406 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 27, I860. 



Mr. William Ingram, gardener to the Duke of Rutland, Belvoir 

 Castle. Its object is to keep tlie roots of pot Strawberries moist with- 

 out placing turf on the shelves of the house, or setting the pots in 

 sanoers of water, the latter proceeding being objectionable, as the 

 roots are thereby often kept in water. The pan is made to contain 

 a 32-sized or sis-inch pot, is -1 inches high, and 71 inches in diameter ; 

 a circular rim 1 inch in height, surrounds the hole in the bottom of the 

 pan. and on this rini the pot is set, the interval between the sides of 

 the pot and pan being filled with soil or moist sand. In fact, the pan 

 acts in the same way as regards moisture, as the jacket of a steam- 

 engine cylinder does in respect to heat, and if such pans can be ob- 

 tained at a moderate price they seem well worthy of trial. 



■Weekly Show, November 2ith.—iix. W. Bartlett, of Shaftesbury 

 Road, Hammersmith, was awarded a second prize for a collection of 

 well-grown plants ; and a third prize went to Mr. W. Young, gardener 

 to R. Barclay, Esq., West Hill, Highgate, for a collection of plants. 

 To Messrs. W. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, was awarded an extra prize 

 for a collection of Heaths, also an extra prize for a collection of Chry- 

 santhemums. Mr. J. Rusk, gardener to the Earl of Abergavenny, 

 Eridge Castle, Tunbridge Wells, was awarded an extra prize for cut 

 flowers of Bougainvillaea speciosa. A collection of Selaginellas and 

 Dracaenas was sent from the Society's garden at Chiswick. 



Mr-. W. Young, gardener to R. Barclay. Esq., obtained a second 

 prize for a collection of fruit; and -Mr. I!. Murcham, gardener to 

 E. Oates, Esq., Bydorp House, Hauwell, bad a third prize for a 

 similar collection. An extra prize was awarded to Mr. Hill. Angel 

 Row, Highgate, for eight sorts of Onions ; and an extra prize to Mr. 

 W. Young, gardener to R. Barclay, Esq. 



effect in the spring, or at any time. By putting on the gnano 

 in an undiluted form now, it becomes diluted, and thoroughly 

 incorporated with the soil. The rains will not wash it out of 

 the reach of the roots. Cocoa-nut refuse, litter, or dry straw, 

 are famous excluders of cold. It is astonishing how little straw 

 will defy a temperature of zero. All my Roses (about 1200), are 

 protected by horse litter, grass, fern, or leaves. If the roots of 

 Roses are soddened with wet, and a temperature of 5° below zero 

 occur, that cold will probably kill them. — W. F. Rajiclyffe."] 



LATE PEAS— SCARING RABBITS AND 

 PARTRIDGES 



Mr.. Recodd asks if any one has tried Ne Tins Ultra as a 

 late Pea. I have not, but on July 3rd I sowed two sorts of 

 Peas — Bedman's Imperial and Prince of Wales — and they have j 

 prospered exceedingly well. 1 have gathered from them fre- 

 quently for a month or five weeks. I gathered :\ dish on No- 

 vember 9th, and they were as good as could be expected at this 

 time of year. I expect to have gatherings from the plants until 

 Christmas if there be no unusually severe weather. I had 

 them until late in November last season. I also sowed Daniel 

 O'Rourke on the 17th of July ; the sowing is now in full bloom. 

 This is a very good variety for standing frost. 



I observe that in your Number of November 13th complaint 

 is made of the depredations of rabbits, pheasants, and par- 

 tridges among the Cabbage tribe. I planted out a lot of young 

 Cabbage plants lately, but the rabbits and partridges took very 

 nearly all in a few nights ; so I have done as I did in spring, 

 when they were taking all the Scorzonera and Salsafy — I cut a 

 lot of sticks or rods about 2 feet in length, and tied a piece of 

 white paper to each, so that it would dangle about 5 or G inches 

 ong. The effect was magical. The plants have never been 

 ouched since. I always find that sticking in the rods with 

 paper on them at short distances over the ground answers as 

 well as netting. — Thomas Hazlitt, Gardiner, (Jul Hull, Wel- 

 lington, Salop. 



MANURING AND MULCHING ROSES. 



Mil. Radclyffe recommends using blood manure or guano 

 as a top or surface dressing for Roses now. I thought you 

 always said guano should never be used for plants except when 

 they are in a growing state. Am I correct, or will Roses be the 

 better from a surface-dressing now of either nitrophocphate or 

 Peruvian guano, and which do you recommend ? I suppose 

 2 ozs. to each tree would not be too much. Being a city man 

 such manures as the above are more convenient to me, if they 

 would be as beneficial as a mulching, and for keeping frost from 

 the roots I would use cocoa-nut refuse. — Fiied. 



