December 19, 1867. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



457 



to make them bushy. Water very sparingly at all times, and 

 do it in the morning during the winter months : nothing 

 injures this plant so much as over-watering. When the plants 

 show bloom remove them to the greenhouse or conservatory. 

 To keep them tidy place four or five neat stakes round the 

 inside edge of the pots, and pass some finely divided Cuba bast 

 around them. 



By carefully attending to the above hints and practising 

 them, as good Mignonette may bo grown in the country as any 

 that is Fcnt to Covent Garden Market. 



The above remarks apply also to the cultivation of tree Mig- 

 nonette, with the following exceptions. Sow a pinch of seed 

 in the centre of as many 3-inch pots as there are plants 

 required. When the young plants are strong enough thin them 

 by degrees to one plant in a pot, and that must be the strongeet. 

 Train that up a stake to the height required, pinch out all 

 side shoots and the heads of bloom, but do not divest the stem 

 of its leaves until the plant has attained its full height. To 

 form a head leave about three shoots at the top, and pinch 

 them in from time to time. 



I have had tree Jtignonette -1 and 5 feet high with heads 

 2 feet through, by sowing the seed as above described in August 

 and growing the plants for twelve months, shifting into larger 

 pots when required. These were handsome cbjects in the con- 

 servatory, and ailorded many cut flowers all winter. For 

 ordinary-sized trees the seed should be sown during the first 

 week in May to bloom throughout the following winter. Dif- 

 ferent catalogues announce a giant variety for this purpose, 

 but in growing the two I have found no difJerence. — Thomas 

 Eecoki), Ilawkiiunt. 



DESTROYING PREDATORY INSECTS. 

 Having read with interest the articles which have of lats 

 appeared on the destruction of those pests to the gardener — 

 mealy bug, scale, thrips, &c., I determined to try Fowler's in- 

 secticide fairly, and the following is the result : — I made a 

 solution, 4oz3. to the gallon, as recommended in the printed 

 directions ; but first, although it is stated not to injure any 

 plant, I wished " to make assurance doubly sure," and 

 dipped a young growing plant of Adiantum, likewise watering 

 well with the insecticide. The result proved that at all events 

 using it so freely to the roots is not beneficial, as some of the 

 youngest fronds turned slightly black, but when the top only 

 was dipped no harm followed. 



My first trial of the insect-destroying powers of the appli- 

 cation was by dipping some stove plants, such as Ardisias and 

 Gardenias, to destroy scale, and the insect was killed at once 

 without harm to the plants. I next tried it upon several plants 

 as a remedy for mealy bug, for I am sorry to say that I cannot, 

 like Mr. Pearson, boast that my plants are free from it, having 

 lately come into the charge of houses which have been for a 

 time neglected ; but thanks to insecticide, every plant, whether 

 dipped or carefully sponged, is now, several days after the trial, 

 quite clear of bug, scale, and thrips, without harm to a single 

 leaf. Amongst the Ferns dipped were some valuable Gleiche- 

 nias, rare Aspleniums, Pteris, itc. 1 should like to know why 

 it is advised to use the composition at 85', as it is very dillicult 

 to keep it near one heat, and I tried it, and found it to answer 

 when cold. Should this meet the eye of the Messrs. Fowler, 

 they would perhaps explain. 



As to the " horrible and disagreeable paints of clay, sulphur, 

 manure, and other ingredients," spoken of by "T. B.," for 

 Vines, Peach trees, &c., under glass, I have long discontinued 

 the use of them. Even when a boy, I could never understand 

 why my master, a clever gardener, was so very particular about 

 my washing the stems as well as the leaves of his Camellias 

 " quite clean," and yet order mo to plaster plenty of a vile 

 mixture ho prepared with cowdung, clay, &e., upon the Vines, 

 which mixture for the moat part remained imtil the Vines were 

 dressed and pruned in the following year. I could, I saj', never 

 understand why I should clean the one, and bedaub the other, 

 nor, indeed, can I yet see the philosophy of it, and I have no 

 doubt ere long it will be one of the things of the past, for it 

 must be evident to all that to clog up the vessels in the cuticle 

 of the stem, will prevent their performing their proper functions, 

 and must, therefore, be detrimental to healthy action. I have 

 for many years used Gishurst, and am quite satisfied with the 

 results, as being superior to the plastering system so often 

 seen. 



As to home-made preparations, one which I have used with 

 marked saooess for several years for scale, mealy bug, thrips. 



itc, and which is not, I believe, in general nse, is mode by 

 dissolving 1 oz. of bitter aloes, 2 ozs. of soft soap, and 1 o:l 

 of sulphur in a giillon of water. Dip, syringe, or sponge the 

 plants. It is both cheap and good. 



