May 11, 1876. J 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



3G5 



day of the show ! What, then, shall we say of a three-day 

 EoBe show? Witneaa York, 14th, 1.5th, and IGth of June. I 

 do trnat that exhibitors will, as " T, II. G." writes, take this 

 matter into their serious consideration, and unite in endeavour- 

 ing to put a stop to these two-day shows. — Thomas Jowitt. 



PLANTS FOR FLOWERING IN WINTER. 



In the pressure of duties at this busy season there is a 

 danger of something being neglected. It is impossible to do 

 everything as we would wish it to be done, and difficult to do 

 it at all by working in the ordinary way. The only chance to 

 keep up with the requirements is to do three days' work in 

 one. Happily this is not so difficult now as when the weather 

 is hotter, and by making an extra effort at the present time 

 with head and hands we may fairly hope to be able to get on a 

 little easi^^ by-andby. I see people continue to advertise for 

 " working " gardeners. If there is such a being as a gardener 

 who does not work I should like to see him and have him 

 exhibited. Gardeners worthy of the namo, whether they get 

 their living from the profession or merely follow it for healthful 

 excitement and recreation, cannot help working any more than 

 a hen can help laying eggs. 



Amongst the things which must be done now because 

 everybody, whether gardeners or not, can see they want doing, 

 are Grape-thinning, attending to bedding plants and fruit 

 trees, and killing the weeds. But there are other things not 

 quite so plain to the ordinary eye which require attention 

 equally as much, and one of tbe principal iu all large estab- 

 lishments is preparing plants for winter decoraticn, the taste 

 for which is increasing so rapidly that it is scarcely possible to 

 provide too much to meet it. There are many plants of easy 

 growth which, if time can anyhow be spared to give them a 

 little attention now and afford them a start, will almost take 

 care of themselves and flower naturally in the winter mouths, 

 thereby saving fuel and a great amount of labour. Amongst 

 the easiest to grow and the most useful is 



Eicliardia ethioplca. — Side shoots now taken off and planted 

 in good rich soil outside and well supplied with water, will 

 make good flowering plants by autumn, when they may be 

 potted and made to flower any time at three weeks' notice. If 

 large plants are required several shoots may be planted to- 

 gether, or the old plants may be turned out just as they are. 

 For my purpose I find plants in 6 and 7-ineh pots the most 

 useful, and I grow them by the hundred. The above method 

 is the least trouble ; I, however, keep plants iu small pots all 

 the summer, as I do not think 6-inch pots large enough for 

 the plants when lifted from the open ground, the roots having 

 spread much further than they would do in pots. A large 

 vase filled with such plants and two or three Amaryllises has 

 a very good effect. 



Amaryllises, too, are much easier to grow than many people 

 imagine. The fatal mistake is drying them off. Tbey should 

 be ripened by exposure to the sun, but never be dried. Mine 

 are grown nearly in the same way as Cyclamens ; rich soil 

 with heat and moisture while growing, and full exposure to 

 the sun and air afterwards. Th^y are placed outside on a 

 walk or bed of ashes in June and kept well watered. Most of 

 them lose their leaves by autumn, but they are still kept moist 

 at the roots. They are taken into a cool house before much 

 frost comes and introduced to heat in succession as required. 

 With this treatment they always form leaves at the same 

 time as they send up their first flower stem. Most of them 

 which flower from December to February flower a second time 

 a month or two later. A correspondent lately said that 6-inoh 

 pots were quite large enough for Amaryllises. I certainly 

 should not consider them large enough for my 7-inch bulbs. 

 Many of these are in 10-inch pots and have flower stems 

 2J or S feet high. 



Ghrysantlicmums for house decoration are quite forward 

 enougti if they are now small healthy plants in 4-inoh pots 

 and are not allowed to be stunted. If time and material 

 cannot be found for potting at once, turn them out of their 

 small pots and plant rather closely together in light soil till 

 time and maierinl are forthcoming. 



Winter Carnations are the best of all winter flowers. I have 

 between two and three hundred in 4-inch pots, which will be 

 potted into 8, 10, and 12-inch pots, according to the vigour of 

 the several varieiies, as soon as possible. 



