96 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 29, 1874. 



this hardy variety is really worthy of a place in any collection, 

 being a certain bearer ; indeed I liave never known an instance 

 of its failing to produce a heavy crop, and the quality of the 

 fruit is not to be by any means despised, but unfortunately it 

 does not keep long. 



If you will allow me to skip from Pears to Grapes, I will 

 only beg to say to your correspondent Mr. Inglis that I think 

 there is only one variety of the Mrs. Pince's Black Muscat Grape 

 in cultivation ; but this appears to be a variety which varies 

 very considerably in appearance, as well as in quaUty, under 

 the influence of varying circumstances, and I have seen Vines 

 of this variety produce fruit so distinct from that of other 

 Vines of the same sort, that had I not struck them all from 

 eyes taken from one and the same plant — our only one at the 

 time — I could hardly have believed them to have been the 

 same. We, however, consider this variety here as the beat of all 

 late-keeping Grapes. It is grown in the same house with Lady 

 Dowue's, and both sorts have this season, as well as during 

 others, ripened and coloured their fruit equally well, and that 

 with little or no assistance from artificial heat. — P. Grieve. 



SPOILINa SOIL. 



Nobody knows what a quantity of good soil is annually 

 spoilt through an idea that it is not fit for use without pre- 

 paration and admixture. The old stereotyped advice is, Pro- 

 cure turfy loam from an upland pasture, stack it up for twelve 

 mouths, and then chop-down and mix with so much sand, 

 leaf mould, peat, lime rubbish, &c. Now, one ought always to 

 bear in mind that a soil naturally suited to the growth of a 

 plant will last in good condition longer, and will grow that 

 plant better, than any compound possibly can do ; perhaps not 

 so grossly at first as a stimulating mixture would do, but the 

 quality of growth will be better, and the plant will be hardier 

 and longer-lived. 



If a good natural soil cannot be obtained, the next best 

 thing is one of the very simplest mixtures ; three ingredients 

 will always be better than four, and generally two will be 

 Buflicient. Then why stack-up for twelve months and spoil all 

 you have been so particular about obtaining — fibre in the turf ? 

 Decomposition of vegetable matter produces most of the food 

 of plants ; when there is no longer anything in the soil to be 

 decomposed the plant will cease to grow. The greater part 

 of the fibre in turf decomposes during the first twelve months, 

 and the plants afterwards grown in it get very little benefit 

 from past decomposition. New loam is quite doubly as strong 

 as that which has been stacked-up twelve months, and most 

 quick-growing plants will do much better in it, especially if 

 the space for the roots is hmited. There are, however, some 

 plants which thrive in loamy soil that are not gross feeders, 

 and for these unadulterated new loam might be too strong. 

 Partial decay or mixing with a quantity of the ingredients 

 generally used will alter all this. Such substances as mortar, 

 sand, coal ashes, broken bricks, &c., act principally, if not 

 altogether, mechanically, and it is only in very rare cases that 

 the soil would not be better without them, for if they do not 

 actually impoverish it, which I believe they do, they take up 

 the space that good soil would occupy more profitably. If the 

 soil is too heavy or of too close a nature, why not use some- 

 thing with it that will act beneficially in other ways as well as 

 mechanically — charcoal or charred earth, for instance ? Many 

 people have an idea that plants will not do well without a 

 great quantity of sand. Nothing can be further from the fact. 

 I have not used half a bushel of sand to mix with loamy soU 

 wilhiu the last six years. I find plants grow much more 

 strongly without it. If they do take up silica there is generally 

 a hundred times more than they want in any new soil. Again, 

 people are constantly putting mortar in their Vine borders, 

 because Vines are said to like lime. Perhaps they do, but I 

 prefer giving it to them in the shape of broken bones. 



Another common way of spoiling good soil is by mulching. 

 Mulch with half-decayed manure round trees newly planted, is 

 the regular advice. Why mulch ? Is it to keep out the frost ? 

 If so, use something that is not half decayed, and as dry as 

 possible. Is it to stimulate the plants V Plants with broken 

 and bruised roots commence growing quicker in a soil that 

 does not contain fresh manure. Examine a heavy soil in the 

 spring that has been mulched through the winter, you will 

 find it a stinking slimy mass which it will take months to 

 sweeten. I have nothing to say against mulching trees that 

 are planted late in spring to prevent the roots drying too fast. 

