72 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



[ Jauuary 28, 1875. 



climbing Boses, says that he has given np growing climbing 

 Devoniensis and climbing Victor Verdier, two of the best 

 climbing and pillar Eoses we possess. The former covers the 

 larger part of the front of my house (not ten miles from Lon- 

 don), and the beauty of its chaste cream-coloured blossoms 

 before full expansion baffles description, to say nothing of its 

 handsome foliage, so generally healthy and free from blight. 

 Again, why does your correspondent omit Cloth of Gold from 

 his indoor climbers ? It is absolutely without a rival in a 

 Bose house. If he wants crimson flowers, let him procure 

 Messrs. Veitch's charming new Tea Bose Duchess of Edin- 

 burgh.— H. K. M. 



VERONICA SERPYLLIFOLIA A SUBSTITUTE 

 FOE LAWN GRASS. 



A REALLY good substitutc for grass would certainly be a great 

 boon to many, especially to amateurs with small grass plots 

 closely studded, as these often are, with flower beds. 



Some fifteen or sixteen years ago the days of the " dewy 

 grass" were thought to be numbered, and Spergula pilifera 

 was to reign in its stead. In some nurseries it was cultivated 

 almost by the acre, and immense quantities of it sold, but now 

 the nasty weed is seldom seen. At that time I was in a large 

 garden near Edinburgh, where it was tried in various ways, and 

 we were kept dibbling, watering, and weeding Spergula until it 

 became a settled conviction with us youths that our worthy 

 chief had spurrey on the brain ; but nothing came of it, or 

 rather the grass came, and the scythe and the mowing machine 

 went on as before. 



In small nooks and corners grass is doubtless sometimes 

 very troublesome, and unless these be kept equally as well as 

 the more accessible parts, the neatness and beauty of the whole 

 is considerably marred, and for such places X would strongly 

 recommend a trial on a small scale of Veronica serpyllifolia. 



This little plant is said to be a native, although I do not 

 know it as such, and it may not be so well known to all but 

 that a short description of it may be acceptable. It is a low, 

 spreading, dense-growing plant with leaves, as its name im- 

 pUes, very much resembling those of the common wild Thyme, 

 Thymus SerpyUum, only of a brighter fresher green, and much 

 more closely set upon the stems. On light soil in a common 

 herbaceous border it seldom grows higher than about an inch, its 

 creeping stems rooting at every joint, and a patch of it the size 

 of a crown planted in spring will cover a square foot of ground 

 by the end of the season. In May and June it is thickly 

 covered with white flowers faintly tinged with pale blue, which 

 scarcely rise half an inch above the plant. Were its season of 

 blooming not so very brief it would long ago have won itself a 

 name among the best of carpet bedders. It bears treading and 

 rolling well, though certainly not to the same extent as grass. 

 Except on rockwoik 1 have not seen it suffer from drought, but 

 it does best on a moderately damp soil. — B. D. Taylor. 



HARDINESS OF CORDTLINE INDIVISA. 



Is it generally known that Cordyline (Dracaena) indivisa is 

 a hardy out-of-door plant :' 



I saw last summer in Messrs. Jackmans' nurseries at Woking 

 several plants standing in a row, and was told they bad been 

 there without protection for six or eight years. I was struck 

 by their beauty, luxuriance, and tropical appearance. As a 

 decorative plant for standing in isolation on lawns I cannot 

 imagine a better. A few days since I drove to Messrs. Jack- 

 mans', and was told that the Draciena was unharmed by the 

 severe frosts we have lately experienced. 



My interest lies greatly in the beautifying of grounds, ite. 

 I am anxious to rake up any hardy ornamental plants and 

 shrubs suitable for conspicuous positions, of which Dracrena 

 indivisa is certainly one. — Henhy W. CoopEit, F.R.H.S. 



Cdlterwell's Pbolific Maekow Pea. — My object in writing 

 is not to write-up the above Pea, but to advise those who in- 

 tend to grow it to try it for general use, as I see it is adver- 

 tised in your columns merely as a late Pea. Having had the 

 opportunity of seeing it growing last season I can recommend 

 it as the Pea for everyday use, particularly to those who have 

 a large supply to produce from a limited space. It is just the 

 Pea to take the place of the well known Champion of England. 

