March 10, 1870. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



181 



for silver vases on a dinner-table with anyone who had stove 

 heat in which to force them for the purpose. 



I hope to raise seed from some of these old plants, for the 

 prices charged by nurserymen are ridiculously high ; 1*. 6J. 

 for Boyal Osborne, Is. for Dell's. Last year two or three of my 

 friends procured seed of Dell's ; it almost entirely missed. I 

 could see no difference in colour between the few plants that 

 did come up and my Boyal Osborne ; but as I think it was a 

 little more dwarf, I shall try it again this year. 



There is, I know, a prejudice against Beet, on account of its 

 being edible. A great gardener not far from this imy respects 

 to him when he reads this, as I think he will), is very loud in 

 his condemnation of it. He says that if we have to go to the 

 salad bowl for our flower garden it is time to shut up altogether. 

 I do not agree with him. If a thing is beautiful, its being 

 useful also is no demerit in my eyes. I paid him a visit on 

 September 4th, when, in consequence of a sharp frost three 

 days before, his Perilla was sadly shabby, and of course the 

 Colons would have been worse had he had any of it bedded out ; 

 but even then he clung to his theory, and still anathematised 

 Beet. To all brother gardeners I say, with respect to Beet, 

 " utere mecum." — Q. Q. 



POLEMONIUM C.ERULEUM YARIEGATUM 

 CULTURE. 



Novelties for the flower garden are so abundant in these 

 •days, that the purchaser is often bewildered, especially if he 

 happens to first consult any of the bulky catalogues so abun- 

 dantly showered upon him. Amidst all this wealth of new 

 plant3 it is seldom that any are offered to us possessing such 

 sterling qualities as Polemonium ca?rnleum variegatum ; its 

 graceful Fern-like leaves, silvery variegation, and dwarf habit 

 of growth, combine to make it a plant of rare elegance, and 

 peculiar fitness for the flower garden. Its hardiness is also 

 much in its favour, for although it has a decided tendency to 

 become green if left out in winter, yet lifted and potted in 

 October it winters admirably in a cold pit, retaining its varie- 

 gation, and making fresh growth early in the new year. Then 

 the old stools are divided, and each crown potted singly in light 

 rich sandy soil in pots of a suitable size, again placed in the 

 pit, and carefully watered and shaded till they become estab- 

 lished. 



Besides its great value in the flower garden, it is useful as 

 a pot plant at all seasons of the year. A few plants intro- 

 duce! in the front rank of conservatory groups, or on plant 

 stages, are certain to be appreciated. Moreover, its pretty 

 frond-like foliage forms capital wreath3 for garnishing the 

 dessert, and its medium-sized shoots or crowns mix well with 

 cut flowers. — Edward Lucehxbst, Egerton House Gardens, 

 Sent. 



PEA CULTURE. 



On the 20th of November, 1863, I planted a row, 30 feet long, 

 of Fir=t Crop early Pea, picked a peck of fully-grown Peas 

 on May 20th, and continued doing so two or three times weekly 

 from this row up till August. I picked a pint of well-ripened 

 seed on July 20th, and after exposing them to the sun for that 

 day, I planted them in another row 30 feet long, and picked a 

 good crop on September 2'.Kh, and frequently afterwards up till 

 November 1st. Bain and frost prevented those pods left on the 

 row from ripening, but the haulm remained green till Decem- 

 ber. The appearance of the row when in blossom was very 

 beautiful, every flowerstalk bearing two blossoms. The height 

 was over 30 inches, but the entire row was as even as a well- 

 cut hedge, showing careful selection in the seed. 



As I am always very successful in growing Peas, allow me 

 to give my mode of culture publicity. I throw oat to the 

 windward side a spadeful of earth, and in the trench thus 

 formed lay a good coating of manure — pig and cow dung mixed. 

 I have no other, or I would prefer horse dung. This is then 

 well dug in, and a smooth surface made with the spade ; on 

 this the Peas are placed, one by one, not less than 2$ inches 

 apart, then covered with sifted ashes, and the earth drawn 

 over that from the leeward side. I find both with early and late- 

 sown Peas that the ridge to windward is a great protection. 



I may add that, in order to test the relative merits of Car- 

 ter's First Crop with Daniel O'Bourke Pea, a row of each was 

 planted. The former was up 3 inches by Christmas, the latter 

 only appeared in the first week in January, and the former 

 wis picked and in full yield four week3 before the other ; 



it being June 21st before I could pick sufficient for a family of 

 nine from the latter, but the quantity produced was very great. 

