48 



JOUBNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 2), 1876. 



filvery lustre on a dark ground as tbat of Aralia Veitchii, and 

 a contrasting hue as this has on the under surface, being dark 

 red, the effect is splendid ; this is probably the finest repre- 

 sentative of a table plant we possess. White flowers appear- 

 ing above or amid green or marbled foliage with red under 

 surface, as Cyclamens, are appropriate, yet the effect is con- 

 sidered heightened by the addition of red ; for white we have 

 sufficient in the cloth, and shining objects enough in its 

 accompaniments; we require first green, then red, and sepa- 

 rating by white interspersed with green ; other shades of 

 colour, as yellow, contrasting with maroon or other deep 

 shades of colour up to black. Pink and rose colours are made 

 to appear brighter and deeper by contrast with deeper-tinted 

 colours, and with green, when viewed under artificial light, 

 are good in contrast with white or yellow under lamplight. 

 Purples under night lights lose all the blue and become lighter 

 or deeper shades of red as they are light or deep by day in 

 purple colouring. Orange is a fiery scarlet, very bright ; and 

 Sowers tinged with lilac, as Primula sinensis var., are intensi- 

 lied in colour under artificial light. Plants with marbled 

 foliage and metallie-luBtered, as Cis^us discolor, are very beau- 

 tiful, and most plants with veined foliage are effective. As 

 a rule bright colours are intensified by artificial light, and 

 yet without green they have a heavy appearance. In the 

 matter of form almost all plants of graceful aspect with finely- 

 divided parts or long and narrow foliage are available for the 

 table. 



Orchids always have so much dissimilarity with other Bub- 

 jccts as to accord well ; but their flowers only have this advan- 

 tage, as the habits of the plants are in a majority of cases 

 highly objectionable from a decorative point of view. Excep- 

 tion must, however, be made of some Cypripediums, C. venus- 

 tum being very useful, and the C. barbatum vars. and the 

 singular C. caudatum, whilst the very common C. insignis is 

 a very eilective plant. The dwarfest of the Pitcher-plants tell 

 well, especially the New Holland one, Cephalotus foUicnlaris ; 

 whilst no plants nnder light are more beautiful than the 

 Sundews, a well-filled pot of Drosera rotundifolia being very 

 appropriate. Berried plants, aa Solanum capsicastrum with 

 its orange-yellow berries, or even Capsicums as Prince of Wales 

 with its bright lemon-coloured pods, and the deeper and more 

 telling Yellow Gem ; and there is a kind of Capsicum with 

 bright red Cherry-like pods which is very effective. But as I 

 have carried this dissertation much further than was intended 

 I shall close with a few observations as to height. 



It is, I think, a generally accepted principle that the plants 

 should be of such a height, or so disposed, as not to interrupt 

 the view of guests from one side to another. It is clear the 

 plants must be low it when seated conversation is to be carried 

 on across the table, but Dracainas, Aralias, Palme, and other 

 plants have the foliage so disposed as to admit of a view 

 through ; and these I consider, from their greater distinctness, 

 lightness, and clearness of feature, are the truest representa- 

 tives of that contrasting elegance which is required in dinner- 

 table plants. 



Some plants are best seen as tall or standard plants. Of 

 this class are most berried plants and the plants at the head 

 of this article, of which culturally I must refrain comment for 

 another communication. — G. Abbey. 



FRUIT PEOSPECTS-PHUNING. 



I A3I afraid that the past summer will long leave its marks 

 on our fruit trees. When I saw the Plum and Pear leaves 

 taking on their autumnal colours, and falling rapidly when 

 touched by the breeze, I was in hopes that in spite of the 

 obsence of light and heat the trees had somehow managed to 

 do their work perfectly ; but, on applying the pruning-knife 

 a different tale was told, the wood is weak and green beyond 

 all precedent. There are plenty of fruit buds, but oh ! so puny 

 that it seems impossible for many of them to be perfect, 

 and I fear the chances of another fruitful year like the one 

 just past are rather remote. 



I do not want to raise needless alarm, but it is as well to 

 take a survey of the situation and see as near as we are able 

 what are our chances of success, in order to be able better to 

 direct our actions. For my own part I not only expect fruit 

 to be scanty, but that the trees will also be very seriously 

 injured. Unripe wood, where it is left and survives the winter, 

 will be a prey to canker and all dieeaees and insects which 

 fruit trees are subject to. Where wood is unripe, too, of 

 oourse the roots are in the same condition, and will in conse- 



quence die-back more than usual, and be later in starting in 

 spring, although the upper portion of the plant will not wait 

 for them. 



