NoTember 27, 1878. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER, 



413 



in a shallow, poor, but well-drained soil without anjthing 

 being done to it by way of preparation. But for some Welling- 

 tonias close by, holes were excavated G feet deep and wide, and 

 filled with rich soil to an elevation of 2 feet above the common 

 level, thus forming a sound rich mass of nearly 300 cubic feet 

 for the roots to revel in, and the growth of this year affords 

 ample proof of the suitability of this soil. The necessity for 

 such an elaborate and expensive station may be thought 

 questionable, and I grant that a tolerable degree of heathful 

 vigour might be obtained without it for a few years, such as 

 would suffice to produce an ornamental shrub of considerable 

 size and beauty, but I should not expect it eventually to de- 

 velope the proportions of a noble tree, such as this particular 

 kind is capable of doing. The nature of the Silver Fir is 

 altogether difierent ; it is a surface-rooting tree, growing so 

 freely in a poor soil, that it and the Wellingtonias were planted 

 with a feeling of confidence in the future success of both. 



A glance at the growth of trees that are ind-genous to the 

 Boil atfords ample evidence to the practised eye of what neces- 

 sity there may be for the preparation of stations, and be- 

 ginners may take it as a very safe guide that where the Oak 

 flourishes other deep-rooting trees may be planted ; and where 

 the Beech or Yew are found to succeed and the Oak to fail, or 

 rather to make a slow and stimted growth, surface-rooting 

 trees are only to be depended upon. Therefore, unless there 

 is a special reason for planting such deep-rooting trees as the 

 Wellingtonia, much labour and expense may be avoided. 

 Close by the spot where I had to excavate such large holes the 

 maximum height attained by the Oak does not much exceed 

 50 feet, while Pieea pectiuata reaches 100 feet ; but in a valley 

 that is only a httle distance off, where Oaks of the same age 

 are upwards of 80 feet high, and with huge boles and hmbs 

 that proclaim the depth and fertility of the soil, other 

 Wellingtonias and some Abies Douglaaii have been planted 

 without any special preparation. It will be a curious and in- 

 structive lesson to watch and compare the future progress of 

 two such free-growing Conifers in what I regard as the most 

 favourable situation that could be found for them. 



I hope to discuss some other details of planting next week. 

 — Edward Lcckhcbsi. 



EOSES. 



I WAS much pleased this summer to read of Mr. Camm's 

 many victories at exhibitions, but was sorry to read of the 

 death of many of his Eoses on the Manetti stock, and equally 

 sui'prised to see that the deaths were attributed to over- 

 manuring — a new doctrine to me. I never before heard of 

 or experienced such a thing. The deaths, I imagine, were 

 produced by insufficient winter protection, followed up by a 

 late, bad spring and a droughty summer. I " coddle "-up with 

 clean straw, Utter, or fern over the point of union, drawing 

 the earth over the material. This saves the plant, however 

 much the wood above the line of protection may be injured. 

 A good deal of very strong wood has died back in my plants 

 this summer, which with soft and secondary wood I am now 

 cutting out. Had I not " coddled " I should, in this exposed 

 and severe Vale of Blackmoor, have lost many hundreds of 

 Eoses, whereas I lost only three or four in the winter, and about 

 ten plants have since died. Zero is a useful servant but a hard 

 master. Mr. Elvers told me years ago that frost five or six 

 degrees below zero would kill a Eose plant. 



" Coddling "-up, as practised here, does not produca orange 

 fungus. I had none at all this year worth speaking of, but 

 usnally suffer much from it. Eoses that are neither strawed 

 nor " coddled " will suffer from it. It seems to depend more 

 upon soil, situation, and other circumstances. Both white 

 fungus and orange fungus may, in some measure, be called 

 the daughters of drought, for very little of either is seen in 

 showery summers. The samo observation also applies to 

 honeydew. After the first winter and spring-frosted buds 

 were cut away the Roses bloomed here finer than I ever had 

 them for the last twenty-one years, but they have not bloomed 

 so abundantly at the fall as usual. 



