380 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



[ Mar 9, 1872. 



spades as if it were mortar ; instead of whicli a slight moisten- 

 ing should suffice, so that, b.v ramming and treading, the clay 

 may be kneadud into a soUd "tough mass, just wet enough for 

 cohesion and no more. Heavy rammers should not be used ; 

 more and better work can be done with a light handy tool 

 4 inches in diameter than with a jionderous one reqahing both 

 hands to lift it. 



The cost of the work depends upon the nearness of the soil ; 

 if the clay bed is within 20 yards of the dam, it can be exca- 

 vated, wheeled, and puddled at tW. per cubic yard. This 

 price is sUghtly in excess of what is frequently given, but it 

 is a just and fair' rate for which the puddling can be thoroughly 

 well done. The other soil should, if possible, be taken from 

 the sides or bottom of the pond ; for the price of tliis jiart 

 of the work it wOl suffice to refer your readers to the ex- 

 cellent and trustworthy tables given in the " Gardeners' 

 Year-Book." I may state, however, that whatever price is 

 paid jjcr cubic yard, it should be clearly understood to include 

 the excavation and wheeling of the soil, and dressing the 

 slopes to the proper angle. It is advisable to have 6 inches of 

 soil upon the top of the bank over the puddling, and if tirrf 

 can be had for the top and outside of the bank it will add to 

 its stability, especially at first, when the fresh-moved soil is 

 Uable to be washed away by any overflow that may occur. 



The inner slope is covered with a layer of rough stone, not 

 merely for strength, but to preserve it from being worn away bj- 

 the ripple of the water, which would be the case if the sides or 

 banks were left unguarded. In soD of a loose or sandy nature 

 there is frequently a difficulty in keeping in the water, and it 

 becomes necessary to cover the bottom and sides with concrete 

 or clay ; in such cases, if there is any difficulty in obtaining 

 clay, it should be remembered that ordinary soil if not very 

 porous may be wrought iuto a puddle that will hold water 

 almost as well as the toughest clay. — Edwaed Luckhubsi. 



THUNBEEGIA HAEEISI CULTURE. 



I THIXK it is nearly twelve months ago that the Eev. W. F, 

 Eadclyffe first drew attention in your pages to the extraordinary t 

 beauties and decorative quahties of this Thunbergia. I had I 

 at that time a young tlirifty plant growing in the stove in a 

 small pot, and to which I intended to pay some extra attention, 

 iu order to prove to demonstration the truth of Mr. Eadclyiie's 

 report of it. I did so, and the result is thoroughly satisfactory. 

 I find his picture was not too highly coloured, for beyond the 

 Luculia I have not a plant that has been more admired, not 

 only for its profusion of Gloxinia-Uke lilac-coloured flowers, 

 but also for its long-Continued blooming. With me it was in 

 flower before last Christmas, and has so continued ever since, 

 and yet the plant is oiily growing in a No. 12-sized pot. What 

 size it would attain when planted out I do not know, but I 

 would like to hear from those who have gi-own it iu that way, 

 as I think of giving the plant a good position in a new house 

 when opportunity offers. Thus far I have proved it to be a 

 grand jjlant for a stove. 



According to the " Cottage Gardeners' Dietionai-y," Thun- 

 bergia Hanisi was introduced into this country from the East 

 Indies about eighteen years ago; but I find it is not much 

 known to cultivators, and I consider it a pity that such an 

 oraameutal plant should be thus left in the background. To 

 those who want to know more about it, I may say that it is an 

 evergi-een climber, with long, narrow, dark gieen leaves. It is 

 of vigorous growth, and mostly flowers at the extremities of 

 the shoots. The flower-shoot elongates considerably until it 

 is neai-ly or quite a foot in length, and forms flower-buds as it 

 grows. The flowers are, in most instances, twice as large as 

 those of a Gloxinia, and of nearly the same shape. The plant 

 at all times requires partial shade ; the north side of a span- 

 roofed house is a good place. It requires plenty of syringing 

 while growing, but when in bloom no water must to'uch the 

 deUcate-tinted flowers, as it discolours them. According to my 

 experience it requii-es a substantial soil ; my plant is grow- 

 ing in heavy turfy loam of considerable richness, and night 

 soil twelve months old, mixed with earth and lime. The pro- 

 portion of the latter should be about a double handful to the 

 gallon of loam.; no sand is added, but the loam is used rough, 

 and the manure sifted iuto very fine portions before bein" 

 mixed with the remainder. Quantities of water slightly 

 warmed are given dming gi'owth. 



