■Febrnmy 1, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOOLTURB AND OOTTAQB GABDENEB. 



inverted turves — tnrvea from the roadside out into email 

 squares of 3 or 4 inches in diameter, a plant being placed in 

 the centre of each square of turf. These are placed nearly 

 close together, and leaf soil is sprinkled in the interstices 

 between the turves. The plants are then protected with glass 

 for a short time, and afterwards with mats when the nights 

 are cold. The plants are in splendid condition for finally 

 planting at the end of April, and receive no check by removal 

 or a term of bright sunny weather, and in ordinary seasons 

 they do not " rnn." I adopt that plan also with plants raised 

 in heat in spring and with Cauliflower plants similarly raised, 

 and I can recommend the practice as being worthy of general 

 adoption. I formerly (as do many gardeners) potted a portion 

 of my early Cauliflowers and Brussels Sprouts, hut since I 

 iave proved the value of the turves pots are used for other 

 purposes. The plants thrive better in turves than in pots, and 

 become more quickly established when planted out. The 

 Jittle trouble necessitated in carrying out the plan is trifling 

 in comparison with the great advantages eventually resulting. 

 — A Mabket Gakdeseb. 



CLIMBING ROSES. 



The interesting article on page 41 of the Rose Journal on 

 climbing Roses will be read by many with delight ; but I ven- 

 ture to think the great majority of your subscribers will regard 

 the author with compassion as one who, while he may drink 

 -Chateau Lafitte, is content to quaS huge tankards of sour 

 cider. 



Fancy Amndis, Thoresbyana, Alice Gray, Fulicitfi Perpetn<i, 

 •and Dundee Rambler occupying space which may and should 

 be covered by Cloth of Gold, Mireohal Niel, Madame Trifle, 

 Jj% Belle Lyonuaise, Solfaterre, Climbing Devouiensis, and 

 Cheshnnt Hybrid. What U a buehel of Crab Apples compared 

 with a handful of Ribston Pippins ? What difference is there, 

 too, between the free-flowering propensities of any of the 

 above-named varieties when once established and even Alice 

 Gray ? Why, you might as wnll plant wild Briars against 

 your church as Ali:e Gray and Bennett's Seedling. I am not 

 speaking without good reason, for I have grown all the sorts 

 which the "Parson's Gardener" names. Though a " Wtld 

 Savaoe," I am a shepherd of the sheep, and a parson's gar- 

 dener also, inasmuch as I am my own head gardener and a 

 narson to boot. When I first came here I planted all the 

 ■climbing Roses named by " A Parson's Gardener " against 

 my church in order to have Roses as quickly as possible; but 

 •when these plants bloomed — and they did bloom in a manner 

 perfectly wonderful — the blooms individually were not worth 

 looking at. The effect from a short distance was grand and 

 worthy of all the encomiums of your correspondent, bat when 

 you have said that you have said all. The blooming season, 

 too, is so short that for about ten months of the year your 

 walls are destitute of a single flower. I soon pulled up my 

 plants and gave them away ; and now let me tell "A Parson's 

 ■Gardener " those I have replaced the summer Roses with. 



On the east wall is Cloth of Gold and Clematises Jackmani 

 and Prince of Wales. Oa the south wall of the chancel 

 Marfichal Niel, Cheshunt Hybrid, and Cloth of Gold, together 

 with Passiflora eserulea. Clematises Rubella, Miss Bateman, 

 Lady Caroline Nevill,and Ladv Londesborough. On the south 

 flide of the nave, Solfaterre (Noisette), Climbing Devoniensis, 

 Madame Trifle, La Belle Lyonnaise; Clematises lanuginosa 

 nivea, Skandishi, and Albert Victor. On the north side of 

 the church I frankly own I do not attempt to grow anything, 

 and perhaps I might place Amsdis, Alice Grav, &e. ; but I do 

 not think even these hardy summer Roses would do well there, 

 as huge Conifers so shut out the light that it would be hopeless 

 to attempt it. 



I wish " A Parson's Gardener " would pay me a visit in 

 Jane and I would return the compliment, and then we could 

 •compare notes and see which system answered best. — Wyld 

 Savage. 



INSECTICIDES. 

