Maroh 23, 1873. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



931 



these own-root Roses, bat thry are as a rale weak, tbin, and 

 altogetber secoud-rate. I wish my Yeovil oritio would sign 

 his name ; I ebould like to know bitu , as bo lives within twenty- 

 five miles of me, and is fond of the Tea Rose. Ho is mis- 

 taken, however, in supposing that " St. EiuinND " means to 

 force them. la the letter sent to me " St. Edmund " states 

 that bo has no glass, and asks for advice only as to outdoor 

 culture. 



I asked one of our best Rose nurserymen, a man who does 

 nothing else but grow Roses, who is among them all day long 

 (and night, too, I believe in the summer time), who is one of 

 the most practical men I know (I allude to Mr. Walters of 

 Mount Radford, Exeter), I asked him what be thought of my 

 remarks on Rosea from cuttings, and he assured me I was 

 quite right ; that the few, notably those above named, would 

 do well enough ; but that for the great mnjority of Roses that 

 mode of culture is defective. However, it has the great advan- 

 tage of being the most inexpensive and readiest way of pro- 

 pagating the queen of flowers, and so is not to be despised. 



With regard to new Roses, Mr. Keynes of Salisbury intends 

 to send out this spring a carmine or crimson Tea. This is a 

 sport from Madame Willermoz, and is a great acquisition. I 

 saw blooms of it last summer, and was charmed with them. 

 The name of this novelty is Letty Coles, and if I am not much 

 mistaken we shall see a new crimson Tea ranking in merit 

 with Souvenir d'uQ Ami and Marie Van Houtte, and if so 

 Mr. Keynes will have earned the gratitude of every rosariau in 

 having given us this great desideratum — a good crimson Tea. 

 Cheshunt Hybrid I hardly call a Tea ; it is more of a Noisette, 

 most valuable in every way, but yet not a crimson Tea. Fancy 

 a grand bloom of Letty Coles between Souvenir d'Elise and 

 Marie Van Houtte in a standard of twelve Teas. This is 

 news to cheer up our hearts at thia inclement season. — John 

 B. M. Camm. 



ASPARAGUS— CONNOVER'S COLOSSAL. 



A FEW years' experience confirm the alleged merit or prove 

 illusory the laudations which mark the advent of novelties. It 

 is satisfactory alike to raiser, introducer, and grower when the 

 novelty proves to be superior to good standard kinds, against 

 which in practice it is sure to be pitted. Whatever favour it 

 may have been shown prior to its passing into commerce, it is 

 certain to receive none in a competitive trial. If there be no 

 decidedly marked improvement in the novelty over an older 

 kind a doubt is raised, and that is given in favour of the older 

 kind. 



Happily there is no prolonged names for varieties, if there 

 be any, of Asparagus, which some question and others by force 

 of fact are obliged to admit ; for who will question there being 

 Red-topped and Green-topped varieties? The difference in 

 colour is said to be due to soil and treatment ; but the two in 

 the same bed appear year after year marvellously true to 

 character, and do not intermix by contact as might be ex- 

 pected, but seedlings have the red top or the green top as the 

 parents were. The Asparagus has retained its specific dis- 

 tinctness, breaking little from its originality in a cultivated 

 Etate. 



Varieties are due to culture, or alleged to be, in Asparagus, 

 the giant becoming a pigmy when grown in poor soil under poor 

 treatment, and returns to the Asparagus of the seacoast and 

 fen, Miller considering the Asparagus growing wild in the fens 

 of Lincolnshire to be the same as the cultivated species. I 

 have not had an opportunity of seeing the Asparagus in a wild 

 state in this country, and should be glad to learn if the Green- 

 topped and Red-topped are found growing together, or if both are 

 indigenous in the same or diiierent localities in Great Britain. 

 The Red-topped is alleged to be of continental (Belgian) origin, 

 and is, bo far as I have noticed, more disposed to have the stem 

 flattened than the Green-topped, and when this form is re- 

 verted to the crowns are generally deeply covered, and the 

 purple tint of the heads is considerably modified. I do not 

 remember to have seen the Green-topped with a flat stem, 

 but under high culture it rises with the head considerably 

 thickened at its apex, having a knob-like appearance. 



