370 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t May 11, 1876. 



year in order that preparations can be made by exliibitora, and 

 then a gathering greater than any that has gone before may 

 be regarded as a certainty. What England can do hag been 

 foreshadowed by the commemorative gathering at South Ken- 

 sington last year, and also by the recent successes in Belgium ; 

 and when so much can be effected on a short notice, what 

 may we expect when our resources are directed to a fixed date 

 sufficiently distant to afford special preparations being made 

 by exhibitors ? 



We understand that the subject for discussion at the 



fortnightly meeting of the Horticultural Club on Wednesday, 

 the 19th inst., will be — "Is it desirable to hold an Inter- 

 national Horticultural Exhibition in London in 1878?" 

 Several of the leading horticulturists, professional and ama- 

 teur, will take part in the discussion. 



We are informed that in consequence of the extreme 



coldness of the weather which prevailed during the period of 

 the Great Exhibition at Brussels that injury was done to many 

 plants — Orchids and other tender stove plants — by their ten 

 days' sojourn in the cold wooden structure in which the Exhi- 

 bition was held. During some of the nights there was frost, 

 and in the daytime there were heavy showers and a cold 

 easterly wind. The temporary building was imperfectly 

 heated, and the extraordinary amount of syringing indulged 

 in by the Belgians created a damp chilly atmosphere preju- 

 dicial to tender exotics. The open-air vegetation of London 

 and Brussels is synchronous ; the Lilacs and Chestnuts are 

 commencing flowering hi the two cities, and other trees are in 

 the same stages of development in Belgium and the south of 

 England. 



Haedy deciduous Magnolias are amongst the most 



effective plants or trees at this period of the year. Occasion- 

 ally we find a good specimen of Magnolia conspicua in Eng- 

 land, and never without admiring its bold white flowers. In 

 Belgium these Magnolias are cultivated much more freely 

 than in England, large trees of them being seen laden with 

 noble blossoms. One of the finest and moat distinct is 

 M. Leimfi. The flowers are very large — 4 to 6 inches in 

 diameter — the petals externally being rosy crimson, and 

 internally pure white. Plants in quite a small state flower 

 profusely and produce a splendid effect. This variety at least 

 in the south of England would be quite hardy, and is emi- 

 nently worthy of notice and of culture. A principal cause of 

 these plants being injured by frost is the habit of raising 

 them from seeds. They should be increased by layers or 

 grafting, and they will then endure severe winters without 

 receiving serious injury. The flowers of M. Lenne had 

 recently been subjected to 10' of frost, and were as bright and 

 fresh as ever. It is a plant which certainly should be tried in 

 English shrubberies, where, if it succeeded — and there is every 

 probability that it would succeed — its gorgeous flowers could 

 not fail to command attention and admiration. They are, in 

 addition to their beauty, also sweetly scented. 



Several kinds of Ixu. are now highly ornamental in 



the Orchid-house porch at Kew. Some of them require con- 

 siderable attention, especially at certain seasons, to produce 

 good flowering corms. It often happens after long cultivation 

 in pots that many corms are too weak to flower, and the dis- 

 play in consequence is very irregular. The Irideaj do not like 

 confinement as do many of the Liliaceous bulbs, which seem 

 to flower the better the more tightly they are potbound. All 

 the Irideae appear to like, liberal treatment, and the question 

 suggests itself whether it would not be advantageous to pro- 

 cure flowering corms of Ixias, Babianas, &c, from whence they 

 could be grown out of doors as in some parts of Cornwall. 

 Nothing could be finer than a display of these plants at this 

 season. 



We are informed that the annual exhibition of the 



National Tulip Society will be held at the Manchester 

 Botanical Gardens on Friday May 26th, and Saturday 

 May 27th, and that the northern growers are hopeful of a 

 successful display; 



