Angust 2s, leca. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



159 



perature of 80 ; when the bed is renewed the temperature will 

 be perhaps as low as 65° for a week or ten days, then all at 

 once there is a rapid rise, and it frequently happens that the 

 roots arc subjected to a scorching temperature of 96° or more. 

 These sudden changes must be very injurious to tho growth of 

 the plant, and are often the cause of its fruiting prematurely. 



Another valuable property which the cooia-mil refuse pos- 

 sesses is its durability. Plants may be potted into their fruit- 

 ing pots, ami there will bo no necessity for removing them 

 again till after the fruit has been cut. This saves the leaves 

 from being broken, and preserves the plant from many dangers 

 to whicli it is often subjected by removal, especially where 

 proper care is not taken in performing the operation. My 

 l'ine-pils were prepared as follows : After the hot-water pipes 

 were fixed some clay was put in layers inches thick, each 

 layer being carefully rammed down. The whole of the space 

 below the pipes was tilled up in this way ; then 1 foot of 

 broken bricks, stones, &c, was put in around and above the 

 pipes. In putting in this brick rubbish care was taken to 

 place it so that the heat from the pipes might bo regularly 

 distributed over the bottom of the bed. The refuse was then 

 sifted, and tho fibre was placed over the drainage to prevent 

 the finer refuse from trickling through ; 2 J feet of the refuse 

 was put in, and the plants nicely plunged. They are now full 

 of health and beauty, and have the appearance of enjoying 

 themselves to the fullest extent. 



As the refuse will last several years, it will in the end be 

 found cheaper than tan, even to those who like myself had to 

 send to London for it, for there is in the first instance a great 

 saving of labour, and it often happens that the spent bark has 

 to be brought from a long distance, in which case the cartage 

 amounts to a considerable item. Then, again, the plants look 

 so neat and comfortable, and there is not that rough unsightly 

 appearance which is produced by the tan. 



The following quantities of piping should be placed in the 

 bottom of the pits for bottom heat, as no heat is generated by 

 the refuse itself. For a pit 5 feet wide, two four-inch pipes, 

 and for a pit 10 or 12 feet wide four pipes should bo used. 

 These should bo placed at equal distances over the bottom. If 

 the pit is 12 feet wide let the pipes be put 3 feet apart, and in- 

 stead of having two flows and two returns, let there be only 

 one flow and one return, this will cause the heat to be more 

 evenly distributed. 



The prices of the cocoa-nut refuse delivered at any of the 

 railway stations or booking-offices in London, bags included, 

 are as follows : — Ten bags for lis. ; twenty for 27s. ; thirty 

 for 40s. ; forty for 50s. ; fifty for 00s. ; sixty for 70s., and so 

 on. The larger the quantity taken, the lower the price in 

 proportion. I received sixty bags, the railway charge was 

 about £:i 10s.-, so that I obtained for about £0 10s. nearly 

 three tons of the refuse, enough to fill three large pits, several 

 frames, and for plunging plants in, besides a reserve for mixing 

 with soil for plant-growing, i-c. I have been particular in 

 naming quantities, price, &c, so that any one wishing to try 

 it for the purpose of Pine-growing, may know the quantity to 

 apply for. — 3. Will^. 



THE ROSES OF 186)6. 



As a natural sequence to my notes on the Roses of 1805 I 

 wish to say a few words on those of the present year, but before 

 doing so must allude to a " mull " made in my former paper. 

 The description of Dr. Andry should have followed immediately 

 on that of Due de Wellington, and then the paper would have 

 read correctly. As it is, there is a discrepancy between the 

 statement in a former paragraph, that I considered Dr. Andry 

 a first-class Rose, and this arrangement, which makes it a 

 second-class one. With regard to the Roses of the present 

 season, I do not think that one is as yet capable of speaking 

 very decidedly on them all. Some have unmistakeably held 

 good their claim on the attention and kind offices of all rosa- 

 rians ; others have as unmistakeably proved their worthless- 

 ness, and of these few only would I speak in very decided 

 terms. I had the opportunity last season of seeing some of 

 them abroad, and gave my judgment then — a judgment which 

 I am glad to say has been confirmed by Rose-growers at home 

 and abroad. Others I spoke well of on the strength of the 

 raiser's character; but here I have been disappointed, so that 

 there is no infallible rule. 



For these reasons it will be obvious that I cannot give so 

 complete a resume as of those of 1805, and must claim for 



myself the privilege of altering my opinion when the blooming 

 season next year shall have given me a greater opportunity 

 of seeing them. 



