benefit
is derived from the sun’s rays. The lower part of the gen-
tle declivity is perhaps to be preferred; but a very low
situation should scarcely be chosen, as the subsoil is apt to
be damp; fogs often brood over such spots, and frosts are
more injurious there than on higher ground. It is benefi-
cial to have an open exposure towards the east and west, so
24 FRUIT AND KITCHEN GARDEN.
that the garden may enjoy the full benefit of the morning
and evening sun.
Shelter is absolutely necessary, particularly in England;
and that afforded by natural objects, such as rising grounds,
is the best. Where this is wanting, its place should be
supplied by masses of forest-trees, disposed at such a dis-
tance, however, as not to shade the wall trees, perhaps not
nearer than 150 feet. The chief purpose of such screens is
to break the force of the winds; and as every situation is,
in this respect, lable to some peculiarities occasioned by
the general structure of the country, or by the reverbera-
tion of aérial currents from adjacent eminences, these pe-
culiarities should be carefully observed and obviated. The
idea that crowded plantations increase the warmth of a
place is often fallacious; and, in the opinion of many, they
do more harm than good, by encouraging blight. The trees
employed may be of a varied character, but lime-tree,
horse-chestnut, beech, sycamore, weeping birch, oak, and
the elm, should prevail. There may also be a proportion
of evergreen trees, such as firs, pines, hollies, and evergreen
oaks. When these masses of wood are planted at the time
the garden is formed, poplars, larches, and other fast-
growing trees, should be thickly intermixed to act as tem-
porary trees or nurses, which are afterwards to be weeded
out, as the permanent trees more slowly advance to matu-
rity. Walls immediately around the garden, and low
hedges intersecting the compartments, are highly useful in
_ preventing radiation during clear nights, which always pro-
duces great additional cold.
A supply of water is equally necessary. Where a
streamlet can be made to flow through the garden, and keep
a central pool constantly full, it will conduce both to utility
and amenity. In many places, such a streamlet cannot be
WATER—APPROACH. 25
commanded; but water may be conducted in pipes from
springs or sources higher than the general level of the
garden, and collected ina tank in the upper part of the in-
closure. Supposing the garden to have a slope to the
south, water might not only be supplied from such tank
for ordinary garden purposes, but might be made to irrigate
different quarters in succession. The late Mr. Knight, of
Downton, was in the practice of irrigating with great
advantage his strawberry beds while in flower, the rows of
celery and of broccoli, and of other crops transplanted
during summer; and particularly the late crops of peas,
the irrigation of which tended to prevent mildew, and to
insure the preduction of healthy green peas during the
month of October. Black Morillon or Burgundy Grape, or Small Black
Cluster, ripens in England against a south wall.
The Black Prince is of easy cultivation, and the berries
are of a pleasant flavor.
The Zante, or Corinth Grape, is often called Zante
Currant. In general it is a shy bearer, and the berries are
small ; but Mr. Gow, gardener at Tulliallan, having ferti-
lized some bunches with the pollen of the Black Hamburgh,
found that they set more freely, and that the berries were
larger and better flavored; a hint worth attending to in
other cases.
The Verdedho has loose bunches, berries of a greenish-
yellow color, small, oval, numerous ; when fully ripe, of a
rich sacharine flavor. It is the principal grape cultivated
in Madeira for making the celebrated wine of that island.
The plant grows vigorously ; and Mr. Knight has observed
of it that the same degree of shade which would render the
greater number of sorts wholly unproductive, scarcely —
affects the fertility of this; a convenient property, which
adapts it for the back wall of a glazed-house. The same
horticulturist mentions another economical property of the
verdelho: it bears plentifully when planted in very small
GRAPE VINE. 67
pots; a few pots of it may therefore be introduced among
green-house plants in early spring; the almost leafless
stems do no injury till the end of May, when some of the
more hardy ornamental plants can be set abroad; and dur-
ing the warm months which follow, when the green-house
is otherwise empty, abundant crops of these small grapes
may be procured.
The Esperione or Turners Early Black, has the
bunches large and shouldered, not unlike those of the
Black Hamburgh. ‘The berries are of a fine dark color,
with a bluish farina or bloom; the pulp adheres to the
skin; and though neither highly flavored nor melting, it is
very pleasant. This grape ripens on the open wall near
London.
The Syrian Grape is remarkable for the extraordinary
size and beauty of its bunches; it is a late variety, and
the berries are sweet and not without flavor when properly
ripened. This is generally regarded as the kind produced
in the valley of Eshcol, a cluster of which was brought to
the camp of Israel, swung on a staff between two of the
spies; not probably on account of its weight, but (as Dr.
Clarke observes) to prevent the berries from being bruised.*
For an ordinary vinery, the following may be recom-
mended.: Black Hamburgh, Red Hamburgh, Black Fron-
tignan, Frankenthal, St. Peter’s, White Frontignan, White
Hamburgh, and White Tokay. For a stove or warm
vinery may be particularized the Black Damascus, which
sets shyly unless aided, Black Raisin, Grizzly Frontignan,
Black Tripoli, Muscat of Alexandria, Canonhall Muscat,
and Syrian. For training against the rafters of a green-
* Bunches of the Syrian Grape have been raised in Syria weighing 40 lbs. ;
but in the grape-houses of Hurope and America they have seldom been
brought to weigh over 10 lbs. to 19 Ibs.
68 FRUIT GARDEN.
house, the Black Prince, Verdelho, Esperione, and Black
Cluster, are perhaps among the best.
The kinds commonly grown against the open wall in
England are the Miller Burgundy, Esperione, White Mus-
cadine, White Sweetwater, Early Black, Grove End, and
Pitmaston White Cluster. In the North of England, and
in the south of Scotland, vines always require hot walls.
Against a hot wall, at Erskine House, on the Clyde, Black
Hamburgh grapes are every year produced equal in size and
' flavor to those of the vinery or hot-house.. In some gardens
an entire wallis dedicated to vines, but, in general, they oc-
cupy only the interstices between other trees. Mr. Williams,
of Pitmaston, trained a vine under the coping of a wall to the
extent of fifty feet, and bent down the shoots at intervals
to fill up the spaces between the fruit-trees, and he found
that the grapes were better the farther they were distant
from the main stem and root. The culture of grapes on a
wall does not differ materially from that practiced in a
moderately worked vinery; we shall therefore defer any
farther observations till we resume the subject in treating
of the forcing department.
Mr. Mearns has, of late, recommended the culture of
grape-vines in flower-pots, by coiling the lower part of the
stems in the pots. When the plants can be subjected to a
pretty high temperature, with bottom heat, some fine
bunches may thus be procured from a very small stove,
without materially interfering with ornamental exotics
kept in the same place.
These are the varieties of grapes which are considered
most deserving of attention in England, where the culture
of the vine is limited to the sheltered garden, and generally
to the Grape-House or Vinery. Such, however, is the
success with which skill can obviate the defects of natural
GRAPE VINE. 69
climate, that fruit of larger size and better flavor is pro-
duced in English graperies than can be found in even the
most highly favored climates where the fruit ripens in the
open air. By the skillful application of artificial heat,
ripe grapes in great perfection are produced in many vin-
eries during every month in the year, in endless succession.
The productiveness of the grape-vine may be increased
to an almost unlimited extent, an example of which is
furnished in the much celebrated Black Hamburgh vine in
the grapery attached to the royal gardens at Hampton
Court, which, ina single season, has produced 2200 bunches
averaging a pound each, making in all nearly a ton.*
Another vine in England, at Valentine in Essex, has pro-
duced 2000 bunches of nearly the same average weight.
It occupies above 147 square yards, whilst that at Hamp-
ton Court is spread over 160 square yards, one of its
branches measuring 114 feet in length. Where the climate
and other circumstances are favorable, the age attained by
grape-vines is almost unlimited. Pliny mentions one 600
years old and still bearing in his time.
Most of those who have attempted the cultivation in the
United States of foreign grapes in the open air have met
with discouraging results. The White Sweetwater and
Black Hamburgh are almost the only varieties which will
give crops in the open air in the Southern States, or in
sheltered situations and gardens in the city of Philadelphia.
Dr. R. T. Underhill, of New York, states that after
having sunk thousands of dollars in attempts to raise the
_ best foreign varieties of grapes in the open air, he has
abandoned the project as visionary, and entirely devoted
* This vine is sometimes called even in books a Red Hamburgh. But
there is, in fact, no such particular variety of grape as the Red Hamburgh,
that so called being strictly the Black Hamburgh imperfectly ripened.
70 FRUIT GARDEN,
his attention to the native kinds. An interesting com
munication from him on this subject may be found in the
Albany Cultwator for January, 1843, in which he says
that in the vicinity of New York, south of the highlands
of the Hudson, he finds that the Isabella grape ripens
quite as well when planted in a level field, protected from
the north and west winds by woods or hedges, as on decliv-
ities. ‘‘ Several of my vineyards,” he observes, “ are thus
located, and, as far as I can perceive, the fruit ripens at
about the same time, and is of the same quality as those
planted on steep side-hills. I think, however, that north
of the highlands, side-hills would be preferable.”
A plan adopted by Mr. William Wilson, of Clermont,
near Philadelphia, to secure his foreign grape-vines, grown
in the open air, against the severe frosts of American win-
ters, is well deserving of attention. The vines are left
their whole length after they get their fall trimming in
October, and in November are let down from their supports,
laid on the ground at full length, fastened down with pins,
and covered lightly with earth. In this state they are left
all winter. In April, as soon as the weather will permit
they are uncovered, and left lymg on the ground ten or
twelve days. About the first of May, they are trained to
their stakes or poles, of the length of ten feet and upwards.
By the middle of June the stakes are entirely covered by
new shoots of the vine, and with plenty of fruit, which
ripens in September. Before adopting this plan, Mr. Wil-
son says his fruit was frequently blasted and mildewed, but
by its aid he has since succeeded in training vines twenty
or thirty feet long, some of which ran up fruit-trees
adjacent, whilst others, after attaining eight or ten feet in
height, were stretched horizontally. He seldom gathered
fruit within three or four feet of the ground, which was
GRAPE-VINE. 71
kept cultivated by frequent hoeing, and during ten years
never applied manure.
The main source of destruction to foreign grape-vines
in the American climate appears to be not so much in the
severity of the winter frosts as in the sudden return of cold
spells. Foreign vines seem to commence the free circula-
tion of their sap earlier than the native kinds, and thus are
exposed to having their circulating juices frozen, to the
certain destruction of the vines.
In England the Vine-culture is limited to the produc-
tion of a costly luxury for the tables of the wealthy. But
in the United States the raising of the grape has for its
object not only a supply of wholesome and delicious fruit
for eating, but for the production of wine. It is, however,
only within the last year or two that the efforts of those
who have devoted attention to wine-making have met with
decided and even brilliant success, and that the Cincinnati
wine-makers have demonstrated the practicability of pro-
ducing an American wine that will bear competition with
some of the best of Hurope.
Among native American grapes yet brought into suc-
cessful cultivation, the Isabella, as has been already stated,
is the most hardy, and may be raised in the open air as far
north as the St. Lawrence. It bears long, tapering
bunches, with few shoulders, the berries being oval, jet-
black, and covered with a fine bloom or white flower. The
skin is thick, the flesh very sweet, though a little pulpy,
with a slight musky flavor. ‘The vine is of a brownish-red
color, and very strong, the leaves being large and three-
lobed, coated underneath with white down. ‘The wine
made from it is sometimes good, resembling light Madeira.
The Catawba bears bunches rather regularly formed,
with a few shoulders. The berries are round and of a cop-
72 FRUIT GARDEN.
pery-red color when ripe. The flesh is pulpy, though rather
juicy, and the taste sweet, with a slight musky flavor. The
leaves much resemble those of the Isabella, having a white
down beneath, but being of a paler green and more re-
flexed. Whilst it is perhaps the best native table-grape, it
stands at present as the unrivaled wine-grape of the United
States. Mr. Longworth, of Cincinnati, has offered $500
reward to any one whe will produce a better native variety.
Several new seedlings of merit have been brought forward,
none of which, however, have proved equal to the original
Catawba. Mr. L. thinks the common Fox grape the parent
of the Catawba. The wine produced from this grape is
described as varying from a clear water-color to straw-color
and pink, with a fine fruity flavor, and slightly musky rich
aroma. By mixing the produce of the new vintage with
that of an old, half and half, a superior sparkling wine is
made, much resembling sparkling Moselle. It also makes
a still wine resembling a dry hock. If Catawba grapes be
thoroughly ripened, no sugar will be required in making
the wine, whilst wine made from the Isabella, resembling a
light Madeira, requires for the proper promotion of its
fermentation the addition of from eighteen to twenty-four
ounces of sugar to each gallon of juice, or ‘ must.”
The Powell Grape, called also the Alexandria, and
Bland—in compliment to Mr. Bland of Alexandria, Va.,who ~
first introduced it—is considered a hybrid, or cross between
the Isabella and B. Hamburgh. It bears short bunches,
having, when of good size, two or three shoulders. The
berries are round and of a pale red color, with pulpy flesh
of a sweetish, sub-acid taste, and a little of the musky or
fox-grape flavor and character. The leaves are a pale
green underneath, and rounder than those of the Isabella
or Catawha.
GRAPE-VINE. ‘a
The Scuppernong of the Southern States enjoys great
celebrity, both for its fruit-and wine-making qualities. In
North Carolina it thrives well, and bears most luxuriantly.
Its origin is doubtful. The berries are very large and
roundish, and grow on separate stems, like cherries. There
are two kinds, called the white and black, from the color
of the fruit. The light-colored are generally preferred.
The Elsenburg is a native of New Jersey, having
small bunches, compact and shouldered. The berries are
small, round, jet black, with a thin skin, no pulp, sweet,
and well-flavored. The wood is slender and very hardy,
the leaves five-lobed and thick.
The Missouri is a native variety described by Mr. Bu-
chanan, of Cincinnati, as bearing bunches loose and of me-
dium size, with berries black, without pulp, having a sweet
and agreeable flavor. He represents it as making an ex-
cellent wine, somewhat resembling Madeira.
The Clinton Grape from Western New York, is early,
hardy, small, black, pulpy, juicy, and of medium flavor.
The White Catawba, a seedling from the Catawba, has
been raised, but it proves far inferior to the parent. It
has bunches ef medium size, and shouldered, berries white,
large, round and pulpy, tasting much like the fox grape.
The Mammoth Catawba is another new seedling, re-
sembling the Catawba in color, but not so well flavored. The
bunches are large, shouldered, the berries very large, round |
pulpy, and in some seasons subject to fall off before ripening.
The Ohio or Cigar-box Grape, has been brought into
notice by Mr. Longworth, of Cincinnati, as a fine table
grape. Its bunches are long, compact, tapering and
shouldered, the berries being small, black, thin-skinned,
sweet, and without pulp. Seeds large. The wood is
strong, but shorter jointed than that of either the Cataw-
4
74 FRUIT GARDEN.
ba or Isabella. This is considered a native American
grape, and bears a strong resemblance to the Elsenberg,
but is by no means so hardy. It makes a dark-red wine
of inferior flavor when new, but improving by age.
Pond’s Seedling is a large, round purple grape, with a
thin skin and rich pungent flavor, well adapted to the
table, and promising to make good wine.
The Herbemont Grape is a small, round, purple, sweet,
juicy grape, without pulp, tender flesh, and makes a fair
wine, common in Ohio.
Norton’s Virginia Seedling bears bunches of medium
size, compact and shouldered, with berries small, purple,
sweet, but with pulp. It makes an inferior wine.
There are still other varieties of native American
grapes enjoying more or less general celebrity. Among
these are the Tasker, and the Schuylkill, which differ but
little from each other.
At the meetings of the National Congress of Fruit-grow-
ers, in 1854, the grapes recommended as of the first quality
and best adapted to culture in the United States, were (an-
der glass) Black Hamburgh, Black Prince, Black Frontig-
nac, Grisly Frontignan, White Frontignan, White Muscat
of Alexandria, and Chasselas de Fontainebleau; and of
native Grapes adapted to the open air, the Isabella and
the Catawba, and the Diana.
The Diana, a seedling from the Catawba, has been
brought forward lately as a native American grape of the
first class.
The Concord, a large, early, pleasant Grape has just
been introduced in the vicinity of Boston, and promises to
be an acquisition, especiaily where the Isabella and Cataw-
ba ripen with difficulty.
The chief aim of those who seek grapes adapted to
GRAPE-VINE, 75
wine-making is to obtain such as at maturity possess sufli-
cient sugar in their juice to render the addition of either
sugar or alcohol unnecessary for the future stages of the
wine.
The Catawba is, according the Cincinnati authorities,
the only grape yet found in the U. S. which fulfils this
great desideratum. Good wine is often made from other
grapes—such for example as the Isabella and Scuppernong
—but both these require the addition of considerable sugar
to produce the requisite degree of fermentation.
The following communication, made by Mr. Longworth
to the Cincinnnati Horticultural society, contains much
highly valuable information relative to the vine culture in
the United States :-—
“T have for thirty years experimented on the foreign
grape, both for the table and for wine. In the acclimation
of plants I do not believe, for the White Sweet Water does
not succeed as well with me as it did thirty years since. I
obtained a large variety of French grapes from Mr. Lou-
bat many years since. They were from the vicinity of Pa-
ris and Bordeaux. From Madeira I obtained six thousand
vines of their best wine grapes. Not one was found worthy
of cultivation in this latitude, and were rooted from the
vineyards. As a last experiment, I imported seven thou-
sand vines from the mountains of Jura, in the vicinity of
Salins, in France. At that point the vine region suddenly
ends, and many vines are there cultivated on the north side
of the mountain, where the ground is covered with snow
the whole winter from three to four feet deep. Nearly all
lived, and embraced about twenty varieties of the most cel-
ebrated wine grapes of France. But after a trial of five
years, all have been thrown away. I also imported sam-
ples of wine made from all the grapes.’ One variety alone,
76 FRUIT GARDEN.
the celebrated Arbois wine, which partakes slightly of
the Champagne character, would compete with our Ca-
tawba.
“If we intend cultivating the grape for wine, we must
rely on our native grapes, and new varieties raised from
their seed. If I could get my lease of life renewed for
twenty or thirty years, I would devote my attention to the
subject, and I would cross our best native varieties with the
best table and wine grapes of Hurope. We live ina great,
age. Discoveries are daily made that confound us, and we
know not where we shall stop. Weare told of experiments
in mesmerism, as wonderful as the grinding-over system
would be; but I fear the discovery will not be brought to
perfection in time to answer my purpose, and I must leave
the subject with the young generation.
“T have heretofore wanted faith in the doctrine of
French horticulturists, that to improve your stock of pears
you must not select the seed of the finest fruit, but of the
natural choke pear. I am half converted to their views.
The Catawba is clgarly derived from the common Fox grape.
In raising from its seed, even white ones are produced, but
I have not seen one equal to the parent plant, and in all
the white down on the under side of the leaf, and the
hairs on the stalk, common to the wild Fox grape, are
abundant.”
The same gentleman, in pointing out the evils of follow-
ing practices in the United States which are highly advan-
tageous in other countries, observes :—
‘“ Tn some parts of Europe, where their summers are cool,
they find it necessary to shorten the leading branches in-
tended to produce the next year’s crop, and thin out the
leaves, and head in the short branches, and fully expose the
fruit to the sun and air to insureitsripening. This method
GRAP\I- VINE. 77
in our hot climate is often highly injurious to the plant and
destructive to the fruit. Ifthe heading-in of the leading
shoots be done early in the season, the fruit buds of the
following year are thrown out. Asan experiment, I one year,
by successive heading, had the fruit of four successive years
on the plant at the same time, and the fall being favorable,
the second crop ripened its fruit. Where the fruit branches
are frequently topped, and the wood becomes ripe, the sap
ceases to flow and the fruit cannot ripen. This is the case
at the vineyard of Mr. Duhme. In our hot climate no
more lateral branches should be taken from the main shoots
intended for next year’s fruit than to give them the neces-
sary length. The fruit branches should be topped when in
blossom beyond the second eye from the last blossom, and
after that allowed to grow without topping. In our cli-
mate, to ripen the fruit a portion of shade is necessary, for
where there is growing young wood there is of course a full
flow of sap to the fruit, without which it shrivels and
drops off.
