354 



JOUBNAL OF HORTIOULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



( May 1876. 



to pay him the snm of twopence a-day whilst he is retained as 

 Rardeiier ; or, in the old Norman French of the period in which 

 the warrant is written, deux dcitiers cliaseum jour le temps 

 (jii'll serra ensi gardyner. 



Frosted glass, useful for screens, etc., is made by 



laying the sheets horizontally and covering them with a strong 

 solution of sulphate of zinc. The salt crystallises on drying. 



All the Teas, green and black, and every variety 



however named in the market, are the produce of one shrub, 

 the Thea viniMS. The variations of colour and flavour arise 

 solely from the different soils and climates where the Tea is 

 grown, and from the different modes of manufacturing it. 

 The preparation of green Tea may be described in general 

 terms as follows : — The leaves are gathered from the shrub 

 and placed in bamboo baskets ; they are then put into shallow 

 iron pans, placed over charcoal fires, and stirred continually 

 and brifkly, the rising steam being fanned away ; after this 

 they are removed from the pans, and whilst still flaccid with 

 the contained moisture are placed before the twisters on a 

 table made of split bamboo, and therefore presenting ridges ; 

 the twisters roll them over with their hands until twisted. 

 The leaves are then spread out and exposed to the action of 

 the air, and afterwards returned to the drying-pans, exposed 

 there to additional heat, and kept continually stirred until the 

 drying is complete, when they are picked, sifted, sorted, and 

 so prepared for packing. Black Tea is prepared in the same 

 manner, with this difference, that the fresh leaves, as soon as 

 collected, are thrown together into heaps, and allowed to Ue 

 until a slight degree of fermentation ensues, or a spontaneous 

 heating, similar to that which takes place in a damp haystack. 

 This partial fermentation of the Tea leaves darkens their 

 colour. All the black Teas are grown at Fokien, a hilly and 

 populous district about two hundred miles to the north-east of 

 Canton. The green Teas are raised in the district of Kianguan, 

 about 750 miles from the same city. — {CasseU's " Technical 

 Educator.") 



OUR BORDER FLOWERS-ANDRYALA LANATA. 



For years past we have been seeking for plants for various 

 purposes for spring, summer, and autumn decoration. I have 

 sometimes thought, Why has not the plant bearing the above 

 name been brought into requisition ? Is it because it was 

 introduced to the notice of our forefathers as long ago as 1732 

 that it may be thought too old to have a place in these days 

 of modern gardening ? I am not aware that the services of this 

 plant has ever been much in request, at all events we very 

 seldom meet with it. Should any feel disposed to acquaint 

 themselves with it, they will not only find in it an old friend 

 but a very good new one. 



It is a very choice plant, said to be hardy, which it may be in 

 some favoured localities ; but it is not safe to be too venture- 

 some if you mean to continue acquaintance with the plant. 

 I find it to be about as hardy as Centaurea candidissima. 

 Sometimes it passes through the winter, sometimes not. Hike 

 it best from seed sown in the summer in gentle heat, and 

 when large enough to handle the seedlings may be potted into 

 small pots in a light sandy compost, be grown-on in heat for 

 a time, hardened off in the usual way, and be kept in a cold 

 pit from frost. In the following spring they can be planted 

 where required. 



The plants may be increased bj division and also by cuttings 

 daring the summer and early autumn. They require thorough 

 drainage, but should not suffer from want of water. A compost 

 of sandy loam, peat, and leaf mould will suit them. They are 

 impatient of damp. The plants continue for a long time in 

 flower, and are useful where out flowers are in request. I have 

 not tried the flowers, but I have an impression that with care 

 they might be dried, and be turned to good account when 

 flowers are scarce and in demand. This plant should have a 

 prominent place in all our borders. (This is now called Hiera- 

 oium verbascifoUum.) 



SOAPWOETS. 

 With the exception of two or three species the Saponarias 

 are seldom met with in our herbaceous borders, and are little 

 known in general cultivation. We are in possession of one of 

 this family as a native plant. It is sometimes met with on the 

 banks of rivers in shady places. It ia considered by some to be 

 rare, but is more local than rare, as when met with it is pretty 

 abundant. It has the merit of being one of our autumnal- 

 blooming plants, and on that account it is the more desirable. 



