276 



JOUBNAIi OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ April 18, 1867. 



happens to lie under the brown zone will, as seen through the 

 transparent epidermis of the upper surface of the leaf, appear 

 quite red, the production of the brown and the yellow colouring 

 matter ; while that portion of the zone which may rest upon 

 the green portion of the leaf retains its normal or brown colour 

 to a certain extent, influenced, however, by a certain amount 

 of blending resulting from the contact of the diiiferent colouring 

 matters contained in the leaf, and giving to the entire zone, as 

 seen through the transparent epidermis, that rich bronzy shade 

 of colour which in many of the best varieties is so deservedly 

 admired. 



It will be observed that my remarks have all referred to what 

 is known as the Golden Tricolor section of Telargonium, which 

 is essentially distinct from the Silver Tricolor; so much so 

 that all attempts on my part to obtain a cross between the 

 two sections, and combining the properties of both parents, 

 have hitherto failed. 



The latter section, althongh very beautiful when grown under 

 glass, is not so well adapted for bedding in the open air as 

 the Golden Tricolor section, on account of the cupping or 

 crumpling of the foliage, induced, it would appear, by the 

 ■white or silver margins (possibly from their entire freedom 

 from chlorophyl or green colouring matter), being unable to 

 expand in proportion to the green centres : consequently 

 crumpling is inevitable ; but, very fortunately, this objection 

 does not in any degree apply to the yellow-margined varieties, 

 possibly from the circumstance of the margins of their leaves 

 not being entirely destitute of this principle. — P. Gkieye, 

 Cul/ord. 



CAJIELLIA CULTURE. 



Im reading the account of Jlr. W. Paul's lecture on spring 

 flowers, I was strongly reminded of an anecdote of the late 

 Duke of Wellington. He was urging one of his military friends 

 to enter parliament, and was answered, that having spent the 

 greater part of his hfe in the army, and given attention chiefly 

 to military matters, he scarcely felt equal to taking an active 

 part in legislation. "Oh," replied the Duke, " you have only 

 to take care not to speak on subjects with which yon are not 

 thoroughly acquainted." Now, no one can doubt that Mr. 

 Paul is an authority when he writes on growing Boses and 

 Hyacinths in pots, but if he grows Camelhas according to his 

 own directic)ns, I certainly will take an early opportunity of 

 asking to see them. 



To begin with grafting, he says this is usually performed in 

 the autumn ; is not the spring a much more natural time to 

 graft ? Mine are always grafted in the spring and wo do not 

 lose one in twenty, so t shall not change to autumn. 



Then, he says, the best soil for Camellias is a rough loamy 

 peat ; what sort of a soil this is I am at loss to know. Peat we 

 know, and loam we know, but what is loamy peat? "Loam, 

 a dark-coloured rich mould, principally composed of dissimilar 

 particles of earthy matter, as sand, clay, and carbonate of lime, 

 and vegetable matter in a state of decay, with au occasional 

 mixture of oxide of iron and various salts " (see l\'oiccster}. 

 Is such a soil ever found naturally in combination with peat? 

 It is impossible, because the acids of the iieat would be neu- 

 traUsedby the lime, and I have long thought it absurd to make 

 such mixtures. Make a bed of peat mixed with loam abounding 

 in alkalies, and in a very few years you will hardly find a trace 

 of peat remaining. But, perhaps, Mr. Paul intends to recom- 

 mend a mixture of loam and peat, a very common and I think 

 a very wrong one. In such a mixture peat is evidently in- 

 tended to act mechanically to keep the loam open, and for 

 reasons above stated the effect can only be temporary; the 

 result is generally a mass of sour soil in which will be found 

 plenty of brown half-dead roots. There are rich fibrous peat 

 soils which will prow Camellias, and such soils are infinitely to 

 belpreferred to mixtures containing peat ; but though Camellias 

 in'peat often have tine dark folinge, they have not the constitu- 

 tion of plants grown in sandy loam, and I contend that fresh 

 turf cut thinly from a rich sandy loam is the only soil fit for 

 Camellias. 



Again, Mr. Paul soys the time to pot a Camellia is when it 

 has made its growth, or, rather, when its growth is well 

 matured. Is it possible to give worse advice than this ? When 

 a Camellia has made its growth it has also made its roots, and 

 if potted at that time the new soil will be almost entirely un- 

 occupied for twelve months. If, on the contrary, it is potted 

 as Boon as it is out of flower the roots will almost immediately 

 reach the pot sides. 



