62 



JOURNAL OF HORTIG0LTURR AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 13, 1874. 



removed iaside from the bed of cocoa-nut fibre refuse, iu -whic)! 

 they have been plunged out of doors since the first week of 

 October. The youuK rootlets are ramifying freely into the sur- 

 face loam which was added when the plants wore repotted. 

 Every plant of them was repotted when in full leaf in Septem- 

 ber, except the late sorts, which could not be potted until the 

 fruit was gathered. Surface-dressing the pots is well enough if 

 one c-ould he sure the drainage was not defective, but if this is 

 stopped from any cause surface-dressiug will do harm instead 

 of good. The trees are abundantly furnished with blossom buds, 

 which are iu a forward state. The house is aired freely by day, 

 and shut-up closely at night. No frost is admitted. A fire is 

 put on it the glass threatens to fall many degrees below the 

 freezing point. We do not like the soil frozen in the Straw- 

 berry pots on shelves near the glass. 



STOVE AND GBEENHOUSE. 



There are very few subjects in flower in the stove at present, 

 except Orchids ; but there are now so many handsome-leaved 

 plants that the want of flowers is not so much felt ; and there is 

 in most places such a demand for cut flowers for drawing-room, 

 dining-room, and other decorative purposes, that there is little 

 chance to keep the houses gay. For instance, there are Orchid 

 flowers which will continue in perfection for three months if 

 left on the plant, but the gardener finds it necessai-y to cut them 

 for the house, where their beauty is gone in a week. Of course 

 gentlemen must take account of this when their hothouses show 

 a paucity of flower. Still continue to keep a vigilant look-out 

 for all insect pests. Amaryllis bulbs in one of the late vineries 

 are starting into growth, and some of them are showing flower. 

 They will be removed to a house where the night temperature 

 is about sr/', and if the pots can bo plunged in a gentle bottom 

 heat the plants will grow much stronger. Tliey have been kept 

 without any water for more than two months. The mould in 

 the pots will be thoroughly saturated at first ; water will after- 

 wards be applied as the pots require it. 



The temperature in the gi-eenhouse or conservatory must not 

 fall too low now, as plants are being introduced from the forciug 

 house. Some of them, if they receive a check at first, fail to 

 open their flowers. Hyacinths, Lily of the Valley, or indeed 

 nearly all flowering plants which have been brought to the 

 flowering stage in heat, should be removed to the show house as 

 soon as the first flowers open ; they will not last long if allowed 

 to open in heat. Care must be taken not to expose them to 

 cutting winds from the side ventilators. The good old-fashioned 

 Fuchsia is not very carefully cultivated in fashionable establish- 

 ments now; but those who still appreciate this old favourite 

 will at present be looking-up their old specimen plants which 

 have been stowed away in a corner of some cool house where 

 frost could not reach them. The pots ought to be (luite dry, or 

 at least sufiiciently so that on pruning or cutting the old wood 

 in pretty close to the main stems the cuts will not bleed. Leave 

 the plants for a week or so after they are pruned, water the pots, 

 and remove into heat afterwards. 



Pruned the main collection of pot Roses. The buds were 

 breaking freely all over the plants, which showed that root- 

 action was healthy. — J. Douglas. 



TBADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



David Gold McKaj', Sudbury, SnSoYk.— List of Vegetable and 

 Flower Seeds. — List of Gladioli and other Floivcr Boots. 



James Betteridge, Common Hill Nursery, Chipping Norton.— 

 Abridged Catalogue of New and Choice Potatoes, and Hardy 

 Herbaceous Perennials. 



Dick Radclyffe & Co., 129, High Holbora, London, W.C. 

 — Catalogue of Seeds, Garden Tools, Horticultural Decora- 

 tions, rfc, 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*,' We request that no one will write privately to any of the 

 oorrespoudents of the " Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By so doing they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. All 

 communications should therefore be addressed solely to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, die, 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.G. 



We also request that correspondents will not mix up on the 

 same sheet questions relating to Gardening and those on 

 Poultry and Bee subjects, if they expect to get them 

 answered promptly and conveniently, but write them on 

 separate communications. Also never to send more than 

 two or three questions at once. 



