April 85, J867. ) 



JOtJBNAIj OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



298 



and M. Plaisani;on ; but all who know what grafted plants of 

 two or three mouths old are, will understand that much could 

 not be predicated of them. 



The season has been backward and unfavourable for Auri- 

 culas, and a poorer lot I have not seen staged for some time. 

 Mr. Turner's were, as usual, the best, but be must have been 

 hard up when he put Gorton's Stadtholder and Pillar of Beauty 

 into his collection of twelve. Besides these two old and worth- 

 less flowers — worthless, that is, in the eyes of a connoisseur — 

 he had Richard Headley, grey, fine ; Lady Richardson, rough ; 

 Sims's EUza, self ; Ashton's Prince of Wales, Fletcher's Mary 

 Anne, Lightbcdy's Meteor Flag, Lightbody's Fair Maid, Read's 

 Miss Giddings, and Clegg's Crucifix. Amateurs were still more 

 mediocre. Mr. James was first with Union, Anne Smith, True 

 Briton, Ne Plus Ultra, Lycurgus, Lovely Anne, and Eliza. 

 Mr. Butcher was second with Imperator, Mrs. Stnrrock, Ge- 

 neral NeOl, Conqueror of Europe, Countess of Wilton, Delight, 

 Smith's Emancipator, and Black Prince. Of Alpines Mr. 

 Turner had a good collection, chiefly his own seedlings — Bril- 

 liant, Defiance, Fire King, Ralph, Saturn, Topaz, Norah, Selina, 

 Leo, Nero, Mabel, Edwin, Brutus, Sparkler ; and Conapicua, 

 Dazzle, Brutus, and Lord Lee, older varieties. 



In Polyanthus Mr. Wiggins, gardener to E. Beck, Esq., of 

 Isleworth, sent some very fine plants of Model, Unique, Dark 

 Beauty, Elegans, Little Pet, and Butterfly, all fine, but, I am 

 sorry to say, still unattractive to me. Mr. James, gardener to 

 W. F. Watson, Esq., of Isleworth, had some fine Pansies in 

 pots, also some excellent cut blooms. Those in pots were J. E. 

 Downie and Miss HiU, yellow groimda ; Princess of Wales and 

 Cupid, white grounds ; and Rev. H. H. Dombrain, Black 

 Douglas, and Rev. J. Dix, dark selfs. Amongst his cut blooms 

 were Masterpiece, Rev. H. H. Dombrain, General Lee, Concord, 

 George Wilson, Norma, Attraction, Cupid, and Masterpiece. 



Amongst seedling florists' flowers there was not much. Per- 

 kins's Queen Victoria Tricolor Pelargonium promises to be a 

 valuable addition to this most fashionable and popular tribe. 

 Lavinia Maggi rosea, a sport of that fine Camellia Lavinia 

 Maggi, appeared to have lost in shape and substance by the 

 sporting. A seedling Alpine Auricula called Emma was good 

 in shape, not remarkable in colour; and Mr. Fairbairn's Cine- 

 raria Beatrice seemed to be a large and showy flower, and very 

 free-flowering, although not very strong in habit, apparently. 

 A golden-leaved variety of Pelargonium called Jason also pro- 

 mised well : it was exhibited by Sir. W. Paul. 



Other florists' flowers there were, such as Azaleas and Ama- 

 ryllids, but they have already been described ; and I think it 

 is hard now to say what is not a florists' flower, for the hy- 

 bridiser is making inroads in all directions, and we shaU have 

 to give up a term which ceases to be definite. — D., Deal. 



CAMELLIA CULTURE. 



It I understand Mr. Pearson's letter which appeared in your 

 last issue, he seeks to establish two propositions. 



1 . That /((,' can grow CameUias. 



2. That I cannot grow Camellias. 



As to the first, I am glad to hear him say that he is so suc- 

 cessful in his culture, no matter how he does it, although, 

 according to my observations and experience, his practice is 

 calculated to grow leaves rather than flowers. " Dark Laurel- 

 like bushes amongst which you might have hidden a bullock " 

 are not what I want, nor do I think they are exactly what the 

 pnbUc in general want. Mr. Pearson is, apparently, not aware 

 that his is the old way of doing these things, at least I prac- 

 tised it when a boy, and abandoned it when I began to inquire 

 the why and wherefore of this and that practice. There are, 

 however, often different and apparently diverging roads leading 

 to the same goal, and I have no wish to depreciate the honest 

 efforts of any feUow-labonrer, however humble. 



