June 3, 1873. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



4-a 



biennial — to take up the matter of fragrance this year, with 

 the consent, of course, of the powers that be. It will be well, 

 then, for nosea to be on the alert. In one of the replies re- 

 ceived last year the subject was suggested, and I think it may 

 be taken up this year, coupled with an election of the newer 

 Roses. At least this is the idea that has occurred to me in 

 connection with Rose elections for the present year. — Joseth 

 HiNTON, WarmittstiT, 



!" The powers that be " cordially assent.^ 



NOVELTIES IN THE KOYAL GARDENS, KEW. 



Chktsan'themcm Catass-Nxhe, one of the choicest introduc- 

 tions resulting from the expedition to Morocco of Ur. Hooker, 

 Messrs. Maw and Bui], is flowering on the rockwork. Besides 

 being new to the science of botany, it is the firaa ideal of a 

 rockwork plant, being a dwarf perennial, brilliant in flower, 

 and quite hardy. The rootstock branches freely, forming a 

 dense tuft of many heads, with silvery leaves cut into linear 

 segments. The Sower stems are erect, 3 to 6 inches high, bear- 

 ing one capitule nearly 2 inches in diameter, with the rays of 

 a creamy yellow colour, and a band of rich maroon round the 

 centre. The involucral bracts are broad, silvery white, and of 

 hyaline texture, thus resembling Catananche, whence the 

 specific name. On the Greater Atlas, at elevations of from 

 7000 to 9000 feet, it forms large patches on the slopes exposed 

 to the sun, and in the rocky valleys. It is increased by 

 division without loss, every piece being willing to grow. This 

 is a good alpine for pot cultivation, succeeding well in stich 

 confinement. 



JEthionema coridifolium of the '• Botanical Magazine,'' a 

 plant of true beauty, is here in flower. We do not mean that 

 with the same name well known long ago, and sometimes as a 

 beautiful weed ; but quite a different plant from a cultivator's 

 point of view — the Iberis jucnnda of Scholt and Kotschy, intro- 

 duced some time ago by Messrs. Backhouss. It is no less 

 charming, and having a delicate less rambling habit is more 

 suitable for select rockwork of limited extent. The height in 

 this case is about S inches, and every branch bears a dense 

 raceme of pink flowers. Truly they are more like .Kthionema 

 than Iberis. therefore a good name to distinguish it from the 

 original would be J!, jucunda. It certainly belongs to the 

 former genus, and not the latter. Native of Asia Minor and 

 Lebanon. 



Philydrum glaberrimnm is flowering in the Temperate 

 house, and, like the above Chrysanthemum, is new to science 

 as well as to cultivation. It was introduced by Mr. William 

 Bull. Though not possessing the showiness necessary for 

 popular decoration, it is ornamental, and also of botanical 

 interest. It forms a tuft 3 feet high, of dark green ensiform 

 leaves an inch in breadth. The flowers are ivory white, thickly 

 disposed in handsome panicles , which rather exceed the leaves. 

 This makes a third species for the curious order Philydraces , 

 there having been only two known hitherto, each forming a 

 genus. It is supposed to be a native of the Pacific Islands. 

 Philydrum is remarkable and interesting from the flowers 

 having a dimerous perianth and only one stamen. 



Azalea linearifolia flowering in the same house may be 

 defined as a floral curio. The leaves are graceful, about 

 3 inches long, and very narrow. The corolla lobes are also 

 long and narrow, and being divided to the base, or nearly so, 

 render the plant quite distinct and unique in appearance. It 

 is a native of Japan, and cuttings strike freely. 



MARKET GARDENING AT MANCHESTER. 



The township of Sale was once called Sale-moor, and properly 

 80, for the greater part of it was covered with heather, growing 

 in thin black light soil resting on a bed of gravel and white 

 sand 12 feet deep. It is fast being covered with good property, 

 and becoming a healthy suburb of Manchester. It is five 

 miles from Manchester, and is on the Cheshire side of the 

 river Mersey. The trade of the place may be said to be 

 market gardening ; indeed it seems to form the central town- 

 ship of an extensive camp of market gardeners. The Smith- 

 field Market of Manchester, like Covent Garden of London, 

 is the central vegetable mart for an immense population. 

 Many of the large and populous towns of Yorkshire, and 

 almost all in Lancashire save Liverpool perhaps, are chiefly 

 supplied with vegetables from the Manchester mart. And the 

 greater part of them are grown in this neighbourhood. 



