June 10, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICUIiTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



413 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



JUNE 10—16, 1875. 



Royal Society at 8.30 p.m. Leeds Hort. Exhibition. 

 Literary and Artistic Society at 7 p.m. 

 Royal Botanic Society, 3.45 P.M. 



3 SUND,4Y AFTER TRINITY. 



Roval Geographical Society at S.80 P.M. 

 Zoological Society at 8.80 P.M. 



Royal Botanical Society — Second Summer Exhibition. 

 [Koyal Hort. Society — Fruit and Floral Committee. 



Avcraife §„„ 



Temperature near Rieea 

 l.ondon. 



Sun 

 Sets. 



Moon 

 Riees. 



Moon Moon's 

 Sets. Atie. 



Day. Night. Mean. m. h. 



69.1) 

 72.1 

 71.4 

 719 

 72.6 

 7i8 

 72.6 



46.9 

 47,6 

 46.1 

 47.4 

 47 9 

 48.2 

 48.3 



r8j) 



S9.9 

 58.8 

 69.6 

 603 

 60.5 

 60.4 



45af3 

 45 3 



45 

 44 

 44 

 44 

 44 



m. h. I m. h. I m. h. Days. 



ISaf 8 

 It 



14 

 15 

 16 

 3 I 17 

 3 17 



15afll I 30 

 after. ' 41 



40 1 



52 

 4 



17 



80 6 



8 

 9 

 10 

 11 

 12 

 13 



47.6< 



From observations takea near London daring forty<three years, the average day temperature ol the week is 71.8^; and its night temperature 



FINE-FOLIAGED PLANTS FOR INDOOR 

 DECORATION. 



:N a former paper, while advocating princi- 

 pally flowei-iog plants for house decoration 

 in autumn and winter, I stated that there 

 is something refreshing in the appearance 

 of fine foliage in the heat of summer, I 

 may add that there are niches and corners 

 in mansions where symmetry rather than 

 colour is wanted ; where a noble Palm or a 

 graceful Fern judiciously placed seems to 

 harmonise so thoroughly with the archi- 

 tectural and other permanent ornaments, that to remove 

 the plant seems to leave an almost irremediable blank. 

 For such places the two classes of plants named (Palms 

 and Ferns) undoubtedly contain many species and varie- 

 ties, which can have no competition from any other class; 

 but unfortunately many of the plants are costly, and 

 proprietors who pay away considerable sums in the course 

 of the season to have their town residences furnished in 

 perhaps a third-rate manner, will not employ a compe- 

 tent person to look after the plants, but expect their 

 domestic servants to do it ; or, what is as bad, they em- 

 ploy someone in a small way of business who has neither 

 the taste nor the ability to decorate well, but who un- 

 derstands one thing perfectly — making out his account. 

 It would be far cheaper in the end to employ a competent 

 person, to say nothing of the pleasure and good temper 

 derived from seeing the work well done. \Ve know by 

 experience what our great furnishing houses can do when 

 appealed to on special occasions, and even what can be 

 effected by a competent private gardener who has the 

 material to select from. I see no reason why the London 

 mansions of the wealthy should not be perpetual con- 

 servatories during the summer season, and I believe many 

 of them might be so for the same or little more than the 

 sum now expended merely for floral decorations on spe- 

 cial occasions. I do not, however, expect proprietors to 

 take my view of the matter directly, and meantime I 

 will name a few effective plants which are very easy to 

 grow, and which when grown and placed in position if 

 either the housemaid should drown them, or the footman 

 allow them to be dried up, the pecuniary loss would not 

 be very great. 



The iirst on my list is the Palma-Christi, or Castor-oil 

 Plant (Ricinus), of which there are several distinct and 

 striking varieties, some with glaucous light-green foliage 

 and stems, as in R. africanus, and others with red stems 

 and bronzy leaves a yard wide, as in R. Obermannii, and 

 all of them, if grown quickly without being stunted, 

 almost rivalling the Palms. The seeds of these, which 

 can be bought for a few pence, should be sown in brisk 

 heat six or seven weeks before the plants are required, 

 and hardened in an intermediate house. They can be 

 used in the mansion with grand effect long before any- 

 thing of the sort can breathe the outdoor air with safety. 

 If not required till the spring is somewhat advanced they 

 may be raised in a frame, or even in a warm room, but 



No 741.— Vol,. XXVIII., New Seeies. 



they must never receive a check. Seeds of this kind of 

 plants are generally sown too early ; ours for the flower 

 garden in summer, where they attain a height of 10 or 

 12 feet, are never sown till May, and are planted out 

 after the middle of .Tune. 



Melianthus mnjor is another grand Palm-like plant for 

 either indoors or out. It is of slower growth than the 

 Ricinus, and should be sown early in January in heat 

 and afterwards hardened, when it will bear without in- 

 jury several degrees of frost. Acacia lophantba, sown at 

 the same time, makes plants 18 inches high in three 

 months, which are admirably suited for grouping. If 

 larger specimen plants are required seed should be sown 

 the previous summer, and the plants merely kept from 

 frost. There are many other good plants which may be 

 easily raised from seed and used for the above purpose, 

 as may be seen by referring to a catalogue of subtropical 

 and ornamental-foliaged plants, but I think I have named 

 the very best. 



Then, again, among the greenhouse Conifers there are 

 several shrubs admirably suited for this purpose — notably 

 Araucaria excelsa. Amongst other greenhouse plants are 

 Dracaenas, Cordylines, Ficus elastica, Abutilons, Aralias, 

 and Musas ; and amongst hardy plants perhaps the best 

 are Yuccas and hardy Ferns. The latter might be potted 

 the previous season, and forwarded in a greenhouse. 



I do not think it well to use very many variegated and 

 coloured leaves in decorating a mansion, and those which 

 are used should be distinct and decided. There is gene- 

 rally not suflicient light to bring out colours which are 

 not bright in themselves, and often the prettiest colour- 

 ing is on leaves which are otherwise heavy in appearance, 

 as, for example, the iine-leaved Begonias. It is safer, 

 therefore, when experimenting, to trust rather to beauty 

 of form than to beauty of colour ; and after the miles of 

 bricks and mortar, dust and hot pavements one has to 

 pass in London, I think it would take a large quantity of 

 well-placed Palm and Fern-like foliage to tire the eye, 

 especially now that there are such masses of cut flowers 

 used. 



Plants of thick close growth should never be used, but 

 only those which are light and airy, although they may 

 be large and grand, as in the Palms, and of course they 

 should not be crowded. I consider that, although foliage 

 plants are easier to grow than flowering plants, it takes 

 greater taste to place them in position ; for they at once 

 detract from or they greatly add to the general embellish- 

 ments. The illustration and note about the pots on 

 page 415 is very opportune, and should be constantly 

 borne in mind. 



It is a good plan to plant Lycopodiums to cover the 

 soil in the pots. I also have a quantity grown in small 

 pots for placing amongst the plants when they are used 

 in groups. Kept growing, it has a much better effect 

 than dying moss or branches would have. Some of the 

 climbing Club Mosses, Ivies, and other plants might be 

 grown in the same way for drooping round the edges of 

 baskets and vases. For this purpose the green Loose- 

 strife (Lysimachia nummularia) is very suitable, for it 



No. 1893 —Vol. LIII., Old Series. 



