June 28, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



487 



bnt faint likeness of one of the most brilliant of Sowering 

 plants. In lavish, lasting, radiant bloom it rivals every hardy 

 shrub. Deep reddish roey bells robe its whole spray and load 

 it into graceful droop. It is a glory in the noontide radiance. 

 In the rich hces of parting day it seems ablaze with absorbed 

 brilliancy. 



For many years a plant posted well to the front of my 

 grounds has won more lingering gaze and question from flower 

 lovers than any other bloom. And in those grounds there 

 stands pretty much every hardy blossoming plant. Tet this 

 Weigela Desboisi carries off the palm. It counts as warm ad- 

 mirers not only those who cherish a few choice plants, but 

 those whose conservatories store the wealth of the floral world. 

 Such eager look and quest following this lovely variety more 

 than hints that a brighter word-pencilling of the plant might 

 have made many purchasers of those who thus admiringly in- 

 quire its name and nature, 



I shall note only one other of the slighted and rare visitors 

 of this tribe — the Weigela versicolor. I find no description of 

 this plant anywhere, nor its name in any but the Flushing 

 catalogues. Doubtless our leading nurserymen know it well, 

 but that they give no more note or place to a plant so wonder- 

 fully endowed " passeth all understanding." This Latin name, 

 " Weigela versicolor," bespeaks almost to the eye of any, as in 

 translation, a plant " of changeful hue." 



A cluster of its flowers is of itself a bouquet of divers tinted 

 blossoms. A branch glories in blooms of every varying shade, 

 from white to deep red, and crimson darkening to maroon. 

 Till the flower drops its tint is ever changing; awhile to-day, 

 to-morrow shows a pink or salmon. A flower blooming out a 

 pink day by day deepens into dark crimson. Thus, onward 

 through an endless maze and interchange of colour, covering 

 pretty much the whole spectrum. A plant so robed in a coat 

 " of many colours," wearing flowers of such changeful hue, 

 surely deserves wide and special note as one of the wonders of 

 vegetation. 



The aptness of the Weigela to take upon its seedlings a new 

 and better style of growth and bloom promises most happy 

 results from judicions crosses. That varieties of such rich tints 

 on leaf and flower, so diverse therein and in their style of 

 growth, have descended from parents without such traits 

 marks a wonderful floral evolution. It is only rivalled by that 

 tireless flow of rich and lovely blooms which owe their parent- 

 age to only a few species of the Gladioli. The Weigelas have 

 already shown floral possibilities promising a rich future. 

 Some bloom bnt once, some twice, some thrice, and some, 

 like varieties of the Rose, are hardly ever without a show of 

 blossoms. A plant holding on its roll such wide-apart colours 

 as the deep dark crimson of the floribunda, the white of the 

 alba, the clear pink of the amabilia, the change from white to 

 many shades of pink as the isoline, and with a quiver full of 

 assorted tints like the versicolor, added to the clear yellow of 

 the old Diervilla, betokens the likely advent of still more 

 notable excellence to come out of judicious crosses. 



I look upon these commingled hues of bloom before long to 

 glow in endless interchange of complexion, from the big bell- 

 shaped flowers of their descendints. Fiery scarlet throats 

 sweeping into golden rims ; borders of maroon looking down 

 into throats of yellow and crimson. Then, as to the promise 

 of their foliage, out of the nana and others of such divers 

 tinted leaves shall come zonals and all the ceaseless round 

 of variety which skilful florists learn so surely to evolve. I 

 look to see this journal yet record double-flowered Weigelaa 

 of every shade and commixture of colours ; to send out chro- 

 molitha of new Weigelas, zonaled and chenayed on big leaves 

 through every shade of green and bronze, of white or golden 

 tinge. Why not ? If not in our time, still it is coming soon. 

 That taste for flowers, that thirst, so readily supplied but 

 never quenched by the facilities of the mail ; that joy in floral 

 home adornment and the gardenesque, so indexed by our rich 

 and well-thumbed catalogues, by paths richly stored with floral 

 wealth — a joy becoming every day so spoken in a thousand 

 ways over the advent of new blooms and plants of mark — tells 

 me that sure welcome will beget the coveted advance. 



One thing let every lover of the Weigela note. The bloom 

 of this plant is so profuse that it thirsts when in flower for 

 abundant water. Not only the richness but the lasting of its 

 bloom is wonderfully aided by a perfect deluge. Not a pail 

 or two dashed around, but if possible, where you cannot call 

 on the public water, a barrel full on end, slowly yielding its 

 supply, and again and again renewed, will well repay all your 

 trouble. Around that Desboisi when in bloom I soak the 



ground wide out from the spread of its limbs. This is partly 

 the cause of its lasting and brilliant show. Most flowers love 

 abundant moisture, but the Weigela is a perfect glutton in 

 drink. — [American Gardener's Monthlij.) 



