September 3, 1868. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



1C7 



taxed with this the grower admits the soft itii7Ji?a(;/imeut, but 

 quaintly pleads that bis " missus " objected to any more 

 thinning-out of tho fruit in the spring. Just picture to 

 yourself sixteen triple cordons all in full bearing, and with 

 leaves very little affected with red spider, covering the super- 

 ficies of a wall "),j feet by VI with magnificent fruit. I 

 counted as many as seventy-six Victoria Nectarines on one 

 leader alone ; and although I am aware that to allow such 

 profusion is highly roprohensible, yet it is wonderful how fine, 

 in spite of this superabundance, the fruit had grown. 



My brother and myself l:av-:i given Mr. Brdhaut's triple- 

 cordon system a full and fair trial, and we concur in the opinion 

 that it is an admirable mode of adapting to the English soil 

 and climate the very successful French method of single cor- 

 dons ; also that it is well worth while to raise walls intended 

 to be covered with glass to the necessary height of 12 or 13 feet. 

 I have in my own case placed -1 feet of boarding on the top of 

 an 8-feet wall. — A Consunt Eeadek. 



BATTERSEA PARK. 



(Continued from page 132.) 



Eesumisg our account of the principal beds in the sub- 

 tropical garden, and which left cU somewhat abruptly at tho 

 bed containiug the variegated Vitis heterophjUa, whilst this 

 was being examined a line plant of Dracaena nutans attracted 

 attention, and Mr. Gibson remarked that Drac.t^uas and plants 

 of similar character had this year suffered less from scorching 

 than usual. Why this should have been the case is not very 

 clear, but possibly the almost entire absence of dew throughout 

 the summer, and the small amount of rain which has fallen, 

 have had some influence, for but rarely could there be any 

 drops of moisture on the leaves to concentrate the sun's rays 

 as through a lens. This, however, is only one of several con- 

 jectures which might be formed. On the opposite or left-hand 

 side there is a very fine specimen of that noble Palm, Latania 

 borbonica, backed up with Ferdinanda eminens, surrounded 

 with dwarf Castor-oil plants, and margined with variegated 

 Ivy. On the right there is a long oval bed of Mrs. PoUock 

 Pelargonium, surrounded with Blue King Lobeha, which sets 

 off to great advantage the finely-marked foliage of the Pelar- 

 gonium, and the whole is margined with Dandy, a miniature 

 silver-variegated kind. Another pretty bed consists of Crystal 

 Palace Gem, a golden-leaved variety, with flowers like those of 

 Trentham Rose, Centaurea and Lobelia planted alternately, 

 and the whole surrounded by a ring of Alternanthera spathulata. 



Turning now to the left-hand side we find a very effective 

 mixed bed of Erythrinas, conspicuous among which is E. ornata, 

 a new continental hybrid, with large showy vermilion-coloured 

 flowers. At the back of this in an oval bed is Aralia papyrifera, 

 one of the most ornamental fine-foliaged plants for subtropical 

 gardens, along with Sparmannia africana, an old Cape plant, 

 valuable for its early flowering under glass, and as here growing 

 out of doors ornamental by its large healthy leaves. A very 

 pretty and effective bed near that just referred to has a five- 

 rayed star in the centre formed of Beauty of Calderdale Pelar- 

 gonium, with golden and silver-leaved kinds for the rays, which 

 are divided by Lobelia speciosa. The whole is enclosed by a 

 ring of Alternanthera paronychioides, and studded round with 

 the neat rosettes of Eoheveria secunda glauea, each as like its 

 neighbour as if all were cast in one mould. The next group we 

 come to consists of Indiarubber plants edged with Hedera 

 multimaculata, a very handsomely-blotched variety, and op- 

 posite to this is a mass of Polymnia grandis, followed by a 

 group of Canna Eeudatleri, a variety with flame orange flowers, 

 dark stems, and semi-dark leaves. This is backed with young 

 plants of AOanthus excelsa. 



On the opposite side of the walk, Musa ensete forms a noble 

 object, having leaves some 10 feet in length, by about 2J feet 

 in breadth, with the under sides of the midribs of a fine dark 

 red. There are several other fine examples of the same species 

 dotted over the garden, but this is one of the largest and most 

 effective. An oval bed having for its centre a broad band of 

 Coleus Verschaffelti is one of the finest in the place, the effect 

 of the warm, richly-coloured leaves of the Coleus being en- 

 nanced by the frosted appearance of Centaurea ragusina com- 

 pacta, and the whole is surrounded by the pretty little Call- 

 fornian House-leek. Several small beds occur near this point, 

 and are very interesting from their containing some of the new 

 varieties of Coleus raised by Mr. Bause at Chiswick. One of 

 these beds is a small circle in three compartments, planted 



with Coleus Scotti, C. Batemanni, and C. Ruckeri, the last of 

 which is the most conspicuous, Centaurea candidissima being 

 employed to divide the different kinds. A similar bed contains 

 C. Bausei, C. Saundersi, and C. Berkleyi, and of these the first 

 two are those which appear to the best advantage. In this 

 case they are divided by C. ragusina, and surrounded with an 

 edging of Alternanthera versicolor, margined with Saxifrage. 

