c; 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



the public journals. "We hope the North Western Society will depend upon 

 its own members next year. 



Hornsey G-ardeners' Mutual Instruction, Dec. 7. — The members of 

 this society assembled at the Infant School Room, Hornsey, to hear a lecture 

 by Mr. Shirley Hibberd, of Stoke Newington, on the " History and Cultiva- 

 tion of the Rose." The chair was occupied by Robert Richmond, Esq., sup- 

 ported by many of the neighbouring gentry. Mr. Hibberd briefly sketched 

 the history of the rose from the earliest times to the peace of 1815, when, he 

 said, the first of the great French rose-gardens Mas laid out by M. Vibert, and 

 the improvement of the rose, as a florist's flower, commenced in earnest. 

 The great majority of show varieties had been raised in France, during the past 

 forty-five years, by MM. Vibert, Laffay, Hardy, Deprez, Prevost, Lacharme. 

 Margottin, Guillot, Granger, and a few other professional and amateur growers. 

 The lecturer enumerated the best roses raised by each, and gave a few histo- 

 rical memoranda of such roses as Aimee Vibert, Jules Margottin, Geant des 

 Batailles, Great Western, and others, tracing them to their parentage, and 

 indicating, also, the varieties Which had proceeded from them. The seedlings 

 of Geant des Batailles, he said, were sufficiently numerous to constitute a 

 rich collection of extraordinary roses, and they included Lord Raglan, General 

 Jacqueminot, Duchess of Norfolk, Eveque de Nimes, Louis Chaix, and others 

 of the crimson section of hybrid perpetuals. Passing from the varieties the 

 lecturer proceeded to the subject of culture, giving an epitome of the treat- 

 ment of the rose on loam, sand, clay, chalk, and peat, with hints on the selec- 

 tion of varieties, and the management of stocks, as well as the improvement of 

 unsuitable soils. He then treated of propagation, and, by the aid of a black 

 board, explained the various modes of budding on the Briar, Manetti, Celine, 

 and other stocks. His description of the method of striking roses from eyes, in 

 the fashion of a grape vine, was particularly interesting. The buds are to 

 be taken at the same season, and in the same manner, as for budding on the 

 Briar, that is from half-ripe wood, the buds of which have not started. The 

 leaf is not to be removed, nor is the wood to be taken out of the shield; 

 but every bud with its attached wood, bark, and leaf, is to be planted in 

 pure sand, with a little peat under it for the first roots to work into, and then 

 covered with a bell-glass. In this way scarce roses would be multiplied 

 rapidly. The Rector of Hornsey proposed a vote of thanks, which was 

 carried by acclamation. — Gardener's Chronicle. 



THE VEGETABLE OYSTER. 



Several years ago a friend of mine 

 brought from North-west America some 

 seeds of a vegetable well-known and cul- 

 tivated in those parts, which he said were 

 given to him by a native chief, and which 

 he called the Vegetable Oyster. I sowed 

 these 3eeds, and found the root most 

 agreeable in flavour, and justifying its name 

 from its close resemblance to the flavour 

 of the oyster. It had the appearance, 

 when in bloom, of the salsafy, of a deep 

 lilac colour, and the seeds were like those 

 of the salsat'y, or Tragopogon porrifolium. 

 At length I lost the plant, through the 

 depredation of the birds in carrying away 

 the seed. This I regretted, as I much 

 liked the vegetable. Some time since I 



wrote to the editor of , and urged 



him to endeavour to obtain seeds of the 

 plant, but never heard from him upon the 

 subject. I grew the English salsafy after- 

 wards, but it had not the nice flavour of 

 the foreign root. 



I should be obliged if you, or any of 

 your readers would inform me if this escu- 

 lent is known and procurable in England, 

 if not, I would urge the obtaining of it 

 from North America, as I am sure it 

 would be acceptable to many. It should 

 be sought for under the name of Vege- 

 table Oyster, as it has an essentially dif- 

 ferent flavour from that of the salsafy. 

 Inquirer. 



