38 THE GARDENER. [Jan. 



SCUTELARIA MOCCIANA. 



This is a really effective and useful accession to our list of free- 

 fiowering stove-plants, and one that should be in every collection where 

 effective furnishing plants and cut llowers are much in demand. It is 

 a soft-wooded free-going plant, compact in habit, and yields in great 

 abundance terminal spikes of rich dark-orange flowers. And when 

 each plant is denuded of its Howering stem and spike, the plant has the 

 very commendable habit of throwing up fresh growths from the bottom, 

 which in their turn yield their effective spikes of flowers. 



Cuttings put in in February, March, and April, and grown freely 

 on, will continue the succession of bloom from the end of June till 

 Christmas. It strikes freely in a bottom-heat of 80°, and when rooted 

 should be potted into 3- inch pots, three plants in each pot. "When well 

 rooted another shift into a 6-inch pot will suffice to make nice 

 strong plants of it large enough for ordinary house-decoration, and 

 for yielding a goodly supply of cut blooms. It thrives in a soil com- 

 posed of one part turfy loam, and one part of fibry peat with a little 

 well-decomposed manure and silver-sand To grow it dwarf and com- 

 pact, keep it near the glass well exposed to light ; and in an ordinary 

 stove temperature it grows very freely. It should be freely syringed 

 till it begins to bloom ; and to keep the plants blooming vigorously 

 without larger shifts, water occasionally with clear manure-water. 



A. P. H. 



MADKESFIELD COURT AND GOLDEN CHAMPION 

 GRAPES. 



I HAVE these two under the same treatment in newly- prepared borders, Madres- 

 field Court having the best chance, as it is planted in two houses, the one a 

 Muscat house, the other a Lady Downes. All the Vines have done well, and 

 Madresfield Court is in strength equal to the best cane in the house. I formed a 

 good opinion of this Grape last year, only it did not keep to my exi>ectations. 

 Thinking then that I saw the cause of it not keeping, I did not alter my good 

 opinion^ of it, but propagated it so as to plant a house of it, thinking it would 

 come in well after Hamburgs and before Lady Downes. In planting it, I used 

 the precaution to plant alternately with Black Hamburg. After another year's 

 experience of it, I find it does not keep so well as Black Hamburg, but has 

 kept even worse than it did last year : not only so, bat it rotted in the bimch 

 before it was properly ripe, or sweetened to the height of its flavour. Mr 

 Thomson from the Tweed Vineyard, saw it in August, examined it minutely, 

 and said he never before saw it so fine. In selecting the best bunches for the 

 eight varieties for Glasgow show, I found it was going as Mr Cramb described 

 in the ' Chronicle, ' where he has been held in error by many for giving a true 

 description of it under his care. After returning from Glasgow, in the short 

 space of eight days, I found the best bunches of Madresfield Court a perfect 



