302 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEK. 



[ April 20, 1876. 



eoils inclnded in the above term have not the Bustaining power 

 neotseary for the support of enoh a permanent crop as they are 

 eeltcted to produce and to sustain. 



It is not in light soil or barley-growing districts that the 

 beet Grapes are to be found, but in the heavier soil known as 

 " wheat land," for in that Vines grow the strongest and con- 

 tinue the longest. 



The pastures in some districts are noted for the fineness of 

 the grass : it is dwarf, wiry, and abounds with Daisies. It 

 will feed sheep tolerably well if not too heavily stocked, but 

 will starve bullocks, Tarfy loam from such pastures is light, 

 too light for Vines. It will support them in their early stages 

 of growth, but the "heart" is soon taken out of it, and the 

 Vines languish just at the time when they ought to be arriving 

 at their best state. Turfy loam from such pastures cannot, 

 nnaided, perfect Vines of sound constitution and possessing 

 inherent vigour. Good Grapes are only produced in such soil 

 over a series of years by ungrudging manuiial apphcations 

 applied to the surface of the borders annually, and copious 

 waterings in the growing season. 



A soil far more reliable for the production of Grapes is to 

 be found in pastures where the herbage is more robust, and 

 where "Buttercups" predominate over Daisies — pastures 

 which are not notorious for growing lean mutton, but which 

 are celebrated for producing fat beef. It is in such districts 

 where Vines flourish, and it is from them alone that light 

 turfy loam may be selected with safety. In such localities the 

 nutritive qualities of the soil are sufficient for the wants of 

 Vines, and the principal care must be devoted to the me- 

 chanical condition of the borders in which the Vines are in- 

 tended to be grown. In localities noted for fat beasts and 

 Buttercups lime rubbish and charcoal may be used in the 

 Vine borders freely, but on poor sheep-grazing and Daisy 

 lands lime rubbish had better be buried anywhere than in the 

 Vine borders. Charcoal may be used and bones at the rate of 

 two bushels and more to every ton of soil, but lime rubbish in 

 Bueh borders can serve no useful purpose. Vineries are spring- 

 ing up in all directions, and especially in the environs of towns 

 and attached to villa residences. Grapes are looked forward 

 to with pleasant anticipations, and advice is anxiously sought 

 as to the formation of borders. In some instances light turfy 

 loam is carted from long distances when sounder and better 

 soil is close at hand. Excavations are made, concrete laid, 

 and drains are formed where such work is not at all necessary. 

 Soil that will grow good crops of Pears and Cauliflowers will 

 grow sturdy Vines and excellent Grapes. 



But why allude to the matter now ? are not Vine borders 

 made in the winter ? True it is that they are generally made 

 at that period, and it is for that very reason that the matter 

 is alluded to on the approach of summer. The practice of 

 selecting light turfy loam in sandy districts for the formation 

 of Vine borders is not more erroneous than digging it and 

 heaping it together in the borders in the cold winter season. 

 I have seen turf carted into Vine borders when some of it has 

 been encrusted with ice and the remainder soddened with wet ; 

 and what is more, have known the worst, but only natural 

 results, accrue from that thoughtless practice. Borders thus 

 made — that is, the surface of the grouud pared in winter and 

 piled in its icy-cold state 3 feet in thickness, are then, and 

 for many months following, several degrees colder than the 

 natural soil of the garden that has not been exposed to the 

 weather and had the summer's beat extracted. 



Soil undisturbed absorbs the heat of the sun slowly and 

 regularly, and parts with that heat as slowly and steadily as it 

 absorbed it. The earth's heat is the active agent in causing 

 the emission and extension of roots, and the roots of plants 

 are more susceptible of injury by changes of temperature than 

 are the leaves and branches. In the summer the surface of 

 the ground is the warmest and in the winter the caldest, the 

 temperature of the earth at 1 foot to 2 feet deep being infiuitely 

 less fluctuating. Now, what a mistake to take the cold surface 

 stratum and with it form a border unnaturally cold, and which 

 the heat of two summers cannot restore to its normal state. 