“This day I visited a German settlement on the Ohio,
commencing about twelve miles above the city and extend-
ing about four miles. The hill commences close to the
river and rises gradually; the usual bottom land being on
the opposite side of the river. The soil is porous, and well
calculated, in my opinion, for the cultivation of the grape,
and nearly the whole of the four miles is occupied by vine-
yards, and there are also some on the top of the hill, Two
of the vineyards belong to Englishmen; the owners of all
the others are Germans.
“ Most of the vineyards in this vicinity (Cincinnati) have
suffered severely from the rot, and some vine-dressers, ex-
pecting in the early part of the season to make from 2000
to 4000 gallons of wine, will not make 100. Yet their
78 FRUIT GARDEN.
vineyards are on the sides and tops of the hills, fully exposed
to the sun and air. But the sub-soil is a stiff clay, reten-
tive of moisture. These localities will, I fear, be always
subject to rot, and yet the vineyards will be found more
profitable than any other crop. ‘To persons having a porous
soil, I would recommend the cultivation of the Herbemont
grape. It isa fine grape both for the table and for wine,
and perfectly hardy. It makes wine of superior quality,
similar to the Spanish Manzanilla, or Mansineella, as it is
generally pronounced. ‘This grape has a soft pulp, and re-
sembles the best foreign table grapes. Lick Run, in our
immediate vicinity, will make one of the most beautiful
rural spots in the world. It will soon be a continuous line
of vineyards. I wish some of our poets would visit it in
May or June, and give it a more beautiful and appropriate
name. They may rack their brains for months, and not
find one worthy of the scene. It is different on Mount Ad-
ams, which is in a double sense in connection with the
heavens—its height and proximity to the great Telescope
of Professor Mitchel. The highest street is called Celes-
tial Street. Commanding as the view is, the name surely
equals it.
“T have just returned from a visit to the vineyard of
Mr. Langdon, on the bottom of the Little Miami, eight
miles above the city, ina sandy soil. That porous soil is
not subject to the rot in grapes is exemplified here. His
misfortune is, in fact, too large a crop of fruit, an unusual
complaint this season. Yet he will have a poor vintage,
arising from two causes, which prevent the fruit from ripen-
ing. The first and least cause is too much fruit, from leay-
ing too much bearing wood, There was more than the
vine could give a supply of sap for, in a favorable season.
The second and great cause is the same as at the vineyard
GRAPE-VINE. 79
of Mr. Duhme. ‘The fruit has no shade, few leaves, and
but little young wood on the fruit branches to carry sap to
the grapes to ripen them. The wood is life, and the circu-
lation of the sap stopped. Not one-fourth of the grapes will
ripen perfect, many of them shrivel and drop, and many of
them scarcely change color. A favorable fall will aid them.
“ T observed in the vineyard of Mr. Langdon that the
Catawba vine is much closer jointed than in our richer
land, where there is a sub-soil of clay; and one of my
German vine-dressers assured me this is always the case.
This would indicate an increased crop, and the change
probably depends on the richness of the soil. An impor-
tant inquiry is, Will the grape in a sandy soil yield an
equal amount of sugar? J wish our vine-dressers to
direct their attention to this subject. In some of our
vineyards, they have both soils, and the question will be
easily decided. The color of the Catawba grape is no cer-
tain evidence of its ripeness and richness. They are often
of unusual dark color this season, yet the juice has one-
eighth less sugar.”
Robert Buchanan, Esq., a highly intelligent and suc-
cessful vine-culturist and wine-maker, of Cincinnati, has
lately favored the public with a short but very compre-
hensive ‘“‘ Treatise on the Cultivation of the Grape im Vine-
yards,” in which he mentions the varieties of grapes chiefly
raised near Cincinnati, the characteristics of the wine made
from them, and modes of culture pursued. This publica-
tion, coming frem one so intelligent and well qualified by
experience in the» vine culture and wine making, will be
found to convey the most oppertune and valuable instruc-
tion to all interested in the subject.
Propagating the Vine by Cuttings and Layers.—Mr.
Buchanan says, that in the vicinity of Cincinnati the most
£0 FRUIT GARDEN.
common way of propagating the vine is by means of cut-
tings, which may be made a foot or more long, with a por-
tion of two year old wood attached. Or they may be
shortened to only one or two buds or eyes. Sometimes,
instead of covering only the lower end of the cutting, and
leaving one or more eyes above the soil, the piece of vine
is all covered under, a practice called cultivating by dayers.
Plants raised from cuttings are generally preferred. These
should be selected a year before they are wanted, and
transferred to very large pots, by which means they will
be made strong rooted and vigorous.
Another mode of raising from layers is to bend down a
vine or shoot into a hole dug about four inches deep, and
cover it up firmly with earth, leaving the growing extrem-
ity outside. In dry weather, occasional waterings will be
necessary. In the month of November, the layer will be
found to have taken sufficient root to admit of being sepa-
rated from the parent vine and planted wherever desired.
It should be cut down so as to show about two eyes above
the ground, only one of which should be allowed to grow
the first year.
Grafting is sometimes resorted to, either on the stock
above ground, or on the main root just below the ground.
This succeeds best when the cion has been kept in a cool
place aitd kept back. Hither whip, tongue, or wedge-graft-
ing may be adopted.
Grafting of the Grape-vine. Te of the newest prac-
tices in horticulture is the grafting of the grape-vine with
detached cions, as introduced by Mr. William Gowans, the ©
judicious gardener at Cadder House, near Glasgow. It
has been found perfectly successful, and very convenient,
by some of the most distinguished practical horticulturists
in Scotland—Mr. Macdonald at Dalkeith, Mr. Smith at
GRAPE-VINE. 81
Hopetoun, and Mr. Shiels at Erskine. It seems proper,
therefore, to describe minutely the mode of performing the
operation.
The distinctive feature of the method is, that it avoids
the usual mode of grafting vines by approach, with all its
inconvenient restraints, and substitutes a simple scheme
of grafting by detached cions. The following are the
directions given by Mr. Gowans himself, which will be
rendered plain by looking at the annexed sketch: “ Select
Fig. 11.
a cion with one eye, and cut it in the form of a wedge.
For a stock, select a shoot 6 of the preceding year, about
the same thickness as the cion, and cut it over a little
above the second eye from the old wood. With a sharp
knife cut it down the centre nearly to the old wood. Out
of the centre, pare with a pen-knife as much as is neces-
sary to make it fit the cuts on the side of the cion. Then
insert the cion @ with its eye opposite to that on the top
of the stock. Tie it up and clay it over in the usual
manner, with this difference, that you cover nearly the ©
whole of the cion with the clay, leaving only small holes
for the eyes. Tie some oe upon the clay, upon
82 FRUIT GARDEN.
which sprinkle a little water occasionally to keep the whole
in a moist state for some time. What is of essential
importance to success in this method is the leaving of the
eye or young shoot on the top of the stock, and allowing
it to grow for ten or fourteen days, when it should be cut
off, leaving only one eye and one leaf to draw sap to the
cion, till it be fairly united to the stock. With regard to
the time of grafting, it will succeed pretty well when the
stocks are about to break into leaf. But there is more
certainty of success when the shoots of the stock have
made four or five eyes of new wood, for by this time the
sap has begun to flow freely, and the danger of bleeding is
overs”
It is evident, that by this mode of grafting vines, many
different kinds of grapes may be tried in the course of
three or four years, even in a very limited vinery, and the
best and most successful retained in cultivation.
A mode of propagating which is thought to produce the
finest plants for fruiting of all others, is that by the single
eye. ‘This is generally done early in February or March,
by cutting the wood of the preceding year’s growth, so as
to have but one eye on each piece, leaving about an inch
of wood on each side of the eye. These sections are to be
planted in pots with suitable mould, one to every pot, and
placed under glass, in either hot or cold frames, or in the
window of a warm room, and carefully watered. By con-
stant repotting and watering with liquid manure, they may
be made to grow ten or twelve feet the first year. One of
the advantages ascribed to vines raised thus from single
eyes, is that of having shorter joints, which renders them >
capable of producing a larger amount of fruit
Planting Out.—When the vines raised in pots or other-
wise are to be transplanted, the months generally preferred
GRAPE-VINE. 83
are October and November in autumn, and in the spring
March and April. In ground properly prepared, a hole
is to be dug about eighteen inches deep, and wide enough
at bottom to allow the roots to spread out to their fullest
extent without binding. Any that appear broken or dis-
eased should be cut off. The side roots should be covered
shallow, and fine earth, or what is far better, rich compost
or vegetable mould added so as.to fill up the hole. Then
pour in three or four gallons of water, after the sinking of
which more earth is to be added, and pressed down gently
with the foot. During the first season’s growth all the
side shoots are to be pruned, so as to leave but two eyes
on each.
In yards and gardens, along walls, fences, or open bor-
ders, low training may be adopted wherever there is sufii-
cient room. Vines may be conducted horizontally, so as
to extend a great distance under the projecting edges or
copings of a wall or close fence, especially where these face
the east. In cities they may be taken up from close and
gloomy yards to the tops of houses, three or four stories
high, and there spread out upon arbors, and exposed to the
influences of the sun and air, so as to be made produce
abundanee of delightful fruit. Or, they may be trained
low like currant bushes, three, four, or more shoots being
allowed to grow eighteen inches or two feet above the
ground to give an annual supply of young bearing-wood.
American fence-rows wouid seem to offer a peculiarly fine
situation for the grape-culture, the posts and rails offering
such admirable means of support. To what great profit
might the immense amount of land be put which is now —
taken up by fences and entirely lost to culture, and this
too without injury to the regular grain crops from shading ?
Intelligent farmers would do well to adopt a course which
-
84 FRUIT GARDEN.
would not only supply their families with abundance of
wholesome fruit, but afford a source of regular profit.
When vines are trained as standards, according to the
practice pursued in Northern France or Germany, the main
stalk or stem is not allowed to be over six or eight inches
high. From this, two or three shoots are trained by being
tied to a stake three or four feet high. These shoots will
produce two or three bunches each, within a foot or eigh-
teen inches of the ground, and they will be succeeded an-
nually by others springing from the crown or top of the
dwarf main stem. In Southern Europe the base or main
stem is often left higher, and its side shoots secured to
poles many feet high.
Pruning.—This is done at two distinct periods; what
is called Summer Pruning consists in pinching off the
shoots having no fruit, or such as are not required for the
succeeding year. ‘The fruit bearing shoots, as well as those
left for succeeding seasons, must also be topped.
The Winter Pruning consists in trimming off all the
wood that has borne, and shortening the new bearing wood
for next year, to three or four eyes in cold situations, and
to six or eight in warmer exposures.
Soi/.—In almost any good deep and dry soil, the grape-
vine will thrive. Where the soil is shallow, very dry and
gravelly, the produce will be less in quantity, but of better
flavor than that raised on rich and deep ground.
Manures for Grape- Vines.—Dr. Liebig refers to in-
stances where vines have been maintained in a productive
condition for twenty to thirty years, by simply returning
to them their leaves and trimmings, the last being eut into
small pieces and dug into the soil by means of a spade or
hoe. Some manures favor the growth of wood and foliage
rather than fruit. High manuring will generally have this
GRAPE-VINE. 85
effect, a rule which is applicable to all other plants or trees,
Hence, the judicious selection and application of manures
are important matters. Ground bones, horn shavings, old
woolen rags, the dust and dirt from paved roads and streets,
perfectly rotted stable manure, poudrette, are some of the
best.
To believe that the vine will continue to bear to all
time, with no other nourishment than it receives from its
own refuse, is inconsistent with the revelations of recent
scientific researches. Organic chemistry shows us what
the fruit extracts from the soil, among which are large pro-
portions of phosphate of lime and potash. A portion of
the last may be restored by the return of the trimmings
and leaves. But ultimately the potash required by the
vine must be exhausted wherever there is not a granitic
soil to furnish it, by the decomposition of its felspar or
mica. As to the phosphate of lime taken away with the
fruit, scarcely any portion of which is returned by the vine-
wood and leaves, this must be supplied to the vine in some
form, or otherwise its productiveness must be very limited.
Management of the Vine under Glass.—The vines may
be planted either on the inside or outside of the grapery,
to correspond with the rafters to which they are to be
trained. When on the outside, a bank of earth is to be
raised over the roots, and the vines brought under the
outer wall through appropriate notches.
Training and Pruning.—The main stems are to be cut
off even with the bottom of the glass, and two shoots al-
lowed to start from it the first season, and if any fruit ap-
pears, one bunch may be allowed to grow on the strongest
shoot. Train the shoots up the rafters as high as they will
go, but do not top them when a third or half way up, as
some have advised. The succeeding winter lay the strong-
86 FRUIT GARDEN.
est shoot within two or three feet of the past season’s
growth, cutting the weakest shoot to within one eye of
the preceding season’s growth. ‘The strongest stem may
have ten or twelve eyes all producing fruit, of which one
bunch may be allowed to each eye. The weakest branch
left without any fruit may be permitted to grow as much
as it will. The second winter cut back the strong shoot
to within two eyes of the old wood, and allow one shoot to
grow from it. One shoot is to be trained without fruit for
next season’s crop. Jour shoots may be finally left on the
vine, one-half of which may be allowed to bear every year,
the other two being cut back for fruiting the following
season. ‘This is commonly termed the Jong cane system,
and is regarded as the most simple and very best method of
pruning followed in the United States.
Pruning consists of winter pruning and summer prun-
wg, operations very different from each other. What is
commonly styled the Spur system of training and pruning
is managed as follows: Allow each stem to extend the
whole height of the house, and if the first year it does not
attain the size of three inches round, it is to be cut back
and allowed another year’s growth. Should it attain more
than three inches in circumference, it must be regarded as
toostrong, and cut down to within about four feet of the
old wood. Young spurs will put out to bear fruit, and
one bunch may be taken from each, the growth of each spur
being stopped two eyes above the bunches. These spurs
are cut back at each winter pruning, so as to leave two or
three eyes on each. These again sending out spurs, one
bunch is to be taken from each, and so continue from year
to year. Never take more than one bunch from a single
eye.
Hoare, in his excellent treatise upon the vine, has re-
GRAPE-VINE. 87
duced to a scale its bearing capacities at certain stages of
its growth. The greatest quantity of grapes which any
vine can mature, in proportion to the circumference of its
stem or base measured three inches above the ground, is as
follows :—
When 3 inches in circumference 5 lbs.
2 1-26 (6 10 «
4 74 & 15 ce
5 ce cc 20 tc
6 iz4 cc 36 «
t cc “ 45 ce
8 74 cc 55 cc
G <4 74 65 (¢4
0 Ce (¢4 15 (74
The Autumnal Pruning or Training should take place
immediately after the falling of the leaves, and the wood
of the year just finished should never be trimmed back to
but one eye, instead of which a long spur of three eyes
must be left, since one or more may be defective. The
surplus eyes can be rubbed off after securing the setting of
the fruit during the earliest stage of its growth the ensuing
season.
In Summer Pruning, every shoot must be stopped two
leaves above the bunch, after which new lateral shoots will
soon be produced. These again must be stopped by pinch-
ing off about every fortnight, to preserve the strength of
the plant for the perfection of the fruit.
High training is generally pursued from observing that
the most vigorous shoots and best fruit are usually found
at the extremities of the branches, especially those situated
highest. It has been observed that native vines seldom or
never throw out bearing shoots before reaching the tops of
trees on which they seek support, when the branches gener-
- ally assume a horizontal direction.
88 FRUIT GARDEN.
By far the most of the foreign grapes raised in the
United States, under glass, are brought forward without
fire-heat; the sun’s rays, when properly taken advantage
of, being sufficient to produce maturity in almost every
variety. The routine of the grape-house culture without
fire-heat is as follows: The vines which had been trimmed,
and perhaps laid down in the beginning of winter, should
be raised up and washed with strong soapsuds, to which
some tobacco decoction may be added. They should have
all the rough bark removed, and cleaned thoroughly, after
which they may be tied up in their proper places. After
they put out, they should be syringed with water about an
hour after sunrise every morning, should the sashes be on
the house. After the fruit has set, the vines may be
syringed every afternoon, the house being previously shut
up, not to be re-opened till the sun has warmed up the air
next day, usually about nine or ten o’clock, at which time
the top sashes may be let down to admit air, and the ther-
mometer not allowed to rise above ninety or one hundred
degrees. When the fruit attains the size of peas, the
syringing is discontinued by some, whilst by others it is
kept up till the grapes begin to change color.
As the season advances, and during the sultry days of |
July and August, mildew is to be looked for, and may be
readily recognized by the yellowish and sickly transpa-
rency of the leaves, which have a soft and greasy feel.
The destruction wrought through mildew is often so rapid
and extensive that where the least signs appear, the most
prompt measures should be taken to check its extension.
Copious syringing with water, twice a day, is recommended
as one of the best remedies, allowing the freest possible
circulation of the air from ten to three o’clock, if the sun
shines. When the disease has made considerable progress,
GRAPE-VINE. 8G
flour of sulphur may be added to the water with which the
syringing is effected. Four gallons of boiling water
may be poured over five pounds of the sulphur, and
after it has been well stirred and allowed to settle, a
gallon of this water may be added to that commonly
made use of in syringing. Never allow cold draughts
of air through open doors, &¢., to pass immediately
among the vines. After stopping syringing, the roots
shonld be watered every week.
Pruning.—Most of the pruning required in summer
may be performed without a knife, the shoots being so ten-
der as to be readily pinched off by the fingers. Select the
shoots which are to be trained for the next year’s crop,
and others necessary for filling the trellis from the bottom.
These shoots should be generally from twelve to fifteen
inches apart. All those between, and having no clusters,
are to be removed; and those left, and having clusters,
are to be shortened so as to leave one joint above the
uppermost cluster. To effect this properly, the vines,
when first showing their fruit, should be gone over every
three or four days till all the shoots have shown their
clusters.
Thinning and spreading.—Those who desire to have
the very largest and best fruit that can be raised from the
vine, must resort to the practice of thinning out a portion,
whilst yet green and about the size of garden peas. This
is done by cutting off with narrow-pointed scissors, from
one-fourth to a third of the berries. The grapes left will
thus have room to swell freely, and though reduced in
numbers, will be the same in weight, as if all had been left
on. The bunches of the large-growing kinds will be pro-
tected from the effects of damp, or mouldiness, by having
their shoulders spread out and suspended to the trellis or
90 FRUIT GARDEN.
branches, by strands of fresh matting. If they appear
crowded before they begin to color, some berries may still
be clipped off, but care must be observed not to touch
them after coloring, for fear of rubbing off some of the
bloom which constitutes so much of their beauty.
Any person having a green-house for the protection of
tender plants and exotics, can, with little or no additional
expense, manage to make it secure him every year a crop of
the finest kinds of foreign grapes. The vines may be planted
outside near the front wall, in the lower part of which open-
ings are to be left in the brick or wood-work, to permit the
vines to be passed or drawn out. As soon as the weather will
admit the plants to be exposed to the open air, the vines may
be passed into the house and attached to the rafters or
other supports, where they are to be trained and treated
according to the rules laid down for their management.
In the fall, the ripe grapes may be taken off, the vines
trimmed, withdrawn from the house, and properly bound
up and secured against the frosts of winter. Meantime,
the hot-house plants are enjoying their appropriate places
of protection.
Much useful information relating to the proper manage-
ment of vines in graperies will be found under the head of
Pruning and Training, when describing the operations
of the forcing garden.
The Fic-Trex (Ficus Carica) is not a great favorite in
Britain, the fresh fruit not being much relished, and the
tables being supplied with a vast abundance of dried figs
imported from the Mediterranean countries. Every good
garden ought, however, to contain a few trees, to furnish
an occasional dish ; and we doubt not that the fresh fruit,
if it were more common and better grown, would be more
5*
FIG-TREE. 91
liked. The foliage of the tree is large and elegant, and
the mode of fructification is curious; the pulpy part, which
we call the fruit, being, in fact, a common receptacle, and
the anthers and stigmata being produced inside. The
nomenclature of figs is still very uncertain, and it is with
some hesitation that we give the following names :
1. Black Ischia. 5. Brown Turkey.
2. Black Genoa. 6. Pregussata,
3. Brunswick or Madonna. 7. Lee’s Perpetual.
4. Brown Ischia or Miller’s chest- 8. Early White.
_ nut fig. 9. Marseilles or Figue Blanche.
Of these the Marseilles, the Early White, Black Ischia,
and Brown Turkey, are the best adapted for forcing; the
others are suitable for walls. Lee’s Perpetual answers
well for either mode of culture; but is not recognized by
Loudon or by Lindley as a distinct variety.
