March 17, 1870. ] 



JOUBNAL ok hobticultube and cottage gabdeneb. 



201 



between the beds. From these narrow paths the beds are kept 

 weeded, the plants watered daring summer, and the blossoms 

 gathered in winter, without trampling on the Boil among the 

 plants. From such beds, when the weather is at all mild and 

 open, Violets are picked abundantly, for with the mercury a few 

 degrees above the freezing point, plants so situated flower 

 quite as freely as others having the protection of a wooden 

 frame with glass lights. 



But it is during the prevalence of such severe weather as we 

 experienced in February that the value of protection is appre- 

 ciated. The plan followed here is to mark out, on the prepared 

 border, beds a few inches smaller than the boxes intended to be 

 used, and they are filled with young plants in precisely the 

 same way as the open-air beds, which they are, in faot, till 

 covered by the boxes with glass lights, which is not done till 

 October. The lights are drawn off whenever the weather is 

 mild and open, and are kept on closely in frosty weather, or 

 during the prevalence of cold cutting winds. Finely-sifted ooal 

 ashes are scattered on the narrow paths between the open beds 

 and around each box, giving a neat appearance to the whole, 

 and preventing the damp soil from adhering to the boots when 

 the Violets are picked. 



Orchard houses are, perhaps, the best places for winter 

 Violets. Persons having large roomy orchard houses can grow 

 their stock of plants through the summer in the nursery or 

 open garden, then early in October lift each plant with as large 

 a ball of soil as possible, and form a bed of them in the orchard 

 house, by placing the plants near each other on the border, 

 packing them tolerably firmly in some light rich soil, only 

 taking care not to overcrowd them, but leaving ample room for 

 a free circulation of air around each plant as a safeguard 



It is evident, from the success that attends the mode of cul- 

 ture here described, that this hardy plant requires generous 

 treatment, but no coddling ; only let this be the annual process, 

 and there need be no complaints of failures in keeping up a 

 full supply of these useful flowers in their season. 



If seedling plants are preferred (and they certainly grow 

 somewhat more strongly than offsets, while they flower quite 

 as freely), the seed is sown early in March in the open border, 

 and the young plants, when large enough to be handled, are 

 transplanted to the prepared beds. 



Bed spider often attacks the foliage in summer, but a plenti- 

 ful duBting of soot is a sure remedy. — Edward Luckhubst, 

 Egerton House Gardens, Kent. 



NAMING NEW PLANTS. 

 Could not a board of horticulturists be instituted for the 

 purpose of naming new varieties of plants ? Whoever is it that 

 gives such names to plants as Pyrethrum " Tchiliatchewii .'" 

 It seems to me that the oDly way to pronounce this word pro- 

 perly, is to give a good sneeze, and of that sort of thing I am 

 sure most of us have had quite enough during the last two or 

 three months. Another charmer is Solanum " Warscewiczi- 

 ■oides." Talk about societies for the prevention of cruelty to 

 animals, I think we want one for the prevention of cruelty to 

 human beings in giving them such jaw-breaking words to pro- 

 nounce. It would be a nice calculation for a medical student 

 to find out how many sets of muscles are brought into action 

 in order to pronounce this word of sixteen letters. Can you 

 do anything in the matter? — J. F. C. 



CONIFERS REPLACING THEIR LEADERS. 



Permit me to supplement Mr. Kobson's interesting remarks 

 Toy detailing a case occurring under my own observation. 



Some nine years ago I planted on one of the lawns here a 

 thriving young Picea Pinsapo. about 3 feet high, having a very 

 good ball of soil and roots attached to it ; but during the sub- 

 sequent three years it remained almost in a state of quiescence, 

 and the leader became blind. Eventually, however, a new leader 

 was formed about 12 inches from the ground, which, during 

 the succeeding three seasons, made very good progress, when, 

 unfortunately, a squirrel bit off its point. However, one of 

 the sprouting laterals near the injured point undertook the 

 leadership by making 14 inches of vigorous vertical growth 

 during the ensuing summer, and 16 inches last season. It is now 

 12 feet high. I may also remark that, contemporaneously with 

 the foregoing tree, its fellow, both in size and age, was planted 

 in the pleasure grounds here, but in a more sheltered position, 



and has flourished satisfactorily. Last season, however, from 

 some inexplicable cause the leader refused to extend itself. 

