November 26, l&lL ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



471 



white head is hidden as completely in a mass of foliage as the 

 proverbial needle was in a bundle of hny. One has literally to 

 hunt for the head, and when it ia found it is the model of 

 what a head of Broccoli ought to be — even and solid, of per- 

 fect colour, and not more than 1 to 5 inches in diameter — just 

 such an ol'ject as families of refinement would like to see on 

 their table. Wo hope that Messrs. Veitch will in other vege- 

 tables, as they have in this, take the lead in the introduction 

 of a class which shall serve more as an ornament to a gentle- 

 man's table than many of the novelties which have been 

 offered to the public of late years. 



GARIBALDI STEAWBEERY. 



I HEAD Mr. Wright's article relating to the above Strawberry, 

 mentioning as a curiosity the gathering of ripe fruit from the 

 open air in October. I gathered here on the 13th of Novem- 

 ber a nice dish of ripe fruit of the above-named Strawberry 

 from the open air. I may here state tho plants form part 

 of a plantation of several years' standing, as some may be led 

 to suppose they were some of those forced in the previous 

 spring, and which are known to produce a second crop late in 

 the season. 



In consequence of our family being absent for a few days I had 

 deferred gathering the fruit, or else two or three days previous 

 to the 13th I might have gathered many more, but the fea- 

 thered tribe deprived me of them. I did not indulge myself 

 in tasting them, being anxious to send every one to table, 

 treating them quite as a luxury at this season of the year ; but 

 Lady Devon informed me to-day that they were very sweet, 

 and possessed a flavour nearly, if not quite, equal to those of 

 early summer production. At the present time the plants are 

 laden with fruit, many of them having attained a full size, and 

 the crop would not fail to give satisfaction in the ordi- 

 nary Strawberry season. If the weather prove mild I have 

 not the least doubt but that I shall be able to gather more 

 ripe fruit for some weeks hence. Last night I had several of 

 the best of the plants bearing the most promising fruit pro- 

 tected with hand-lights, which perhaps may assist me in my 

 expectations. — D. A. Powell, Powderham Castle, E.reter. 



WHICH IS THE OLDEST CEDAR OF LEBANON 

 IN BEITAIN? 



Amongst my scraps is the following in my handwriting, but 

 no note of whence it is extracted : — " At Bierley Hall, three 

 miles of Bradford, Torks., on the lawn stands a Cedar of 

 Lebanon (Cedrus Libani), which, if not the first, was certainly 

 one of the earliest introduced into this country. Loudon gives 

 l(i83 as the date of its introduction, on the authority of Bar- 

 relier, a French botanist of 1711. Dr. Richardson received the 

 Cedar, along with some others, a seedling, as a present from his 

 friend Sir Hans Sloane about 1700, it being planted in a green- 

 house under the impression that it would not thrive in the 

 open air ; but after a time it was transplanted to the place 

 where it now stands, in a smoky atmosphere, but still the 

 admiration of all who know its history. The greenhouse in 

 which the tree was planted was the second hothouse (so called) 

 ever erected in England, and by the same workmen who erected 

 the first at Orford, near Liverpool. Dr. Richardson resided 

 with the eminent botanical professor Paul Hermann three 

 years at Leyden." 



Is the tree still living or standing ? If so, is there an older 

 one or one so old existent in Britain, and where? What are 

 its dimensions ? — G. Abbey. 



FLOWEES FOE OUR BORDERS.— No. U. 



SALPIGLOSSIS SINIIATA COCCINEA.— Scarlet SALriGLOSSls. 

 The singular variety of colour afforded by the different 

 forms of Salpiglossis sinuata, a variety hardly equalled by any 

 other genus in cultivation, has enabled this plant to retain its 

 place in popular estimation, notwithstanding the very con- 

 siderable number of more recent introductions in the class of 

 annual plants. But for one rather serious defect the Salpiglots 

 would unquestionably take even higher rank : we allude to their 

 height, which renders them less fitted for small masses or beds 

 than many dwarfer but less showy plants. It is true that so- 

 called dwarf varieties have been raised, and are annually 

 offered in the seedsmen's lists, but the difference between these 

 and the older varieties is less marked than could be wished, 



and much remains to be accomplished in perpetuating a strain 

 of these elegant annuals of decidedly dwarf habit. 



Of the numerous distinct shades of colour in which Salpi- 

 glossis sinuata occurs, none are more pleasing than cocciuea. 

 In its general habit and characters it resembles the other 

 varieties ; like them attaining a height of 11 to 2 feet, with erect 

 branching stems clothed with clammy hairs. Its colour is 

 "a clear vivid tender scarlet," relieved by daiker veins of the 

 same tint. 



lis cultivation is precisely that of the other varieties. Tho 

 seeds require the aid of a hotbed, and are best sown in March 

 in pots of light sandy loam: they should be thinly distributed, 

 and as soon as the seedlings are an inch or two high abundance 

 of air should be admitted if the weather is sufficiently mild to 

 allow of it, for the Salijiglots are by no means tender, and will 

 not bear "coddling." When the young plants are large 

 enough to handle without injury they may be transferred in 

 small patches to larger pots of light, rich, but well-drained 

 soil. If, however, the seedlings have como up thickly, they 



Fig. 133. — Salpiglossis Einuata coccinea. 



will need transplanting separately, or thinning-out. In either 

 case they should, when repotted, be returned to the hotbed, 

 and be kept closed for a few days ; after which, about the 

 end of AprU, they may be placed in a cold frame, and 

 gradually hardened off before planting out in May. A light 

 rich soil, composed of a little leaf mould and thoroughly 

 decayed manure mixed with sandy loam, suits them best. 

 They form a very beautiful bed where the massing system 

 is adopted, but are equally valuable for planting in clumps in 

 the mixed borders, and will flower through the summer. 



In favourable localities the Salpiglossis may be treated as a 

 hardy annual, the seed being sown in the open border in April, 

 and sturdier plants will be thus obtained, which will, however, 

 bloom somewhat later than those raised under glass. 



The Salpiglots are all natives of Chili. — (IV. Thompson') 

 English Floner Garden, lieviscd hy the Author.) 



GRAFTING THE PEAR ON THE MOUNTAIN 

 ASH. 



Pemiit me to relate my experience in grafting Pears on the 

 Mountain Ash stock. I find the scion and stock unite gene- 

 rally well. Owing to bad seasons, &a., 1 have not had much 

 opportunity of judging of the fruit of such trees. This year, 