N.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until next 

 week. 



CvcLAMES (.A. li.).— The flower is very slightly abnormal, auJ will not be 

 permanent, we think. 



STANDARr Roses {W.). — We cannot recoraraenJ standard Robos for an 

 exposed windy situation, as no Roses really can succeed as Btaadarda in such 



a position, bat twelve of tlio best and most bardy sorts ore :— Alfred Colomb, 

 Charles Lefobvre, John Hopper, Geni-ral Jacqueminot, Comtease Cecilede 

 Chabrillaut, Abel Grand, Dr. Andry, Boule de Keige, Baroness Rothschild, 

 Victor Verdier, Fisbor Holmes, and Marecbal Vaillant. We advise planting 

 them as pillars on Minetti stocks, and carefully training them. No plants 

 suffer more from wind than Roses. 



WoBMS IN POTTINO SoiL (All In<;Ktr«').— The portion of soil sent was 

 found to be infested with four different kmds of worm-Uke animals of a white 

 colour. Many were of a minuto species of true worms. Several with very 

 small black beads were tbo larvii' of a gnat, and others the larvie of some of 

 the Muscideous Hies. Water the soil well with lime water, if the plants 

 will bear lime. — I. O. W. 



Election oi' Roses (S. Ei/i'i').— At the Rose election in the autumn of 

 1873, the following were the iirst twelve :— Charles Lefebvre, Marechal Niel, 

 Alfred Colomb, and Mad. Rothschild (eijual votes), John Hopper, La France, 

 Marie Baumann, Comtesse d'Oxford, Marquise deCastellane, Si-nateur Vaisso, 

 Pierre Notting, and Duke of Edinburgh. At the election of new Roses last 

 year the best twelve were— Comtesse d'Oxford, Etionne Levet, Marquise de 

 Castellane, Louis Van Houtte. MdUe. Euginie Verdier, Francois Michelon, 

 Ferdinand de Lesseps, Madame ti. Schwartz, Catherine Mermet, Paul ^eron, 

 President Thiers, and Annie Loston 



Pkimola Aubicdla (Inquirer).— The species, native of Switzerland, baa 

 yellow llowers, and so have two of its varieties occuri-ing there. Primula 

 Auricula luteaand P. A. calycantha. A third variety, also native of Switzer- 

 land, P. A. integeiTima, has flowers of various colours. It is probable that 

 all tbese ministered to the production of our garden varieties. As long ago 

 as 1847 we published the following notes on this flower :— The Auricula is 

 described and figured by Gerard in his Herbal, which appeared in 1597, and it 

 is there called the Beai's-ear or Mountain Cowslip. He says there were then 

 many sorts, giving drawings of eight, the yellow, the pm-ple, the scarlet, the 

 blush-coloured, and several reds. Like Bauhin, he gives them the specific 

 botanical name of Aiuicula Ursi ; but by Mattbiolus :md others it was named 

 Sanicula alpina, from its supposed healing virtues and mountain birthplace. 

 It was often called by ladies the Frencb Cowslip. It is veij certain that they 

 were thus eaily much cultivated by French florists, for there is a poem in 

 their praise, in a curious work published at Douay in IGIG, entitled _'* Jardia 

 d'Hyver." and with the verses are numerous drawings of the Auriculas, or 

 " d'Oreilles d'Ours." as they are there called. Gesner named it Lunaria an- 

 thritiea and Paialytica alpina. Parkmson says it obviously belonged to the 

 Cowslip family, but Ludwig was the first to arrange it there under the generic 

 name of Primula. Gerard says that the eight kinds be enumerates were then 

 commonly grown iu the goi-dens about London, but it is evident they were 

 not much esteemed ; nor is any notice taken of raising varieties from seed. 

 This neglect soon passed away, for Johnson, in his edition of Gerard, pub- 

 lished in 1633, says that there were then u very great many varieties of these 

 flowers growing in the gardens of Mr. Tradescaut and Mr. Tuggie. Trados- 

 cant's golden was at Lambeth, and he, at the time Johnson wrote, was gar- 

 dener to Charles I. 



