June 24, 1876. ] 



JOUBNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



■187 



Lamarqae is the finest scented, and Goubault the most pe- 

 culiar in its scent. — W. F. Eadclyffe. 



EXPERIMENTS IN STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 



It is well known that the young Strawberry plant will thrust 

 its roots into the hardest soil — i.e., a garden walk, in which it 

 especially seems to luxuriate. I placed thick squares of turf 

 9 by 9 inches to the amount of several hundreds on the Straw- 

 berry beds, and three good runners on each turf. By the end 

 of the season these plants were as large as those of a year old. 

 These were planted out at the usual distance, and are now 

 equal to plants of two or three years old, and bearing a crop 

 quite equal to those of that age. As there were more plants 

 than were required, several were left lying about on the sur- 

 face, and were not planted out till late this spring. This late 

 planting has not at all retarded their growth or lessened the 

 crop. About the middle of March some of these plants that 

 had been lying about were brought into the hothouse, and 

 ripened a very fine crop of Sir J. Paxton. 



For forcing there is no occasion to pot these plants, they 

 will grow as well on boards if treated thus : Cover the boards 

 with a layer of turf, grass side downwards, free from wireworm 

 (which can be tffected by scalding), on this turf place some 

 rotten dung, and then the square of turf with the plants on the 

 top of this. They may be grown in Vine borders if placed 

 close to the glass. By the above plan Strawberries may be 

 grown on fresh land every year to great advantage. — Observer. 



AURICULA SHOWING. 



The letters which have appeared on this subject have espe- 

 cially interested one who looks back to the time when the 

 Auricula held as high a place in the estimation of metropolitan 

 florists as it seems now to do with our northern friends ; when 

 good old John Dickson of Acre Lane was in full force, and 

 amateurs who have long since passed away or retired from 

 active service used to throng the tables at " The Horns " and 

 the Surrey Gardens ; and it any of them had been told that 

 the day would come when their beloved favourite should be 

 allowed tu go with a wooden cratch, or a plant with three or 

 four trusses of bloom be considered " the thing," they would 

 have opened their eyes with astonishment. As a disciple of 

 (in florists' flowers) George Glenny, and as an unworthy suc- 

 cessor of the amateurs I speak of, I must side with Mr. Horner 

 in the view he has taken on page 448, and indeed in the 

 different views held by north or south I hold in many points 

 with the northerners. I maintain that above all things re- 

 finement is the quality for which the Auricula grower should 

 win. I know it requires good moral courage to maintain this 

 when large and most vigorous plants throw your smaller ones 

 into the shade, and when in the eyes of nineteen-twentieths 

 of the visitors these are unquestionably regarded as the best. 

 And here let me distinctly state that in saying this I do not 

 for one moment mean to maintain that I had any chance this 

 year in our metropolitan exhibition. I was never worse off ; 

 all my best plants were not in bloom, and some of those that 

 were shown had lesn kept too close in order to get them in. 

 I had one plant which I regarded as a true sample of my col- 

 lection. It took the first prize in grey edges ; it was small in 

 foliage, but it was a refined plant of Richard Headly. With 

 this exception I had not one plant that pleased me thoroughly, 

 so I write without prejudice. 



As to the number of pips, I do not hold with the northern 

 estimate, and think that no plant should have less than five. 

 I am not disposed to limit the number, although I believe that 

 a plant with seven good ones is about the perfection of truss. 

 When they go to eleven or thirteen there are always sure to 

 be defective ones ; still, if a truss of that size can be had in 

 which the pips are all correct I quite agree with the dictum 

 that it should have precedence. It is however, I believe, very 

 rare to find it when measured by the strict rules of correct 

 Auricula judging. 



I cannot hold with the opinion that the Auricula should be 

 shown with a stake. It is done in the south ; I do it myself 

 because others do, but I should be glad that it were dispensed 

 with. It might never be required ; and if a truss is top-heavy 

 it may probably be an indication that it had better not be 

 quite so large. We have in our Society made a rule against 

 more than one truss. I fear "An Old Fancier" will, alas! 

 yet see his rule against stakes rejected. Auricula growers in 

 the south will have to be educated to it. 