I have noted these peculiarities of Asparagus because the 

 kind of American origin — Connover's Colossal — appears to be 

 intermediate between the two — i.e.. Red-topped and Green- 

 topped, the heads rising for the most part paler in the purple 

 tint, and some are quite green. The stems are also very round, 

 not tending to flatness as the Red-topped, the head having 

 quite a knob when just above ground. It has also another 



characteristic of the Green-topped — growing more quickly and 

 earlier than the Red-topped, and sooner arrives at a upeable 

 siz'. The characteristics of Connover's Colossal are, that the 

 Red-toppfd and Green-topped are produced by the same plant 

 — i.e., in its progeny from seed, but a majority of the plants are 

 Red-topped, markedly paler than in the ordinary Asparagus. 



So convinced am I of the great advance made in Conntver's 

 Colossnl that I shall make all my now beds of it, and use the old 

 up as soon as poseibla after Connover's cnmea into use. I am 

 led to this from sowing seed of Connover's Colossal alongside 

 of the older kinds and under precisely the same circumstances, 

 and after two years' growth there were heads as large as 1 have 

 cut from the old variety of four years' growth. In taking-up 

 some plants of two years' growth I find them very much finer 

 in roots and crown — in fact, twice the size of the old variety 

 of the same nga ; and four years ago I sowed Connover's 

 Colossal, and at the same time planted one-year-old plants of 

 the old kind, and this winter forced both, it being perhaps 

 only proper to state that I cut a few heads of both kinds in 

 the third and fourth ytar from planting in the one case and 

 sowing in the other, and the advantage always in favour of 

 Connover's for eize. 



In point of quality I have not had other than a favourable 

 imprespion, Connover's being quite equal to the old kind, though 

 less high in colour, yet quite high enough for those who like 

 to blanch Asparagus, taking away its beauty by the absence of 

 that which gives its flavour — namely, light and air. — G. Abbet. 



THE PHLOX AND ITS CULTURE. 



The Phlox is no exception to the general rule that whatever 

 the florist takes in hand no effort is spared to improve the 

 existing types. Within the last few years it is surprising with 

 what regularity the raisers and dealers have been enabled to 

 announce new varieties of Phloxes claiming to have superior 

 qualifications over those that have gone before, until now we 

 have them almost, if not quite, in perfection. The Phlox 

 possesses qualities which place it in the front rank of florist 

 flowers; its perfect hardiness to withstand the severest winters 

 without injury, the simplicity of its propagation and cultiva- 

 tion, the exceeding beauty and diversity of colour of its flowers, 

 most of which are delightfully fragrant, commend it to the 

 attention of all who require a jilant of easy growth for the 

 embellishment of bods and borders ; while to the amateur and 

 cottager these plants are invaluable. 



There is no mode more simple than increasing the Phlox by 

 dividing the roots ; but that is a method of propagating that I 

 do not approve of. The plants will amply repay for the little 

 extra trouble of striking them from cuttings by the improved 

 flowers they will give. Many prefer striking their Phloxes in 

 autumn ; I have generally practised, however, striking them in 

 spring when thinning the shoots of the plants. These are either 

 inserted in pots or pricked out into a cold frame, making the 

 cuttings in the ordinary way, and keeping moist and shaded 

 during sunshine for a fortnight or so, when more light and air 

 are admitted. When fairly rooted they are turned out and 

 planted ia a bed of light rich soil pr«pared for them, and well 

 watered, when they soon start into growth and make strong 

 plants by autumn. If required for pot culture they are potted 

 in autumn into 5-inch pots ; if for outdoor culture they are 

 left in the bed till the following March, when they are put into 

 the quarters assigned to them. Those in pots are placed in cold 

 frames all the winter with just sufficient moisture to keep the 

 roots in a healthy condition, and abundance of air is admitted 

 on all favourable occasions to prevent them from starting too 

 early into growth. When the pots are filled with roots the 

 plants are shifted into their flowering pots in soil composed 

 of good fibrous loam, well-decayed cow manure, and sand to 

 keep the soil in a porous condition, the pots being well drained. 



As soon as the weather is mild they are plunged out of doors 

 in coal ashes, or whatever material may be at hand, and are 

 sheltered from high winds, but where they will be exposed to 

 the full sunshine. As soon as the roots have fairly taken 

 possession of the soil I give them an abundant supply of water, 

 with occasionally watering them with liquid manure. As the 

 Phlox is a plant that makes great quantities of roots this 

 is essential to preserve the foliage in perfect health, which is 

 a matter of prime importance, seeing much of their beauty is 

 dependant on healthy and well-developed foliage. Stake as 

 the plants advance in growth, and when coming into flower 

 remove to the greenhouse or conservatory, when they will 

 amply repay for the trouble that has been bestowed on them. 