 Let the soil be of whatever nature it may, it is robbed of one 

 of its greatest virtues if deprived of its heat, and this depriva- 

 tion — this robbery — cannot be more eiifectually done than by 

 skimming the surface of the earth in winter and burying the 

 cold '2 to 3 feet deep. Why not store the heat of summer 

 instead of the cold of winter ? True, the Vine borders must 

 not bo made when the soil is heated to dryness. That would 

 be going to the other extreme. There are plenty of oppor- 

 tnnities of etoring eoU in a proper — that is, in a warm and 



healthily moist state, and Vines, or any other trees or plants, 

 will flourish better in such soil than if it had been stored under 

 either of the extremes mentioned of being as " dry as dust" 

 or as " cold as ice." It is because I have traced the unsatis- 

 factory condition of Vines most clearly and distinctly to the 

 borders having been made of icy-cold soil that I mention the 

 matter at a season when such a flagrant violation of the laws 

 of nature may be easily avoided. 



My experience in making Vine borders has taught me to be 

 guided by the two main principles — not to make them too light, 

 and not to pare the turf and store it in the borders at the 

 coldest period of the year. If Vine borders must be made in 

 the winter let the soil be stored in summer, storing with it 

 the important element of heat, for to bury cold is indefensible. 



— A NOBTHEEN GarDENEE. 



STELLAKIA GRAMINEA AUBEA, OR GOLDEN 

 CHICKWEED. 



Some time ago a correspondent inquired about the qualities 

 of this fresh candidate for honours among bedding plants, 

 and I believe he and some others inquired if it is perfectly 

 hardy. 



Having had some experience of it I will state that it is a 

 very good dwarf-growing plant for bedding, of not more than 

 2 inches in height, and early in the bedding season it assumes 

 a bright yellow colour, and is very effective as an edging or 

 for carpet bedding among the dwarf-growing Alternantheras 

 and plants of similar growth. But it does not maintain that 

 brightness so necessary for any plant to do when all plants 

 should be in the height of beauty ; for towards the latter part 

 of the summer it becomes a sickly green, or I ought to say a 

 greenish yellow, losing its efJect considerably — that is, when 

 grown in the ordinary soil of the garden. 



It is a plant which will not thrive without plenty of water 

 on the surface, as its roots are there ; and as its thoots creep 

 along the ground and root at every joint it must have water 

 frequently. The plant will bear clipping to a confined space : 

 in that case it thiows up numerous small shoots till it bf comes 

 like a carpet, and if it would maintain its blight colour it would 

 be one of the best plants for use in the present system of 

 bedding. As it is, I am of opinion that it ought to be further 

 tried, and if found no worse it ought to be retained on the list 

 of bedding plants. It is easily propagated both by cuttings 

 and by division of the roots. 



With regard to its hardiness, there can be no question about 

 that, for I have left plants of it out in the beds through this 

 late severe winter and they have received no harm whatever. 

 In fact the plants have grown considerably, and for the past 

 six weeks they have been gradually approaching their best 

 colour. I intend to take them up and divide them, as they 

 are now like a mat, and I shall have all I require without any 

 further propagation. 



I remember when the plant was first used as a bedder it was 

 reported to supersede the Golden Pyrethrum both as a summer 

 and winter decorative plant ; but in my opinion, though a 

 good plant, it has done neither, and most certainly it is not so 

 good as that plant in winter. — Thomas Eecobd. 



THE ARRANGEMENTS OP COLOURS 



IN THE BED3 OF THE LONDON PAT.KS AND GARDENS.— No. 13. 



The plans now figured are, like those submitted last week, 

 suitable for the corners of lawns, the angles of walks or re- 

 cesses in shrubberies. The plants with which they may be 

 planted effectively are of easy increase, preservation, and cul- 

 ture. The following modes of planting beds of these designs 

 have been admired. 



BED W. 



1. Agathea calestis. — This is a very pleasing little dwarf 

 plant. The small green and white leaves form a close carpet, 

 and it is spangled all over with sky-blue flowers, which give 

 to the whole an elegant effect. The plant is preserved in a cold 

 frnme during the winter. It is easily propagated from cuttings 

 with or without heat. 



2. Alternanthera magnifica. 



3. Gnaphalium tomentosum. — A silvery-foliage plant of a 

 dwarf bushy habit. Its loug narrow leaves are erect, and the 

 plant can be trained to any desired shape, which maki.s it bo 

 useful for divisions and for edging of beds. It is Very effective 

 if planted in juxtaposition to bright colours. It can be 



