426 



JOUENAIi OP HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ June 20, 1867. 



Pinus insignis, upwards of 40 feet high, waa quite red, and, 



on ('xamication, its twigs showed what appeared to be hopeless 

 deiulness in its pith, as " E. H." describes in his Eoses ; yet 

 the ti|>s seem to have escaped destruction, as it is pushing out 

 green all over; and althoiiKli it will not be so handsome for a 

 year or two, I hope it will do good service yet. Some other 

 plants, such as Pliillyreas, exhibited similar injury, and are like- 

 wise recovering, the tijis of the last year's wood being in most 

 cases all that are really lost; but why should these plants have 

 shown greater injury than they have received, whilst, on the 

 contrary, the Eose in question was more hurt than it really 

 seemed to be, as so many shoots have died since the tree 

 started into growth ? 



I may add that two old standard Gloire de Dijon Tea Eoses 

 are quite uninjured, although growing close to where Laurus- 

 tinus was much damaged. Trailing Eoses have suffered only 

 a little ; yet some of them, in the way of the one alluded to, 

 and a plant of Jasminum nudiflorum, growing against a pillar 

 in a very cold and exposed place, has been killed to the ground, 

 but is starting again. I find that in the open ground Leyces- 

 teria formosa and Phygeliua capensis are both killed to the 

 snow line, and a plant of the latter against a wall has suffered 

 a like fate ; but up, neither of them presents so hard and inrm 

 a woody stem as most thrubs, their being injured need not be 

 ■wondered at. I hear of several Evergreen Oaks, thought to be 

 dead, coming to life again. After all, we must not complain 

 too much if some of our Eoses suffer more than could be 

 ■wished, as the total number of subjects absolutely lost is much 

 less than was at one time thought to be the case. — J. E. 



PYRETHRUMS AND P.EONIES AT VERSAILLES 

 NURSERY, HAMMERSMITH. 



The Messrs. Salters' collection of these very magnificent 

 flowers is now in perfection, and all persons interested in hor- 

 ticulture would do well to avail themselves of an opportunity 

 of viNiting this nursei^y. 



It is very interesting to see the progress, by cultivation, made 

 in the Pyrethrum. From a single white flower double varieties 

 have been raised, varying in colour from the deepest carmine 

 rose to pure white ; the flowers are perfect in form, and the 

 foliiige of the plants elegant. They must be seen to form any 

 correct notion of their beauty ; and grown as they are by the 

 Messrs. Salter in large beds, the effect is quite startling. 



Of the Chinese P.-eonies too much cannot be said. They are 

 gorgeous in colour, and yet exquisitely delicate. Some of the 

 light varieties are sweetly scented, and the flowers standing up 

 amcuig the dark rich fnliiige make them very conspicuous. It 

 is most remarkable that these hardy and useful plants are not 

 moie generally cultivated. No one should leave the gardens 

 ■without inspecting a novel and beautiful design in the applica- 

 tion of some of the low-growing Sedums. 



Mr. Alfred Salter has been most successful, and exhibited 

 great taste in the use he has made of these plants. The uneven 

 surface is completely carpeted with various shades of colour, in 

 which small groups of Cacti and other succulent plants are 

 must judiciously introduced. This arrangement of these pe- 

 culiar plants is most effective and novel. There is little doubt 

 but that the idea will be followed out by many amateurs. The 

 collection of Zonal Pelargoniums is very interestiug, and some 

 of the finest varieties both English and foreign are to be seen. 

 One remarkable featiire in the greenhouses is the total absence 

 of Variegated or Versicolor Pelargoniums, when the finest col. 

 lection in England of variegated plants is distributed all over 

 the grounds. — J. D. 



INFLUENCE OF THE GRAFT ON THE STOCK. 

 It has been a mooted question for years whether the graft 

 exerts any influence on the stock, and if so, how much '? The 

 judgment of observers is not unanimous, the most part urging 

 that there is no influence whatever. The stock has an influence 

 on the graft, however, as the process of dwarfing demonstrates. 

 A fast grower does not develope itself with nearly so much 

 ■vigour on a weak-growing stock as on a fast one. This, indeed, 

 is the philosophy of dwarf fruit-tree culture. Now, as it is a 

 pretty well known fact that in almost all the active forces of 

 nature two forces can scarcely combine without mutual influence 

 on each other, we might almost expect some difference in the 

 stock by the influence of the graft, as well as to find the graft 

 influenced by the stock. 



