leo 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. 



[ March 1, 1877. 



withstanding this not only have the mice been at them, bat I 

 fonod some of the Peas still retaining the red on them care- 

 fully laiii up in a corner of mv Auricula pit, ready for another 

 mfsl. I must now try paraffin. Is it to be U3ed pure or 

 dilated?— D., Deal. 



THE ANCHOR-FOOT STANDARD FOR WIRE 

 FENCING. 



Wire fencing is au article which U bo mnch need in the par- 

 tition of parks, pastures, and moors, that (he mode of fixing it 

 is of the greatest importance. Next to strength, the mode of 

 fixing it in the ground is the consideration most to bo attended 

 to. We some time ago had brought to our notice a standard 

 manufactured by Messrs. A. & J. Main & Co., of Queen Vic- 

 toria Street, E.G., which we have found by experience to 

 be very effective. It is represented in the accompanying 

 engraving, and it is distinguished by the name of the 



P- 





Fig. 21. 



" Anchor-foot standard." We have used it rather exten- 

 sively for separating pastures and as boundaries of farm 

 roads where there are no live fences, and we feel ourselves 

 justified in speaking of it in the highest terms. Its power of 

 resistance to cattle is perfect. In our own case the standards 

 are 9 feet apart with six and seven lines of galvanised wire, 

 and this we have fonnd so strong as to resist the charge of 

 a young horse, which when first turned out rushed up against 

 it, ignorant of its existence. Notwithstanding the force directed 

 against it, not more than two of the standards were displaced, 

 and that not more than or 7 inches out of the perpendicular. 

 With such a test as this it is with confidence that we recom- 

 mend the anchor-foot standard for wire fencing. 



TEA ROSES, 



Mv experience in growing Tea Rosea is somewhat different 

 from that of " A YoBKsniBEiiAN " on page 81. I find that here, 

 a few miles on the west side of Lincoln, on a light dry soil, I 

 cannot by " A YoKusniREMiN's " method keep my Tea Roses 

 through an average winter. I always take them np at the latter 

 end of October and lay them in under a south wall, putting a 

 little dry fern amongst them if the weather becomes very severe. 

 I take care, however, to remove the fern or any other protec- 

 tion as soon as there is a change of weather, as I believe the 

 want of a free circulation of air among the branches for any 

 length of time is almost as destructive as the frost. 



Aa] Boon as I have taken up the Roses I dig a quantity of 



good pig manure into the ground (an east border), and dig it 

 over again a week or two before I replant in the beginning of 

 March, and I take care, as soon as I can, to mulch the newly 

 planted Rosea with grass cut from the lawn. I lose very few, 

 and in due season am richly rewarded for all the pains I take. 

 I have only half-standards at present, though I have laid-in 

 a stock of seedling Lriars, from which I am hoping great 

 things if I can only manage to work them. As I have no 

 glass, and cannot raise any Teas from cuttings, would that 

 "Wyld Savage" or any other of your correspondents show 

 me how?— J. E. B. 



I THANK the Rev. J. B. M. Camm for his practical and genial 

 notes on Tea Roses, also for the complimentary way he speaks 

 of Leek and its rosarians. They are truly enthusiastic and 

 deserve the praise bestowed by Mr. Camm, and I am sure his 

 advice will encourage ns in the attempt to cultivate these 

 beautiful flowers, and I hope we shall be able to report favour- 

 ably next autumn of our success. I wish they were like that 

 hardy free-flowering Gloire de Dijon, for at Pickwood Hall, the 

 residence of William Challoner, Esq., not a mile out of Leek, 

 were cut on the 13th of January eight perfect blooms of that 

 Rose, and there are several fine fresh-looking buds, which if 

 the weather continues open will be flowers shortly. Will any 

 of your correspondents kindly say if they have seen anything 

 so nnusual in the month of January ? I ought to say that 

 Pickwood is belted by well-grown forest trees and shrubberies 

 except to the south-west, which looks down a delightful valley 

 — exoeptionably favourable. I might also mention that the 

 Clematis is in bloom, and not more than five weeks ago I saw 

 Mr. Challoner with a flower of Rhododendron, which he bad 

 cat from a plant the men were removing. — S. Eybe. 



OUR BORDER FLOWERS-EVENING PRIMROSES. 



If the old saying, " that there is nothing new under the sun," 

 does not apply to anything particular it must be to flowers, for 

 they are ever new, and the more we see of their beauties and 

 inhale their fragrance the more we enjoy them. Oenothera 

 biennis is now bo well naturahsed in some parts of the country 

 that only a pinch of secid requires sowing in onr borders when 

 the plants come up, and by simply leaving them alone we soon 

 have Evening Primroses in abundance. The CEnotheras are 

 an extensive family of border flowers, and were much prized 

 in years gone by when bedding plants were not so numerona 

 as they are now. We used to tend CEnothera Drnmmondii 

 with care and employ it with good effect. The Dandelion- 

 leaved CEnothera taraxifolia, with its monstrous white flowers, 

 when pegged-dowu is a fine plant in the borders ; but perhaps 

 CEnothera macrooarpa has tlie largest flowers of the whole 

 family. Many others, as Q3. Fraserii, CE. speciosa, CE. glauca, 

 and Qu. hybrida, are all fine border flowers, many of them 

 emitting a delicate perfume. The herbaceous kinds are in- 

 creased by cuttings in the autumn and division in the spring. 

 They like a moderately dry sandy soil and full exposure. 

 Some one has said that (Enothera biennis expands its flowers 

 just as the sun sinks below the horizon.— Veritas. 



THE ROYAL HORTICULTDRAL SOCIETY'S 



GARDENS, KENSINGTON. 

 These gardens occupy about twenty-three acres. They are 

 a parallelogram in shape, surrounded by colonnades and 

 covered arcades, and on the north side, in the centre of the 

 arcades, is a very large conservatory. The gardens are laid 

 out in the Italian style, planned with good taste, and eminently 

 adapted for promenade by numerous intersections of grass 

 and gravel walks, highly embellished fountains, basins, canals, 

 cascades, balustrades, vases of rich design, statues in marble 

 and bronze, and numerous other^ embellishments ; terraces, 

 flights of steps, alcoves, and parapets; sloping lawns, and a 

 variety of surface producing pleasing effects. The water for 

 the fountains, cascades, &c., is supplied by an artesian well 

 ■100 feet in depth, and is capable of supplying a million gallons 

 in twenty-four hours of a pure and soft quality suitable for 

 the purpose of the g.ardeu. The artificial adornments are 

 brought into harmony with the natural beauties of the treeB 

 and shrubs, and the various climbing plants twine round and 

 between the balusters, clustering on the tops and varying the 

 height of the terrace walls in various styles. The arcades, 

 alcoves, and projections from buildings are made supporters of 

 climbing plants, softening down the sharp outlines of masonry. 