AWa Mutabilis (Eugene Verdieij.— A very pleasing tender 

 tint of rose, changing to a deeper colour when expanded. I 

 am inclined to think this will be a useful Rose. 



Alfred Cnlnmh (LacliarmeJ. — A magnificent high-coloured 

 flower, very full and well formed, certainly A 1 . 



Exposition de Tirie (Granger). — I have seen this very fine, 

 and it is likely to bo among the first, or, if not, at the top of 

 the second class. 



Mademoiselle Marguerite Dombrain (Engine Yerdier). — An- 

 other first-class Rose, large, globular, lively colour, and dis- 

 tinct. How Mr. Heale could have said it was too like La 

 Heine I know not. In colour it is intermediate between it and 

 Comte de Nanteuil. 



Prince de Porcia (Eugene Verdier). — A very beautiful flower. 

 I saw it at Mr. Eraser's, and it was certainly very fine. 



Tfiaeric Biborel (Damaizin). — I have only seen this once, 

 but it was then very beautiful and well shaped. 



Hippuh/tc Flandrin (Damaizin). — A beautiful flower, exqui- 

 site in shape, and lively in colour. I think this will be a first- 

 class Rose if its constitution is good. 



Jean Cherpin (Liabaud). — I have seen this in one or two 

 places, and in very beautiful condition ; the colour very bril- 

 liant, and the flowers large, but not coarse. 



Josephine de Beaunarhais (Guillot fils). — Unquestionably a 

 good Rose. I should say decidedly Al, were I quite sure that 

 it is sufficiently distinct from its parent Louise Peyronny. I 

 think it is, but wait for further acquaintance with it. 



Madame Fillion (Gonod). — I saw this at Lyons very pretty, 

 but have not to the best of my recollection seen it here. 



GUiire de Duclier (Ducher). — Not a flower that will be a 

 favourite one here ; its colour is against it. 



Pline (Guillot fils). — A coarse flower, rough in outline, and 

 not distinct in colour. Will be discarded. 



Prudence Besson (Lachanne). — A huge flaunting flower, far 

 more like a Pinony than a Rose, with immense petals of a bright 

 rosy pink colour, but so few in number that the flower is 

 worthless. 



Souvenir de. Dr. Jamain (Lacharme). — This has the very 

 opposite fault to the preceding one — it is too small. The 

 colour is admirable, but it will never make a show Rose. 



President Mas (Guillot fils). — A coarse flower, and somewhat 

 dingy in colour, not unlike Eoula de Nanteuil, but not so 

 good. 



In addition to these I have heard Fisher Holmes and 

 Jean Lambert highly spoken of ; but at present my judgment 

 goes thus far — Alfred Colomb, Marguerite Dombrain, and 

 Hippolyte Flandrin are first-class Roses ; Alba Mutabilis, 

 Exposition de Brie, Prince de Porcia, Frederic Biborel, 

 Josephine de Beauharnais, and Jean Cherpin come next, and 

 some of them have a good chance of getting promotion ; while 

 there are some others whose fate, as far as my opinion goes, iff 

 as yet undecided. — D., Deal. 



AMONG THE SCOTTISH BRAES, LOCHS, AND 

 MOUNTAINS.— No 3. 

 Dunoon Castle crowns the summit of a grass-clad conical 

 hill, still justifying its Gaelic designation, compoimdedof Ban, 

 an eminence, and aiue, green. Small are the fragments of the 

 castle now remaining, and as I rested upon them the thought 

 recurred which had often arisen before when visiting similar 

 ruins of similar residences of the olden times — how effec- 

 tually they forbade a dependance upon vegetables for sus- 

 tenance. At first, this may seem a trivial reflection— but if 

 the reflection be pursued it explains and illustrates some of the 

 manners of the feudal ages. The animal diet— the flesh and 

 fish constituting the prominent dishes of every meal — were 

 forced upon the residents of such fortressed dwellings. They 

 dared not depend upon provisions to be grown without the 

 walls, and to have included a sufficient space within the walls 

 would have rendered these far too extended for defence by the 

 lord's ordinary retainers — and to increase the garrison would 

 be to increase the difficulty of provisioning it. Corn and pre- 

 served meats sufficient for many months could be stored in a 

 castle's vaults, hence those foods of necessity were adopted as 

 the prevailing diet. It would have been inconvenient and 

 risking additional privation to foster a taste for food so liable 



