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JOtJBNAL OF HOKTICULTUBB AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



[ DoFomber 10, 1MB. 



for bouquets and general decorative purposes, being in every 

 way smaller than tbe other kinds. 



Earhi-ilitciriiin lili'iiloiUnitron.-'. — 01 these Nobleanum may 

 be taken ns tbe type. Tl-.er bloom so early that tbe flowers are 

 injared by spring frosts. Brongbtonianum, rosy red, splendid 

 for a cool house ; Campannlatum bybridnm, white ; Caucasicum 

 Edbum, white, plant dwaif ; Mars, vivid scarlet ; Miirian, pink, 

 dark spots, dwarf close habit ; Nobleanum, scarlet, rose, and 

 several other varieties; Nobleanum snperbum, scarlet, very 

 dwarf, and very early ; Rosamond, rose, very dwarf; Rasselli- 

 anam superbum, deep scarlet, large truss ; Stamfordiannm, 

 rosy scarlet ; and 'Welisianum, scarlet. These are excellent for 

 permanent culture in pots, and are the best of the large-flower- 

 ing kinds for forcing. If not excited by more heat than that 

 of a cold house to which no fire heat is given except in very 

 severe weather, they bloom well annnnliy for a great many 

 years, and are fine plants for the greenhouse or conservatory. 



Cataicbicnsc Varietii-s. — These are very hardy, have immense 

 trusses, and the flowers are of good substance, hence they are 

 well adapted for forcing. Album grandiflorum, blush white, 

 green spots ; Aznreum, bluish lilac ; Cirrulescens, bluish purple ; 

 Everestianum. lilac, spotted and fringed ; Fastnosum flore- 

 pleno, lilac; Grandifl)rum, deep rose; Rosenm elegans, pale 

 rose ; and Koseum superbnm, deep rose. 



Latc-/!iiiccrinfi Iliihrids. — These are good forcers, but ought 

 not to be excited much before January, and they flower best if 

 allowed to coma on slowly in n cool greenhouse. Those named 

 are of dwarf good habit. Alarm, white centre, edged with light 

 scarlet; Blandyanum superbum, light crimson; Brayanum, 

 rosy scarlet, with light centre ; Brilliant, crimson scarlet ; Co- 

 riaceum, white ; Lefevreannm, purplish crimson ; Macnlatum 

 pnrpureum, purplish rose, much spotted ; Madame Miolan Car- 

 valho, perhaps the best white Rhododendron ; Neilsoni, rosy 

 lake ; Oohroleuoum, pale yellow, brown spots ; Paxtoni, rose ; 

 Victoria (Pince's), deep claret ; and William Downing, dark 

 puce, blotched. 



AzAiEAS are second only to the llhododendron, and they have 

 the advantage that some of them are scented. The small- 

 flowered but very sweet kinds, as Viola odora, orange and sal- 

 mon ; Tiscosa floribunda, white ; and Viscocephala, sulphur 

 white, are splendid both for pots and cut flowers. The pretty 

 A. amcena, rosy purple, is fine ; and so are Monstrosa fascicn- 

 laris, yellowish orange, and Monstrosa variabilis, yellowish 

 orange, but changeable on account of their dwarf habit. Eng- 

 lish varieties ; — Coocinea major, dark scarlet ; Decorata, pink ; 

 Pontica varieties :— Alba (Thompson's) creamy white; Macran- 

 tha, sulphur ; Princeps grandiflora, pink ; and Triumphans, 

 orange. Ghent varieties : — Coccinea speciosa. orange scarlet ; 

 Julius Caisar, red, orange in the upper segment ; Morteri, yellow 

 and rosy red ; Prineesse d'Orange, salmon pink; Qaadricolor, 

 buff, shaded with salmon ; and Unique, deep scarlet. 



The Azaleas require the same treatment as Rhododendrons. 

 They may be forced a month, or, better, six weeks after the 

 leaves have fallen, potting as soon as they begin to fall, or in 

 October. 



AsuEOMEDA FLOP.tBCxnA is a good free-flowering plant, and 

 being white and sweet-scented is fine for bouquets. It requires 

 but very little forcing. To have it in flower at Christmas plants 

 that have been potted in September or October, and kept in a 

 sheltered position or cool house, may be placed in a house with 

 a night temperature of from 40- to 4-5° at the end of November, 

 and they will be in splendid bloom at Christmas. It is natu- 

 rally so good in habit that it must be considered a first-rate 

 decorative plant, and it is one of the most effective of hardy 

 low-growing shrubs when gently forced. It requires a more 

 sandy peat than Rhododendrons, and should be grown in partial 

 shade during the summer, and be well supplied with water. 

 Return it to a cold pit after flowering, and harden it well off 

 before exposure out of doors. The plants may be grown a 

 number of years in pots, and annually placed in a cool green- 

 house for blooming. There are many species of Andromeda, 

 but A. floribunda is the best. 



