fiO 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 27, 1870. 



ing flowers so pretty, so distinct, and so varied, tliat I found my- 

 self contemplating them with an admiration far beyond in 

 degree what I could feel for Scarlet Pelargoniums, yellow Cal- 

 ceolarias, and blue Lobelias, however adroitly the colours 

 might be arranged in a floral picture. Perhaps my regard was 

 mixed with some compassion for the banished flowers ; still, 

 they were well worthy of admiration. Mr. James Cox, who sent 

 me these, ia weak in striped flowers, but strong as a hardy 

 Norseman with self-coloured aud white-tubed flowers. I re- 

 ceived flowers from the lateral shoots only, and I could not 

 help thinking what must the flowers from the main shoots 

 have been:' Iu describing the Antirrhinum, the old florists 

 who loved it and petted it as they did their Auriculas, Tulips, 

 ifcc, used to speak of the tube, the npper lip or cap, the lower 

 lip, aud the throat and palate, or that part of the flower where 

 the throat and lip met. One type of Mr. Cox's flowers had 

 pure white tubes and showy crimson lips, with a bar of fiery 

 orange along the palate. In some cases there was a margin of 

 fiery orauge along the edge of the lower lip or lappet, and 

 though this appeared to be very pretty indeed, I am not quite 

 certain that one of the old strict school of florists would have 

 allowed it, ou the ground that it imparted to the flowers a con- 

 fused appearance. Some had pale creamy tubes, with a tint of 

 delicate rose spread over them, and more thickly on the lips. 

 There was an amount of variation in these, too, for they dif- 

 fered in the depth of roseate sheen, some being very delicate, 

 others having a much deeper flush, and some approaching a clear 

 rose hue. A few striped flowers were in the batch. The most 

 distinct was a pale primrose-coloured flower, striped with broad 

 flakes of rose. I think Mr. Cox deserves great credit for his 

 care of the Antirrhinum, and the fine flowers he produces from 

 seed. 



But it is as a decorative plant for the flower border that I 

 wish more particularly to speak of the Antirrhinum. What 

 splendid masses of gay flowers they yield ! in fact, they are so 

 prodigal of bloom, that every lateral shoot furnishes most nn- 

 grudgingly its quota of flowers. In most instances the fine 

 rich colours ot the Antirrhinum contrast well with the deep 

 green foliage of evergreens and other plants, among which 

 they are placed in a mixed border. A few plants once obtained, 

 then propagation, both by cuttings and seeds, is an easy and 

 interesting process. The method generally pursued to increase 

 them is to take cuttings in August, and place them round the 

 edges of well-drained pots in a close, cool frame. With very 

 little attention they will root, after which they should be inured 

 to the weather by giving air as the plants will bear it. They 

 can be left in the--e pots till spring in a cold frame, and if kept 

 tolerably dry will neither suffer from frost nor mildew. In 

 April they can be planted out in prepared blooming beds or in 

 borders, or, if it is convenient to do so, potted-oil singly in 

 March, and planted out in May to bloom. In case of the 

 stock of plants falling short, the tops of the plants potted 

 singly may be taken off and Btruck in a week in gentle heat, 

 and these will cotne in well for later blooming in September. 

 These plants can be raised from seed, and a sowing should be 

 made in August in pans, the plants pricked-off into boxes 

 for wintering when large enough, and planted out in the spring 

 to bloom. Antirrhinums should be grown in a deep, rich 

 soil that has been previously well manured, and there they will 

 flourish and bring forth abundant and fine flowers. 



In some large kitchen gardens it is the practice to plant out 

 beds of Stcck?, Asters, &c, for cut flowers; to these the An- 

 tirrhinum should be added for its freedom and duration of 

 bloom. Grown in beds one realises more fully its rich beautv, 

 gorgeous colours and fantastic markings being mingled with 

 aehcata and chaste hues. The value of its service who shall 

 measure ? but all will be disposed to agree that something can be 

 said in favour of that homely flower— the Snapdragon,— Via. 



degree due to the store room being too warm. All Pear- 

 fanciers know that a good store room, with a north aspect and 

 proper provision for fresh air, combined with security against 

 frost, is essential if Pears are to be sent to table in prime 

 condition. — E. M. B. A. 



