April 30, 1868. 1 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



323 



planted in a small space in the kitchen garden, where the 

 plants give no further trouble till wanted in November. 



The Arabis and Forget-me-not are laid in as they are on a 

 piece of waste ground, and they divide into any number of tufts 

 when required. 



Of course, we have other spring flowers in mixed borders, 

 but for bedding we find those I have mentioned give as good a 

 mass of colour as a greater variety, and are more easily managed 

 where the beds are required to be quite empty for the bedding 

 plants in summer, and they never fail from the cold of our 

 subsoil, whatever the weather may be. — E. B. 



NEPETAS. 



It may be useful to correspondents who are making inquiries 

 about Nepetas, if I state my experience. 



Nepeta nepetella is very dwarf and useful for an edging, hut 

 it would be a mistake to say it is blue or anything near blue, 

 at the same time it is scarcely red. We have found it very 

 unsatisfactory as regards continuance of bloom, frequently 

 causing a deficiency in ribbons before the season is over. 



N. teucriifolia is a strong grower and very coarse, also not 

 blue, I should say puce, but it does not continue long in bloom. 

 I must at the same time remark, that soil makes a great dif- 

 ference in this class of plants, both in height and colour. 



The Nepeta we have foimd most useful is Nepeta ca?riilea. 

 It grows 15 inches high, is a good blue at first, and only changes 

 a little to lavender by the end of the season, but from May it 

 is a continuous bloomer. It is easily propagated by dividing 

 the roots, and is easily managed ; but it should be borne in 

 mind, that although these plants are hardy and perennial, 

 they must not be left in the ground from year to year and be 

 expected to do their share in colouring for the season. They 

 must be lifted and replanted every spring with the summer 

 bedding plants, or if made to do duty in the spring display, 

 which this Nepeta will, although late, they must still be moved, 

 otherwise they follow Nature's course and last during the 

 months in which they flower whilst in an uncultivated state ; 

 but with this little trouble even, what a boon such plants are 

 to us in saving house-room and potting. 



This Nepeta makes a good mixed bed with orange, ae Cal- 

 ceolaria, or as a centre to a large bed on grass with an orange 

 belt, and then, say. Bijou Pelargonium. Last season we tried 

 Tagetes, but this did not afford colour enough, ffhe season 

 before in a bed containing seven thousand Nepetas, we put in 

 the old Orange Marigold ; the two colours are perfect together, 

 but, imfortimately, the Marigold does not continue in bloom 

 long enough. — Flowep. Gakdenee. 



LADY DOWNE'S VINE. 



I forward a few remarks upon Lady Downe's Vine, the un- 

 equal breaking properties of which are a most serious draw- 

 back, with the hope that these observations may tend to relieve 

 some of my brother gardeners from their difliculties in the 

 matter. After drawing your attention to a case of my own, I 

 will endeavour to explain how I mastered the defect, and how, 

 I am sure, others may do so likewise. 



In October, ISCG, we had a house of Vines replanted, 

 amongst which were several of Lady Downe's. One of them 

 broke well at the bottom in April, also the top four or five 

 eyes. As the cane was about 7 feet long, I had something like 

 3 feet of dormant eyes ; they remained in this state, with the 

 top of the Vine bent down, till all the eyes that had started 

 had become strong shoots. I could not rest satisfied with this 

 state of things — a yard of naked stem, so, to make short of the 

 matter, I cut oS the naked portion, with the promise of three or 

 four fine bunches at the top. The Vine grew vigorously, and it 

 was pruned back last December, when I left 3 feet of the leading 

 shoot, the growth of which during the present year has been 

 all that can be desired. 



Another Lady Downe's Vine in the same house began the 

 same " pranks " this year as the Vine just referred to. Having 

 my attention drawn to the matter by a gardener who was in 

 the same diflieulty as myself, I commenced to experiment with, 

 for me, the most successful results. In pruning I find Lady 

 Downe's one of the most hardwooded of Vines, of course when 

 well ripened. From this circumstance and the difficulty of in- 

 ducing it to bear profusely, I inferred that the bark and scale 

 over the eye must be strong, and too tough and tightly sealed to 

 allow of the eyes breaking evenly and at the same time. By the 



careful removal with my bndding knife of this scale from the 

 least prominent eyes, I have induced them, by the access o£ 

 moisture, to grow without exception, and they are now showing 

 fruit. I may here state that they were regularly syringed, and 

 all the others broke well enough. 



