248 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENEI 



[ October 2, 1873. 



inexperienced ones, tiiat wi]! send up a blooming stem, and 

 thus spend energies that were best stored up for spring. This 

 is how it happens that the blossom of a favourite Hower comes 

 without a welcome. 



The question whether autumn-blooming is preventible would 

 probably be answered by all growers in one way. Roughly I 

 could reply in four words. It caunot be helped. Yet I con- 

 clude from practice with my own plauts, and from observation 

 of other collections, that the extent of autumn blooming may 

 be affected and reduced by adhering with all patience to proper 

 treatment in the summer, so that autumn trusses shall arise 

 alone from causes over which we can never have control. 

 First among such I would account the fact that a tendency to 

 autumn blooming " runs in the family." Instances of this 

 are afforded us by those Auriculas and Polyanthuses of low 

 extraction in the garden borders, and by the untutored pretty 

 Primrose of the woods and hedgerows. The florist may, there- 

 fore, expect an interference with his plans by this characteristic, 

 just as another family feature, the dimorphous arrangement 

 of the stamens, now above and nov.' below the pistil, leaves it 

 freely open to his seedlings to choose the alternative of a "pin- 

 eye " — one of the grossest insults they can offer him. 



Again, there is a propensity amounting almost to a property 

 in some varieties of Auricula to bloom in autumn, and I rarely 

 escape being thus favoured by Lady Wilbraham, True Briton, 

 Beeston'a Apollo, General Niell, and a few selfs and others, 

 though I have never had more unseasonable bloom than seems 

 constitutional with certain sorts. There seems also a tendency 

 this way in some of the vigorous young plants, that, just miss- 

 ing bloom in spring, have been in almost unabated growth tiU 

 autumn. 



In the foregoing remarks I have stated what I believe to be 

 causes of autumn blooming which can scarcely be considered 

 under our command, being connected rather with the nature 

 of the plant than with our powers over it. 



I have next to say that I have reasons to think that an 

 unclean and unhealthy state of the plant during summer is 

 calculated to excite this property of the Auricula. I have 

 noticed that plants suffered to fall out of condition by being 

 heated and baked in the sun, or kept too dry, or allowed to be 

 ravaged by pests, h.ave in a marked manner struggled into 

 bloom in autumn ; for one thing which a plant in danger of 

 its life will do is to try and preserve its species by hurriedly 

 for m i n g seed, to which flowering is of course the prelude. I 

 am quite sure that what has no right whatever to be blamed 

 for autumn blooming is spring potting. I repot all my Auri- 

 culas as they pass out of bloom, except such as are to stand 

 for seed, and every autumn I have only a very healthy quiet 

 set of plants — beautiful rosettes of mealy leaves and green — 

 busy with forming stout hearts down among crisp short foliage, 

 and getting such doubly-established roothold now as I like 

 to see. 



I will not here say more for spring potting than that I know 

 what has been said against it, and by practice what I could 

 say for it. I have at times been obliged to pot late, yet would 

 always choose early. But I would wish it known that indeed 

 early potting seems no exciting cause of autumn blooming, 

 but a check may be. Have your Auriculas established early, set 

 them iu a north aspect the summer through, keep them cool 

 and airy, take care to have them clean from every insect, love 

 to see them in full unbroken health, and then, though a few 

 precocious sorts and some young plants will bloom in autumn, 

 and seedlings, if you have them, will drop in upon you at all 

 possible times to amuse, perplex, disappoint, reward, yet shall 

 you have as little as may be of untimely blooming from youi- 

 established plants. But here let me confess that I never in 

 my heart affect to caU a flower out of season whenever it may 

 bloom. I am in truth not sorry to see a few Auriculas juet 

 now, though colours and properties have largely to be excused, 

 and though the beauties are as little like their loveliness in 

 epring as that ghost of a thing a moonUght rainbow is to the 

 bright living reality created by the sun. — F. D. Hokneb, 

 Eirkhy Malzcard, Ripon. 



PHYLLOXERA VASTATEIX. 

 Specimens of the Phylloxera vastatrix have lately been for- 

 warded from France by Monsieur de Luza, which agree exactly 

 with those which have been observed in England. Its appear- 

 ance at present in France is local. It has done great mischief 

 in the Khine districts, but has happily at present not esta- I 

 blished itself in the Medoc vineyards. It has, however, made ' 



its appearance on the opposite side of the river in what is 

 called the Cotes and Palus district, which lies between the 

 rivers Dordogne and Garonne. It, however, has not been so 

 virulent as in the south-east of France, and there appears to 

 be some hope that, like other imported plagues, it mav die 

 out.— M. J. B. 



