September 17, 1874. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



249 



after, but patience has to be further tried, and the insignificant 

 produce of the fruit so obtained often enough disports itself 

 into a great number of varieties, of which the largest and 

 most promising the first season are not always the best after- 

 wards, but a fresh trial has to be made another year, and that 

 trial has very often to be repeated again and again ere anything 

 that can be relied upon can be had. Thus great perseverance 

 must be exercised, and only those who have followed out this 

 course of action are aware of the many disappointments, and 

 how few the number of really good things there are compared 

 with those that are merely commonplace. Mr. Fenn, however, 

 has been successful in raising some Potatoes of sterling merit, 

 and which are regarded as such by the planting-out public, and 

 I hope the number will be much supplemented by the inspec- 

 tion to which his crops were subjected on August 28th, the 

 day I allude to as that of my meeting the party. 



After an excellent luncheon, and discussing various home- 

 made wines for which Mr. Fenn is famous, we adjourned to the 

 garden, and there found a large breadth of ground had been 

 planted with seventy or eighty kinds of Potatoes, in rows about 

 3 feet apart, with sufficient space between each plant to allow 

 of the due development of the kind. I believe that a larger 

 quantity was grown in a field elsewhere, but there was suffi- 

 cient here to test the merits of each kind ; and one taking the 

 fork, the business of turning-up specimens of the crop com- 

 menced, one variety after another being thrown to the top, and 

 their merits or demerits commented upon by those present. 

 Certain kinds came in for a fair meed of praise, and after 

 their history and pedigree had been discussed, marks of com- 

 mendation in the reporters' notes were placed against them, 

 and other kinds proceeded with. Now and then some little 

 vagaries in the growth of certain kinds attracted attention, in- 

 volving a dispute whether the specimen in question belonged 

 to the round or kidney section, Mr. Fenn's opinion being often 

 regarded as final in such matters. Nevertheless, there were 

 some anomalies in this respect not easily accounted for, as 

 when grafting had been practised years ago, and, as your 

 readers know, Mr. Fenn was amongst the first, if not the very 

 first, to adopt that mode of altering the character and consti- 

 tution of a Potato. Other remarks equally instructive and 

 interesting were made, not the least being the difficulty there 

 is in obtaining seed of certain good kinds — only one or two 

 fertile flower-heads in a row perhaps, while a less-deserving 

 kind furnishes the means of propagation more abundantly. 

 These observations, made by our worthy entertainer, with 

 many others of a like kind, were sufficient to make many of 

 ns blush who had been content to plant only such varieties of 

 Potatoes as were recommended by general opinion. Here was 

 an instance of a great number of new varieties raised for the 

 public good, and that not by trusting to chance for success, 

 but patience, care, and sound judgment were displayed in the 

 selection of suitable parents ; and as the collection was inter- 

 spersed with specimens of well-known kinds, there was every 

 opportunity for making comparisons, which in some instances 

 were in favour of the established varieties, in others in that of 

 the new ones. 



1 believe Mr. Fenn's object was to elicit opinions as to the 

 merits of a certain number of the best of his varieties, with a 

 view to their being placed under more extensive cultivation, or, 

 perhaps, in the hands of the public, and every opportunity was 

 afforded of inspecting the crops ; moreover, I believe a number 

 of kinds were to be tested by being cooked. At lunch, more 

 than one kind of Potato was presented to us in the condition 

 in which a Potato's merits are best understood, and the general 

 opinion was in favour of a kind whose name I unfortunately 

 omitted to note down. A sparkling wine in which the Royal 

 Muscadine, Espiran, and another outdoor Grape formed the 

 body, was very much admired, as was also another wine in 

 which only two of the kinds named were used. The Vines 

 from the produce of which these wines were made grew to the 

 tops of the highest walls of the house, and partly over the roof 

 and up the chimney-shaft, presenting an amount of greenery 

 which would have been still more remarkable had not the sur- 

 roundings everywhere abounded in it, for it was only to look 

 over the wall of the garden and the beautiful park of Blen- 

 heim lay before us. In the garden itself an old Apple tree 

 was well covered with healthy fruit of that very popular variety 

 the Blenheim Orange. This tree was said to be a graft from 

 the original, but there seemed to be a disposition amongst 

 some of those present to question whether it was the same as 

 the Blenheim Orange of the present day, but it was a healthy 

 fine-looking fruit ; and a hint from some self-constituted moni- 



tor reminded us that Potatoes and not Apples were the sub- 

 jects under consideration. Down went the fork and a fresh 

 variety of Potatoes was turned up, which was said to possess 

 all the good bearing qualities of Bresee's Prolific with a much 

 better character at table ; next a kidney with the capricious 

 tendency of having some of its produce round ; then we came 

 to one somewhat in the way of Sutton's Flourball. It un- 

 fortunately happened my duties called me away long before 

 the whole of the varieties had been gone through, and, with a 

 reluctant good-bye, I was obliged to turn my back on Wood- 

 stock. — J. KOESON. 



