192 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



[ March 14, 1867. 



■with very deep spots on the lower petals ; medium-sized blotch 

 on the upper petals. This will, I think, be found to be one of 

 the best spotted flowers that we have. 



Queen Bess. — Lower petals orange rose ; upper petals deeper 

 orange maroon, narrow border of carmine. 



Queen (}f Gipsies. — Orange rose, tinted with a deeper shade 

 of the same colour; maroon upper petals bordered with car- 

 mine. 



Selina. — Lower petals crimson scarlet ; top petals scarlet, 

 shaded with maroon. 



Sovereir/n. — Largo white-centred flower; rosy lake lower pe- 

 tals ; deep lake top, shaded with black. 



Of these the best I believe to be Decision, Lady of Quahty, 

 Mrs. AVaite, and Nabob. 



All these are seedlings of Mr. Hoyle's, whose flowers are the 

 only ones that I have had the opportunity of seeing constantly, 

 so as to be able to form an opinion of their merits. Mr. 

 Foster's flowers have not hitherto seemed to me at all equal 

 to them in their general character. I believe that now, how- 

 ever, there is a great improvement in the strain by the intro- 

 duction of fresh blood into it; and that, as Mr. Foster, Jan., 

 is as enthusiastic in the raising of seedhngs as his late father. 

 I have no doubt that we shall see his flowers more approaching 

 those of Mr. Hoyle's than has hitherto been the case, if, in- 

 deed, we have not an ived at very nearly ihe farthest point 

 that we shall see reached in this "lovely flower. It is some- 

 times hard to expect any improvement, and yet so we thought 

 half a dozen years ago; but how far short of cur present 

 standard are the flowers of tho-^ie days. There is, indeed, one 

 cause that may effectually prevent this improvement, which is 

 rapidly affecting all florists' flowers— viz., that rage fur bedding 

 plants which is now so universal. Take the pages of this 

 Journal. A gocdly octavo volume has been written during the 

 past twelve months on a little plant at which a few years ago 

 everybody would have turned their noses up — Viola cornuta. 

 I do not deny its being a pretty little plant, and useful for the 

 purpose, but it only receives any favour because of its being 

 used as a bedder. While this has been so largely written 

 about, who has cared to make half the fuss about any florists' 

 flower ? We who remember the days that are gone may well 

 feel aggrieved at this, and can only look on to discover'some 

 ghmmeriug streaks of the dawn of a better day ; for, though 

 modern gardeners contend that bedding-out requires so much 

 knowledge of colours and skill, florists' doners need an amount 

 of patient watching, of skill, of constant attention, which on the 

 whole tribe of bedding Pelargoniums, Verbenas, &c., would be 

 thrown away. Hence on every side one hears, " We haven't 

 time or space for growing florists' flowers;" "I have so many 

 thousands of bedding plants to prepare and find room for, that 

 really I cannot grow them as I used." So the demand for 

 Pelargoniums, Dahlias, Pansies, &c., is every year decreasing, 

 and, as a natural consequence, the raisers of seedlings fall off 

 also. Let us hope that "there's a good time coming,"- when 

 both objects may be attained. — D., Deal. 



PEAS AND CABBAGES. 



I WISH to say a little more about vegetables, which receive 

 my greatest care, and I will begin with Peas. I have sown 

 Sangster's No. 1, Daniel O'Rourke, and Dillistone's Early at 

 the same time on the same piece of ground, and no one could tell 

 the difference. Of the three, Dillistone's I thought was the best, 

 lasting in crop the longest time. That was five years ago; 

 last year I sowed some of Dickson's First and Best at the 

 same time and on the same piece of ground as some of what 

 I call Dillistone's Improved, for I have saved a few of the 

 longest and best pods every year. Dickson's First and Best 

 came in six days earlier, which is a great object where early 

 Peas are in demand ; but for a crop I should be sorry to give a 

 pr. ference to any i f the sorts I have named over Dillistone's 

 Early Improved. The pods are 4 inches long, well filled with 

 peas as large as those produced by Bishop's Dwarf; but the 

 soil and climate of different localities exercise a greater influ- 

 ence than I could have believed possible had I not lived in 

 other counties. For instance, a crop of early Peas is often 

 over in England in a fortnight ; but here in beautiful Wales I 

 have gathered for seven weeks from Peas which had first come 

 into bearing in the end of June. 



