160 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ relroarj 26, 1675. 



for washing the sheep to rid them of the vermin, and I have 

 no doubt that what kills vermin on sheep will also destroy any 

 of the pests that affect the Carrot and other roots, and prevent 

 mnch injury by underground maggots. Some of these com- 

 positions are marked " poisonous," and some " non-poison- 

 ous." The kind I use is non-poisonous. It is known by the 

 name of McDoughall's theep dip, and is sold by agents in all 

 the principal towns of Britain. I believe it is inexpensive, 

 and I have proved it is effective. I also know that others have 

 tried it with the same good result as myself. — J. D. 



EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



I AM not going to fish in these very troubled waters, and by 

 doing so expose myself to a midshipman's allowance — " more 

 kicks than ha'pence ;" the most appropriate thing about the 

 concern being their " maze," out of which it requires more 

 ingenuity than I possess to find my way. But I just wish to 

 point out how a cia^s of persons, without whose aid the Society 

 could not stand one moment, has been treated — I mean exhi- 

 bitors. We have now arrived at the end of the second month 

 of the year, and yet not one penny of the prizes due to us for 

 1874 has been paid ! And when one takes into account the 

 expense to which many of us are put in vans, horses, men, 

 A'C, all of which we have to pay for at the time, it seems extra- 

 ordinary for a great Society, which has the Queen as its patron 

 and no end of titled people belonging to it, to act in this strange 

 and uubusiness-hke manner. Nor is this all : the Council 

 (who must have known when they did it, or if thc-y did not 

 they ought not to be there) issued in the autumn a schedule 

 for 1875, in which they advertise a series of shows, amongst 

 them a Hyacinth Show. Now it is well known that exhibitors 

 of this flower are not like those of many others; they have to 

 purchase their bulbs every year, and I for a certainty know many 

 who did so, with the sole idea of exhibiting at South Kensing- 

 ton, and yet here in February a notice is sent out that the 

 Hyacinth Show is abandoned ! I do not blame the Council 

 for not having one — that is their business, but I do blame 

 them that they should have ever announced one ; it is trifling 

 with exhibitors which will bring its own Nemesis. I know 

 one of their largest exhibitors, not in this only, but in many 

 things, who vows he will never send anything again, and I 

 fancy this will be the case with many. 



I see there are four shows abandoned, and this is so managed 

 that, with the exception of the Carnation and Piootee, every 

 florist's flower is cut out. Auriculas (for Auriculas on May 

 12th is a farce), Pinks, Pansies, Tulips, Dahlias, Gladiolus, 

 and Hollyhocks are as completely shut-out from their schedule 

 as if they never existed. Is it not possible that the Committee 

 of the Metropolitan Floral Sjciety can be induced to extend 

 their operations ? They have announced a liberal schedule 

 for the first and three lust flowers above named, but can they 

 not occupy ground which now seems cleared awsy for them, 

 and come out strongly as a Society that has a status of its 

 own, hold its own exhibitions, and by a generous treatment of 

 exhibitors give a stimulus to floriculture ? — .\s Exdibitor at 

 THE R. H. S. 



LITTLE HEATH MELON. 

 As I see the above variety of Melon in so many seed cata- 

 logues highly eulogised, I think it but right to record my 

 experience of it. I grew nice fine-netted and handsome fruit, 

 and I must say that I felt " in high feather" regarding their 

 beauty until I tasted them, when 1 found that a little piece of 

 each was too much, both my gardener and myself agreeing that 

 they were not only not nice but nasty. Hitherto I have grown 1 

 Turner's Gem, Golden Queen, Queen Emma, and Beechwood ; 

 the difference between tbese and the above as regards flavour 

 was indeed great. No more Little Heath Melon for— Hahkiso.v 

 Weik, Wcirlcigh. 



the severity described at other places. A comparison between 

 the minimum and maximum temperature at Kew and Nice 

 during the recent cold weather gave an average of lU' in favour 

 of Nice. There has been snow both at Cannes and Mentone, 

 but it has only been seen in the distance Irom this place. 



The Sparmannia africana is still flourishing out of doors. 

 Nice supplies a great quantity of flowers and vegetables not 

 only to the surrounding districts, but also to Pans and other 

 large cities. Magnificent bouquets are sent by railway to 

 Royal and other parties for weddings and special occasions. 

