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JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



( Aagtut U, : 



table Idngclom vhich come nnder the charge of the gardeoor. It is 

 there that the gardcuer will always see Bomething calcalated to remove 

 those little conceits which wo all, perhaps, entertain for our own per- 

 formances, and where all in common can contemplate the most beaati- 

 fnl of Nature's prodactions. 



I have noticed that there is a danger of exhibitions in some 

 ]ilaccs becoming mere Horal displays of a few specialities. As snch, 

 they are all that could be desired ; but, seen from a moro essential 

 point of view, they are a great mistake. There is one thing that onght 

 never to be lost fight of : that althongb it is desirable to render them 

 sufficiently attractive for the greatest namber, still it is of cqnal or 

 greater importanoo to render them thoroughly comprehensive by in- 

 dading all varieties of plants, flowers, and cnlinary vegetables that 

 are worthy of cnltivation. If these views are correct, it behoves every 

 well-wisher of horticnltnre to assist by all the means in his power the 

 enconragoment and promotion of these exhibitions. — T. Baines, 

 Summerjichl, Jltnalon, ilandieslcr. 



DOUBLE PELARGONIUMS. 



I EHAtL be glad to know if any one is trying this new class 

 of Pelargonitima for bedding purposes this season, and with 

 what success. 



Gloire de Nancy was well spoken of by the authorities at 

 Chiswick last year, but now that we have dwarfer kinds, that 

 ■variety must neces.«arily give way. I have a long line of the 

 Double Tom Thumb (Madame Kose Charmeux), and am greatly 

 pleased with it. I cuntider it even dwarfer than the old Tom 

 Thumb, and much more free-blooming ; its colour, however, is 

 not 60 bright, but, nevertheless, very rich and effective. It is, 

 in fact, a very good semi-double — for it is by no means a full 

 double — counterpart of its popular namesake. Its blossoms, 

 as in the other double kinds, instead of falling, dry on the 

 truss, and require picking over every day or two. Finally, 

 they do not suffer in the least through being battered about by 

 the rain. 



A few days ago I was told by an excellent authority that by 

 judiciously tbinning-out the flower buds forming the trusses of 

 double Pelargoniums, the blooms become much larger, and the 

 heads of flower attain Hydrangea-like proportions ; this is 

 quite feasible, and I have put aside a plant of each kind to 

 experiment upon. — Gclielmus. 



GARDEN VERSUS SHOW ROSES. 



The Rev. W. F. Radclyffe has rendered an essential service 

 to Tosarians in drawing a broad thick line between " beautiful 

 Boses for garden ornamentation " and " exhibition Hoses." 

 Our writers on the Kose have of late been playing too much 

 on one string — treating the Bose as if exhibition were the sole 

 aim of cultivators. Now, I should estimate that not more than 

 1 per cent, of Bose-lovers are exhibitors, the 90 per cent, 

 valuing the Rose for its beauty on the tree in the garden. It 

 is well known that many of the flowers seen at the shows aro 

 brought into that state by an amount of labour and garden 

 disfigurement, by gross feeding and shading, that few but ex- 

 hibitors would submit to. If the non-exhibitor should choose 

 his varieties from the stands at the flower shows and expect to 

 get such Roses, or anything like them without the aforesaid 

 appliances, he would be wofully disappointed. Experienced 

 TOsarians are well aware of this. Such generally choose their 

 Boses from the trees in the Rose nurseries, or in the gardens 

 of their friends. Farther, it would be an essential aid to non- 

 exhibitors if Rose-growers would mark in their catalogues such 

 ]dnds as are only exhibition Roses. — William Paul, Paul's 

 nurseries, Waltham Cross, N. 



THRIPS ON AZALEAS. 



Having read Mr. Baker's paper on the Azalea, I felt rather 

 disappointed to find that he said nothing about the insects 

 which infest it, and keeping it free from these I think is one 

 of the greatest points in Azalea culture ; for where is there a 

 plant that is more subject to thrips ? 



