fabruary 24, 1676. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORtlCULTUBE AND (Joi'TAGJi GARDENER. 



149 



plant, and is excellent for a margin to a bed of dwarf plants. 

 The pmall leaves are glossy and .shine like grey satin. It is a 

 creeping plant, forming itself into a neat and compact border. 

 It is ore of the most desirable nnd fffective plants we have 

 for edgings. It propagates itself, and will keep well in a cold 

 frame. — N. Cole, Kenxinytoyi. 



OUB BOEDER FLOWERS— DAME'S VIOLET 

 OR ROCKET. 



A RACE of plants consisting of nnnualB, biennials, and 

 perennials, some of tbem having found their way to onr shores 

 from the continent of Europe and other countries hundreds 

 of years ago, and in all probability occupied prominent places 

 in our borders in days gone by, before the rage for novelty had 

 set in. One of these is enumerated as a native of our own 

 land, bnt I donljt its claim to nationality; at all events we 

 have it, and a right welcome guest it is. 



Hesperia mationalis in the spring and summer time is a 

 worthy occupant of onr shrubbery borders, by the margins of 

 ponde, in wilderness scenery and out-of-the-way corners, and 

 when once established it only requires to be left alone to take 

 care of itself. In sheltered nooks it gives us in the spring a 

 good addition to the bouquet, its pleasing perfume being always 

 acceptable to our sense of smell, and is one of its greatest at- 

 tractions. Glowing colours are attractive, but when combined 

 with delicious perfume they become doubly interesting. Then 

 we have the double Hesperis matronalis in several varieties, 

 often taxing the cultivator's skill to tho very utmost to keep-up 

 a stock of flowering plants. It is useless attempting their cul- 

 tivation if wa do not make-up our minds to succeed with those 

 gems of our borders. Perseverance must be our motto and suc- 

 cess our aim. We must be prepared for disappointment too. 



I find it good practice to have plants in reserve in a rather 

 fhady and moist but not a wet situation, not suffering them 

 to bloom when ttock is required, and dividing them when they 

 have made moderate growth. They should have ffficient 

 drainage under all circumstances, and be supplied with water 

 as they require it. They should bo carefully watched when 

 they are making their growth, for belonging to the Brasaica 

 tribe they are often attacked by what is known as the Turnip 

 fly, this pest often destroying the young growth by eating-out 

 the heart of the plant. A good sound loam with thoroughly 

 decomposed manure, charcoal dust, and a little coarse sand 

 will meet their requirements. In an open border, and if left to 

 themselves, they are but short-lived, often requiring renewing. 

 In some places it is almost impossible to succeed with them, 

 but when their requirements are supplied they become more 

 manageable. When at their best no plants are more attractive, 

 none more esteemed than our old-fashioned Rocket, or, as 

 some call it, " Evening Star " — and stars the flowers are. 

 Prizes ought to be offered nt horticultural exhibitions for 

 collections of those neglected flowers. 



They are increased by cattiogi and division. When the 

 best of the bloom is past the stems fhould bo partially cut- 

 down to encourage growth. When they have made moderate 

 growth divide in autumn, potting or planting the divisions as 

 may be desired. When the flower stems rise they should be 

 secured from being injured by the wind. — Veritas. 



EOAD-MAKING.— No. 2. 



In continuation of the subject of road-making alluded to on 

 page 83, it may be stated that where the ground is impervious 

 to water means ought to be tnken to make the foundation as 

 dry as possible, which can only be done by putting in plenty 

 of drains and insuring their having good outlets. These 

 drains need not necessarily bo deep. Many years ago, in 

 making a carriage road through a piece of stiff ground a very 

 slight excavation only was made, but it was depressed in the 

 middle, both sides sloping down to the centre, and a tile drain 

 was inserted there about 18 inches below the surface where the 

 two slopes met. This 18 inches was filled with rough stones ; 

 the foundation of the road was pared smooth, and kept so 

 by not allowing the wheels to touch it until it was covered 

 with stones, and thus a very good road was made. In like 

 manner a larger space may be done in the same way by the 

 ground beirg formed into a series of ridges and furrows with 

 drains in the latter — that is, where more especial care is re- 

 quired to lay the ground dry. 