 Tjie enlpho-carbonate of potash has for some years been con- 

 eidered in France as the best insecticide, and is, I presume, easily 

 -obtainable iu Paris, and at a raasonable rate. But as 1 never 

 see in England any advertisement on the subject, I imagine it 

 is either unknown in the trade, or else sold under a fanciful 

 name as one of the numerous high-priced nostrums. I should 

 Hike to know whether it possesses any advantage over the 



Bulphnret of lime so long known, and the recipe for which has 

 so often been given in your columns. — G. S- 



THE LILY. 



I QDiTE agree with " G. S." in your number of the 7th Sep- 

 tember last that the continued importation of Lilium aoratum 

 is surprising, for the sale of several thousands of bulbs in one 

 day in an auction room has for many years past been an ordi- 

 nary occurrence. But when he asks. Where are they now? 

 I am not surprised when he himself replies. Why, dead. 



An immense number of the imported Lilies, as " G. S.'s" ex- 

 perience shows, are worthless to the amateur. In fact, they 

 can be of no value to anyone but the nurseryman, who has 

 room to spare and can afford to plant them out for a season 

 or two ; weeding out from time to time the dead and the dying, 

 and replanting the better bulbs. By doing this, and purchasing 

 them in the first instance " f or a song " as the auctioneer says, 

 the nurseryman is able to supply good bulbs at a moderate 

 price. I think this is borne out by Mr. T. Clements, who, in 

 his communication to you on the 21st of September, stated 

 that the bulbs procured from a nurseryman flowered the first 

 year after planting, and every year increased in strength and 

 number of flowers. I will venture to say that they were not 

 newly imported. 



I now wish to correct what I consider to be a very grave mis- 

 take, and one that goes to the root of all improvement in Lily 

 culture. We often hear remarks somewhat like the following : 

 " Last year one of my bulbs sent up a flower-stem 5 feet high, 

 and this year the same bulb threw up one 7 feet high crowned 

 with thirty flowers." Remarks like this are calculated to mis- 

 lead, for the same bulb did nothing of the kind. It was the 

 successor of the former bulb that produced such a display, for 

 a Lily bulb can only flower during one season. It is a mistake, 

 then, to offer bulbs which are stated to be one, two, and three 

 years old. The size of the bulbs are not increased by age 

 merely, but by culture. This is exemplified to a great extent 

 by what Mr. Clements has stated. He planted bulbs of L. au- 

 ratum among his Rhododendrons, the soil consisting of sandy 

 loam and peat, together with a quantity of white sand ; and 

 " the first year after planting they made a good display, and 

 every year increased in strength and number of flowers." 

 This is the secret — congenial soil. 



The question arises. How long should the bulbs be allowed 

 to remain in the ground without being taken up and replanted ? 

 Lilies are such gross feeders that they soon impoverish the 

 soil ; and those which produce many offsets impoverish the 

 parent bulbs. If the desire is to have large and handsome 

 flowers, the bulbs should be taken up periodically when the 

 leaves decay, and all the small offsets detached from the prin- 

 cipal bulbs, reserving only the largest roots to plant again in 

 their proper places. Some Lilies are the better of being taken 

 up and replanted every year; and I know of none that can 

 benefit by being kept In the ground more than two or three 

 years. I know that this is not the opinion of many ; but those 

 who will take the trouble to study the real nature of the bulb 

 will appreciate what I say. The bulbs may be taken up at the 

 proper season and replanted with fresh soil without the 

 slightest check; but the valuable kinds should be handled with 

 care, and none should be kept out of the ground a moment 

 longer than is absolutely necessary ; for everything that tends 

 to dry up the scales, as in the case of dried-up imported bulbs, 

 tends to diminish the nourishment that Nature has provided 

 for succeeding bulbs. It is well to remember that Lilies of the 

 European class thrive on more homely fare than those of 

 warmer climates. Some thrive on very dry food, while others 

 require much moisture. — Dunedin. 



PINE APPLE STEMS SHRIVELLING. 

 TnE remarks recently made in these pages on Pine Apples I 

 have read with much interest. Neither of your correspondents 

 has made any allusion to shrivelled stems. Most cultivators 

 have seen more or less of them, eppecially in the winter 

 fruiters ; therefore, with a view of eliciting the opinion of the 

 readers of the Journal, I have called attention to the matter. 

 We have cut during the last three mouths from twenty to 

 thirty fruits of different sorts — Smooth Cayenne, Charlotte 

 Rothschild, Prince Albert, and a few (Queens, which threw up 

 fruit late in the autumn. What seems most perplexing is that 

 some of each sort should shrivel at the base of the fruit just 

 before commencing to colour, while others growing in the same 