When I came to my present tituation, which was in Sep- 

 tember, I found about four dozen Azaleas in a new vinery, 

 but what objects they were — young Vines and all ! I found 

 Gishurst compound just on the shelf, and I soon sent off for 

 some tobacco. I dissolved the compound as directed — viz., 

 4ozs. to the gallon, in a large tub; I then dipped the plants in it, 

 and was careful to wet every part of them. I then syringed the 

 Tines with the same solution between three and four o'clock ; 



in the evening I well filled the house with smoke. On the third 

 day I repeated both processes again, and am happy to say they 

 produced a complete cure. I smoked on each occasion as long as 

 we could stand in it — about five minutes at a time. The plants 

 were kept in the same house for perhaps two months afterwards, 

 and then put in a large airy conservatory. Just as they begin 

 to swell their buds for blooming I apply Standen'e Gardener's 

 Friend, which has done wonders with them. It has enabled 

 them to produce a fair quantity of bloom ; the flowers were 

 very large, considering that there was originally scarcely a leal 

 on the plants which was not eaten all over by thrips. After 

 blooming, the plants were replaced in the same house where I 

 found them a' first, and I treated them just as Mr. Baker re- 

 commends, with the exception that I use Standen's Friend once 

 a-week. 



I had better state that the treatment described must not be 

 carried out until the plants have completed their growth, as 

 they will be likely to cast their buds, nor when they are making 

 it, otherwise the young shoots will be killed. — J. T. 



MESSRS. BARR & SUG: ENS TRIAL GROUNDS. 



There is a process technically known as " rogueing," which 

 is indispensable to the preservation of true stocks of flowers and 

 vegetables to be perpetuated by seed, and it cannot be carried 

 out too severely in order to attain the desired result ; for even 

 with the greatest of care exercised in seed-saving, and where 

 the seed-bearing plants are grown in large breadths, there is al- 

 ways a danger of cross-fertilisation, and the appearance of plants 

 varying from the form to be preserved. The circumstances 

 which have given rise to variations from a certain type may 

 give rise to other variations either of advancement or retro- 

 gression, and it is the object of rogueing to remove all plants 

 having the latter tendency, whilst it is the interest of the seed- 

 grower to preserve all having the former. With this view, 

 whenever anything promising is discovered, it is marked and 

 taken care of ; when, on the other hand, a plant does not come 

 up to the standard, though it is still the interest of the seed- 

 grower, and more so that of the seed-buyer, that it should be 

 removed, this is not always done, or if done not with sufficient 

 care, and the result is deterioration. Many good varieties have 

 doubtless disappeared from this cause ; at the same time, there 

 is no question that with every care it is a diflieult matter to 

 preserve for a number of years true stocks, especially of such 

 plants as Broccoli and Cabbage, which are so apt to sport and 

 intermix. However great the dieappointment which is caused 

 by plants raised from seeds not answering, in consequence of 

 want of care in seed-saving, to the characters which are ascribed 

 to them, it is still worse to find that out of some fifty conti- 

 nental vai-ieties not more than six or seven are distinct from 

 each other. For this there can be no excuse ; it can only arise 

 from gross carelessness or something worse. Seed lists are 

 already far too much cumbered with varieties which are either 

 worthless, or so little distinct as not to be worth preserving, 

 without increasing the multitude of names by the addition of 

 those indicating a difference where none exists. The Royal 

 Horticultural Society, by their trials from time to time at 

 Chiswick, have done much good by ascertaining the comparative 

 merits both of flowers and vegetables; and the trials being 

 carried out with great care and strict impartiality, the results 

 deserve, and have been received with confidence. Extensive, 

 however, as the garden at Chiswick is — and that is the proper 

 place to carry out trials such as those referred to — there are so 

 many subjects all claiming attention, that it is not possible, 

 and would not be possible even with a much larger staff, to 

 experiment in every branch year after year ; while, therefore, 

 one mass of confusion is being cleared away another is accn- 

 mulating, ready in its turn to be searched, sifted, and put in 

 order. Seedsmen, however, are anxious to know the merits of 

 what they sell to their customers, who are frequently, and with 

 good reason, dissatisfied with what they receive, and accord- 

 ingly some of them have trial grounds of their own to test the 

 quality of the seeds supplied to them by growers, and to as- 

 certain the merits of novelties. One such trial ground we 

 visited three weeks ago — that of Mr. Earr, of King Street, Covent 

 Garden, who has taken for the purpose three acres of ground 

 at Tooting, and some remarks on the annual and other flowers, 

 as seen there, may be useful. Besides these, he is testing Let- 

 tuces, Peas, Potatoes, and many other things. So numerous, 

 indeed, are the subjects grown, that only a small proportion of 

 the whole can be noticed here. 



