December 16, 1863. ] JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



467 



pearance, at once remove all other buds which are formed 

 above it on the extreme points of the plant ; these buds are 

 usually formed in threes. Should the single bud alluded to 

 be unhealthy, then select one of the three terminal buds in 

 its place. The residt will be success, however unnatural this 

 process may appear. 



The plants should be frequently syringed in the evenings 

 in warm weather. This much encourages the vigour of the 

 foliage. Never use liquid manure tUl the flower-buds are 

 formed, and as they increase in size so you may increase the 

 strength of the liquid used. That produced from sheep's 

 dung is, perhaps, the best ; and should the roots show them- 

 selves on the surface of the pot, let them be covered over 

 with rotten manm-e kept well moistened. 



At the end of October, or as soon as the buds begin to 

 expand their petals, remove the plants under cover to 

 protect them from sudden frost or violent rain and wind. 

 If removed to a greenhouse admit a free current of air day 

 and night. It is protection from weather, not heat, that the 

 plants now require. About the fii-st week in November you 

 may expect your reward, your plants having perfected fine, 

 large, and splendid flowers, by no means in the opinion of 

 florists resembling mops with straight handles, so facetiously 

 suggested by a writer in a contemporary respecting the 

 specimens in the conservatory at South Kensington. 



VERBENAS. 



A SELECTION of the best soi-ts, as we have found them in 

 this locality (Somerset), may be interesting, especially when 

 taken in connection with "D " of Deal's jury on the same 

 subject (see Journal of Horticulttjke, page 387). Having 

 cultivated upwards of a thousand sorts since 1856, and having 

 a great liking for the flower, as I consider it amongst the 

 best ornaments we have for the flower garden, I have taken 

 great pains with it, and am happy to find that the Deal jui-y 

 have put down a seedling of my own, Miss Hughes, as Al. 

 I was much pleased with "D," of Deal's "hanging" bout; 

 it is a process that requires to be carried out upon some 

 other families as well as the Verbena. 



I bought eighty sorts of the new Verbenas of 18G3, but 

 was sadly disappointed with a great many of them, and I 

 think " D," of Deal, and his friends, have served them quite 

 as they deserved ; I may say that I never knew a worse lot 

 sent out than those of 1862-3, nine-tenths of them were 

 mere rubbish. 



The following list contains what I consider the best of 

 what have appeared during the last ten years. I have 

 arranged them in sections of colour, and made a few obser- 

 vations about each section, hoping that it wOl enable your 

 readers to choose those sorts ordy which are most effective 

 and likely to give them the most satisfaction. 



Sect. 1, Dakk Ckimson. — Negro Boy and The Moor are 

 two very dark and effective sorts for dark beds, and there is 

 also Lord Elgin, the darkest sort yet produced. 



Sect. 2, Crimsons. — Admiral Dundas, Chauvieri, Geant 

 des BataiUes, Glou-e d'Automne, Little Pet, Master Corbet, 

 Rainbow, Rougieri (same as Fanny Stracey). This beautiful 

 section contains coloiu's of dazzling brightness ; Chauvieri is 

 yet unmatched in colour, and Rougieri in both colour and 

 form has no equal. The well known Geant des BataiUes is 

 one of the best bedders yet out. Master Corbet is new, and 

 very fine for a bed ; Little Pet is a dwarf and compact free- 

 flowering gem. 



Sect. 3, Bright or Scarlet Crimsons. — Evening Star, 

 La Gloire, Morning Star, Nemesis, Sir J. Paxton, and Star. 

 All these are fine and beautiful flowers with large and con- 

 spicuous eyes, excepting Nemesis, which is a lovely and 

 finely formed flower. Mrs. Scott, a new flower coming out 

 next spring, is an improvement upon it, being much brighter 

 in colour, equally well formed, and a very fi'ee flowerer. 



Sect. 4, Scarlets. — Comet, Electra, Fireball, Firefly, 

 Foxhunter, King of Scarlets, Lord Raglan, Magnet, Melin- 

 dres, Mrs. Woodroofe, and Old Defiance. This may be called 

 the most brilliant and most telling section of Verbenas ; 

 Firefly, Foxhunter, Magnet, and Melindres are dazzling in 

 their brightness. Melindres is the olde.st of all the creeping 

 kinds, and stUl one of the best for small beds ; Firefly is, 

 perhaps, the best scarlet bedder we have ; and Lord Raglan, 



a difi"erent and lighter shade, is unsurpassed for the profusion 

 of its flowers ; Foxhunter is a great acquisition ; Magnet 

 and King of Scarlets are two lovely sorts, with flne yellow 

 eyes, and are excellent bedders ; Mrs. Woodroofe is a large 

 and fine, hardy late-flowering sort. We have a bed here now, 

 Nov. 30th, in fine flower. 



