Dedember SG, 1887. . 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



479 



attempting to substitnte the true Madder for the less valnable 

 native plant, he has no doubt of its being a good speculation. — 

 G. L. 



"^The leaves enclosed are not ot any species of Rubia that we 

 know. It is probable that liubia tinctorin, the true MaJJor 

 plant, wonlfl Ihrivo in Assam, for it is a native of the warmer 

 countries of Europe. If any of our readers can furnish UB with 

 reliable information we will readily publish it.] 



Four years since I inarched the Red, or Grizzly FrontiRnan 

 on the Royal Muscadine Vine ; it has borne for two years fruit 

 of excellent flavour with the true colour of the Grizzly Fron- 

 tigaan. — It. H. A. 



A PLEA FOU TEA ROSES. 



Why are not Tea Roses more generally onltivatod ? For 

 one good collention of Teas it is easy to (ind a dozen Hybrid 

 Perpetuals — I beg Mr. Kent's pardon — of Romontants. Even 

 at the great shows the Teas are not always well represented, 

 while at many of the country shows they are absolutely no- 

 where, and a difTiculty is found in inducing any real competi- 

 tion for the Tea Rose pri;'.cs. One important reason, no doubt, 

 is the risk incurred in growing them. Many of them require 

 glass ; and why sliould tliey not have it, when numbers of 

 other plants, far inferior, are indulged to the uttermost ? Why 

 should Tea Rose houses be still but a glorious vision, unreal- 

 ised even in places where there are wealth and expenditure 

 enough to do anything ? We have still very little idea of what 

 Tea Roses are hero in England, and yet they are particularly 

 easy to propagate. Hut, then, the winter ! 



No doubt it is almost useless to attempt to grow Tea Roses 

 budded on high standards. Every severe winter there is a 

 slaughter of these that is melancholy to contemplate. But 

 on Manetti stocks, or on their own roots, there is no difliculty 

 in protecting them, and how amply they repay all the labour 

 bettow.-d upon them. If there are nobility, gentry, and com- 

 moners in the Rose garden, certainly every Tea Rose will come 

 into "the upper ten," while many of them must be admitted 

 the very cream ot the cream. 



Even the old Devoniensis, .\dam under glass, Triomphe de 

 Eennes anywhere, Madame Falcot, and Safrano, almost the 

 hardiest of all, how unapproachable are these by the best of 

 the Remontants ! And then tho new ones we are promised — 

 Bouton d'Or, a gold button, JIadame Margottin, and Heine de 

 Portugal, to be the queen ot the dark yellows. Who can read 

 " our .Journal " without falling in love with these? Another 

 advantage the class of Tea Roses possesses is their com- 

 paratively small number. Only the leviathans of the Rose 

 gardens can pretend to a perfect collection ot Remontants, 

 but all the good Teas may bo brought together in a garden of 

 very narrow limits ; the hardier ones in a protected border, the 

 tender in pots, to return to frames during the winter. Once 

 more the range of necessary purchase is thus considerably 

 limited, and this is, after all, no small consideration, for 

 " Hobby horses are more oostly than Arabs." — A. C. 



DOUBLE-BEARING RASPBERRIES. 



On page 3G3 Mr. Stewart, ot Nuneham Park, says, " I have 

 often beard gardeners speak of doutle-bearing Raspberries, 

 but have never seen such, excepting when strong summer 

 shoots have flowered and then become useless." 



I write to inform Mr. Stewart that the fruit of the double- 

 bearing kind is produced on the top of the young canes, and 

 that after they have fruited the bearing portion must be out 

 oil, say now or earlier ; and the remaining 4 feet of cane, tied 

 to the stake, will produce a good crop ot fruit at the same time 

 as the summer varieties fruit. I have never seen any autumn 

 Raspberry fruit on the whole length ot cane, consequently the 

 lower eyes remain dormant till the next season, and then push 

 at tho usual time. "o*. 



I shall be glad to make an exchange with Mr. Stewart of a 

 tew canes if he thinks he has any different kind from the old 

 double-bearing. — E. Welsh, Palace Gardens, Armarjh. 



PROPAGATING PELARGONIUMS. 