What, then, is to be done ? I will endeavour to say what I 

 have done, and leave others to judge for themselves whether 

 it is worth while to take a leaf out of my book. I have given 

 up pining over the prospect of scanty crops this year, and am 

 looking farther a-head. I will do the best I can to keep my 

 trees healthy, and to this end I have gone from my usual plan 

 and have pruned all trees not grown against walls very hard 

 indeed, relying for fruit principally on spurs situated on the 

 old wood. 



Trees which have grown unshapely or are weakly, I have 

 taken the opportunity to cut-back with a saw bo as to bring them 

 into a goodly form. Had there been an immediate prospect 

 of fruit on them I should have hesitated to take such extreme 

 measures, and the trees in a few years would have become 

 unsightly or useless ; now I hope to be rewarded with good- 

 formed trees next year, and if the seasons permit with fruit of 

 good quality in the year following. 



Trees on walls, wkh the exception of Peaches, are much 

 better matured. The last-named I thought it advisable to 

 partially protect from the severe froets we had before the 

 leaves had all fallen. The fruit buds are better developed on 

 the cordon trees than on those trained in the usual way. 

 Bullfinches, though numerous, have not yet attacked the fruit 

 buds. I am afraid this is a bad omen, they do not think 

 them good enough. 



I envied a gardener writing from the north in a contem- 

 porary last month, where he said though the frost was severe 

 the wood was thoroughly ripe and would not be injured. Is 

 such really the fact ? If so, I shall be inclined to go north- 

 ward to see some fruit when the time comes. I am afraid 

 many people, however, take only a very superficial view of the 

 case. I would advise another look ; and although the end of 

 .January is later than pruning ought to be done, it would be 

 better to prune even in March than leave unripe wood, and 

 where the wood is in the same pitiable condition as it is in this 

 neighbourhood I say. Prune hard. — William Tayloe. 



EANDNCULUSES IN POTS. 



Seldom are these beautiful spring flowers cultivated in pots 

 for the decoration of the conservatory, while Crocuses and 

 Tulips are so grown in hundreds of thousands. That the 

 latter are gay is not disputed, we will even admit them to be 

 gorgeous; but yet they are favoured by fashion, for for true 

 beauty neither one nor the other can rival well-grown pots of 

 Ranunculuses. 



Ranunculuses are cheap, are of the easiest culture, and when 

 in bloom are not only most ornamental, but their flowers are 

 admirably adapted for cutting for vaee-decoration. Ranun- 

 culuses will, however, not force after the manner of the other 

 bulbous flowers alluded to, and that is, perhaps, the reason why 

 they are so seldom cultivated in pots. Yet if they wiU not 

 force, according to the common acceptation of the term, their 

 flowering may be accelerated some weeks, cr, at any rate, dis- 

 tinctly before those in the open ground unfold their beauty. 



Both sections of Ranunculuses may be grown in pots, but 

 the Turbans are preferable to the Persians by the greater 

 maasiveness of the former and their earlier-flowering nature. 

 Pots of the brilliant Ecarlet and pure white varieties when well 

 managed — the foliage of the plants healthy and the flowers 

 robust — are amorgst the most effective of low-growing deco- 

 rative plants in the early spring months. 



In order to have them blooming at the earliest stage and in 

 the best condition, the roots should be potted in October and 

 be plunged in ashes in cold frames, the surface of the pots 

 being also slightly covered with ashes or cocoa-nut fibre refuse. 

 Bat even if potted now the plants will make an excellent dis- 

 play, and are sure to be admired if well cultivated. 



For pot culture the finest roots should be selected, and five 

 should be placed in a Cinch pot. The soil cannot be too 

 heavy and rich, except the inch at the top of the pots in which 

 the roots are in immediate contact, and this should be light 

 and sandy. The pots should be plunged in ashes, and should 

 be kept plunged until the flowers show colour, of course 

 allowing the plants sufficient room to develope themselves. 

 They only need a cold frame, and protection from frost with 

 mats or other covering. When in growth the plants cannot 

 have too much light, and aa their growth increases so must 

 the supply of water. Drought at the roots is fatal to healthy 