After flowering, the plant may rest for a month or two, and 

 should then be pruned according to the strength of its growth, 

 and started in bottom heat if possible, though I do not con- 



sider this absolutely necessarj-, my plant having had none at 

 all after its first pottiug. To those who do not grow this 

 Thimbergia I say. Do so if it is possible to find a suitable 

 place. Last autumn I raised half a dozen plants, and not 

 having a place ready for them, I kept them iu 4-inch pots, 

 trained to some small stakes, the whole not more than 18 inches 

 high, and these httle plants have been blooming for the last 

 two months. — Thomas Eecoed. 



MES. PIXCE'S BLACK MUSCAT YIXE. 



The merits of Mrs. Piace Grape have been so much lauded of 

 late, that it is needless for me to add my testimony. I agree 

 with all that has been said as to the quality of the Grape — a fact 

 which so far as I am aware has never been disputed, but stiU 

 the ugly fact remains that under certain ch-cumstances it is a 

 shy bearer. I know some who, on this account, have discarded 

 it altogether, and others who gave up the idea of planting it. 

 It is not enough to know that a few " gi-eat guns" have suc- 

 ceeded in growing it successfully. How does it behave among 

 the masses ? On the answer to this question will depend the 

 making or the marring of its popularity ; hitherto, I believe, 

 the weight of the evidence seems to be on the adverse side. 

 I have not been able to gather from the remarks of yom- coiTe- 

 spondents that their success is owing to any peculiar treatment, 

 so that I conclude it must be due to one of two things, either 

 that then- general treatment of Vines is so high that they can- 

 not fail with any, or to local cu'cumstances. 



My own experience of Mrs. Pince Grape is not veiy gi-eat. I 

 planted a weak cane three years ago ; it is now a fine strong 

 cane, having ripened weU last year. It was cut down to about 

 5 feet last autumn, and this spring broke very strongly all 

 over. One half of the cane is last year's wood, the other half 

 being the preceding summer's ; the shoots on this portion 

 were cut back on the ordinary spur system, and the shoots 

 from these spurs do not show a single bunch worth leaving ; 

 on last year's wood every shoot shows from one to three fine 

 bunches. I have previously observed this peculiarity elsewhere ; 

 I have therefore formed the resolution how to treat it for the 

 future, which will be on the rod system. Eightly or wrongly, 

 I have come to the conclusion that under ordinary circum- 

 stances it will not succeed so well on the close-spm- system, 

 and that this may to a great extent be the cause of frequent 

 failures. — A Toeket. 



MAEECHAL KIEL EOSE. 



In April, 1870, as soon as the waUs had been raised suffi- 

 ciently high to receive the framework, I planted a Marechal 

 Niel Rose at the gable end of a small span-roofed gi-eenhouse, 

 12 feet by 8 feet, which I use as a porch or entrance to the 

 larger span-roofed house, which is divided evenly by a glass 

 partition, one-half being used as a cool stove, the other as a 

 vinei-y. From this one Eose tree I cut iu April and May, 1871, 

 fifty -nine full-blown Eoses, and up to this date (April 30th), 

 including fifteen cut to-day, 195 fuU-blown Eoses, leaving on 

 the tree about fifty more yet to be gathered. I enclose two of 

 them in a box ; they are under the average size of the blooms 

 cut. — [They were good, though rather small, specimens. — Eds.] 



Before planting the Eose I had a hole dug 3 feet square, and 

 had the soil thrown out to the depth of about 3 feet ; at the 

 bottom of the hole I placed brickbats and stones to the depth 

 of neaiiy 1 foot, upon this some fresh-cut sods grass side 

 downwards, and then planted the Eose tree in some tolerably 

 stiff fibrous loam from the road side. This had been previously 

 mixed with some old hotbed manure, and well turned and 

 mixed. 



For some time I despaired of the Eose growing, as it suffered 

 much from exposme to all weather, the house not being com- 

 pleted and glazed until late in the month of Jime. However, 

 in the autumn of the same year the tree began to show signs of 

 vigorous growth, and, selecting three of the strongest shoots, 

 I trained them up towards the roof on three iron rods or wires 

 I had previously had fixed at 3 inches from the back. The 

 centre shoot I trained under the ridge of the roof to the front 

 of the house, and turning the two side shoots right and left 

 over the doors leading to the other houses, allowed all three to 

 grow without any check, and they continued green the whole 

 winter, not dropping a single leaf. 



In Januarj- 1 cut the shoots back to about two-thirds of their 

 length, leaving each some 10 feet long. A few weeks after prun- 

 ing, the buds at each leaf began to swell, and from each a 



