May 7, 1868. ) 



JOURNAL OF HOBTIOOLTURB AND COTTAGE QARDENEK. 



3U 



Early in Jane, aa soon as tbe pots are tilled with roots, tlie 

 plants should be shifted again, and the same treatment con- 

 tinned as before for another month. Then they should bo 

 removed into a lower temperature with more air, shaded from 

 the sun, and placed near the glass. Here they will speedily 

 show flowers. 



When the blooming is over cut down the stems about half 

 way, and give only sulUoient moisture to keep the plants from 

 becoming quite dry until after new shoots are made. The 

 following season, after being repotted, they will produce an 

 abundant supply of their attractive heads of bloom. 



For increasing stock, cuttings may be made of the leaves at 

 the upper part of the stem. Cut them off with the bud at the 

 base entire, and insert them in pots of light soil with about an 

 inch of silver sand at the top ; cover with bell-glasses, and 

 plunge the pots in a brisk bottom heat. The sand should be 

 kept just moist, and no more. As soon as they begin to grow 

 give air, and when they are well rooted pot off in the same 

 compost as recommended for the older plants. They should be 

 shaded for a while until they have become established. Each 

 leaf will strike well enough, but the young shoots make better 

 plants. — Charles Eoberts, Dor/old Hall. 



HYBRIDISING AT THE CHISWICK GARDEN. 



It is certainly very gratifying to know that the Council of 

 the Royal Hnvticultural Society intends appropriating the 

 whole of the amount realised by the sale of these magnificent 

 varieties of Coleus to the further development of experiments 

 in the Chiswick 'iarJens. I tbink this is a step in the right 

 direction, and one likely to produce good results. 



The Council having wisely decided on this course, tlie next 

 thing to be considered is how best to encourage and improve 

 that important ond most interesting branch of science — hy- 

 bridisation. I trust I may not be thought presumptuous if I 

 offer a few suggestions which occur to me, and which I think 

 likely to bring about this desirable end. 



Ist, A suitable house should at once be erected. 



2ad, More assistance should be given to Mr. Bause, so as to 

 enable him to devote more time to this most interesting study, 

 which he has so successfully pursued up to the present time 

 under difficulties. 



The handsome sum obtained by the sale of the Coleus 

 hybrids must impress every one with the idea, that besides 

 enriching our gardens with many valuable plants, the Society 

 will at the same time be diffusing much useful knowledge, and 

 also realising large sums of money, which may be used for the 

 advancement of floriculture and horticulture in general. 



For the sum realised by the sale of the Coleuses a span-roofed 

 house 100 feet by 10, in every way suitable for the purpose of 

 hybridisation on an extensive scale, could be erected. The 

 house should be divided into five 20-feet compartments, one of 

 which should be used for the hybridisation of tropical plants, 

 the next for plants requiring an intermediate temperature, the 

 third for all kinds of softwooded plants, the fourth for green- 

 house and New Holland plants, and the fifth for hardy plants. 



Each compartment should be heated separately, so that the 

 supply of artificial heat might be regulated to a great nicety. 

 This would be best done by taking a flow and a return pipe 

 outside of the house from one end to the other. The pipes for 

 heating each division should have a stop-valve on the flow, and 

 also on the return, and these valves should be so placed in each 

 compartment that they could be easily reached from the inside. 



The internal arrangement of the structure should consist of 

 a walk 3 feet wide through the centre of the house, with a bench 

 3 feet 6 inches wide on each side, made of strips of deal three- 

 quarters of an inch thick, and 3 inches wide. A space of half 

 an inch should be left between these strips, so that the air, 

 which must be admitted as near the ground level as possible 

 on each side of the house, may circulate freely amongst the 

 plants after their blossoms have been fertilised. The ventilators 

 must, however, be covered with fine perforated zinc, so that all 

 insects may be excluded. The ventilators must also be made 

 to fit closely, so that the air may be excluded at the time the 

 plants are undergoing the process of fertilisation. Provision, 

 too, mast be made for tbe escape of impure air at the apex of 

 the roof. These ventilators must also be covered with finely 

 perforated zinc to exclude insects, and all the laps of the glass 

 should be puttied-up, so as to prevent the wind from blowing 

 through them, and also to prevent the admission of insects. 