Saponaria officinalis has done duty on the exhibition table 

 during the autumn both as a native and herbaceous plant. 

 S. officinalis plena is sometimes met with in cultivation. 

 Naturally they are not what is termed good-habited plants, but 

 in semi-wild situations in moderately good soil they will for 

 the most part take care of themselves. They are not well 

 adapted for the dressed border on account of their rampant 

 growth. 



There is a great contrast between members of the same family, 

 for while Saponaria cajspitosa grows only 3 or 4 inches high, 

 S. officinalis grows as many feet, but the former requires more 

 care than the giant form. It likes a cosy nook on the rockery, 

 and should have good sandy peat and loam with knobs of sand- 

 stone mixed with it to grow in. It requires moisture, but must 

 not be drowned. It is well worthy of cultural care. S. luteum 

 is another diminutive kind, and requires the same treatment 

 as the preceding ; having yellow flowers makes it more desirable. 

 S. caucasica flore-pleno is a very choice border plant ; planted 

 in good loam mixed with leaf mould and sand, when well 

 established it will attain the height of 2 feet. It flowers for 

 a length of time. 



S. ocymoides is the best of the family ; it is of dwarf pro- 

 strate habit, well adapted for overhanging ledges of rockwork, 

 baskets, or edgings. When well established it lasts for some 

 time. It may be increased by seed. In some soils I have known 

 plants die off without any apparent cause. I prefer renew- 

 ing them yearly by cuttings during the summer. They strike 

 freely in sandy soil under handlights or in cold pits in a 

 shaded position. When rooted they should be potted and 

 plunged in ashes till wanted to plant where they are to flower. 

 This is one of the very best plants for the spring garden that 

 we possess ; no plant can surpass it as a bedder or for border- 

 ing. It should have a free porous soil and a moderately dry 

 situation, but should not suffer from want of water. There 

 are others that ought to be found in more general cultivation. 

 The smaller species may be increased by division, but this is 

 attended with danger to the plant, which requires very careful 

 manipulation, or there is a fear, after the operation, of the plants 

 going off, and then there is sometimes a difficulty of replacing 

 them. — Yebitas. 



WATERING PLANTS. 



THE WATEEINQ POT, ITS USE AND ABUSE. 



This is a subject that at this season of the year claims the 

 attention of gardeners and amateurs. Those who have large 

 supplies of bedding-out plants to prepare know full well what 

 a heavy task the watering is after a sunny day. The few re- 

 marks I have to make are on the indiscriminate use of the 

 watering pot, and they apply chiefly to bedding plants. As a 

 rule the watering of such plants is done with a rose watering 

 pot, for the sake of despatching the work as quickly as possible. 

 I dare say that many know well what the after-consequences 

 are likely to be if the practice is carried on for any length of 

 time. Perhaps some may say, " Unless we water in the way 

 described we should not complete the work in anything like 

 reasonable time." No doubt that is a prevailing idea, but it is 

 at times destitute of force. I fully admit that the task of 

 watering is a heavy one and will often tax the energies of those 

 who have such work to perform. 



Suppose a young man is set to work on a mixed collection 

 of bedding plants, if he is not provided with two large water- 

 ing pots and a smaller one he ought to be, unless there happens 

 to be a good supply of water close at hand. As a rule the first 

 performance is the rose pot set to work in right good earnest 

 right and left ; whether the plants require it or not, all must 

 submit to the same proportion of water. But the next ques- 

 tion is, Do they all receive it ? I will, for instance, take a well- 

 established Geranium with a good bushy head for a test plant. 

 By watering on the heads of such plants it will be found that 

 at least half the water will run oft', while Calceolarias, Verbenas, 

 and a host of plants are apt to become water-logged ; the soil 

 is soured, the plants begin to turn yellow, and ultimately they 

 sicken and die. I have seen many Calceolarias and Verbenas 

 so ruined, but when this appearance presents itself to the 

 eye the wonderment is. Whatever can be amiss with the 

 plants, for it is not for the want of water ? That may be very 

 true, but it is owing to having had too much water. After the 

 watering is finished some will say with pride that they have 

 completed their work in such a short space of time, but not 

 thinking how many plants they have injured, and, it may be, 

 giren the fatal draught. 



