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JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 80, 1874. 



♦o be met with anywhere. Year after year, without a sitjgle 

 blauk, it ha3 borne Bplendid crops of highly-finished fruit, and 

 the present year's crop forms no exception save in one respect, 

 iiud that is that as regards size of bunch, berry, and aggregate 

 ivtight it will be the finest which this noble Black Hamburgh 

 has yet ripened. The bunches uumLer probably four hundred, 

 or thereabouts, many of them we calculate will weigh 3 lbs. or 

 to, and the average will be 2 lbs. or over ; the aggregate weight 

 of crop, we suspect, little short of 7 cwt. The bnnches are just 

 now colonring, and by-and-bye, when they put on their full 

 sable habiliments and rich bloom, the big Vine will be a sight 

 worth looking at — a triumph of cultural skill, ufion seeing 

 which he would be cold and phlegmatic indeed who would with- 

 hold from Mr. Smith his warm appreciation of his skill, and the 

 remarkable results of it before him. — {Irish Farmers' Gazette.) 



CITY OF LONDON FLOWER SHOW. 



Few people would suspect that in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of the Boyal Exchange, where a foot of ground commands 

 the price of an acre elsewhere, there exists a large space which 

 has been in the possession of the Drapers' Company for the last 

 three hundred years or more, and which is kept as a garden. 

 Here with grass growing, fountain playing, and shading trees, 

 ■was held on the 23rd inst. the City of London Flower Show, an 

 exhibition of window plants grown within the limits of the City, 

 and which had been in the possession of the exhibitors three 

 months before the Show. Prizes were offered for such subjects 

 as are commonly grown in windows, as Geraniums, Fuchsias, 

 Nettle Plants (Coleus fruticosus). Myrtles, Munk Plants, Creep- 

 ing Jenny (Lysimachia Nummularin), Begonias, Ferns, Orange 

 trees, also for window boxes and Fern cases, &c., the whole 

 dividtd into twenty-five classes, in most of which the com- 

 petition was very creditable, and he it noted some of the best 

 plants were those which had been longest in the possession of 

 the exhibitors. Thus, Mr. John Moss, who, we believe, belongs 

 to the City police, came in first for Fuchsias with a plant which 

 he had had for five years, taking also a like position for a Gera- 

 nium. There were some nice little plants of Musk and Creep- 

 ing Jenny from several exhibitors ; a few Myrtles, and Orange 

 trees reared from pips, which were five and six years old, while 

 the contents of the Fern cases were in all the pride of health, a 

 circumstance, however, which must be partly ascribed, not so 

 much to the care of the owners as to the exclusion of the smoke. 

 The Eoyal Horticultural Society's silver medal was given to that 

 from Mr. C. Shackel, eight years in the exhibitor's riossession, 

 whilst a larger one owned by Mr. Brooks for six years was an 

 excellent second. Dahlias in pots from Mr. Rose gained a 

 bronze medal, and a like award was made to Mrs. Weeden for 

 Houseleek. The plants shown for competition were mainly 

 confined to one tent ; some, however, were placed in another, 

 which Messrs. Paul, of Cheshunt, and Mr. Turner, of Slough, 

 rendered quite brilliant with fine collections of cut Roses, and 

 aong with these was a very ornamental group of ornamental- 

 fnliaged plants. A third lent was reserved for H.R.H. the 

 Marchioness of Lome, who distributed the prizes. It is a matter 

 of surprise that so large a piece of grouiid aa the Drapers' 

 gardens in the very heart of the City, should have escaped so 

 long the invasion of bricks and mortar, before which most of the 

 open spaces about the metropolis have had to give way, and 

 many will regret that it is likely to share the same fate ; but 

 this little Show has drawn an amount of attention to the ex- 

 istence of these gardens, and the probability of their destruction, 

 which would never otherwise have been given, so there is some 

 likelihood of their being preserved for the public benefit. 



Chelone baebat.4. antweepeksis. — This fine old herbaceous 

 plant is now seldom or never seen, but it is one that would give 

 satisfaction everywhere. It is a summer-flowering plant of long 

 duration, and has fine handsome spikes of scarlet flowers, which 

 are produced in abundance in a good heavy soil. The plant 

 requires dividing and replanting every other year in fresh soil, 

 like most other hardy plants. — H. Knight, Floors. — {Florist 

 and Pomologist.) 



WILDEBNESS EOSES. 