Sect. 5, Magenta or Shaded Crimson. — BriUant de 

 Vaise, General Simpson, La Gloire, Miss Hughes, and St. 

 Margaret. These are all splendid flowers. The fij-st is a 

 fine sort for large beds, or for a hanging-basket and vase ; 

 General Simpson is a fine and profuse bloomer; Miss Hughes 

 is one of the finest formed and flnest trussing Verbenas out, 

 and was a seedUng of my own, it is good both for bedding 

 and for pot cultui-e ; St. Margaret is one that has stood the 

 test of yeai-s, it is a lovely and profuse flowerer, it has kept 

 its place against all comers for nearly thirty years, I think 

 Melindres and this are the oldest of our best bedders. 



Sect. 6, Rose (of various shades).— Mrs. Spencer, L'Avenir 

 de Ballent, Great Eastern, Lizzy, and Great Western. These 

 are all flne, and very free-flowering sorts, and give a pleasing 

 variety to the flower garden. 



Sect. 7, Bluish Violet. — Garibaldi, Lady Palmerston, 

 and Mrs. Moore, are all charming kinds, but the first two are 

 rather shy growers ; Mrs. Moore is the best of aU the blue- 

 sorts with white eyes; although not one of the largest, it is a 

 free grower and profuse flowerer. 



Sect. 8, Purples (of various shades).— Ariosto, Ariosto 

 Improved, Claudia, Desdemona, Eyebright, King of Verbenas, 

 Purple King, and Rival Andre. These are all flne bedders ; 

 the first might be dispensed with, as the second is so much 

 finer. King of Verbenas is a splendid bedder, with a fine 

 eye ; and Purple King is so well known, and so good, that it 

 has not yet been equalled in habit or profusion of flowers. 



Sect. 9, Pure White.— Boule de Neige, Mrs. Holford, 

 Mrs. Hosier WUliams, and Snowflake, are all very flne, the 

 last as yet unequalled, the first has not yet come up to it ; 

 Mrs. Holford, when well grown, is a charming variety; and 

 Mrs. Hosier WUliams is a dwarf, free-flowering, and upright- 

 growing sort, excellent for small beds, and is of pearly 

 whiteness. 



Sect. 10, French Whites with Fine Eyes. — Admiral 

 Lyons, Madonna, and Venus. These are all charming bedders. 

 Madonna is an old sort, but is stiU one of, if not the best ot 

 this tribe ; Venus is as she should be, lovely and charming. 



Sect. 11, Striped Flowers.— Carolina Cavagnini, Comte 

 Bernardo Leechi, Madame Zoudier, Madame Lemonier, 

 Nobile Carolina Franzieur, Sai-ha, and Striped Perfection. 

 These are all charming flowers, beautifully striped with a 

 sort of Maltese cross in each floret. 



Sect. 12, Small Striped Sorts of Maonetti, purple, 

 scarlet, and white striped, fine for rockwork, vases, and small 

 beds in sunny places. — John Scott, Merriott. 



Hogg's British Pomology. — It wiU be seen from our 

 advertising columns that this work, of which the first divi- 

 sion oidy has been published, is to be continued in the pages 

 of The Florist and Pomologist, of which a new volume will be 

 commenced on the 1st of January next. The subject wUl 

 be " The Pear," and will contain a fuU description of every 

 known variety, with woodcut illustrations of all that are 

 most deserving of publication. Such a work as this has been 

 much wanted. 



PEOTECTING PLANTS. 



So much has been said of late about protecting bedding 

 plants from frost, that I think it may not be amiss to inform 

 amateurs of a plan which was recommended a few years 

 back in The Journal of Horticulture, which plan I 

 adopted, and found it to answer all the purposes required. 

 It is this — 



A frame, or frames, made of boards 1 or li inch thick, 

 whatever size suits best (mine are 6 feet by 4) ; this frame 

 to be cased all round with boards half an inch thick, leaving 

 a space of about 3 or 4 inches, which is to be packed well 

 with di-y sawdust. To protect the top a frame is made of 

 half-inch board about 2 inches wide, on which is tacked 

 roofing-felt. This frame-cover is made to fit tightly all round, 

 and to rest on a ledge tacked immediately under the glass 