We have the Easter Beurre here growing as an espalier, also 

 against a wall with an exposed western aspect, somewhat 

 shaded by an Oak tree, and in both cases the result is much 

 the same. In quantity there is about half a crop, and in 

 quality not more than half of the fruit are what we consider 

 first-rate, or fit to send to table ; the remaining portion of 

 the fruit, though good to eat, being somewhat blotched and 

 dark in colour. A few of the fruit are liable to decay in places 

 before becoming quite ripe, and should any remain till a little 

 over-ripe, some turn mealy, as mentioned by " G. S." I Bhould 

 certainly prefer the exposed west wall to the espalier, if the 

 Bhade were removed. This place is about twelve miles north- 

 west of York. 



I also found this Pear at Hatchford, in Surrey, twenty miles 

 south-west of London, in the gardens I had then charge of, 

 belonging to the late Dowager Countess of Ellesmere ; on es- 

 palier trees it was in every way much the same as above 

 described, perhaps a little more fruitful. The trees in both 

 places, as regards bearing, are all that can be desired. From 

 my experience, the great drawback of this Pear is the small 

 quantity ever in good order for the table; and I am strongly 

 inclined to think that in both places it requires a wall having 

 an aspect lying between south-east and south-west in order to 

 bring it to perfection in quantity, and such an aspect is, per- 

 haps, moBt wanted here. — W. Wallis, Kirby Hall, York. 



EASTER BEURRE PEAR. 

 I have an Easter Beurre Pear tree on a south-east wall, and 

 I can assure " G. S." that my experience of it has been any- 

 thing but unfavourable. It is just coming into full bearing 

 and both m 1808 and 18G9 I had an excellent crop. Not only 

 were the Pears of large size (the workmen engaged in building 

 olose by did not allow them to be too thick on the tree), but 

 the flavour likewise was excellent. The onlv fault I had to 

 find was that the fruit ripened sooner than"l wished, some 

 requiring to be eaten at the end of November, instead of re- 

 maining; until March. This fault, however, was in some 



DIAGONAL PEACH AND PEAR CORDONS. 



It is now sixteen years since my patriarchal Teach cordons 

 were first planted, and as I pruned them the other day the 

 following thoughts arose : — 



Sixteen years ! — half a generation of men ; in such a period 

 of time experience, to be profitable, must be acquired. After 

 so long a date there can be little doubting. When these dia- 

 gonals were first planted, how many, and what kind of orchard 

 houses were there in England ? Even half sixteen years ago 

 such a small orchard house as I have just planned for a friend 

 would have been scouted. Nevertheless, in what was last 

 autumn but a mere back yard, there are now fine bearing 

 Peaches in pots, such as Early Beatrice and Early Rivers, un- 

 known far less than half sixteen years ago, and fine diagonals 

 obtained ready to bear a crop. Jnly and October Peaches 

 and Nectarines, finer than in Paris, in an unpromising back 

 yard ! And last week Mr. Rivers wrote to mo of his favourite 

 orchard house, a heated one I think, 80 feet long, and having 

 diagonal Peach cordons on the back wall, with pots in the 

 borders. Such a combination cannot be matched in all the 

 old-fashioned and expensive forcing Peach houses, nor in any 

 of the now-existing ones. Tet when my patriarchs were 

 planted the very name, now general and chosen by myself, of 

 " diagonal " was unknown in this country, for the simple rea- 

 son that there was no single pure cordon, such as mine are, 

 even on the open wall, much less in orchard houses. At that 

 date only M. Dubrenil's " first system of oblique cordon" was 

 practised, and that on a very small scale in France, and not 

 :it all popular then ; nor was M. Grin's close pinching then 

 known or published, he being engaged in perfecting it. 



These patriarchal Peach trees were first adapted to Dubrenil's 

 system, but considering it a loss of space, on the first report of 

 M. Grin's close pinching of the shoots I combined the two 

 systems, and gradually developed the whole into the " alternate 

 system," which is now pretty well known and practised. 



I am going to try a modification of Dubrenil's first system, 

 which has long shoots, by laying-in two very long shoots on 

 each spur on the open well, pruning alternately ; and I hope to 

 obtain a sufficient development of tree to secure vigour for out- 

 door work. My friend, Mr. Radclyffe, is doing much the 

 same, and, no doubt, will do well, as he understands the 

 matter. 



As to diagonal Pear cordons, nothing can be better adapted 

 for the open wall. Some, double-worked, procured from Mr. 

 Rivers, obtained here first prizes their first year of bearing 

 and second of planting. Some of the sorts were Summer 

 Beurre' d'Aremberg, which is as good as the later kind ; Huyshe'e 

 Prince Consort (double-worked, which must not be forgotten), 



