42 



FOREIGN NOTICES. 



it is in connection with a residence of any architect- 

 ural pretension, remembering always that the gay 

 assemblage of Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, Petuni- 

 as, Verbenas, &c, are not to be jumbled together in 

 chaotic confusion; but placed with due considera- 

 tion', to heighten, by contrast, their individual and 

 collective effects. It is one of the great sins of 

 the present day that fashion in these matters is too 

 often mistaken for taste. 



" Despotic Fasliion, in fantastic garb, 

 Oft, by her vot'ries, for the magic robe 

 Of Taste mistaken, with ill-guiding step 

 Directs our path." 



I think that art in gardening matters cannot be 

 too highly developed on the ground immediately 

 surrounding a mansion residence. In such a situ- 

 ation it forms a striking contrast to the more dis- 

 tant scenery, each lending to the other a charm; 

 the one of art and brilliant coloring, the other of 

 nature and repose. 



I would extend the principle of introducing 

 flowers in masses to the lawn and shrubberies, for 

 the same reason, that greater variety is produced 

 thus than by the old method of mingling together 

 shrubs, herbaceous plants and annuals in the sum- 

 mer, leaving bare, naked, raw surfaces of mould 

 to offend the eye in the winter and spring months. 

 In the outlines of shrubberies I would avoid the 

 long meandering curves by which too many are 

 distinguished, and endeavor to imitate that bold, 

 irregular and beautiful effect, that intricacy and 

 variety which Nature's hand gives to her own 

 works. In the graceful curves of a walk, made 

 to avoid real or apparent obstacles, or to lead to 

 special or beautiful scenes, there is reason and the 

 beauty of utility ; but in long monotonous curves 

 of belts and clumps, with single herbaceous plants 

 ranged with the precision of the plants in our old 

 greenhouses, there is monotony and bad taste. 



A walk, too, is avowedly a work of art ; it is 

 intended for human comfort and convenience, and 

 like all others of the luxuries (which by habit be- 

 come the necessaries) of refined society, it should 

 seem what it is, and therefore cannot be too 

 smooth, easy, or highly defined. In the shrubbery, 

 the outlines should be those of nature, introducing 

 masses of various kinds to prevail in different lo- 

 calities, and allowing everywhere the shrubs to kiss 

 the turf without the intervention of a raw cutting 

 margin, or those abominable strips of turf so com- 

 monly used as margins, and not inaptly termed 

 ribbons. 



If herbaceous plants are used, their proper 

 place appears to me to be rather in the transition 

 flower o-arden (or that which usually intervenes 

 between the mansion and wilder grounds,) than in 

 the parterre or terrace garden. In the beds of the 

 latter the finest effect will be produced by masses 

 of our summer and autumn bedding plants, by va- 

 rious evergreens kept in pots in reserve, and plung- 

 ed in the beds for winter season, and by bulbs 

 treated in the same way for the spring decoration. 

 If herbaceous plants are used they should be in 



large masses, and the less regular their arrange- 

 ment is, the better will be their effect. Henry 

 Bailey, Nuneham. — Gard. Chron. 



Chinesk Winter Flowers. — On visiting some 

 of the flower-shops in Shanghae, in the middle of 

 January, I was surprised to find a great many flow- 

 ers which had been forced into bloom and were now 

 exposed for sale. I was not aware, until I had 

 this view, that the practice of forcing flowers was 

 common in China. Many plants of Magnolia 

 purpurea were in full flower, so were many kinds 

 of double-blossomed Peaches, the pretty little 

 Prunus sinensis alba, and a variety of Camel- 

 lias. But that which struck me as most remark- 

 able, was the facility with which the Pajony 

 Moutanhad been brought into full bloom. Several 

 varieties of this plant were in full flower ; and at 

 this season of the year, when all out of doors 

 was cold and dreary, they had a most lively effect. 

 Their blooms were tied up, to keep them from ex- 

 panding too rapidly. All these things had been 

 brought from the celebrated city of Soo-chow-foo, 

 the great emporium of Chinese fashion and luxury. 



You will perhaps think that the Chinese have 

 glass houses, hot-water pipes, Polmaise stoves, 

 and all those fine things which assist gardeners 

 and amateurs in Europe. Nothing of the kind; 

 they do all these things in their houses and sheds, 

 with common charcoal fires, and any quantity of 

 straw to stop up the crevices in the doors and 

 windows. 



At this season of the year the " Kum-quat " 

 (Citrus japonica,) which is extensively grown in 

 pots, is literally covered with its small, oval, 

 orange-colored fruit. This with various other 

 species of the Orange, are mixed with the forced 

 flowers, and together produce an excellent effect. 

 I think if the " Kum-quat" was better known at 

 home, it would be highly prized for decorative 

 purposes during the winter months. It is much 

 more hardy than any of its tribe; it produces its 

 flowers and fruit in great abundance, and it would 

 doubtless prove a plant of easy cultivation. To 

 succeed with it, as well as the Chinese, however, 

 one little fact should be kept in view, namely, that 

 all the plants of the Orange tribe which fruit in a 

 small state are grafted. Robert Fortune. 



A Bed of Fine Roses. — Those amateurs who 

 are desirous of increasing their stock of roses, so 

 as to have a good display of bloom this season, 

 may do so by purchasing plants in pots ; a form of 

 cultivation now practiced at all the nurseries, and 

 presenting great facilities for the quick realiza- 

 tion of the pleasures derived from this beautiful 

 flower. I have just made such an increase my- 

 self, and have finished planting a bed, from which 

 I hope to gain much satisfaction. I shall give 

 the particulars of my own procedure, so as to lead 

 no one into fanciful experiments or needless ex- 

 pense. 



Having a large grass-plat, with no flower-beds 



