Jose 23, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



483 



very rich Foil, in order that the plants may mske a qniok 

 early growlU and escape eerious itjjnry by the " fly." Thin 

 Bowing is very important, for if th" plants are crowded in the 

 BPfd bed the eieme become long and tender, and not in a good 

 state to wi'hftand the cold to which they will eventually be 

 Bulij^cted. The pluntg are eubpequently planted in trenches 

 in a Eonth border, which bae been cleared of early Peas and 

 Potatoes, and after a few soakings of manure water the Cauli- 

 flowers commence forming heads early in November, when the 

 plants are removed and laid in framep, sheds, or under such 

 shelter as can be found, and a supply of email nseful Cauli- 

 flowers is thus provided up to January. — A Sdbbey Gabdeneb. 



STBATIOTES ALOIDES— WATER SOLDIER. 



The accompanying figure represents one of the most beauti- 

 ful native aquatic plants, which is somewhat rare, yet plenti- 

 ful where it does exist. 

 It is found in what are 

 termed the fen counties, 

 and may be seen at 

 home chiefly in Cam- 

 bridgeshire and Lin- 

 colnshire. In these 

 counties plants are met 

 with in large numbers. 



It is a perennial sto- 

 loniferoua plant, in- 

 creasing itself by long 

 creeping stolones , at the 

 ends of which are formed 

 roots, leaves, and buds. 

 I am not quite certain 

 whether these rise to 

 the surface to flower 

 and become fertilised, 

 and then return to the 

 bottom to take root in 

 the mud, sow the seed, 

 and go on increasing. I 

 have not watched bo 

 minutely as to ascertain 

 that. 



The flower stalk rises 

 from a sheath amid the 

 Aloe-like leaves, hence 

 its name. It flowers in 

 June and July, some- 

 times ripening seeds, 

 which always produce 

 plants of tbe original 

 type. It is a singular- 

 looking plant, having a 

 Btar-like tuft of leaves, 

 the edges of which are armed with teeth-like prickles, which are 

 very sharp. I have met with plants of Stratiotea aloides in 

 more northern districts than those named, but I am inclined 

 to think they had been introduced from other parts of the 

 country. Our Water Soldier is no doubt a stranger to many, 

 and is worthy of attention. 



It may be cultivated in ponds where there is a moderate 

 depth of water and mud for the plants to root in, and when 

 once established they are well able to take care of themselves. 

 They appear to prefer rather stagnant water than otherwise. — N. 



Fig. 124.— Stratiotes aloiees. 



BOUGAINVILLEA GLABRA. 

 Unlike some of the genus this is a free-blooming as well as 

 a free-growing plant, its mauve-coloured bracts being highly 

 effective. It succeeds admirably in a cool stove, requiring a 

 light airy position, the chief point in its culture being the 

 thorough ripening of the wood. How this and many other 

 plants with no natural provision for oiimbing came to be classed 

 as climbers I cannot understand, for the Bougainvillea has no 

 tendrils like a Passiflora, no aeiial roots to attach itself by as 

 Ivy, nor is it at all given to twine like a Stephanotis. What 

 claim, then, have Allamandas as well as Bougainviileaa to be 

 classed as climbers? Tbey, like some Roses, cover the face of 

 a wall when assisted by threds and nails ; but they are not 

 climbers, and are best seen to advantage when trained to 

 trellises. The Bougainvillea does well on a balloon trellis, and 

 is simply grand as a standard, to secure which form we have 



only to train-up to the height required, then stop, removing all 

 the side shoots but the three uppermost, and stop these re- 

 peatedly so as to form a round compact head, and support 

 by an iron Btake with three prongs to maintain the plant in 

 po-iiion. 



Being deciduous it requires to be kept dry in winter, and yet 

 the wood must not shrivel. Commencing growth in February 

 or early in March it should then be potted, having bad very 

 little water from November up to that time, and whatever 

 pruning is required should then he done. This I confine to 

 cuttiog-out the old and weak wood, leaving sufficient of the 

 vigorous well-ripened wood for covering the trellis with flowen- 

 ing shoots, every eye of which will give a shoot and a number 

 of flowers from its point m May and June. Most of the old soil 

 is removed in potting, and the plant returned to the same or a 

 slightly increased size of pot. If the plants are young it is 

 well to grow them on for a year, and not put them to a trellis 



until the second year. 

 The drainage is made 

 efficient, the soil well 

 worked in amongst the 

 roots and made rather 

 firm. Three parts light 

 turfy loam, a part each 

 of leaf soil, sandy peat, 

 and silver sand, the 

 soil broken-up and used 

 rather rough, is a suit- 

 able compost. Water is 

 given sparingly until 

 growth commences, and 

 then increased with the 

 growth, it being libe- 

 rally afforded when the 

 growth is free and the 

 plant in flower. 



When this is past the 

 shoots which have flow- 

 ered are cut away to 

 sound wood ; water is 

 given rather sparingly, 

 but not letting the foli- 

 age flag, and when fresh 

 growth begins, as it will 

 do soon afterwards, the 

 watering becomes libe- 

 ral. These growths flow- 

 er late in August or Sep- 

 tember, and this bloom 

 is often the finest of the 

 year. After this water 

 is gradually withdrawn, 

 and tbe plant goes to 

 rest about November for 

 the winter. My plants from February to November are sprinkled 

 or lightly syringed overhead twice daily, and floors, Ac, damped 

 at noon. Weak liquid manure does good when the pots are 

 full of roots. — G. A. 



MESSRS. F. & A. DICKSON & SONS' NURSERIES, 

 UPTON, NEAR CHESTER. 



Amongst those provincial nurseries which have attained a 

 world-wide fame, and which exhibit the skill and enterprise 

 of English horticulturists, a foremost place has always been 

 given to this celebrated Chester firm, and I think that perhaps 

 the impressions received during a recent visit to them may 

 not be without interest to the readers of " our Journal ;" for 

 although it may be to a certain extent true that one large 

 nursery is like another, yet I fancy that where there is intelli- 

 gence in the carrying-out of any establiehment there is always 

 something to be learned and something different from other 

 establishments. 



In visiting nurseries one often finds a spicialite, as our 

 neighbours call it, of one kind or another. If I were asked 

 what was that of the Messrs. Dickson I should say. Everything. 

 It matters not whether it be stove or greenhouse plants, Coni- 

 fers, fruit trees, Roees, forest trees, or anything ehe, they are 

 all to be found here in large quantities, and special care is 

 given to the various cultures. The time of my visit was about 

 as badly timed as it could have been. At no time of the year 

 does a nursery show to less advantage than in the early part 



