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JOUKNAL OF HORTI CULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 



( D«cember 3, UM9. 



Eiiuilar purpose anotbor year ; at the same time it is advisable 

 at all times to have a set of young plants coming on. 



One of the best qnulitications a plant can have (or the object 

 nnder consiJeration is that of lifting well with a good ball of 

 earth adhering to its roots. Amongst shrubs, Boi and Aucuba 

 are, perhaps, the best ; while among Conifers, some of the 

 Cupressns tribe are very indifferent. Most of the Arbor Vitus 

 transplant well, and so does the Irish Yew, while the Welling- 

 tonia is not by any means good, neither is it a suitable winter 

 plant. One of my greatest favourites is Betino?pora ericoidea, 

 but of this hereafter ; sufliue it to say that a plant which trans- 

 plants well, and with a good ball of earth to its roots, is, if 

 other points are favourable, a suitable one for winter. Another 

 qualification is hardiness. I have never been able to see some 

 of the merits of so-called winter plants as respects their berry- 

 bearing or flowering properties ; their flowering is rarely satis- 

 factory till March, and in most country places the small birds 

 make short work with the berrie?. In mild winters, however. 

 Primroses and the like sometimes flower during winter, and 

 the berries of Cotoneaster, Yew, and some other shrubs may 

 be allowed to hang, but they are not sufliciently numerous to 

 show at all at the distance of a few yards, and, consequently, 

 it is upon foliage that we must depend fur what display there 

 Renerally is between the 1st of November and the middle of 

 March, or a peiiod of between four and five months, and often 

 longer. It is, therefore, with a view to give a cheerful appear- 

 ance to ordinary flower beds during that inclement season that 

 the following list of plants of easy culture is recommended. 



Hellf.boeus FtETiDCs. — What is this? I have been asked many 

 a time by plant-growers of eminence, who, struck by its appear- 

 ance, declared it capable of taking its place amongst collections 

 of fine-foliaged plants at exhibitions. I must tell them it is 

 said to be a British plant, although I cannot say I have ever met 

 vrith it in a position where it could be considered truly wild. 

 In some moist places, however, it has the appearance of being 

 the outcast of a garden, although its very name is all but dis- 

 avowed by the gardeners of the present generatiun ; yet many old 

 plants have been called into requisition again, and so will this, 

 I imagine, when its merits become better known. In Hooker's 

 " British Flora " it is said to be found in pastures and thickets, 

 especially in a chalky soil, to have leaves pedate and evergreen, 

 and to flower in April ; it is also described as powerfully 

 cathartic. Now, without going into the botanical and chemical 

 description of the plant, I may say it is an evergreen bush from 

 1 to 2 feet high — quite the latter height when flowering — its 

 dark green foliage bearing a strong resemblance to that of gome 

 of the exotic Palms belonging to Chamiprops or Litania, and the 

 leaves are sufficiently plentiful to hang down to the ground 

 gracefully on all sides of the plant. From the top of each 

 stem (if it have more than one), rises a large cluster of pale 

 greenish-yellow flowers. Many of the plants here are showing 

 flower now (the middle of November), and the flowers are often 

 fully expanded by the end of January, and their presence does 

 not by any meaus diminish the beauty of the plant. 



It transplants as well as a Box or an Ancub.'), its roots being 

 80 numerous, and all extending about the came distance from 

 the collar. It is a very effective vase plant, its graceful foliage 

 and uniform growth fitting it well for the purpose, while its 

 hardiness enables it to bid defiance to the co!d winds and frosts 

 of winter, which few plants will do in such a situation. In 

 verj- severe frosts its foliage will hang down, and so does that 

 of Laurels and most shrubs, but it recovers its position again 

 when mild weather sets in. The plant is by no means very 

 choice in respect to the situation in which it has to pass the 

 summer ; a shady spot nnder trees, where many other plants 

 refuse to grow, or an indifferent piece of grouud in the full 

 sun, is equally acceptable. Its propagation is easy, as it seeds 

 abundantly; but I may here caution the intxperienced not to 

 be too hasty in censuring the seedsman if the plants do not 

 come np so soon as expected, for there are few seed.s which lie 

 longer in the ground than those of this plant ; but if not dis- 

 turbed they will germinate in time, or even if they be dn^ in 

 not too deeply, after the patience of the cultivator has been 

 exUiisted in waiiiog (or them, it is not unlikely that the next 

 yaar may witness the seedlings coming up in abundance. The 

 aimo may be eiid of seed sown in pans or bcxes, and kept in 

 a yiirm p!a:e until all expectation of its germinating is at an 

 end. When t'la contents are emptied on a vacint place in the 

 kitc'jen garden, good plants are likely to be discovered there 

 a.'t;r wards. 



