Maroh 26, 1868. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTIOULTOBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



237 



nevertheless, ornamental-, and deserving a place in most 

 shmbberies. 



Hazel and Maple. — Often fonnJ in old hedges that appear 

 to have been formed out of the natural gvowth of the place, 

 hut neither desirable to have as a hedfjo plant. They have the 

 merit of thriving in most soils ; and the Hazel, especially, pre- 

 sents a close, compact bush, not easily penetrated by cattle. 

 It is certain, however, that the advanced cultivation of the 

 country is fast driving these plants from their established 

 abodes, and but few, indeed, are planted. As we possess much 

 better hedge plaut.? than either, tlieir removal will be no loss. 



— J. EOBSON. 



(To be continaed.) 



PROPAGATING AUCUBA -JAPONICA. 



A FEW remarks on the Anouba japonica may, perhaps, be 

 useful to some of yonr readers. 



In September, 18tj4, I bought two small plants of Aucuba 

 japonica vera, and planted them out at once. They both 

 flowered in the spring of l.SlifJ, and with pollen gathered 

 from them I impregnated a large plant of the common variety ; 

 the result was several dozens of berries, which were green and 

 unripe on the plant during the severe frost in January, 1^67, 

 when the thermometer was below zero. Notwithstanding this, 

 the berries ripened well, and changed to bright scarlet three 

 or four weeks afterwards. I know that they were quite ripe, 

 because I sowed the berries on the 2Sth of Iilarcb in a pot con- 

 taining sandy loam mixed with a small portion of peat, and 

 every one of them germinated. I placed the pot in a shady 

 part of the plant stove, but it was from three to six months 

 before the young plants made their appearance. They are now 

 fine little plants, and have just been potted-oft singly into 

 GO-sized pots. They nearly all partake of the character of the 

 male plant, only one of them being spotted like the female. 



In March and April, 1SG7, there were a great many blossoms 

 on the two male plants. I therefore prepared a dozen small 

 plants of the common Aucuba in various sized pots. These I 

 placed in the orchard house, and as the flowers expanded I 

 dusted them with poUen. My mode of proceeding is with a 

 pair of Grape scissors to clip off the male blossoms, letting 

 them fall on a small sheet of clean paper, and to convey them 

 at once to the spot where the plants intended to be operated on 

 are placed. One male blossom will dust from four to si.^ of 

 the others. Some of these small plants in pots are now very 

 pretty objects, and have been a distinct feature in the green- 

 house for the last two or three months. They look as well as 

 ever at the present moment. One neat little plant in a 7-inch 

 pot has 120 of these large bright scarlet berries on it, and 

 several of the others have nearly as many. Oue large plant 

 growing out of doors, which was also operated upon artificially, 

 is covered with clusters of the berries. 



I cover the male plants with glass as soon as the first flowers 

 expand, as they are growing in a very exposed position, and 

 are liable to be very much damaged by the wind and rain ; but 

 notwithstanding this precaution, and the fact that I cut the 

 flowers off as fast as they expand, nearly every female plant in 

 the garden has a few berries on it. The bees, I have no doubt, 

 found their way under the glass covering, which is raised on 

 bricks in order that the air may play freely round the plants. 

 The greatest distance from the male plants at which I found 

 berries was 180 yards, so that I have no doubt when plants 

 of the male Aucuba become more numerous, berries will be 

 common enough everywhere through the agency of the bees. — 

 J. Douglas. 



MESSRS. CUTBUSH'S SHOW 

 FLOWERS 



OF SPRING 



AT THE ROVAS. BOT.WIG SOCIETY S OAEDENS. 



This commenced on SatarJay, will coutmne tlu'oughout the present 

 week, and is altogether an,eiceilent display, the extent of which will 

 be judged from the fact that it tills a s]>an-roofed tent adjoining the 

 conservatory 150 feet in length and 10 feet in width. There is a 

 10-foot path up the centre, over which are suspended baskets of 

 flowers, and on the side next the conservatory there is a stage with a 

 row of Tulips in front, and a row of Hyacinths at back. Opposite 

 this is a mixed bank of Camellias, Azaleas, Heaths, Epacrises, Cine- 

 rarias, Cytisus, Crocuses, Narcissus, Lily of the Valley, Cyclamens, 

 double Prunus sinensis, and other flowering plants, interspersed with 

 a few Dracfenas, Indiarubber plants, and other subjects ornamental 

 by their foliage ; and at one end i.s a similar bank, whilst at the other 



there is a plant of Cyathea dealbata, flanked by two quarter-circle 

 wire flower stands. 



