AprU 8, 1873. 1 



JOURNAli OF HORTIOOLTDIiE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



exhibitors, who oan at onoe commence to make use of it. 

 charge will be made for Bpace. 



No 



THE BOUQUET, AND HOW IT IS MA.DE. 



It haa been an object of curiosity to many how such an 

 arrangement is effected. I will inform them. Procure a quan- 

 tity of the finest wire (copper preferred), such as is used in 

 making artificial flowers. With this the bouquet should be 

 tied ; no string or matting is required. The wire should be 

 kept in a coil for tying, but some portion of it should be cut 

 into lengths of about 6 inches. 



The following flowers it well arranged have a good effect. 

 The centre a double white Camellia, the florets of a good double 

 pink Geranium, and Stephanotis floribunda, and donble bine 

 Violet or Forget-me-not ; these arranged in concentric circles, 

 round the centre, with a few fronds of the Maiden-hair Fern 

 regularly arranged between them, with a few of the fronds 

 placed round the outer edge projecting about 2 inches, to act 

 as guard to the other flowers, and about 3 inches of lace 

 paper, or, as it is better known with ns gardeners, as bouquet 

 paper. 



In making the bouquet one end of the coil wire is fixed to 

 the stalk of the centre flower, and every single flower which is 

 added is secured by a twist of the wire. A little moss should 

 be placed just where the wire is bound round to prevent cutting 

 the stalk. To supply the want of a long stalk the 6-inch 

 lengths of wires are twisted round the short stalk of the flowers 

 and bent downwards to serve in place of stalks. By the use 

 of the wire not nearly so many flowers are required, and they 

 will have a much lighter appearance and can be arranged in 

 their places much more regularly than if large trusses are used, 

 which always look stiff and heavy. 



I have often remarked to my fellow gardeners that this 

 branch of our profession does not obtain the attention that is 

 due to it, inasmuch as that the prizes are small and not paying 

 for the time, trouble, and expense. This is not all my com- 

 plaint. A great many are shut out from competing, not be- 

 cause they have not the good taste to arrange a bouquet, but 

 because they have not a supply of choice flowers, snch as 

 Orchids and other stove-blooming plants. I have watched 

 with a great amount of interest, and found that the prizes are 

 nine times ont of ten taken with that bouquet which has the 

 choicest of flowers. I think if the committees of flower shows 

 were to be a little more liberal in this class of competition and 

 divide the prizes into two classes — say prizes for the best hand 

 bouquet of choice flowers, and prizes for the best arranged 

 bouquet — this would open the door to many that have hitherto 

 been shut out. — J. H., Gardener to the Lady C. Lerjge. 



TRANSPLANTING LAKGE TREES. 



The moving and transplanting of large trees and shrubs is 

 one of those matters which every now and then come before 

 the horticultural world as some new invention is brought out 

 to effect the object ; but a much more useful purpose is served 

 by correspondents like your ingenious one " A. M." from 

 Essex, who accomplishes his purpose without the aid of those 

 costly contrivances called tree-lifting machines, bat merely 

 applies such homely materials as are generally met with in 

 most places where works of a moderate kind are going on. His 

 description of the mode of tree-moving cannot fail to be under- 

 stood by all who read it, and I strongly recommend it to the 

 attention of those who have large trees to transplant. Having 

 had experience in this work, I also give the mode that I adopted , 

 which, like that of " A. M.," is also homely; ndeed, my plan 

 and his are much alike, differing only in some details which 

 when explained will enable the next operator, perhaps, to 

 glean assistance that may be serviceable in his own case. 



First of all I may observe that I am not in general an ad- 

 vocate for removing large trees, but there are times when it is 

 advisable to do so. One of the most difficult of these that I 

 had to operate upon was an Araucaria about 23 feet high, and 

 branched to the ground, but growing near another tree a 

 greater favourite than itself. It was decided to transplant it, 

 and towards the end of the dry summer of 1868 a trench, about 

 10 inches or a foot wide and about 2 feet deep, was dug round 

 it at the distance of somewhat over 5 feet from the collar of 

 the tree, leaving the tree standing on a circle of about 11 feet 

 or more in diameter. Tbis ditch was left open, contrary to the 

 usual practice, which is to partly fill-in with loose leaves, or 

 Bomething that will tempt fresh roots into it ; but a.i the circle 



was larger than is often the case with trees about to be re- 

 moved, we thought the portion of earth left sufficient for it to 

 exist upon until the time came for its removal. This was de- 

 layed until the beginning of October, 1872. 