 Orange blossoms have been recently sent to England, and 

 arrived in two days quite fresh for the marriage ceremony. 

 The wild spring flowers are becoming numerous, including 

 Anemones of various colours — cernua, coronaria, and hortensis. 

 The showy Almond trees are now in full flower. — Edwaed 

 Copland, Nice, February 20th. 



OUR BORDER FLOWERS— PENTSTEMONS. 



We have to look far back in the past for the introduction 

 of this, one of our choicest families of border flowers, for it 

 was in 1753 that Penlstemon pubescens was introduced. They 

 are a race of plants that present to us a variety of attractive 

 features. Some are prostrate and some of upright habit ; all 

 are more or less brittle, and suffer much from being blown 

 about by the wind if not secured. They are a very accom- 

 modating family, yet their diversity of habit requires for them 

 different treatment. Great improvements have been made in 

 this family since the introduction of Pentstemon gentianoides, 

 which was carefully tended as a greenhouse plant. P. coc- 

 cinea and alba were once looked on as wonderful additions to 

 our gardens as summer bedding plants, and when pegged down 

 and carefully stopped they continued long in bloom, and gave 

 us much satisfaction. 



The Pentstemon has now become quite a florist's flower, 

 with long lists of varieties enumerated in catalogues. They 

 are easily increased by seed or division, but the choicest of 

 them are best raised by cuttings in the autumn. 1 have found 

 them succeed well in the following manner : Take as many 

 U-inch pots as may be required, and drain them well ; cover 

 the drainage with half-rotten leaves or moss, then fill up the 

 pots to within an inch of the top with sandy compost, finish- 

 ing with an inch of pure sand. Insert the cuttings round the 

 edge of the pot, and place in a rather shaded situation out of 

 doors, but preferably under glass, and water sulliciently, yet 

 not so as to cause them to damp-off. September is a good 

 time to put in the cuttings, which strike freely, and make 

 good plants for potting or planting-out in spring. They should 

 be wintered in a frame quite safe from Ir jst. 



Some kinds are increased by division, which is best done 

 after the blooming period. They are useful where cut flowers 

 are in demand, and succeed in good loamy soil. They seed 

 freely — indeed often sow themselves. These seedlings can be 

 taken up and preserved if thought desirable, and by that means 

 a new colour may be introduced ; but to obtain good varieties 

 the best flowers should be impregnated and carefully tended, 

 and a reward will follow. I would suggest as advisable that 

 prizes be offered for Pentstemous at our horticultural exhi- 

 bitions. — Veritas. 



THE W'EATHER AT NICE. 

 We read a great deal in the papers of the cold weather 

 prevailing all around ua, and in the Times of Wednesday there 

 was a letter from a correspondent at Naples, giving a very 

 poor account of the weather in the south, and saying that 

 there they had ice IJ inch in thickness. We therefore think 

 this must be a peculiarly well-favouied place, for though once 

 or twice the thermometer has been just down to the freezing 

 point, and we have seen very thin ice, we have nothing like 



ONIONS ALL THE TEAR ROUND. 

 For the last ten or twelve years I have tried various sorts of 

 Onions — Nuneham Paik, White Spanish, and other varieties, 

 and I think none so good as Sutton's Improved Reading. It 

 is large in size, good shape, mild in flavour, and one of the 

 best keeping Onions in cultivation — that is, if it is stored 

 away properly. I tie them in wreaths and hang-up in a dry 

 cool place. I have grown it for the last six years, and by 

 properly drying before wreathing have had Reading Onions for 

 the table until the autumn-sown ones have come in. Last 

 spring two Onions were left on the strings, and to my great 

 surprise I find that one has grown a green top only l.J inch 

 long, the othfr being quite sound. So 1 think its hanging so 

 well from ISTii to 1875 is quite sufficient to prove it one of the 

 best keeping OnioLs in cultivation, and I do not think that 

 there is an Onion to equal it. — R. Walkek, IVaiugrovcs, Derby- 

 shire. 



PELAiir.oNiuM Society. — The following new members since 

 last list was publii'hed have joined the Society : — Mrs. Carter, 

 Faversham ; W. H. 0. Sankey, M.D., Cheltenham ; T. Kibble, 



