April 15, 1875. ) 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



289 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



APBIL 15—21, 1875. 



Linnean Society at 8 p.m. Boyal Society at 8.30 p.m. 

 Royal luBtitatioa at 8 p.m. 



8 Sunday after Easter, 



London and Victoria Institutes. British. Architects' 

 Zoological Society at 8 30 p.m. [ Society at 8 p.m. 



Royal Horticultural Society, Early Rhododendron 



[ Show. 



S6.5°. 



From observations takea near London daring forty-three years, the average day temperatai*e of the week is 58.8''j and its night temperature 



GERANIUMS FOK BEDDING. 



^^y^ HEN recommending lists of Geraniums it 

 would be a very good tiling if persons 

 could also state what other sorts they 

 had tried. For instance, " Age " recom- 

 mends very strongly Warrior, Vesuvius, 

 Lucius, Claude Lorraine, and Creed's 

 Seedling. Although Vesuvius is spoken 

 so highly of I cannot see its merits ; it is, 

 no doubt, hardy, tolerates bad treatment, 

 and blooms freely for a certain time, but 

 the truss is small. It does not endure sun and dry 

 weather, and it seems to me very inferior to either Corsau-, 

 Jean Sisley, Star of Fire, Grand Duke, or Soleil. Claude 

 Lorraine I long since discarded, but I never gave Lucius 

 a fair trial. Creed's Seedling with me was never either 

 a good yellow or a good green, and the flower only an 

 inferior Tom Thumb. Maia, owing to the courtesy of 

 the raiser, I shall be able to try this year, as he kindly 

 sent mo some cuttings in the autumn, and I have only 

 lost one plant. 



Again, when Mrs. Pollock is recommended as a Golden 

 Tricolor, has " Age " tried Sophia Dumaresque, Lady 

 Cullum, William Sanday, Macbeth, Edith Pearson, Queen 

 of Tricolors, &c., against it ? as, so satisfied am I of the 

 superior merit of all those I have named, that Mrs. Pollock 

 is no longer grown here, as not retaining its leaf-colour in 

 hot sunny weather. William Sanday seems likely to be 

 about the best bedder we have. 



I had intended to have given a description of a few of 

 the best of those on trial here last year, but have put 

 it off till too late for this year, and hope that some of 

 those who study the different kinds of bedding Gera- 

 niums wiU, at the end of this season, make out a Ust 

 of the best. My impressions at present are in favour of 

 the following: — 



Dark Scarlet. — Edward Sutton, General Outram. 



Scarlet. — Star of Fu-e, Corsah-, Grand Duke, Soleil, 

 Jean Sisley. 



Crimson Scarlet. — Bayard, Vesta, Bonfire. 



Crimson. — Mrs. Vincent, Chai-ley Casbon. 



Cerise. — Violet Hill, Lady Kirkland, Arthur Pearson. 



Bose. — Kose Bradwardine. 



Deep Pink. — Contessa Quarto, Mrs. Holden, Mrs. 

 Ffytche, Pink Queen, Mrs. Musters. 



Lighter Pink. — Master Christine, Mrs. Lowe, Mrs. 

 Upton, Kose Kendatler. 



Lilac Pink. — Amaranth, Florence Duraud. Gloire de 

 Corbenay is certainly one of the best of that section, but 

 it is difficult to find a place for it in a set of beds. 



I wish some one could raise another Lady Kirkland 

 with a stiff flower stalk, there is no more continuous 

 bloomer. It has the merit, too, of not seeding, and the 

 trusses are large ; but it has a vei-y slender footstalk, and 

 the trusses straggle about the bed. 



The following seem to me the desiderata for a bedding 

 Geranium — flowering section : — 



1, Colour bright and decided. 



No. 783.— Vol. XXVIII., New Sesieb. 



2, Truss large ; pip good size and substance, capable 

 of standing sun and wind. 



•3, Footstalk firm and strong, not too long nor too 

 dwarf. 



4, The individual flowers on long stalks, so that the 

 truss should not be too crowded. 



5, Freedom of blooming. 



6, Spreading habit of growth. 



7, Foliage uniform in colour, not too much zoned ; a 

 bright clear green is much better, as a rule, than a horse- 

 shoe. 



8, Continuance and duration of bloom is more valuable 

 than mere profusion at one time. 



The Geranium which with me unites these qualities 

 more than any other is Violet Hill. It is, however, very 

 dwarf, and many persons discard it because it requires 

 care and attention ; and it will not succeed with an 

 ordinary cold-frame treatment. Mrs. Lowe, as a light 

 bright pink, is quite as good in its way. 



It will be noticed by many that plants gradually acquire 

 a dwarfer habit of growth the longer they are cultivated ; 

 many which were too strong and vigorous in their second 

 and third year from the seedhng state, as WiUiam Under- 

 wood for instance, often lose this vigorous growth aud 

 become more compact. 



Amongst Tricolors I have already named the best. In 

 the Bronzes I do not like either those that are too dark, 

 as Black Douglas, or those that turn green, as Her Ma- 

 jesty, Beauty of Calderdale, or Beauty of Oulton. The 

 best in point of colour are Crown Prince, Imporatrice 

 Eugenie, Eeine Victoria, Marquis of Lome, and Earl 

 Rosslyn ; but they all want good soil and generous treat- 

 ment. I have not succeeded with any Silver Tricolor 

 as yet. 



Among the Whites I prefer May Queen, Flower of 

 Spring, Miss Kingsbury, Castlemilk, Pearl, and Mrs. 

 Lennox. Beaton's Variegated Nosegay did not succeed 

 with me. Bijou is too upright in growth, and Alma is 

 inferior to those named. 



There is quite a plethora of good Pinks since Mr. Pear- 

 son of Chilwell sent out so good a batch in 1872 ; and it 

 wUl be a difficult thing, I think, to decide between the 

 merits of such sorts as Contessa Quarto, Mrs. Ffytche, 

 Mrs. Holden, Miss Young, Miss Skipworth, Mrs. Augusta 

 Miles, Mrs. Musters, &c. Of this we may be perfectly 

 certain, that the older pink varieties, as Christine, Pink 

 Perfection, Countess of Eosslyn, and some others, wiU 

 have to give way. 



I may say, in conclusion, that having tried a gi'oat 

 number of pure Zonals for bedding, as Clipper, Dr. Lind- 

 ley, Roi d'ltalie, &c., I have quite come to the conclusion 

 that no pure Zonal is so good as those that have some 

 of the Nosegay blood in then- veins, and that Stella 

 and Black Dwarf, though perhaps now discarded, have 

 done much to improve our bedding Geraniums ; and as 

 I look forward to the time when this rage for carpet 

 bedding with formal cut patterns will again give way to 

 the best stamp of flowering plants of each section, I BtUl 

 hope that cm- raisers of bedding plants will continue to 

 No. I880.— Vol. LIXI., Old Sebies. 



