JOUBNAIi OF HOBTIODLTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



I April 12, 1877. 



National Kose Society :— Captain Carter, for Horsham and 

 West Sussex ; J. L. Curtis, Esq., Chatteris and neighbourhood ; 

 and — Cheales, Esq., for Tring and neighbourhood. 



Mr. S. Kiekham, gardener at The Beeches, Newcastle, 



Staffordshire, writes to us that — " To gardeners who have a 

 demand made upon them for cut floweks all the year round 

 a few varieties of Geraniums suitable for forcing are of great 

 value, as they supply colours not to be found in any other 

 class of plants. Before all others he thinks the palm ought to 

 be given to Lord Maoaulay, a variety with brilliant crimson 

 flowers and a good sturdy habit. Colonel HoldeD,E. J. Lowe, 

 Crimson King, and Amaranth are also excellent ; the last- 

 named is a beautiful pink shaded with purple." 



Amongst the earliest and most attractive of deciduous 



flowering shrubs are the Almonds or Peaches. The blossoms 

 are mostly of a delicate colour peculiar to themselvei. But a 

 very distinct Tariety is the crimson-floweeing Peach, which 

 Messrs. Veitoh have found very valuable for forcing for decora- 

 tive purposes. The blossoms of this variety are large, double, 

 and of a glowing crimson colour : well-blossomed trees large or 

 small cannot fail to produce a rich effect in both conservatories 

 and shrubberies during the spring months. It is a tree not 

 to be overlooked by those desiring to have the richest and.the 

 earliest of " spring blossoms." 



A NOTEWOKTHY and very valuable consignment of Or- 

 chids has just been received by Mr. Bull in excellent oondi- 

 tion. The bulk of the importation consists of many thousands 

 of the usually costly and extremely beautiful Cymbidiam ebiir- 

 neum. This Orchid is considered by Mr. Denning to produce 

 the " most beautiful flowers in creation." Somo excellent 

 Orchids are now flowering with Mr. Bull, especially some fine 

 varieties of Lycaste Skinneri. A hundred plants of Odouto- 

 glosBum yexillarium are almost all showing spikes, and will 

 shortly be highly attractive. 



A specimen of Jacaeanda mimosjefolia, or Rosewood 



of Brazil, over 20 feet high, is the great attraction in its 

 flowering season in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. Its foliage, 

 of a Fern-like appearance, is exquisitely graceful, while in the 

 blooming season the flowers, of a delicate blue, are so abundant 

 as to completely cover the tree, making it from a distance 

 appear as a mass of caeruleau grandeur. This and Gupania 

 filicifolia are two of our most elegant table decorative plants. 

 We observed a large number of them the other day in a cool 

 stove in Mr. Williams's nursery at HoUoway, and were in- 

 formed that they were in great demand for decorative purposes. 

 Few plants have foliage more graceful and Fern-like than these. 



The President of the Vine-growing Society of the Pyre- 

 nees Orientales has, says Nature, sent a document to Paris 

 Academy of Sciences, ailirming that " it is the American 

 plants which have brought the Phtlloxbea into France, and 

 that each plantation of them is the signal for a fresh invasion." 

 This statement directly controverts the theory which has been 

 more than once propounded, that American Vines are phyl- 

 loxera-proof. Perhaps our American friends will embrace the 

 opportunity of " commenting on " the bold assertion of the 

 Frenchman. 



MiMULUs moschatus Hareisoni, a hybrid between the 



large spotted Mimulus and the Giant Musk, is a noticeable 

 plant, and is likely to become popular. The flowers are as 

 large as the former, with the rich golden yellow colour and 

 delicate odour of the latter, exquisitely spotted on the lower 

 segments with rich brown. Its habit ii recumbent and neat, 

 blooming at every joint, thus producing an abundance of 

 flowers. A few plants will effectually brighten and scent a 

 conservatory or greenhouse. It will succeed in all situations 

 where it can be freely supplied with moisture, although a cool 

 shady place is the best. It is an excellent bedding plant, and 

 especially adapted for rockwork. 



A BHOET time ago we directed attention to the great 



strength of some squares of TonanBNiD glass which had been 

 submitted to us. The glass was about the thickness of ordi- 

 nary 16-oz. glass, and was only broken by submitting it to a 

 test more extreme than it would ever be likely to be subjected 

 to if affixed on the roof of a greenhouse. Considering, how- 

 ever, that further experiments were necessary for proving the 

 practically useful qualities of the glass we submitted a portion 

 to a glazier, requesting him to cut it with a diamond. We are 

 informed that " it is impossible to cut the glass after it is 

 toughened." It is right that this should be known, because 

 gpeoial care mnst necessarily be taken in having the sashes 



made exactly of the size of the squares when the new glass is 

 proposed to be employed. In consequence of the injury re- 

 sulting from hailstorms last year "toughened glass" was re- 

 commended as a means of future security ; but from " infor- 

 mation we have received " we advise its use on a small scale at 

 the first, in order to test its durability under the heat of the 

 sun, and also whether the foliage of plants and Vines is as safe 

 from injury from scorching as is the case with ordinary glass. 



