150 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



[ Febrnuy 13, 1874. 



over a temple, which thus beoomea a veritable water temple ; 

 then it rushes down a long and steep incline of stone steps, 

 forming where it pours down it a swift and noisy rapid, and 

 finally the chef d'auvre of the grand fountain, throwing its jet 

 far above the highest trees with which it is surrounded — a 

 noble series of works, fit for such a reeidenoe. 



It would be useless for me to proceed further. In every 

 department — flower, vegetable, and fruit — I saw evidence of 

 the highest sldll and the use of almost unhmited wealth ; and 

 I can well understand the pride which such a gardener as 

 Mr. Speed can take in the garden. Such a situation, however, 

 has its drawbacks. Chatsworth is a show place, and this in- 

 volves a constant succession of visitors, many of whom, caring 

 not a doit for horticulture, think they must do the garden as 

 well as the rest of the place ; and many times, if they are 

 people of position, must be accompanied by the head gardener. 

 Now I do not beUeve any gardener grudges this when the 

 visitors really care about a garden, but when they do not it is 

 an insufferable nuisance. I hardly suppose that there are 

 many railers at a " bloated aristocracy " amongst the readers 

 of the Journal ; if there are, it may be as well to mention that 

 to allow the puhho to have the liberty they possess of going 

 through the grounds and garden involves' an expenditure of 

 £2000 a-year. 



Such were my impressions, faintly described, of Chatsworlh. 

 We see grand chateaux abound, large forests, and picturesque 

 gi-ounds, but nowhere can one find such gardens as are attached 

 to many of the grand mansions BO liberaUy dotted over our 

 tight little island. — D., Deal. 



AVOIDING POTATO FAILURES. 



It may probably be considered incorrect to assert that de 

 generation of the tubers of the Potato has not occurred, when 

 the fact of its being subject to disease would imply degeneracy. 

 There can be no doubt that the system of the modern Potato, 

 under the influence of cultivation, has become far more sus- 

 ceptible than the plant was when first introduced from its 

 native habitat, and it is for this reason that I consider careful 

 selection and culture to be most advisable — not to cure the 

 disease, but to combat and avoid its evils so far as may be. 



Excessive moisture has all along been recognised as the 

 primary cause of disease ; and I beUeve I am correct in stating 

 that the disease was not unknown to many persons before the 

 ungenial season of 1815 brought it down in one fell swoop 

 upon the entire crop throughout the country. But there is an- 

 other evil that is much to be dreaded, arising from the effects of 

 excessive moisture, and called supertuberation or second growth ; 

 for, while the blight may spoil part of a crop, supertuberation 

 in its worst form will affect the whole so seriously as to render 

 it totally unfit for table. HappUy the cause of this second 

 growth ia no mystery. The hot dry weather of July frequently 

 induces in the general Potato crop premature ripeness ; when 

 this occurs the growth of the tubers ceases and nothing will 

 induce them to swell to a larger size. The rain that so fre- 

 quently follows in August then causes supertuberation, accom- 

 panied by the growth of laterals upon the haulm. What can 

 bo done, then, to avoid such a combination of evils which at 

 first sight appears likely to render all our care unavailing ? 

 We must be constantly on our guard in July, especially towards 

 the end of the month ; and if the foliage assumes a yellow 

 tirge, however slight it may be, it is a sure token that growth 

 — the legitimate growth of the season — has ceased, and that 

 the crop is sufficiently ripe to be taken up. This is the grand 

 opportunity, and those who are fully awake to its importance 

 will not dally but lilt and house the crop as quickly and care- 

 fully as possible. Then, when the early autumnal rain sets in, 

 vo gladly welcome it, rejoicing in the refreshing verdure of 

 the pastures that have been parched by the summer sun, and 

 in the quickened growth of Turnips, Celery, and other impor- 

 tiint crops, instead of complaining of the weather with our 

 hands in our pockets, or writing melancholy accounts of the 

 ravages of the blight, and the sad prospect before us when we 

 shall have begun searching for the remains of the crop in 

 September or October. 



The fact of the antiquated notion that a crop of Potatoes 

 will bo spoiled if taken up before the haulm is either dead or 

 very much decayed being still very prevalent, atfords another 

 remarkable example of the difficulty of impressing the agri- 

 cultural mind with the necessity for improvement or advance. 