 For this idea I am indebted to Professor Owen, who, wish- 

 ing to ornament a wild part of his ground full of thorns, grass, 

 and weeds, adopted the following plan, thich, I am inclined to 

 think, is quite worthyof record. Large eewer-tubes, rejected 

 on account of flaws in the enamel lining, were sunk vertically 

 in the pure gravelly soil to within an inch or so of the surface, 

 and fiUed-in with loam and manure, and a Rose planted in 

 the centre of each. The soil in the tube was kept free from 

 weeds, and the running grass and other weeds outside were 

 prevented making their way into such good quarters. To give 



the Roses extra vigour, some manure water was given to them 

 occasionally in the summer. The effect of Roses growing in 

 the highest state of luxuriance in a wilderness was most charm- 

 ing. The inside diameter of these tubes is 16 inches, their 

 length 30 inches, so that they go below the roots of weeds, 

 which would otherwise soon devour the rich compost in which, 

 the Roses delight. — {Rivers's Rose-Amateur's Guide.) 



FUCHSIA CULTURE. 



To cultivate Buccessfnlly a few nice specimens of the Paohsiat 

 is almost invariably the humble ambition pervading all who- 

 can find means to accommodate them. No matter what social 

 position of life they belong to, the love of flowers exerts a 

 magical influence which sways these likings in all alike. And 

 the Fuchsia, seemingly, is especially endowed with attraotiono 

 which have both secured our fond regard, and gained for itself 

 the position of a general household pet. 



The Fuchsia is a native of Chili, and was introduced into- 

 this country in 1788. The only species in cultivation at that 

 period is still known as P. eoccinea (the Scarlet Fuchsia) ; 

 later on, in ITflO, appeared P. lycioides (the Boxthorn Fuchsia) ; 

 and the next to succeed it was F. gracilis. For a number of 

 years subsequent to their introduction little improvement 

 took place by means of hybridising these species, and their 

 proper culture was but indifferently understood, the custom 

 then being to raise plants from seed to take the places of worn- 

 out ones, and the treatment practised to winter them in the 

 hottest part of the bark stove, ■which practice is the very 

 opposite to that we now follow. 



Propagation by Seed. — Under this head little need be said. 

 Sow in July in well-drained pots, and place in a cold frame. 

 Keep moist and shaded, without superabundance of air, which 

 retard.s germination by drying the soil, nor is there anything 

 gained by repeated waterings. All that is required is to keep- 

 tho soil constantly but moderately moist, and, to prevent 

 sudden evaporation, cover with a hand-glass until the seedlings 

 appear above the soil, when the glass should be gradually 

 raised, a little more each succeeding day, until it is considered 

 safe to remove it altogether. By the middle of August the 

 plants will be in fit condition to plant singly in small pots. 

 After potting, they ought to be returned to the frame, or put 

 on a shelf in a greenhouse near the glass, and well attended to 

 with water. Little more is required of the cultivator except 

 shifting them into larger jiots when they require more root 

 room, until the succeeding February, when they should be 

 partially freed from the old soil and repotted into larger pots. 

 Such an aspect and situation as a shelf just recommended is & 

 suitable place to winter them, seeing they would suffer, if not 

 die, iu a cob! frame in winter. 



Culture from Cuttings. — The proper method to follow tc> 

 secure strong early cuttings is to cut-back iu the .lutumn the 

 old plants, leaving a spur with an eye on each lateral shoot of 

 the preceding year's growth. Place these in January in a bottom 

 heat of about 65", and keep close and moi-it until they break. 

 Encourage the early growth by dewing daily with the syringe,, 

 and keep their roots rather moist than otherwise, until the 

 shoots intended for cuttings are matured. Then the stoutest 

 should be taken, neatly dressed, and inserted singly into thumb- 

 pots iu a compost of leaf mould that is well reduced and silver 

 sand in equal proportions, adding a little sifted Icam to afford 

 consistency to the mixture. The old plants may be moved to 

 a cooler house, and their late quarters appropriated for these 

 cuttings. Lo^e no time to have them plunged closely and 

 neatly in the bed, and water them frequently ; have no fear of 

 their damping, but shield them from excessive sunshine by 

 means of light shading. 



In the course of a fortnight, most of them will have rooted ; 

 but let them have time to show their roots round the ball 

 before repotting is performed. The soil to be preferred for 

 all subsequent pottings should consist of three parts friable 

 loam, the more turfy the better, one part partially dry and 

 well-dc'composed cow droppings, and a little silver sand ; sift 

 through a half-inch sieve, and shift them into -i-inch pots. 



Rotting. — There is much difference observed in the operation 

 of potting. Some leave the soil loose, comparatively speak- 

 ing. My principle in potting, generally, is to drain well bnt 

 pot rather firmly, and my reasons for so doing are two im- 

 portant ones. First, it is natural to suppose, when compost 

 in a pot is left loose, that the moisture is more suddenly 

 exhaled ; and it is as reasonable to conclude that when these 

 rapid exhalations take place, the waste therefrom must bo sub- 



