436 



JOUENAX OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ December 4, 1873. 



by'a working'carpenter uuder a glass strnctm'e covering the 

 back door of his house. They were smashed in transit. I now 

 enclose a few mere crumbs of his crop, which is sold and gone, 

 just to prove that really useful produce can be grown in a 

 simple manner without lire, or any great amount of skill. On 

 another occasion I will tell you of a similar house, but heated 

 from the kitchen boiler, now carrying upwards of two hundred 

 bunches of Mrs. Pince's Muscat, Lady Downe's, &e., of from 

 1 to 3 lbs. weight, well ripened, and in fine condition. — 

 J. Weight. 



[The Apple is large, round, and flat, and a very handsome 

 fruit. The Grape is Black Hamburgh, and deliciously flavoured. 

 — Eds.I , 



THE BEST FIFTY GLADIOLI. 

 In your rej^ly to correspondents as to the best fifty Gladioli 

 for exhibition, I would venture to ask in what way your cor- 

 respondent is guided in arriving at the conclusion that the 

 fifty you name are the best for the purpose ? I made some 

 notes at the two great Gladioli exhibitions of this year — viz., 

 the Crystal Palace and the Eoyal Horticultural at Kensington, 

 and on comparing I find many of the sorts you name as the 

 best were not exhibited at all ; and not more than eight of the 

 fifty which you have put down have made an appearance in 

 the stands which took the first prizes in the great open classes 

 — viz., the twenty-four at the Eoyal Horticultural, and the 

 twenty-four and thirty-six at the Crystal Palace. Not being a 

 large grower, I did not take down the names of more than 

 twenty-four, all of which had a distinctness of character and 

 markings, and carried from ten to sixteen blooms each — viz.. 

 Acme, Attractive, Beauty of England, Charming, Damia, 

 Eugene Scribe, Hesperia, Horace Vernet, Julien, Lacepede, 

 Lady Bridport, Madame Desportes, Martia, Mytilene, Orcleus, 

 Orphee, Parsonii, Pheneus, Phytatus, Pictum, Polhs, Rosini, 

 Sanguineus, and Victory. These are decidedly the twenty-four 

 that I purpose growing next season. Many of the varieties in 

 your list I have discarded as being quite worthless for exhibit- 

 ing, although beautiful iu colour, and which, moreover, are 

 seldom seen with more than four or six blooms open at once. 

 I also notice that the whole of those you recommend as the 

 best are of foreign production. I do think this most unfair to 

 the high character now attained by our English growers ; for 

 surely the present season has most forcibly shown that we quite 

 equal — I should unhesitatingly say excel — our continental 

 neighbours. In proof of this, I have only to quote from your 

 own Journal. In your impression of September 11th, you say 

 the greater pai't which took the first open prizes were English- 

 raised seedlings. Again, in your report of the International 

 Show at Manchester you say that the whole, except three, in 

 the class for twenty-four, and also for twelve, were of English 

 production : and this is pretty well the truthful position of 

 our country iu raising this beautiful flower. We are no longer 

 dependant upon foreigners for the greater part of our finest 

 Gladioli.— F. W. 



WINTER FLOWEE GARDENING.— No. 5. 



Of flowering plants and bulbs the first to bloom is Ilellfborus 

 niger (the Christmas Eose). It often commences to do so in 

 November, and continues in bloom up to February or March. 

 The flowers are, as everybody knows, white and salver-shaped. 

 The foliage is dark green ; the leaf-stem brown-speckled ; the 

 leaflets broad-obovate, toothed, having a pedately lobed out- 

 line. H. niger maximus is by far the finest and largest form of 

 Christmas Hose. H. niger minor is a dwarf variety, and flowers 

 earlier than the species. 



LI. cokliicus, with digitately-lobed vigorous foliage, and fine 

 crimson flowers, is one of the finest of the genus, but does not 

 flower until February or March. 



H. alrorubens is also a fine red-flowering kind, iu beauty in 

 February and March. 



There are many other kinds all pretty, but the above will 

 answer our purpose, which is to employ them for a second line 

 to shrubs with Hepatieas on the margin, or they may be planted 

 as centres to beds of flowering plants. They delight in a light 

 soil enriched with leaf soil, and move with excellent balls to 

 their winter quarters iu November, and to their summer position 

 iu spring. 



The Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) is one of the earliest 

 of flowering plants, producing in .January and February its 

 bright yellow flowers ; the whole not above 3 or 1 inches high. 

 It forma a fine margin to a bed, and lines 2 inches apart every 



way and inches wide are very effective, the inner line being 

 blue Hepatica with a centre of Helleborus colchicus. The 

 roots should be planted 3 or 4 inches deep and remain per- 

 manently. 



Snowdrops are more effective in a bed than in irregular 

 patches, as we generally see them; the bed may be edged 

 with Scilla sibirica. For permanent edgings they are superb. 

 The single Snowdrop is the first to flower, followed by the 

 double-flowered and the Crimean, or Galanthus plicatus, which 

 is of more robust and larger growth. (See accompanying 

 figure.) The elegant drooping snow-white flowers of the Snow- 

 drop are universaUy admired. The bulbs should be planted 

 3 inches deep and an inch apart, and remain permanently, or 

 they may be taken up with balls and placed in the reserve 

 ground. For beds I like clumps of 3 or 4 inches in diameter, 

 and the same distance apart, planting them when the beds are 

 cleared, and lifting in spring. 



Calanthus phcatus 



Bulhocodium rernum. — The flowers are rosy purple, and 

 appear in February or March before the leaves. It is very 

 effective as an edging, and ought to remain permanently. A 

 band of this 1 foot wide, with the centre of the bed the Spring 

 Snowflake, is superb. 



Leucojmn rernum (Vernal or Spring Snowflake). — It is saying 

 much to assert that the flowers of this are more effective and 

 graceful than those of the Snowdrop, which it succeeds. Its 

 fragrant pendant flower-cups, or snow-white bell-shaped flowers 

 tipped with green, are extremely beautiful either for cutting 

 for bouquets or vases, or for flower-garden decoration. It 

 grows about 9 inches high, and is fine as an edging to beds of 

 shrubs or for a bed on a ground of Crocuses. A sheltered 

 position is necessary for it to succeed the Snowdrop. It should 

 likewise have a light loam enriched with leaf soil. 



Triteleia unifiora. — The white-shaded, porcelain-blue, fra- 

 grant flowers in a small bed or edging are very effective. On 

 a groundwork of Crocuses it is likewise effective. The bulbs 

 ought to remain permanently, or be grown in pots. 



Scilla sibirica. — The bright blue of this contrasts admirably 

 with the snow-white flowers of the Snowdrop, and the plant is 

 especially fine as an edging, where it should be permanent. 



S. bifolia, blue, and its white variety alba, are earlier-flower- 



