258 



JODBNAIi OF HOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. I 8«pUnib«r so. 1969. 



The diiTerence between Becdiinga and cuttings of this plant can 

 only be judged of by those who have Been them together, the 

 miperiority of the one over the other requiring no explana- 

 tion. I therefore advise all who have not grown this plant 

 from seed to eo raise it next spring, and they will not resoit 

 to cuttings again after seeing the two together. The seed must 

 be very plentiful now. 



There are many other plants to which the observations made 

 above may equally apply, and I hope at some future time to 

 return to the eubject ; but what I have now stated may be 

 acted on with every certainty of success, and with a certainty 

 of lessening the cost and labour of obtaining those and some 

 other plants. — J. IIobson. 



SELECT VERBENAS. 



Ik fulSIment of a promise made some months ago, I now 

 offer some further notes on Verbenas, and in doing so I shall 

 con&ne myself to sorts sent out in the spring of 18G8, ioclud- 

 ing the collections of Messrs. Perry, Eokford, Wills, and others. 

 I have now had sufEcicnt experience of these varieties to offer 

 a selection which may be depended on. On the whole I never 

 remember seeing a better batch of novelties, or one con- 

 taining so many kinds of merit ; this is saying much for them, 

 but not more than they deserve, for it is quite the exception to 

 obtain a number of sterling varieties in the same year. I can 

 remember having once had a number of new varieties, out of 

 which an indifferent striped sort was the only one worth keeping. 



Amongst the Verbenas of Mr. Perry, James Birbeck is con- 

 spicuous ; it is a rich rosy scarlet, with a very large pip and 

 truss, of line form, a strong grower, and altogether a magnifi- 

 cent Verbena. James Day has a somewhat small well-shaped 

 truss, and is of a very bright pleasing shade of violet ; it is an 

 attractive Verbena. Mrs. Mole has a rather loose, straggling 

 habit ; its abundant trusses of shaded lavender render it a 

 distinct and useful kind. Shirley Hibberd, a strong-growing 

 kind, is true to the description under which it was sent out — 

 intense dark violet, wilh a small white eye, a rich-looking 

 flower of great substance and fine form. Thomas Harris forms 

 a compact, bushy plant, its trusses are also large, but its colour, 

 a deep mulberry, slightly relieved by a white eye of irregular 

 iorm, is rather dull ; it is what may be termed a good Verbena, 

 but it is hardly bright enough in colour. 



In Mr. Eckford's lot, Isa Key deservedly occupies the first 

 place ; its colour may be described as bright rose, the trusses 

 and pips are large and finely formed, and its bold, clear white 

 eys gives it a novel and beautiful appearance. It is a splendid 

 Verbena, the most distinct and striking novelty of its year. In 

 Caroline Smith we have another splendid Verbena of a delicate 

 shade of rosy lilac, with a clear yellow eye ; it has a fine, 

 handsome truss, and is one of the best for exhibition purposes. 

 Next comes Imperial Purple, with an Ariosto-like shade of 

 colour, but richer ; it is very dwarf and compact in its growth. 

 This beautiful and useful variety will be cultivated extensively 

 for bedding, its very compact, dwarf habit and rich colour 

 rendering it peculiarly well adapted for such a purpose. A 

 ■broad band of it would be very effective next shades of yellow, 

 ■^Jiite, or grey. The Cure is a singular flower, curiously 

 blotched or i<haded with crimson ; it forms a novel variety in a 

 mixed bed, hut I do not think flowers of this type are ever so 

 useful or effective as those which, in addition to most other 

 leading points of merit, possess a clear, well-defined shade of 

 colour. 



Of the Verbenas of Mr. Wills, a blue variety with a clear 

 white eye, named Miss Wimsett, deserves mention, as being 

 likely to hold a leading place both in the flower garden and 

 exhibition stand for some time ; it possesses all the points of 

 a good Verbena — a robust habit, a large truss of fine form, and 

 is of a distinct and pleasing shade of blue, rendered all the 

 more striking by the contrast of a large white centre. 



Another very distinct and effective kind is Brilliant, sent out 

 by Messrs. Nunn & Hobday, of Norwich ; it is a very bright 

 shade of tcarlet, but what renders it peculiarly striking is its 

 Tery large clear white eye ; its whole appearance is quite in 

 •keeping with its name. My last selection is one of Sir. Can- 

 nell's, named Beauty of Kent ; in colour it is what is known 

 '33 a maroon blue. This is a splendid variety, the bright, rich 

 ■velvety gloss of its beautiful flowers is as attractive as it is un- 

 'Common. Madame Loiii^ Creuze may be noticed as a distinct 

 Btriped scarlet and white variety, but its growth is rather 

 weakly, and it has a decided tendency to become mildewed. 



