Ma; 36 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



371 



but I think a tolerably oorreot estimate can generally be made 

 of the Gold and Bronze sections when grown in pots in light 

 houBea or in the open air, though of course one is occasionally 

 liable to error. 



Having, since I wrote the above, been to the Kensington 

 Pelargonium show, I think the most promising Tricolors 6hown 

 there were Ealing Rival, by Mr. Stevens, of Ealing ; Princess 

 of Wales and Mrs. Dunnett, by Messrs. Carter, High Holborn ; 

 and Macbeth, by Bell & Thorpe ; also one of very high promise 

 by Messrs. Veitch. Mr. W. Paul's Waltham Bride and A»a- 

 lanche will be effective as bedders if the flowers keep their 

 colour and da not turn pink, as they are free bloomers, but the 

 variegation is not particularly good. 



Mr. C. Turner, of Slough, showed a very pretty little basket 

 of Zonals, conspicuous among which were Avocat' Gambetta, 

 and M. Rival, the former a very promising flower in tho way 

 of Eclat. The Zonals — large specimeus in large pots, were, as 

 a rule, a failure, if we may except six, shown by Messrs. 

 Downie, Laird, & Laing. The double Zonals were utterly bad : 

 flowers rough, leaves large ; and a seedling shown by Messrs. 

 Bell & Thorpe ought never to have been exhibited ; it. is a large 

 plant, flower trusses few and far between, and not larger than a 

 small and badly-grown red Clove Carnation. — C. P. Peach. 



FORCING STRAWBERRIES. 



In replying to a correspondent at page 3G1, you ask for some 

 one to inform you whether Dr. Hogg and Mr. Rjdcljffe Straw- 

 berries are suitable for early forcing. Of the latter I have had 

 no experience, but the former I have proved to be one of the 

 best sorts for forcing for use at the beginning of April and 

 onwards. It is quite as prolific even earlier than that time, 

 but, being of the B.itish Q leen class, a March sun is not 

 powerful enough to brin* out its proper flavour, neither does it 

 colour so well. For colour and flavour, there is none to beat 

 Keens' Seedling for the earliest crop. After the above time 

 Dr. Hogg Strawberry will be found a desirable variety, and 

 whether for late pot culture or out-door growing, I like it much 

 better than the British Queen. 



While upon the Bubject of Strawberry forcing, I may remark 

 that in my experience I find that the cockscomb-shaped fruit- 

 ing sorts, such as Dr. Hogg, President, Sir Harry, &c, require 

 more care and skill to get a crop from them than the globular- 

 fruited sorts. I find it better not to put them into their fruit- 

 ing pots so soon as other sorts by three weeks or a month, 

 because if the plants are so much pot-bound at fruiting time, 

 the crop, beyond producing one large fruit, is pretty sure to 

 be deformed and small. Allowing them to want water is sure 

 to produce ill-shaped fruit. I generally foroe large quantities 

 of Strawberries, and I have the plants watered twice a-day. — 

 Tkoius Recoed, Lillcsden. 



SEA- SIDE PLANTING. 



I am gardener upon a large estate within tbe influence of saa 

 winds, and eend you tbe result of my observations upon the 

 trees and shrubs most suitable for planting in places near the 

 sea. First of all, as the very worst, and upon this there can be 

 no difference of opinion, is the Larch. 



On the other hand, as the best, I will place the Austrian 

 Pine and Pinus Pinaster, but the objection to the latter is that 

 in all situations where I have seen it, it is apt to grow with a 

 crooked stem. 



There is a tree indigenous to this country, which for planting 

 as hedgerows, and as single trees, I should even prefer to the 

 Austrian Pine — that is, the Ulcnus suberosus, Cork-barked 

 Elm. Between this place and the town of Tov/yn, as hedge- 

 rows, exposed to almost every wind that blows, there are speci- 

 mens of these trees as upright as if they were in the centre of 

 England. 



There is another Elm, the Cornish, Dlmus cornubiensis, 

 of which there are some fine specimens in the noble park of 

 Lord Peurhyn, at Penrhyn Castle, near Bangor, which appear 

 equally suited for sea-side planting. 



The Quercus Ilex, Evergreen Oak, is also a very good tree 

 for the purpose. Two, supposed to be the finest trees of their 

 Sort in Britain, were blown down here the night of the wreok 

 of the " Royal Charter," off the coast of Anglesea, in 1859. 

 The timber of old specimens of this tree is mo>t beautiful, and 

 at this place it has been made up into bookcases and other 

 articles of household furniture. 



The Sycamore is a good tree for sea-side planting, but the 



objection to it is, that on the exposed side^its .leaves before 

 the commencement of autumn become discoloured. 



