Kovember i!8, 1805. ] JOUBNAL OX'' HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



iil 



TiiALiCTUBM ANEMONOiBKS PLENUM is quito a gom, ttnd not 

 less so aro T. iiliiimira and T. luiuilogifulium. Peat, loam, 

 and sand, with grit, in moist fissuroB. 



TniFoLiu.M Ai.piNUM, liabit dwarf, and prostrate ; flower- 

 heads large; roso-ooloured. Loam and grit woU drained. 



Vkuonica CANiiiu.v, loavos white, fine alilio for roolvwork and 

 ribbon borders. It will became a favourite. V. saxitalis, pro- 

 cumbent, Howers blue ; alpestris, aljjina, bcllidifolia, and mari- 

 tima aro fine. Loam and grit kept moist. 



ViciA AUGENfKA IS anotUor hardy white or silvery-foliagad 

 plant, with whitish flowers voinud with purple, V. sylvatica 

 is common enough, but very beautiful, rambling over rockwork, 

 and festoonuig trees, and producing an abundance of white 

 flowers pencilled with purple or blue. Loam, leaf soil, and grit. 



ViNCA uF.niiACKA, V. major, aud V. minor, in varieties, aro 

 suitable for partially shaded places. 



Viola.— In this goiuis wo have V. hiflora, yellow ; V. calca- 

 rata, lavender ; and V. cornuta, variable in colour, in some 

 soils slate-coloured, in others blue, whilst in others again it 

 is more or less of a bluish purple. It is a neat plant for edg.ng 

 beds, continuing in bloom from spring to autumn. Loam and 

 sand, partially sliaded. 



WuLi.'ENiA 'oAuiNriiiAiA.— Purplish blue ; loam, leaf mould, 

 and sand kept moist.- — G. Aueey. 



yet other plants did very well. I have on former oceasionB 

 expressed my opinion that this class of Geraniums do best 

 in a soil where Rhododendrons flourish, but that should not 

 have prevented their grovcing tolerably woU in 18G.5 where 

 tliey had done so years before. 



In conclusion, I expect that some of us will live to see the 

 golden Geraniums, which form so useful a section for flower 

 garden decoration, superseded by something else equal in 

 habit and colour and more hardy, something that will not 

 annoy us with the inclination to flower, which Cineraria mari- 

 tima'has, and which forms so serious a drawback to its use. A 

 compact low-growing plant with foliage somewhat of the colour 

 of the leaf of the common Laurel when well ripened, would be 

 an acquisition. Could not some of the Violas or Ajugaa be 

 coaxed into this condition ?^J. IIodson. 



FAILURE OF 



GOLDEN-EDGED 



IN IHIio. 



GER.\NIUMS 



I AM glad to ace that Mr. Fish and others of your correspondent? 

 have recorded their experience with golden-edged Geraniums 

 during the past season, and I now send my mite of information 

 on the same subject. Unfortunately, I am obliged to join the 

 list of those who feel (hsappointed witli these Geraniums, ^f or 

 they have not been at all satisfactory, although the season has 

 been favourable for almost everytliiug else, aud the situation 

 where many of them were planted was what I expected would 

 have insured too rarik growth, rather than the reverse. Such, 

 however, has not been the case, and like one of your corre- 

 spondents, I found'several of the plants little or no larger when 

 taken up in October than when they were planted in May. Nor 

 can I attribute their failure to planting out too soon, for we 

 seldom had such a favourable time for doing this work, the 

 month of Jlay being showery, and most plants succeeded well ; 

 in fact, I think what little growth they did make was made iu 

 Jime, which was an exceedingly hot and dry month ; but iu 

 July and August we had showery, though warm, growing, wea- 

 ther, yet golden-leaved Geraniums certainly made less progress 

 than anything else. This want of vigour seemed to be com- 

 mon to "all the kinds which I grew— viz.. Golden Chain, Golden 

 Fleece, and Cloth of Gold, with one or two others differing but 

 little if at aU from Golden Chain. They were planted in all 

 situations, many in beds of fresh maiden loam that had been 

 excellent meadow land only twelve months ago, and yet they 

 did no better than the others. Two rows of Golden Chain, 

 each about COO feet long, consisting of old plants that had not 

 been forced or otherwise exhausted before planting out, and 

 which I expected woiild have groT>-n on rapidly and afforded a 

 good batch of cuttings by the end of August, scarcely gave 

 any. Cloth of Gold and Golden Fleece were much the same. 

