£t 7, 18T3. ] 



JODBNAIi OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



90 



Mixed bed of Heaths (jly. 2). 



A similar arrangement to the foregoing wouJd answer well 

 for a bank of Heaths, or there might be three or more plants 

 of each kind together in httle clumps, so as to impart a greater 

 breadth of colour; but whatever style be followed, it is desir- 

 able to introduce the lovely Erica carnea to brighten the bed 



Fig. S. 



1. Erica alba major. White. i 



2. ciDerea coccinea. Bright pink. 

 8. atro-puiporca. Deep paiple. | 



4. Erica rosea. Deep pinif. 



5. Tagaos alba. Very fine white. 



6. mediterranea. Purple. 



with its gay flowers long before the other varieties come into 

 bloom. 



A circular bed of Heaths, each ring of a distinct kind sur- 

 rounding a central group {Jig. 3). 



Auother very beautiful ied may be made by sun'oundiug a 

 mass of Andromeda floribimda with a broad edging of Erica 

 carnea, the clustering white bells of the Andromeda appear- 

 ing in most beautiful contrast with the bright pink flowers of 

 the Heath. Then, again, a group of one or several kinds of 

 Rhododendrons has a pleasing air of neatness and finish when 

 surrounded with an edging of Ledum latifolium or the pretty 

 Japanese Azalea amcena. Many other pleasing combinations 

 may be wrought out with little trouble, for the store of mate- 

 rials for the work is so rich that all may find some kinds to 

 please and interest them. — Edward LucKnuiiST. 



SLUGS. 



These pests are too numerous and common everywhere, 

 and with all our care they will find their way even into oiir 

 greenhouses. Last year I visited the gardens of Earl Somers 

 in Herefordshire, and was told of a method practised by the 

 gardener there for ridding the ground of slugs — at least, of 

 thinning them to a great extent. We all know that quicklime 

 causes them rapidly to disperse, but I have found that it often 

 sends them to where of all places we would not wish to see 

 them. The plan is to finish as many of them off as possible, 

 and to be conclusively done with them. Well, the gardener 

 managiug Lord Somers' grounds (Mr. Coleman) adopts the 

 following method, which may be known to some of your readers, 

 but it was new to me. 



A lad is sent along all the walks of the garden each evening 

 with a bag or bucket full of bran, and he places a handful of 

 it on the borders, at every 8 or 10 feet or so, in a heap. Early 

 next morning he traverses the same ground with an empty 

 bucket, dustpan, and small broom. Bran is an article slugs 

 are very fond of, and it seems to attract them from all around ; 

 the heaps are, therefore, found covered with them, often a 

 complete mass. The lad then sweeps the whole into his dust- 

 pan, empties it into the bucket, and by the time he has finished 

 his walk many hundreds, if not thousands, are thus captured. 

 A week or two of such work, or eveu a day or two now and 

 then, must be the means of saving a great deal of our garden 

 produce. 



I would recommend that when collecting the slugs a little 

 salt and water be in the bucket, which will effectually prevent 

 the escape of a single member when captured, as the salt 

 causes them to sicken and die at once. Will some of your 

 readers please try this simple affair and report ? — .1. Hdie. 



The Green Eose. — I am sending you by this post a speci- 

 men of the bloom of one of my green Eoses, which I think you 

 will admire. We have had the plant from which I cut the 

 bunch of flowers for about sixteen years; it was moved this 

 spring. The green Eose was mentioned in The Journ.u, of 

 HoHTicoLTURE some months ago, and as it is uncommon, I 

 thought you might be interested to see such a fine bouquet of 

 flowers on one stem. — Eliza C. Biscoe, Ilolton Park, Oxford. 



[The specimen is a very fine one, and contained twenty-two 

 flowers. — Eds. J. of H.] 



SOILS, THEIR VARIETY AND USES IN 

 CULTIVATION.— No. 2. 



Stiff soils usually contain but little sharp gritty matter or 

 Band, and the unctuous mass clings together in such a manner as 

 to be almost impenetrable to the roots of plants and the tools of 

 the cultivator. They are invaluable to the brickmaker ; but 

 the husbandman complains of their adhesiveness and of water 

 not percolating freely through them. They are, however, 

 capable of considerable improvement, especially by draining, 

 although the effects of the latter are not always immediate, 

 for a tenacious clay is not converted into a friable fertile soil all 

 at once, and a wet, adverse season tends to undo what has been 

 done before. 



Of hea-\-y soils some have as a substratum a yellow tenacious 

 clay, through which water finds its way very slowly ; others a 

 clay mixed with a sandy gravel; others, again, a cliy some- 

 times forming a blue mass of groat depth with comparatively 

 little water, and not so adhesive as always to retain the shape 

 in which it is excavated. Clay of this kind is of little value as 



