84 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 3, 1876. 



a rough level at the top, and ascertaining how deep the cut- 

 ting will be at that place, and giving instructions where to 

 begin at the Bides, making sure not to cut-in too deep, or ten to 

 one but the material will be more than sufticient to fill up the 

 embankment. The sloping pides of the cutting will also re- 

 quire some judgment in forming. Hard dry substances like 

 chalk or stone are sometimes cut as steep as to show a face at 

 an angle of 60', while a running sand or wet clay will not 

 stand at more than 25'. The bank Is generally expected to 

 be clothed with something or other. Ivy not being at all 

 nnsuitable. 



But however steep the cutting may be the embankment can- 

 not be made steeper than about 1 in 35 or so, which is about 

 a rise of 2 feet on a base of 3. Loose material will not hold 

 together much steeper than this. Another thing to be con- 

 sidered hore is the intended width of the road. A carriage 

 road ought not to be less than 12 feet wide of stouea, with at 

 leaet 3 feet on each side of level sidings ; if more, so much 

 the better, the above being taken as the minimum. More- 

 over, for a road carried along the side of a hill provision must 

 be made for carrying off the water, and a drain along the base 

 of the cat-in side and one in the centre will be found useful. 

 Embankments rarely require draining— ie., if both sides are 

 above the surrounding ground, but of course outlets for all 

 surplus water created by thunderstorms ought to be thought 

 of before the stones are put on. 



I ought to remark that all curves should be of a bold and 

 agreeable nature, avoiding undue twists and turns. Where 

 the eye can command a distance the curve ought always to be 

 in one direction, unless there be some interruption in the way 

 as a pond, or tree, or other object, for nothing looks worse 

 than a turning where there seemed no difficulty in making the 

 road straight. 



Details for applying material for roads to the best advantage 

 may fittingly form the subject of a future communication. 



— J. EOBSON. 



last year's shoots being from 1 to 2 feet in length, quite an 

 inch in circumference, and clothed with foliage of propor- 

 tionate size and strength. Having lately had occasion to 

 remove some of them I found the marl clods full of roots, yet 

 the plants did not lift with very compact balls, but rather 

 with several clods bound together by the roots, but retaining 

 very much the same form which they had when thrown to- 

 gether four years ago, thus clearly demonstrating the tenacious 

 nature of the marl. 



Rhododendron ferrngineum forms an admirable fringe to a 

 fountain on the sides of a cascade. I have used a third of 

 broken brick and stone in the soil for this variety, so as to let 

 the moisture caused by the constant dash of spray among the 

 foliage to pass from the roots quickly and find it to answer 

 admirably, the growth being dense with healthy foliage, and 

 the plants quickly merging into a compact belt. 



Under the shade of trees the growth of Rhododendrons is 

 apt to become thin and long, but it is never slender, the 

 shoots being as robust as those of a common Laurel. Thus, 

 then, in the Rhododendron we have a shrub which neither 

 drip, shade, exposure, or poverty of soil can affect; a perfect 

 weed in hardiness, adaptability, and tenacity of life, and yet a 

 perfect gem — a queen among shrubs — its rich foliage and 

 richer flowers causing it to be regarded as the " glory of spring 

 and early summer." — Edwabd Luckhubst. 



SOIL FOR RHODODENDRONS. 



The antiquated notion that peat soil is a sine qua non to 

 insure success in Rhododendron culture is now pretty well 

 exploded, and Rhododendrons are now planted in ordinary soil 

 with other shrubs without any special treatment or prepara- 

 tion with perfect confidence of success, provided the soil con- 

 tains no lime. Since this fact became established it has led to 

 'that extensive use of this finest of evergreen shrubs so much 

 to be desired, but which formerly was regarded as a luxury 

 •only to be enjoyed by a favoured few. 



During the paet four or five years I have planted many 

 .thousands of Rhododendrons, including varieties ranging from 

 .the pretty little dwarf alpine species upwards to the towering 

 hybrid majesticum, without having to record a single instance 

 of failure or sickly growth. Success so perfect and full as this 

 is of course very gratifying, yet no special merit can be claimed 

 on the score of high culture or careful tending. The planting 

 was well and carefully done, and the rest was left to Mature. 