The Lombardy and Black Italian Poplars, particularly the 

 former, are also good trees for this purpose, and I certainly 

 should not exclude the Scotch fir, even where there is but 

 little shelter. 



With regard to shrubs, and small trees, I would place amongst 

 the worst the Rhododendron, among the best the Hydrangea, 

 which I have never seen flourishing well far from the sea. 

 Prives is also very good ; Laburnum is said to be so, but we 

 have none here in an exposed situation. Tamarisk is, of course, 

 first-rate, but it does best in a sandy soil. Here it does not 

 succeed ; but unsheltered, facing the west, at the beautiful 

 little villa of Mrs. Pughe, near Aberdovey, in this neighbour- 

 hood, there are some lovely specimens. 



These are all which now occur to me, but probably many 

 more will hereafter. After all, I do not hesitate to say that 

 soil has almost as much to do with the success of plants as 

 shelter, and I believe that in a suitable soil, with a few rows 

 outside of trees which will bear exposure, handsome plantations 

 and shrubberies may be grown anywhere. — N. E. Owen, Gar- 

 dener, Peniarth, Towyn, Merioneth. 



P.S. — I should mention that the largest Evergreen Oak blown 

 down here, was 6 feet in diameter at the ba*e, and 11 feet in 

 circumference at 5 feet from the ground. Thore is a mag- 

 nificent tree of the same sort now growing, at Ynys, the fine 

 old seat of the Corbel family, three miles from this place. 



FLOWERS AND FLOWER SHOWS. 



Some of your correspondents have, to say the least, mis- 

 understood my views on this subjeot. Mr. Turner writes 

 under the startling heading, " Thoughts upon Reading Mr. W. 

 Paul's Denunciation of Flower Shows." Now, as I always 

 have been, still am, and intend to be, a supporter of flower 

 shows, I think I am entitled to a6k Mr. Turner either to show 

 where I have denounoed them, or to withdraw so damaging a 

 charge. To denounce certain practices attendant on flower 

 shows is not denouncing flower shows. 



Mr. Cutbush, who endorses Mr. Turner's attack, says — "Nor 

 does my short experience determine me in saying nurseries 

 are less visited than formerly." This is, to say the least of it, 

 disingenuous. I have never said they are, but exactly the 

 reverse. My words are : — " Purchasers are now forsaking the 

 flower Bhows and returning to the nurseries." (See Joubnal of 

 Hortichltore, page 221 ) Mr. Perry considers my article 

 " an insult to all honest exhibitors," and calls for " an in- 

 dignant reply from all." A reply to what ? I have never said, 

 nor do I hold, that "all" exhibitors dress their flowers, but 

 that some do is a matter beyond controversy. Here is the 

 case. I have expressed my disapproval of tho practice of 

 " dressing " flowers because I judge it dishonest, and, there- 

 fore, inimical to the true interests of horticulture. This Mr. 

 Perry calls " an insult to all houest exhibitors," and calls for 

 "an indiguant reply from all." DoeB Mr. Perry mean to say 

 that all exhibitors dress their flowers, or that the practice is 

 honest ? If not, it is the indignation of the dishonest only 

 that he should have invoked. Honest exhibitors (those who 

 do not dress their flowers), I have no point of controversy with : 

 they are clearly on my side. If anyone doubt this let him read 

 my artides (see Joubnal of Hobticultuke, pages 112, 220, 

 and 275). 



Messrs. Turner, Cutbush, and Perry take a lower estimate of 

 the intellect of the horticultural community than I do, if they 

 think they can blind it by raising a few clouds of dust. It is 

 strange how men sometimes suffer their paseions, prejudices, or 

 supposed interests to mislead their judgment. But " Magna est 

 Veritas et ; pravalebit." — Wax. Paul, Paul's Nurseries, Waltham 

 Cross. 



Camellia Leopold Premier. — " One of the most beautiful 

 and useful of modern varieties. The flowers are above medium 

 size, beautifully imbricated, and highly coloured, while the 

 foliage is good, the habit vigorous, and the plant remarkably 

 floriferous — qualities which stamp it as a Camellia of the very 

 first rank. It was raised by M. De Coster about 185G, and 

 passed over to M. Jean YerBchaffelt, by whom it was exhibited 

 before the Soeieifi Royale d'Agriculture et de Botanique de 

 Gaud, in 1861, when it was awarded the medal offered for the 

 most beautiful seedling Camellia. We are indebted to Mr. 

 Bull, of Chelsea, for the opportunity of figuring it. 



" The habit of the plant is pyramidal, and well branched ; the 



