AprU 29, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



320 



qiialitt." I have grown it for some years on Quince against 

 a south wall, but it has never been more than second-rate 

 with me, and I ehould never assign it a high place in my 

 collection, for I iind it vastly inferior to Beurre Superfin, 

 Beurro Lucratif, and Doyenne Bouasoch aa an autumn Pear. 

 Your correspondent does not say when it ripens with him or 

 whether it keeps. In France it is ripe nsnally the latter end 

 of October, with me a little later. — H. S. S. 



CONVOLVULUS MAJOR. 



This Convolvulus, or Morning Glory, represents a family of 

 beautiful f ummer-flowering plants, and has long been popular as 

 a garden twiner ; yet it is not cultivated nearly so extensively as 

 formerly, beiug omitted 

 from sundry gardens 

 which it once so well 

 adorned. Plants of dwarf- 

 er growth and compact 

 habit have of late years 

 received the lion's share 

 of attention by floral ca- 

 terers, while many an old 

 garden favourite has al- 

 most been denied official 

 recognition. A plant like 

 this can, however, always 

 hold its head above mere 

 fashion, and will cling to 

 British homes from gene- 

 ration to generation. It 

 will, too, always find 

 friends to welcome it, not 

 because it will " go " well 

 with something else, or 

 that it is adapted to any 

 particular style of the 

 times, but because of its 

 inherent grace and intrin- 

 sic beauty. For variety of 

 colours, their extreme rich- 

 ness and refined delicacy, 

 as well as the fine bold 

 shape of its flowers, the 

 friends of our childhood 

 — the climbing Convolvu- 

 lus, yields in real attrac- 

 tiveness to few summer- 

 blooming garden plants. 



The popular name. 

 Morning Glory, is very 

 expressive, the splendid 

 flowers unfolding their 

 beauties to the first rays 

 of the sun, and as then 

 seen, with the dew glisten- 

 ing on their polished sur- 

 face, they are, indeed, at 

 that time a glory of the 

 garden. Their beauty 

 is, however, not lasting, 

 as the blooms close against tho fiercer rays of mid-day 

 splendour and the appositeness of the name becomes more 

 distinct. 



But these fine blooms are not only the glory of the garden, 

 but are also the glory of the breakfast table. Fresh gather- 

 ings every morning loosely grouped in vases are a charming 

 accessory to the first family gathering, and will add an ad- 

 ditional ray of cheerfulness to the cheery morning meal. The 

 contrast of colour with the spotless linen ground, the classical 

 shape of their flowers, and their striking individual beauty 

 combine to render their grouping highly attractive, and for 

 this particular purpose no flowers can surpass them. And 

 how beautiful they are in the garden for training up string by 

 walls, for covering trellis work, for forming floral arcades and 

 festooning, to pile up in bold pyramids formed of string or 

 stakes, for balcony trailers, and for window-box culture, to be 

 fringed round the windows ! In all these forms they are most 

 ornamental, and to which they are specially adapted. 



These reminders are necessary, for we would not have these 

 common flowers forgotten, or their adaptability to such modes 

 of ornamentation overlooked. Their possession is, further- 



Fig, tjl.— Convolvulus major. 



more, of the simplest, the only outlay required being for a 

 packet of seed ; and their culture is of the easiest, as they only 

 require deep rich soil and a liberal supply of water to grow 

 them to perfection. 



But must not the seed be raised in pots, and the plants be 

 hardeued-off and planted-out? That is a very natural question 

 which may arise after reading instructions on tho point. The 

 reply is the instructions are right, but they need in no way 

 deter those who have neither pots or glass from having Con- 

 volvuluses. Plants may be prepared in that way by those who 

 have the means, but much greater harm than good is generally 

 done by the adoption of that practice. They are grown under 

 glass and are drawn, they are put out and are checked, the sun 

 burns the delicate leaders, the snails do the rest, and the grow- 

 ing of Convolvuluses is 

 given up. No plants re- 

 quire nicer care in prepar- 

 ing under glass than these, 

 and it is only when the 

 work is intelligently dono 

 that success follows. 



The old plan, and it is 

 a safe one, is to sow them 

 outdoors, if possible where 

 they are intended to bloom. 

 This must not be done 

 early. The young plants 

 are tender, and must have 

 no checks by cold. Con- 

 sider them as French 

 Beans, and keep tho seed 

 in the papers until tho 

 soil and the weather is 

 warm. The last days of 

 AprU or the first week in 

 May is the time to sow 

 the seed. 



A free, quick, unchecked 

 growth at the beginning 

 is the main point to aim 

 at. To secure this let the 

 surface-soil be rich and 

 light ; 6 inches of pure 

 leaf mould is the best of 

 all mediums in which to 

 sow the seed. The plants 

 in that grow quickly, and 

 yet are strong. Beneath 

 the leaf mould must be 

 a good depth of richer 

 Boil to afford the neces- 

 sary sustenance. This 

 and copious wate rings in 

 hot weather will carry 

 the plants to perfection. 

 With this simple care it 

 is surprising how rapidly 

 the plants grow. Seed 

 sown in May in these pre- 

 pared sites will soon leave 

 the plants behind which 

 had been sown early and cuddled under glass previously to 

 being planted-out. When sown in a bed of leaf mould young 

 plants may be removed from ono part of the garden to another 

 when they are 2 or o inches high. They must be preserved 

 from slugs. — W. 



BHUBAEB CULTURE. 



Seeing the reply to J. Hood's question about Rhubarb, I 

 may mention that I have a variety which we always call Peach 

 Rhubarb, owing to its having a distinct flavour of ripe Peaches 

 when cooked. I do not know what the real name of it may 

 be. It is a strong-growing late sort, and when forced in the 

 dark has creamy white stalks spotted with pink : it is only in 

 this condition that it retains its fruity flavour. If grown in 

 the open air and allowed to become green it tastes pretty much 

 like ordinary Rhubarb ; and this reminds me how few there 

 are who make the most of this delicious fruit-vegetable. 



Everyone cannot have Grapes and Peaches in winter nor 

 fruit tarts in spring and summer, but all who have a few yards 

 of ground can obtain that which is, when properly managed, 