Fig-trees may be propagated by cuttings put into flower-
pots, and placed in a gentle hot-bed. They are, however,
most speedily obtained from layers. The shoots laid down
should be two or three years old; and those when rooted
will form plants ready to bear fruit the first or second
year after planting. Suckers ought never to be used.
In some places in England, fig-trees are planted out as
standards; and in Kent and Sussex, a few small fig orch-
ards exist. In Scotland, a south wall is indispensable,
trained to which, in good situations, and when the trees
are old enough, they bear remarkably well. The best soil
for a fig border is a rich friable loam, on a subsoil not re-
tentive of moisture, or which has been effectually drained.
It is advantageous to have a lofty wall, and the trees
should be planted at considerable distances, perhaps not
nearer than forty feet, to allow them full space to exhaust
their luxuriance.
92 FRUIT GARDEN.
It is of the nature of the fig-tree to produce two sets of
shoots and two crops of fruit in the season. The first
shoots generally show young figs in July and August, but
these in the English climate very seldom ripen. The late
or midsummer shoots likewise put forth fruit-buds, which,
however, do not develop themselves till the following
spring, and then form the only crop of figs on which we can
depend in Britain.
Various modes of training fig-trees have been proposed.
Mr. Lindley recommends the horizontal form. Mr. Knight
carries up a central stem perpendicularly to the top of the
wall, and then radiates the side-branches horizontally and
pendently, in close contact with the wall. Luxuriance of
growth is supposed thus to be checked, and the branches
thrown into a bearing habit. The finest fig-trees which
we have seen in Scotland are trained in the old fan form.
The shoots are laid in, thinly, at full length, and en-
- couraged to extend themselves as fast as possible, precau-
tion, however, being taken to leave no part of the tree bare
of young wood. Much of the pruning is performed in
summer by pinching off unnecessary shoots, and the knife
is seldom employed, except in removing naked branches, or
in cutting back to procure a supply of young wood. Some
cultivators break off the points of the spring shoots, in or-
der to produce laterals, but this must be done at an earlier
period, not later perhaps than midsummer, otherwise the
young shoots will not ripen. The Rev. G. Swayne recom-
mends rubbing off all the young figs which appear in autumn
on shoots of the same year, observing that for every young
fig thus displaced the rudiments of one, or perhaps two
others, are formed before winter, and developed in the fol-
lowing year.*
* Tt is a proverb in fig culture that ‘“‘ the more you prune the less you
crop.””
FIG-TREE. 93
The winter dressing of the fig-tree takes place immedi-
ately after the fall of the leaf. The immature figs which
may remain are removed, irregularities are corrected, and
the shoots nailed neatly to the wall. Various modes of
protecting the branches during winter have been adopted.
At Argenteuil, where figs are cultivated on standards for
the Paris market, the lower branches are bent downwards,
and buried about six inches deep in the soil; while the up-
per branches are tied together, and bound round with straw
and litter. Mr. Swayne mentions that he wraps up the
young shoots with waste paper. Mr. Forsyth recommends
covering wall fig-trees with the spray of laurel or yew, and
then tucking in short grass or moss (hypnum) among the
spray. Mr. Smith, first at Ormiston Hall, and afterwards
at Hopetoun House, has found (Cal. Hort. Soc. Mem.,
vol. il.) a covering of spruce-fir branches to be very effec-
tual. The branches are so placed as to overlap each other,
and to form a layer nearly equally thick on every part of
the tree. The foliage of the spruce branches remains green
till March, and as the light and heat increase, the dried
leaves gradually fall off, and admit air and sun to the fig
branches below.
Mr. Monk (Lond. Hort. Trans., vol. v.) states that the
same fig-tree seldom produces fruit containing both perfect
stamens and pistils, and conjectures that this is the cause
of the fruit being so often prematurely shed. Caprifica-
tion, or assisting the fructifying and maturation of figs,
has often been sneered at; but here we see reason in that
kind of it which consisted in hanging or shaking the
branches of the wild fig (caprificws) over the soe tree
at the time when both were in blossom.
“There is something very singular in the fructification
of the fig; it has no visible flower, for the fruit arises im-
94 FRUIT GARDEN.
mediately from the joints of the tree, in the form of little
buds, with a perforation at the end, but not opening or
showing anything like petals or the ordinary parts of frue-
tification. As the fig enlarges, the flower comes to maturity
in concealment, and in eastern countries the fruit is im-
proved by a singular operation called caprification. This
is performed by suspending by threads, above the cultivated
figs, branches of the wild fig, which are full of a species of
cynips. When the insect has become winged, it quits the
wild fig and penetrates the cultivated ones, for the purpose
of laying its eggs; and thus it appears both to insure the
fructification by dispersing the pollen, and afterwards to
hasten the ripening by puncturing the pulp and causing a
change of the nutritious juices. In France this operation
is imitated by inserting straws dipped in olive-oil.”— Lad.
of Ent. Knowledge.
The Peacu (Amygdalus Persica) is a stone-fruit of
oriental origin, said to have been brought from Persia by
the Romans about the beginning of the empire; but the
precise period of its introduction into our British gardens,
of which it has long been the pride and ornament, is not
well ascertained. There are two principal varieties: the
Peach, properly so called, with a downy skin; and the
Nectarine, with a smooth skin. These, following the
authority of Linnzeus, we consider as one species; and as
their culture is precisely the same, we shall speak of them
as distinct only when referring to their sub-varieties. Hach
of these varieties is again divided by gardeners into free-
stones or péches, and clingstones or pavies, according as
the stone parts freely from the pulp or adheres to it. We
shall here treat chiefly of the freestones, as being most
hardy and fittest for the open wall in Britain.
THE PEACH. 95
Mr. George Lindley, whose arrangement is the best that
has hitherto been published, enumerates 60 kinds of
peaches and 28 of nectarines. In the Horticultural
Society’s Catalogue the names of 183 peaches, and of 65
nectarines, are recorded. We doubt not but that in
America, where the trees are commonly raised from kernels,
and grown as standards, endless varieties and sub-varieties
might be collected. To enumerate even the limited number
existing in Britain would far exceed our limits; we shall,
therefore, notice only a few of those which are most distinct
and best adapted to the English climate.
PEACHES.
Red Nutmeg, or Avant rouge of the French.—This is
one of the earliest peaches, ripening in England about the
beginning of August. The fruit small; color pale yellow
towards the wall, bright vermillion next the sun; pulp
white, but red at the core; the juice rich and musky. The
tree is an abundant bearer.
Grosse Mignonne, L. Hort. Cat., or Neil’s Early Pur-
ple.—Fruit large; skin pale yellow, and deep purple next
the sun; flesh melting; juice plentiful, and of delicious
flavor. The tree is a good bearer, and forces well, but the
fruit does not bear carriage. It ripens in the end of Au-
gust and beginning of September.
Madeleine de Courson; Red Magdalen of Miller.—
Blossoms large; fruit rather below the middle size; color
yellowish-white next the wall, beautiful red next the sun;
flesh white, with very little red at the stone; juice rich and
vinous. ‘Tree a good bearer; fruit ripening about the be-
ginning of September. “An excellent peach,” says Mr.
Lindley, “and ought to be found in every collection.”
- 96 FRUIT GARDEN.
Royal George.—This is a well-known peach, much eul-
tivated. By nurserymen it is often given out under the
name of Red Magdalen; but the blossoms are small, while
those of the Magdalen are large. Against a good wall the
fruit often ripens in the beginning of September, and even
in indifferent seasons by the middle of that month. Fruit
large, purplish-red next the sun, whitish where shaded ;
flesh white, varied with red next the stone, which is free;
melting, rich, with an abundant sugary juice. It is also
one of the best kinds for a peach-house, fruiting freely,
and ripening well. The foliage is however, rather subject
to mildew.
Noblesse.—This has long and deservedly been a favorite
in our gardens. It is a very large fruit; the skin pale, red
when ripe; the flesh juicy and rich. The tree is a good
bearer, and the fruit ripens in September.
Late Admirable, or La Royale.—Fruit large; skin pale
green next the wall, pale red on the sunny side ; flesh green-
ish white, red at the stone; juice abundant, and, when well
ripened, of a high flavor. ‘One of the very best late
peaches,” says Mr. Thompson, “ and ought to be in every
collection.” It is very proper for the peach-house, to suc-
ceed the earlier sorts.
Nearly allied to the preceding is the Teton de Venus, a
beautiful fruit, but requiring a warm situation. In a good
season it ripens at the end of September ; is saccharine, and
at the same time of fine flavor.
George the Fourth. LL. Hort. Cat. 65; American Or-
chardist, 223.—-This is a fine large peach of American ori-
gin; bears forcing well, and is a semi-clingstone. It
requires a flued wall in England.
Among other exéellent peaches may be mentioned:
Freestones, Chancellor, Knight’s Early, Downton Karly,
THE PEACH, O7
Malta or Belle de Paris, Royal Charlotte, and William’s
Karly Purple; Clingstones, Catharine, Heath, and Old
Newington.
The following accovnt of the modes of cultivating the
peach in England, whilst it shows the impediments opposed
by nature to the development of this fruit in that climate,
may prove useful to those who reside in the more northern
United States and British Colonies where the climate is
unfavorable to the perfection of this delicious fruit in the
open air.* In all the Southern and Middle States the
peach-tree flourishes in the open air, and planted in orchards,
attains some fifteen or twenty feet in height. - The position
where the peach is found perhaps in the greatest perfection
is about the latitude of Baltimore and Washington. In
the State of Delaware, south of Philadelphia, thousands
of acres are covered with peach-trees, affording the greatest
abundance of fruit in the highest perfection. Baskets,
holding about three pecks, are commonly sold at twenty-
five to fifty cents. The varieties of this fruit known in
the United States are very numerous, and every year
increasing.
Propagation.—The facility with which this is effected in
the United States may be judged of by the fact, that vigor-
ous budded trees from four to seven feet in height can be
obtained at the nurseries at from three to five dollars per
hundred. The first step is to plant the pits in November,
in some rich, light, or sandy soil, covering them about three
inches deep. “They may be placed in rows four feet apart,
and six or eight inches from each other. Or, the pits may
be deposited during the autumn, in moist sand or light
* The management required for obtaining the peach at extraordinary
seasons will be found laid down i the description of operations connected
with forcing im *
ca)
98 FRUIT GARDEN.
mould, and there left to form sprouts, which are taken from
the stones and planted in rows. After the first summer’s
growth, they are budded in August and September. Early
the succeeding spring, those in which the operation has suc-
ceeded have the old wood cut down close above the new
bud, which will shoot up in the course of the season, from
three to nine feet high, with numerous side-branches. In
some of the Western States, we are informed, it is com-
mon to plant the stones in November, and bud the growth
the following June, head down in July, and thus secure a
growth of four or six feet within one year from the planting
of the stone. When budding is performed on the plum
stock, they will, it is said, live for half a century, and be
free from the attacks of the worm, which is so apt to de-
stroy the tree by its excavations into the bark immediately
below the crown of the root. In poor, sandy soils, or
gravelly subsoils, the tree is very short-lived, seldom bear-
ing more than one or two crops before becoming sickly, and
dying with what is commonly called the yellows. A light
clay loam is the most favorable soil for the peach-tree, and
this must be kept rich, or otherwise the trees will soon ex-
haust the fertility of the ground, and perish from the yed-
lows. Although a clay subsoil, retentive of moisture, is so
congenial to the peach-tree, a little excess of moisture is
very prejudicial. A happy medium, neither too dry nor
too moist, is the great desideratum.
Planting Out.—The ground intended for peach orchards
should be ploughed as deeply as possible, and made fine by
subsequent harrowing. If well manured the previous year,
all the better. The trees, which should be one year old,
counting from the budding, are to be placed not nearer
than twenty feet apart, which makes one hundred and eight
to the acre: on strong land, where they would attain to
THE PEACH. 99
still greater size, they should be at least twenty-four feet
apart. Cultivate in corn or potatoes, the first two seasons,
after which the trees will begin to bear, and generally make
sufficient growth to require all the ground for themselves.
This ground should be ploughed and harrowed every sea-
son, and the trees hoed around, to break up all sward.
Pruning.—In general, very little pruning is done to
peach-trees in the United States, which is strongly con-
trasted with the elaborate treatment they receive from
Kuropean fruit culturists. One of the main objects in
trimming is to thin out the branches, so as to throw them
open and allow the sun to penetrate to every part of the
tree. This greatly improves the fruit in flavor and color,
and thus secures its better sale. Those who have but a
few trees to manage may adopt modes of winter and sum-
mer trimming, which will prove of very great advantage to
the fruit. The young wood should be kept thin, and every
new growth shortened by fall or winter pruning. In this
way, the beauty, vigor, and productiveness of the tree may
be greatly improved.
The National Convention of Fruit-growers to 1854
have adopted the following list of peaches as of the first
quality :—
Gross Mignonne, Cooledge’s Favorite,
George IV., or Early York, with Bergin’s Yellow,
serrated leaves, Crawford’s Late,
Large Early York, And for particular localities,
Morris White, Heath Cling.
Oldmixon Freestone,
To this list the same body added,
Belle de Vitry Admirable,
Crawford’s Early Malocaton, Late Admirable,
Early Tillotson, President,
100 FRUIT GARDEN.
Red Rareripe, Noblesse,
Lemon Cling, Royal George,
Madeleine de Courson, Tippecanoe,
Malta, Incomparable Admirable,
Rareripe,
Enemies of the Peach-Tree.—The chief of these in the
United States are, first, the Yel/ows, to which we have re-
ferred, and ascribed to some uncongeniality of soil to the tree,
as well as to exhaustion, where there is not sufficient fertil-
ity; and, secondly, the peach-worm which excavates the bark,
so as often to girdle the tree immediately below the crown
of the root. Its presence may always be known by a mass
of gum, which exudes from the wounds, and a portion of
which pushes itself a little above the surface of the ground.
The worm, which is of a yellowish-white color, grows to
the size of an inch in length, is very voracious, and the
product of a four-winged long-shaped fly, with dark steel-
blue wings, and yellow bands about the body, It is a
species of Adgeria, called by Say, who has described it,
exigtosa, or the destructive, and its eggs are deposited
during the summer upon the outer surface of the tree, near
the root. As soon as these hatch, the minute maggot-like
larva penetrate the bark, and begin their work of destruc-
tion, which increases with their size. They live in this
way about a year, when they cut out and enter their
chrysalis state, between the tree and the earth, covered
with the gum which bulges out from the base of the tree.
After lying here a little while, they come forth in a new
form of winged insects, and are soon busy in depositing a
new crop of eggs for the production of more extensive
destruction. A particular description of this insect and
its habits may be found in the Farmers’ and Planters’
Encyclopedia, under the head “ Peach.” Putting a quart
PEACH AND NECTARINE. 101
or more of unleached ashes around the crown of the root
in the month of April is recommended as a good destroyer
of the peach worm.
mentioned the Pansy (Viola tricolor), the Dwarf Bell-
flower (Campanula pumila), the Cowslip, Polyanthus,
Auricula, Hepatica, Veronica fruticulosa, Calluna vulgaris
fl. pleno, Erica carnea, and Strawberry plants, particularly
the Bush Alpines. Edgings may also be formed of spars
of wood, narrow pieces of sandstone flag, or even of slight
bars of cast-iron. In shrubberies and large flower-plots,
verges of grass-turf, about a foot in breadth, make a very
handsome border to walks. These should not be allowed
to rise high above the gravel: an inch and a half may be
assigned as the limit they should not exceed. The grass
is kept short by repeated mowings, and the edges are de-
fined by clipping with shears, or cutting with a paring-iron.
Shrubs.—Much of the beauty of the pleasure garden
depends upon the proper selection and disposition of orna-
mental trees and shrubs; and it is to be regretted that this
department of the art has often been greatly neglected.
In many English gardens we still find only a few ever-
greens, and a parcel of rugged deciduous species, intro-
duced probably before the age of Miller. No wonder,
therefore, that we sometimes hear complaints of the in-
sipid appearance of the shrubbery. Nevertheless, shrubs
are highly elegant in themselves, and they afford a most
efficient means of diversifying garden scenery. Of the
many beautiful species now to be had in Britain, and
- affording the materials of exquisite decoration, we can
mention only a few. For extensive lists and for much
general information, we may once more refer to the work of
the late Mr. Loudon, a new and improved edition of which
has been published by his talented widow, well known in
the literary world for her varied writings, and especially
for her popular treatises on Botany and Floriculture.
244 FLOWER GARDEN.
Of Evergreens, besides the Common Laurel (Prunus
Laurocerasus) and the Portugal Laurel (P. Lusitanica),
we have noticed the American Arborvitz (Thuja occiden-
talis), as adapted to large masses of shrubs; and the
Chinese Arborvite (T. orientalis), whose size and mode of
growth fit it for smaller compartments. The different
varieties of Rhamnus Alaternus, and the species of Phil-
lyrea and Juniperus, have long and deservedly been favorite
evergreens. The Sweet Bay (Laurus nobilis), in favorable
situations, rises Into a handsome shrub or low tree, and
may convey to the student of the classics an idea of the
Delphic laurel. The Strawberry tree (Arbutus Unedo), a
native of Ireland as well as of the south of Europe, will
always find a place as one of the most elegant of plants,
equally beautiful as regards foliage, flower, and fruit; nor
should its compatriot, the Irish Yew, ascending like the
pillared cypress, be forgotten. The Cypress itself, though
rather a denizen of the park, may be sparingly introduced.
The Laurustinus (Viburnum Tinus), with blossoms ap-
proaching the snowin whiteness, enlivens the winter season,
when little else is in flower in the shrubbery. The Swedish
and Irish Junipers deserve a place. Different species of
Daphne will not be forgotten; it may be sufficient to
enumerate pontica, collina, Cneorum, and hybrida. Several
species of Berberis deserve places; in particular, B. aqui-
folia, glumacea, dulcis, and repens, which are not only
elegant but very hardy. For a long time, the seasons re-
commended for the planting of evergreens were either the
spring or the autumn; but experience (as fully shown by
Mr. William M’Nab in his Treatise on the subject) has
proved that the eznzer is the safest and most appropriate
period of the year. The fragrant jasmine (Jasminum
officinale) ought not to be forgotten. It is admirably
SHRUBS. 245
adapted for covering a wall or a trellis, and if care be
taken not to prune away too many of the young shoots, it
will afford its blossoms abundantly. It may also, by cut-
ting in, be trained up as a small standard shrub, or it may
be trimmed to a single stem and head, potted, and placed
in the green-house. As extremely low evergreens, we may
mention Gualtheria procumbens and Shallon, Polygala
Chamzbuxus, and Astragalus Tragacantha; but these
would probably be better placed among what are popularly
called American plants. Of the more tender evergreens,
we should name the Andrachne (Arbutus Andrachne), a
beautiful shrub, but liable to be injured by severe frosts;
and the pittosporum Tobira of Japan, with glossy foliage
and fragrant flowers. The Broad-leaved Myrtle (Myrtus
Romana), in warm places, and with the aid of a covering
in the depth of winter, may be made to clothe the wall
with its brilliant verdure for eight months in the year, and
with its white flowers for some weeks in the end of sunimer.
Treated in the same way, the noble Magnolia grandiflora
(particularly the Exmouth variety) will yield its large and
fragrant blossoms. Ancuba Japonica and Buxus Balearica
are handsome shrubs, of a somewhat stronger constitution;
the former is very ornamental in dull shady places, where
no other shrub will grow, and it withstands severe frost,
which destroys laurustinus. The beautiful tribes of Cistus
and Helianthemum, some of which are quite hardy, are well
adapted for adorning sloping banks. _
Amongst the shrubs that require a peaty soil, or at least
a damp and shady situation, the splendid genus Rhodo-
dendron holds the principal place. Of the larger species
may be mentioned R. Ponticum, Catawbiense, and Maxim-
um, with their numerous hybrid varieties. In early spring,
R. Dauricum and atrovirens expand their blossoms among
246 FLOWER GARDEN.
the first of flowering shrubs. Nor should we overlook
punctatum, ferrugineum, and Chamecistus, of humbler
growth, but not inferior in beauty. With these the closely
cognate genus of Azalea, with its multitudinous species and
varieties, disputes the palm of elegance. The pale and
drooping Andromedas are scarcely of inferior interest.
The hardy Heaths, particularly Erica carnea, tetralix,
and stricta, Menziezia polifolia and ccerulea, and the Can-
adian Rhodora, combine to bring up the rear of this de-
partment of Flora’s train.