 Now, I ask, To what is this to be attributed ? Other Geraniums 

 by the side of them giew almost too vigorously, and the same 

 may be said of other plants. Of course, we do not expect the 

 same luxuriance from a vai'icgated Geranium as from a plain- 

 leaved one, but when the latter flomishes more than usually 

 well, we expect that the less robust varieties should not suc- 

 ceed worse than in ordinary years. In the present, I am 

 constrained to say that the golden varieties have done worse 

 than generally, while the sUver-edged ones have done well. 



It is somewhat difficult to suggest a reason for the failure, it 

 is, perhaps, hai-dly fair to caU a case like mine a failure, stiU 

 they did not succeed so well as they ought to have done, some 

 plants iu less favom-ed situations absolutely becoming smaller. 

 Can it be that new varieties are wanted? Golden Chain is 

 certainly an old one, and I should like some one to give its 

 history. I have occasionally seen a golden-edged Geranium 

 for thirty years and more. Was it the golden Geranium of 

 the present day ? If so, its term of years may be safely said 

 to be expiring fast ; yet, usually, there is no disease, even in 

 the past summer few plants died, their growth only remained 

 stationary, as if there was something at fault either in the soil 

 or atmosphere ; in my case it must have been in the latter, aud 



CYCTLAMENS. 

 JIv attention having been repeatedly called to Mr. G. Abbey's 

 paper on the above tribe in your Number for October 10th, ia 

 which he speaks of mo as the late Mr. .T. Atkins, I beg to 

 assiu-e him and my distant friends that I am still in the land 

 of the Uving, and might possibly have penned a few remarks 

 on his paper (differing in opinion as I do very materially from 

 him on some points contained therein), had I not good reason 

 to believe that a paper on the same subject was iu preparation 

 by a more able hand. In reply to " A PiiAciiCiUi Incjuiker" 

 in your Number for November 7th, I bog to say that I have for 

 many years past grown Cyclamen repandum in the open air 

 without further protection than choo.sing a spot sheltered from 

 keen, cutting, or boisterous winds, and not exposed to the mid- 

 day sun. Thorough drainage is indispensable for this as well 

 as all other Cyclamens ; the tubers should be buried in light 

 friable soil some 3 or 4 inches deep, according to the nature of 

 the soU. 



As i-egards odoratum, what is meant by that term ? there 

 being no botanically recognised species imder that name that 

 I am aware of ; but the delightfully-fragrant true Cyclamea 

 europajum frequently passes under that name, also true lati- 

 folium and grajcum, also some varieties of persicum. All 

 except the last, which require some protection, are perfectly 

 hardy, and will thrive in a similar situation to repandum. 

 Whiist on the subject I would say that, from my own observa- 

 tions, I can fuUy confirm the remarks of your correspondent 

 " W. X. W." in the same Number of your Journal, as to the 

 native habitat and condition in which Cyclamens are found. 

 Why, therefore, are the tubers subjected to exposure to the 

 atmosphere under cultivation ? I have long endeavoured to 

 imitate Nature in this respect by covering the tubers, and with 

 perfect success. It is high time the old traditional mode were 

 exploded. — James Atkins. 



I can confirm your con-espondent "W. X. W." in aU the 

 points named by him. I was lately in Corsica, where the Cy- 

 clamen grows abundantly in its wild state, and most flourishes 

 on steep rocky banks, below deciduous trees, in a soil composed 

 of decayed leaves, especially the needles of the Larch. The 

 corm (which is like a flattish Turnip Radish, about 1( inch in 

 diameter) is usually, though not invariably, covered 2 or 3 inches ; 

 but I thinlc it had always sown itself on the surface and be- 

 come covered by the shifting soil and fnUing leaves. 



I am satisfied that the Cyclamen would grow well in similar 

 situations on a south bank in any of our southern coimties. — 

 D. Stewakt. 



AMERICAN BLIGHT ON BEECH HEDGES. 



My old garden is crossed by two Beech hedges planted 

 upwards of eighty years ago, and which are about 12 feet high ; 

 these are the principal ornaments of the garden, and add to 

 the interest of it by making separate compartments. The ori- 

 ginally-planted Apples suffered so much from canker and 

 American blight, that I have been obliged gradually to remove 

 them, and supply their places v.ith about two hundred dwarf 

 and espalier young Apple trees, which are in a very flourishing 

 condition, and, with the exception of one which I immctUately 

 burnt, they are free from blight. I could scarcely beheve my 

 gardener when he told me that the Beech hedges were full of 

 this American blight, which I had imagined to be only found 

 on the Apple tree ; but on examination I found it but too 

 true — the identical blight has occupied, diied up, aud killed 

 many branches. It will be impossible to plaister them up or 