Datura banguinea is now flowering profusely in the 



conservatory at Kew. This specimen is planted in one of the 

 beds, where it makes vigorous growth and produces a corre- 

 sponding amount of bloom. It is commonly thought that 

 cuttings of this species will not strike, but which, however, is 

 quita a mistake. The first tiling requisite is to obtain suitable 

 cuttings, and these are to be found usually as small fide 

 growths from the old wood. The succulent quick-growing 

 BhootB cannot be expected to strike. The next important 



point is to place the cuttings where they will not be excited 

 into an exhaustive attempt to continue growth. They must, 

 therefore, have a cool position for at least some time, and ou 

 a shelf near the glass is perhaps the best place. Professional 

 propagators are well aware that it is worse than useless to 

 place the cuttings of some plants in heat, but the fact is not 

 suflioiently appreciated by many amateurs, and perhaps some 

 gardeners. The secret of success in striking the cuttings of 

 many plants rests in their activity being lessened rather than 

 increased, so that there is as little demand as possible for 

 nutrition until the roots have time to form. Examples might 

 easily be given, but one notable case will suflioe. A number 

 of cuttings of Camptopus Mannii were placed in heat and all 

 failed, whUe more recently a number were given a cool posi- 

 tion and all succeeded. These were inserted at intervals 

 during the entire year in both cases ; so that condition of 

 growth made no difference. 



The second Exhibition of the Royal Aquarium and 



Summer and Winter Garden Society, which was announced to 

 be held on the 10th inst,, has been postponed to next Tuesday 

 and Wednesday the KJth and 17th, in order to give His Roy^ 

 Highness the Prince of Wales an opportunity of honouring 

 the Exhibition by his presence. The Roses alone will be 

 worthy of Royal patronage, upwards of £120 being offered in 

 prizes in these classes. Liberal prizes are provided in the 

 other classes, notably £25 for twelve new and rare plants in 

 or out of flower; £19 for six plants never before exhibited in 

 Europe ; £39 for Dracaenas ; £32 for variegated Pelargoniums, 

 and £20 for Orchids. A successful gathering is anticipated. 



We lately noticed in the nursery of Mr. Charles Van 



Geert at Antwerp an old hardy British plant which is seldom 

 seen, but which is very effective not only by its variegated 

 foliage, but also by its variegated flowers. EuPHORBLi 

 AMYGDALOiDES vARiEGATA might be Called an evergreen but 

 that its foUage is about half white ; it is retained for the 

 most part throughout the winter. The plant is of bushy 

 habit, growing about 4 feet in height, but by pinching may 

 be kept to any height required. The plants flower freely 

 when in quite a small state, some of them in 3-inch pots pro- 

 ducing spikes or corymbs of flowers. These are creamy white 

 and green with yellow stamens, and are both singular and 

 attractive. Apart, however, from the flowers, this plant by 

 its agreeable habit and constant variegation could be used with 

 effect as a winter or spring bedding plant in English flower 

 gardens. The leaves are as distinctly variegated and not dis- 

 similar in form to those of the Arabis, and the plant is of a 

 free-growing character. It flowers in April, and when bruised 

 the stems exude the milky juice common to the Euphorbiaoeffl. 



The Centennial Commission of the Philadelphia Ex- 

 hibition are, says the Prairie Farmer, erecting a special annex 

 for the exhibition of fruits. The dimensions of the structure, 

 situated ou the east of the agriculturallbuilding, and connected 

 with it by a covered way, are 180 by 200 feet, affording room 

 for the display of eight thousand dishes of fruit at periods of 

 special display. Although the exhibition of pomological pro- 

 ducts will extend over the entire term of the Exhibition, 

 affording most marked manifestations of the wide range of 

 soils and climates, still there will be certain periods especially 

 designated for the display of particular fruits which have 

 special seasons, such as Strawberries, June 7th to 15th ; Rasp- 

 berries and Blackberries, July 3rd to Sth ; Melons, August 22nd 

 to 2Gth ; Peaches, September 4th to 9th ; Nuts, October 23rd 

 to November 1st. The pomological annex will also be used 

 for the exhibition of vegetables continuously and at the stated 

 dates of June 20th to 24th for early summer vegetables ; Sep- 

 tember 19th to 23rd for autumn vegetables ; and October 2ad 

 to 7th for Potatoes and feeding roots. 



THE OLD MARKET GARDENS and NURSERIES 

 OF LONDON.— No. 9. 

 I DO not think that the London suburb of Hackney (once a 

 pleasant rural village) has so many memories of the past con- 

 nected with it as have other suburbs better known to fame. 

 It is true some writers would have us believe the tradition 

 that those useful conveyances of the olden time called Hackney 

 coaches took their name from this place, because they were 

 first brought into repute by the residents here, who had to 

 make frequent journeys to the City, and devised a style of 

 coach which was once deemed very convenient. Also, as we 

 are told. Hackney was formerly noted for its boarding schools, 