The deciduous flowering shrubs are too much neglected
in many gardens. They are seldom well managed, either
in point of arrangement or of pruning, for the production
of picturesque effect. Very often they are huddled to-
gether promiscuously, and grow up into the shape of huge
sheaves of rushes. With judicious management, there are
no finer objects in the vegetable kingdom than the common
Lilac (Syringa vulgaris), or the hybrid Varin (S. Rathom-
agensis), or even the old Gueldres-Rose (Viburnum Opu-
lus), with “her silver globes, light as the foamy surf.”
Another species, the Crimped-leaved Gueldres-Rose (V.
plicatum), produces flowers more abundantly, and is, there-
fore, still more ornamental. Nor ought the Mock-orange
(Philadelphus coronarius) to be neglected; for, while the
flowers are ornamental, their orange perfume is powerful.
It would lead us into disproportioned detail to specify a
tithe of those showy shrubs which should be dear to every
floriculturist. Suffice it to name Ribes sanguineum (of
which a double-flowered variety and also a white variety
have lately appeared), Daphne mezereum, Spartium of
many species, Cystisus, Amygdalus, and Pyrus. The Ribes
speciosum, or Fuchsia-flowered gooseberry, seems to re-
quire the protection of a wall, but deserves it, The fine
SHRUBS. 247
suifruticose plant Pzeonia Moutan requires a sheltered posi-
tion in the shrubbery, where, in May and June, its flowers
excel all others in magnificence. Two species of Garrya,
from the higher parts of Mexico, have of late been added
to our choice evergreen shrubs. G. elliptica flowers in
winter, if the season be open, and succeeds well if trained
against a south wall; its male catkins are long, and hang
down very gracefully, so that the plant forms a fine accom-
paniment to the Laurustinus. G. laurifoliais equally har-
dy, and forms a handsome shrub. From the list published
by Mrs. Loudon, any one might form such a collection as,
when properly arranged, would produce all the variety and
beauty expected from the shrubbery.
There are many fine climbling shrubs, such as the spe-
cies of Clematis, particularly grandiflora and Sieboldtii,
and of Lonicera or honeysuckle; the Passiflora ccerulea,
with its curious and beautiful flowers; and Aristolochia
Sipho, remarkable for the size and elegance of its foliage.
Others, though not precisely, of this class, are much be-
holden to the shelter of a wall, suck as the Cercis siliquas-
trum, or Judas-tree, and Edwardsia tetraptera and micro-
phylla. Among those of recent introduction into England
may be noticed Leycesteria formosa, Glycine Sinensis,
Hccremocarpus seaber, and Sollya heterophylla. Some
herbaceous creepers suceeed admirably when trained
against a wall in the open garden; particularly Maurandia
semperfiorens and Barclayana, and Lophospermum scan-
deds and erubescens. The numerous species or varieties
of Fuchsia, when planted against the wall, or even in the
open ground, and protected with an occasional covering in
winter, convey to us a better idea of the riches of Chilian
vegetation than when they are confined to the shelves of
the green-kouse. Among the more ornamental hardy
248 FLOWER GARDEN.
varieties may be mentioned F. discolor and EF’. Riccartonia ;
and particularly F’. corymbiflora, perhaps the finest of all.
Many roses are also well adapted for walls, such as the
varieties of Noisette, Boursault, and the different species
from China.
A separate compartment, called the Rosary, is generally
devoted to the cultivation of roses. It is often of an oval
form, with concentric beds, and narrow intervening walks
of grass or gravel, but it may assume any configuration
which is suited to display this favorite plant. Of the thou-
sand varieties of roses which exist in the English nurseries,
we pretend not to give any selection. It may, however, be
remarked, that in planting the Rosary, care should be taken
to classify the sorts according to the sizes and affinities,
otherwise the effect will be much impaired. The sorts are
generally classed as Damasks, Perpetuals, French Roses,
Chinese Roses, Scotch, Celestials, and Moss Roses. A.
variety of double-flowering Sweet Briers have been recently
added to their number, uniting the beauty of the double
rose and the fragrance of the brier. The climbing sorts
may be advantageously introduced, being trained to pillar-
like trellises, In the Royal Botanic Garden ef Edinburgh
they are trained to living posts, consisting of straight pop-
lars, closely pollarded, so as to show only a few leaves at
top. The Banksian Rose is one of the finest climbers, but
has this peculiarity, that the flowers are produced only on
shoots of one year’s growth; the pruning must therefore
take place at midsummer, so as to allow time for the de-
velopment of new shoots; if done in the autumn there can
be no roses next season. In Scotland it is suited only for
the conservatory. When the Rosary is extensive, itis ju-
dicious to intersperse some of the most showy hollyhocks;
for thus the beauty of the quarter is maintained in the later
HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 249
months of autumn, when the roses are chiefly past. Of late
years, quantities of standard roses have been imported from
the Continent. These are the finer sorts, budded on tall
stalks of the wild species, such as R. villosa and canina.
They are well adapted to stand singly on the little lawns
in flower-gardens, or to break the uniformity of low flower
borders.
All shrubs nearly may be propagated by layers, some
by budding or grafting, many by separating the roots. In
planting out, shrubs may be arranged either singly or in
masses; the latter method is perhaps the most efficient in
the production of effect, but it should not be very servilely
adhered to, as it is apt to produce monotony. Some kinds
should never appear in masses; the white Portugal broom,
for instance, when go arranged, gives a limy tint to a gar-
den. Perhaps it is better that groups should contain a
predominance of one shrub, set off by a few others of a
contrasting figure or color, than that they should be en-
tirely homogeneous.
HERBACEOUS PLANTS.
Common perennial flowers, whether strictly herbaceous
or bulbous, afford the principal materials for floral decora-
tion. Botany supplies, as it were, the colors for the pic-
ture, and gardening grinds and prepares them for use.
The painting is continually varying, and new shades are
arriving and departing in succession. The least considera-
tion of the subject will suggest the rule, that in planting
flowers they should be arranged according to their stature,
otherwise many of the most beautiful would be lost among
their taller compeers. The lowest plants should therefore
: ] 1*
250 FLOWER GARDEN.
stand next the margin of the border or parterre, and they
should increase in heighth at they go back. To produce a
full show, a profusion, just now amounting to crowding, is
requisite. The flower-plots should present a regular bank
of foliage and blossom, rising gradually from the front ;
but as this might convey an idea of too great precision, a
few staring plants, on the same principle as those employ-
ed in green-houses, should be thinly scattered over the
surface. These may be shrubs, or any tall showy plants,
such as Becconia cardata, Papaver bracteatum, Gladiolus
Byzantinus, or Lilium candidum.
Tall Perennials—LUilium giganteum, superbum, chal-
eedonicum. Asphodelus ramosus, or silver-rod. Phlox
pyramidalis. Monarda didyma, kalmiana, ciliata. Ve-
ronica sibirca, virginica. Campanulapyramidalis. Lych-
nis chalcedonica, fl. pl. or double scarlet lychnis; also,
single white and double white. Fritillaria imperialis, or
Crown imperial. Rudbeckia purpurea. Clematis integri-
folia. Chelone barbata, scarlet, and also white, with Che-
lone mexicana, and C. antwerpiensis. Delphinium grandi-
florum, fl. pl. or double larkspur. Aconitum Anthora,
lycoctonum, Chinense. Astelbe rivularis. Aceta race-
mosa. Asclepias incarnata. Aconitum versicolor. Del-
phinium amythestinum. Silphium perfoliatum and con-
junctum.
Plants to be kept under glass during Winter, and
planted out in May.—Uychnis (Agrostemma), Bungeana,
Pelargonium inquinans, cucullatum, and many hybrid va-
rieties of great beauty. Verbena varieties. Alonosa ele-
gans. Phlox Drummondii and bicolor. Lobelia formosa,
propinqua. Nierembergia intermedia. Lantana Sello-
viana, Gardoquia multiflora. Salvia patens. Malwa
Crowena. Cineraria, different species. Veronica speciosa.
‘
HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 254
Tsotoma axillaris. Anagallis Monelli, grandiflora cceru-
lea, Phillipsii. Tyrachelium coruleum. Lobelia ignea,
Milleri, splendens violacea. Pentstemon cobsea, Murray-
anus. Gardoquia betonicoides. Agathe coelestis. Agera-
tum ccelestinum. Calceolaria, Prince Albert and flori-
bunda. Petunia, Prince Alfred-Ernest, Duchess of Kent,
and Simpsonii.
The management of color is more difficult. When the
long duration of the flowering season is considered, it will
be obvious that it is impossible to keep up the show of a
single border or plot for six months together, and conse-
quently, that much of the labor employed in mixing colors
is misspent, since plants, as they are commonly arranged,
come dropping into flower one after another: and even
where a certain number are in bloom at the same time,
they necessarily stand apart, and so the effects of contrast,
which can be perceived only among adjacent objects, are
entirely lost. ‘To obviate this defect, it has been recom-
mended that ornamental plants should be formed into four
or five separate suites of flowering, to be distributed over
the garden. Not to mention the more vernal flower, the
first might contain the flora of May; the second that of
June; the third that of July; and the fourth the tribes
of August and the following months. These plants should
be kept in separate compartments, arranged either singly
or in masses; but the compartments themselves should be
so intermingled as that no particular class should be en-
tirely absent from any one quarter of the garden. The
May parterres should, however, chiefly occur in the vicinity
of the green-house or conservatory, or, when these are ab-
sent, in a warm sunny situation. The flowerings of June
and July, as being highly showy, should occupy the most
conspicuous parts of the garden. The autumnal peren-
4
252 FLOWER GARDEN.
nials, not being so imposing, may retire into the more se-
cluded situations, as they are supplanted by the superior
brillianey of the annuals, which then fill the vacated beds
of florists’ flowers, or are scattered over the faded clumps
of May and June.
Before attempting to plant, the floriculturist would do
well to construct tables or lists of flowers, specifying their
respective times of flowering, their colors, and altitudes.
These tables, when skillfully used, would prevent mis-
takes, produce a greater facility of execution, and put the
colors nearly as much under control as they are on the
painter’s pallet. ‘lo diversify properly and mingle welk
together the reds, whites, purples, yellows, and blues, with
all their intervening shades, requires considerable taste
and powers of conception; but if success is not attained in
the first attempt, inaccuracies should be noted, and rectifi-
ed at the proper time next season. Certain series of colors
have been given, but these it is needless to mention, as it
is not very material whether the first flower in a row be
red or white. ‘The principal object is to preserve an agree-
able contrast ; and as at particular seasons a monotony of
tint prevails, it is useful at such times to be in possession
of some strong glaring colors. White, for instance, should
be much employed in July, to break the duller blues and
purples which then preponderate. The orange lily, too,
is very effective at that season, On the other hand, yel-
lows are suberabundant in autumn, and therefore reds and
blues should then be sought for, ‘
Besides mere vividness of color and elegance of form,
there are other qualities which render plants desirable in
the flower garden. Whoever has visited a botanic garden,
must have been sensible of an interest excited by the
curious structure of some plants, or by their rarity. Hyen
HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 253
quaintness of form is deserving of attention: and on this
principle, Allium fistulosum (the common Welsh onion)
may be allowed to figure in a flower border. At the same
time, it must be admitted that such expedients should be
employed with reserve. No handsome plant should be re-
jected because it is common, nor any ill-favored one intro-
duced merely because it is scarce. The flower-gardener
should have a small nursery frame for the propagation of
the finer plants, so as to have at hand a stock, to be trans-
ferred into the borders as often as required.
Numerous specimens of such showy plants as Verbena
Brillii, atro-sanguinea, and Mont Blanc Phlox Drummondii,
with Scarlet Geraniums, Petunias, Salvias, and Fuchsias,
may easily be kept over winter, in a green-house or vinery,
in the very small pots called “thumbs,” ready to be
plunged in the open borders in May ; where they uniformly
bloom with much greater vigor and brilliancy than under
glass.
We shall here enumerate merely the names of a few of
the most ornamental flowers, adapted to the British flower
garden.”
Vernal Herbaceous Plants.—MWelleborus niger, lividus; Hranthus
hyemalis; Hepatica triloba, var.; Primula vulgaris var., veris, elatior, mar-
ginata, helvetica, nivalis, viscosa, integrifolia, cortusoides; Cortusa Ma-
‘thioli ; Soldanella alpina, Clusii; Viola odorata double-flowered, tricolor,
biflora, altaica ; Dodecatheon Meadia vars. ; Orobus vernus; Adonis ver-
nalis; Omphalodes verna; Corydalis lutea, longiflora ; Sanguinaria cana-
densis; Iris pumila; Anemone apennina, Halleri, pulsatilla ; Sisyrinchium
randifiorum.
Vernal Plants.—Gentiana verna, acaulis. Saxifraga oppositifolia.
Genista Scorpius. Hepatica Americana. Dondia epipactus. Orobus ver-
* Tt must be borne in mind by the American floriculturist that the times
and seasons here referred to ure those of England, and will be found not pre-
cisely to correspond with the precise times of planting in any one part of the
United States.
254 FLOWER GARDEN.
nus, fl. pl. Arabis grandiflora. Heterotropa asaroides. Nordmannia eor-
difolia. Aubretia deltoidea.
Vernal Bulbous Plants —Galanthus nivalis; Leucoium vernum; Cro-
cus, various species ; Cyclamen coum, vernum,; Corydalis bulbosa ; Ery-
thronium Dens canis; Narcissus Pseudo-narcissus, moschatus, odorus, Jon-
quilla, &c. ; Fritillaria imperalis, meleagris, persica; Gagea lutea; Tulipa
sylvestris ; Iris persica; Trillium grandiflorum, &c., Scilla verna, pracox,
bifolia, sibirica. Smilacina umbellata; Galanthus plicatus ; Sisyrinchium
grandiflorum; Leontice altaica; Trichonema bulbocodium; Erythronium
longifolium ; Symplocarpus foetidus, or skunk-flower; Ajax exigua, nana
major and minor ; Merendera caucasica; Scilla amoena; Saxifraga granu-
lata, fl. pl. Claytonia virginica.
Herbaceous Plants flowering in May.—Anemone narcissiflora, sylvestris,
dichotoma; Primula farinosa, scotica; Convallaria majalis; Uvularia
grandiflora, perfoliata: Phlox divaricata, subulata, setacea, &c.; Aspho-
delus luteus, ramosus; Draba, Aizoides ; Viola cornuta, obliqua ; Gentiana
verna, acaulis ; Lupinus polyphyllus; Gaillardia bicolor; Iris florentina,
cristata, &c.-- Bulbs: Leucoium estivum, Scilla non-scripta, italica, &e.
Hyacinthus monstrosus ; Muscari moschatum, botyroides, comosum; Nar-
cissus Bulbocodium, poeticus. Tiarella cordifolia ; Mitella diphylla; Aren-
aria yerna, and a variety with double flowers: Verbascuin Myconi. Aspe-
rula odorata, the sweet woodroof of our woods. Houstonia coerulea; Pul-
monaria azurea, officinalis. Trollius asiaticus; Symphytum asperrimum ;
Onosma echioides ; Aretia alpina; Androsace maxima ; Soldanella mon-
tana: Linnea borealis; Waldstenia geoides. Aquilegia canadensis and
venusta ; Dodecatheon Media and integrifolia ; Epimedium Muschianum
and violaceum. Spiraea venusta.
Bulbous.—Omithogalum umbellatum, pyrenaicum, narbonense, nutans ;
Leucojum vernum; Narcissus dubius, Tacetta ; Puschkinia scilloides ; Scil-
la esculenta, the quamash of the American Indians; §. japonica, campanu-
lata, and peruviana.
June.—Herbaceous Plants: Peeonia officinalis, albiflora, corallina, Hu-
mii, &c.; Dianthus, species; Geranium saugnnieum, Laneastriense, Walli-
chianum, striatum, &c.; Monarda didyma, Kalmiana; Papaver bractea-
tum; Saxifraga, species; Spiraea, species; Mimulus Harrisonii, atro-roseus;
moschatus; Trollius Americanus, europeeus; Lysimachia verticillata; Ve-
ronica latifolia, &c. ; Geum coccineum; Aconitum napellus, &c.; Potentilla
nepalensis, &e——-Bulbs: Allium Moly, Gladiolus psittacinus, communis;
Lilium Pomponium, bulbiferum, aurantiacum, monadelphum, penduliflorum,
eoncolor, &¢.; Iris Xiphium, Xiphioides; Myosotis alpestris ; Anchusa
italica ; Pentstemon Richardsonii ; Acteea spicata ; Koniga maritima; Alys-
HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 255
sum saxatile; Smilacina stellata ; Polemonium cceruleum; Peonia, differ-
ent species; Mirabillis jalapa; Dianthus grandiflorus and splendidissimus ;
Delphinium Guthrianum; Phlox bicolor; Aconitum bicolor ; Aconitum
ovatum; Potentilla Mayana, atro-sanguinea, Hopwoodiana, and Thomasii ;
Ononis rotundifolia; Lychnis flos-cuculi, fl. alba pl. Aquilegia glauca,
fragrans, and Brownii.
Bulberous and Tuberous.—Cyackia liliastrum; Phalangium liliago;
Ornithogalum nutans Eremurus spectabilis; Uvularia sessilifolia, lanceo-
lata; Arum triphyllum; Arum Dracunculus and Virginianum; Asphodilus
albus and creticus ; Convallaria multiflora; Oxalis Bonariensis, alba, and
rubra; Scilla pratensis; Funkia Sieboldtii, lanceolata marginata, undulata
variegata,
July.— Herbaceous Plants: Phlox intermedia, and many other species
of that fine genus; Pentstemon, numerous species; (nothera, various spe-
cies; Campanula persicifolia, &c.; Morinia longiflora; Delphinum Bar-
lowii; Asclepias amcena, syriaca; Iris fulva, pallida, variegata; Gentiana
lutea, asclepiadea, cruciata, septemfida, &c.; Chelone obliqua, barbata,
Lyoni—Bulbs: Lilium martagon, canadense, tigrinum, superbum, &c. ;
Tigridia pavonia, Commelina ccelestis, Cyclamen hederefolium; Phlox
omniflora, P. Van Houttii, Princess Marian, new striped varieties; Pent-
stemon gentianoides, and var. coccinea, alba, and new blue. Calceolaria
integrifolia, rugosa, rubra, and many pretty hybrids between the Chili spe-
cies, Verbena, Whites, Ada, candidissima, Avalanche, and Queen of
Whites; Scarlets, Bakerii, Boule de feu, Chandlerii, and Englefieldii; Pur-
ples, Charlwoodii, Neillii, Emma, and Hudsonii; Crimsons, Defiance, Em-
peror, Louis Phillippe, and Stewartii; Salmon, Beauté Supréme, Aurora,
Sunbeam, and elegantissima; Rose, Coquette, excelsa, modesta, and Queen
of England. Lupinus grandifolius; Alstroemeria aurea; Tradescantia vir-
ginica, or blue spiderwort, and also varieties with white and with purple
flowers. Antirrhinum caryophilloides; Boule de feu, quadricolor coccinea.
Youngii, picta, superba, and tubiflora; Petunia, Kentish Beauty, Prince
Alfred-Ernest, Rising Sun, Hebe, and Attraction; Anemone vitifolia;
Gypsophila altissima; Geum coecineum; Cypella Herbertii; Stachys ino-
dora, speciosa ; Lobelia pyramidalis.
Autumnal Herbaceous Plants: Phiox decussata, pyramidalis, tardi-
flora, bicolor, &c.; Lobelia cardinalis, fulgens, splendens, &c.; Aster sibiri-
cus, amellus, pulcher, &c.; Solidago, several species; Aconitum japonicum,
volubile, variegatum; Gentiana; Saponaria.---Bulbs: Colchicum autum-
nale; Crocus nudiflorus, serotinus; Tritoma, pallida, media; Lavatera
arborea; Eupatorium cannabinum; Stevia salicifolia; Saponaria officinalis,
with double flowers; Nepeta longifiora ; Statice latifolia ; Salvia conferti-
256 FLOWER GARDEN.
flora ; Dahlias of many sorts; Astelbe rivularis ; Phlox elegans ; Campa-
nula lactiflora ; Gladiolus Gandavensis; Achillea Ptarmica, fl. plen; Aster
diffusus, floribundus, foliosus, paniculatus, and spectabilis ; Chelone obliqua ;
Coreopsis verticillata ; Eupatorium purpureum ; Helianthus giganteus and
macrophyllus ; Liatris, scariosa, spicata, macrostachya, and pyenostachya ;
Serratula coronata and centauroides.
