Aagost 6, 1888. ] ' 



JOUBNAL OP HORTIOUIiTirEE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



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in thia matter depended on the character and number of the 

 flowers set np, I tliuiiKht it better to stay pnweeiliuga. In one 

 respect I am not sorry. Had it been held thia year I shuuld 

 have been ohlined to arraui^o the Bcliedule myself, whereas if 

 deferred I shall have the oppoitimity of consultinR other grow- 

 ers, and of thiH, I hope, maltinj' a more generally accentable 

 one. Will lovera of this beautiful flower bear all this in mind ? 

 They will now have fair notice, and an exiiibition may bo held 

 which will astonish those who have not hitherto taken any 

 interest in the growth of the Gladiolus. — D., Deal. 



THE SCARLET PELARGONIUM IN A HOT 



SEASON. 



At a time when the outcry for water is heard far and near, it 

 is worth while looking round to ascertain what crops or plants 

 sufTer least from the want of moisture, and we may find some 

 which exhibit no tigu whatever of distress, but, on the cou- 

 trary, show to greater advantage than when those refreshing 

 showers we so much long for exert their influence on vege- 

 tation. Among the plants whose capabilities of withstanding 

 heat and drought stand out most prominently, tho Scarlet 

 Pelargonium miy be placed in the front rank, for in tho pre- 

 sent eea,sou this ornament to the parterre does good service by 

 tho brilliancy of its bloom and the healthy condition of tho 

 plant itself. Exceptions there are even to this, but in general 

 the Scarlet Pelargonium, where it has had fair play, will be 

 found to have performed its duty in a more satisfactory manner 

 than most other plants, and without that assistance which 

 some of them seem to require. To ascertain the cause of this 

 we must go back to plantmg-out time, and likewise take into 

 consideration the hp.bit and character of the plant. 



The Scarlet Pelargonium in its wild state enjoys a climate 

 which is even hotter and more sunny than tho present sea^ion, 

 therefore sunshine and want of moisture are nothing strange 

 to it. Neither would it appear to require the shade of friendly 

 trees ; on the contrary, basking in the blaze of an African sun, 

 external heat is not likely to hurt it in this country, if the other 

 conditions necessary to its existence are afforded. Now, in the 

 present season, one of these conditions would appear to be 

 depth of soil to gro.v in, and where this has been suitable, and 

 where the plant has not had to contend with other plants more 

 robast thin itself for the appropriation of this soil or subsoil, 

 it has invariably succeeded well. Where, on the other hand, 

 a shrub or tree, a standard Rose, a Hollyhock, or any other 

 strong-growing plant near it, has usurped the subsoil, and the 

 Pelargonium has had to subsist on the surface soil only, the 

 result has been unsatisfactory. In many cases, indeed, the 

 plant has suocumbod altogether, as watering only tended to 

 encourage the roots of its robust neighboar to intrude them- 

 selves among its roots, and then all progress was at an end, 

 and the plaut, expanding what flowers it had formed in em- 

 bryo, gradually sank into that condition between life and death 

 which is even worse than the latter. As this want of success is 

 ■easily accounted for, it would be well on all oceasions where 

 practicable to give the Pelargonium a, position where its roots 

 are not likely to be interfered with by those of a more vigorous 

 opponent. 



i have beea induced to give the above short notice of the 

 Scarlet Pelirgonium, from having observed how much better 

 it withstands the heat and drought than most oth«r plants, and 

 even as conapared with some of the pink varieties of Pelargo- 

 niams. Tli« cause of the latter net doing so wei! I cannot dis- 

 cover, as I hardly think the flowers of those which have proved 

 so unsatisfactory contained sufficient blue in their tints to ac- 

 count for the failure. Tbe very worst I have is Christine, an 

 old popirlar variety, which has invariably done well for many 

 years, bat this summer the blooms seem to bleach into a dirty 

 white, and fall off so quickly that only three or four flowers are 

 met with on a truss, with plenty of seed-vessels sticking out, 

 poronpine-like, in all directions. Now, if the cause of failure 

 is flimsiness of tbe petals or some other defective arrangement 

 of the flower, perhaps it may do duty again another year ; but 

 if other varieties withstand tka heat better than Christine, then 

 I say discard it. In my own ease I need hardly state that it is 

 not likely to occupy such a high position again, as some other 

 pink kinds appear to be less injured, although not so much 

 favoured by i-ituation. Perhaps some o! jour readers will give 

 tkeir experience wth this plant. 