Deutzia gracilis and Prunus persica fl.-pl. have finished their 

 growth in a vinery and will soon be turned outside. The last- 

 named is the best for house decoration when well managed ; 



but the half-opened sprays of Deutzia are very useful for 

 bouquets, wreaths, &a. 



Gesneras are very useful, and may bo had in flower all winter. 

 They require a shaded stove or pit. Some are just commencing 

 growing, others are not yet potted. G. znbrina splendens, 

 refulgens, and cinnabarina flower in the order named. Light 

 soil suits them best. — Wm. Taylob. 



THE NATIONAL AURICULA SHOW. 



There are a few matters connected with this Show which 

 have occurred to me, and which I had not time to note when 

 I sent off my account of the Show. 



In the first place I must quarrel a little with the arrange- 

 ments. The Auriculae were all placed together on a large 

 table. The Judges selected those which they considered tho 

 most meritorious ; these were placed in regular order, but tho 

 remainder were left in a state of most admired confusion, 

 and, as it often happens, amongst those plants which did not 

 receive any prize were many that were well worth looking at. 

 It is a great pity that more room could not be given so that the 

 plants might all be regularly arranged. Then, as the plants are 

 sent with small balls of earth, surely it would be better that 

 they should be placed in smaller pot^. The whole plan grates 

 upon one as untidy. But I can easily see how convenient it 

 is, and I know from bitter experience the trouble and expense 

 that it is to get plants in pots to an exhibition ; but still I 

 think that, if the plan must be adhered to, they would look 

 much better if placed in pots more corresponding to the size 

 of the plants. It was like shoving a little boy into his father's 

 top coat. Perhaps the magnificent Town Hall may he open 

 by next year, and the Society may have a larger space allotted 

 to them. 



Then, nowhere can one see such a gathering of the genuine 

 old florists as here — men who make sad hashes of names, but 

 who regard their plants as real pets for which they are ready 

 to sacrifice anything ; and no one seeing their zeal would 

 question for a moment the truth of the story which tells us of 

 the man taking the blanket off his bed on a cold winter's night 

 to place over his frames. A good notion of their nomenclature 

 was given me by a grower. There has always been a great 

 confusion as to Redmayne's Metropolitan, Hay's Apollo, and 

 Spalding's Metropolitan. I wanted to solve it it I could, but 

 failed. Some growers maintained that they were all the same, 

 others that the two first were identical, others that all three 

 were distinct ; but I found that amongst the rale ould Auricula 

 growers Hay's Apollo was sometimes called Old Poll and Asia 

 Poll — a curious corruption of Hay's Apollo. 



It is quite clear to me that the bone and sinew of florist- 

 flower culture in the north ace these small growers, and that 

 until we can get something corresponding to them in the south 

 we can never hope to see such an interest taken in florists' 

 flowers as we wi^h. In the eastern parts around Bethnal Green, 

 L'^yton, &e., we find that flowers are diligently cultivated in 

 the small gardens one sees in passing along the lines of rail- 

 way ; and if one could see Auriculas, Pinks, Carnations, &c., 

 taking the place of Asters, Marigolds, &c., then there might be 

 hope for us. It may be said in opposition to this that the 

 main prizes were taken by men of a different stamp, such as 

 my most enthusiastic friend theEsv. P. D. Horner, Mr. Wilson 

 of Halifax, Mr. Gorton of Eccles, &c. True, but withal that 

 these rank and file seem to me as necessary to form the florist 

 army as do the officers I have named ; and I doubt very much 

 if the fancy would have maintained the hold it has done had 

 it not been for the Lancashire Simouites, Cheethams, and men 

 of that stamp. 



And now farewell to Manchester, for the present at least. 

 It has left pleasant memories, and I shall think with pleasure 

 of the opportunity I had of seeing personally men whom I had 

 known by repute so long, and who had ministered unwittingly 

 to my pleasure through many a long year. — D., Deal. 



CLERODENDRON BALFOURI. 



Those who have a stove should find a place for this plant. 

 It is equally eligible for pot culture for training to a balloon 

 or other trellis as for extensive roof-covering, where it appears 

 to great advantage at this time (end of April and early May). 

 Its large dichotomous cymes of flowers — white calyx, from 

 which peeps the bright crimson corolla, like a ruby in a pearl 

 setting — have a particularly fine effect, especially when viewed 

 by artificial light. It is a decided improvement on C. Thomp- 