When once the plant? have made their appearance above 

 ground, I do not think they are in much danger fiom any- 



thing excepting the hoe and other garden tools ; insocts seem 

 to be scared away by the fu3tid smell, and the plants will 

 struggle (or an existence amongst most of the occupants of the 

 garden. Their growth, however, is not rapid autil the dews of 

 autumn set in, when the plants grow faster, and a plantation 

 of a few hundreds of them has a neat appearance. In general, 

 I plant the small plants in rows about IS inches apart, and half 

 tbat distance from each other in the row, and they form fine 

 bushy plants when taken up in the autumn. A few larger plants 

 for vases and special pnr[.ose8 are placed farther apart, while 

 seedlings that are too small to be of service the first year, may 

 be kept clo;>er together till spiing. It is very accommodating, 

 and a plant or two in an out-of-the-way place will supply all 

 the seed that is wanted. To those who have never yet grown 

 this Hellebore, I would recommend it with every confidence 

 that, when once they have a supply of it, they will not ex- 

 change it for anything else. 



AnABis ALBiD.^ v.lr!IKo.^TA. — Amongst low-growing ligbt-co- 

 loured-foliaged plants, I confess this has been my fivonrite for 

 many years ; posFil)!y this may arise from the soil and other cir- 

 cumstances suiting it. Its relative, A. Incidavariegata, has been 

 just the reverse, and I have never been able to do anything 

 with it ; the former, thtrtfcre. does much of the duty of edging. 

 For this purpose rooted plants are not by any means neces- 

 sary in autumn, but the long side shoots pulled off overgrown 

 plants are merely laid in like so much Box or Thrift edging, 

 and in the spiing every piece is fuund rooted; but stocky 

 plants from 6 to 12 inches in diameter are sometimes need, 

 and as these can be taken np -siih balls cf earth, they trans- 

 plant without any loss, and there is something so effective in 

 the soft cle!ir cream coloured hue of this plant, th^t I have not 

 yet met with anything that equals it for general effect when 

 seen at the distance of a few yards. Even nearer it loses none 

 cf its beauty, and is altogether indispensable as a winter bed- 

 ding plant. As a permanent plant it is likewise useful, and I 

 have employed it as such for upwards of fifteen years, but I 

 find that, like many other plants, it does not succeed well if 

 grown continuously in the same place ; ui other respects it i 

 very accommodating, and is, I considff, a first-rate winter 

 bedding plant. — J. Bobson. 



(To be continned.) 



AMONG THE ROSES. 



Since " our Journal " aroused rosarians week after week, the 

 lovers of " our queen of beauty " have been gratified with 

 jottings which have not only added considerably to onr Rose 

 lore, but have also attracted the attention of many who had 

 not previou-iy taken a lively interest in our favourite flower. 

 I can testify— and it gives me great pleasure to be able to do 

 so — that in this part of Warwickshire, bleak as to climate and 

 sterile as to soil though it be, the cultivation of the Rose is 

 making rapid strides amongst the latter class of florists. 



Daring the autumn Xavier Olibo has proved itself to be first- 

 class. Its colour has been rich in the extreme ; it has bloomed 

 continually, and never failed to produce a full flower; in the 

 latter respect the autumn blooms have surpassed the summer 

 ones. Its free form also renders it a great favourite of mine, 

 and I know of no sweeter pleasure than to view in the early 

 morn a dew-bespangled bloom of Xavier Olibo glistening in the 

 rays of the rising sun. 



The more I see of the Dec de Wellington the higher its 

 splendid qualities raise my admiration. Its form is good, its 

 colour gorgeous, and in the duration of its bloom it is cer- 

 tainly unequalled : pity its growth is not vigorous. Duchesee 

 de Medina Cceli now and then brings forth a flower of dazzling 

 hue. For this quality alone it is well worth growing, although 

 the bloom is only small, and far from being full, Horace 

 Vernet is a Rose, which for the brilliancy of its colouring and 

 the chaimiog perfectim of its foim, may be placed first in the 

 ranks of the velvety class. It will soon be as well known as 

 Charles Lefebvrc. Souvenir de Comte Cavour is another of 

 the dark crimsons which has done well this autumn. I shall 

 pav more attention to it, and propagate it more than I have 

 hitherto done. 



The above, with the well-known Due da Cazes, make half a 

 dozen of the dark velvety class which are worth all the pains 

 we can give to their successful culture. Pierre Netting, although 

 a perfecU.-haped flower, and as dark as any of those I have 

 meulinned, lacks the beautiful bloom which they possess, and 

 in consequence has a dull appearance, otherwise it would be 

 my bi;aii ideal of a dark R^ao. 



