robraniy 48, 1867. ] 



JOUBNAL OP HOBTICULTUEB AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



m 



ElffiagQUS reflexa is a shrab of very unusnal outline, having 

 reflexed branches 6 or 7 feet long, and the whole bush not 

 exceeding 6 feet in height from the ground. The general 

 effect of a large plant is very good, though the colour is duU 

 all the year. In the spring the branches are laden with minute 

 blooms of a very delicate fragrance. The varieties here are 

 the yellow blotched and marginata. The former, presented to 

 pur park by Mr. Godfrey, is as hardy as the parent, which 

 ■will probably be the case with marginata. The latter, which 

 ■we had from Mr. Paul, promises to be beautiful, the coloured 

 margin is so clear and bright. Those who wish to plant it per- 

 manently must wait for struck not worked plants, otherwise the 

 ■vigour of the parent will overpower the graft. 



Olea ilicifolia is a very handsome compact evergreen, but of 

 Tery slow growth, and has passed many winters uuscathed. 



Eurya japonica, a pretty low-growing shrub, is very easily 

 propagated, and of about the same hardiness as the Euony- 

 mus, but will not prove of much decorative value, except near 

 the edge of .shrubberies. The broad-leaved variegated sort, if 

 moderately hardy, will be more effective. I have had it against 

 a wall for two winters, sheltered by an old window, so that its 

 leaves were jast scorched by the frost. These probably would 

 enjoy a peaty border. 



Skiramia japonica is perfectly hardy, and blooms and fruits 

 freely, but is of very slow growth. 



Qaercus glabra will prove a very handsome plant, much re- 

 Bembling in its growth the old Magnolia when grown as a bush, 

 but not so effective. 



Photinia has proved hardy here, but the Eugenias require a 

 peaty soil, so they have not succeeded ; and Eaphiolepis ovata 

 has stood the weather as well as the Euonymus. 



The Cabbage Palm of Australia had grown to the height of 

 3 feet; but all our plants have been killed with, perhaps, one 

 exception. I fear that a large plant of New Zealand Flax, 

 which has stood without any protection the last four or five 

 ■winters, is also dead. Chamierops Portuni has been out of 

 doora two years. Each winter it was surrounded by a circle of 

 stakes, over which a mat was stretched, open to the sky ; it 

 looked very healthy to-day. The Aralia Sieboldi is sheltered 

 with Laurel branches every winter, but does not at present 

 grow saHsfactorily. The Lonicera aureo-reticulata, with its 

 beautiful leaves, especially in the autumn, has proved quite 

 hardy ; when growing freely it is much inclined to lose its 

 variegation. — Jobs S. B-iktrcm, Bath. 



and position most suitable to the Iresine, that I put ont a 

 number of plants in different places with a view to test this 

 question, and I found the only plants looking well all through 

 the season were those in a northerly exposure, shaded fioia 

 about ten o'clock in the morning until three o'clock in the after- 

 noon. The very finest plant, now in the greenhouse, and 

 fiom which the enclosed piece was taken, grew not only in 

 this partially shaded position, but was fully exposed to 

 northerly winds, sweeping over two or three miles of salt 

 meadow, and the Earitan Kiver, about a mile wide at this 

 part. The soil is sandy, well enriched with old stable-manure, 

 made into a compost with leaf mould from the neighbouring 

 woods. 



This plant of Iresine stands not less than 3 feet in height 

 by 3,J feet in width ; the stalks are thoroughly matured, being 

 quite hard, and, towards the bottom, woody. The general 

 colour of the foliage is a ruddy crimson inclining to maroon, 

 lighted up with cai-miue and pink, the stems being not nearly 

 so dark as the leaves. Imagine how eiiective is this beauti- 

 fully rich foliage, surmounted by plumes of straw-coloured 

 flowers, and with small clusters at nearly every joint. 



I must say a word about Teleianthera ficoidea versicolor. 

 Last Slimmer I tried it in dry sandy soil, fully exposed to the 

 sun in the hottest weather we ever had, the thermometer 

 for several days registering more than 100° in the shade. The 

 hotter the weather the more it seemed to thrive, the fine 

 colours coming out with charming distinctness. I am hoping 

 to get the Alternantheras for next summer's trial, and expeet 

 great things from them. — Geobgb Soch, South Amboy, New 

 Jersey, 



EARLY PEAS. 