It is with regret that we thus confine ourselves to a dry list of border
flowers ; but to classify and characterize them with anything like jus-
tice would require many pages. Within the last few years great acces-
sions of desirable plants have been made to our stores. The Lupines and
Pentstemons from Columbia River, the Verbenas and Calceolarias from
South America, and the Potentillas and Geraniums from Nepal, have in a
great measure changed the face of our flower gardens. While our riches
have multiplied, the difficulty as well as the necessity, of making a selection
has also increased.
Most herbaceous perennial plants are propagated by parting the roots, or
by cuttings ; but some more conveniently by the sowing of seed.
Biennial Plants.—Plants whose existence is limited to fwo years, in the
latter of which they flower and then decay, are called biennials. Many of
them possess considerable beauty ; and by their easy propagation, and rapid
growth, they afford aready means of decorating borders. The following
may be considered most worthy of notice ; Agrostemma coronaria; Antir-
rhinum majus; Hedysarum coronarium; Lunaria biennis; Campanula
media ; (nothera sinuata, biennis ; Verbascum formosum, Althea grandi-
flora, Scabiosa atro-purpurea, Mathiola simplicicaulis, Digitalis purpurea,
var. monstrosa or campanulata, Erysimum Perowfskianum. M{nothera
Drummondii ; Iberis Tenoriana ; Althea grandiflora ; Linaria tristis; Ma-
thiola incana; Cheiranthus fruiticulosus, with double flowers; Lunaria
biennis, or moonwort, the large silvery silicles of which are more ornamental
than its flowers; Frasera carolinensis; Ammobium alatum; Anchusa
italica ; Erytholeena conspicua ; French Honeysuckle. When a very de-
sirable variety of any plant is procured, such as the striped Antirrhinum
magus, or double varieties of Wall-flower, Sweet William, or Mule Pinks,
attention should be paid to the striking or cuttings during the summer, as
the only sure means of continuance.
Biennials are sown in beds in the end of spring, and are generally trans-
planted in the course of the autumn into the places where they are intended
to stand, that they may be confirmed before winter, and shoot up readily
into flower in tire following summer.
Annual Plants.—Many of the annual species, though of fugitive duration,
are possessed of much beauty of hue and elegance of form. They are fur-
ANNUAL PLANTS. Qait
ther valuable from their pliability, so to speak, and the promptitude with
which they may be used. They are besides of easy culture, many requiring
nothing more than to have the seeds sown in the spot where they are to grow
and flourish. Annuals may be divided into three classes, the hardy, the
half-hardy, and the tender. The first class, as stated above, are sown at
once in the ground which they are to occupy ; the half-hardy succeed best
when aided at first by a slight hotbed, and then transplanted into the open
air; the tender are kept in pots, and treated as green-house or stove plants,
to which departments they properly belong. Tt is scarcely necessary to re-
mark, that the hardy and half-hardy sorts may be grown either in patches
or in beds, and are subjected to all the rules which regulate the disposition
of common border flowers.
Hardy Annuals.—Platystemon californicus; Collomia coccinea; Lepto-
siphon androsace and densiflorus; Viscaria oculata and Binneyii; Valeria-
nella congesta ; Eucharidium concinnum; Godetia viscosa, Lindleyana, and
multiflora ; Eutoca multiflora, viscida; Campanula speculum, Lorii; Ma-
lope trifida; Hibiscus trionum, bifrons; Nolana, various species; Papaver
somniferum, numerous yarieties; P. Rhoeas, varieties; Gilia capitata, tri-
color, splendens; Collinsia grandiflora; bicolor; Kaulfussia amelloides ;
Clarkia pulchella, elegans; (inothera rosea, rosea-alba, tenella, Roman-
zovii; Senecio elegans; Mathiola annua (ten-week stock); Aster sinensis
(China aster); Lupinus, several species; Nemophila insignis, atomaria,
eramboides, discoidalis; Eschscholtzia californica, crocea; Limnanthes
grandiflora; Calandrina grandiflora; Bartonia aurea; Colinsia bicolor,
verna, heterophylla; Clintonia pulchella, elegans; Malope grandiflora ;
Leptosiphon luteus; Platystemon californicum; Collomia grandiflora ;
Coreopsis diversifolia,; Sanvitalia procumbens ; Phacelia congesta, tenace-
tifolia; Caliopsis astrosanguinea ; Centaurea Americana ; Lasthena cali-
fornica ; Madia elegans ; Lupinus bicolor, elegans ; Helichrysum mecran-
thum; Adonis autumnalis ; Iberis umbellata ; Alyssum, several species ;
Linaria, various species; Delphinium Ajacis, consolida ; Lavatera trimes-
tris ; Sphenogyne speciosa; Cladanthus arabicus; Schizanthus Priestii ;
Eucaridium grandiflorum; Papaver Marsillii; Eutoca Wrangeliana, diva-
ricata, and Menziesii; Silene armeria ; Rudbeckia amplexicaulis.
Half-Hardy Annuals.—Callistema hortense ; Lopezia racemosa; Rho-
danthe Manglesii; Tagetes patula (French marigold), erecta (African
marigold), racemosa, &c.; Zinnia elegans, pauciflora; Xeranthemum an-
nuum, Helichrysum fulgidum, Chrysanthemum carinatum ; Schizanthus
pinnatus, porrigens, Grahami, Hookeri ; Salpiglossis atro-purpurea, picta ;
Petunia nyctaginiflora; Mirabilis Jalapa ; Mesembryanthemum crystalli-
num, tricolor, white and red; Brachycoma ibeirdifolia ; Clintonia elegans,
258 FLOWER GARDEN.
pulchella ; Phlox Drummondii, with its varieties; Campanula stricta ; Tpo-
mopsis elegans; Argemone grandiflora ; Didiscus cceruleus ; Ipomopsis
elegans ; Hunnemannia fumariefolia; Ageratum Mexicanum ; Limnan-
thus Douglassii ; Blumenbachia incana, multifida ; Heliophila araboides ;
Hibiscus Africanus ; Cosmus tenuifolius ; Calandrina discolor, grandiflora ;
Loasa tricolor, insignis, lateritia ; Anagallis Indica, lilacina ; Salpiglossis
straminea ; Amaranthus caudatus.
Tender Annuals.—Impatiens Balsamina, Browallia elata, Celosia cristata
(cockscomb), Gomphrzena globosa ; Solanum melongena ; Tpomeea Quamo-
elit ; Mimosa pudici (humble plant), sensitiva (sensitive plant). Thunber-
gia alata; Hedysarum gyrans, or moving plant, which, in our hot-houses,
often endure for two seasons (as do also Mimosa pudica and sensitiva) ; Bro-
wallia grandiflora; Cleome rosea, heterophylla; Scyphanthus elegans,
Loasa Pentlandica ; Martynia proboscidea ; Lisianthus Russellianus.
We have here enumerated only a small selection of spe-
cies,* out of a multitude which is continually receiving ac-
cessions. A good many of the sorts mentioned have been
introduced during the last twenty years; and we doubt not
that, in an equal period from the present, many more will
come into notice.
Before leaving this part of the subject, it may be proper
to mention that it is now the practice of some florists to
grow and treat as annuals, or rather as biennials, great
quantities of the more hardy Pelargonia, Verbenz, Salvize,
Fuchsie, Petunise, and other genera. Grown in moderate
sized pots, they are kept in reserve in frames or cold vine-
ries during winter. About the end of May, or as soon as
there is no longer any apprehension of injury from frost,
the plants are taken out of the pots and plunged into the
open ground, in any warm sunny spot or clump in the flower
garden. If the stems be long or naked, they are pegged to
the earth. Towards the middle of July they begin to grow
vigorously, and in August or September present, in luxuri-
ance at least, a better specimen of their native vegetation
* Additional listsin Appendix.
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 259
than we see elsewhere in our gardens. Upon the approach
of frost they are, in general, left to their fate, as it is easier
to propagate new ones than to preserve the old. These
plants, with some of the fine new annuals, and the gorgeous
Dahlias, give a splendor to the autumnal flower garden
which in former times it did not possess.
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS.
This technical appellation has been restricted to certain
flowers, which have been especial favorites with florists, and
have consequently received a large share of their attention.*
Though possessed of great individual beauty, few of them
_ are calculated to make a show at a distance, and the
arrangements requisite for their culture do not harmonize
well with the general disposition of a flower garden. It is
therefore desirable, particularly when considerable refine-
ment is aimed at, that a separate garden, or a separate sec-
tion of the garden, should be set apart for their culture.
The more robust or less valuable varieties, however, which
are often as ornamental as the most esteemed, may be intro-
duced into the general parterres. We shall notice the most
considerable, in the order in which they naturally attract
attention.
The Hyacinth, Hyacinthus orientalis, one of the most
* The finest new varieties of florists’ flowers, as well as novelties in
the strictly botanical department, are figured and described in Harrison’s
Florticultural Cabinet, a cheap monthly periodical, which has a vast circula-
tion in England. While the letter-press is rather deficient in botanical pre-
cision, and the engraving sometimes inferior in style of embellishment, it ix
certain that much useful information may be gleaned from the work, both as
to new varieties and superior modes of culture ; and it is but fair to add
that the work has been greatly improved of late years.
260 FLOWER GARDEN.
beautiful and fragrant of the spring flowers, is a native of
the Levant, where it occurs abundantly, in form not unlike
our common harebell. It has long been a favorite in the
Kast; but has been brought to its present artificial perfec-
tion in Holland, chiefly since the beginning of last century.
Many years ago it was successfully grown in the vicinity of
Edinburgh, by James Justice, F. R. S., one of the most
ingenious horticulturists of his time; but it must be con-
fessed that, in the culture of this flower, the British florists
have never attained to the eminence of the Dutch, principally,
however, as is alleged by some, from want of attention and
painstaking. According to Miller, the catalogues of the
Haarlem florists used to enumerate 200 sorts, some of which
sold as high as £200 a bulb; they are now less numerous,
and much less expensive.
Hyacinths are either single, semidouble, or double, and
exhibit a great variety of tint. In a fine flower the stalk
should be tall, strong, and upright; the blossoms numer-
ous, large, and suspended in a horizontal direction; the
whole flower having a compact pyramidal form, with the
uppermost blossom quite erect ; plain colors should be clear
and bright; and strong colors are preferable to pale; when
colors are mixed, they should blend with elegance.
The hyacinth delights in a rich, light sandy soil; and it is
chiefly owing to the want of these qualities in his composts
that the British florist fails in the growth of this beautiful
plant. The Dutch compost, as given by the late Hon. and
Rev. Mr. Herbert in the London Hortic. Transactions, vol.
iv., is the following: One-third coarse sea or river sand;
one-third rotten cow-dung without litter; and one-third
leaf mould. The natural soil is removed to the depth of
at least two feet, and the vacant space filled up with com-
post, previously prepared and well mixed. These materi,
HY ACINTHS. 261
als retain their qualities for six or seven years, but the
Dutch do not plant hyacinths upon the same place for two
years successively. In the alternate years they plant it
with narcissus or crocus. We may mention that, in one of
the finest beds of hyacinths ever seen in Scotland, a con-
siderable portion of the soil was composed of s/eech, a sort
of sandy and marly deposition from the ooze on the shores
of the’ Forth.
According to Mr. Main, St. Crispin’s day, the 25th of
October, is the best to plant the bulbs. They are generally
arranged in rows, eight inches asunder, there being four
rows in each bed; or, if more convenient, they may be
placed in rows across the bed. The bulbs are sunk about
three or four inches deep, and it 1s recommended to put a
small quantity of clean sand below and all around each.
As the roots are liable to be injured by frost, it is usual to
cover the beds with decayed tanners’ bark, with litter, or
with awnings. The first may be considered the neatest
during winter, but an awning is nearly indispensable in
spring, when the lingering colds prove exceeding hurtful to
the young flower-stems. The awning may be made of
coarse sheeting or duck. Ag the flower-stems appear, they
are tied to little rods to keep them upright and preserve
them from accident. In order to perfect the colors, the
rays of the sun are admitted in the morning or in the eve-
ning, but the glare of mid-day and the cold of night are
both excluded. When the season of blossom is over, the
awning is removed, or only replaced to keep off heavy
rains. Much of the success, in the culture of this flower,
depends on the subsequent management of the bulbs. It
is the practice in Holland, about a month after the bloom, »
or when the tips of the leaves assume a withered appear-
ance, to dig up the roots, and, cutting off the stem and the
862 FLOWER GARDEN.
foliage within half an inch of the bulb, but leaving the
fibres untouched, to lay the bulbs sideways on the ground,
covering them with half an inch of dry earth. After three
weeks, they are again taken up, cleaned, and removed to
the store room. In this country, it is more common to
allow them to stand till the leaves be withered, and then to
dig them up at once. In the store-room the roots should
be kept dry, well aired, and apart from each other.
Where forcing is practiced, a few hyacinths may be
forced into deep flower-pots filled with light earth, and,
when coming into flower, transferred to the green-house,
which they enliven at the most dead season of the year.
In chambers, they are grown in water-glasses made for the
purpose; or, with still greater advantage, in boxes filled
with damp hypnum-moss.
New varieties of hyacinths are procured by sowing the
seed; but this is a tedious process, and seldom followed
in this country. The established sorts are propagated by
offsets or small bulbs, which form at the base of the parent
bulb. Almost all the hyacinths cultivated in this country
are imported from Holland, and the quantity of roots an-
nually introduced must be very great.
The Tulip, Tulipa Gesneriana, is a native of the Hast,
whence it was introduced into Hurope about the middle of
the sixteenth century. Gaudy as it is, it has no proper
corolla, but only a calyx of six colored sepals. About the
year 1635, the culture of the tulip was very engrossing ;
and, indeed, the rage for possessing choice sorts had become
so great in Holland as to give rise to a strange species of
gambling, known to the collectors of literary and scientific
anecdotes by the name of Tulipo-mania, which has tended
to bring unmerited discredit on this fine flower. At pre-
sent, the finer tulips are mostly of moderate price, and
THE TULIP. 263
though not to be met with in every garden, have yet some
zealous cultivators.
There are some varieties, such as the early Duc Van
Thol, yellow, white, and red; the Clarimond, the Parrots,
and the Double Tulips, which belong, properly speaking,
to the general cultivator. The genuine tulip-grower des-
pises these, and will not suffer them to enter his select bed.
In England, the florists’ tulips are arranged under four
classes. -1. The Bzzarres, which have a yellow ground
marked with purple or scarlet. 2. The Byblemens witha
white ground, marked with violet or purple. 3. The Roses,
with a white ground, marked with rose or cherry color.
4. The Se/f or Plain-colored tulips, which are of one uni-
form color, and are chiefly valued as breeders. The byble-
men class includes most of those tulips which are held in
high estimation in Britain; but the rose or cherry colored
are perhaps the most pleasing.
The properties of a fine late tulip, as specified by Mr.
Hogg, are the following, somewhat abridged. The stem
should be strong, erect, thirty inches high : the flower large,
of six petals (sepals), which should proceed almost hori-
zontally at first, and, turning up; should form an almost
perfect cup, with a round bottom, rather widest at top.
The three exterior petals should be rather larger than the
three interior ones: the limbs of the petals should be
rounded, and freed from every species of serrature. The
ground color of the flower at the bottom should be clear
white or clear yellow; and the various rich colored stripes,
which are the principal ornament of a fine tulip, should be
regular, bold, and distinct at the margin, and terminate in
fine broken points, elegantly feathered or penciled. There
are other refinements upon which florists are not quite
agreed: and it must be confessed that their standard of
264 FLOWER GARDEN,
excellence is somewhat factitious; for, to an uninstructed
eye, though practiced in the contemplation of other sorts
of beauty, a tulip, which by them is looked upon as worth-
less, will often appear as fine as the choicest variety in the
select bed. Fine tulips are so numerous that it is scarcely
possible to name the most desirable. Among the bizarres,
the King, Polyphemus, and Hverard, are highly prized,
Tulips prosper in a prepared compost of light turfy
soil, richly manured with well-rotted cow-dung. ‘Twenty
inches depth of soil should be removed, and the vacant
space filled up with compost. Some use alternate layers
of light soil and cow-dung. The bed should be filled up
with compost about the middle of October, and in a fort-
night, when the soil has subsided, the bulbs are planted in
rows, distant seven or eight inches, and at the depth: of
about three inches. A little clean sand may be put
around the bulbs, After planting, the bed may be covered
over with tan, as in the case of hyacinths. In spring, it is
necessary to shield the leaves and flower-stalks from frost,
and also from heavy rains ; and when in bloom, the flowers
should be sheltered from the sun’s rays, by which they are
speedily injured. A canvas awning, so mounted on a
frame that it can be easily withdrawn and replaced, is re-
quisite for every fine collection. The tulip is often
regarded as scentless; but this is a mistake, for when con-
centrated under the awning, the odor is very perceptible.
After the sepals have fallen, the seed-vessels are broken
off close by the stem, to prevent the plant from exhausting
itself in perfecting seed, and to direct its energies to the
forming of the new bulb. When the leaves have withered,
the bulbs are taken up, dried, and stored, until the plant-
ing season come round,
Tulips are readily propagated by offsets, which are taken
THE RANUNCULUS. 265
off from the parent bulbs, and nursed in separate beda till
they be full grown. New varietics are raised from seed ;
they are from five to seven years old before they flower,
and, if raised from promiscuous seed, they often turn out
worthless. Karly in the eighteenth century, the distin-
guished Scottish cultivator, Justice (already mentioned as
a most successful cultivator of hyacinths), was eminently
successful in raising fine seedling tulips; and some skillful
florists of our own day, such as Mr. Oliver, of Edinburgh,
succeed in breaking their seedlings into colors equal to the
choicest byblomens of Holland. They save the seeds from
the first-rate sorts, the stigma of the intended parent flower
having been fertilized with the pollen of some other excel-
lent variety, Seedling tulips, it may be remarked, present
this anomaly for the first two or three years, that they
form their new bulbs several inches below the old ones, so
that an inexpericnoed cultivator is sometimes apt to miss
them at the time of lifting. |
The Ranunculus (K. Asiaticus) is, like many other of
the florists’ flowers, a native of the Levant, where it is a
favorite of the Turks. It has sported into innumerable
varieties, and thoge now in cultivation in England are
mostly of British origin, The plant is of small stature,
furnished with decomposite leaves, and rising from # root
formed by a bundle of little tubers.
According to the canons of floral criticism, the proper-
ties of a fine double ranunculus are the following: The
stem should be strong, straight, and from eight to ten
inches high, supporting a large, well-formed blossom at
least two inches in diameter, consisting of numerous petals,
the largest at the outside, and gradually diminishing in
size as they approach the centre of the flower, which should
he well filled up with them. The blosgom should be of a
12
266 FLOWER GARDEN.
hemispherical form; its component petals imbricated,
neither too closely nor too much separated, and having
rather a perpendicular than a horizontal direction. The
petals should be broad, and have perfectly entire well-
rounded edges; their colors should be dark, clear, rich, or
brilliant, either consisting of one color throughout, or be
otherwise varicusly diversified on an ash, white, sulphur,
or fire-colored ground, or regularly striped, spotted, or mot-
tled, in an elegant manner.
The ranunculus requires a stronger and moister soil than
most other flowers. Maddock prefers a fresh, strong, rich
loam. Hogg recommends a fresh loam, with a considerable
portion of rotted cow or horse-dung.
The Rey. Mr. Williamson (/ort. Trams., vol. iv.) uses
a stiff clay loam, with a fourth of rotton dung. “ The
bed should be dug from eighteen inches to two feet deep,
and not raised more than four inches above the level of the
walks, to preserve the moisture more effectually: at about
five inches below the surface should he placed a stratum of
two-year-old rotten cow-dung, mixed with earth, six or
eight inches thick ; but the earth above this stratum, where
the roots are to be placed, should be perfectly free from
dung, which would prove injurious if nearer. The fibres
will draw sufficient nourishment at the depth above men-
tioned; but if the dung were placed deeper, it would not
receive so much advantage from the action of the air.”
Other florists have recommended to put the manure at
least two feet and a half below the surface of the earth.