ABTIFICIAL MANURE FOR ROSES. 



Mr. Cajim asks what he can substitute for farmyard dung, 

 which he cannot get for money. The answer is furnished by 

 considering what dung is. If Mr. Camm were to procure a ton 

 of the very best quality and burn it all he would obtain a 

 few bushels of white ashes, which would contain the whole 

 mannrial virtue of the dung with the exception of one in- 

 gredient. What he would lose would be three-fourths of the 

 whole ton, which consists of simple water, about one-fifth of 

 the ton which consists of carbon, and about one thousandth 

 part of the ton which consists of nitrogen. Of these the water 

 is valueless, the carbon almost equally so, for it serves only to 

 lighten the soil and in some slight degree to attract and fix 

 nitrogen, and therefore the nitrogen alono would need to be 

 added to the ashes to give the full value of the ton of dung. 

 Now, great part of the ashes being silica and alumina, are them- 

 selves of no practical value, since they are found in every soil 

 in ample quantity. What in the ashes is really valuable is the 

 phosphoric acid, of which there would be about lbs., and the 

 potash , of which there would be about 10 lbs. So if Mr. Camm 

 will make up a manure containing phosphoric acid 9 lbs., potash 

 10 lbs., and nitrogen 12 lbs., he will have an exact representa- 

 tion of the manurial constituents of a ton of dung ; but he 

 must in fact use only about one-sixth of the above amount of 

 nitrogen, for he can obtain it only in an immediately soluble 

 form, and in that form a ton of dung contains only 2 lbs. o£ 

 nitrogen. 



Now, to obtain these ingredients in the cheapest form he 

 must mix together the following " artificial manures," taking 

 care to obtain them from a dealer of the highest standing, 

 since unfortunately there are more tricks in the manure trade 

 than even in horse-dealing: — Superphosphate of lime (Jd. 

 per lb.), 36 lbs.; sulphate or muriate of potash [Id. per lb.), 

 25 lbs. ; nitrate of soda (Ijrf- per lb.), 12 lbs. ; but these are 

 the wholesale prices (or nearly so) for lots of a ton or 

 upwards. Mr. Camm will have to pay perhaps twice the price 

 for small quantities, which would bring the cost of the equiva- 

 lent of a ton of dung up to 10s. or 12s. ; but, on the other 

 hand, he has the advantage that he knows exactly what he is 

 applying, and can alter the constituents to suit the seasons, 

 the different stages of growth, or the peculiarities of his plants. 

 For instance, if he wishes to promote fibrous roots, early ripen- 

 ing, and close texture of wood, let him increase the proportion 

 of superphosphate ; if he wishes for deep green foliage and 

 succulent shoots let him increase the nitrate of soda. Bones 

 are excellent as a substitute for superphosphate, but are of 

 slower action and must be used in larger quantity. Night soil 

 dissolved in water is of little value ; urine would be much more 

 efficacious. If the soil is not calcareous a little quicklime 

 may be added to the above mixture with advantage. It would 

 be otherwise if the mixture contained ammouiacal salts instead 

 of nitrate of soda, for in that case the lime would drive off the 

 ammonia, but it does not affect the nitrogen in nitric acid. 



Lastly, let Mr. Camm keep in view that the above mixture 

 contains the essence of dung in a form instantly available to 

 plants, whereas dung contains the same ingredients to some 

 extent locked up in combination with organic matter, and 

 therefore set at liberty only by slow degrees as it decomposes ; 

 hence it would be advisable that he should apply the mixture 

 in smaller proportions than he would administer in the shape 

 of dung, and that these should be repeated so as in the course 

 of the season to bring up the total amount to what would be 

 found in the usual dressing of dung. 1 oz. of the mixture to 

 2 square feet (not feet square) would be about equivalent to 

 20 tons of dung to the acre ; but if we suppose for the sake of 

 example that Mr. Camm would allow a quarter of a hundred- 

 weight of rotten dung to each of his Roses, then the equivalent 

 of this would be about 1 lb. of the mixture, and this should be 

 administered during the season in doses not exceeding 2 ozs. at 

 a time. I hope if he tries the experiment he will not fail ta 

 communicate the result. — J. B. K. 



MR. CHARLES LIDQARD. 



It will be, I am sure, a grief to many to hear that their good 

 old friend "Charley Lidgard" is gone, and that one of the few 