 With few exceptions the soil and situation of the various 

 clumps and masses are the reverse of what might fairly be 

 termed favourable — on the sides of steep slopes and banks, in 

 a cold low-lying bog, upon a high open plateau that is often 

 swept by violent storms from the south-west, along the sides 

 of wood paths among a wild tangled undergrowth, under the 

 shade and drip of trees and by the margin of water, in deep 

 natural beds of peat, in poor thin loam, or in soil that is 

 literally rusty with an ochreous deposit from the percolating 

 water of mineral springs, and in marl of such a close heavy 

 texture that but few other shrubs will grow in it at all. 



Under all these conditions do Rhododendrons flourish in 

 perfect health. The growth is most bushy, short-joiijted, and 

 <!ompact in the peat; it is also very bushy in the thin loam ; 

 in the marl it is absolutely rampant. Let me give an example: 

 About four years ago a quantity of soil was excavated for the 

 foundations of a building and thrown info a long ridge 10 feet 

 high to conceal a drying ground ; most-of it was a white marl, 

 cold, sodden, heavy, and inert, and I was somewhat at a loss 

 what to clothe it with ; among other plants I resolved to try a 

 few dozens of Rhododendron ponticum, which, to my surprise, 

 quickly became established, appearing absolutely to revel in a 

 medium one would have thought likely to prove fatal to the 

 fine thread-like roots, which evidentlv nartake moro r.» tha 



touguness oi wire tnan the softness of thread. They sustained 

 no check and exhibited an annual increase of vigour, many of 



MASDEVALLIA DAVI8II. 



This plant in your report of the Floral Committee ia stated 

 to be one of the Chelsea seedlings — [a clerical error ; it should 

 have been introductions] . Some other plant must have been 

 intended, for no seedling Masdevallias have yet flowered in 

 England. The plant exhibited by Mr. Burnley Hume was, as 

 you state, in splendid health, the flowers being both beautiful 

 and distinct. M. Davisii was introduced by the Messrs. Veitoh 

 of Chelsea from the Peruvian Andes through their collector 

 Mr. Davis. It is not such a fine species as M. Veitchii, but 

 the clear orange-yellow flowers have a fine effect amongst 

 other plants in the cool house. 



It ia also stated in your report that the plant had a first- 

 class certificate on a previous occasion. I am not sure whether 

 this is correct ; if not, it certainly ought to be certificated. 

 As exhibited it waa well worthy of that honour. The plant 

 has not been long enough established in this country to have 

 attained perfection, and January is not the best month for this 

 class of flowers opening. I think it a first-class plant, and far 

 superior to many Masdevallias that have been foisted on the 

 growers of this country through foreign agency and at a far 

 higher price. — J. Dodglas. 



;it was certificated on August 18th, 1875.] 



APHELANDRA AURANTIACA ROEZLII. 



" R. H. S." is rightly " informed by a gardener that the 

 most easy and certain way of raising a stock of this stove 

 plant is by sowing the seed in heat in spring, <tc.," as was 

 pointed out in our Journal, vol. xxiii., new series, page 72. 



In our stove this plant has been for some years almost a 

 weed. AVe have several dozen plants in 4-inch pots seedlinga 

 of about G inches in height without the flowers, and from 

 autumn to spring they enliven the house with their noble 

 spikes (as many as the plants have crowns) of the brightest 

 orange scarlet. I have seedlings which have flowered twice or 

 thrice, some four times, and they are not more than 6 to 

 8 inches in height. These plants flower at almost all seasons 

 of the year, the plants being in various stages ; and the flower 

 spikea as they go out of bloom being removed, from the axila of 

 the leaves next below will appear two shoots, and these, if the 

 roots are cramped, will not elongate more than an inch or two, 

 having prominent apexes from which will appear in due course 

 spikes of bloom. 



I am glad " B. H. S." has drawn attention to the easy culture 

 and highly ornamental character of this very useful plant, 

 which succeeds in a cool stove or warm greenhouse. — G. A. 



THE ARRANGEMENTS OF COLOURS 



IN THE BEDS OF THE LONDON PARKS AND GARDENS.— No. 4. 

 DESIGNS FOE rLOWEE ASP CABPET BEDDINQ ON GRASS. 



As green is the predominating colour in Nature, enlivening, 

 subduing, and refreshing, we must have it for a groundwork 