The principal object, however, is to maintain throughout
the bed a genial moisture; and this is to be done by avoid-
ing all hot gravelly earths, and particularly soils that are
apt to cake. The tubers are planted late in autumn, or
early in spring, in rows five or six inches apart, and three
THE ANEMONE. 267
or four inches separate in the rows. They should be so
close that the foliage shall cover the surface of the bed, for
in this way a salutary degree of shade and moisture is pre-
served. The autumn-planted roots must be sheltered from
frost by old tan or hooped mattings. When in flower, the
plants are covered with an awning. When the leaves
wither, the roots are taken up, dried, and stored,
Scarcely any florists’ flower is more readily propagated
from seed, or sooner repays the care of the cultivator. The
seed is obtained sparingly from semidouble sorts, which are
often of themselves very beautiful flowers. It is generally
sown in boxes in autumn or spring; but it may also be
sown with success in the open ground. The young plants
flower, often in the second, and always in the third, year.
The Anemone of the flower garden includes two species,
Anemone coronaria, a native of the Levant, and A. hor-
tensis, a native of Italy. These have long shared the at-
tention of the florist, and in his arrangements have generally
been associated with the ranunculus, resembling it in its
natural affinities and mode of culture. ~The single and
semidouble flowers are considered nearly as fine as the
double ones. ‘The sorts are numerous, but at present are
seldom distinguished by names. In a fine double anemone,
the stem should be strong, erect, and not less than nine
inches high. The flower should be at least two and a half
inches in diameter, consisting of an exterior row of large
well-rounded petals, in the form of a broad shallow cup,
the interior part of which should contain a number of small
petals, mixed with stamens, imbricating each other. The
colors should be clear and distinct when diversified in the
same flower, or striking and brilliant when there is only
one tint. Of late years, anemones remarkable for the mag-
nitude of their flowers and the brilliancy of their hues have
268 FLOWER GARDEN.
becn imported from Holland, particularly by Mr. Lawson,
of Edinburgh.
The soil and culture are so nearly the same as in the
ranunculus that it is needless to specify them. The plant
continues longer in the flower, and the leaves often remain
so long green that it is difficult to find a period of inaction
in which to take up the roots. It has been recommended
that, as soon as the bloom is over, the bed should be
screened from rain by mattings until the leaves wither. As
the tuberous roots are rather brittle, they require consider-
able care in handling. Anemones are easily raised from
the seed. A bed of single anemones, it may be remarked,
is a valuable addition to a flower garden, as it affords, in a
warm situation, an abundance of handsome and often bril-
liant spring flowers, almost as clearly as the snow-drop or
the crocus.
When the bloom of the hyacinth, tulip, ranunculus, or
anemone, is over, the beds should be filled up with small
showy annuals, which will soon restore their gay aspect.
These annuals are to be raised on a hot bed, and kept in it,
or in patches in a piece of réserve ground, till wanted.
The Narcissus is an extensive genus, including a great
many interesting species and varieties. It belongs, how-
ever, rather to the botanico-florist than to the florist proper ;
but, as it contains many plants of great elegance, it ought
to receive more general attention. The Polyanthus Nar-
cissus (N. Tazetta) affords the varieties which are yearly
cultivated by florists, the bulbs of which are yearly im-
ported in quantities from Holland. These prosper in a
light soil, containing a little well-rotted dung. The roots
should not be stirred more frequently than once in three
years; and this remark applies also to Narcissus Jonquila
and odorus, the small and large jonquil, of which fragrant
THE IRIS. 269
plants there should be beds in every flower garden. N.
Tazetta, like the hyacinth, may also be grown either in pots
or in water-glasses.
Iris.—The species which peculiarly appertain to the
florist are, I. Xiphium and Xiphioides, of both of which
there are many beautiful varieties. They are of easy cul-
ture, succeeding in almost any kind of soil, and requiring
to be moved only once in three or four years. The roots
are not improved by being kept out of the ground ; and
perhaps the best method is, upon taking them up and free-
ing them from their shaggy skins, to replant them imme-
diately.
Besides these, may be mentioned the Persian Iris (I.
Persica), a low bulbous-rooted plant, with delicate blue or
violet-colored flowers, and some degree of fragrance. It is
extensively cultivated by the Dutch, from whom bulbs are
annually procured. It is sometimes grown in water, but
oftener in pots of nearly pure sand. When planted out, it
requires to be guarded from frosts and heavy rain. The
Snake’s-head Iris (I. tuberosa) is also a fragrant species,
and is more hardy than the preceding. Mr. Denson, who
has been very successful in the culture of this plant, recom-
mends, in Gard. Mag., vol. viii., that it should be allowed
to stand two or three years in succession on the same spot:
when, “in July, take it up and divide the tubers, planting
them, soon as dug up, six inches deep in a compost formed
of half-friable mould, or old hotbed dung, rotted to the
consistence of soil. Let the situation be a dry bed or bor-
der, at the base of a wall with a southern aspect, and plant
the tubers close to the wall, or only a few inches from it.”
The Chalcedonian Iris (I. susiana) is the most magnificent
species of the genus, and is well worth the labor of the cul-
tivator. Its stalk, seldom a foot high, is surmounted by a
270 FLOWER GARDEN.
splendid corolla, the petals of which are nearly as broad as
the hand, and are of purple or black ground, delicately
striped with white. It prefers a loamy soil and a sunny
exposure, and must be guarded from moisture and frosts in
winter. For these three species, Mr. Loudon recommends
the protection of a frame.
There are many other species which are worthy of a
place in a select flower garden, and, when well grouped in
a peaty earth, form an agreeable appendage to a parterre.
Of these, we may mention the low-creeping I. cristata and.
pumila, the more aspiring prismatica, flexuosa, virginica, sor-
dida, variegata, and Swertii, the taller Sibirica, triflora, and
ochroleuea, the broad-leaved Florentina, Germanica, and
Sambucina, and the stately pallida, which for simple elegance,
is not outshone by any of its compeers. This beautiful family
was zealously cultivated by the late amiable David Falconar,
Ksq., of Carlowrie, who introduced some of its most inter-
esting members to the horticultural world in Scotland.
The Lily.—Of the genus Lilium there are many species,
some of which have not been exhibited to the extent of
their capabilities in the flower garden. The old white Lily
(L. Candidum), after supplying the poets with so much
imagery, has retired into the modest station of a common
border flower. The flaunting Orange-Lily (L. bulbiferum)
and the Turk’s Cap (L. Martagon), may occupy the same
place. The scarlet Martagon (LL. Chalcedonicum) is worthy
of more care, as being more beautiful and more tender. It
does not relish being disturbed, and it dislikes peat. On
the contrary, the splendid Tiger Lily (L. tigrinum), which
propagates rapidly by auxiliary bulbs, succeeds best in
peaty soil. The same remark applies to the rarer L. cana-
dense and superbum (magnificent species), as well as to L,
concolor, Pennsylvanicum, and others, which ought to be
od
THE DAHLIA, OR GEORGINA 271
more common ip our gardens. LL. Japonicum, longiflorum,
and. lancifolium, in which the genus attains its greatest
magnificence, unfortunately require a finer climate than
ours, and some bulbs of these should, therefore, be grown im
pots under glass, but ethers may be risked in a sheltered
border.
The Gladioh or corn-flags are extremely ornamental.
The Cardinal Lily (Gladiolus cardinalis) well deserves the
name of superb: when seen in flower in masses, the effect
is truly brilliant. In order to success, it must be grown in
tufts, and the tufts should be left undisturbed for successive
years; “the old skins of the decayed bulbs permitting the
wet to drain away, and preventing the earth from lying
close and heavy on the new bulbs,” as observed by the
late eminent Mr. Herbert. A little litter of any sort
thrown over the bed affords sufficient protection during the
winter.
Omitting Crocus, Fritivlaria, and other bulbous genera,
which are sometimes treated ag florists’ flowers, we proceed
to one of the prime ornaments of the autumnal flower
garden, the Dahlia, or Georgina, as it is called by some
writers.
The Dahia (of which there are two principal species,
D. variabilis and coccinea) is a native of Mexico, from which
it was introduced in 1789, but afterwards lost by our cul-
tivators, It was re-introduced in 1804; but it was not
till ten years later that it was generally known in our gar-
dens. The first plants were single, of a pale purple color,
and though interesting, as affording a new form of floral
ornament, they by no means held forth a promise of the
infinite diversity of tint and figure exhibited by their
double-flowered successors. At present the varieties are
endJess, each district of the country possessing suites of its
272 FLOWER GARDEN.
own, and cultivators occasionally raising at one sowing @
dozen kinds which they think worthy of preservation. The
results have been most propitious to the flower garden,
from which, indeed, the Dahlia could now nearly as ill be
spared, as the potato from the kitchen garden.
The varieties of Dahlia may be classed under tke follow-
ing heads: 1. The Commen or Camellia form, under
which the double sorts first appeared. This is by far the
most numerous Class, and perhaps the most beautiful. The
dwarf sorts are in most repute. 2. The Anemene-flowered,
having a radius of large petals, and a central disk of smaller
ones, somewhat like the double anemone. 3. G'éobe-flow-
ered, having small globular flowers, which are extremely
double. They possess great intensity of color, and, rising
for the most part about the leaves, make generally as
striking an appearance as those of a more massive efflores-
cence.
In a fine Dahlia the flower should be fully double, always:
filling the centre; the florets should be entire or nearly so,
regular in their disposition, each series overlapping the
other backwards: they may be either plain or quilled, but
never distorted: if, instead of being reflexed, the florets
are recurved, the flower will be more symmetrical. The
peduncles ought to be strong enough to keep the blossoms
erect, and long enowgh to show the flowers above the leaves..
Bright and deep velvety colors are most admired.
Dahlia competitions now excite great interest in the
floricultural world; almost every considerable town having
its annual show, when gold and silver medals, cups, and
other pieces of plate, are keenly contended for; private
amateurs and professional cultivators competing respec-
tively among themselves. Fine flowers have become so
numerous that it were a hopeless task to offer a list,
THE DAHLIA, OR GEORGINA. 273
Among the most highly prized in England at the present
day may only be mentioned, Dodd’s Mary, Duchess of
Richmond, Essex Rival, Widhall’s Conductor, Suffolk
Hero, Ruby, Sussex Rival, Marquis of Lothian, Cox’s
Yellow, Grace Darling, Climax, Sir John Franklin, Sir F.
Bathurst, Magnificent, Yellow Perfection, Snow- flake,
Elizabeth, &c., &c.
New dividtion are, of course, procured from seed; the
utmost attention being paid to the parentage and the
crossing of flowers of different colors. If sown in flower-
pots, and aided by a little heat, the seedlings, speedily
planted out, will flower the first season. Established vari-
eties are propagated by dividing the large tuberous roots;
but, in doing so, care must be taken to have an eye to
each portion of tuber, otherwise it will not grow. Some-
times shoots of rare varieties are grafted on the roots of
others. A good method, now generally practised, is to
take cuttings close from the roots of the plants, as soon as
they shoot up in the beginning of summer, and to strike
them in small flower-pots. They strike freely, and the
plants generally show flower during the same season.
Dahlias succeed best in an open situation, and in rich
loam; but there is scarcely any garden soil in which they
will not thrive, if well manured. They are, however, in-
jured by being repeatedly planted on the same spot.
They may stand singly like common border flowers, but
have the most imposing appearance when seen in masses
arranged according to their stature. Old roots often
throw up a multitude of stems, which render thinning
necessary. As the plants increase in height, they should
be furnished with strong stakes, by being tied to which
they may withstand high winds. Dahlias generally con-
tinue to show their flowers till they be interrupted by frost
12”
274 FLOWER GARDEN.
in the end of autumn. The roots are then taken up, dried,
and stored in a cellar, or some other place where they may
be secured from frost and moisture. Early in the spring,
the tubers of the finer varieties are placed among leaf-
mould on a hotbed; or in boxes in a stove, to start them,
as the gardeners speak. When thus forwarded, they begin
to flower in July, or six weeks earlier than usual; and
cuttings taken off from such started tubers in April are
sure to form flowering plants in September.
The Auwrtcuda (Primula Auricula) is a native of the
Alps and the Caucasus. It has long been an inmate of
our gardens, and has generally been a favorite with those
florists whose means and appliances are of a limited kind.
Some of the most successful cultivators at present are
among the operatives in the vicinity of Manchester and
Paisley.
Besides the double varieties, which have never been in
much repute, Auriculas are classed under two divisions :
the Se/fs or plain-colored, and the variegated or painted
sorts. Professed florists confine their attention to the
latter: it must, however, be confessed, that their criteria
of fine flowers are often arbitrary, and that, although many
of their favorites are examples of undoubted beauty, the
eye of the uninitiated would generally prefer the simpler
hues of the self-colored flowers.
The auricula, though now almost wholly an artificial
plant, and strangely transformed from its original appear-
ance, still inclines to a moist soil and shady situation. The
florists’ varieties are grown in rich composts, for the pre-
paration of which numberless receipts have been given.
We quote that of Mr. Hogg, of Paddington, an expe-
rienced grower: “One barrow of rich yellow loam, or
fresh earth from some meadow, or pasture-land, or com-
THE AURICULA. 275
moon, with the turf well-rotted; one barrow-load of leaf-
mould, another of cow-dung, two years old at least; and
one peck of river, not sea sand. For strong plants in-
tended for exhibition, add to the same composition, as a
stimulant, a barrowful of well-decayed night-soil, with the
application of a liquid manure before the top-dressing in
February, and twice more, but not oftener, in March. A
portion of light, sandy, peat-earth may be added, as a safe
and useful ingredient, particularly for plants kept in low
damp situations.”
Auriculas may be propagated from seed. It is to be
sown in January or February in boxes, which are kept
under cover, and exposed only to the rays of the morning
sun. When seed has been saved from the finer sorts, the
operation is one of considerable nicety, as it not unfre-
quently happens that the best seedlings are at first excced-
ingly weak. The judicious grower never neglects these,
but rather nourishes them with double care. They gene-
rally flower in the second or third year; and the florist is
fortunate who obtains three or four good sorts out of a
large sowing. ‘The established varieties are increased by
dividing the roots, an operation which is performed in
July or in the beginning of August.
Fine Auriculas are grown in pots about five or six
inches in diameter; the longer or deeper, so much the
better. These are kept in frames, or stages, constructed
for the purpose. For winter, perhaps, there is nothing
better than a common hotbed frame, as this admits of an
exact adjustment of air and temperature, things to which
attention is absolutely necessary, as the plants approach ~
the flowering season in the end of March. After the
bloom is over, or in the beginning of June, the pots may
be placed on stages slightly clevated and facing the north. »
276 FLOWER GARDEN.
Though not absolutely necessary, it is useful to have the
power of sheltering them from long-continued rains. Is
is usual every year to shift the plants, shortening the roots
and giving them a large portion of new soil, soon after the
flowers have decayed. For more detailed information on
this subject, we may refer to the well-known treatises of
Maddock and Hogg.
The Polyanthus is supposed to be a seminal variety of
Primula vulgaris, and is much cultivated by some florists.
Like the auricula, it has sported into many hundred yari-
eties. It is not necessary to give a detailed account of its
culture, as it scarcely differs from that of the auricula.
The polyanthus, however, is the hardier of the two, and
seldom perishes from cold. It may be mentioned that
there are several beautiful double varieties of the common
Primrose, both white and dark purple, which are deserving
of a place in every garden.
The whole genus Primula merits the attention of the
curious cultivator. P. helvetica and nivalis adorn the
flower borders in spring with their abundant trusses of
blossom. P. marginata, when planted in a shady situa-
tion, is equally lavish of its pale and deheately beautiful
flowers. P. viscosa and integrifolia, with their intense
colors, are the ornaments of the alpine frame; or, with P.
longifolia, farinosa, and Scotica, may be plunged into the
margin of the American border. A supply, however,
should be kept in pots. Besides these, we might name P.
cortusoides, Pallasii, Palinuri, and others. The curious
P. verticellata, and the splendid P. sinensis, are inmates
of the green-house. Of this last there is a white variety,
and also a double-flowered variety. ‘The florist of anaEle
taste will love them all.
_ The Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) has pe been
THE CARNATION. 277
a favorite flower, not only for the beauty but for the
delightful fragrance of its blossoms. It is a native of
Germany, and it is occasionally found in an apparently
wild state in England. The cultivation of it, however, is
by no means easy, but calls forth all the resources of the
florist. The varieties, which are very numerous, have been
arranged under three heads: Flakes, having two colors,
with their stripes running quite through and along the
petals; Bizarres, irregularly spotted, and striped with not
fewer than three colors; Picotees, spotted, with serrated or
fringed petals. Mr. Hogg, who has written a treatise ex-
pressly on this flower, has given a catalogue of nearly 350
sorts.
Carnations are propagated by layers or pipings: the
former method is most practiced, but with some sorts
piping, it is said, should be preferred. Layering is per-
formed when the plant is in full bloom. Proper shoots
are selected; a few of the lower leaves are then removed ;
an incision is made a little below a suitable joint, passing
up to the joint, but not through it; the shoot is then peg-
ged down and covered with some fresh soil, the tip being
left above ground. Layers are generally found to be root-
ed in about a month after the operation has been perform-
ed. Pipings are little cuttings, separated at a joint, and
planted thickly under bell-glasses on a slight hotbed.
They require great attention, and are precarious in their
success, but form excellent plants.
Numerous directions have been given respecting com-
posts for carnations. We abridge those of Hogg, who is
the principal authority in this matter. Take three bar-
rows of loam, one and a half of garden mould, two of horse-
dung, and one of coarse sand; let these be mixed, and
thrown into a heap, and turned over two or three times in
278 FLOWER GARDEN.
the winter, particularly in frosty weather. Towards the
end of November a barrow-load of lime is added while hot,
to aid in the decomposition of the soil, and destroy worms.
Yor the varieties which are liable to sport, he recommends
a poorer compost.
The more robust carnations are planted out in beds or
singly in the flower garden; but the finer and more tender
sorts are grown in pots of about a foot in diameter. The
time of potting is about the end of March. When the
flower-stems show themselves, they are furnished with rods,
to which they are tied as they lengthen, to prevent their
being broken by the wind or other accident. When the
plants begin to expand their blossoms, they are removed
to a stage calculated to exhibit their beauties. Some
florists place ligatures around the flower-buds, in order to
prevent irregular bursting, and even arrange the petals, by
removing distortions with fine-pointed scissors.
New varieties are raised from seed. The seed of the
hardier double or semidouble sorts often affords a very
beautiful bed of flowers, and should not be neglected by
those who have the command of extensive flower gardens.
The Pink is considered by botanists as merely a variety
of the preceding. It is, however, very distinct in its cha-
racter and constant in its habits. It is one of the me-
chanic’s flowers, and is cultivated most extensively in the
neighborhood of some of the manufacturing towns. Its
simple elegance does credit to the taste of those who select it
for their favorite ; and it deserves a place in the garden of
the highest as well as the lowest in the land. Pinks are
numerous, the growers at Paisley enumerating about three
hundred varieties. Those are preferred which have the
limb of the petals nearly entire, and are well marked in
the centre with bright crimson or dark purple.
SWEET VIOLETS. 279
Pinks are mostly propagated by pipings in slight hot-
beds or under hand-glasses; and when proper attention is
given to the due admission of air, they generally succeed.
Occasionally rare sorts, which are scantily furnished with
grass, are propagated by layers. This flower does not re-
quire such elaborate composts as some others, but it likes
fresh light soils, well manured with decayed cow-dung.
Not more than two years of blooms should be taken from
the same bed, and it is the practice of most florists to have
a new bed every year. The flower-stalks are supported by
small sticks. As in the carnation, ligatures of bast-mat-
ting, or collars of card, are sometimes applied to the caly-
ces of the flowers: but this practice, however it may be
followed by those who judge according to the technical
“criteria of a fine flower,” will scarcely be adopted by any
who have an eye for natural beauty.
Sweet Violets, including varieties of Viola odorata and
the Neapolitan and Russian violets, are very desirable
ornaments in the spring months: and the fragrance of
their flowers is delightful when strewed on any kind of
server in the boudoir. To have them in perfection, a
new plantation should be made every year as soon as they
are done flowering, generally towards the middle or end
of May, preferring damp or cloudy weather for the opera-
tion.