The second proposition I cannot, for business reasons, allow 

 to pass unchallenged, lest it should be believed I send pur- 

 chasers of Camellias to his nurseries instead of to mine. I 

 have now some thousands of young Camelhas grown according 

 to my rules, of which I will not boast, but invite Mr. Pearson 

 and the public generally to come and see them. Mr. Pearson 

 will not, I hope, attribute it to any want of courtesy that I 

 decline to embark upon the sea of controversy. The course I 

 have marked out for myself, from which I must not be drawn 

 aside, leaves me no leisure for such labour. Perhaps, too, the 

 public may regard as a higher proof of the soundness of my 

 tnlps than any mere assertions or assumptions of mine, the 



facts that the first prizes for twelve Camelhas were awarded to 

 me both at the Royal Botanic and the Royal Horticultural 

 Societies' Exhibitions this year, which Exhibitions are opea 

 to the whole world. — William Paul, F.R.H.S., Paul's Nurse- 

 ries, Waltham Cross. 



THE BLUE PRIMROSE. 

 The blue Primrose certainly is a Primrose, but one in which 

 the blue colouring matter, present in all red flowers, is by the 

 strange chemistry of Nature either more than usually pre- 

 dominant, or is modified by the same power so as to simulate 

 an alkaline reaction. Although this curious plant, Hke many 

 other long-cultivated garden subjects, is barren as a bearer of 

 seed, yet its pollen will fertilise other Primroses. The produce 

 is a race of curiously-coloured plants, not so blue nearly as 

 the parent, but giving true evidence of its origin in shape, ■ 

 habit, and marking. They also turn very blue after a frosty '^' 

 morning. Some other red Primroses, however, do the same, 

 showing that the blue matter is only masked by another in- • 

 fluence, and ready to appear under altered conditions. — R. T. _ 

 Clakke, Welton Place, near Daventrij. 3 



Y 



JOTTINGS FROM CANADA. 



I HAVE read with much pleasure the various contributions on 

 Potatoes and their culture, which have appeared in the columns 

 of " our Journal " since the advent of the new year. Like 

 " D., Deal," Mr. Dobbie, Mr. D. Thomson, and others, we have 

 found that medium-sized sets, planted whole, have produced 

 the best return. In our cUmate, a very warm and dry one in 

 summer, the system of planting on the flat is greatly to be pre- _ 

 ferred to the ridge system, as the ridges, particularly when j 

 with manure underlying them, are very apt to dry up. 



In our markets no value is placed on the earhest varieties 

 of Potatoes, such as the Ash-leaved Kidneys or the early round 

 sorts, for unless size is attained the crop is unsaleable, quality ,u 

 for early kinds not being taken into consideration. We cannot, ;= 

 for fear of spring frosts, plant in the open ground until the 

 beginning of May ; but for all this can turn out very fair-sized 

 tubers by the beginning of July. I imported eighteen varieties 

 from England last spring. The tubers were very much shrivelled 

 when they arrived, and had sprouted much, so that they were 

 not in a fit state to give a first-rate return, and many kinds 

 suffered sadly from disease in consequence of the protracted 

 autumn rains. The best among the lot was Milky White, 

 which yielded well, was first-rate in quality, and entirely ex- 

 empt from disease. This will, I think, prove very valuable in 

 Canada. Next came King of Potatoes, a good cropper, hand- 

 some in appearance, of fair size, and free from disease. Webb's 

 Imperial and Gloucestershire Kidney produced a splendid crop, - 

 but rotted badly. Flour Ball, Dalmahoy, Forty-fold, Pink- ; 

 eyed Regent, and Improved Early Shaw turned out weD, but 

 were considerably diseased. White Rock will be a useful sort 

 for field culture, as it crops well and comes out sound ; but is 

 too deep in the eye to be handsome. Ash-leaved and Lapstone 

 Kidneys, Golden Globe, and Myatt's Prolific were all too small ; 

 but I shall try them again, and, with better-conditioned sets, 

 shall look for better results. For quality Lapstone Kidney and 

 Milky 'White are at the head of the list. 



We have'an orchard of three thousand Pear trees on the Quince 

 and about five hundred on the Pear stock, now three years 

 planted, and well furnished with fruit spurs, consisting princi- 

 pally of Duchesse d'Angouleme, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Easter 

 Benrre, Buffum, Nouveau Poiteau, and Beurre Diel on the , , 

 Quince, trained as pyramids ; and Williams's Bon Chretien (or 

 Bartlett, as it is called here), Flemish Beauty, Beurrfi Clairgeau, 

 Sheldon, and Seckle as standards on the Pear. Our experience 

 has proved that the trees should be planted so that the junction 

 of the stock and scion comes just to the surface of the ground. 

 If the stock is exposed it soon becomes hardened, and the 

 growth of the scion greatly exceeds it, producing a protuber- 

 ance, and the tree falls into bad health. I have never yet 

 seen roots thrown out by the Pear above its junction with the 

 Quince, even when covered with soil, although it is quite pos- 

 sible such may occur. Our trees are all budded, and the soil 

 is a stiff black loam overlying the clay. The pyramids on 

 the Quince stock are planted 10 feet apart, standards at 15 feet 

 apart. ,.^ 



We, too, have a vineyard, but very different from that at , 

 Garston. Oar border is that prepared by Nature, our vinery 