Although the above is likely to ho effectual, it is a good 

 practice to roughly pave the bottom of the road before the 



small stones nre laid on, which is best done when rongb, flat, 

 irregular-shaped stones abound — say, in pieces 8 or 10 inches 

 across and 3 or 4 inches thick. The surface ground being ready, 

 these stones ought to be placed by hand closely adjoining each 

 other and on their edges, leaving the npper surface as rough 

 and irregular as possible, as this unevenness helps to catch 

 hold cf the loose small stones that follow, while the paving, if 

 it may be so called, acts as an additional drainage. Tlie bottom 

 stones may be soft if necessary ; in fact I am not sure but that 

 sandy stones are best. They are always expected to be below 

 the action of the wheels, and consequently only serve to keep 

 the road dry. It is always best to insure good workmanship 

 at the first, disturbing a road afterwards never ought to be 

 necessary. Either of the plans described above, or it may be 

 both of them, had better be adopted where the case seems to 

 call for it. Provision for gas and sanitary drains ought always 

 to be thought of when a road is being made. If the basement 

 stones are packed on their edges rather than merely tumbled 

 in out of the cart or barrow, the after material adheres better 

 to them, and there is no likelihood of their getting loose and 

 finding their way to the top, which large stones are liable to 

 do when merely mixed with small stones, and especially when 

 the surface-coating of broken stones is a thin one. 



Besides stiff clayey ground alluded to above there is another 

 kind still more difficult to manage, and that is tho peat moss. 

 I recollect a piece of such road that used to vibrate very per- 

 ceptibly when a heavy load passed over it, and yet the road 

 was a good one : its foundation no doubt rested on a good 

 covering of Gorse, Heath, or bushes, which was the usual way 

 such difficulties were met. I have on more than one occasion 

 had recourse to these substances to form a bottom in a very 

 wet place, and it is surprising the saving there is in stone ; 

 besides which the road is unquestionably better, and there ia 

 no likelihood of materials so buried decaying in any very early 

 time and letting the road through. I have seen a piece of 

 road altered that was known to have been built on Thorns, 

 Brambles, &a., and at the expiration of nearly ninety years 

 only the smaller twigs were decayed. The road-maker of the 

 present day who has any particularly wet or dirty place to 

 encounter cannot do better than cover it first with Gorse, 

 Henth, bushes, or branches of any kind, and over them he 

 may lay the stones. I remember once having a particularly 

 soft place to encounter, and the soft watery mud seemed deter- 

 mined to make its way up through a moderate layer of nice 

 short Gorse that was carefully laid over it all in one way ; but 

 when we gave it a covering of tho same substance in a contrary 

 direction it stopped the propensity the soft spongy matter had 

 to rise and a very good road was made ; but of course where 

 it is practicable it is better to drain all such places. 



The above being about the worst place to form roads upon, 

 let us take a glance where the object is attained with the least 

 trouble and expense. We shall find that in some dry stony 

 districts a road is about half formed already to our hand, and 

 it requires but little labour to complete it, the natural dry- 

 ness and hardness of the bed being such as to require few 

 stones to make a really good road. Sand is a bad foundation, 

 and ought to be made dry first of all ; but there are dry sands 

 that cannot be excelled by anything, and I am not very sure 

 but a builder would as soon select a good dry sand on which 

 to erect a castle or a church as any other foundation he could 

 have. Sand of this nature makes a dry road, perhaps too 

 much so, as rounded gravel is unwilling to bind upon it. Clays 

 of some kind or other are the most common, and if divested 

 of all superfluous water will carry a good road, the great matter 

 being both to drain the bottom well and to arrange that no 

 water stands on the top. The latter is best guarded against 

 by the quality of the material used in the road and the pre- 

 vention of overhanging trees. Plantations and high hedges 

 on each side exercise a hurtful influence on roads. This work, 

 like most other operations, is governed by £ .s. d., and the ex- 

 penditure need not be very great if the work be gone about in 

 the right way. — J. Robson. 



SOIL FOR RHODODENDRONS. 



My experience is that these handsome shrubs will not thrive 

 where the soil is shallow and overlying limestone or any other 

 recks. They need the steady upriting moisture of the earth, 

 which rocks impede. They delight in vegetable matter, and 

 grow well in the loam of woods, but will not do so in that of 

 open fields. I allude to a limestone district. I have planted 

 them in nearly all sorts of soil — clay, sand, loam, and peat in 