Kai-mia latifoi.ia, with good foliage and splendid heads of 

 bright rosy scarlet flowers, is a fine forcing plant. Small plants 

 weU set with bloom buds shonld be potted in October, kept in 

 a cool house, and be forced the same as Rhododendrons. To 

 aacceed well they should not be subjected to a high tempera- 

 ture, but be slowly brought forward. The plants may be grown 

 in pots for a number of years, but they will not flower the 

 second year if they are forced early, and usually are only avail- 

 able every second year. The variety myrtifolia is a dwarf form 

 with much narrower foliage. It is very handsome. Soil, sandy 



peat, and good drainage. Standards of K. latifolia are fine for 

 large conservatories, and for decorating balls, itc. 



DArnxE Ckeokcm — The flowers of this are very sweet, and 

 deep pink or rose. It may be had in very small plants. The 

 way to obtain them is to layer a good branch of an old plant in 

 a 3 or 4-inch pot in autumn or spring — for a dwarf plant layer 

 it close to the shoots — plunging the pot in the ground. The 

 following autumn the layer will be well rooted, and may be 

 detached and potted in a tj-inch pot, plunging it in a warm 

 dry situation. Pinch off the bloom next summer, and keep the 

 plant duly supplied with water. It should have an open sunny 

 situation. The soil need may consist of sandy neat two parts, 

 one part loam, and one part limestone or lime rnbbish, with a 

 free admixture of sand. Good drainage must be given. The 

 pots ought to be set on rough cinders, and the intervals between 

 the pots filled up with the same. The plants are impatient of 

 stagnant moisture, therefore guard against its lodgment by 

 raising them above tbe ground level. By autumn they will be 

 fine plants ; remove them to a cold pit before severe weather 

 sets in, and take into the forcing house a few plants at a time, 

 placing them in a light and airy sitnation. and near the glass. 

 They succeed in a greenhouse, and require nearly the same 

 treatment in forcing as Rhododendrons. Standards are very 

 handsome, and they are obtained by layering a branch with 

 good shoots well situated for forming a head. After layering 

 the branch and securing it with a peg, pot in a neat stake, and 

 tie the branch upright to it. Detach the layer a year after- 

 wards, and grow it a twelvemonth in a pot as depcribed for 

 dwarf plants. The stake, being no thicker than the stem, and 

 painted green, will not be very conspicuous. Standards in 

 (i-inch pots are very ornamental for table decoration. 



ViErr.NCM Tints (Lanrustinus). — Flowering as this does in 

 winter, it can hardly be' said to be forced, but as the flowers 

 are liable to be injured and retarded by severe frosts a few 

 plants in pots are desirable. The plants are best grown as 

 pyramids or standards, both of which are handsr.me, the latter 

 especially so when on stems 24 or 30 inches high and having 

 compact heads. Either are easily formed by cutting in to the 

 shape wanted in spring before they begin to grow, and disposing 

 the shoots equally in summer, not stopping any except those 

 which are very strong, as from their points the bloom is pro- 

 duced. Standards take a longer time to form, but they are of 

 easy formation, the side shoots being taken off until the length 

 of stem required is secured. They ought to have an open 

 situation out of doors from May to November, being well sup- 

 plied with water in dry weather. A cool, airy, light house from 

 which frost is excluded, is all the forcing they require. — 

 G. Abdey. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 

 V>'e are informed that the prize of £5 5.<., offered by 

 Lieut.-Col. Scott, R.E., Secretary of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society, for an Essay ox the Pr.ixcirLEs of FlofxAl Criticism, 

 will be awarded on Wednesday, May 4'.h, 1870, and not Janu- 

 ary 19th, as previously announced. 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN' GAF.DES. 



Little can be added to previous directions under this head ; 

 operations at this season are entirely dependant on the state 

 of the weather. No opportunity should be omitted of getting 

 the soil in a favourable state for tbe reception of the varione 

 crops which must soon be committed to it, and as the basis of 

 success is allowed by all good practical gardeners to be a 

 thorough system of drainage, no time .should be lost in attend- 

 ing to this." The surface of tbe soil must be occasionally stirred 

 amongst CaiiUttotmf, Lfttuce^', and young Cihbafles, and the 

 earth shonld be drawn round plants of the last to prevent 

 them from being blown about by the wind. Cclfrij and Parsley 

 must be protected in severe frost. See that a warm patch of 

 ground, on a sonth border, is in readiness to sow a breadth of 

 early Radislies, and in bad weather prepare a quantity of 

 material for the protection of early crops of various sorts. 

 rnriT gakpex. 



The renewing of fruit-tree borders where the soil is im- 

 poverished is very necessary at this season. Let as ranch of 

 the old soil be removed as can be done without disturbing the 

 roots, supplying its place with maiden loam. Avoid stimn- 

 lants, which' often induce over-luxuriance instead of frnitful- 

 ness. As a considerable difference of opinion exists on this 