Experiments have often been made to test this matter, but 

 little evidence has been collected in favour of the graft's in- 

 fluence. Muscat Grapes grafted on Hamburgbs still produce 

 Muscat Grapes — and the upper half of a White Beet has been 

 grafted on a Eed one when young, and the line of red and white 

 has been preserved through the whole life of the Beet ; and ■we 

 believe a great many similar experiments with other things 

 have resulted in the same way. Yet we see things sometimes 

 that scarcely admit of explanation in our present state of kno^w- 

 ledge, that would indicate that some mutual influence is pro- 

 bable as well as possible. 



If we take two Quince stocks of equal strength and vigour, 

 grow them as nearly as may be in similar circumstances, and 

 graft on one a strong-growing variety of Pear, and on the other 

 a weak variety, we find the Quince stock on the fast-growing 

 Pear growing faster than the stock of the vjeak-growing Pear ; 

 and, indeed, we can get wood of a Quince on which a Pear has 

 been grafted much thicker than any Quince would ever grow 

 in the same time. So far as growth is concerned, then, the Pear 

 graft has an influence ; and if there is an influence in one point 

 why may there not be in some others ? 



We have noticed another instance where an influence on the 

 stock was perceptible. A tree of White Doyenne Pear, which 

 had borne nothing but worthless cracked fruit for years, had, 

 three years ago, all its upper branches grafted with Eartletts, 

 and the lower branches of the White Doyennfe were suffered to 

 remain. The growth of the Eartletts has been very strong, 

 and their strength has been evidently communicated to the 

 stock for several inches below the point of union. On one of 

 these branches a sprout of the Butter Pear, growing just below 

 the point of union, had been overlooked in the grafting, and 

 the shoots bore last year clean perfect fruit, all the rest of the 

 tree being cracked and worthless as heretofore. The most 

 probable influence in accounting for this is, that this shoot had 

 received its conditions of health from the Bartlett shoot above it. 



That there is really a downward influence of some kind in 

 plants is shown by occasional circumstances which vegetable 

 physiologists stow away in their cabinets of curiosities. Some 

 years ago the late Mr. William Eeid, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, 

 showed some variegated Y/illows which he had grafted on some 

 plain-leaved varieties, and the variegations were pushing out 

 all down the sides of the stock below the grafts. We do not 

 remember whether the stem variegations were of the same 

 varieties as the stem or the stock, which would be very interest- 

 ing to know ; but we have a note from Mr. J. Stough, which 

 shows that the influence downwards does carry with it the 

 identify of the graft. He has a Mountain Ash on which is 

 grafted, 3 feet from the ground, a Bartlett Pear; last year, 

 C inches below the graft, a Pear sprout came out which is now 

 7 inches long, and there are Mountain Ash sprouts above and 

 below this Pear sprout. Mr. Stough takes great pride in pre- 

 serving this curiosity, as well he may. He informs us that he 

 once had a Eose Acacia (Robinia hispida), grafted on the Black 

 Locust (E. pseud-acacia), which pushed out Rose Acacia sprouts 

 from the stem which tried to bear Eose Acacia flowers, in every 

 respect the shoots being as the grafts above it. 



These are all very interesting facts, and have considerable 

 bearing on the influence of the graft on the stock. — [American 

 (Janlcncr's MonthJy.) 



WOODSEAT, 



Thk Residence of Colin M. Campbeix, Esq. 



WooDSE.w is situated on a gentle eminence near the con- 

 fluence of the Dove and the Qhurnet on the eastern boundary 

 of Staffordshire, about tour miles north of Uttoxeter, and half 

 a mile from the Eocester station on the Churnet Valley EaU- 

 way. 



'The mansion, built in the Italian style of architecture, is a 

 structure of considerable pretensions, and is surrounded by 

 picturesque scenery. The interior is elaborately decorated, 

 and possesses every advantage for domestic comfort and con- 

 venience. 



The iirincipal entrance is on the north-east side of the man- 

 sion. "The carriage-drive passes between sloping banks of diver- 

 sified outline, but properly speaking, I believe, through a deep 

 cutting, though very natural in its appearance ; and large clumps 

 of choice evergreens are judiciously arranged on each side. It 

 terminates in a large open courtyard, encircled with a low 

 panelled brick wall, surmounted by ornamental masonry. 



The exotic fernery is situated at the north-east corner of the 

 mansion, and communicates with the billiard and other rooms. 