 These thoughts must have tuggetted themselves to many 

 other garden visitors to Thorpe Perrow as well as to myself as 



they looked down the magnificent rows of this Pea grown by 

 Mr. Calverwell, who grows it not only as a late Pea, but as the 

 Pea for everyday use. The photograph shows its bearing 

 qualities, the pods being large and well filled with monster 

 peas — in fact, to my mind it is a giant Veitch's Perfection. — 

 Thomas Keetley, Tlie Gardens, Newto7i House. 



TRANSPLANTING VINES. 



Mr. Wkioht expressed a desire to hear the result of my ex- 

 periment as regards the fruiting of the Vines, the transplant- 

 ing of which was described in the numbers of your periodical 

 of October 9th and IGtb, 1873. 



Last season (1874) the Vines were all that could be desired, 

 making vigorous growth, and producing a sufficient number of 

 moderate-sized bunches, with berries as large as I have ever 

 seen in a cold vinery (such as mine), and ssarcely to be sur- 

 passed in colouring, bloom, and condition. 



I am not ambitious of cultivating the " sensational bunches 

 for exhibition purposes " of which Mr. Wright speaks, but I 

 should thank him much if he would fulfil a hope which he 

 gave us some reason to entertain, by giving directions for the 

 formation of his beau ideal border, such as would produce at 

 least sensational berries, say of the size of an Orleans Plum ; 

 but probably the two things go together. Mr. Wright's system 

 of incorporating charred vegetable matter with the border is, 

 I am sure, excellent. The virtues of that dressing are proved 

 in an early number of the Cottage Gardener by Mr. Barnes of 

 the Bicton Gardens. I had not such materials at hand, or I 

 should gladly have used them. Liquid manure has a powerful 

 effect. In the better days of guano I tried it with potted 

 Vines ; the growth, marked on the wall, was sometimes IJ inch 

 in twenty-four hours, if not more. 



Mr. Wright's recommendation regarding fire heat is good. 

 The ripening of the wood has always been a great point with 

 me. I hope this year to introduce hot- water pipes into my 

 vineries, which have hitherto been without them. 



Lastly, I mentioned the failure of my Grapes in the house 

 before the Vines were transplanted. The chief cause, I have 

 no doubt, was that the roots were inside the house, and that 

 the watering of these, especially if followed by sunshine, made 

 the berries crack, and covered them with oidium before they 

 even changed colour. Since the Vines have been planted out- 

 side not a single berry has cracked or failed to ripen well. — 

 Robert Blackburn. 



OUR BORDER FLOWERS— THE FRITILLART. 



We have not among all our border flowers a more pleasing 

 family than the Fritillarias when well grown. What is more 

 attractive in the spring time than Fritillaria imperialis, or 

 "Crown Imperial," as some choose to name it? It is often 

 seen to the greatest advantage in some cottager's garden. 

 Fritillaries are a rather numerous family, requiring liberal 

 treatment, especially the Imperialis section. They should have 

 the border broken up to the depth of 2 feet, and enriched by 

 well-rotted manure two or three years old, or leaf mould well 

 decomposed, a little sandy peat with a sprinkling of coarse 

 sand well incorporated together, and have thorough drainage. 

 The bulbs should be planted 4 or 5 inches deep. They some- 

 times grow themselves out of the soil, if they are not taken np 

 and replanted. They should be replanted every second or 

 third year after being divided. They are readily increased by 

 division. 



They do well in a moderately sheltered situation, but should 

 be secured from being blown about. If the spring be dry they 

 will be the better for being mulched with decayed stable 

 manure. 



The double varieties are very handsome and ought to be 

 far more extensively cultivated than thpy are as spring-bloom- 

 ing plants. The vai legated varieties are handsome either for 

 pots, borders, or spring-garden decoration. They perfect their 

 growth and may be removed in time for summer bedding. 

 For this purpose the bulbs may be dried and stored away in a 

 cool moist place. The jellow-flowered varieties make a bright 

 display either grown by themselves or mixed with the red, bnt 

 I prefer them in their separate colours. 



Fritillaria meleagris, one of our native plants, ought to be in 

 all herbaceous borders or in the shrubbery. Its beautiful bell- 

 shaped blooms and pendant habit, with its curious-coloured 

 flowers, called by some of our country cousins " Weeping 

 Widow," will thrive in most situations. F. meleagris alba, a 