Having said that the Scarlet PelargoniKms have done best 

 with me, I mn^i also state that the beet of them are t&ose 



partaking of the Nosegay character— as Stella, Cybistor, Wal- 

 tham Seedling, itc. ; or when the other varieties have succeeded 

 it has generally been those of robust habit, as Punch and some 

 others of its class, while tho dwarf varieties of tho Tom 

 Tbumb breed have not done well. Later in the season, how- 

 ever, will be a more fitting time to report upon them, but 

 while the hot weather continues it would be worth while for 

 all to observe how their various plants support themselves 

 under it, with a view to giving their experience afterwards. In 

 my case I may say that, with the exception of some Pelargo- 

 niums on high-raised beds and mounds, not one of mine on the 

 ordinary level has had a drop of water, excepting from tho 

 clouds, since planting, and where the soil was well prepared 

 for them I can find no fault with their success. Where, aa 

 already stated, they stand near other more robust neighbours, 

 they have suffered as described. Some otber plants left to 

 themselves have also done well. On the otber hand, there are 

 plenty of failures, one of the most prominent being a plant I 

 predicted many weeks ago as not likely to do well in a dry 

 season — namely, Viola cornuta, while blue Lobelias are but 

 little better. Indeed, I am half-disposed to think that blue 

 flowers are the worst to withstand bright sunshine, and I 

 partly attribute the failure of Christine Pelargonium to its 

 partaking in some degree of this tint ; but I would like to hear 

 the opinion of others on the matter. — J. Kobson. 



SAVING CABBAGE SEED. 



I SEE in notices to correspondents, page 60, some julvicB o.-t 

 this snbjoet to which I must beg to take exception. Indeed, I 

 think there is some error in the printing, hecausa Cabbages 

 so«n in May would run to seed the same season, not the fol- 

 lowing year. Though much Cabbage seed is thus raised it is a 

 very bad practice, and no doubt much of the mischief in the 

 way of runners so often complained about is traceab'o to this 

 cause. My opinion is that Cabbage ought to be treated as a 

 biennial — that is, grown one season and seeded the next. If 

 you seed it the same season as it is sown, can yon be surprised 

 at its running to seed when you would rather it formed a good 

 solid heart? It has been treated as an annual, and behaveB 

 accordingly. 



I have been for some years rather famous for an early Oab- 

 bago of the Battersea race, called Conqueror, and have always 

 raised it in tbe following manner: — It has been sown iu July, 

 and grown as if for Cabbage. When fit to cut the whole have 

 been looked over, and all not quite up to the mark pulled np, 

 and the remainder out off. The stumps of ihe good ones are 

 planted the following autumn in well-manured ground, and 

 flower and seed the next season. This is the only way, I 

 believe. Cabbage seed ought to be grown. It is true this is uot^ 

 the way to obtain a fine-looking sample of seed ; it is neither 

 so large nor so black as seed from plants sown the same year. 

 Nor is it the way to produce cheap seed. A large aLOonnt of 

 labour bestowed on a two-years crop is a very different affair 

 from what is required by a crop which occupies the ground bat 

 four months, say from May to .July or August. 



This changing tbe nature of biennials is a very serions sub- 

 ject. You see a farmer sowing his Mangold Wurtztl in May, 

 and say, " My dear sir, how is it you did not sow in the second 

 week of April ? Your land at that season would have been 

 sure (if got ready in the autumn), to have been moist enough to 

 make your seed grow — in fact, mine are all in full rows ; but 

 now if dry weather set in yours will, perhaps, not grow at all, 

 and, besides, you lose several weeks, and consequently some 

 tons per acre." He will very likely answer you, " Ah, yes I I 

 used to sow earlier, but I had so manv runners I determined 

 to BOW later." Now how is this ? Why, becau^e instead of 

 Mangold seed being grown from large, formed roots, it is grown 

 from seed sown in August, thus making it nearly an annuaL 

 So it is with Turnips. In travelling through Ihe conn tiy you, 

 see acres of Turnips sown on corn stubbles, which when winter 

 comes are like little Lettuce plants. These are inttnded for 

 seed ; and when Turnips from seed thus produced for some 

 years run away to seed when they are expected to form roots, 

 no one is in fault, but the farmer is a great loser. 



In the same reply (page 06), it is stated that Turnips in 

 flower near Cabbage will spoil the latter. Permit me to say 

 this is a mistake. If you want to keep your Cabbage seed 

 pure, plant it, if you can, in the middle of or close to a l8r^e 

 piece of Turnips for seed. Tbe bees will have plenty to do oa 

 the Turnip flowers, and will be maoh less likely to find tba. 