The genus Lobelia may now be regarded as affording a
group of florists’ flowers. The leading species are L. car-
dinalis, fulgens, splendens, and syphilitica; but there are
several hybrids of merit. The cardinal flower, of a fine
scarlet color, has long been a valued plant. It is propa-
gated either by seed or by offsets. LL. fulgens, of a rich
crimson, is a still more showy species, forming a magnifi-
cent plant. A lobelia bed, consisting of these species and
280 FLOWER GARDEN.
of their hybrid offspring, having perhaps some of the pro-
cumbent species on the outside by way of edging, is cal-
culated to produce a beautiful effect in the flower garden,
continuing in bloom the whole season, Most of the kinds
afford offsets readily; if these be taken off and potted in
autumn, in alight sandy soil, they may be kept in a cool
frame over winter; or the entire old plants may be put
into large pots, and kept in the same way, the offsets be-
ing removed in the spring and forming excellent plants,
Tt would lead us too much into detail to speak minutely
of Caleeolaria, Phlox, Chelone, Pentstemon, Cinothera,
and other genera, which approach the character of florists’
flowers. ‘lo have them in perfection, they should be kept
in beds by themselves; and we are persuaded that, were a
moiety of the care bestowed upon them which is lavished
on florists’ flowers properly so called, they would amply
repay the labor of the cultivator,
The Chinese Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum - si-
nense), from the peculiar culture which it now undergoes,
may be considered to belong to this department of flowers.
Tt is a native of China, and though introduced many years
ago, its ornamental capabilities have only recently been
brought into notice, HKlowering in November and Decem-
ber, it fills up, with its many-colored blossoms, the blank
of a most dreary season, and affords the means of decorat-
ing green-houses, conservatories, and dwelling-houses, when
almost all other means of embellishment fail. Forty va-
rieties were enumerated by the late Mr. Sabine, in the
London Horticultural Memoirs ; but it is believed that
there are several others not yet introduced, flowers of
which are represented on Chinese painted screens, in a
stiff, but rigidly correct style, and which we may soon ex-
pect to receive from China. The Chrysanthemum is
CHINESE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 281
hardy enough to live in the open air, but it requires the
shelter of a wall, and, from the lateness of its flowering, it
is only the early varieties that even in fine seasons are
enabled to unfold their blossoms against a south wall in
our open borders. It is seen in its beauty only when
grown in pots and under glass. Yearly plants are prefer-
red. In the beginning of April, cuttings of the last year’s
shoots, about three inches long, are put singly into small
pots, filled with soil composed of one-half bog-earth or
leaf-mould, and one-half pure sand. Their growth is ex-
pedited at first by gentle heat. In about a month they
are found to be rooted, and are placed in a cold frame, in
which they are kept till the beginning of June, when they
are put into larger pots, and set out in some airy situation.
About this time, the tops of the plants are pinched off to
make them bushy, but no more side shoots are allowed to
remain for flowering than the plants are likely to be able
to support without a stake. In August, they are again
ehifted into larger pots, filled with strong rich soil. Dur-
ing the whole season, the pots are frequently moved to
prevent the roots from striking through, and they are
never plunged. Mr. Munro, of the London Horticultural
Garden, whose method of culture we have been describing,
recommends liquid manure to be applied from time to time
in summer and autumn. Other cultivators, in order to
have a greater succession of flowers, and a variety in the
stature of the plants, strike cuttings at two seasons, in
March and in May, and likewise propagated by layers in
August. In the beginning of winter the plants are placed
in a cold frame or vinery, and they are brought into a
milder temperature as they are wanted. To produce large
showy plants, a few of the chrysanthemums of the former
year may be selected, and being freed from suckers, and
282 FLOWER GARDEN.
having the mould shaken from their roots, may be repot-
ted and shifted repeatedly during the summer and autumn.
BOTANICAL STRUCTURES.
Grazep houses for the reception and culture of exotic
plants, though sometimes placed in connection with similar
structures in the forcing department, are now almost uni-
versally regarded as appendages of the flower garden. In
the hands of architects they have assumed a great variety
of forms, and too often has practical utility been sacrificed
to architectural taste. We shall confine ourselves to the
exhibition of the principle of the most important of these,
and shall limit our remarks to the Green-house, Conserva-
tory, and the Stove.
The G'reen-house is intended to afford a winter and
partly a summer shelter to the less tender classes of exotic
plants grown in pots. The annexed wood cut exhibits the
old-fashioned /ean-to green-house. The general form of
the house is that of a vinery, with pretty lofty front
BOTANICAL STRUCTURES. 283
glass. The main part of the area is occupied by a stage
rising in steps to receive the potted plants. At some
height above the front flue is placed a narrow horizontal
bench of trellis work, to receive pots containing small
plants which require to be near the light. In England,
since the repeal of the duty on slate, this material has
been in many cases advantageously employed in forming
the pavement, the shelving, and stages of plant-houses.
The interior air is warmed by one or two flues, or other
heating apparatus, according to its volume. Ifa temper-
ature of 45° Fahr. be maintained during winter, it is suffi-
cient. Sometimes green-houses are constructed with span-
Fig. 18.
284 FLOWER GARDEN.
roofs and a double stage; but they have a very plain
appearance, especially those which are commonly erected
inuursery gardens. They might be made much more orna-
mental, with little loss of light, as in the accompanying
figure (Fig. 18), which is designed for the south end of
one of these span-roofed houses. The plants have thus an
east and west aspect, or enjoy the morning and afternoon
sun. Such houses may indeed assume any form which
taste can suggest, provided there be a sufficiency of light,
and the plants be not too far from the glass. The heath-
house does not essentially differ from the green-house ; but
for it a span-roof is decidedly preferable, and provision
should be made for the most thorough ventilation.
In the Conservatory, the chief plants grow in beds of
earth sunk in the floor. The following figure shows the
eon
le OME mm el
principle of this species of house. The beds, marked 64 4,
are filled with a light soil, calculated for the plants which
are to inhabit them. This figure represents the front ele-
BOTANICAL STRUCTURES. 285
vation of the roof. Numerous varieties of this structure
also have appeared, and some most sumptuous examples
have been erected in the gardens of the opulent. With
similar restrictions as in the green-house, the conservatory
may be said to be capable of assuming any form. Orna»
mental climbing plants are generally trained under the
rafters, with a fine effect; such as Passiflora kermisina,
Dolichos lignosus, Ipomoea coccinea, Michauxii, Horsfal-
liz, and rubroccerulea.
The Plant-Stove may either be a dry-stove or a bark-
stove, or both combined, and is applied to the cultivation
of tropical plants which require an elevated temperature.
The dry-stove may be considered as a green-house, having
a larger than usual apparatus for the production of heat.
The bark-stove is furnished somewhat in the manner of a
pinery, with a receptacle to contain a bed of fermenting
tanners’ bark, into which the pots are plunged. In this
country, stoves are regarded as belonging rather to the
botanic than to the flower garden: they are extremely use-
ful, however, in the latter; for, besides presenting the florist
with many unusual forms of vegetation, they afford in sum-
mer a variety of beautiful plants, which, as they come into
bloom, may be introduced into the cooler green-house or
conservatory, and remain there till the flowering season be
over.
Sometimes the various botanical structures are combined
into one imposing assemblage, as that exhibited in Fig. 21 ;
a being a palm-house, 6 for New Holland plants; ¢ large
green-house, and the intermediate space being occupied by
dry-stove, heath-house, and green-houses. This mode is,
of course, suited only for places of the first order, where
splendor is an object, where everything is on a great scale,
and expense little regarded. In a vast proportion of cases
FLOWER GARDEN.
286
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BOTANICAL STRUCTURES. 287
economy must be studied; and in villa gardens the orna-
mental plant-house is very often attached to the library or
the drawing-room, or has a covered communication from
these apartments. A good plan for such a glazed house
may be found in the Gardener's Magazine, vol. vi., p.
664.
Green-house Plants.—This beautiful class of plants has
become so numerous that in a sketch like the present it is
impossible to give the names of even a limited selection.
We may once more refer to Mr. Loudon’s tables in his
Encyclopedia of Horticulture, or to his still more copious
lists in the Hortus Britannicus, from both of which works
much valuable information on the subject may be obtained.
The recent increase of species makes the task of selection
at once more necessary and more difficult; and it is one
which, it must be confessed, is often negligently performed.
Many of the finer sorts of woody plants are not propagated
without difficulty, and, consequently, being high-priced in
the nurseries, are found in requisite abundance only where
there is great liberality on the part of the proprietor. On
the other hand, the species which strike easily are circula-
ted by gardeners themselves, many of whom, by their own
interest and resources, more than half fill their green-houses
without calling for the pecuniary aid of their employers.
To this cause may be ascribed the perpetuation of many
mean-looking plants, which, if hardy, would scarcely be
tolerated in well-kept shrubberies, and certainly ought not
to encumber the green-house.
Light mould produced by the rotting of turf taken from
pastures, and mixed with sand, if necessary, or enriched by
the addition of leaf-mould, is well adapted for most grecn-
house plants. Some require a mixture of peat-earth ;
others thrive only in pure sandy peat. If more specific
; 1 1
288 FLOWER GARDEN.
directions be wished, we would recommend the reader to
have recourse to Cushing’s Exotic Gardener, or to the
more recent work by the late Mr. Sweet, entitled The Bo-
tanical Cultivator. The common means of propagation
is by cuttings, inserted in earth or sand, and covered, if
necessary, with bell-glasses. A few sorts are increased by
grafting or layering. Nearly all may be raised from seed,
large quantities of which are annually imported from
abroad. It may be added many green-house plants ripen
their seed in this country, and the collecting of such seeds
is too often neglected.
Many of these plants require shifting and fresh earth
twice a year; all of them should be repotted once a year
at least. It is the common practice to examine their roots
in spring or the early part of summer, and removing the
matted fibres, to put them into larger pots if necessary.
As room is extremely valuable in limited green-houses, it
is desirable that the plants should be kept of a moderate
size; and they are, therefore, rather to be under-potted
than otherwise. Many of the free-growing plants require
to be shifted again in August, at which period of the year
it is considered preferable to repot those which need to be
disturbed only once a year. During the summer months,
a great proportion of the inmates of the green-house are
placed in the open air, on a spot paved with flag-stones, or
laid with coal ashes, to prevent the entrance of earth-worms
into the pots, and the pots selected should be well sheltered
from high winds. Meanwhile, their place in the green-
house may be occupied by balsams and other tender annu-
als of a showy character. On the approach of winter, the
plants are again placed under cover. All that is neces-
sary in the management of the green-house in winter is to
keep up a steady but very moderate temperature, to pre-
BOTANICAL STRUCTURES. 289
elude the evil effects of damp by regular airing in mild, dry
weather, and to attend to slight watering where it may be
needed.
It is worthy of remark, that many species of green-house
plants flourish much more luxuriantly, and make a finer
appearance when in flower, if planted in the open border
during the summer months. Cultivators should therefore
diligently propagate such plants by cuttings in pots placed
in hotbeds in early spring, so as to have a store for plant-
ing out in June.
Of late years, particular genera of plants have ,come
greatly into vogue, and it would be an omission not to no-
tice some of them. Among the foremost may be mentioned
Pelargonium, with its affinities. The Pelargoniums are
of easy culture, being propagated readily by cuttings, and
requiring only to ke shifted from time to time. Young
plants are very liable to be attatked by the aphidion or
green fly. The most effectual cure is tobacco-water (as
procured from manufacturers of tobaceo, not a mere infu-
sion of tebacco.) If the plant be small, it may be dipped
into the liquid fer a minute or two, not only with impunity,
but with great advantage, the insects being thus killed.
Equal to these, in point of beauty of color, and certainly
superior in elegance of form, is the family of Cape heaths,
or Erice. Of this genus there are said to be 600 species,
considerably more than the half of which exist in our col-
lections. Many heaths may be raised from seed, which oc-
easionally ripens in this country: the most common mode
of propagatien, however, is by cuttings, and this in some
species is attended with difficulty. Very small cuttings
are stuck inte the purest white sand, and closely covered
with bell-glasses. The Erice require a peaty and sandy
soil, ane great attention in watering and giving plenty of
290 FLOWER GARDEN.
air. To have them in perfection, a separate house is indis
pensable. The heath-house should be very well lighted
easily and thoroughly ventilated, and so planned that the
plants may be near the glass; at the same time provision
should be made, by means of rollers of thin canvas, te
protect the plants from the scorching rays of the summer
sun, which are apt to induce mildew. For further infor-
mation, we may refer to the excellent little treatise of Mr.
M’Nab, of the Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, whose succesg
in this department is quite unrivaled, and in whose hands
Cape heaths attain a splendor which, we believe, they never
attain in the environs of Table Mountain itself. The
Eipacride are a lovely tribe from New Holland, which
should be cultivated along with the Cape heaths; particu-
larly Epacris impressa, nivalis, variabilis, and campanu-
lata.
fast of free-blooming Hardy Heaths, in their order of
flowering from January to December. (Commune-
cated by Mr. J. McNab.)
Erica herbacea. Erica Mackayana.
SaaS carnea. ramulosa.
-—— mediterranea hybernica. ciliaris.
——_——__—_—__——— intermedia. stricta.
—_——_ stricta. Calluna vulgaris, white, pink, red,
— —— nana. and double.
—— arborea. Erica cinerea, varieties.
australis. vagams.
— —— nana multiflora carnea.
rubra.
—— tetralix, varieties. —
The superb genus Camellia is the only other that shall
here be noticed. To the elegance of the finest evergreen,
the Camellia Japonica unites the beauty of the fairest rose.
‘The Camellia, though a native of Japan, is not particularly
tender, but, from some peculiarities in its constitution, its
CONSERVATORY PLANTS. 291
culture requires a considerable degree of attention and
care. Cuttings of the single red variety strike freely, and
upon these, as stocks, the finer sorts are grafted by inarch-
ing or side-grafting. The soil generally employed is a
mixture of peat and light loam. Care must be taken not
to allow the roots to become matted in the pots. The
young plants should be shifted at least once a year; when
old, and in large tubs, shifting once in two years will be
sufficient. It is found beneficial to apply a certain in-
creased degree of heat while the plants are growing, and
till they form flower-buds for the following season. ‘To
have Camellias in perfection, a house with a span-roof
should be appropriated for their reception. There are
some splendid collections of this noble plant, in appropriate
houses, in the nursery gardens in the neighborhood of Lon-
don, particularly at Hackney, Vauxhall, and Clapton.
Conservatory Plants.—These are composed of a selec-
tion from the numerous inmates of the green-house. They
should be naturally of an elegant form, capable in general
of sustaining themselves without the support of stakes, and
somewhat hardy in their constitution. Many of the Aus-
tralian plants, particularly the Acacias and Banksias, are
well adapted for this purpose. The ascending Proteas of
the Cape, Clethra arbora of Madeira, and many others of
a similar habit, may likewise take their place in this de-
partment. To these may be added a fewof the hardier
Heaths and Camellias, together with the broad-leaved
Myrtle, double-flowering Pomegranate, Camphor-laurel,
Tea-tree, and some of the varieties of the magnificent
Rhoddodendron arboreum. Any wall in the interior of the
house may be furnished with a trellis, anu covered with
such climbing plants as Lonicera Japonica, Maurandia
semperflorens, and Barclayana, and the trailing Pelargo-
292 FLOWER GARDEN.
niums. In the management of the conservatory, abundant
air should be admitted, and care should be taken not to
allow the plants to become drawn, or too tall and spindle-
formed by overcrowding. ‘They should be so pruned as to
keep them comparatively short and bushy; but after all
pains have been taken, the time at length arrives when
they either disfigure themselves by pressing against the
roof-glass, or must submit to the no less distorting process
of a violent amputation. To meet such exigencies, it is re-
commended that, wherever there is also a green-house, a
few plants should be kept in training for the conservatory,
and substituted in the room of any that, from excess of
growth, become unmanageable. After all, the fourth, fifth,
and sixth summers of the conservatory will always be the
finest ; and when a longer series of vears have gone by, and
the plants have outgrown the space allotted to them, per-
haps the best thing that can be done is to change the whole
interior of the house, plants, earth, and all. IEf this opera-
tion be anticipated, and for a year or two prepared for,
sufficiently large plants may be had in readiness, and the
appearance of a well-furnished house be again pretty well
attained in a single season. It is scarcely necessary to add,
that the neatness which is so desirable everywhere in the
flower garden is absolutely indispensable in the conserva-
ory.
Stove Plants.—There are many beautiful plants, natives
of tropical regions, which are cultivated in our stoves, but
which, owing to the high temperature they require, can be
only oceasionally visited with pleasure. This may account
for the fact that ornamental plant-stoves are seldom found
but in first-rate gardens, even where the price of fuel is
inconsiderable. It is unnecessary to be minute respecting
the culture of dry-stove plants, it being precisely that of
STOVE PLANTS. 293
green-house plants, differing only in the increased degree
of heat. Many dry-stove plants are succulent, such as
those belonging to the genera Cactus, Aloe, and Mesembry-
anthemum. ‘These require rather an arid soil, composed
of a little light loam mixed with lime-rubbish or shivers.
One of the most successful growers of the cactus tribe was
the late Mr. Walter Henderson at Woodhall. The com-
post which he employed consisted of 1 part rotted dung, |
rotted leaves, 1 heath mould, 1 1-2 loam, and 1 coarse
sand, all well mixed together ; and the pot was nearly one-
third filled with shreds, so as to form an effectual drain.
Some of the species, such as Cactus speciosus and Cereus
flagelliformis, are improved, and made to flower more freely,
by being kept growing vigorously in an airy green-house
during the summer months. The dark-stove plants thrive
best in a confined moist atmosphere, possessing something
of the tepid vapor peculiar to the equatorial climes. In
order to furnish bottom-heat, a bark pit is prepared,
into which the pots or tubs are sunk; and the air is heated
by flues, by steam, or, what is better, by a circulation of
hot water. Along the front glass, and on the back wall,
are shelves, on which pots may be arranged, according as
the plants require light or shade. On the front shelves are
occasionally placed shallow troughs filled with sphagnum,
and fragments of peat-moss or decayed wood, for the recep-
tion of air plants and other epiphytes. Small cisterns, too,
are introduced to contain tender aquatics. Along the raf-
ters some of the more elegant species of Passiflora, such as
P. quadrangularis, may be trained; and through the
branches of some of the woody plants, Cuscuta Chilensis,
Tropzolum tricolorum and Jarattii, and other tender
climbers, may be allowed to twine themselves. In the pit
may be plunged some of the Palms, those princes of plants,
~
294 FLOWER GARDEN.
particularly the Chinese Plaintain, Musa Cavendishii,
which is of comparatively humble growth, and often yields
its fruit when not exceeding six feet in height. In short,
there is no end of those numerous tribes, “ the potent sons
of moisture and of heat,” with which the teeming regions
of the equator are filled; and no suite of stoves in this
country, however extensive, can come up to the wishes of
the botanist. The management of this department of flori-
culture is laborious and trying to the constitution of the
operative gardener. A strong heat both in the bark-bed
and in the atmosphere of the house must be maintained ;
the air must be kept charged with vapor, and the plants
require frequent shifting and repotting. For more detailed
information as to the management of particular stove
plants, we may again refer to Cushing, who, in his Ezotic
Gardener, has treated this subject with a skill and fulness
that have not been surpassed by any of his successors.
To the precautions recommended for protecting plants
placed under glass during the American winter, it is neces-
sary to add that much greater care is requisite in guarding
against the effects of extreme cold and sudden variations
on the western than on the eastern side of the Atlantic.
The thermometer in the green-house should never be
allowed to descend below forty degrees in the absence of
the sun; and even at that temperature plants will in very
clear cold weather, often part with so much of their warmth
through radiation as to be nipped by frost. But, in clos-
ing out the cold external air, the vital importance of venti-
lation to plants must not be forgotten, and fresh air should
be cautiously admitted on all occasions. When the tem-
perature is high, plants require more watering than when
the thermometer is low. In very cold spells, much moist-
ure invites frost. Whenever the weather is_ sufficiently
TROPICAL ORCHIDACEZ. 295
mild, the plants should be allowed the full benefit of the
open alr.
Tropical Orchidacee.—Till within the last few years,
the cultivation of epidendrous plants was deemed too diffi-
cult to be attempted in private establishments, and was
resigned to Royal Gardens. A great revolution in this
respect has since taken place; epiphytes being now exten-
sively cultivated. The collection of such plants in the
principal nursery gardens near Londen is vast, particularly
at those of Loddiges, Hackney—Rollisons, Tooting—
Knight, Chelsea—and Low, Clapton. Some amateur cul-
tivators eminently excel in them; such as the Duke of
Devonshire at Chatsworth, where Mr. Paxton presides;
Karl Fitzwilliam at Wentworth, where Mr. Cooper is gar-
dener; Mr. Bateman at Knypersley, and Mr. Rucker at
Wandsworth. More than 1000 species ef epiphytes are
now in cultivation. They are all tropical productions, and,
of course, need stove-heat in this country; but those from
the Hast Indies require a higher temperature and more hu-
mid atmosphere than these from South America. In Scot-
Jand, the cultivation of tropical epiphytes is carried to
great perfection at the Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh and
Glasgow, and also at the Experimental Garden of the Cal-
edonian Horticultural Society, Edinburgh; and the prac-
tices followed in these establishments are here recommend-
ed. In some private gardens, likewise, such epiphytes are
grown with great success; particularly at Dalkeith Park,
under Mr. Mackintosh, and Bothwell Castle, under Mr.
