80 



JOTJENAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



[ FebraiUT 1, 1877. 



of the Committee, and it demonstrates the fact that he is him- 

 self the alpha and omega of the guinea movement. To make 

 snch a proposal now is not only imprudent aa suggesting the 

 deeirability of another failure — it is a breach of faith. He pro- 

 fesses to have in hie hand the promises of six thousand persons 

 to join the Royal Horticultural Society as soon as the guinea 

 subscription is adopted. The Council profess to be favourable 

 to his proposals, and buggeet a modification. Instead of waiting 

 for the meeting, and then urging his case with such aid as he 

 may be sure of if the six thousand is a fact, he plays turncoat, 

 and "goes over" to an imaginary thing that has already been 

 talked of so much that sober men are sick of it. He has been 

 striving to work us all np to fever heat, and has had all the 

 assistance he asked for from the press; and now in the columns 

 of the leading daily paper he tamely pours cold water on his 

 own work, and if the hissing that results disquiets him he has 

 but his own unsteadfastness to thank for it. He was bound by 

 all the laws as well as the courtesies of public life to discuss 

 the matter first in the Council room at South Kensington, and 

 in the event of failing to obtain all he demanded he could have 

 carried his six thousand with him to the end of the world — that 

 is, of course, provided they were willing to go with him." 



EVERLASTINGS. 



In making a selection of seeds these nsefal flowers must not 

 be overlooked. They are effective when growing, and their 

 flowers are valuable when dried for winter bouquets. The 

 following are deserving of cultivation : — 



IleUchrysmn, — Decided colours are the most desirable, snch 

 as are afforded by H. monstrosum flore-pleno — varieties 

 album, roseum, atrococcineum, purpureum, and Inteum ; or a 

 collection may be obtained which will include those and other 

 shades of colour. Hardy annuals. Sow during early April in 

 light rich soil in an open situation, the rows being 18 inches 

 apart, thinning the plants so that they ultimately remain 1 foot 

 asunder in the rows. The flowers upon plants treated as 

 hardy annuals are not produced in quantity until late summer 

 with me ; but 1 am in a high cold situation, in which the 

 plants should be treated as half-hardy annuals, sowing in 

 March in a gentle hotbed, pricking off the seedlings, when they 

 have a pair of rough leaves, 2 inches apart in pans or boxes, 

 returniag them to the hotbed until established, then be trans- 

 ferred to a cold frame, hardening well off before planting-out 

 in May. The plants well repay potting-ofl singly in small 

 pots, from which they may be transferred to the open ground 

 without the check consequent upon planting from pans or boxes. 

 I have sown the seeds in rows C inches apart in a cold frame, 

 keeping close until the seedlings appear, and then admitting 

 air freely, having them well hardened-off by the second or 

 third week in May, and then planting-out. In that way they 

 answer well, hut the autumn being wet the flowers are not 

 nearly so good for drying as those produced earlier. 2\ to 

 3 feet. 



Xeranthemitm annuum flore-pleno, purple, and its white va- 

 riety album, are very showy and desirable for drying, requiring 

 the treatment of Heliohrysum. 



AcrocKithim roseum, and variety album, are half-hardy, re- 

 quiring to be sown in a hotbed during March, pricking-off 

 the plants when large enough to handle, and growing them in 

 gentle heat until established, hardening well off, and then 

 planting-out in rich light soil in an open yet sheltered situ- 

 ation. The rows should be 1 foot apart, and the plants in 

 them 6 to 9 inches asunder. 1 foot. 



Ammobium aliitum is a very pretty small white flower, re- 

 quiring the treatment of Aoroclinium, but with an increased 

 distance of .H inches between the rows and plants. 2 feet. 



liJiodantlie maculata (rose, yellow centre), and its varieties 

 atrosanguinea (crimson) ; alba, the loveliest, having a fine 

 silvery appearance; and R. Manglesi (silver and rose, with 

 yellow centre), are really charming for greenhouse decoration ; 

 I grow three plants in a ."j-inch pot, or live plants in a G-inoh 

 pot, affording a light airy situation , watering liberally. For out- 

 door flowering sow during March in a hotbed, pricking-off the 

 seedlings when large enough, growing on, and hardening well 

 off before planting out at the end of Mny, 9 inches apart in 

 rows 1 foot asunder, l.'i to 18 inches. Rich light soil. 



Heliplcrum eoviimbiflnrnm, white, and H. Sanfordi, pale 

 yellow, half-hardy, requiring the treatment of Acroolinium. 