If the house were plaeed so that the ends should face the east 



and west, the pipes for heating it ongbt to be arranged on the 

 south side. Over these a small pit from 4 to 7 feet wide might 

 be erected at a small additional cost, and in this large numbers 

 of the seedling plants might be grown. It would abo be found 

 invaluable for many other purposes in an establishment like 

 Chiswick, where so many plants are required for presentation 

 to Fellows of the Society, the beautifying of the gardens at 

 South Kensington, &c. 



Up to the present time too much money has been spent on 

 the gardens at South Kensington, and too little on Chiswick ; 

 but I hope better times are in store for Chiswick, and that more 

 money will in future bo granted for the proper keeping of this 

 fine old garden, which is now, under Mr. Barron's skilful 

 management, beginning to assume a position more worthy the 

 lloyal Horticultural Society. — J. Wills, F.R.H.S., Asliburnhaiu 

 Park Xiirserij, Kinij's Road, Cliclsea. 



MY ORCHARD-HOUSE JOURNAL. 



April '25th. — Finished the thinning of Apricots. So thickly 

 had they set, that a bushel of the young fruit has been gathered 

 from trees in pots. Plums have set in equal abundance, so 

 that severe thinning will have to be practised. 



M(iij 'ird. — Our first hot day, thermometer at 2 p. jr. in the 

 open air in the shade, 77° ; in the orchard house, also in shade, 

 with ventilators and doors open, 9.5°. 



May ith. — Thermometer in the open air at 2 p.m., 65°; in 

 the orchard house, 80°. In the Cherry house the earliest kinds 

 of Guignes, the Lamaurie and Guigne Trcs Prfjcoce, are com- 

 mencing to colour — a sort of pleasant foretaste of summer. 

 The fruit of Peaches and Nectarines are the size of beans, and 

 most abundant. The trees have been infested with the brown 

 aphis (Aphis persicn;), which have been easily destroyed by 

 the quassia mixture applied with a small painter's brush. — T. B. 



NEGLECTED BORDER FLOWERS. 



How refreshing it is to see that there are a few people 

 amongst us still interested in our border flowers, and, no doubt, 

 there are many more who could tell us of their pets. I trust 

 the interest in them manifested of late in the pages of " our 

 Journal," will not be suffered to flag until the delights of our 

 early days are restored to more than their original places. 



I have just now under my eye a race of the neglected ones, 

 which I have made up my mind to say a word in favour of, I 

 mean the Epimediums. We seldom see them unless we chance 

 to peep into some of our old-established nurseries, where such 

 plants are cared for. 



I am quite of opinion that the Epimediums are worthy of 

 far more extensive cultivation than at present, for they are in 

 reality spring flowers, and there is no difficulty in cultivating 

 them. Some of them also are not to be despised for in-door 

 decoration early in spring, if grown in pots for that p-rpose. 

 Especially I would instance that gem of the race called rubrum, 

 with its bright red flowers, and for a time without leaves. 



Epimediums like a moderately moist, shady situation, but 

 not close confinement, for they delight in a pure atmosphere, 

 being inhabitants of elevated situations ; they will grow in 

 many situations, and in different soils, but to have them under 

 control and in good condition, treated as follows I think they 

 will give satisfaction. 



A bed or border for their reception may be thus prepared. 

 Take out the soil to the depth of 20 inches, in the bottom place 

 a little rough drainage to carry off any superfluous or stagnant 

 water, cover the drainage with litter or other material to pre- 

 vent choking up, then fill the remaining space with compost to 

 4 inches above the ground level to allow for the soil sinking. 

 The compost which I use consists of two barrowloads of friable 

 loam, half a barrowload of good, sound, sandy peat, half a 

 barrowload of leaf mould, and a liberal sprinkling of broken 

 grit, with coarse river sand to keep it porous. Let the soil 

 of the bed settle pretty firmly before planting. 



Should it be deemed desirable to grow Epimediums in pots 

 for plunging, or otherwise, the compost named will answer for 

 them, care being taken to plnnge them in the shade, attending 

 to watering them as they may require. Sprinkling overhead 

 is beneficial to them occasionally. 



There are several kinds worthy of cultivation. The fol- 

 lowing are what I consider the best of the race, bat tastes 

 vary : — Epimedium alpinum, red and yellow ; E. grandiflorum, 

 white ; E. maoranthum, white ; E. sulphurenm, yellow ; E. pin- 