 Carter's Dwarf Mammoth Cauliflower is well worthy of so 

 gigantic a name, from the euormou3 size of the heads. I cut 

 many last summer 8 lbs. in weight, and one bed of sixty plants 

 produced an average weight of lbs. This, too, in a part of 

 Wales by no means famous for fertility of soil. — Aubed 

 Pcllix, Gelbj Gaer Endowed Schools, Newport, Hon. 



SOMETHING WORSE THAN AN 'ACHING 

 TOOTH." 



My friend Smith was sadly troubled with toothache, but the 

 offender wa3 an old friend, and though it didn't give him much 

 rest, he did not like to have it taken out ; but Jones advised 

 him to get a bran new set. Signor Pultuski was consulted, 

 and declared that it would be a charming process, that he would 

 be better and brisker than ever. In an evil hour he consented, 

 and as the new set didn't agree with the few he had left of the 

 old ones he was worse off than ever. Oh ! how he sighed over 

 the tooth he had lost, and wished it back again ! The Boyal 

 Horticultural SDCiety is the patient ; Chiswick, our friend " G." 

 savs, is the aching" tooth ; but I rather fancy that the bran 

 new set of ivories, yclept South Kensington, is far worse 

 than the other, and that when Chiswick is irretrievably gone 

 and the Society weighed down by its debt, it will wish that the 

 aching tooth were back again. — D., Deal. 



DOES THE ELM PRODUCE SEED? 



Few persons doubt their ignorance of the English £*lm 

 (Tlmu3 campestris), but it appears that very iew of U3 can 

 impart intelligence with anything like exactness as to its pro- 

 ducing seed, as may be seen by the many different accounts 

 given by really intelligent persons conversant with gardening, 

 who on this question should be at least a3 much to be relied 

 upon as anyone. 



The question of the Elm fruiting in " perfection," a3 the 

 author of the fact stated, was first mooted in " Science Gossip " 

 for January. I may state by way of parenthesis that the para- 

 graph in which the fact was launched wa3 written in June 

 last, at the time the writer of it saw the Elm in fruit. In last 

 month's issue of the abovenamed periodical " Floral Findings," 

 as it wa3 headed, was cut down by Messrs. Holland and Britten, 

 who made it appear that the Ulmus campestris very seldom or 

 never fruited in this country — so seldom, Mr. Holland said, 

 " that nurserymen adopt the troublesome process of grafting it 

 into stocks of the Ulmus montana, or SVych Elm." This is 

 not, however, I believe, generally the case, as it is easily pro- 

 pagated by layers, and by " J. W. K.'s " account (page 144 of 

 the Journal), the Elm propagates abundantly by seed. 



Being interested myself in the matter, I wrote to several 

 whom I thought likely persons to decide the question, but all 

 gave varying accounts, some being apparently, like myself, 

 unable to give information on either side. Although the 

 English Elm i3 a common domesticated plant, it seems that 

 the most of us have but very little knowledge of its perfect- 

 ing its seed, and I shall be glad to know, for the argument's 

 sake, whether Ulmus campestris really does perfect its seed in 

 England. Apart from ridiculing statements like that contained 

 in " Floral Findings," it would be well were we to investigate 

 carefully such things for our own benefit ; if our observations 

 coincide with such facts it is only just to acknowledge them. 

 — G. N. 



My attention ha3 been directed to a paragraph upon this 

 subject by " G. N." in The Jocenal of Hop.ticultcbe of Feb- 

 ruary 17th, in which some remarks that I made in " Science 

 Gossip " upon a paper of Mrs. Watney's are very incorrectly 

 quoted. " G. N." put3 the following sentence in inverted 

 commas — which I presume means that I used the words — 

 " and verv seldom show anv signs of fruiting at all." Now, 

 if '• G. N." had referred to" my note (and I know he reads 

 " Science Gossip," for I see hisinitials occasionally as a con- 

 tributor), he would have seen that I never said anything of the 

 kind. I never questioned the fact of Elm trees fruiting. On 

 the contrary, I spoke of a time of year " when it would be very 

 remarkable if Elm trees had not "shed their seeds." I again 

 spoke of " the membranous seeds," and " the bunches of 

 winged seeds." I made this assertion, however, that I thought 

 it was very exceptional for Ulmus campestris, not to produce 



