July t, 1865. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



vSo fiu- for the first. Aa to the second, fair ladies ! what 

 could have porsuaderl you so to honour it ? There was neither 

 tasto nor beauty Mat as a Cliiililcau plain. .Viid then the 

 lines of yellow, blue, red, and white! It is (luito true there 

 wiw no obstiuetion ; but pooplo do not ^;euerally talk across the 

 table, and now that the old fashion of lU-iukiu;; wino toKether 

 faas gone out there is no need of this ttatness ; so that I do not 

 see the force of the objection which this table aiijiarently was 

 intended to meet— that the view is generally too much ob- 

 structed. There is a medium in ;U1 things, but the extremes 

 of flatness and overcrowding were to be seen in the second and 

 first prizes. 



As to the thiid, the elaborateness of the design and the 

 minuteness of tho details were contrary to that simple elegance 

 in which true, genuine, refined taste so much consists. A 

 mirror set in a gilt frame with glass stands placed on it, and 

 crowded with Fenis, Stephanotis, and Orchids, is not to my 

 mind the sort of thing one wants to see. Indeed, amongst the 

 unsuccessful tables were many which in my poor opinion were 

 far beyond those which were honoured ; and were I asked to 

 sit down at one of them I should most fervently hope that the 

 taste of tho die/ was better than that of the dresser of the 

 table, for if not. I should look for a fit of iudigcBtion. It some- 

 times happens that when people iniiigiue that there is some- 

 thing extra reipiirod of them, that they fail through excess oi 

 painstaking. I have Imown preachers to whom one has listened 

 often with pleasure, when called upon for some special occasion 

 become so imuatural, so imlike themselves, that one could 

 only regret they had ever been called upon to undertake tho 

 sermon. The young lady whom you have listened to with such 

 pleasure as she perfonued her morning's practice, when called 

 upon before a large uimiber surprises you not so much by the 

 briUiancy of lier singing as by the unnatural and stilted cha- 

 racter of her performance. And so the other day in Paa-is at 

 Lady 's, the dinner table, arranged doubtless in its ordi- 

 nary method for a diner a la Russe, was far more effective and 

 elegant than anything I saw at South Kensington. In these 

 observations I am only uttering my omi individual opinion. 

 My canons of taste may be wrong, but judged by them I say 

 that all the tables exhibited were defective. — D., Deal. 



HOSES -VNr> strawberuies. 



Roses. — The Editors and •' D.," of Deal, are right about 

 Duchesse de Caylus. It is a splendid first-class Rose, of great 

 substance, beautiful clear colour, and excellent outline and 

 folding. It bloomed on Sunday, the 25tli of .luue, and has 

 stood the broiling sim for three days without impression. Its 

 colom' is rich brilliant scarlet crimson. Its declining colour is 

 rich clear pink. Mr. Adolphus Kent is hurc, and we cut up 

 the plant and budded it on briars. Ilushton Radclyfi'e is a 

 fine, well-formed, full Rose, a strong grower, with good foliage, 

 and an abundant bloomer, opening easily. These are very 

 beautiful Roses : Lords Herbert, Maoaulay, and Clyde. The 

 first is full and beautifully folded, aud of correct outline. The 

 last two are of greater substance, and very beautiful and good. 

 Lefebvre, Lords ilacaulay and Clyde, Senateur Vaisse, and 

 Gloire dc Santenay are of great substance, and resist the sun 

 well. The above five new Roses may be added safely to the 

 five previously recommended. The next best and good are 

 Alpaide de Rotalier, a larger and improved " old Cabbage " Rose, 

 Leopold I., George Prince, and Madame Derreulx DouviUe. I 

 should hke to see them bloom once more before confidently 

 recommending them. All that I have named in this paper are 

 good growers. 



I cut twenty-four trebles to please Mr. Kent on Tuesday 

 morning at .5 a.m. ; they were good. The trebles of Charles 

 Lefebvre, Gloire de Santenay, aud Senateur Vaisse were fine. 



Stiuwbekbies. — As regards Lord Clyde, I had only two plants 

 of it, and being under a hot south wall, the blooms happened to 

 come out early, and were destroyed by a very severe frost. I 

 was amused at M. Van Houtte's very ftattering notice of me in 

 his catalogue. He says of me, '• He is the most experienced and 

 best judge of Strawberries in England." " He is the most caustic 

 and picturesque WTiter, sparing no one ; neither in prose nor 

 in verse." "Till this great judge says, ' To be, or not to be,' 

 raisers are in a state of the greatest anxiety." I can only say 

 that " from the sublime to the ridiculous there is but a step." 

