Mjijcb 1.1,,18?9. J 



JOOJJSAI.. OF HOBTipUIilUUE ^NP.iOOTfAjCJJJ fi^ABDEN^Pi 



iT<?i 



i;uttings were allowocl to remain in the same place until tlia 

 middle of October, gradually liarJening them off until, iu line 

 days, th« lights wore completely pulled off. Wa thon placed 

 thorn' on fho top sholf of a viuory from which the Grapes had 

 beoU' bat. Since that time the toiiiperatnro in the hoiiae has 

 Several times been below freezing — un one occasion as much 

 as l" below, and the result has been, ah I stated, a quantity of 

 atronp; healthy plants. I will leave your readers iu f luces 

 where space is limited to judge which of llic plnns, Mr. Wi'.snn's 

 or the above, is the better. — H. J. Oh.-tom, Ilm-kirood (la'-J-'iit, 

 )lantf, 



"MANCHESTER— TO THE FRONT.' 

 When an otticer in the Peninsular war iiiquired during a 

 battle," Where is the Light Division ?" the reply was, " Where 

 they always are, iu the front." When we woro asked how iha 

 Manohesfer men would be with subscriptions for prizes at this 

 year's Itoyal Horticultural B.'chibitiOD, we replied, " Where 

 they always are, in the front." Never were we more surprised, 

 therefore, than to be iuformed that Manchester is far behind 

 ijury St. Kdmuuds aud licicester iu the amount of prizes 

 offered. If the local Secretary, Mr. Whitw(jrth, 1>0, King Street, 

 Mancliester, would publish in the local papers a list of prizes 

 desirable to be offered, and which were offered at the towns we 

 have named, we think it would operate as a command — a 

 readily obeyed command — " Manchester— to the front." 



Wo know that the Itjyal Horticultural Society are desirous 

 to issue a schedule ol the prizes, but they must hesjtste when 

 they have only the following hitherto prpmiaecl. What is done 

 should be done promptly 



£ a. d. 

 Mnnchestor Botanical So- 

 ciety ....J ...95 



*' Journal of Horticulture" 21 



*' Gardeaero'ChrouicIe ". . 30 



Sir James Watts 10 10 u 



I.ndyWatts 10 10 



a. MichoUs .: 10 10 



vyinds early in spring. If glaps ligbts be aabstituled for <hS 

 hurdles, {ho plan may be just as useful in the colder climate o^ 

 Yorkshire. 



As regards Mr. Peach's allusion to the brenlang of the roots 

 when the plants are lifted, I may state, that by planting them 

 in soil rendered somewhat rough by using a good proportion o£ 

 flakes of mauuro or rough loaf mould, and by exercising .an 

 ordinary ainpunt of oaro iu lifting, good bulls may be had, and; 

 the roots suffer but sUghtly, certainly not enough to cauael'. 

 any clieck to the plant, The best aud surest method in thlf. 

 case 'u bno which 1 tavo already detailed in an article on cola 

 pits, and that is to take each plant as it is shaken out of the 

 soil of the cutting pan, enclose its roots iu some rich free aoil^ 

 and envelope the «oil in moss, which is bound firmly togiathei; 

 v*ith bast, thus foruiiug a compact mossy ball nearly the size of 

 lone's fist. ' The plants are then placed side beside, and enough', 

 iof the same soil is scattered amongst them to conceal the mosS 

 ifrom view.' When the plants are removed to the flower bed^,, 

 tlie roots are to be seen penetrating the moss on all sides, ana 

 laying.hold of the toil by which they are surrounded.— Edwa»i> 

 hvCKav.t'iT, njertpn rrpuse (lardcnii, Katt, ■., 



1 jl.liM- 



Mr. aicliel ID 10 



,, W. Bftiues . . . < 5 I> 



„ Shaw. S 5 



,, Bro mo b 5 



,, Dickboa Ti G 



,, Krown r> G 



,, Matbeson 5 5 



MESSRS. CUTBUSH'S SHOW OF SPRING 



''"■■'■ FLOWERS. 



Determined to ha first in the field, Meesra.'Ciltbnsh opened 

 on Saturday last at the Crystal Palaoo tboir anuual show of 

 spring-flowering bulbs — a show which will fully Bustiiin their 

 well-earned reputation as oultivatoi's of these charming flowers. 

 "The Hyacinth, in particular, which constitutes the great fea- 

 ture, is most worthily represented iu its various hues of white, 

 yellow, blush, rose, crimson, light blue, dark blue, and purple 

 deepening into shades nearly approaching to black. Conspicuous 

 among the pure white hinds are several splendid spikes ol 

 Mont Blanc ; and of blush Emmeline, Gigantea, (irandeur ;t. 