The soil here is. exceeding light and hungry, but healthfxil 



and easily worked. It is rented at about £-5 and £6 per statute 

 acre, and stable manure costs 10s. per ton. Notwithstand 

 ing the high rent and deamess of manure the market gar- 

 deners seem to do well, being industrious and clever in working 

 and cropping th^^ir land. The London market gardens, and 

 the rotation of crops taken from them, interested me much 

 some twenty or thirty years ago. First came Radishes and 

 Lettuces, which realised from £40 to £.50 per acre; next a 

 crop of French Beans, and this was followed by Coleworts, all 

 well done in one year, and profitable. The farmers in this 

 locality catch the spirit of the market men in endeavouring to 

 obtain all they can out of their land. 



Strawberry-growing forms a large element of market garden- 

 ing here. Many farmers make large plantations of Strawberries, 

 and realise, I am told, about £10ii per acre in good seasoiw 

 from the fruit. The soil here evidently suits Strawberries, for 

 it yields heavy crops of them for many years in succession. 

 As soon as possible after the fruit is picked the leaves of the 

 plants are mowed off with a scythe and the beds dressed a 

 little. This is all that is done. Someone may say the 

 cuttin;; the leaves oS is a mistake, or as the late Dr. Lindley 

 put it some thirty years ago, it is like cutting the lungs out of 

 a man. The leaves were cut off the plants thus in the gar- 

 den where I served my apprenticeship, and the plants bore 

 immense crops. In this locality the practice answers well. I 

 am of opinion that the young leaves do more real work for the 

 plants than the old foliage wodd if left on. The price paid 

 for gathering Strawberries is 6<f . per dozen quarts, and we have 

 heard of able' hands earning very great wages at the com- 

 mencement of some seasons. 



Manchester is celebrated for its Celery, and nowheKe else 

 can we find better Celery, seldom any so good. The men here 

 make no fuss about growing fine Celery. The diUls are made 

 and manured in the ordinary way, but the plants are planted 

 early and small from the seed bed, instead ol being pricked out 

 and coddled in a frame. I never saw Celery from a gentle- 

 man's garden equal to some produced for the Manchester 

 market. The plants when dibbled in the trenches are bo small 

 that they can scarcely be seen tor a time. Celery makes a 

 profitable crop, and is quite equal to fallowing for cleansing 

 foul land. As Celery is much hardier than most gentlemen's 

 gardeners fancy, some of them would do well to try early plants 

 from the seed bed. 



Horseradish of all vegetables has the least attention given to 

 it in a gentleman's garden, and is generally grown in some out- 

 of-the-way comer, owing, in some measure, to the fact that 

 when once in the ground it is difficult to eradicate. At Stret- 

 ford and adjoining township, on the Lancashire side of the 

 river. Horseradish is grown and produced in beautiful condition , 

 every stick of it thick, straight, and clean, very un l i ke the 

 short knobby, knotty, ugly stuff so often produced from the 

 odd comers already alluded to. Horseradish here is grown 

 somewhat after the fashion that Seakale roots are prepared 

 elsewhere. Long roots of it (Horseradish) are taken up, and 

 the side roots on these are cleaned off, so there will be at least 

 12 inches of clean stems from the crowns or leaves to the feed- 

 ing roots. These long roots are planted m a slanting direction 

 underneath the ground, and when fully grown they may be 

 taken up as large and straight as an Altrincham Carrot. They 

 fetch a good price at the proper season. — A. Peiti&kxt. 



THE EVERGREEN OAK- 



Of this, Querciis ile.r, there are seven varieties : — I, Integri- 

 /oh'a, plain-leaved ; 2,Sen-af2y(//ia,saw-toothed-leaTed; S,Fagi- 

 folia. Beech-leaved; 4, Crispa, leaves wrinkle-edged ; o.T.ati- 

 /oZ;«, broad-leaved; ti,Lotirii folia or Sc!?!fi''o?ia, long or Willow- 

 leaved ; 7, FanVjafd, white-edge-leaved. 



Which of the varieties a correspondent, " M. F.," intends 

 to plant we do not know, but we can say that the foliage of all 

 is very dark green, and that it is a tree which rarely is efieetive 

 unless planted far in the rear of others with paler foliage ; it 

 then gives an appearance of depth to any recess. 



It is one of the best of trees for affording shade to a seat 

 placed beside its stem. An example may be seen near the 

 Round Pond in front of Kensington Palace. -V tree similar 

 to our engraving is now in flower atLoxford, the delicate green 

 of its catkin-Uie inflorescence contrasting finely with its 

 foliage, and is very ornamental. 



Near London and in the more southern counties it grows 



rapidly from the planted acom, attaining to about 20 feet in 



i height in ten years. It then grows slower in tallness, but 