[We abide by our opinion, that manure of any kind is most 

 economically applied when the plant is just about to commence 

 growth, or is in a growing state. Mulching is for quite another 

 object ; it is to exclude cold in winter, and drought in summer. 

 Such is our practice, but we sent your note to Mr. Radclyffe, 

 and this is his reply : — 



" Nitrophosphate may be put on at any time. Guano (Pe- 

 ruvian) is a most powerful manure, and the cheapest of all. If 

 put on in a solid form, I consider winter to be the best time. 

 People put it on too thickly, and thus corrode, or " burn " the 

 roots of their plants. One handful of Peruvian guano to a 

 stable-bucket of water, well stirred, may be put on with good 



NOTES ON VARIOUS PLANTS. 



Mr. D. Thomson is quite correct about the Viola cornuta. 

 There is a very inferior variety not hotanically distinct by any 

 means, but not worthy of cultivation. My experience has 

 proved beyond doubt that increasing the plant from cuttings 

 is better than by sowing the seed. The seedlings are not so free- 

 flowering and are grosser in their foliage, whereas the cut- 

 tings of nice fresh young shoots are a certainty, if propagated 

 for the time when wanted. Divisions and old plants will cer- 

 tainly prove a comparative disappointment. We have dis- 

 carded this plant years ago in favour of Pansies. 



We have also discarded for the same reason the beautiful 

 yellow Viola, far superior to Viola cornuta in the richness and 

 clearness of its kind of colour. We always named this V. uni- 

 flora, but if our name is wrong perhaps Mr. Freeman, of 

 Knowsley, from whom we had the plant, will be kind enough 

 to correct us. The habit of this Viola is also much superior. 

 There is, however, no yellow equal to the Pansy, nor do I 

 know any purple for summer beds equal to or near the 

 colour of a Perpetual Purple Pansy. The old Blue is not so 

 good for purposes of this sort, as the sun blanches the colour, 

 but we have a new race coming on with substance sufficient to 

 meet this difficulty. It should at the same time be borne in 

 mind that the plants must be propagated for the particular 

 time of blooming. We have, indeed, found that by occasionally 

 taking out the old shoots the young ones rise up in the 

 ribbon ruws and become a clear mass of colour in a few days, 

 instead of the old shoots falling down and becoming weedy. 



Tagetes signata purnila is a useful necessity, but will never 

 replace our loss in the Calceolaria. It blooms late, and many 

 ladies object to its bad odour. Its colour appears to be 

 better in the French gardens than with us— perhaps from the 

 sun bringing the plant sooner into bloom — a hint which I 

 intend to put in practice next spring by giving the plants 

 some forcing before turning out. I obtained the seed3 of this 

 at Messrs. Vilmorin's live or six years ago, who, if I remem- 

 ber correctly, informed me that it was a selection from the 

 older variety, which is proved in the better one by a strong 

 shoot occasionally starting up. 



Your readers must be pretty well tired of Iresine Herbstii, 

 and a little more practice with" less selfishness would be more 

 praiseworthy in some of your correspondents ; but I fear the 

 best management in some places will not induce this plant to 

 show its colour clearly or make it lively. Our place is very 

 wide, and while the plant was very passable at one spot, in 

 another it gave the mixture a dead look ; and such was the 

 case in most places which I have seen. 



I must say your planting correspondent (page 364), was too 

 hard on "A. D.'s" instructive notice in the "Florist and 

 Pomologist." I can bear " A. D." out that it is seldom safe 

 to plant before the middle of the last week in May or first 

 week in June. On the morning of May 25th, 1865, we had 

 two beds of Lady Middleton Pelargonium so very much injured 

 that they were of little use for the season. Covering would 

 have been a difficulty, as each bed contained upwards of seven 

 hundred plants. The difference between an inland place and 

 one near the sea, like Chester, is that the atmosphere of the 

 latter is not so much affected by the late daybreak frosts which 

 we so often experience in May. — Visdicatob. 



WELLLNGTONIA GIGANTEA. 

 I\- 1862 we transplanted about ninety plants, varying from 

 6 to 14 feet in height. These were all growing in heavy clay 

 soil, and were consequently moved with tine large balls. 1865 

 being a dry, hot season, they did not make much progress. 

 No. 1 was 14 feet high ; in 1863 it was 15 feet, in 1864 18 feet, 

 in 18ii5 21 feet 6 inches, and to-day, November 14th, 1866, it 

 is 24 feet 6 inches high. The others have done equally well. 

 Some of them have even grov.n 4 feet 2 inches in one year. 



