290 



JOUENAL OF HOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ April 16, 1868. 



change. As a tree capable of withstanding the rude blast 

 the Oak may with advantage be planted in most soils not of too 

 peaty a nature, but even in such it will grow, although it suc- 

 ceeds better in a rather calcareous clay not too much charged 

 ■with water. The limbs of the Oak rarely suffer from the wind, 

 but the bole may do so a Uttle, especially if the tree has been 

 sheltered in the earlier part of its growth, and then exposed. 

 Generally speaking, however, the Oak assumes that fine spread 

 of head which renders it so prominent a feature in some land- 

 scapes that certain Oaks may be pointed to as landmarks. 

 The Oak also looks well when in a state of decay ; in fact, the 

 painter would consider it in its glory when the tips of its 

 branches were dead and dying. 



The Oak transplants tolerably well ; rabbits, where they are 

 numerous, destroy small trees, and I have known mice in 

 severe winters gnaw through the yoimg plants at the collar, but 

 the tree resists all attacks, even those of time, better than other 

 lees. 



Cedae or Lebanon. — The frost of January, 18G7, having 

 proved that many new trees expected to be hardy are not so, 

 the rage for these has been somewhat checked, and the Cedar 

 of Lebanon has maintained its place as being one of the most 

 valuable ornamental trees we possess. I am not sure whether 

 any of the Conifers imported during the present century (and 

 their number is very great) , approaches it in point of beauty 

 and general adaptability ; for we have no proof that the species 

 introduced during that period will prove to be so hardy, and 

 possessed of constitutions capable of withstanding the changes 

 o£_ our climate so well as this tine Cedar, which may now be 

 saidto be almost naturalised. The many large specimens 

 gracing the lawns of some of our noblest mansions attest its 

 enduring powers, as well as its capacity to become a large fine 

 tree. Witness the fine trees on the lawn in front of Chiswick 

 House, and many other places possess equally fine trees. In 

 the garden of a farm house only a short distance from-Maid- 

 Btone, are two noble trees equalling in size many of the finest 

 Oaks in the district, the bole of one of them appearing to con- 

 tain from 70 to 100 cubic feet of timber, and the trees being 

 likely to last some centuries yet. The cutting away of the 

 lower branches some years ago, for the benefit of the under 

 crops, has injured the appearance of the tree very much, as 

 the Cedar usually branches close to the ground ; and if the 

 lower branches do die off, which is sometimes the case with 

 very aged trees, the tier above them hangs down so as to touch 

 the ground. 



The Cedar likes a dry situation, or rather one in which stone 

 abounds, and its capabilities of withstanding weather of aU 

 kinds are so well known as to require no comment. It is also 

 well suited for planting singly, and looks better so planted 

 than in a mixed forest. It may also be transplanted more suc- 

 cessfully than some kinds of Conifers, and is rarely subject to 

 any mishap. A very heavy fall of snow may break some of the 

 limbs that are too heavily laden ; but this is not of frequent 

 occurrence. Winds rarely affect it, and when it occupies an 

 elevated position its windward side presents much the same 

 bold outline as its other side. 



BiKCH. — The beauties of this tree are not half so well ac- 

 knowledged as they ought to be. Its spiooth silvery bark, now 

 and then shedding an outer coating like the unfolding of a roll, 

 with the numerous elastic twigs growing or rather hanging in 

 graceful profusion all over an umbrageous head, and the whole 

 clothed with pleasingly-shaped leaves, claim for the Birch a 

 high position among ornamental trees. It is so different from 

 the other trees which we possess, that no one can mistake the 

 Birch for anything else than what it is, which is not always 

 ihe ease with other deciduous trees when viewed in winter from 

 a short distance off. The Birch never attains the dimensions 

 of some of our native trees, but it is unquestionably the hardiest 

 we possess, as in one or other of its forms it is found ascending 

 the highest moimtains, as well in other countries as in this, 

 diminishing in size according to altitude, and disappearing 

 where only some insignificant member of the vegetable king- 

 dom is able to exist. This proves the Birch to be a mountain 

 tree, and its appearance in such a position is in an eminent 

 degree ornamental. Either singly or in groups it forms a fine 

 object, and like the Oak it sends its limbs out on the side ex- 

 posed to the wind, just as much as on that which is sheltered ; 

 but the bole or stem often leans from the blast, yet its doing so 

 adds, perhaps, to the beauty of the tree. The Birch thrives in a 

 soil more or less inclining to peat, but does not object to mois- 

 ture, is very accommodating, and succeeds in most situations, 

 but is most at home on the steep side of a mountain defile, and 



there its feathery appearance when loaded with hoar frost is 

 most elegant. On the level or highly-kept lawn it is also orna- 

 mental, and as a single tree it is highly deserving a place. — 



J. EOBSOS. 



(To be continued.) 