Turnbull. It has now been fully ascertained by exten-
sive experience, that their cultivation is not nearly so diffi-
cult as was formerly supposed. When pots or shallow pans
are used, they should be well furnished at bottom with
shivers, or broken bricks or tiles, to drain off superfluous
296 FLOWER GARDEN.
moisture, and then filled up with oblong pieces of spongy
peat, between two and three inches in length, and more
than an inch in breadth and depth. Chips of rotten sticks,
and tufts of decayed hypnum or sphagnum, and the mix-
ture of fibrous roots which may be grubbed up in any
wood having a light or sandy soil, may often be used with
advantage, for the growth of Dendrobiums, and for all
wicker baskets suspended by wires from the rafters, where
peat would be apt to get too dry and hard. Some kinds are
the better for being fostered with the bottom-heat of a tan-
bed. The roots are generally thrown out near the surface:
a principal point in the culture consists in encouraging the
development of these; the compost of peat and other sub-
stances should therefore be raised several inches above the
margin of the pot, so that the superficial roots may have
free scope. It is not necessary that the peat used should
be dried: in general it is found to answer best when it is
rather soft and spongy. When the peat is dry, it is diffi-
cult to get wooden-pegs to penetrate without breaking the
peat, particularly for Stanhopeas, or plants requiring to be
piled high up. The plants may be piled on the peat from
six to eighteen inches, according to the size of the plant,
and of the pot used. Stanhopeas are found to flower best
when planted on rough peat, a considerable height above
the edge of the pots or flats used, so as to allow the flowers
to come out from the crevices of the peat. They are also
cultivated successfully in baskets of copper-wire, made
with the work very open, and filled with sphagnum mogs.
The former method is particularly adapted for a warm, dry
atmosphere; and the latter for a warm, moist atmosphere.
In wire-baskets, likewise, amongst rough peat, the various
species of Epiphyllum, with Drymonia punctata and Brug
mansia floribunda, may be successfully cultivated.
TROPICAL ORCHIDADEZ. 297
The following epiphytes are easily cultivated in a vinery
or a pine-pit, in pots filled with pieces of peat: Catasetum
tridentatum, floribundum; Brassia maculata; Oncidium
flexuosum, pulvinatum; Gongora atro-purpurea; Cattleya
intermedia, Forbesii, labiata, crispa; Zygopetalon Mackayi;
Stanhopea insignis, grandiflora, oculata, tigrina, Devoniana;
Crytopodium Andersonii; Acropera Loddigesii. The fol-
lowing kinds are well adapted for being placed in pots
filled with hypnum or sphagnum, and suspended from the
rafters; Dendrobium Pierardi, cucullatum, speciosum ;
Oncidium bifolium, papilio, junceum; Fernandesia ele-
gans; Aéranthes grandiflora; Vanda teres, multiflora;
Broughtonia sanguinea; Rodriguesia secunda. Some of
the larger species grow best in rough, black peat-soil, and
flower freely under ordinary,treatment in a stove; such as
Phajus maculatus; Calanthe veratrifolia; Bletia macu-
lata; Peristeria elata; Cymbidium siense, aloéfolium, en-
sifolium. Cypripedium insigne, and venustum. The Va-
nilla planifolia may be cultivated in the same way ; and it
has been found, that if the retinaculum be carefully re-
moved from the top of the stigma, and the anther turned
down to the stigma, the very fragrant fruit of this plant
may be produced in our stoves.
A principal object should be to imitate, in some measure,
the native climate of these orchidacez; to give them a
dry or hot season, a rainy or watering period, and a cold
or winter season. Generally speaking, the dry season may
include May, June, and July; the watering period, August,
September, and October; and the cold season the rest of
the year.
The propagation of these epiphytes is not in general dif-
ficult. Many sorts form pseudo-bulbs, by means of which
they are readily multiplied. In others, if the rhizoma or
13*
298 FORCING GARDEN
root-stock be divided, with a piece of stem adhering, there
is little risk of failure. These plants come into flower: at
all seasons of the year. The blossoms of many are beau-
tiful, and of the most curious structure; and some are
fragrant. |
THE FORCING GARDEN
is only a department, but an important one, of the Fruit
Garden. The term forcing is strictly applicable only to
those artificial processes by which vegetation is in a con-
siderable degree accelerated; but in common language it
has been applied to all those operations in which glazed
frames or houses are concerned, though they may be em-
ployed merely in aiding the common progress of nature, or
in counteracting the great vicissitudes of our climate. For
the sake of convenience, we shall adopt the term in its
broadest acceptation. After some preliminary observa-
tions, we shall first treat of the structures, and then of the
fruits and vegetables which are cultivated in them.
The principal object of hot-houses, and other structures
of a similar nature, is to produce an artificial temperature
and humidity of the atmosphere, which shall resemble, as
nearly as possible, the climate in which the fruits or plants
naturally flourish. A command of heat is obviously a pri-
mary requisite. . A regulated admission of air, and the pre-
sence of a certain degree of moisture, are, in the next place,
necessary. Lastly, without the free access of light, plants
become blanched, or are destroyed by the moisture which
they generate. These, then, are the conditions which limit
the form of hot-houses; when these are attained, any form
may be adopted which invention can devise, or wealth exe-
cute; but every true lover of the art will aim at simpli-
ARTIFICIAL HEAT. 299
vity, and will deprecate useless expenditure, so often ex-
hibited in this department, as injurious to the character as
well as to the progress of horticulture.
Artificial Heat.—Forcing-houses are heated in various
ways; by means of flwes conveying smoke and heated air;
by pipes conducting steam or hot water; by so construct-
ing the glazed house as to increase the calorific action of
the sun’s rays; and sometimes by the heat generated in
the course of the fermentation of vegetable substances.
Flues are generally constructed of common brick, though
occasionally fire-brick is employed in the neck, or that part
of the flue immediately adjoining the furnace. The bricks
in the side walls are placed on their edges, and the top
covering is of tile an inch and a half in thickness. In dis-
tricts where sandstone flag abounds, the covers are often
formed of that material. Horticultural writers have recom-
mended that flues should be about eighteen inches deep, and
of nearly equal breadth; but to obtain the greatest quantity
of heat, it clearly appears, from the experiments of Mr.
Stevenson (Cal. Hort. Mem., i. 143,) that, where possible,
the breadth should be nearly double the depth. It is ad-
vantageous to detach flues as much as possible from the
walls of the building which encloses them, in order that
the heat may be communicated to the air only. Formerly
they were often built, sometimes one above another, with
only one side exposed, a practice which, as it occasioned
great waste of heat from conduction, has been generally
abandoned. When it is necessary to lead one flue above
another, or to make it return upon itself, spaces should be
left between them, to allow the free passage of caloric from
every side.
With a view to economy of fuel, can-flues and cast-iron
cylinders have been proposed, and occasionaily adopted,
A
300 FORCING GARDEN.
but their use has not hitherto become general. The ar-
rangement of the flues must depend upon the nature of the
house; it may, however, be remarked generally, that, as
heated air has a tendency to ascend, they should be placed
as near as can conveniently be done to the front of the
house, where, of course, the sloping roof is lowest. It is
likewise important that the flue should be introduced, and
exert its greatest influence, at that point of the structure
which is most exposed to any refrigerating cause.
The furnace is most properly situate behind the house,
and is generally covered by a shed. For the most part it
is constructed so that the upper part of its arch shall be on
a level with the top of the flue; but where a considerable
heat is required, as in pine-apple stoves, it is found pre-
ferable to sink the furnace, in order to produce a neck or
rise of about a foot and a half in heighth, which moderates
the intensity of the heat on its first entranee, and, by in-
creasing the draught, causes the fire to burn freely. The
size of the furnace must be regulated by the kind of fuel
employed. Where coke or chareoal is used, it may be
about eighteen inches square; but where small coal, turf,
or peat is to be burned, it should be two feet, or even two
and a half square, by two feet in height. A large furnace
insures the long continuance of the fire, a fact which in
practice has received too little attention. To resist the
effects of heat, the interior should be lined with fire-briek.
The roof should be strongly arched. The door may be
about a foot square, and when it is double, as it ought al-
ways to be, the outer half should be a little larger than
the inner. The grate is of the same breadth as the door,
and may extend about two-thirds of the length of the fur-
nace. The ash-pit is equally wide, and from fifteen to
eighteen inches deep; it is furnished with a ventilator in
ARTIFICIAL HEAT. 301
the door to regulate the admission of air. In practice the
furnace, and especially the ash-pit, should be kept clear of
ashes; as by this means, coals of an inferior quality may
be burnt with ease.
The following figure (Fig. 22) represents a longitudinal
section of the common garden furnace. It is surrounded
by a double wall to prevent the escape of heat.
Fig. 22.
pis wana Sem
ae cachunnicg /
ey
ath ' Y]
|
‘|
‘Mr. Witty has invented a furnace, which is possessed
of valuable qualities. A vertical section of it is given in
Fig. 23.
ee
7] Wy .
a Y f YY BRN
—= LD OSES: ‘=
MT =~ i ‘ar
Y Mgr
Pe
] a i a
YY i ih
He i | i i NG i 1?
i
37
LPL
Fig. 23. The fuel is supplied by the door at a, and is
pressed down the inclined plane towards the grate c, by an
302 FORCING GARDEN.
apparatus placed at the head of it; but this method, being
complicated, has given way to several modifications, in
which the door @ has been found the most useful, the fuel
being pressed forward by the common tools used for feed-
ing furnaces: 6 is the door for regulating the fuel on the
grate c. In its progress, the whole surface of the coal
along the inclined plane is constantly kept in a state of
‘inflammation, the flame having naturally a tendency to burn
upwards. In this way, the greater part of the fresh coal
is carbonized, that is, the gas is separated from it and in-
flamed, leaving only coke. The strong combustion of the
coke at the grate produces heat enough to carbonize the
coal, and air enough to inflame the gas. This furnace,
therefore, not only consumes most of the smoke, but effects
a considerable saving of fuel.
Steam.—Of late years steam has been applied with suc-
cess to the production of an artificial climate in glazed
houses. It is more genial than fire-heat from flues, being
less contaminated, and more equable and pliant in its
distribution. In steam hot-houses, the plants can scarcely
ever be liable to suffer from scorching heat; the air con-
tinues pure and untainted, and persons visiting the house
are much less liable to be annoyed by the smell of smoke
and soot. It is neater in all its arrangements within doors
and also without, for it precludes the necessity of more
than one furnace, and one chimney-top, and in a great mea-
sure removes the unseemliness of the heaps of coals and
ashes with which common furnaces are usually surrounded.
In districts where coals are dear, the saving of fuel is an
object ; and it has been found that seven bushels of coal
go as far in keeping up steam heat as ten bushels do in
maintaining av equal temperature in the ordinary way.
By merely opening a valve, the house may at any time be
STEAM. 303
effectually steamed, that is, filled with the steam or vapor,
and the warm moisture thus applied to the plants is ob-
served to contribute remarkably to their health and vigor.
To counterbalance these advantages, we are not aware of
any defects, except such as may arise from the greater com-
plexity of the apparatus, or at least its liability to disre-
pair and accident.
Steam is generated in a cast or wrought iron boiler, of
an oblong form, furnished with safety-valves, and heated
by a smoke-consuming furnace. As in the common steam-
engine, the boiler is supplied from a cistern above, and is
made to regulate itself by a simple contrivance. In the
feed-head is a valve, which is opened by the sinking of a
float, which descends in proportion as the water is dissi-
pated in steam; and, being balanced by a weight, whenever
a sufficient quantity of water is admitted, rises again, and
shuts the valve. As steam may be conveyed, without ma-
terially impairing its calorific powers, to the distance of
several thougand feet, one boiler is sufficient for heating all
the glazed houses which are ever erected together; but a
second is generally kept in readiness, to act as an auxiliary
in case of accident, or in very severe weather. Steam is
conducted from the boiler in a single main pipe, or in two
parallel pipes, which, according to Mr. Tredgold, may be
only one inch in bore. The divarications of the pipes into
particular houses are arranged somewhat in the manuer of
flues, and, indeed, are sometimes placed within these, or
on them, when they already exist. These interior pipes
are from three to six inches in diameter, in order to afford
a greater radiating surface, and are supplied with sets of
valves, to admit, regulate, or exclude the heated vapor,
according to circumstances.
The most perfect and extensive samples of steam ap-
304 FORCING GARDEN.
paratus exist at Syon House, the princely seat of the Duke
of Northumberland, near Brentford, and in the nursery
garden of Messrs. Loddiges at Hackney. At the latter
place, glazed houses, to the extent of almost a thousand
feet in length, and forming three sides of a square, are
heated solely by steam from one boiler. The boiler is of
an oblong shape, measuring eleven feet by four, and is
formed of malleable iron. In certain narrow houses in-
tended by Messrs. Loddiges for green-house plants, a sin-
gle steam-pipe is found sufficient. In other houses of con-
siderable height and breadth, or where a higher tempera-
ture is required, as in the palm-house, the steam-flue is
made to describe two or three turns.
Water, contained in large vessels or pipes, is sometimes
heated by steam, and so made the medium of conveying
caloric to the atmosphere of glazed houses. The annexed
figure represents an example of this arrangement. In the
instance here given, a small steam-tube, one inch in
diameter, enters a water-pipe eight inches in diameter,
and twenty-eight feet long, wholly within the forcing-
house; it passes into the large pipe at the centre, and
after traversing its whole length and returning, it issues
out immediately below the point at which it entered, It
then forms a siphon, by which the condensed water is con-
STEAM, 305
veyed away. A more detailed description may be found
in the London Horticultural Transactions, vol. iii.
Steam is sometimes employed to furnish bottom heat.
In the garden of Mr. Sturge, near Bath, a shallow cistern
of water is heated by a steam-pipe, in the manner exhibit-
ed the two following figures. The cistern is covered with
pavement, over which is a bed of small stones, then ashes
or sand, into which the pots containing plants are to be
plunged.
re ‘s 4
Gl iJ
LU LLL PLL
iiss 2 0
My
y)
YM
SSS MOM
OD EMO
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Ne
Steam has also been employed to heat flues. The fol-
lowing figure represents a side view and section of a flue
filled with small stones or broken bricks, and heated by
Fig. 26.
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cS
eo8
SN
SS
mn
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he
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is
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UMM
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means of a small steam-pipe passing along the lower part
306 FORCING GARDEN. .
of the flue. Along the upper side of this pipe are a num-
ber of small holes, becoming more frequent towards the
farther end, to allow the escape of steam: there are, be-
sides, a few perforations in the under side, to clear away
condensed water. The flue has a slight inclination to that
end of the house from which the water can be more easily
drained.
Similar expedients were long ago employed in the heat-
ing of forcing-pits, by the late Mr. John Hay, of Edin-
burgh, a garden architect of great judgment and experi-
ence. Fig. 27 represents a recent variety of this mode of
Fig. 27.
PAU oman
a
—
ition
SONATA
lqe,ited st >
‘an
Y ds TITEL YY 74
Patience, garden - - 205) Potato onion - - - - 197
Peaches, best in the U. S. 99, 100} Potato, sweet - - - 184
enemies of the peach tree, Potatoes, kinds and culture - 179
and remedies against - 100 forcing Of iit - - 182
English and French modes varieties best known in U. 8. 182
of training the tree - 105} Powell grape, - - - 72
modes of cultivatingin U. S. 106} Primula, cultivation of - - 276
mode of obtaining new va- Propagation of plants in green-
rieties - - - iO houses - - - 287
modes of protecting the Pruning - - a2 BS
blossoms in England - 111 Prussian grass - - - 209
plans of pruning for fruit 105} Pumpkin - - - - 224
Varieties and subvarieties 96,97} Purslane - - - - 228
when trees are to be trimmed 111 | Pyramide training - - 54
Peach-house, structure and
managementof - 331, 332) Quenouille training - - 5b
Pears, best kinds of fruit in U.S. 134 | Quince-tree, culture of - - I4t
fine kinds - - - 124} Quinoa spinach, culture of - 204
grafting of the tree - - 131
influence of the parent stock Radish, culture of - - - 192
* upon the fruit = - - 132 Ranunculus, cultivation of - 265
kitchen sorts - - - 131 properties of a fine one - ib.
autumnal and winter sorts 130 proper soil for the beds - 266
Mr. Knight’s varieties - 133 propagation of - - 267
summer management of Raspberries, kind and culture of 151
trees - . - - 134| Rendle’s tank heating - - 315
Pear tree, management of |= - 131|Rhododendrons = - - 245
Pears and apples, modes of storing 138 | Rhubarb, kinds and culture - 220
Pearl onion - . - - 197 | Rider wall-trees - - «= 52
Peas, kinds and culture - - 175|Rocambole - - - - 200
Peat-soil for flower-garden - 239} Rock-work - - = Pod
Peat,when only partially decom- plants reconimedthded for
posed, prejudicial to nso 240 decorating the - - 1b.
Pelargoniums - - 289) Rogers’ conical boiler - - 309
Pennyroyal - - - - 230 | Root-grafting - - <4
Pepper grass - - - - 220) Rosary, management of the - 248
Peppermint - - - - 230| Rosemary - e - - 230
Perennials, tall ornamental - 250
Peruvian rice - - - 205] Sage—Salad herbs - - 230
Panpersell =) = “= * = 230) Salsify -' = va) (=. .~ OF
Pine-apples, kinds of - 341, 342) Savory, winter - - 230
pits and culture - - 343) Savoy greens, culture of - - 169
Pinks, cultivation of = - - 278) Scallions, mode of producing - 195
Plant-stove, structure of - - 285 | Scarioles - - - - 214
408
Scorzonera, culture of - -
Scuppernong grape - -
Sea-kale, culture and forcing of,
in open borders. - -
Seed, mode of raising fruits from
Seedling fruits, raising of -
Service-tree, culture of - -
Shaddock-fruit, culture of -
Shallot, culture of - - -
Shelter, necessity and means of
Shrubs, deciduous - - -
evergreens - - -
in planting out, how to be
disposed - - -
ornamental, recommended
propagation of - -
Situation for fruit-garden, &c.,
selection of - - -
of flower gardens - -
Siphon employed in circulating
hot water - - -
Skirret, culture of - - -
Sloe - - -
Soil, best for kitchen anion -
for flower garden - -
Sorrel, common and French -
Spearmint - - - -
Spinach, culture of -~— -
wild - - ah te
Squash - - - NS
Standard fruit-trees, training of
Steam, use of, for heating glazed
houses - - -
Stocks of fruit-trees, influence of,
upon the graft = - -
. Paradise, Doucin, Bullace,
Mahaleb-~ - < i
for fruit-trees - : “
Stove plants - - “ =
compost for - = 2
Strawberry, male and female
how distinguished -
bank - - - -
Strawberries, kinds and culture
of - - - >
forcing of -
Succory, culture of -
Summer savory -
Sweet basil - -
INDEX,
292
293
161
158
155
159
215
231
tb.
THE
Sweet herbs - - 2 .
marjoran - 2 “
Syrian grape - - =
Tanks, heating by means of
Tetragonia, culture of -
Training of fruit-trees -
Trenching, advantages of
Tulips, cultivation of = - -
Turnips, kinds and culture’ = -
Turnip-rooted cabbage - -
Vegetable marrow - - -
Verdelho grape - ak he
Vernal plants - - -
Vinery, forcing in the early
vinery, when to be com-
menced and proper de-
grees of heat = - -
structure of the - -
training of vines in the =<
Vines, grape, sorts cultivated =
Vine, famous one at Hampton
Court - - - -
great ageofone 8 -
sorts adapted to the U. s.
protection of, in winter -
propagation “of - -
Violets, sweet - - .
Walks, garden, forming ee
Walls; inclosure_ -
hot = - -
Wall-borders - - -
Wall-trees, training of -
Walnut-tree, general manage-
ment of the - - -
Washington plum - -
Water, necessity of a supply of
hot, for heating glazed
houses - ~ -
melon - - -
Welsh onion - - -
West’s melon pit
Winter garden
squash - -
Witty’s furnace
6
e
Zante, or Corinth grape
END.
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