Of the quality of the Hyacinths and TuUps which are the real 

 objects of the display, the other plants being merely the adjuncts, the 

 success which Messrs. Cutbush have achieved, both iu the present 

 and past years at the London and Liverpool shows, is a suflicient 

 t;uarautee ; in fact, many of the pota were in the collections shown at 

 these exhibitions this year. 



Of Hyacinths we remarked magnificent spikes of Baron Von Tuyll, 

 Haydn, Marie, Mimosa, Charles Dickens, Von Schiller, Princess 

 Clothilde, Macanlay, General Havolock, Grand Lilas, Gigantea, 

 double Duke of Wellington, Van Speyk, and Mout Klanc. Of TuUps 

 there are tine pots of Vermihon Jirilliaut, a moat effective variety ; 

 Keizerskroou, Rex Eubrorum, Pottohakker of different colours, doable 

 Tournesol, and Couleur Cardinal, all of which are wcU known ; Proser- 

 pine, rose ; Brutus broken, red and yellow, voiy fine ; Cottage Maid, 

 white and pink ; Chrysolora, yellow ; Fabiola, white and rosy purple ; 

 Van der Neer, purplish violet ; Thomas Moore, coppery orange ; and 

 Duchesse de i*arma, deep ciimson edged with yeUow. 



The conservatory itself also presents a ga^er appearance than usual. 

 Rhododeudron arborenm and Camellias being covered with flowers, in 

 addition to which there are Azaleas, frtuting Aucnbas, Cinerarias, and 

 various lloweriug plants. Oue large vase is verj' effective, being tilled 

 as follows : — Outer circle. Amy Hyacinth, red ; second circle, Staten 

 General, white ; third circle. Lord Nelsou, blue ; then there is a 

 double row of Grand Monarque Narcissus, with Calla a;thiopica in the 

 centre. 



COCKSCOMB CULTURE. 



I FIND great difiiculty in getting seed of those which really 

 produce fine combs. A neighbouring gardener grows them 

 exceedingly well, and has a fine strain. I have just procured a 

 little seed from him, and have sent a portion of it to the con- 

 tinent to he grown, hoping thus to obtain a good supply ; and 

 as I shall visit the country where it is grown during the sum- 

 mer, I shall see how it is doing then. 



Mr. John Burnell, the gardener I have referred to. writes — 

 " I have tried many plans to grow them well, and the best 

 mode which I have found for growing dwarf and large Cocks- 

 combs is, to pot them from the seed pan into 60-sized pots, 

 grow the plants in these until the combs are well formed, and 

 then repot." — William Dean, Bradford Niimery, Shipley. 



NEW GLASS STRUCTURES FOR GROWING 

 FRUIT. 



Some twenty years since, no difficulty was experienced in 

 growing Peaches and Nectarines on outside walls, and I can 

 recollect thirty years ago it was not at all unusual for a bushel 

 of this fruit to he picked at a time in oue of our gardens. 

 Now these trees begin to decay after a few years, and, gra- 

 dually dying away, require to be constantly renewed. They 

 seem to have no constitutional strength. What is the cause 

 of this ? and is there no remedy, for it is a general complaint ? 

 Cannot we learn something from the management of these 

 trees in the orchard house, where they invariably set their 

 fruit, ripen it thoroughly, and do not die away ? I have a 

 house, 72 feet by 30 feet, in which the trees have borne 

 excellent crops of fruit for the last eight years. These trees, 

 forty-five in number, are planted iu the soil, which is hard, 

 and seldom receives any manure. They are watered occa- 

 sionally, when a good drenching is given from a hose with 

 a pressure of 50 feet. The pruning takes up about as much 

 time as the training of a large tree on a wall. This, with the 

 painting the trees in the autumn with Pooley's tobacco powder 

 and methylated spirits, embraces the whole treatment. The 

 crop keeps the trees from too luxuriant growth. Every tree 

 is now in full bloom, and will bear a large crop. Twenty 

 dozen of Peaches (Royal GeorgeJ were gathered from one tree. 



I have tried for several years to grow Plums and Apricot? 

 iu the same manner, but having never succeeded, was obliged 

 to give it up. I can grow large crops of this fruit in pots, 

 but not in the soil. I have therefore had recourse to a plan 

 I conceived some years since, which has more than answered 

 my expectations. I also tried experiments last year with 

 Peaches on the same system, and found that it answered 

 equally well with them. I have now twenty-three Peach, 

 Nectarine, Plum, and Apricot trees under experiment. Tkey 

 are now iu bloom, though out of doors. They are surrounded 

 with glass walls, open at the top, if we except a woollen net 

 to keep ofl' frost, and, in the autumn, insects. 



Formerly, we used to consider Peaches and Nectarines as 

 , hardy. Now, I think we must consider them as only half- 