I do not agree with the prejudice that some of the northern 

 growers have against violet or lilac body colour, and where it 

 is associated with other qualities the prejudice ought to be 

 overcome. What more beautiful than a well-bloomed plant of 

 Maria ? I know it has a poor tube, but so have many flowers 

 that hold a good place, but what a lovely colour it is 1 Col. 

 Champueys is without doubt a very striking flower but a very 

 defective one, yet will it always down south throw others into 

 the shade, which, although not so brilliant, are yet more 

 refined. The tube is washy, the colour too deeply laid on, and 

 the pip too cupped ; but what a grower it is, and how showy 

 on the home stage ! but who for a moment would place it in 

 the same category as George Lightbody, or Richard Headly, or 

 Robert Traill ? By-thfl-by, both Mr. Douglas and Mr. Horner 

 speak of flowers with this blue, lilac, or violet body colour aa 

 if they were called by the Lancashire growers chancy. I 

 thought it was chancy, a corruption of china, used in derision 

 on account of their various colours, like a piece of coloured 

 chinaware. 



All these discussions on the subject of the Auricula make me 

 hopeful of a return to the popularity that this flower once 

 enjoyed. It is one which, as I have said, holds a strange 

 fascination over its lovers, and I only wish that they were more 

 numerous down in these southern regions. — D., Deal. 



AUTUMN-SOWN ONIONS. 



What is the best Onion for autumn sowing and early spring 

 use? My attention has been drawn to this subject by Mr. 

 Luckhurst in the .Journal, page 404, of May the 27tb. It led 

 me to examine my own plot ol autumn-sown Onions, which 

 include Globe Tripoli, Flat Tripoli, and last, but not least 

 (this is not the Queen, but still it is a queen in its way, and if 

 I might be allowed I should like to call it Silver Queen), the 

 old Silver-skinned variety, which is usually sown for pickling 

 purposes. 



I measured one of the Silver-ckinned bulbs, its circum- 

 ference was 9 inches. The other kinds, comparatively speaking, 

 were not worth any special notice ; as a rule they were thick- 

 necked, and the bulbs not very large, so that I did not measure 

 them, but to-day (.Juno 14th) I have done so, and the following 

 is the result : — Globe Tripoli, 8 J inches ; Flat Tripoh, 8 inches ; 

 and the Silver-skinned, 9§ inches, showing an increase of half 

 an inch since the first measurement. This variety, I think, 

 possesses all the good qualities desirable in an Onion. It is 

 mild in flavour, a quick grower, thin-necked, has a small top, 

 and is perfectly hardy. 



I may state that the seeds were sown on the 14th of August, 

 in drills 9 inches apart on a south-west border. I usually 

 transplant in March or April, but this year I did not do so, as 

 the plants came up rather thin in the autumn, and the spring 

 being cold and dry I let them remain in the seed-bed, merely 

 weeding them when they required it. Owing to the late dry 

 weather the Silver-skinned variety is showing signs of ripening 

 and is ready for pulling-up, while the other sorts are still 

 growing, the Globe Tripoli being the worst in the lot, thick- 

 necked and inclined tor seeding. I do not know what induced 

 me to sow the Silver-skinned variety in the autumn, but I 

 have done so for the last three years with the same good 

 results. I think this an invaluable variety. I have not seen 

 anything in the market this season to equal it. 



I do not know anything of the Queen Onion, but from the 

 description given by Mr. Luckhurst I am quite prepared to 

 believe it to be a good variety. 



I may state that in the measurement of the bulbs of the 

 Silver-skinned many of them were so equally balanced in size 

 that there was tome difficulty in selecting the largest, while in 

 the other kinds no difficulty was experienced, as large bulbs 

 were few and far between. As the Onion-sowing period is 

 approaching I would advise the old Silver-skinned pickling 

 and the new Silver-skinned Queen to be sown side by side. — 

 G. R. Allis. 



BORDER PLANTS— GARLAND FLOWER. 

 I WOULD direct attention to Daphne cneorum, " Goddess of 

 the Woods or Meadows," as its name implies. If not strictly 

 speaking a spring-blooming plant, it is sometimes seen in 

 flower under favourable circumstances during spring and early 

 summer. It is of trailing habit — a very accommodating ever- 

 green shrub on the rockery or in the border. With care it 

 makes a good edging, and, what is better, if thought desirable it 