CULTIVATION OF EPIPHTLLUM TEUNCATUM. 



This was in great favour in my early days, and, except the 

 Camellia, I know no plant which is so beautiful from the 

 middle of December to the middle of January ; the variety 

 bicolor is the finer of the two. It blooms at a season when 

 flowers are scarce, and is valuable for cut flowers, but a plant 

 of it 4 feet high and 2 to 3 feet through is worth seeing. 



This Epiphyllum used to be well grown at Garscube House 

 near Glasgow, and at Woodhall ; and there is a place about 

 Paisley where I have heard it is grown well and in quantities. 



1 used to have two plants of the bicolor variety when gardener 

 to the Earl of Wemyss at Gosford, and one of them was between 



2 and 3 feet through, and to see it in fuU bloom was a great 

 treat. 



Pereskia aculeata is sometimes used as a stock for it, also 

 Cactus quadraugulai-is, but I found Cereus speciosissimum 

 suit it best. A good specimen can be formed in a few years 

 by growing one stem of C. speciosissimum in a healthy state, 

 and once it is in a state for grafting put a row of E. truncatum 

 on each side of it, and the grafts will grow at once. A little 

 moss may be put round for a few days until the grafts unite 

 with the stock. It is quite easily grown, but it requires a little 

 more heat than a common greenhouse. I grew it in a plant 

 stove, but when grafted on C. speciosissimum it might possibly 

 stand in the warmest corner of a greenhouse. 



Ordinary soil will suit it, and add some stones or charcoal 

 amongst the soil to keep it porous, or the plant may damp-off 

 some morning. A few pieces of charcoal should be laid round 

 the stock. I found a coating of manure spread over the surface 

 do it much good. The roots grew well in it, and the plant had 

 a fine healthy colour. 



I seldom or never see this plant worth looking at, and I 

 hope more attention will be paid to it. It only requires to be 

 seen in perfection to make everyone long to have such a beau- 

 tiful flower. — J. Addison. 



THINGS OUT OF SEASON. 



It requires no extraordinary amount of skill to produce good 

 vegetables, fruits, and flowers in their natural season. This 

 is generally known to those for whom they are grown, and the 

 things are valued accordingly. For instance, a Rose in June 

 has to be a good one to command the slightest attention, but 

 a Rose in April or August may be a very inferior flower in a 

 florist's point of view, and yet everybody but the most bigoted 

 florist will admire it. Who will give us a list of August-flow- 

 ering Roses? Any of them can be made to flower in April. 

 Never mind about perfect outline and fulness of flower ; let us 

 have pleasing colour and sweet scent first, the other points 

 afterwards if we can get them. The florists have had it too 

 much their own way : in their eagerness for beauty of form 

 they neglect the principal thing non-exhibitors grow a Rose 

 for — its scent. A Rose ought to go by some other name if it 

 IS scentless, and " Amateuk, Air/hurth," has done agood thing 

 by putting a mark against, those named in his list which give 

 no pleasure to the olfactory nerves. I wish some one would 

 look after the garden Roses — those possessing the qualities of 

 flowering throughout the summer months, good, vigorous, but 

 even growth, distinct and pleasing colours, and, above aU, 

 sweet scent. I rather suspect our exhibitors have their Roses 

 in too close proximity to their manure heaps to enable them 

 to judge correctly about the last point I have mentioned. As 

 for perpetual Roses, I only kuow one worth calling perpetual, 

 and that I am afraid to name. Besides, it is my duty at pre- 

 sent to write about vegetables, and I will begin with 



Tomatoes. These are perpetual, or at least may be easily 

 made so. No one with a small heated house need be without 

 them any day in the year. Their culture is extremely simple 

 — much more so, for instance, than winter Cucumbers, and 