 Accordingly I trained one of the young side shoots of the 

 current year's growth as a new leader ; it did not, however, 

 assume so vigorous a growth as that of its predecessor, which 

 I am inclined to attribute to drought at the root : hence, also, 

 the latter may have been checked from a like cause. 



I may, in conclusion, mention another case — namely, that 

 of an Abies Nordmanniana, whose leader after the transplant- 

 ing remained for a year in a dormant condition, though the side 

 branohes made fair growth in the succeeding season ; however, 

 it essayed to make a start, and eventually produced a leader 

 about 9 inches long, which, I regret to reoord, has again been 

 subjected to mishap, by a mischievous squirrel having recently 

 nipped off about 2 inches of its top, apparently for the purpose 

 of more easily picking out the terminal buds. These depre- 

 dators have also been very busy during the past winter amongst 

 the cones on some of our Cedars of Lebanon and Picea Pin- 

 sapo. — Wm. Gardiner, The Gardens, Eatington Park, Stratford- 

 on-Avon. 



MANURING POTATOES WITH HOPS. 



Among all the papers which have appeared in your Journal 

 respecting the culture of the Potato, I have never met with 

 one in which its writer grew the Potato in the same way as my 

 father when I was a boy at home, or, I might say, used the same 

 material as manure. The Potatoes were grown for market, 

 and were always very early, good, and clean. As a manure in 

 the drills, he always used rather fresh spent hops from the 

 brewers' in liberal quantities, or leaf mould, but the former 

 were his favourite manure. The Potatoes to which the hops 

 were applied were always ready a week or ten days sooner than 

 those in the leaf mould. I have grown Potatoes in pots and in 

 frames, using hops, and with an equally good result. It any 

 other correspondent has tried this experiment I hope he will 

 state his experience. 



I have used hops as a plunging material, and like them very 

 much if they are not too fresh. I lived some time ago at the 

 place of a gentleman who was the proprietor of a large brewery; 

 the brewhouse was only a quarter of a mile from the garden, 

 but no tan was to be had near, so the pit in the vinery was 

 filled with one-fourth horse droppiDgs and three-fourths leaves, 

 with a layer of hops on the top for plunging, and I preferred 

 them to ashes. I cannot obtain hops now, but this may in- 

 terest those who can. — T. M. 



FRUITING OF ULMUS CAMPESTRIS. 

 I observe that a controversy is going on in your columns 

 with regard to whether this Elm perfects its seeds in Britain 

 or not. Having paid particular attention to this question for 

 many years, I may remark that I have never succeeded in all 

 the attempts I have made in obtaining plants from the seeds 

 of this Elm ; nor have I any reliable information as to others 

 doing so. In some seasons the trees flower profusely, notably 

 in 1864 and 1865, and as the springs of those years were 

 favourable for ripening the seeds, I expected to have found 

 some that would vegetate, but all that I tried were barren. 

 Many years ago, when I was assisting the late John Loudon, 

 he was most anxious to ascertain the facts as to this point, 

 and numerous inquiiies were set on foot for the purpose, and 

 I believe that the only instance that was established at that 

 time was that Mr. Masters, of Canterbury, had succeeded in 

 raising young plants of the true English Elm, but this is all 

 the evidence, if I remember right, that was then collected, or 

 that I can offer within my own knowledge. My own opinion 

 must therefore be, that with the rarest exceptions, Ulmus 

 campestris doeB not perfect its seeds in Britain ; but as pro- 

 bably a wider dit cusBion on the subject — one very interesting 

 to those who admire the tree (and who does not ?) — may elicit 

 evidence to the contrary, and this would be worth knowing, I 

 trouble you with my own observations on the subject.— John 

 Spencer, Buck Hill, Wilts. 



I do not know " Science Gossip," and consequently am 

 ignorant of the discussion which has taken place in its pages 

 about the fruiting of the English Elm ; but if the questions 

 are simply as Mr. Britten states them at page 166 of the 

 Journal, there is no difficulty about the matter whatever. Vfe 

 know that certain formB of the English Elm do in certain 

 seasons produce fertile fruit. In these seasons the fruit re- 



