#e!)raary 13, 1873. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENES, 



141 



to this day these labela are as imimpaired, and the writing ag 

 distinct, as they were when attached to the trees: 



The Gorrie tally is a plate of ziuc on which the name of the 

 plant is written, and this is fitted into a galvanised iron frame, 

 which has a long stem of twisted stout galvanised wire termi- 

 nated by a round foot, which keeps the tally firm in the ground, 

 and prevents it from being removed except by a special effort. 

 The material of which the tally is composed, with the excep- 

 tion of the zino plate, being entirely of this stout galvanised 

 wire, it is not liable to decay incident to wood and cast iron ; 

 and being somewhat elastic and yielding to pressure, it resists 

 with impunity the accidents arising from tools and wheel- 

 barrows coming violently in contact with it. This tally is 

 made of various sizes. The largest is 1 foot 9 inches high, and 

 is called the " Arboretum Tally." For such establishments as 

 Kew, and other largo places where arboretums exist, this would 

 be invaluable. Then there are the " Eosery Tally," 1.5 inches 

 high; the "Herbaceous Plant Tally," a foot high; and the 

 " Alpine Tally," inches high. 



coddling would suit it well. People try to grow it, believe all 

 that they have heard about it, try the nostrums, and as a con- 

 sequence fail. There is one thing I am persuaded of — that the 

 most rational way of growing it is not to use a highly stimu- 

 lating compost for the winter potting, and then to top-dress 

 richly iu the month of February. I have had more success in 

 growing them since I adopted this plan than I ever had before ; 

 the flowers have been large and at the same time quite in 

 character, the foliage clean and vigorous, and the death-rate 

 smaller. 



It will be remembered that we had, very early in the winter 

 of 1871, a very sharp frost, which was in my opinion favour- 

 able to the Auricula. It checked any premature attempts at 

 blooming, and, where the precaution of well covering the frames 

 is adopted, frost is iu no way injurious to the Auricula. Damp 

 is its great enemy, and when that is combined with a warm 

 atmosphere the Auricula suffers. At the time of top-dressing, 

 my plants looked stout and promising ; and although an out- 

 sider would think them then as unlikely to do much, yet a 



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For this ingenious and well-contrived garden appUance the 

 pubhc are indebted to Mr. William Gorrie, of Edinburgh ; and 

 it is through the courtesy of Messrs. Little & Ballantyne, of 

 Carlisle, who are agents for the sale of them, that we are 

 enabled to lay both descriptions and illustrations of them before 

 our readers. 



THE AUBICULA BLOOM OF 1872. 

 I HAVE had long experience as an Auricula grower, extending 

 now over five and thirty years, but I do not recollect in all 

 that time a more favourable season for the Auricula than that 

 of 1872. I have never seen flowers more thoroughly in charac- 

 ter — large without being coarse, and foliage vigorous but not 

 rampant. Certainly my own collection never was so good or 

 did me such good service. With the exception of the year 

 when the National Auricula Show was held some years ago 

 at the Royal Botanic Society's at the Regent's Park, so many 

 have not been exhibited at one time as at the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society's Show on April 19th, when the Society's prizes 

 and those offered by the Metropolitan Floral Society were com- 

 peted for ; not but that there is room for many more exhibitors, 

 and I for one Would gladly hail such an accession of new 

 men as would throw more vigour into the competition. I do 

 not believe the plant is so difficult to grow as many have 

 declared, and that a little more simplicity and a little less 



grower knows that if you have a good stout collar to your 

 plants they will soon develope into fine plants. The spring 

 frosts that we had did not injure plants which were protected 

 in frames, however injurious they were to fruit-tree blossoms ; 

 and by blooming-time the trusses were well developed, and the 

 position I was enabled to take at the exhibitions showed that 

 my anticipations had been correct. A few notes on the varie- 

 ties exhibited may perhaps be interesting to those who care 

 for this lovely spring flower. 



Green-edged varieties are never so numerous as the grey- 

 edged varieties, and therefore I was glad to see a new flower of 

 Mr. Headly's, which, if i be a good grower, is likely to be 

 an acquisition^Alderman Wisbey : it is a little rough on the 

 edge, but is otherwise fine. One of the best green-edged flowers 

 exhibited was Traill's Mayflower ; as shown it bore some ana- 

 logy to a good Oliver's Lovely Anne, but was better than that 

 variety. Colonel Taylor was once exhibited, and only once, 

 and hardly, I think, merits the high opinion that is entertained 

 of it. Smith's Lycurgus was very fine, but the plant has a 

 pecuhar faihng of gumming its leaves together, and mine were 

 affected in that way. Hudson's Apollo did not do well with 

 me, but I had several fine blooms of Traill's General Neill, 

 although they were over before the exhibition day. It is an 

 admirable grower, produces offsets freely, and is a very neat- 

 flowered plant. 



In Grey edges Headly's George Lightbody unquestionably 