 The next bed, also a circular one, has Dracaena nutans in the 

 centre, surrounded by four plants of D. brasiliensis, whilst 

 covering tho ground beneath these tall-growing plants is Coleus 

 Lamonti, the leaves distinctly edged with green, then Mrs. 

 Pollock Pelargonium, surrounded with two kinds of Echeveria. 

 This is a very pretty arrangement. Another bed on the same 

 side has Cycas revoluta in the centre, surrounded by Dracaena 

 terminalis and ferrea, springing from a carpeting of the 

 pretty little Pyrethrum Golden Feather, which forms a very 

 effective plant for small beds, ribbons, and edgings. The whole 

 is surrounded with Centaurea ragusina compacta, which gives 

 an excellent finish to the bed. 



We now arrive at the junction of two walks, and turning to 

 the left we find on that side a smaU circle with a plant of the 

 extremely graceful Grevillea robusta in the centre, spreading its 

 Fern-like foliage above a carpeting of Alternanthera versicolor, 

 which is really a splendid plant at Battersea this year. If it 

 maintain the same beauty in a cold, damp season that it has 

 exhibited this hot, dry summer, it will certainly be extensively 

 employed for out-door decoration. Golden Chain Pelargonium 

 formsa neat very dwarf margin to this bed. In an oblong 

 bed, ou the opposite side of the walk, Solanum marginatum, 

 with very spiny silvery leaves, is interspersed with the highly 

 decorative Gladiolus brenchleyensis, the whole having an edg- 

 ing of Lantanas, the best being Raphael, yellow and rose, and 

 Adolphe H. Wass, yellow. 



Other effective beds near this spot are composed of Nicotiana 

 wigandinides and Castor-oil plants ; Canna Bihorelli, with semi- 

 dark leaves and dark scarlet flowers, a profuse-blooming first- 

 rate variety ; and Musa ensete, the last being a circular group 

 of seedlings raised this year, and in very robust health. Be- 

 neath the Musas the ground is covered with Amarantbus me- 

 lancholicus ruber, surrounded by an edging of the pretty blue- 

 flowered Plumbago capensis ; and outside this Artemisia Stel- 

 leriana, with elegantly-cut frosted foliage, forms an elegant 

 margin to the whole. A long bed on the other side of the walk 

 is planted with Solanum Warscewiczioides and Amaranthus 

 tricolor, the leaves of the latter most splendid in their colours ; 

 and the whole is edged with Lantana crocea superba, an excel- 

 lent bedding variety. This arrangement is very effective, and 

 not less so is the next in three beds, two of which are long 

 ovals with their ends cut out, so as to correspond in sweep with 

 the circumference of a circle between the two. The outside 

 row in all three beds is Sempervivum califomicum, succeeded 

 in the two end ones by Golden Feather Pyrethrum, and Lady 

 Constance Grosvenor Pelargonium in the centre. In the small 

 central circle the Sempervivum is followed by Monsieur Nachet 

 scarlet Pelargonium, and the centre is occupied with Lady 

 Plymouth variegated Pelargonium and blue Lobelia. 



Passing onwards we again come to another bed of Erythrinas, 

 this one being E. Hendersoni, a later-blooming variety, with 

 the showy Amaranthus bicolor forming the ground-covering ; 

 and on the opposite or left-band side we perceive in a pretty 

 nook a fine plant of Seaforthia elegans. Then comes a circle, 

 in which Beauty of Calderdale Pelargonium forms a star in the 

 centre. Lobelias being planted between the rays, and for an 

 edging there is a ring of the lively Alternanthera amcena. We 

 now come to ono of the most perfect and beautiful beds in the 

 place, at once extremely rich in colour and extremely chaste in 

 its effect. It is a circle of Coleus Verschaffelti edged with 

 Centaurea ragusina compacta, with a ring of Golden Chain 

 Pelargonium round the outside. For the present we shall just 

 notice one more bed— namely, a circle, with a star of Mrs. 

 Pollock Pelargonium in the centre, blue Lobelias dividing the 

 rays, and an edging of Golden Christine Pelargonium. This 

 arrangement was very pretty and effective, the blue flowers of 

 the Lobelia and the richly variegated leaves of Mrs. Pollock 

 offering a fine combination of colours— in fact, the prismatic 

 colours red, blue, and yellow. 



(To be continned.) 



DUTCH CLO\'ER versus GRASS FOR LA^^^^S. 



DcRiMG the late burning hot weather the lawns in this 

 neighbourhood, more especially where the water supply has 



