26G 



JOUENAL OF HORTICaLTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ October 9, 1873. 



To remedy the lack of colour iu our gardens a very old mode 

 of arrangement was revived — coloured gravels and other ma- 

 terials to afford a contrasting and harmonious whole. This 

 took with some; dead colouring materials were better than 

 no colour at all, and especially as live colours were not to be 

 had. The colours, however, were, like everything artificial, 

 found to fade (and their hues were never very brUhant), 

 and harmonised so badly with the live bright hues of the 

 occupants of the parts set apart for plants as to be so dull in 

 winter and so dead in summer as to interest no more than the 

 colouring of a carpet. Beyond the tracery there was nothing 

 in the polychrome or parti-coloured beds to attract or interest ; 

 no one could mistake the artificial-coloured materials for the 

 bright live hues of foliage or flowers. No wonder that this re- 

 vival of an old art found no advocates and but few adopters, 

 having its date when flowers suitable for massing were rare, 

 and revived when they were so plentiful and appropriate. 



The rage for briUiant masses of bloom has of late years 

 been on the decline ; dazzUng displays of flowers have been 

 toned down — subdued by foliage, and the interest for those 

 subjects that contribute to the enjoyment of gardens at all 

 seasons has become more marked and decided. The appre- 

 ciation of the herbaceous and alpine plant appears returning ; 

 our gardens will soon be of the mixed order of which that 

 great cuthor Loudon once said of a garden of this kind, "It is 

 a perfect gem of botanical and floral beauty iu the foreground, 

 heightened in efiect by interesting gleams of distant scenery, 

 seen between and over fine shrubs and trees." It is by the 

 blending of shrubs and plants with effective foliage along with 

 those that gladden us with the brighter hues of their flowers, 

 that we can enliven our gardens in winter, make them objects 

 of beauty and interest in and for all times. — G. Abbbt. 



AUTUMNAL ROSES. 



In leading the Eose-growers' catalogues one would think 

 that autumn-blooming Roses are plentiful as Blackberries ; but 

 things, even in the Rose world, are not always what they seem. 



It is not the first time I have found occasion to remark that 

 many of the so-called Hybrid Perpetual Eoses are anything 

 but perpetual as regards their propensity of flowering con- 

 tinually ; the most perpetual thing about them is the regular 

 and rapid succession of new varieties at 25 francs a-piece. 

 " Grand," " bien fait," " extra " are also terms in which they 

 are perpetually described. But to my comprehension many of 

 them are only summer Boses, Hybrid China or Hybrid Da- 

 mask, with little of the China in the former and not much of 

 the "bifere" in the latter; the large, full, and finely-shaped 

 Eoses required for exhibition in .June and July inclining raisers 

 to select where the Gallica and Damask blood preponderates. 



Let anyone walk iu his garden of, say, two hundred varieties 

 of Hybrid Perpetuals any day after August, and count how 

 many sorts thenceforward to November give him a perpetual 

 supply of flowers. Yet Eoses in autumn are not only desirable 

 but valuable. We lo%'e our summer Eoses, and rise at un- 

 seemly hours to look at them ; nay, more, we risk sunstroke 

 and lots of ills in looking after them through a broiling sum- 

 mer's day. But beautiful as they are, we want Eoses in 

 autumn when Geraniums and bedding plants generally begin 

 to fade. We love to catch their crimson and purple tints in 

 the cool evening twilight, and to see them peering through the 

 morning mists covered with dewdrops which sparkle in the 

 sunlight. 



Well, though not so plentiful as one might at first sight 

 assume, they are to be had for the seeking, only they must be 

 sought from this particular point of view. We must not ignore 

 the Tea-sC9nted because the flowers are loose ; nor the China 

 and Bourbon because they are small, for these are the most 

 perpetual-flowering of all Eoses. Only tempt them to grow, 

 and they are sure to flower. 



A border of them planted in the spring of 1872 is now 

 (October 1) crowded with lovely flowers, white, yellow, and rose 

 of various shades ; in some all three of these colours so 

 exquisitely blended that it would be difficult to do them justice 

 by any mere verbal description." 



But there are Hybrid Perpetuals worthy of their name, and 

 in order to refresh my memory and to be accurate in my 

 account of them, I have been walking among thousands of 

 Eoses, note-book in hand, and will now place before my readers 

 the fruits of this experiment. 