Then, we are told to turn the plants out of doors when the 

 growth is matured — that is to say, almost immediately after they 

 have been repotted, and, if they drop their buds, to consider 

 ourselves in fault, as they have had too much water at one 

 time, or too little at another. It must be a wonderful chance if 

 they do retain their buds after such treatment, particularly if 

 they have been subjected " to a high temperature to induce a 

 vigorous growth." Is this the way to grow an evergreen almost 

 as hardy as a common Laurel ? Grow it in a hothouse in 

 spring, pot it after it has made its roots in an unnatural soil ; 

 turn it out of doors to stand all weathers for some months, and 

 then take it back to the house to bloom ! We have been taught 

 that two negatives make a positive, and i>crhiii>s the result of 

 such treatment may be satisfactory. I should like to see it. 



When I was a boy the Camellia-house at WoUaton was the 

 finest sight in this neighbourhood, but the Lord Middleton of 

 that day who had taken great pride in it died, and was suc- 

 ceeded by one who had spent his life on board a man-of-war. 

 He told me himself he did not care for a garden, and the only 

 trees worth planting were Oaks and Walnuts for ships and gurt- 

 stocks. One of the first orders the gardener received, was not 

 to waste any more coal on the conservatory. When a very 

 severe frost set in, I believe it was in 1837, this order was re- 

 scinded, but it was too late, the pipes were frozen up, and though 

 the beautiful climbers which were trained up the pillars of the 

 house were killed, the Camellias were uninjured. Lord Middle- 

 ton seeing them flower as well or better than ever, never allowed 

 the house to be heated again whilst he lived, and I never saw 

 such plants as they became. Of course if they had been in pota 

 in place of being planted out, their roots might have suffered. 

 These dark Laurel-like bushes, amongst which you might have 

 hidden a bullock, many of them from 10 to 15 feet high, gave 

 me my first lesson on Camellia-growing. 



In conclusion, I would ask you if you have often seen such, 

 wood as the branch I have enclosed, trom plants grown in peat 

 soil or which have been subjected to a high temperature to in- 

 duce vigorous growth, a process of wire-drawing it may be called, 

 resulting in long but thin shoots the reverse of vigorous. A 

 healthy plant of Camellia ought never to cast its buds, and 

 such au occurrence is rarely seen here, but then our plants 

 never receive more heat than is necessary to keep out frost, 

 and are never turned out of doors. — J. R. Pe.\rson, Chilwell. 



[ The shoots are uncommonly fine and stout, and the leaves 

 intensely green. — Ens.] 



APRICOTS AND STRAWBERRIES IN DORSET- 



Mr.. Radclyffe has sent to us the following extract from a 

 letter he has received from Blandford : — 



" I have, I think, the most astonishing early development of 

 out-door Apricots ever seen. W^hat think you of five hundred 

 Apricots set on one tree, and some of them now (April 8th.) 

 as large as a good-sized Walnut ? The tree is uncovered, and 

 in all other respects comparatively uncared for." 



Mr. Eadclyfte adds — " Strawberry plants here look first-rate. 

 The best novelty is Dr. Hogg, and it can be confidently recom- 

 mended. It is a Queen, very hardj' in leaf, healthy, a good 

 cropper, and altogether excellent." 



TIME REQUIRED FOR GRAPES RIPENING. 



In the Journal for March 1-lth " H. W." wishes to know if 

 there is a given time to ripen Grapes in. My opinion is that 

 there is not. " H. W." does not say whether he wanted them 

 ripe at any given date. Should he require them at a stated 

 time, then the gardener in charge would have to act accord- 

 ingly ; if no special time is named, the gardener would act on 

 his own judgment. I have had no experience in .Jersey myself, 

 but am inclined to think that Grapes in .Jersey and in the north 

 will require much the same treatment. 



To me the idea of forciug Vines to have ripe Grapes in four 

 months is not in accordance with the general practice of 

 forcing the Vine ; besides, at certain seasons of the year such 

 forcing must add considerably to the expense of fuel, to say 

 nothing of the extra labour. 



I am satisfied that, accommodating as it is, the more slowly 

 the Vine is forced in accordance with its requirements the better. 

 Quick forcing as a natural consequence, as you justly observe, 

 must produce quick exhaustion. To excite the Vine in an 

 unnatural degree must be highly injurious to its well-being. 



I know a place where Vines were forced in sixteen weeks. 



