1880. 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



67 



fice to save these Privets. The simple object 

 must be to repel the iiijurious effects of cold 

 winds, sleet and sun, during the hard freezing 

 and frequent thaws of early spring. For the 

 same purpose, a light mulching of hay or straw , 

 at the foot of the plant is beneficial. All such j 

 methods as binding up tightly with straw, cover- 

 ing with barrels, etc., are dangerous. The plant 

 may thus die for want of a circulation of air dur- 

 ing extreme cold. There is a wide-spread igno- 

 rance of the best methods of protection for half 

 hardy plants, and, in consequence, even our half 

 hardy plants do not succeed as they might under 

 wiser treatment. I understand the term half 

 hardy as indicating a capacity to live out of 

 doors during some winters with due protection. 

 In spots like parts of Greenwood Cemetery, 

 Brooklyn, iN". Y., it is surprising to observe 

 sometimes the tender plants that will survive 

 uninjured the severest winters. No artificial 

 devices can protect plants as thoroughly as such 

 sheltered spots. 



Sometimes I wish there was no such term in 

 vogue as " half hardy." People led away by the 

 expression, are all the time trying to partially 

 expose certain plants only to lose them. Even 

 so-called experts will persist in planting out 

 these Ligustrums, Aucubas and the like as far 

 south as Baltimore and Washington, with little 

 better success than we have about Pliiladelphia 

 and Xew York. As I have already remarked, 

 it is the severe changes of late winter and early 

 spring that kill them and not biting cold. Hor- 

 ticulture would be positively benefitted, if peo- 

 ple would never attempt to leave these half 

 hardy plants out. As it is, many become more 

 or less discouraged with all planting. Failure 

 must in time, dampen their enthusiasm. 



Let me refer your readers to the description of 

 a temporary structure for a cheap protection of 

 half hardy plants by S. B. Parsons in the Gar- 

 dener's Monthly. Only by this method, or 

 by the use of pits and cellars for protection can 

 half hardy plants be satisfactorily enjoyed. 



Acacia lophantha, we have found less hardy 

 than the above named Ligustrums, which are 

 indeed among the most enduring plants usually 

 classed as half hardy. Frequently, Acacia lo- 

 phantha stands the winter tolerably, if protected 

 by masses of evergreen trees. For hardiness, 

 however, it as well as A. julibrissin, is greatl}' 

 inferior to the beautiful .Japan Acacia Nemu, 

 which has stood for some years perfectly well in 

 Central Park, New York. 



ORIGIN of FUCHSIA LORD BEACONSFIELD. 



BY KDWIN LON.SDALK, (iERMANTOWX, PA. 



In reply to C. E. P., who asks for information 

 respecting the origin of Fuchsia Lord Beacons- 

 field in the Monthly for February. It was 

 raised by Mr. John Laing, Stanstead Park Nur- 

 sery, Forest Hill, near London, England, and is 

 the result of a cross between F. fulgens and one 

 of the modern varieties known as '• Perfection." 

 It was exhibited at some of the meetings of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society first, as Laing's 

 Hybrid, in '75 or '76. 



The color of the flower reminds one of the 

 good old Speciosa, and is frequently, — or I 

 may say generally — taken for that variety by 

 casual observers. It was exhibited by me be- 

 fore the Germantown Horticultural Society, at 

 the June meeting in 1878, as a new plant, 

 but that august body, the committee on awards, 

 refused to recognize it as such, declaring it was 

 "nothing but old Speciosa." It differs from 

 that good old sort in several particulars; notably 

 in its free flowering qualities, and the length of 

 time it blooms, being under proper treatment 

 in flower the whole year round. It may be 

 urged that Speciosa flowers free enough, and con- 

 tinuously if properly treated, and so it does, but 

 his lordship does more so, and the size of the 

 flowers of the latter variety is twice that of 

 Speciosa. 



I agree with your correspondent " that it is 

 one of the best and most free flovvering of the 

 new varieties ;" but what constitutes a new 

 variety? I see some of the catalogues of the 

 present year are heralding Fuchsia Champion 

 of the World, as a new one, and charging 

 $1.00 each for it, when to my own certain knowl- 

 edge it has been in commerce for at least ten 

 years. Then why re-issue something that will 

 not prove of permanent value ? 



A TALK ABOUT COLEUSES.-BY ONE OF 

 T HEMSELVES. 



VERSCHAFFKLTH. 



Only a few years ago, not one of the Coleus 

 family had a place in the gardens of Europe and 

 America, and I have been told, that in our ab- 

 sence gardeners depended chiefly upon plants 

 with showy flowers for ornamenting their gar- 

 dens and grounds. When some of my remote 

 relatives were introduced, numerous were the 

 surmisings as to what place they should occupy 

 amongst cultivated plants. This was especially 

 so in the case of Perilla Nankiuensis, a plant of 