ZONAL PELARGONIUMS. 



The notice of the awards of first-class certificates given to 

 the Zonal Pelargoniums at Chiswick, which has been recently 

 made public, leads me to make a few remarks. First, I do not 

 think it right that the name of the donor of the plants should 

 appear appended to the certificated plant instead of the raiser, 

 as it is misleading. For instance, among the Bronzes Crown 

 Prince has G. Acton's name after it. Eeine Victoria, E. G. 

 Henderson & Son. Now both of these were raised by Mr. 

 Laing, of the firm of Downie, Laird, &Laing. Again, Chunder 

 Sen appears as E. G. Henderson & Son, instead of its raiser's 

 name, Mr. J. P.. Pear-son. I know in some hsts it is distinctly 

 said that the name of the donor only is given, but as in some 

 instances the donor is the raiser, and in others it is not so, it 

 becomes confusing; and many persons are inclined to think, 

 "Oh! there must be two Crown Princes, one G. Acton's, the 

 other Downie, Laird, (tLaing's; or two Chunder Sens, one E. G. 

 Henderson's, the other J. E. Pearson's." 



I should suggest that at trial grounds like Chiswick, only the 

 actual raiser be invited to send plants on trial, and that only 

 the raiser's name should appear on the awards. I should not 

 either keep any of the very old well-established sorts on for 

 trial; for instance, I see among Gold Tricolors, Mrs. PoUock 

 and Sophia Dumaresque ; among pinks, Christine and Blue 

 Bell ; among scarlet selfs. Punch, Vesuvius, Excellent, and 

 so on. Now I should fancy nearly every gardener must have 

 made up his mind about such sorts as these, and unless a few 

 of the old sorts were kept merely as a standard of merit, there 

 can be no use keeping such sorts as these for continued trial. 



Would it not be better to select out every year such as 

 appear of sterling merit for a second trial, to give no cer- 

 tificate till after a two-years trial, but to give a Ust of those 

 considered of sufficient merit for the second year, and to invite 

 all raisers of Pelargoniums to send each year a selection of their 

 best seedUngs, limiting them as to numbers, and to give no 

 certificate till, after the second year's trial, it has been de- 

 cided that the individual plant under notice is either distinct 

 inhabit, colour, &c., and sufficiently superior to other sorts 

 sent out ? I know some will say that this would not suit the 

 trade. Perhaps it might not, but I am not in this instance 

 thinking of the trade, but we want to put a stop to the intro- 

 duction of novelties as mere duplicates. In the catalogue of 

 one firm two years ago, I calculated no less than forty-eight 

 new Bronzes sent out in one year, none of which hardly are 

 known to fame now, and the next year nearly the same number 

 of new ones appeai-ed, to say nothing of Zonals, and Nosegays, 

 and Tricolors, &c. Brutus is very often so like Pompey, or as 

 the adage sometimes reads, Brutus and Pompey are very much 

 alike, especially Pompey. Chiswick, moreover, is a difficult 

 trial ground for the dwarf er and more tender sorts, and these 

 require at least two years to try them, so that good plants may 

 be raised for the next year's trial, and aU the stock treated alike. 



And now I am going to anticipate a few remarks on the 

 Pelargoniums of Mr. Pearson's, which I shall afterwards en- 

 large on ; and I would refer your readers back to some notes 

 of Mr. Quintin Read's in your number of June 12th, page 465. 

 He and I, though agreeing in the main, did not quite come 

 to the same conclusions. It seems to me that the stronger 

 growers have done better with him than with me, and that 

 the dwarfer ones have succeeded best here. Both Shakespeare 

 and Mrs. Vincent Fenn have been good again this year. Dr. 

 Tait, I regret to say, I had not put down for trial in a bed ; 

 this I was sorry for after Mr. Bead's encomiums. Col. Holden 

 has decidedly been too strong a grower ; but the Bev. F. F. 

 Fenn is good, though I do not think quite so good as I expected. 

 I am obliged to endorse what Mr. Bead says about Miss Rose 

 Peach ; the petal is too delicate for out-door work, but it is 

 beautiful as a pot plant, and for winter decoration will be 

 invaluable, the colour being such a decided acquisition. My 

 namesake, too, throws the flower-truss too much on the 

 ground ; but will, I expect, be often seen as a pot plant on the 

 exhibition table, as for pureness of colour and size of truss 

 there are few to equal it. But the Geranium I particularly 

 wish to take notice of now is Mrs. Lowe. Last year, owing to 



