May 23, 1M8. 1 



JOURNAL OF HOBTIOULT0RB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



an 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



MAY 21-87, : 



Show of Royal Unrt. Sonioty of Ireland. 

 Royal .\cricuUuriil Society, (lenoral 

 C'rystul Pii1hc»( Show. [Mooting. 



1 SOSHAV AFTBR ASCENSION. 



Aonivursiiry Mooting of Linnenn and 



[Knyrtl Gt'Ogriipbioal Sooietioft. 



Roval Botanic Socioty's 9bow opens ; 



f.Mootins of Royal Agricultural Society. 



AToraso Tomporatore 

 near London. 



Day. 



66.5 



C7.!) 

 67.9 

 CG.li 

 67.8 

 66.8 



Ni«ht. 



4r,.i 



4-2.0 

 44.2 

 43.1! 

 43.a 



4;t.o 



44.9 



Moan 

 5.5.8 

 5i.-i 

 Gfi.O 



5.5.2 

 6Q.C 



Bain to' 



last 

 41 yeara, 



Days. 



18 

 17 

 14 

 11 

 16 

 18 

 22 



Son 

 Rieos. 



in. fa. 

 2at4 



Sun 

 Sets. 



m. h. 



:,i a» 7 



n;i 7 



.55 7 



67 7 



58 7 



59 7 

 8 



Moon 

 RlBes. 



Moos 

 Sets. 



m. h. 



4a{4 

 .17 4 



m. h 



47af« 

 5!) 7 



9 

 10 10 



4 11 

 48 11 



morn. 



Moon's 

 Age. 



Davfl. 



29 

 • 



1 



2 



ClOOK 



niter 



8uu. 



m. 1. 



;t 3H 



3 34 



3 29 



8 28 



3 17 



3 11 



3 4 



Day 



ol 



Yeai 



142 

 143 

 144 

 146 

 14C 

 147 

 148 



From observations taken near London darinc the last forty-one years, the avorai^e day temperature of the week 18 66.9^; and its nieht 

 temporatnro 43 K\ The eroatcst heat was 89 ', on the 22nd, 1847 ; and the lowest cold 26', on the 23rd and 25tb, 18G3 ; and 23rd, 1864. The 

 greatent i^ of rain was 0.64 inoh. 



X/C?.ii^ 



A TRIO OF SIMPLICITIES. 



QUAL to the blue Lobelia as an eai'ly spring 

 decorative plant for the greenhouse or con- 

 servatory is the old but deservedly popular 

 annual, Ne.mophila inhiunis, and yet how 

 seldom we see its decorative capabilities 

 conducted in a manner worthy of the simple 

 beauty of the plant itself when anything 

 like justice is done it in respect to ordi- 

 nary cultural attention. Wiry, drawn, and 

 sickly, it may eommonl}' be seen skulking in 

 an out-of-the-way place or behind the commissariat depart- 

 ment of a more aristocratic neighbour, as if ashamed that 

 its plebeian order should be seen, or its miserable habili- 

 ments be looked on with contempt. Far less commonly is 

 it to be seen clothed in chaste and flowing drapery, neat, 

 trim, and in blooming health, standing boldly forward. I 

 challenging inspection, and reciprocating the smiles of 

 appreciation which under these circumstances will be 

 accorded to its native graoe. I will not for a moment call 

 into question the laudable ambition which animates the 

 breasts of practical gardeners and horticulturists of the 

 present da,y. The triumphs and successes which have 

 been attained are a standing monument to their skill, 

 energy, and iudustiy. But has not this spirit of emulation 

 — honest and praiseworthy all must allow it to be — had 

 a tendency to direct attention almost exclusively to the 

 higher regions of floral art ? while subjects of less impor- 

 tance have become in a measure forgotten, though they 

 are nevertheless valuable adjuncts, not merely on account 

 of their intrinsic beauty, but in many instances as forming 

 the connecting link between the dreariness of winter and 

 the profuse beauties of summer. 