I will now offer a few remarks about another garden pest — 

 the slug. I envy that man his good fortune, who ia not 

 troubled by this marauder, defying all his attempts at its 

 destruction by lime or soot. I remember one morning giving 

 orders for pricking-ont a quantity of Cauliflowers in frames, to 

 stand the winter, and was told, after I had just found out that 

 during the night slugs had destroyed six valuable plants in a 

 JleUm-housu, that they had eaten nearly through the stems of 

 all of them, even though lime had been used unsparingly. 



Strolling along the seashore and seeing a lame sea gnll, I 

 pave chase, and was not long in securing him, and a fine sturdy 

 fellow he was, too. I took him home and turned him loose in 

 the garden, supplying him once a-day with a little fresh lish 

 for a time until he became quite tame, and would follow the 

 men all over the place, especially if he saw any signs of ground 

 being stirred, when woe to that worm so unfortunate as to be 

 seen. 1 soon found out, also, that the slags bad a most vigilant 

 enemy, for " Jack," as we named him, soon discovered their 

 haunts, and on a damp day would run along the Box edgings, 

 or amongst Cabbages or Cauliflowers, picking slugs up at a 

 magical rate. He soon proved to be the most eilectual sing 

 trap I ever saw, besides proving a determined enemy to many 

 other garden pests, as woodlice, earwigs, and wireworma, lor 

 he was nothing less than a glutton, and never did I see him 

 refuse meat of any kind, the result being, that very soon slugs 

 were a thing never thought of. He was a large grey gull, the 

 .size almost of a goose, and all the attention he required was a 

 large garden saueerf ul of water to drink ; and to any one troubled 

 with slugs I would say, If you can keep a sea gull yon will have 

 no need to fear your enemy, or worms on a lawn, for there he 

 vcill be invaluable ; only let one be seen and its death is certain. 

 — — — , The Gardens, Golden Hill, Ficston. 



REDDING TRICOLOR PELilEGONIUM. 



INIXCENCE OF PARENT PLANTS ON SEEDLINGS. , 



A cincL'LAR leaf some will contend is indispensable, while 

 others maintain that such a leaf is not able to withstand onr 

 seasons so well as an incised leaf. So much for opinions. It 

 is certain, however, that if the leaf is destitute of a fine green 

 centre, it is delicate, be the shape what it may ; therefore, a 

 fine green centre is indispensable. The leaf should also be per- 

 fectly flat or inclined to convex ; colours well defined and 

 bright. 



1 am led to make these remarks from learning that the cen- 

 sors at the lioyal Horticultural Society's Exhibition of Tricolor 

 Pelargoniums, gave the preference to varieties with circnlar 

 leaves, instead of to incised leaves. 



For the last three years I have taken a great pleasure in raising 

 seedling Tricolor Pelargoniums, and when Italia Unjta first 

 made its appearance I was charmed with it ; btit the leaf, 

 pretty as it is, has a wrinkled appearance. The plant is also a 

 ^low grower. I have raised hundreds of seedlings from it, and 

 all more or less partaking of that fault — namely, wrinkles in 

 the leaf ; but at last I have succeeded in raising a seedling 

 from it, the pollen parent being Baron Hicasoli. It is of ex- 

 cellent habit, the centre of the leaf is of a fine green, the zone 

 is bright crimson, scarlet, and black, and the leaf is perfectly 

 flat and free from wrinkles. As the leaves mature their 

 growth they assume a convex appearance. Another most im- 

 portant quality is, that the leaves do not in the least damp 

 in the winter season like those of other varieties of the section, 

 but they are incised. However, with all its f.<ult3, I intend to 

 exhibit this variety at the spring exhibition of Tricolor Pelar- 

 goniums, at Kensington, for the Floral Committee to decide on 

 its merits. 



Do seedling Pelargoniums derive their features more largely 

 from the pollen parent, or from the seed parent? I have in- 

 variably found them more resembling the pollen parent than 

 the seed parent. For instance: May Queen, one of the rose 

 varieties, was crossed with pollen from Sir Pi. Feel, the result 

 was nearly all the seedlings had scarlet flowers. Again, Le 

 Grand, a fine Nosegay variety, crossed with the same, has 

 given me splendid trusses of flowers, and many of them of fine 

 circular outline, and all that could be wished for. 



What improvement has taken place in the Zonal class in the 

 last five or six years ! They exhibit colours of nearly every 