I saw by a late number that Messrs. Stuart & Mein recom- 

 mend sowing Coleworts as soon as the weather and state of 

 the ground will permit, in order to allow them time to ijjalie 



fine heads before the winter. I used to sow the seeds in the 

 first week in April, but the plants were then always too forward 

 for me. With every spare piece of ground cropped in March 

 (for I must economise every yard of kitchen garden in order to 

 supply a large family throughout the year with good vegetables, 

 including Potatoes, from an acre of ground), Svhere am I to 

 plant those early Greens ? is a question I often ask myself. I 

 must wait until the early Peas and Potatoes, Spinach, &c., 

 come off, or plant between the rows, and this I often do. Ac- 

 cordingly I never sow my Coleworts, <tc., until the second week 

 in May, and I cut fine heads of the Ulm Savoy in the first 

 week in October. The soil is very light, with a gravelly sub- 

 soil. — T. Elcome, rjiiiff Gardens, Coru-en, Nortli ]]'ales. 



[Our correspondent, on again referring to Messrs. Stuart and 

 Mein's communication, will perceive that their recommendation 

 had reference to the different varieties of Sprouts, and more 

 particularly to the Fearnought Cabbage.] 



PEACH-TREE BUDS. 



TnErE are some Peach trees, like that most beautiful Nec- 

 tarine the Elruge, which have abundance of bloom-buds, and 

 leaf-buds always among them. There are others, like the 

 Stanwick and the White Nectarine, where the blossom buds 

 are to the leaf-buds as fifty to one. Such trees soon grow out 

 of bounds, and the shoots after a year or two are weak and 

 spindly, unfit to carry fruit. Now, will Mr. Biebaut tell me — 

 First, What to do with an old tree of this kind ? If the at- 

 tenuated shoots are cut back they throw out no leaf-bud and 

 the stumps die. Is it possible by cutting a straggling tree 

 veiy clo.'iely all over to obtain a fresh sprinkling of shoots from 

 the main stem ? or is it the best plan to cut it down like a 

 Fuchsia for one strong shoot from the base ? 



Secondly, It would be of still more service if Mr. Brehant 

 would say how this superabundance of bloom may be pre- 

 vented, or, in other words, how leaf-buds may be secured where 

 they are wanted. We want two on each shoot, one at the ex- 

 tremity to feed this year's fruit, and this extreme bud you are 

 sure of, if you have not in tlie preceding summer pinched your 

 shoot too hard. It, however, you have pinched back so far as to 

 take off a full-grown leaf, then in all probability you will have 

 a naked branch of useless blossom; with even a bloom-bud at 

 the top. This, however, maybe prevented, as I have said ; but 

 another leaf-bud is wanted no less towards the base of the 

 shoot, to grow into the replacing shoot of next year. This 

 bud, perhaps, half the branches of th3 trees I have mentioned 

 are without. Can any plan be suggested for securing this 

 leaf bud at the base? Will amputation early in the season of 

 half the leaf which attends a bud ? or will anything else have 

 this effect upon it ? — Wveside. 



[It not being stated if the Peach trees in question are 

 01 chard house trees, or in a heated Peach-house, or on the 

 open wall, it is difficult to deal with this subject except gene- 

 rally. The trees mentioned do not differ in their habit of 

 growth so as naturally to produce the results stated. On the 

 contrary, the Stanwick is here our very strongest Nectarine. 

 Leaf-buds occur at the points of every one of the eight classes 

 of Peach shoots, except in one case, that of " barren or bhnd 

 spray." This is known by its single blossom-buds, slender 

 habit, and doimant buds at the base. These last, in the Peach, 

 are seldom developed after one season. Opinion.^ differ whether 

 to retain or cut away this class of shoot. All, however, agree 

 that it is a sign of premature decay in the tree, however caused. 

 As the trees are stated to be old, may not this, in part at 

 least, account for their condition ? Should they be old fa- 

 vourites, I cannot recommend their being wholly cut down. 

 Doing so rarely succeeds, though the kind of stock they are on 

 makes a difference. Bather encourage any strong wood-shoots, 

 train them vertically, and as they are able to absorb the sap, 

 cut away the older portions gr.adually this summer. Jf some 

 fruit be desired (which is a pity), retain those clusters of bloom- 

 buds without accompanying leaf-buds which lie close to the 

 brandies. They will bear and then dry up. An excellent way 

 is to graft some young wood by herbaceous approach wherever 

 possible. It is easy to do so in July, and the proceeding is very 

 effectual in reforming a tree. 



Leaf-buds are often wanting at the points even in the best 

 pruning, with or without clusters of bloom. At the winter 

 pruning it is not always easy to distinguish ; even if left they 

 are the most liable to be brushed off by contact with passers- 