 Merveille, and double Duke of Wellington are Ciiually fine. Of 

 red shades Macaulay, Von Schiller, Mrs. Beecuer Stowe, Ca- 

 vaignac, and Amy are most brilliant. The compact spike and 

 bright crimson bells of the last, though it is not an expensive 

 kind, prove very effective, especially for early display. Haydn, 

 mauve, is splendid ; and of blues, Charles Dickens, Grand 

 Lilas, Orondates, Nimrod, and Uaron Von Tuyll are excellent 

 wherever they occur iu the four TOfeet rows, of which the 

 Hyacinth-part of the exhibition consists. Iu front o£ the 

 Hyacinths are arranged Tulips, mixed with Narcissus, but the 

 former are not yet sutiiciently advanced to enhance by their gay 

 colours the general effect. In addition, two stages each 70 feet 

 in length, separated from the Hyacinths by a central division, 

 are filled with Camellias, Azaleas, Acaoias, (Jioerarias, Epacrises, 

 Deutzia?, Cytisus, fruiting Aucubas, and a^ miaoelbineous col- 

 lection of plants in flower. A neat centre between the two 

 oblong double stages is formed by a cirolo 12 feet iu diameter, 

 occupied by a Dicksonia, surrounded by Azaleas and Acao as, 

 and these again encircled by rings of Narcissus, Coleus Wilsoni, 

 and Centaureas with Cyclamens placed alternately. 



The exhibition will continue open till tLe lUth inst., aud will 

 doubtless increase in interest as the Tulips and eume other 

 flowers become more fully developed. 



aizEB'OF FLOWER POTS. ",' 



What) is the scale of measurement ol flower pota adoptsft! 

 by correspondents and in your Journal generally? We ar» 

 much perplexed by'Reemiug to find that a 4B sized pot ii'a 

 pretty large one. The mannficturers heio make a certaim 

 amount of clay stand as their unit, and number the potB^ 

 according to the number of pots which they can make out of' 

 iJ. Thus, if they make thirty-six pots ont of it, they call the 

 tiiirty-sis pots so made a dozen of 36's. It is evident, there- 

 fore, that the higher the number the smaller the pot. The- 

 48-pota with us are mere thumb pots ; the TS's are such aa are!' 

 generally used by nurserymen for bedding plants for sal6->i' 

 about 2; or 3 inches across the top of the pot. 



I have been pu«zled frequently to follow yonr directions, !»■ 

 consequence nf your ecale being, as I fancy, very different' 

 from ours; and as my knowledge of gardening is almost en- 

 tirely derived from- your Journal, this is an important matteri. 

 — Newcold Keotohv. ■ " 



[The sizes of pots ought always to be stated in inches, tmi 

 it is an oversight when we do not alter the figures iu the coili- 

 mdnicafions which specify only the manufacturers' niimberS;. 

 I The following is an explanatory table : — 



toM. ilijici. 



afcitot>. 



Tliiniblea aro inside 



Thuiubs 



gixlies (BO'6/ ' 



Forty-eigbf«(4fi'sl'.., 

 Tliiitj--twua<3J'8) ., 

 Twenty fouis {'U'i) 



luH. 



. 2V 

 . 8! 



Sisteeua (10*9). . 

 Twelves (rj'8).. 

 Eight.5 (8'B) ..'.. 

 Sixoa (6'8| .... 

 Fo'^ni (4'sj 



■'ciJiaiiiin!"' 

 ; uttajtr 



'^m 



11 V 

 12" 

 IS 

 15_ 



Two9(2'Sl 18 



10. 



l»ii. 



WINTERING PELARGONIUMS. 



IiOIr. Bowlby will refer to my notes in pageG-i, be will see that 



I advocated nothing so absurd as the wintering of Pelargoniums 



under thatched hurdles, even in Kent ; I simply adverted to it 



aa an excellent means of proteotioa from late frosts nud cold 



The aboT3 are about the sizes in inches, for at each pottevy,' 

 they rather differ in size, and none of the potB .Bhriat esftoHir; 



alike during the burning. 1 i , i. t -IT -..iitj* 



CULTURE OF THE Ci\iOEOLARIA.. . . i. 



There are few plants better adap:cd for an effective display 

 in the greenhoute during the spring months than the herba» 

 ceouE Calceolaria, and, not being very difficult to cultivate, at 

 is desirable that it should be more extensively grown. 



The named vatieii^s are now seldom seen in cultivation. 

 Few nurserymen's catalogues pive a list of them, and fewer 

 still can supply goo'd plants. The principal reason, I have do 

 doubt, ia that it is not found profitable to cultivate them. 

 N limbers of the plants are lost after the flowering season is 

 over; at that season there are many demands on a gardener's 

 time, and the Calceolarias are placed in some corner, where 

 they are ni>glected, and soon become a prey to green fly oc 

 other insect pest. If it is intended to perpetuate any particular 

 variety, the plants must be attended to as soon as the flower- 

 ing season is over; the llower stalks are first cut ofi, than 

 remove the eurfaoo soil from the pots, replacing it with fresh 

 material, into which tho young shoots can be pegged down, and 

 they will soon strike roots if the plants are kept in a healthy 

 condition. Thevonght to be placed in a cold frame at this 

 time ; and it is as well to have the back of the frame turned to 

 the south, as the plants will not in this way require so mocU 

 artificial shading. When plenty of roots are formed the young 

 plants may be removed and potted separately, or several plant* 