The Lady Downe's Vine treated of was tied down to the wire 

 in front of the house some weeks after the other Vines were 

 tied up to the rafters. Nothing seemed to stir the apparently- 

 dormant eyes till the removal of the scale. 



I have also found that the stronger the Vine the more diffi- 

 cult it is to induce the eyes to break. I find the Vines break 

 well enough after they have once formed spurs ; it is with the 

 young rods that the trouble arises. I have seen them wrapped 

 in damp moss with no benefit whatever. In my mind there 

 is no doubt on the subject now. Lady Downe's Vine should 

 have the leading shoot stopped that the lower buds may have 

 every chance. — A. S. K. 



POLYANTHUSES. 



Why is the best of all spring flowers so much unnoticed by 

 all your correspondents, I mean the Polyanthus ? 



I have been gathering together this spring all the varieties I 

 could meet with. Some I have purchased from gardeners, 

 others I met with in Covent Garden Market, and some I picked 

 up out of cottagers' gardens, and a few are seedhngs of my own 

 raising ; one of these last is a handsome scarlet flower, which 

 colour I had not seen before, so that wrongly, perhaps, I look 

 upon it as a valuable variety. I have planted out a few seed- 

 hngs, and have many more nearly ready, and the interest I 

 take in daily watching them as they successively come into 

 flower is very great. 



Hitherto I have trusted the operation of crossing to the 

 bees, as the shape of the flower unfits it for easily effecting this 

 artificially. Should, however, any of your readers have accom- 

 plished this operation, perhaps he will kindly communicate 

 the result.— T. P. F. 



TREES AND FLOWEPiS AS FPJENDS. 



Foremost among the chief silent friends, comforters, and 

 cheerers of man are trees and flowers. I have sometimes asked 

 myself. Which gave me the more pleasure ? Perhaps a reader 

 will answer readily, "Flowers." But think a moment. Time 

 and continuity are great tests of friendship, and these tests trees 

 will bear ; for although flowers soon wither — die down — perish 

 — trees are more constant ; they abide by us always ; they are 

 neighbours, I might almost say, for ever. 



Not only are trees with us in leafy June (the most enjoy- 

 able month of all the year in this country, surely), in bright 

 green splendour, but when autumn comes there they still are, 

 clad in another garb of beauty, more gorgeous though not so 

 glad ; and even in winter who would wish to be without his 

 treey neighbours ? The perfect symmetry of a tree is never 

 better seen than in winter, and the dullest eye and heart re- 

 cognise their vernal beauty. Also there are trees which never 

 change their leaves, and so gladden us all along the dreaij 

 season by their greenness. Moreover, in those that shed their 

 leafy garb, see the fantastic forms of beauty which they become 

 when decked by a hoar frost, or a snow storm, especially by 

 the former. I would say that nothing takes off the dreary feeF 

 of winter so much as the presence around us of fine-growrt 

 trees. When aU that out of doors formerly cheered us is gone— 

 when flowers, com fields, and green grass are no more— when: 

 hedges have become Uttle dark hnes of intersected branchlets, 

 yet the trees are there around ns still, and present with us to 

 comfort us. 



Perhaps no one can so thoronghly appreciate the value ol 

 forest trees as one bom, or having lived long in the fens o£ 

 England. No one, not knowing that part of our country, canr 

 imagine the utter dreariness of those treeless flats during 

 winter. They are the real plains, the flat expanses of England. 

 Salisbury Plain is hedgeless and treeless, but it abounds witb 

 undulations ; it is not a plain, and the undulations are chiefly 

 grass-covered— hence our Wiltshire plain is by no means 

 dreary. Not so the fens of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. 

 The eye there wanders on weary of the flat black surface, 

 weary of the countless water mills. 



" Oh I the dreary, dreary moorland. 

 Oh I the barren, barren'.abore." 



To those who know the fen country, or have lived con- 