Santolina incana (HiijhfieU).— Yon must procure plants. Any of the 

 nm-sorymen who make bedding plants a speciality can supply it, such as 

 Cannell, of Woolwich, or Henderson, of St. John's Wood. FaiUng a full 

 supply of it for this season, use Cerastium tomentosum, which forms an ad- 

 mil-able substitute. To the query concerning the size of your garden, we 

 answer. No. ^ 



RlDSToN Pippin [Manch'ster). — We do not consider grafting deteriorates 

 this Apple. The parent tree at RibstonHall, near Kuaresborongh, died long 

 since, hut young trees were raised from it. Fi-om the following account you 

 will sue that they are not so vigorous as was their parent :— " In the park once 

 stood the origmal Ribslon Pippin tree. This was raised from pips, sent homo 

 from Rouen in 17011 by Sir Harry Ooodrick, Bart. The trunk of the ongmal 

 tree was blown downand removed many years ago ; but a portion of it may 

 now be seen outside the gardener's house, where it is taken gieat care of by 

 Mr. Jones, the gaidener. A sucker from the original tree now occupies the 

 place of the latter. It does not grow well ; indeed, owing to some of the 

 branches dying oft annuahy, it is now much less in size than when I first saw 

 it some seventeen years ago. The branches bave died off very much since 

 the frost of December, 1860. It throws-up suckers freely, so that should the 

 present tree be lost, one of them would soon make a nice tree with attention." 

 — {Florlit and JPomologUt, 18(56, page ylS.) 



Seedling Peach Thee (Mrs. M. S.).—lt will bear withont being grafted 

 or budded on another stock ; but if budded on a beaiing tree the growth from 

 that hud would probably bear fruit earlier than tbo maiden tree. We had a 

 maiden Peach tree trained as an espalier that bore when four years old. 



Pear Trees UNrRDiTFDL (7. H. P.).— The state of your fruit trees cannot 

 be accouuted for iu any other way than the soil being unsuitalile. or your 

 garden not being etlieieutly drained. It the drainage is good lift the trees 

 carefully at once (it would iiavo been better to have done so iu November), 

 trench the ground at least 2 feet deep, and replant, placing decayed turly loam 

 or some good soil round the roots. 



Dead Animals roE Vines (lAm).— The reason why fresh animal matter 

 is not applied to Vine borders is, that any roots coming iu contact with the 

 oal-cass would bo killed. One or two bulled in a border or at the roots of 

 fruit trees would not do any appreciable hoim ; and in the course of years, 

 when the orgauic matter had returned to its original dust, the roots would 

 derive sustenance from it. The Vine herders at Baby Castle many years ago 

 were made wilh a large quantitr of animal matter intermixed, and the Vines 

 refused to grow. Treutbam Black Grape succeeds well in a ground vinery, 

 but we would not plant Gros Colman iu such a structure. 



Horse Chestnct Graftino (C. E.).— We think yom- previous failure was 

 duo to the manner of putting on the grafts, which was probably the ordinal^ 

 crown method. We advise jou to proceed as before, and to graft on the side 

 instead of the strong main branches by the mode known as tongue or whip- 

 grafting. Leave a foot or so of the main branches beyond the smaller branches 

 on which you insert the grafts, and after the latter bave taken cut this away 

 close to the smaller branches on which the gialts are situate. A better plan 

 would bo to allow one or two strong shoots to start from each, and bud these 

 as soon as the buds at the pomts of the shoots were formed, or alter the 

 middle of July, taking a good bud from the second or third joint with its leaf, 

 and roducing'it about one-half. Tbo buds succeed better than grafts. 



Plants por Back Wall of Greenhouse (.1. F. N.).—Yom- wall being 

 shaded by a Vine on the roof will only suit plants that require shade from 

 bri"ht sun in summer, and those most suitable ore Camellias. The Capo 

 Jasmine will not suit. Luculia gratissuua would answer, and is winter-flow- 

 eriii" and sweet-scented. Habrothamnus fasciculatus and H. elegans flower 