CULTURE OF AURICULAS, 

 An ardent and successful grower of this beautiful, and, in my 

 opinion, too much neglected flower, I read with pleasure the 

 article by "D. "of Deal, in Tee Joubnal of Hor.TicTJLTtiRE 

 lately. A frame containing several hundreds of well-grown 

 plants in full bloom is a sight worth going miles to see, and yet 

 many a gardener and amateur who are enthusiastic about other 

 plants, are in total ignorance of the perfection to which the 

 stage Auricula has now been brought. What can be more ex- 

 quisite, besides the perfume, than the contrast of colours in the 

 grey, green, and white edges, and selfs ? I confess to having had 

 a passion for the Auricula ever since I was a boy, when I grew 

 the border flowers of which I had many varieties, and I have 

 never yet forgot the time, now nearly thirty years ago, when I 

 first saw a few stage plants. 



It is now six years since I invested in a dozen plants of the 

 easiest-grown stage sorts, and for the first year or so felt rather 

 afraid lest I should not be able to keep them. In place of that, 

 however, they have thriven with me far beyond my expectation ; 

 and my stock, to which I have always been occasionally adding, 

 at present consists of about four hundred plants, comprising 

 eighty varieties of all the leading sorts. I experience no difficulty 

 whatever in growing them, scarcely ever losing a plant, and the 

 health and vigour of the whole stock are the admiration of every 

 one who sees them. 



The plants are grown in a frame very steep in the pitch, raised 

 on stone pillars about 8 or 9 inches above the ground, with a 

 step-by-step stage all open below, and placed about 10 inches 

 from the glass. The sashes are hinged at the top, and when 

 open are kept up by a rod. There is a moveable glazed sash 

 about 8 or 9 inches wide, hung on a pivot at each end, at top 

 and bottom to admit air. The back and sides of the frame are 

 of wood, and it is set about 6 feet from the back of a south wall, 

 and facing the north. The pots are not plunged, but simply 

 placed on the shelves, and the only extra protection the plants 

 receive is with mats in severe frost in winter, or after they 

 begin to grow in spring. The sashes are never takeif off the 

 plants all the season. 



The greatest enemy to the Auricula is damp, and the plants 

 can scarcely be kept too dry in the winter months. Worms, too, 

 are very injurious, as they destroy the drainage. The simplest 

 way, however, to get rid of them is to roast all the materials 

 used in potting. 



My treatment is as follows : — The blooming plants are grown 

 in from 4 to G-inch pots, according to size and habit. During 

 open weather, about the first week in February, or as soon as 

 the plants are observed to have started into growth, scrape off 

 about from three-quarters to one inch of the surface of the soil, 

 taking care at the same time not to disturb any of the roots, 

 and top-dress them with a mixture of one-half well-rotted 

 sheep dung, and the other half leaf mould, with sufficient silver 

 sand added to make it porous, all having previously been put 

 through a fine sieve. Give the plants a good watering, keep 

 the pots clean, and stir the surface occasionally. They now 

 require a considerable quantity of water, but it must be given 

 cautiously, especially if the weather be frosty, and the air- 

 giving must be regulated so as not to expose them to cutting 

 winds. No water should now be allowed to touch the leaves, 

 as it spoils the fine powdery appearance of the plants, and the 

 best way to water them is with a low flat pan, having a long 

 bent spout. If seed is wanted the flowers require to be im- 

 pregnated when in full bloom, and this is easily done with a 

 camel's-hair brush. 



As soon as the blooming is over, the plants go to rest for a 

 little. They should now have all the air possible, all the flower 

 stalks should be removed if seed is not wanted, and in hot 

 weather a gentle syringing should be given overhead two or 

 three times a-week. After a little the plants start again into 

 growth, and the offsets begin to push vigorously. 



The first week in August is the time I always repot, though 

 I believe growers in the south do so immediately after the 

 blooming is over. A mixture, which has been previously 

 passed tl-iough a half-inch sieve, consisting of one half loam 

 and the oilier half of equal parts of leaf mould, peat, and oow 

 dung well rotted, and with a sufficient quantity of silver sand 