We learn that there is every probability of the Ex- 

 hibition which is to be held at South Kensington on the 

 18th inst. being a great Buccess. Nearly every grower of plants 

 for Covent Garden, bouquetist, vendor of fruits and vegetables, 

 and commission agent, are preparing to contribute (some of 

 them largely) to the effectiveness of the display. The pro- 

 ducts will not only be of a superior kind, but such as are in 

 daily request in the homes of the affluent : hence gardeners 

 especially may well be encouraged to visit the Exhibition. 

 Those visiting London on this occasion may, if they are 

 desirous of doing so, inspect the Spring Show at Regent's 

 Park the same day by travelling on the Underground Railway 

 from South Kensington station to Portland Koad on the 

 Metropolitan Railway. 



— — The annual report of the Director of the Melbourne 

 Botanic Garden, in referring to improvements in portions of 

 the grounds, says that several specimens of the gorgeous 

 scarlet-flowering Eccalyptcs nciroLiA are there planted, and 

 then adds: — "This magnificent plant, from Broken Inlet, 

 Western Australia, produces its flowers at a much earlier stage 

 of growth than any other species of the genus with which I am 

 acquainted. Its bloom resembles a ball of fire more than any- 

 thing else to which I could compare it. I have seen the Flame 

 Tree of Illawarra, and the brilliant scarlet masses of Erythrina 

 laurifolia on the banks of Bewa in Fiji, but neither surpasses 

 the effect produced by the floral display of this Eucalyptus." 



A Berlin gardener claims that he effectually checked 



the RAVAGES OF catebfillabs last year by the simple ex- 

 pedient of sifting ashes over his vegetables when they were 

 wet with dew. Perhaps he borrowed the plan from England, 

 for it is an old one, and is often adopted successfully in pre- 

 venting the Turnip beetle devouring the young crops of the 

 Brassica family when just appearing above ground. 



A Califoenian claims to have succeeded in raising 



Roses as black as ink. His plan was to engraft a slip of a 

 dark red Rose into an Oak tree, where it grew, flourished, and 

 blossomed, the dark sap of the Oak effectually colouring the 

 Rose black. This statement becomes less incredulous when 

 we remember budding a dark Rose — Standard of Marengo — on 

 a Black Currant which grew and bloomed freely, the flowers 

 being darker than before. A similar experiment is recorded 

 in the new French publication " Journal des Roses." 



Since Potato shows have become popular, the new va- 

 rieties or American Potatoes possess interest to cultivators. 

 A correspondent in the New York "Rural" thus alludes to 

 some of them : — " Centennial was produced three years ago by 

 fertilising the blossoms of Brownell's Beauty with pollen from 

 the White Peaohblow. It is a smooth, round, deep red tuber 

 having few eyes, white flesh, and is very prolific. The growth 

 of this new variety indicates hardiness, and should it thrive as 

 well in all soils and climates as it did in mine, it will become a 

 standard variety. Brownell's Superior originated from the 

 Beauty and the Peachblow. It is one of the handsomest coloured 

 Potatoes now before the public. It is of very symmetrical elon- 

 gated shape, its outlines being similar to the Early Rose, but the 

 surface is much smoother, its colour is deeper, and the flesh is 

 much finer, drier, and more floury. I consider this variety 

 fully equal to Snowflake as a table Potato. A seedling called 

 ' Seek no Further ' from the Eureka proved very prolific but 

 inclined to sport. Another seedling, 'Fortune,' was enormously 

 prolific with only one objection, and that as regards shape. The 

 Success is a white elongated seedling from Excelsior and Peach- 

 blow, is of good quality and very prolific. It will probably be 

 introduced another season." 



It has been generally considered the " correct thing " 



to trap as many moles as possible, but their destruction may 

 be carried too far if it be true that at " one of the most elegant 

 ch;Ueau3 in Belgium, surrounded by a park adorned by mag- 

 nificent lawns, men were employed to catch and kill the moles. 

 After a time they were killed off and disappeared entirely, in 

 consequence of which the grass of the lawns soon withered. 

 The cause of the mischief was a small white worm which had 

 been kept down by the moles. These little animals, though 