. , The picture I have drawn of the Nemophila is not an 

 ideal one. For the past two months it has occupied a 

 prominent place in the house which it is my duty and 

 pleasure to keep constantly gay and bright with flowers in 

 variety. Associated with Azaleas, Camellias, Roses, Pelar- 

 goniums, Calceolarias, Cinerarias, &c., it has given a 

 diversity of form, as well as of colour, which has been 

 greatly admired. Its light airy appearance, blending in a 

 pleasing manner with the somewhat massive and stiff 

 plants associated with it, has added much to the beauty and 

 affect of the collection as a whole. For a continuous fringe 

 or edging to a mixed collection of plants in flower, nothing 

 can well be more elegant and give a more finished appear- 

 ance than a line of the blue and white varieties in mixture. 

 As a plant for a hanging basket it is extremely suitable. 

 and has a charming eft'ect. Another and important ad- 

 vantage connected with it is, that it is within the reach of 

 all wlio have a sixpence and a plot of ground to spare in 

 September. 



I sow in the first week of that month in an open place 

 in drills a foot apart, choosing a firm and rather poor piece 

 of ground in order to secure a somewhat slow and sturdy 

 growth. When well above ground the plants are thinned 

 out, leaving them singly 2 or :i inches apart. Every in- 

 dividual plant then becomes well hardened by a constant 

 "SJjjculation of air about all its parts, £ad is in a state to 



Jlo. 373.— Vol. 5J7., New Seees 



resist the effects of any ordinary \vintcr. If left in the 

 rows nnthiunod the centres of the plants will become drawn 

 and tender, and the whole of the sowing will be .sure to be 

 killed by frost. 



The plants wliich are intended for window decoratioa 

 arc potted in (i-inch pots, and plunged in ashes in a colli 

 frame, giving them all the sun and air possible, and closuag 

 the sashes only in extremely wet and boisterous weather. 

 Close confinement and tender nursing are ruinous to them. 

 In .January they are transferred to a very light and airy 

 .shelf in the greenhouse. In February they will commonoe 

 to open their flowers, and during the latter part of the 

 month and throughout March and April they wUl continue 

 masses of chaste beauty, falling over the pots in folds and 

 tresses of the most delicate colour and texture. To keep 

 them, however, in health and in continuous bloom for this 

 lengtli of time attention must be paid to watering. If once 

 allowed to become very dry the foliage turns yellow and 

 sickly, and the beauty of the plants is gone. They are 

 quite worthy of an occasional dose of liquid manure, which 

 improves the colour of the flowers, and prolongs their sea- 

 son very oonsiderably. 



The plants which are not required for in-door efl'ect are 

 left in the seed bed, and transplanted to the flower garden 

 in March. If planted on the massing system for an early 

 display, tliey should be packed in the beds as closely as 

 possible. A bed of them here (April 2!nh), in a north- 

 west aspect in lat. 5o' N. is covered with bloom, pre- 

 sents a cheerful appearance, and is much admired. 

 Plants raised from seed sown in spring are poor in com- 

 parison to those sown in the autumn. They do not even 

 approach thcra in size, colour, or duration. 



Much of thnt which I have stated with regard to the 

 NemophUn will apply to my next simplicity — Coij.inhia 

 vEnNA. This is distinct from all others of the family. It 

 is more hardy than they, and possesses the important 

 property of flowering much earlier. It is worthy of uni- 

 versal cultivation. From the humble plot of the artisan 

 to the elaborate parterres of ducal gardens, its vernal 

 beauty entitles it to a place where it will hold its own 

 amongst the limited floral surroundings which exist at 

 Ihe season of its blooming. A few well-grown potfuls in a 

 conservatory during March are sure to attract attention. 



The cultural attention may be precisely the same as for 

 the Nemophila, except as to sowing. Considerable mois- 

 ture, constant and uniform, is nocessaiy to insure germi- 

 nation. The ground at the season of sowing — the end'of 

 August — cannot be depended on to afford these essentials. 

 The plan I find the best is to sow in pots, which are kept 

 standing in saucers of water. Requisite moisture is thus 

 supplied by capillary attraction. The pots are placed in 

 a cold frame, and shaded until the seedliage appear. When 

 these are faudy up they must be pricked out in the open 

 garden, or in pots if a few are desii-ed to Woom in-doois. 

 Their great enemies are slugs. From.tiie persistency oi 

 their attacks, and their determination to break tlirough 

 the ordinary barriers of soot, lime, guano, &c., tliis plant 

 must be a dainty dish to them. My sheet-anchor is to 

 saturate some sawdust with gas tar, and lay a band of it 

 No, 1025,— ToLi SSXIS., Ou> Sesies 