White. — Louise Darzeus, Boule de Neige, Baronne de May- 

 nard, Madame Alfred de Eougemont, Madame Bellenden Ker, 



Madame Gustavo Bonnet. R.'Sr '' r of various shades. — 

 Duchess of Sutherland, EarouLi^ . .-ost, Jules Margottin, 

 Abel Grand, Elizabeth Vigneron, M.iuame Derreus Douville, 

 Catherine Guillot, La France, Princess Beatrice, Louise Odier, 

 Lyonnais, Madame George Schwartz, Mdlle. Eugenie Verdier, 

 Madame de Stella, General Castellane, Madame Rival, Madame 

 Alice Bureau. Eed of various shades. — General Jacqueminot, 

 Mdlle. Annie Wood, Sladame Creyton, Madame Victor Verdier, 

 Marie Baumaun, Baron Haussman, Alfred Colomb, Augusts 

 Eigotard, President Thiers. Crimson and Violet shaded. — 

 Antoiue Ducher, Pierre Notting, Lord Macaulay, Fisher Holmes, 

 Dupuy-Jamin, Madame Jacquier, Ferdinand de Lesseps. Add 

 these names of Hybrid Perpetuals to any or all of the Tea- 

 scented, Bourbon, and Chinese, do not let them seed, and a 

 plentiful supply of Eoses may be viewed on tree or gathered 

 for house decoration until the flowers of the garden out of 

 doors succumb to the winter's frost. — Willum Paul, JValtha^n 

 Cross, Herts. 



THE EIBSTON PIPPIN. 



Me. Douglas, in his remarks on varieties of fruits and their 

 stocks, has struck a chord which it would be well to follow 

 up, and if it lead to the Eibston Pippin tree being insured 

 without canker, it will be a standard tune in all gardens and 

 nurseries. Trees of this fine old and indispensable variety 

 are generally found in a decrepit state ; old ones, as a rule, 

 having a terribly shattered and emaciated appearance, and 

 young ones looking prematurely old. On soOs light and heavy, 

 wet and dry, or medium, there is the ubiquitous canker. I 

 have seen it alike on the lime, clay, and sand formation, and 

 about the only soil on which I have not seen it on the Crab 

 stock is a sound unctuous loam, trenched well and drained well. 

 Mr. Douglas's experience leads him to the conclusion that on 

 the Crab stock it commences to canker at two years, while on 

 the Paradise stock it is free from canker. The point is thus 

 reduced to a very simple proposition. We have returns of fruit 

 generally, of Roses and Potatoes. Cannot we have the opinion 

 of the nation on this old national Apple ? It is worth a special 

 notice by all growers ; and if all who have it good or bad would 

 say under what conditions it is so, having especial reference 

 to the stock on which it is worked, more valuable and really 

 reliable information would be adduced than has yet become 

 pubhe property. 



I am of opinion that there is a good deal of truth in Mr. 

 Douglas's observation, and 1 should lilce to see it treated as 

 thoroughly as it can be. If the aggregate opinion of gardeners 

 and nurserymen, and Eibston-growers generally, should sub- 

 stantially confirm the idea that the variety is in a great 

 measure safe when worked on the Paradise stock, it will add 

 another valuable contribution to the many gone before and 

 given to the world through the columns of the Journal, and in 

 any case the information will be great. 



The Eibston Pippin Apple cannot be dispensed with, and if 

 a principle can be laid down as a line of action to improve the 

 general stock, a great point wiU be gained on an important 

 matter. Here, on a rather light soil, on a substratum of lime- 

 stone and marl, old and young trees on the Crab are in a bad 

 state by canker; but a tree on the Paradise is as bright, 

 smooth, and clean as a Willow. What do others say '? — 

 J. Weight. 



LETTUCES. 



That a strong feeling exists in this country as to the un- 

 wholesomeness of uncooked vegetables no one can doubt. The 

 holy horror with which many regard the salad-bowl when it 

 is handed round in winter or early spring, as if it contained 

 some Hecate's potion, is a proof of this feehng ; and yet it is 

 assuredly false. Doubtless a stomach ill at ease, and which 

 cannot perform satisfactorily its ordinary functions, ought not 

 to be asked to make the attempt ; but they who are blessed 

 with ordinary health may well regard a good plain salad either 

 of Lettuce or Endive as a valuable and wholesome addition to 

 their daily bill of fare. But in saying this I do not mean all 

 salads. I do not mean that mass of flabby green soddened by 

 a solution of vinegar and mustard and cream, in which it has 

 lain, perhaps, for a couple of hours before dinner time, but the 

 crisp and dainty dish of well-grown Lettuce or blanched Endive, 

 and simply dressed with oil, vinegar, and salt. Sidney Smith's 

 recipe for a salad has been highly praised, but it is a villainous 

 concoction ; and the ordinary French recipe of one spoonful of 

 French vinegar, four of oil, and a little salt is far preferable ; 