 What I said of Lord Clyde and John Powell was this : — " They 

 were the best novelties here, and were rich aud good." Of 

 John Powell I have about forty plants, and ca:i now speak of it 



confidently. The form of plant is excellent; it has set its 

 fruit well. The berries are of good size, beautiful clear crim- 

 son, and of deliciims flavour. It has cropped well. 



In a few days, after I have tasted Mr. Ingram's No. 10, I will 

 send to 171, Fleet Street, a short StrawbeiTy treatise, as rc- 

 (piested by a clergyman. — W. F. IUjjclyife, Tarrant RwshUm, 

 ISlandford. 



W.VTEUING .MELONS TO AVOID THEIR DECAY. 



My Melons have hitherto succeeded excellently and are now 

 ripening; but instead of ripening all over at one time, ; they 

 decay at one end before the other end is ripe, so that the fruit 

 are scarcely fit ior table. — P. D. 



[In watcrnggive water to the roots without poming it on the 

 surface, and even then if the weather continues cquaUy sunny 

 place a piece of thin paper over the Melons during the hottefjt 

 hoiurs of the day.] 



THE laTCHEN GARDEN. 



I'EBnrAUY. 

 This, if the weather is r.t all favourable, will be a busy 

 month, but it is bail practice to work the groimd when enow 

 or rain has made it sloppy. During frosty weather, should 

 it occur, the mauure can be wheeled without injury to the 

 walks, and the Pea-rods all pointed and stored separately in 

 their different lengths. The priming of the fruit trees, if it has 

 not been done before, should also be performed, and when all 

 are pnined I generally paint them over with a mixture of 

 lime, sulphur, and soot, of a very thin consistency, in order to 

 keep down the moss, and to act as a preventive against the 

 ravages of the small birds on the fruit-buds. A handy man 

 with an ordinary- whitewash brush will soon go over a great 

 number of bushes, after which, the ground between them 

 being forked, all wUl look neat and clean. During vei-y bad 

 weather one can get the labels made, painted, and written to 

 each separate packet of seed, which ought to be in by this 

 time. I generally obtain mine from an old-estabhshed firm a 

 good distance off, where I know most of the seeds aie home- 

 grown, and all to be depended on, as I consider it is a very 

 good plan to prociu'e them fi-om a distance, for the change 

 of sou and cUmate is beneficial. I seldom attempt to save 

 seed of any kind myself, except a few Potatoes, which it is 

 almost impossible to buy properly matm-ed and greened ready 

 for planting for an early crop. 



Everything must now come up that can possibly be spared, 

 such as Turnips, .Colewort stomps. Savoys, &c., and the 

 groimd be manured and trenched, or dug, ready for the main 

 crops, not forgetting when clearing off the Turnip bed to lay 

 a few in some sheltered corner, where, with a little protection, 

 they mil yield a good dish or two of Turnip gi-eens, which 

 will afford an acceptable variety in the vegetable supply at 

 this season. Savoys, too, may be kept on some time longer 

 with a little management. A very good plan with them is 

 to place two rows of Pea-rods opposite to each other, at an 

 angle of 45° ; throwing over them a little rough litter, and 

 placing more sticks crossways to keep on the protecting 

 material. As the Winter Spinach bed will now be the 

 mainstay, it must be well looked after by loosening the gromi<l 

 between the rows, &c ; autumn-planted Cabbages the same. 

 All intended plantations of Horseradish, Mint, and herbs, 

 ought now to be pushed along, if not done before. In fact, -me 

 must seize time by the forelock and hold him fast till the 

 beginning of May, when, if you have nothing else to do, yoa 

 may rest and contemplate yoiu- handiwork of the two pre- 

 cedrng months. 



The supply at this time generally consists of Brussels 

 Sprouts, Spinach, Savoys, Turnip Greens. Coleworts. Kale of 

 1 sorts, Sprouting Broccoli, and Winter White Broccoli, if so 

 fortunate as to have any that have stood the severity of the 

 weather. With salading very little can be done, except with 

 that under protection, as Celery, Lettuce, Endive, and Mustard 

 and Cress. Several tilings may now be sown mth a chance of 

 success. Should some of them fail, sow them again directly, a 

 good gardener is never down-hearted ; but be sure to select diy 

 sunny days for sowing. 



I generally sow a pan of Cole's Crystal White Celeiy, and a 

 pinch of Cauliflower seed, and pub them in one of the pits. In 

 the beginning of the month I sow two rows of Dickson's 

 Favom-ite Peas, and, before the month is out, two rows of 



