AagSEt 15, 1865. 2 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



123 



ing the \vall» is the path. Without a single exceiiticn the Ferns 

 in tank, roekwork, border, and walls are more vigorous, and 

 grow more as if thoy enjoyed growing, than in any other fernery 

 I ever visited. Tho Ferns on the walls are the liest evidences 

 of this, for they are tliu progeny of the species cultivated in 

 the border and roekwork. These have all riiienud their spores, 

 and wherever these are dispersed, there they vegetate ; and 

 the moist air, the sulidued light, the genhil temperature, and 

 the good cultivation, make them flourish as well as they could 

 flourish in their fathorliiud. 



They arc not merely Ferns of everyday occurrence, but many 

 of them of the rarer and less easily cultivated species._ How- 

 ever, that my readers may judge for themselves, here is a list 

 of them : — 



Ac'vophorus liispiilus Gymno(,Tftinnia chrysoiiliylla 



.iOiuntum capUlus- Veneris licmviiuuv, imr. argyropliylliv 



cultriitum Wetonhalliivnii 



cunfiitum Ilymenodium crinitum 



c'urvatura Liistrea Filix-iuas, far. cristata 



laacrophyllnm ^'labella 



peilatum Lygcidiuni jaixinicum 



pube^oelis volnbile 



rlinmhoidomn Ncphriuliuiil cxaltatum 



trapi'zifovmc Onyohiiim japnnicum 



variuiu Phlebodiiun sporodncarpum 



.\nKiopteris i-vc^c-ta Platyloma t-ordatum 



.\splenitun bnlbiterum Pleopcltis leiorhiza 



diinorphiuu Polystichum annulare, mr. n ol- 



flacciduin lastoui 



racbirhizi.il Pteris arguta 



Cheil mthos dealbata ai-gjTica 



clogans cretica 



C\Ttomiura falcatuin erotica albo-liiieata 



Davallia dissecta lonsafolii 



pi-ntnphvlla trcmiila 



tciiiiifolia tricolor 



Gleiciienia microphylla Stenocbljeua teniiifolia, var. na- 



Goniopblehium appeudiculatum talensis 



subauriciUatum Woodwardia radicans 



Of Lycopods there are — 

 Sela(?inella ciesia Selaginella obtusa 



densa stolouifera 



delicatissiiiia ^Vildenovii 



lepidophyUa 



What else I saw and gained must be left untold until I can 

 again sit down to make farther jottings. — G. 



MILDEW ON KOSES. 



I UAVE reaJ " A. Couxtky Curate's " article at page 105. 

 Mildew, or more properly white fungus, has affected my Roses 

 this season but little, and that chiefly under hot walls. My 

 Koses in both my gardens, respectively with west and north- 

 east aspects, on the briar, on their own roots, and on the 

 Manetti, have suffered immensely from orange fungus, which, 

 as the nucleus is formed on the under side of the leaf, is more 

 difficult to cm-e than white fimgus, known as mildew — literally 

 honeydew — which occurs chiefly on a new branchlet and foliage, 

 on the upper sides of the leaves. As regards orange fungus, 

 I at first attempted to stop it by the removal of the diseased 

 leaf: but ou examination of my plants I found it so abundant 

 and umvjjrsal that I gave it up. It ran its course ; and though 

 I had a magnificent first bloom, the fungus spread so tho- 

 roughly over the leaves as to destroy them in detail. The 

 plants aiv now new-foliaged and doing well, and I expect good 

 and continuous full bftom. The Manetti Roses only ceased 

 blooming about one week. 



I pass from orange fungus, skipping over " black patch," of 

 which I have had none this year, to speak of mildew. Mildew 

 is called the " daughter of di-ought." Why so ? Not because 

 drouglit ss a " creator ef the fungus,'' Init an assistant to its 

 rooting .and development. If Rose plants were always suffi- 

 ciently supplied with water at the roots, and the spores con- 

 tinually washed off the leaves, the fungus could not talie root. 

 For lack of these two conditions mildew has been called the 

 " daiigliter of di'ought." .4.s well may we say it was the 

 daujfuter of " the fortuitous concuiTence of atoms." Drought 

 predisposes or prepares the tree for its rooting ; and the atmo- 

 sphere, such as would be suitable for Mushrooms, aids its 

 development. '^Tion the roots are not suificiently supplied 

 with water, the juices of the tree eliminated at the leaves (new 

 leaves), become sticky., and cause the fungus to adhere ; and 

 in due time, the tender leaves being spongy, and not firm and 

 close ia texture, the fungus roots into the leaves. This is the 

 xeal reason why mili'tew should be called the " daughter of 

 flioaglfi-" The leawet of some sortf are closer than others. 