Mr. PKttKiNs (see page 411), seems to have a very bad opinion 

 of my method ot propagating the Pelargonium, and considers 

 that amateurs would 0nd themselves in difficulties were they 

 to adopt it. Will Mr. Perkins state his reasons for coming to 

 the conclusion at which he has arrived ? and then I may, per- 

 haps, be able to clear away any mistrust in regard to my plan. 



I can assure him that amateurs who have adopted my system 

 have had no occasion to fall back on the plan that Mr. Perkins 

 adopts, for they h&ve found that they not only fill their flower 

 beds better, but they can keep them gay for at least three weeks 

 longer before begini\ing to take off onttings. 



It Mr. Perkins can begin to take off cuttings as early as your 

 correspondent " 11. E." stated on page 277, there would be no 

 advantage in adopting my plan, but the reverse. I distinctly 

 stated, however, that I began taking off cuttings during the 

 last week ot August. I generally propagate nearly twenty 

 thousand every year, and seldom lose many more than Mr. 

 Perkins. — James Stewabt, Nuncliam Park. 



RED FRONTIGNAN \'INE WORKED ON THE 



ROYAL :musc.vdine. 



In your Journal of the 12th inst., I observe a communication 

 {rora " J. W." respecting the influence of the stock over the 

 grait. Perhaps you would like my experience on the subject. 



GARDENING AT ADELAIDE, SOUTH 

 AUSTRALIA. 



Having signified your desire to receive communications 

 from various parts ot the world on gardening experiences, I 

 venture to send you some ot my own, in this little and some- 

 what unknown colony of South Australia, thinking that they 

 may afl'ord to others in a small degree some ot tho same in- 

 terest that communications of a like nature have given to 

 myself. 



Our climate is, in my opinion, very fine, and particularly 

 suitable f or floricultural pursuits, it a moderate supply of water 

 is to be had with little difliculty, which I am happy to say 

 is my own case ; but, on the other hand, skilled labour is very 

 hard to secure, and when secured, harder to retain, and it is 

 very difficult to procure the European novelties with any 

 degree of certainty. Plants, however carefully packed, have 

 many perils to encounter in a three-months voyage, and 80 

 many die that the survivors cost loo much to be within reach of 

 most amateurs, and then have to undergo the difficulties of 

 acclimatisation. Then with seeds it is nearly as bad. The 

 descriptions ot flowers in the published catalogues are very 

 glowing, but either from the want of true seed, or from errors 

 of description, great disappointment occurs with such as are 

 raised ; but not one-quarter of the varieties of seeds that I 

 have imported ever came up at all, and ot those that do vegetate, 

 in many cases there may be only one or two plants from a 

 packet ot seed. I imagine that this is caused by the voyage, 

 as I have not confined my orders to any particular house, and 

 I flnd there are particular seeds which I have never been able 

 to raise at all ; some of these are certain varieties of Delphinium, 

 Aquilegia, Poppies, and Phloxes. With others I have failed for 

 two or three years, and then the next season's supply would 

 come all right. It would, however, be a great boon to cultiva- 

 tors at a distance, if there was a reliable catalogue to be had, 

 from which the poor worthless descriptions of flowers were ex- 

 punged, and where varieties difierirg from their progenitors 

 only in some inappreciable particular, should not figure as 

 something new or rare. I may add that I now always have my 

 seeds sent out by post, as I find they arrive in far better condi- 

 tion than when packed in tin cases. 



It is somewhat diflicult to lay out a garden here very taste- 

 fully, from the impossibility ot obtaining that great ground- 

 work of an English garden, a nice lawn. The only Grass I 

 have yet met with that will retain its greenness in summer is 

 the Couch Grass, but it is so apt to take possession of the 

 whole garden, that it is exceedingly objectionable, independently 

 of the difficulty of mowing it and keeping it in good order. 

 I am now trying it as an experiment, with no little anxiety, 

 after repeated failures with other things, one ot which was the 

 Spergula pilitera, but that was burnt up the moment the sum- 

 mer commenced. If any of your correspondents could suggest 

 a Grass suitable for this purpose, and that would stand onr 

 climate, I should feel very grateful. 



I do not exactly know what should bo considered onr fair 

 1 average day heat in summer, but I should think about 75' to 



