Febrnwy 20, 1873. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEfi. 



163 



the best six Roses for general purposes. It is clear that some 

 Roses are very capricious ; for, singular to say, whilst both 

 La France and Marie Baumann grow and open here as well as 

 I could desire, I can do nothing at all with either Souvenir de 

 la Malmaison or Triompbe de Rennes in. the open ground. I 

 have tried Souvenir de la Malmaison on Briar, Manetti, and its 

 own roots, but, although the plants have grown well, I have 

 never been able above once or twice to get the buds to open ; 

 they always go-off brown instead of expanding. As to Triomphe 

 de Rennes, it will not even grow here in the open ground. I 

 have tried it on Briar, Manetti, and its own roots with the same ' 



result — viz., weak wood, invariable shedding of the foliage as 

 soon as it is fully expanded, and consequent diminutive flower 

 buds, most of which do not open. I am glad to be able to 

 add, however, that having at last tried it as a pot-plant on 

 the Briar I now get sound healthy wood, persistent foliage, 

 and fine blooms. I take this opportunitj' of recommending 

 Marie Van Houtte (a Tea of 1871) as a pot-plant for early 

 forcing. I have had some beautiful blooms of it. In shape 

 and fulness they reminded me of Madame Bravy, but the 

 colour is a pale primrose or sulphur. It is a very nice Rose 

 indeed, and quite distinct. — R. B. P. 



NEW ZEALAND DEAC^NAS.— No. 2. 



Dracjena ahsthai-iSi — The subject of these few notes is a 

 fitting companion to its nearly-related species from New 

 Zealand, upon which a few remarks appeared at page 8 of the 

 present volume. It rejoices in the various names of Cordy- 

 line australis, Charl- 

 woodia austraUs, 

 and Dracsenopsis 

 australis. The last 

 name is considered 

 the most correct, 

 having been sepa- 

 rated from the old 

 genus Dracffina by 

 Dr. Planchon. The 

 new genus is cha- 

 racterised by a 

 " six-parted mar- 

 cescent campanulate 

 perianth, with the 

 segments biseriate ; 

 six stamens inserted 

 at the base of the 

 perianth segments ; 

 a three-celled ovary, 

 ■with many ovules iu 

 each cell ; and a pea- 

 shaped berry con- 

 taining several seeds 

 in each of its three 

 cells." So much for 

 the botanical part of 

 the subject, which 

 I do not fancy will 

 be a sufficiently 

 powerful argument 

 for the amateurs of 

 the present genera- 

 tion to adopt the 

 genus ; but if we do 

 not adopt it our- 

 selves we must im- 

 press it upon the 

 minds of those who 

 are younger aspirants to fame in the horticultural world. 



I will now say a few words upon this plant in a cultural 

 way. The illustration, I must say, does not give a sufficiently 

 good idea of the plant's beauty, for it certainly must be 

 ranked amongst the most beautiful ornaments of a green- 

 house or conservatory at any season, the intense rich deep 

 ETeen of its leaves affording a relief to the eyes, be it at mid- 

 summer when the glaring sun has nearly dazzled us, or when 



Dracsna australis. 



the snow hes deep upon the ground, aa it does while I write. 

 It is always presentable, always chai'ming, and therefore to all 

 who have room I say, Seciu'e a plant of this my favourite 

 plain-leaved Dracsena. This species is not so hardy as its re- 

 latives before no- 

 ticed — at least that 

 has been my expe- 

 rience with it, and 

 therefore I would 

 not advise its use 

 in the open air 

 during summer, be- 

 cause I have noticed 

 its broad and some- 

 what soft leaves are 

 apt to become bent 

 down and broken by 

 winds that leave 

 such kinds as D. in- 

 divisa and D. line- 

 ata unscathed, and 

 when this occurs the 

 symmetrical beauty 

 of the plant is gone. 

 It is a noble plant, 

 producing leaves 

 some 2 or 3 feet in 

 length, and nearly 

 4 inches in breadth ; 

 in shape they are ob- 

 long lanceolate, and 

 in colour rich bright 

 green. It carries a 

 splendid crown of 

 leaves, and, as before 

 remarked, is one of 

 the most beautiful 

 ornaments for a cool 

 house. In potting 

 drain well, and let 

 the soil be a mix- 

 ture of peat and 

 loam, adding to it a 

 fair proportion of silver sand ; or, when this cannot be pro- 

 cured, sharp river sand, or even road scrapings will be found 

 equally serviceable for the majority of plants, although it is 

 not so good for the purpose of propagation : therefore, my 

 fair amateur readers, be not dismayed if you cannot procure 

 the best (that is Reigate) sand to keep the soil open and 

 porous, for any kind that is free from mud wUl suit the New 

 Zealand Dracsnas. — Expekto Ceede. 



EVENING MUSINGS FOE PLAIN PEOPLE.— No, 1. 



A viMEET, large or small as the case may be, is becoming a 

 common adjunct to the residences of almost every class whose 

 means enable them to have these very enjoyable structures. 

 Enjoyable they certainly are, and also beneficial; and perhaps 

 their pleasures and benefits are felt by no class of men more 

 than those in office pent aU day long, whose mental work, 

 insidiously enervating, calls for a change giving repose from 

 the business or professional strain which their vocation entails. 

 The real benefits that a garden affords in this respect are 

 immensurable and incalculable. Hundreds can bear testimony 

 to this amongst clergy, lawyers, doctors, and others, who have 

 their respective happy hunting grounds amongst Boses, Gla- 



dioli, hardy fruits, or in-door plants and Vines. Instances of 

 this have come under my special notice within a radius of a 

 very few miles, and which are only samples of the great aggre- 

 gate niunber spread over the whole countrj-. Not long ago, in 

 looking into an amateur's vinery, the owner's son remarked, 

 " This is my father's great solatium. I don't know what we 

 should do without it. He used to come home with the anxie- 

 ties and responsibilities of his business pressing heavily on 

 him, making him sometimes morose and iiTitable. He now 

 comes home and spends an hour here in picking, potting, 

 watering, and training. He forgets the cares of business, and 

 is better, and we are better too." Another, a medical man of 