 9 inches. 



n'ail:ia corym7)OS(i, reddish, with yellow disc; W. grandiflora 

 is perhaps the finest of all yellow Everlastings. Be careful 

 not to overwater. The treatment recommended for Khodanthe 

 is suitable. IS to 18 inches. 



Gomphrena glohosa, vars. albs, aurantiaoa, oamea, purpurea, 

 and striata, are tender or greenhouse annuals ; their globular 

 heads being cut when full-sized and dried are very useful, the 

 plants also when growing being very effective. Sow during 

 March or early April in a hotbed, pot the plants singly or three 

 in a pot, and grow them in gentle heat, shifting into larger 

 pots as required, giving single plants 6 or 7-inch pots, and 

 trebles 8 or 9-inch pots. Rich turfy and gritty loam will grow 

 them well. Place the plants in the greenhouse in June, afford- 

 ing a light airy situation. 18 inches to 2 feet. 



Stntice Bottduelli, pale yellow or sulphur, and S. Thoninii, 

 blue and white, are very pretty. Sow early in March in a hot- 

 bed, pot-oS singly in small pots, growing on in gentle heat, 

 removing to a cold frame in May, and planting out in an open 

 situation in rich light soil at the end of that month or early in 

 June ; or the plants may be shifted into 5 or 6-inch pots, and 

 given a light airy position in the greenhouse, where they will 

 flower to a late period. They are half-hardy perennials, but 

 are best treated as annuals. Plant outdoors 9 inches apart in 

 rows a foot asunder. S. einuata (blue) and S. spicata are both 

 half-hardy and useful ; the latter, rosy pick, is fine for rook- 

 work. The flower spikes should be cut when a majority of the- 

 flowers are expanded. 



All Everlastings for drying should have the flowers out, 

 unle.ss otherwise stated, before they are fully expanded, cutting 

 with a few inches of stalk, and be tied in little bundles for 

 convenience of suspending in any dry place, or they may be 

 placed thinly on shelves in any dry airy house, as that of a 

 vinery from which the Grapes have been cut. The flowers 

 must not only be dry after they are cut, but bo perfectly so 

 when cut ; for if cut wet, or if they become damp afterwards, 

 they will certainly decay. — G. Abbey. 



OUR BORDER FLOWERS— FLEAWORTS. 



This is a rather numerous family of border plants. With this 

 genus as with many others, some species are cared for and 

 sought after, some are neglected or cast to one side. We do 

 not entertain the idea of cultivating all the plants enumerated 

 in closely packed columns, for to do that we should require a 

 farm of no small dimensions ; yet many border plants are so 

 charming that we are constantly adding to our numbers. 

 Some of the race in hand ought to occupy prominent places in 

 borders and on rockeries. According to English botany we 

 have a representative in this family, but I think its name 

 admits of a doubt — Erigeron canadensis sounds to me rather 

 un-English, yet it is worth retaining. 



The Fieaworta are a large and widely distributed family, in- 

 habiting many parts of the globe, and soon make themselves 

 at home with us in our borders. They are not particular as 

 to soil or situation, but must have light and air. Some of 

 them are tall-habited plants, while others are of small stature. 

 Erigeron glaucus is of compact dwarf habit, and is an acquisi- 

 tion to any rookery or border ; its pretty blue with yellow- 

 centred flowers have a pleasing effect. Some of the species 

 are said to be possessed of properties which drive away gnats 

 and fleas. Erigeron acris is said to belong to our own flora ; 

 Erigeron alpinus and E. nniflorus both hail from Scotland,- 

 and are well adapted to the rockery and the border. They in 

 a great degree resemble Aster alpinum, with which they are 

 sometimes confused. E. Villarsii, E. grandiflorns, E. pur- 

 purens, and E. serpentarius, are the kinds most met with in 

 cultivation. There are many others of the family that are 

 worthy the cultivator's notice. They will bear a good share 

 of rough usage, and are easily increased by division in spring; 

 or autumn. — Veritas. 



GYMNOGRAMMA PERUVIANA ARGYROPHTLLA. 



The Gold and Silver Ferns are considered by many to be 

 entitled to be placed in the front rank of their race, and 

 amongst the many species and varieties now in cultivation 

 there is perhaps none more generally admired than the plant 

 under notice, Gymnogramma peruviana argyrophylla. The 

 broad gracefully arching fronds, covered densely below ancS' 

 above with a powder of snowy whiteness, attract the attention 

 of the most ordinary observer ; nevertheless this Fern, though 

 of easy culture, is in many oases devoid of that luxuriance and 

 silvery whiteness which characterise a really flourishing plant. 



The treatment under which I have found it to succeed best 

 is very simple. Supposing we commence with a young plant 

 in a 3-inch pot in March, it will then in all probability require- 