The glazed or semi-glazed leaves, such as Duchess of Norfolk, 

 Solfaterre, and Triomphe de Rennes, have suffered nothing 

 from any kind of fimg\is. In both my gardens the hard-leaved 

 Duchess has retained the beauty of her foliage. I cannot re- 

 member ever seeing her with lilighl or fungus of any kind. 

 The Itoses most subject to mildew of any here are the Gcant 

 and Baronne Hallez. Still, if the fungus is about or floating 

 in the air, it will, if it pitches on the tender and sticky follicles 

 of any Rose, abide there, unless washed off, till the atmosphere 

 favours its rooting and develojiment. 



Prevention is better than cure : therefore keep the plantg 

 watered at the root and syringed over the leaves. ^ I may say, 

 in passing, that tho miseries of trees or plants, whether out of 

 doors or under glass, arise greatly from not keeping the foliage 

 dean. Where people have only a few Roses to attend to, the 

 best way to stop it is to rub it off with the thumb in its early 

 stage before it has rooted deeply into the leaves. Even then 

 you can destroy it by so doing, or it might be sponged off. 

 Young pot plants reared imder glass usually come with fungoid 

 cUsease, imperceptible to the eye, about them. These should 

 be kept well syringed, and should not be jdanted under hot 

 walls, or in situations that are not airy. Sulphur, I see, is re- 

 commended ; but sulphur, unless quicldy washed off, will do 

 tho same mischief as the fungus : it will stop the pores of the 

 leaves, and, if the weather is very hot, it will burn the foliage. _ 

 An alistergent lotion is best. The two ounces of blue vitriol 

 should be thoroughly dissolved with hot water, and then added 

 to the cold. I never knew it afl'ect the leaves, as stated by 

 " A Country Cur.vte." Gishurst compound I liave never tried. 

 I have seen high testimonials in favour of Toogood's hquid, 

 but this I have never used. 



As regards stocks, I imagine that there is but little difference. 

 I have a lot of fine plants of Souvenir de ^lalmaison on their 

 own roots, and also on Manetti, under my south wall. They 

 suffered much and alike ; I could see no difference. It de- 

 pends, I beUeve, chiefly on the state of the plant, its foliage, and 

 atmospherical circumstances. In the human body we know 

 there are at times predisposing causes to fungoid diseases. 



In conclusion, if " A Country Curate " had not speedily 

 washed off Gishurst compound he would probably have had to 

 make a complaint ; and had he thoroughly dissolved the %-itriol 

 with hot water, so as to leave no grit, he would not have had 

 to complain of a simple, safe, and efficacious cure. — W. E. 

 R.u)CLYTrE, Tarrant liuslitun. 



BEDDING ANNUALS. 



In seedsmen's catalogues, and in your advertising columns, 

 I have often seen annuals recommended for bediling purposes, 

 but with the exception of one or two kinds, I myself have never 

 been able to obtain satisfactory results with them. It was, 

 therefore, with considerable anticipation of pleasure that I 

 resolved to visit the coUectiou of annuals which Messrs. Hooper 

 advertise to be seen in " the gardens of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society, South Kensington, where their beauty and adaptabihty 

 as bedding plants is successfully Ulustrated." I have paid' 

 my visit, and return appreciating more than ever the force of 

 that unrecorded beatitude, which blesses him " who expecteth 

 little, for he shall not be disappointed." I doubt if there are 

 many lovers of the well-abused bedding system who would be 

 pleased with that modicum of success which satisfies the Messrs. 

 Hooper ; and yet I fear that as a rule greater success is not to 

 be attained with annuals .alone. 



There is, however, among Messrs. Hooper's beds one filled 

 with Linimi grauthflorum rubrum, which, from its mode of 

 cultivation, presents an undeservedly shabby appearance. The 

 Liuum appears to have been treated as a half-hardy annual, 

 sown under protection, and planted out ; it was planted too 

 thinly at first, and it shows this all the more where plants 

 have died too late in the season to be replaced. I find this 

 Linum does best treated as a hardy annual ; I sow in rows 

 1-2 inches apart, and if the seed does not germinate regularly, 

 take plants from where they have come up thicldy to where the 

 rows are thin. Early in the summer, before the Geranium 

 and Verbena beds are well filled up, the rows in my bed of 

 Linum have ceased to be visible, and tho plants are a mass of 

 bloom ; and late in the autumn, Avhen other beds are bare, the 

 Linum still sends out fresh crops of blossoms whenever the 

 frosts permit. I know nothing more gorgeous than this plant 

 on a bright s unn y morning when it is properly massed, and it 

 would, I am sure,' be much more extensively used if it were only 



