Janaary 15, 1874. J 



JOUBNAL OP HOBTICDLTUBB AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



55 



whom placed this Btoue to hia memoiy. Died Oct. lltb, 1870. Aged 83. 

 * Their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more 

 at aU.' " 



OBTAINING GERANIUM AND EOSE FLOWERS 

 IN WINTER. 



I MUST not complain of my greenhouse, as, having followed 

 your kind advice, it is now a blaze of beauty ; but I cut down 

 in the summer about fifty beautiful plants of Geraniums, and 

 scrupulously picked-off every bud, in hopes they would flower 

 profusely all winter, and they do not, except Geranium Perilla, 

 which just gives a few blossoms for bouquets. Why is this? I 

 keep the house at about 65° during the day, and in this 

 weather admit plenty of air, and at 55' at night ; sometimes it 

 has been as low as 45°. Do I water them too much ? for 

 they make such growth. 



I have a Mariichal Niel Bose coming into flower in the same 

 house. It is not in a pot, but in the ground ; one bud is very 

 large, and at present looks healthy, but I am anxious to know 

 at what temperature to keep the house; foranotherEose, Adam, 

 planted close to the Mareohal three weeks ago, was fall of bud, 

 and to my great dismay, although the foliage looks perfectly 

 healthy, every bud became yellow and dropped-oft'; but as I 

 say, the foliage looks very healthy, and I see other buds are 

 forming. The only reason for this terrible disappointment 

 which I can suggest is, that there is a Strawberry shelf quite 

 at the top, and when these plants are watered the Eose gets 

 more than it likes of the drip. — F. P. G. 



[It is rather difficult to advise about Zonal Pelargoniums 

 for winter blooming without seeing the plants or the house in 

 which you grow them. We rather imagine from your account 

 that you have treated them too kindly. It is not a good plan 

 to pick-out all the flowering eyes, as it induces plants to make 

 wood, or rather to grow instead of blooming. We never in 

 our experience find that the Geranium blooms less in conse- 

 quence of having a suflicient amount of bloom always left on, 

 and if plants are cut-back and repotted in summer it is not a 

 good plan to disbud too much. Of course, specimen plants 

 that have been grown for summer blooming will not bloom 

 again so freely in autnmu without a rest and top-dressing. 

 Plants, also, for winter blooming should not be overpotted ; 

 and though we are advocates for a eufiieiency of water, there 

 should not be too much given so as to encourage overmuch 

 growth. Plenty of light and a good warm dry atmosphere, 

 top-dressing rather than overpotting, seem to be the requisites 

 for winter blooming. Your temperature on the whole is too 

 high, and very likely you are giving moisture for the sake of 

 your other plants. Have you Pearson's Hybrid Nosegays, as 

 Mrs. Lowe, Bayard, Arthur Pearson, Chunder Sen, &a. ? they 

 are by far the best strain we know for winter blooming ; also, 

 among Zonals, Vesuvius, Corsair, .Jean Sisley, Eev. C. P. Peach, 

 two of which are Mr. Pearson's ? Some of his new pinks pro- 

 mise also weU for winter pot-plants, as Mrs. Fytche, Coutessa 

 Quarto, and Mrs. Musters. An 8-inch pot is quite large enough 

 for plants for winter blooming, and the best plan is to select 

 good plants at bedding-out time, pot them in from 4 to 

 6-iuch pots in June, and give them another shift to 7 and 

 8-inch pots early in August, stand them out in a sunny warm 

 place in August and September, and bring them in in October. 

 Merely pinch-in to promote even growth. Do not disbud or 

 cut-back too hard. 



As Maruchal Niel is planted in the ground, and has good 

 buds on it, we do not advise too much temperature, otherwise 

 you excite growth when the roots cannot supply sufficient 

 nourishment. A day temperature from 55° to 60°, and a night 

 one from 45° to 50°, wiU be quite sufficient. Tea Roses will often 

 drop their buds from want of sufficient light. Light is the 

 most important of all things for winter forcing to enable the 

 plant to fix the carbon, which in dark days is given off as 

 •carbonic acid.] 



ROUND. LEAVED BATAVIAN ENDIVE. 



I WAS surprised on reading the observations of " W.," in 

 last week's Journal of Horticultdre, respecting the above- 

 named Endive. I take no objection to what he says as to its 

 growth being " particularly compact, less leafy than many 

 other Batavian Eudives, and consequently more edible in heart 

 and midrib;" but I do object to seeing old things being sent 

 out as new, or with a name other than that under which they 

 may be had at a tithe of the price. 