 The beaten tracks and landmarks of our forefathers should be 

 to us as a starting-point .whereon to base improvement, rather 



than a dead weight to cripple our eSorta and retard onr pro- 

 gress. Let but the fact be clearly recognised and acted upon, 

 that the only Potatoes worthy of cultivation for the general 

 crop are those which may be lifted quickly after the tubers 

 cease to swell, without suffering any deterioration of quality, 

 and that we are really in possession of such kinds, and future 

 losses from either blight or second growth will bo so much 

 reduced as to be comparatively trifling. — Edwaed Lucrhubst. 



NOTES FEOM MY GAEDEN, 1873.— No. 3. 



The earliest florists' flower with which I have to do is the 

 Hyacinth ; and as I had a good bloom last year, and was en- 

 abled to take the first prize in the only class I could exhibit in 

 at South Kensington, I may be helping others, perhaps, if I 

 detail my plans, inasmuch as I am obhged to combine economy 

 with efficiency, and, having no forcing house, it is not an easy 

 matter to get in good blooms by the time of the Show, 

 March 18th. 



It is usual, in giving directions for growing plants, to begin 

 with the soil, but in the case of the Hyacinth there is some- 

 thing antecedent to that, and that is the bulb itself. No 

 amount of care, skill, or expense will avail if you start with 

 indifferent bulbs. If you wait until the season is advanced, 

 and bulbs have been tossed about in shop windows, and have 

 already exhausted some of their strength, it is hopeless to get 

 a good spike; therefore it is well to be early in the field, and 

 select, or have selected for you, good bulbs in due time. Size 

 does not always indicate a good bulb ; many bulbs never are 

 large. A good weighty one, sound at the base, is what ought 

 to be sought for, but the better way is, I believe, to leave it 

 to the seller ; tell him what bulbs you want, and for what 

 purpose, and you will not be disappointed. 



I grow generally about eighty bulbs, and the following were 

 the chief sorts that I grew last year. It will be observed that 

 they were nearly all single flowers, as these are the best for 

 exhibition, giving larger and fuller spikes. I have marked 

 with an asterisk (*) those which gave me the finest trusses. 



Of double varieties I grew 



Duke of Welllngtoa 

 *Noble par RK-rite 

 Bloksberg 

 Koh-i-noor 



Laorens EoBter 

 Grootvorst 

 ^Prince of Waterloo 

 Gurrick 



Cosmos 

 *Norma 



Princess Helena 

 La Dame du Lao 



Conronne de CeUa 

 ^Grande Vedette 

 Charles Dickens 

 La Nuit 



sniOLE SEDS. 



La Prophete 



Howard 



*Lord Macaulay 

 *Cavttignao 



SINGLE DLUES. 



'''Grand Lilas 

 "♦ArguB 



*Lord Palmerston 

 Prince Albert 



SINGLE LILAC OR HAUTE. 



Robert Steiger 

 *Mra. Beecher Stowe 

 *Solfaterre 



Yon Schiller 



Grand Vainqneur 

 »Baron Von Xoyll 

 Mimosa 

 Orondatea 



Haydn 



Grand Vainqneur 

 *Mont Blanc 

 •Grandeur ^Merveille 

 EUrida 



Alida Jacoba 

 ^Duc de Malakoff 



PURE WHITE. 



Grande Vedette 

 +Paix de I'Europe 

 Orondatea 

 Aiba maxima 



SINGLE YELLOW, 



Anna Cai-oliua 

 »Ida 



Unique 



^Madame Van der Hoop 

 Queen of the Nether- 

 Voltaire [lands 



^Mlrandoline 



Koning van Holland 

 ^Heroine 



In this selection I believe that most of our finest flowers 

 will be found, and on looking through the list of winning 

 flowers as shown by larger exhibitors I find that they are gene- 

 rally composed of such kinds. Now and then a few newer 

 varieties are to he found, but it is not often that the new 

 surpass the older sorts. 



And now as to the method of culture adopted. At the end 

 of October I made up a compost of half old rotten cow dung 

 and half loam taken from the top spit of a meadow, and added 

 a good portion of sand so as to keep it open. The pots used 

 were 32's, one or two large pieces of broken pots placed at the 

 bottom, and then the pot filled up with the compost ; a hole 

 was then made at the top of the mould large enough to place 

 the bulb in, and a Uttle sand put in it, and the bulb then 

 planted. I have found this better than making the hole with 

 the bulb itself, for they then sometimes push themselves out if 

 any resistance is offered to the tender rootlets. I next placed 

 a small pot reversed over the bulb, and on the hole of it put a 

 piece of tile ; the pots were then all placed together in a shady 

 place, covered over with about a foot of leaves, and there 

 left. This was fur the purpose of promoting root-action before 