Before replying to Messrs. Carter & Co. in reference to theii 

 note upon my statement, 1 considered myself bound to discover 

 whether my seed was genuine. My seedsman sold it to me for 

 Carter's First Early, and charged for it as genuine seed. With 

 this house I have dealt for some time, and have always found 

 them honest and upright ; I have no right to doubt them now. 



In my disappointment regarding Carter's First Early I am 

 not alone ; for during last week I met three friends, each a 

 practical gardener, and from them I heard the same statement 

 regarding this Pea as I made in your columns. My object is 

 not to exalt or depreciate any man's pet Pea, but simply to 

 give a fair and honest statement of my experience with new 

 and vaunted seeds. — ^Eonnoc. 



NEW VARIEGATED BEDDING PLANTS. 



I enclose for your inspection a piece of the new Golden 

 Achyranthes, which, except in colour, is a counterpart of the 

 well-known A. Verschaffelti, and will doubtless prove a most 

 valuable plant for decorative and flower-gardening purposes ; 

 the contrast between the stem of the plant and the foliage is 

 very striking and attractive. I also enclose a piece of a varie- 

 gated Euonymus nearly hardy. This is another plant which 

 cannot be too highly spoken of for bedding-purposes, and which 

 is certainly the most beautiful plant of its colour, resembling 

 Graptophyllum pictum in the markings of its fuliage. I also 

 send a specimen of Coleus Gibsoni, a plant which I shall use 

 extensively during the present season. All the above will 

 prove acquisitions. — Edwd. Bennett, Gardener to G. S. Fol- 

 jamhe, Esq., Osherton Hall, Worlcsop, 



IRESINE HERBSTII IN NORTH AMERICA. 



Neither in your Journal nor in other gardening periodicals 

 have I seen any mention of Iresine Herbstii being in flower in 

 England, and I therefore suppose that it has not flowered well 

 with you, if at all. The enclosed flowering tip is from a fine 

 plant in my greenhouse, and if it reach you in as good order as 

 it is at the time of my sending it off it wUl doubtless prove 

 interesting. 



The whole head consists, as you will perceive, of a great 

 many small flowers, each of which, when expanded, is no 

 larger than the head of a common pin ; so small indeed are 

 they, that it requires a close examination to distinguish the 

 open flowers from those yet unopened. In colour they are of 

 a delicate straw colour, slightly tinted with green ; and the 

 contrast with the glowing foliage is exceedingly good. [The 

 flowers are in spikes, or loose panicles, and have a metalMc 

 polished surface. — Eds.] 



There was so much taUi last spring with regard to the soil 



THE NEW KINDS OF VEGETABLES. 



As I always read with interest any communication respect- 

 ing the above I venture to give my own experience for the past 

 few years, for I have tried all new vegetables from time to time 

 as they have been introduced to the public, and have always 

 given them a second chance, not liking to pass judgment for or 

 against them without a fair trial. 



I will begin with Peas. For the past three seasons I have 

 tried all the early kinds treated exactly alike in every respect, 

 but in each trial Dickson's First and Best has come off victorious 

 over the following, both as regards earliness and productive- 

 ness—namely, Eingleader, First Crop, DUlistone's Early (these 

 three are the same), and Carpenter's Express and Sangster's 

 No. 1, which are identical. Laxton's Prolific I consider one 

 of the very best second early Peas of recent introduction, and 

 one which has not in the least been over-praised. Another, 

 named Albert Edward, which I procured last year from Messrs. 

 Lawson, is of the same class as Champion of England, but 

 much superior to that good old variety, as I had them growing 

 side by side. 



As regards Potatoes I have tried all the new kinds that were 

 recommended for garden culture, and find nothing to super- 

 sede the old Dwarf-top Ashleaf as a first early, and Hands- 

 worth, Daintree's Seedling, and Fortyfold for succession. 

 These are the very best for a garden, as Broccoli, Brussels 

 Sprouts, or any winter vegetable may be planted between 

 every two rows, on account of the short haulm they produce. 



I have found nothing remarkable among the CabbogewortS. 

 Dalmeny Sprouts, Albert Sprouts, and Scrymger's Giant 

 Brussels Sprouts are quite useless when compared with a 

 really good strain of the old Brussels Sprouts, which can be 

 had 'from October till the beginning of April. Of course, this 

 season is an exception, as the frost has made a clean sweep of 