In 1873 1 procured a packet for Is. Gd. of the novelty " Round- , 



leaved Batavian Endive," and the usual quantity (1 oz.) of 

 Fraser's Improved Broad-leaved, and sowed them both at one 

 time, and adjoining each other. They were grown alike, 

 planted-out when fit, part were blanched on the ground and 

 part iu frames, and in all cases adjoining, so that a difference, 

 if any, could be noted. Growing some hundreds of each any 

 difference would have been apparent, but so similar were the 

 two that no one, myself included, could distinguish the least 

 dissimilarity in any stage of growth. As to any superiority of 

 the Eound-leaved over Fraser's Improved Broad-leaved, there 

 is none, both being good. — A. 



OLD FRIENDS WITH NEW NAMES. 



" New vegetables are scarce, although new names are ever 

 abundant and bewildering," writes Dr. Hogg in his " Year- 

 Book " for 1874 — a dictum which, we apprehend, none will be 

 found hardy enough to gainsay. Eegretable as are this 

 abundance and bewilderment in respect of new names too 

 freely conferred on old acquaintances, still more to be regretted 

 are the confusion and errors of nomenclature, and the syno- 

 nymic obscuration, which go to increase the bulk, but, at the 

 same time, materially decrease the value of seedsmen's 

 catalogues. As the spring issues are now being prepared and 

 fledged for the coming flight, we would impress on then' pro- 

 prietors and compilers the desirability of taking advantage o£ 

 what has been done up to this, with a view to bring order out 

 of the preceding chaos. They will deserve best who will do 

 most to correct errors of nomenclature, and will dare to let the 

 genuine thing, freed from a rubbishy heap of pynonyms and 

 pseudonyms, stand forth upon its merits. Now, for example 

 sake, let us take our national esculent, the Potato. It appears 

 that out of 189 varieties tried in the Chiswick Garden last 

 season only 114 were found to be distinct, 75 being merely 

 synonyms. As many of our readers are now, or soon will be, 

 thinking of purchasing and getting some early Potatoes down, 

 it may be as well they should know, if they go in for " kidneys," 

 that Alma Kidney, Benson's Seedling, Cambridgeshire Kidney, 

 Cave's Seedling, Champion Kidney, Conqueror, Early May, 

 Early Eanelagh, Laing's First Crop, Nonesuch, Nutbrown, 

 Reynard, Stylhan's Kidney, Tory, Shepherd's Kidney, and 

 Veitch's Improved Ashleat are neither more nor less than 

 Kentish Ashleaf. Here are sixteen impostors under assumed 

 names. Why not at once expunge the whole crew from trade 

 lists ? Then, again, Derbyshire Prizetaker, Lee's Hammersmith 

 Kidney, Myatt's Prohfic, Rivers's Royal Ashleaf, and Sau- 

 dringham Kidney are only Myatt's Ashleaf. Here is another 

 batch of pretenders which should be sent to the rightabout. 

 Then again, Duekstone, Margolioe, Mona's Pride, and Oakleaf 

 are simply the old familiar Ashleaf Kidney. Oai good, 

 albeit rather flat, old friend Lapstone has his merits and his 

 honours surreptitiously assumed by the following pretenders — 

 namely. Cobbler's Lapstone, Haigh's Seedling, Headley's 

 Nonpareil, Huntingdon Kidney, Pebble White, Perfection, 

 Eixton Pippin, Ashtop Fluke, and Almond's Yorkshire Hero. 

 The name of the rightful owner suggests strapping these 

 scoundrels from the company and column iu which they have 

 too long passed muster. 



The Regent is a great favourite iu the London market, and, 

 perhaps, deserving of more extended cultivation here than has 

 been hitherto accorded to it. His regency was too successful 

 to remain undisturbed, and we accordingly have Early Oxford, 

 Mitchell's Prolific, Pink-eyed Regent, Eintoul's White Don, 

 Eusty Coat, Rough Jacket, and York Regent traitorously 

 attempting his deposition. Who is it that has not heard of 

 or seen iu print the praises of Eed-skinned Flourball? Nay, 

 further, the pictorial art has been called into requisition to 

 make us familiar with his rubicund countenance — tfres atque 

 rotundux. And j'ct, notwithstanding all this, some have been 

 uncharitable enough to hint (and we must confess our own 

 experiences point to the same conclusion) that at certain 

 periods, and in some soils, at all events, Flourball is a misnomer, 

 and Soapball would be more appropriate. Be this as it may, 

 he is a fine, good-looking fellow, with a very prepossessing 

 appearance — qualities quite sufficient to win a measure of 

 success, and consequently bring forth a bevy of aspirants to 

 outshine him under the names of American Red, Barkshire's 

 Eed-skinned Flourball, Boston Red, Improved Red-skinned 

 Flourball, Kentish Red, and Red Peach-bloseom. And, gentle 

 reader — shall we tell it? — these half-dozen iugrates are no 

 other than the offspring of the veritable Flourball himself. 



We might go on with the list, but the foregoing in the matter 



