THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



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pod ? — Negro Long-podded. 3. The 

 Runner Bean -which has the longest 

 and largest pod I — Giant White. 4. 

 The largest Beet? — Common Red. 5. 

 The dwarfest and quickest hearting 

 Cabbage? — Dwarf Early York, Shil- 

 ling's Queen, or Sutton's Early Coombe. 

 6. The largest Cabbage for culinary 

 purposes? — Large Paignton, Sprotboro' , 

 or Wellington. 7. The longest and 

 largest Cabrot? — Altringham. 8. The 

 Cauliflower which has the largest 

 head? — Leornand's or Statholder. 9. 

 The largest Celery ? — Laing's Mam- 

 moth Red. 10. Tiie longest and largest 

 Cucumber grown? — Improved Man- 

 chester Prize, hut Dr. Livingstone not 

 quite so large, is better. 11. The 

 largest Cos Lettuce with a white 

 heart? —Carter's Giant White. 12. The 

 best-flavoured Scarlet Flesh Melon ? 

 — Scarlet Gem. 13. The best-flavoured 

 Green Flesh Melon ?— Bailey's Green 

 Flesh. 14. The largest Parsnip for culi- 

 nary purposes? — Guernsey. 15. The 

 Pea which has the largest pod and 

 largest pea in it I — British Queen, 

 which is also the finest pea known for 

 fruitfulness and flavour. 16. The longest 

 Scarlet Radish ! — Beck's Long Scar- 

 let. 17. The largest White Tubnip for 

 culinary purposes ? — Pomeranian. 

 Filbert Culture. — E. C — The Kentish 

 system is a good system, because it keeps 

 the trees down in the form of bushes, 

 but it is generally very rudely practised. 

 Rooted suckers are planted in the first 

 instance; these grow two years, and are 

 then cut down. The result of this is a 

 vigorous shoot, and only one is wanted. 

 This, after a season's growth, is headed 

 back and disbudded, and at a foot from 

 the ground, and by a regular course of 

 pruning a round compact head is formed. 

 In the early stages of the pruning the 

 future growth is alone considered, and 

 the shoots are cut so as to promote the 

 growth of buds directed outwards, the 

 leader and the central shoots being re- 

 moved altogether, and the tree formed to 

 a stem not more than a foot high, and 

 an open head not more than five feet 

 high. When they come to bearing con- 

 dition, great care is taken to preserve a 

 certain number of the young shoots, and 

 the sprigs which come from the pait 

 where the shcots of the preceding year 

 were shortened, as on these are produced 

 the female blossoms. As for the male 

 blossoms, a certain number are of course 

 left, but the pruning can never be effec- 

 tually performed without removing a 

 considerable number of them, and of 



female blossoms also. But to enable the 

 pruner to proceed with certainty, pruning 

 is always deferred till the spring, when 

 the male blossoms are conspicuous. 

 Yellow Roses. — I have been reading 

 your book on the culture of roses, more 

 especially with regard to yellow roses, 

 and I am induced to risk an observation 

 which you may carry out better than 

 myself. Some years since I spent several 

 weeks in the course of the summer at 

 the village of Porloch Weir, a few miles 

 below Minehead, on the Bristol Channel, 

 and in a fisherman's garden, formed on 

 the shingle, grew the greatest profusion 

 of yellow roses I ever saw, about the size 

 of a common cabbage rose, both in 

 growth and flower. His wife told me 

 the reason they so seldom blossomed was 

 that they were treated too well, not being 

 by any means delicate, but required 

 plenty of fresh air. A friend tried the 

 plan on one he had treasured for several 

 years, but never blossomed ; he removed 

 it into the grass lawn, into an open 

 situation, and the following year it was 

 a perfect mass of bloom. If this is a new 

 idea to you, I hope it may be of use. I 

 am a great lover of flower--, but have 

 not the means to indulge in expensive 

 beauties. — A. G. [There is certainly 

 nothing new in a tea rose doing better on 

 an open lawn than in some close and 

 dark position, though " A. G." does not 

 say why it " never blossom d well." But 

 to'hear of yellow roses blooming abun- 

 dantly on the shingle at Porloch Weir 

 is certainly interesting. The balmy air, 

 moistened and warmed by the gulf 

 stream, is no doubt the principal cause of 

 the prosperity of the roses in the Bristol 

 Channel] 

 Seneclo.Amaryllis belladonna, cracked 

 Grapes. — For the last three years my 

 beds of American groundsel have been 

 failures, notwithstanding the dry sum- 

 mer. I have not a bioom ; they are 

 nice grown, healthy-look ing plants, but 

 no bloom on them at all. Four years 

 since the same beds with similar plants, 

 were a picture. Belladonna lilies. — 

 Do these roots bloom every year ? Last 

 year I suppose I had thirty spikes ; this 

 year I may have had a dozen, chiefly 

 from three patches of roots, while six or 

 seven other patches have shown no- 

 bloom. I have moved t lie roots this 

 week, trenching the borders, and the 

 roots are showing signs of throwing out 

 the leaves, but no bloom. I generally 

 buv a dozen roots for the house yearly, 

 and then place them in the borders. In 

 some gardens at Torquay the belladonna 