Xha foregoing Verbenas have been grown with and selected 



from many other varieties, new and old. Probably some sorts 

 which I have rejected may be appreciated by others, but I have 

 a liking for decided colours. 



I will conclude these notes by naming a very select dozen 

 Verbenas for exhibition. These are :— William Dean, Brilliant, 

 Guant des Batailles, La Grande Boule de Neige, Miss Wimsett, 

 Nemesis, Cooling's Annie, Isa Key, Caroline Smith, Beauty of 

 Kent, James Birbeck, and King of the Lilacs. These are all 

 first-class varieties. Many other kinds are worthy of notice, 

 but they are probably well known to all those who may require 

 a more extensive assortment. — Ehwabd LncEnnasr, EgerUm 

 Houte Gardens, Kent. 



THE Ti;.VNSPARENT GAGE PLUM (REINE 

 CLAUDE DIAPHANl",). 



I WAS in Paris in 183G, and in paying a visit to M. Laflay, 

 the originator of our Hybrid Perpetual Koses, then living at 

 that very pretty suburb. Belle Vue, he, after our usual fascinat- 

 ing Rose talk, tuld me that he had raised from seed a most 

 distinct and excellent variety of the Reine Claude (Green Gage) 

 Plum, which he intended to name lieine Claude Diaphane. I 

 was then much more interested in Roses than in Plums, but 

 as far as I remember I saw and tasted the fruit, which I 

 thought distinct and good. Some few years after this period, 

 I received a tree or two from M. Laffay. The sort seemed a 

 most vigorous grower, but the trees did not bear fruit, and con- 

 sequently I was not impressed with its excellence. I seem to 

 recollect that the trees did not bear any fruit till 1 had some of 

 them potted and placed in one of my earliest orchard houses, 

 and I then saw how distinct and excellent it was. Its robust, 

 smooth, and almost purple shoots give the tree a most distinct 

 character; and its beautiful Gage-like fruit, greenish yellow, 

 covered with crimson blotches, make it an ornament to the 

 dessert. Its flavour is most delicious, and I am sometimes 

 inclined to think it superior even to the Green Gage, that 

 universal favourite, its juice being less cloying and most re- 

 freshing. In cool climates it should be planted against a south 

 wall. It is late in ripening on standards this season, as the 

 fruit are still hard. What a long time often elapses before a 

 new fruit is appreciated I Grapes seem the exception. — Thomas 

 Rivers. 



ROSE DOTTINGS. 



Onn rosarian friend "D.," of Deal, has asked why more of 

 our readers who love the " queen of flowers " do not state their 

 opinions of the varieties in "our Journal," and thus give to 

 others the benefit of their experience. I remember many years 

 ago in our pages reading words to this effect from our other 

 grand rosarian, the Rev. W. F. Iladclyffe. He said that a 

 " rosarian " was a rara avis ; very, very few rosarians, but 

 many Rose-growers, and I fancy this distinction has made many 

 of us humble Rose-growers chary of offering our mites in the 

 discussion. I had certainly been medita iog a notice of my 

 favourites, and as often thought I could add nothing of any 

 value. The meditation might have ended iu smoke, instead of 

 pen and ink, as at present appears probihle, had not our good 

 friend " WiLTsninE Rectoii" unexpectedly turned up to visit 

 me in my new quarters. Amonsst other questions put to me 

 by " our mutual friend," he had the coolness to ask if I knew 

 whether one "Y.B. A.Z." was dead, as nothing had been heard 

 of him for some time. I was driving bim about in a carriage at 

 the time, and consider a debt of gra'itude due to me from all 

 readers of "our Journal" that I did not at once in a proper 

 damaging manner upset the carriage, aud turn our worthy 

 friend out. For this present Rose infliction, then, " Wiltshieb 

 Rector" is answerable. I might have replied to our friend's 

 query more truthfully than the Irishman, stunned in a scuffle, 

 who, when roused and asked if he was dead, replied, " I am 

 not dead, but I'm spacheless." Circumstances have made me 

 " spaobeless " as regards "our Journal." Like my shifted 

 Roses, lacking the bountiful supplies of water which onr great 

 rosarian would give them, I have not exactly settled down into 

 the fresh soil, and my time has beeu fully occnpied. 



In aformer Rosecommunication [ .~taied my partiality for the 

 Manetti stock. Amongst my brother amateurs in my present 

 little Wiltshire town this stock is not appreciated as it deserreg 

 to be. We have a very hungry soil, one like Pharaoh's lean 

 kioe that devour the fat kine, anl are none the fatter for the 

 meal, acd one of our best amateur Bose-growers here, who 