I have great pleasure in speaking highly of Mr. Prince's 

 seedling Briar lioses. They have shown no brood whatever, 

 and have done him credit. I recommend them to all growers 

 of Eoses on the Briar in place of the half-dead, soft-spined 

 hedgerow and copse Briars. The French standard Briars are 

 superior to the English, being cleaner in their skins and firmer 

 in the spine ; I have, however, only seen a few of them. I 

 always bay-in a quantity of Manetti Roses at this time of year 



in case of deaths in the winter. My recruits ore 24 Charles 

 Lefebvi-e, the premier H.P. ; 18 Pierre Notting, the finest 

 globed Eose ; C Maurice Bernardin, a beautiful Eose ; 9 Felix 

 Genero, excellent, and tfie admiration of all the ladies. They 

 are excellent growers, free and continuous bloomers. I have 

 also, from seeing them bloom nicely m the Dorset nurseries, 

 bought one plant each of Etienne Levet, Abbe Bramerel, and 

 Madame G. Schwartz. The Abbo is very handsome in its 

 colours, deep crimson, dark-shaded. It is, however, better 

 adapted for ornamentation than exhibition. I Tiave one plant 

 each in dormant bud on strong Manetti stocks— I rarely buy 

 " infants " — of Madame Lacharme, Pierre Seletzky, and Claude 

 Levet. Till Eoses are on strong and suitable stocks and tried 

 in the open ground I do not like recommending them. Unless 

 the electors tell us these things we shall not be able to deter- 

 mine the value of the Eoses recommended. Glass experience 

 is worth nothing. 



I hope we shall soon have some variegated autumnal Eoses. 

 If they are as good, or half as good, as the summer variegated 

 Eoses— namely, CEillet Parfait, Tricolore de Flandres, and 

 Madeleine, I shall be delighted. The first is small, tender, bu 

 the most beautiful ; the second is larger and of robust con- 

 stitution, and beautiful. It casts its side buds over the main 

 flower. It was raised by Van Houtte and figured in the 

 " Flore." The last is the dehght of the young ladies at 

 Bath. " It is not a Bath ball without Madeleine," said the 

 late Mr. Tiley to me, of whom I bought it in 1852. There is 

 also another very pretty bouquet variegated Eose, Perle dcs 

 Panachees, but it is not, like the others, suitable for exhibition. 



One word more. The best Eoses to look well in foul weather 

 are the crimson, purple, maroon, and yellow Eoses. The 

 purple and maroon Eoses here are much admired — viz., Pierre 

 Notting, Dr. Jamain, Baronne Pelletan de Kinkelin, one of the 

 finest. Souvenir de W. Wood, Empereur de Maroc, and Baronne 

 Chaurand, one of the best dark Eoses, of which I have planted 

 twenty in a bed to please the ladies, and myself too.— W. F. 

 Eadcltffe. 



P.S.— Some years ago the late Mr. Francis told me, in a 

 letter, to dig a trench and fill-in alternately with soil and ma- 

 nure, and to tread the earth hard against the Mauetti-stocked 

 Eoses. He did not warn me against orange fungus. The first 

 and best Manetti Eoses I ever saw came from him to the 

 Blandford Nurseries. 



GKAPE MISNAMED SYEIAN. 

 Being an uncompromising advocate for a correct nomencla- 

 ture of plants and fruits, I have been very much surprised to 

 see in the report of the great shows both at Edinburgh and 

 Glasgow the enormous bunches of White Nice Grapes desig- 

 nated the Syrian. This is misleading those who take an interest 

 in these matters. I knew the White Syrian Grape sixty years 

 ago, and find it correctly described "in Dr. Hogg's " Fruit 

 Manual." The difi'erence between the two sorts is so great 

 that no one can mistake. I know no better means of bringing 

 the matter before the public than your giving this a place in 

 your Journal, which is extensively read in Scotland. — William 

 Deans, Anna Nurseries, Jedburgh. 



VEITCH'S BLUE LOBELIA. 

 I WAS pleased to see Mr. Taylor's remarks in the Jonnial of 

 October 30th (page 329), respecting the bedding Lobelia 

 White Perfection. I can fully endorse what is there stated 

 about it. But I am not going to write about Veitch's White 

 Perfection Lobelia, but about Veitch's blue Lobelia speciosa, 

 as I think a good flower should be as generally known as pos- 

 sible for the good of all. Veitch's blue Lobelia comes trne 

 from seed with me — I cannot say as much for every one's 

 Lobelia seed. A gentleman came here during the past summer, 

 and he exclaimed, " Veitch's Lobelia 1 " " Yes, sir," said he, 

 " it is the best strain out. At several places that I have visited 

 during the past summer, where good gardening is carried on, 

 Veitch's Lobelia from seed distanced all other competitors. It 

 is dwarf, good habit, a beautiful blue, for hues or masses 

 A.l." Great credit is due to Messrs. Veitch for the core taken 

 in sending out such a good strain. — G. H. Cooke. 



Tomatoes from Ccttinos. — Tour ccrreppondent, " G. C." 

 (page 381), need not be afraid of striking 'J omatocs from cut- 

 tings at any time, provided he gets nice short-jointed pieces 