 Generally speaking, for hardy trees, keeping the surface soil 



loose about them will be better than covering. — William 

 Tavlok, Lonijleat. 



HERBACEOUS LOBELIAS. 



The old herbaceous Lobelias, so distinct from everything 

 else, so quaint in appearance, are much neglected. I have for 

 years taken great interest in these neglected old flowers, com- 

 monly called the Cardinal Flower, and I purpose giving you 

 my notes and a few hints on their growth, hybridising, propa- 

 gation, &c. 



The oldest of all, Fulgens and CardiuaUs, are fine indeed, 

 especially in colour ; but now I am happy to say there are 

 many improvements. For a scarlet, one of the best is Blazer, a 

 strong dwarf grower, and the flower intense scarlet ; the foliage 

 is ample, light green, covered with hair. The finest individual 

 flower, and the most perfect, however, is St. Clair. The shape 

 of the bloom is almost perfect, and the foUage reddish green, 

 and covered with hair. It is a tall and graceful grower. 



Dazzle is another splendid variety. The spikes of bloom are 

 from 3 to 4 feet long, and the intense vermihon of the flowers, 

 is very tine ; the effect in a bed or border is grand. The 

 fohage of this variety is very handsome, being rich purple 

 blood colour. Comet is a very fine variety, a tali grower, with 

 a brilliant vermUion flower. These beautiful plants when 

 carefully looked after are not equalled by any other flower of 

 the garden ; their graceful spikes, 3 or 4 feet long, with their 

 fiery snake-like tongues, are unique. 



The scarlets are my favourites, but now we have white^ 

 purple, rose colour, blue, and other shades, and of these I wiU 

 describe a few of the best. 



Alba grandiflora is the best white, but it is a bad grower. 

 I would not recommend it for beds. 



Leo Lespes is a splendid and distinct variety, rosy pink, 

 large flower, and fine spike. The plant is a strong grower. 

 It is a first-rate sort for pots or border. 



Progress. — Eosy magenta, large pips, and fine spike. A 



dwarf grower. Extra fine in pots ; good in beds and borders. 



Roi des Bkus. — Bright blue. Dwarf grower. Useful for pots. 



Purpurea Megia. — Fine pure purple flower. A profuse 



bloomer, growing and branching, making a pyramid. Fine 



for borders or pots. 



Ringleader. — Light rosy purple, fine. Free grower. Very 

 strong. 



Sgphilitiea. — Fine, large, ample foliage. Flowers pale blue. 



I have enumerated only the finest sorts for pots or beds, 



either for the conservatory or garden decoration. They are 



old friends, and only want to be seen and known to be loved 



by those who can appreciate the beautiful. 



The soil in which they thrive best is sandy loam with plenty 

 of very rotten manure and water. A damp situation is parti- 

 cularly suitable for them. They make splendid plants 4 and 

 5 feet in height in large pots, and their brilliant blooms 

 render them very effective for decoration. They should be 

 potted in 8 or 10-inch pots in sandy loam with plenty of rotten 

 manure. Let the drainage be carefully attended to. Charcoal 

 in the large pots to the depth of 8 inches is not too much. 



Lobelias will withstand a mild winter out of doors, but the 

 best way to treat them is when out of bloom to cut them down 

 to within G inches of the ground ; they will die down nearly to 

 the root, and then send up small shoots, which can be potted- 

 on for another year. They also grow very well, if layered in 

 leaf mould and sand, by cutting the bottom of the plant partly 

 through and layering it in the ground, first plunging the pot. 

 Give a small cut at every eye under the stem, and peg it down 

 to the soil with hair pins. Put a slight sprinkling of soil, 

 over the top. They will likewise strike from cuttings in the 

 spring. 



Lobelias are very interesting to hybridise. Last year I took 

 a plant of Leo Lespes, and impregnated every flower individu- 

 ally with another sort of a different colour. The result is 

 that 1 have now upwards of a thousand plants with flowers of 

 all colours, from which I have selected some splendid varieties. 

 — Edwaed Shenton, Hale Farm Nursery, Tottenham. 



Imieoved Eound-leaved Batavian Endive. — "A" has cer- 

 tainly not had the right sort for Improved Eound-ieaved Bata- 

 viau Endive, as it is totally different in habit from Eraser's Im- 

 proved Broad-leaved, and more nearly resembling the old Bata- 

 vian, but having a darker green colour and a much larger heart 

 than that variety. It is also hardier, and altogether a real 