The site to which it was intended to remove it to being 

 exposed to south-west winds, our first duty was to adopt 

 means to secure it in an upright position while travelling, and 

 more especially when it arrived at its destination. Now as every- 

 one is aware, an Araucaria in a healthy state is an awkward 

 thing to handle, baffling even the active monkey, it required 

 some little tact and not a few scratches to accomplish our 

 purpose. At the proper height upwards we fixed a wooden 

 collar round the tree formed of several pieces of wood about 

 the length that reached from one tier of branches and another. 

 To this collar was fixed four strong wires of the kind used for 

 strained wire fences, and these acted as gye or stay ties during 

 the travelling of the tree, and as permanent braces when it 

 was fixed in its place. This done, and the lower branches 

 being tied up the same as " A. M." recommends, we next cut 

 away a portion of the ground on the side it had to travel, and 

 also on the opposite one, deepening sufficiently to be able to 

 undermine the bole of the tree from both sides. Eventually 

 a tunnel was made, and as soon as it was possible to pass a 

 plank through it was done, and some litter being put upon, it 

 was pressed upwards against the bottom of the ball. Earth 

 was rammed tightly underneath it so as to keep it in its place 

 until another plank could be put in, which was treated the 

 same, and so on until the tree was completely isolated from 

 the surrounding ground without any movement whatever in 

 itself. The planks were simply builders' strong scaffold 

 planks, and care was taken in placing them to allow about 

 halt an inch space or more between each, so that when the 

 whole were in their places a stout piece of oak timber was laid 

 across them on the side the tree had to travel, and the planks 

 were tied to this cross piece with stout wke. A loop of the 

 same wire two or three strands thick was next worked round 

 the cross piece, and the mass was now in readiness to move, 

 the ground being cut in a convenient slope for the purpose. 



We had no rollers under the mass to begin with, but wo 

 had strong tackle in the shape of a very strong rope and a set 

 of four-sheaved pulley blocks ; and there fortunately was a 

 tree to fix the block to as a beginning. With a strong pull 

 the tree was moved, and we then had rollers put under the 

 ball, and when once it was fairly out of the hole and upon 

 these rollers it moved with much more ease. The distance it 

 had to travel was upwards of 200 yards, and as the ground 

 was moderately dry and firm, we did without planks, except in 

 a few places. We used the pulley-and-block plan the whole 

 way, a sort of crowbar forced into the ground, with a man to 

 hold it, answering the purpose of an anchor to secure the block 

 to. The movement as a whole was not a tedious one. 



The hole for its permanent abode being prepared the tree 

 was drawn into it, and the wire-fastening of the planks to the 

 cross-piece being undone they were drawn out one at a time 

 without disturbing the ball, which settled itself into its 

 position. The wire braces that were fastened near the top of 

 the tree to keep it in its place were firmly secured to the 

 ground, nothing more was to be done but to fill-in the soil. 

 Favourable weather succeeded, and the tree looks as well now 

 as it did at the time it was moved. 



The check given to the tree by digging around it four years 

 before it was removed had a good deal to do with its after- 

 success, added to which was the mild but wet winter which 

 followed that operation ; while not the least important item 

 was the fact that the heavy mass was settled into its new 

 place with little damage, there not being a crack in it. 1 

 ought also to have stated that a fastening around the ooUar 

 of the tree was made to the cross-piece that bound the planks 

 together at the first, otherwise I am not sure but the planks 

 might have drawn from underneath it at the first start, which 

 was necessarily up an incline, when drawing the tree out of 

 the hole. 



In giving the above details about transplanting large trees, 

 I may add that notwithstanding the success above alluded to, 

 I would, as a rule, much rather plant small trees, and, ex- 

 cepting in very special cases, the smaller the better, provided 

 that attention is paid them for a year or two afterwards to 

 prevent weeds and other rough herbage overtopping them. 

 It is but seldom ol' trees that have been transplanted 

 look healthy and well ; perhaps the best example I can at 

 present call to memory are the large deciduous trees that 

 form the boundary of Hyde Park, London, adjoining Park 



