Feta-uarj- ID, 1874. ] 



JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAItJJKKEIl. 



1G3 



aunouaeed to open the Exliibitiou, was prevented from being 

 present, but forwarded the copy of an address which he had in- 

 tended to deliver. This was read by the Seoretary, Mr. Lar- 

 Scins. The Exhibition will remain open for some weeks, and 

 will doubtless receive its share of public notice when the elec- 

 tions are occupying less attention than they are at present. 

 The domestic stoves and ranges, and the patent and other 

 artificial fixtures, of which there is a good selection, naturally 

 attracted the most attention from the general public. The 

 fire grates, kitchen ranges, and stoves of new and improved 

 designs are particularly numerous, and especially interesting 

 as indicating the progressive steps which are being made in 

 effecting a reformation in the extravagant waste of fuel in do- 

 mestic consumption, which Mr. Lowthiaa Bell very forcibly 

 pointed out in his address. In the artificial fuels the manu- 

 facture of peat holds the prominent place, and here very 

 important strides have of late years been made. Blocks of 

 peat as hard and as dense as coal are exhibited, and in some 

 cases the manufacture of this material has been carried to such 

 perfection that the blocks admit of moderately delicate carving. 

 Amongst the other artificial fuels, probably the most remark- 

 able is the patent " Phceuix fuel," which is composed from the 

 refuse of coal fires by the admixture of a patent compound 

 fluid. The formal opening proceedings in connection with the 

 Exhibition were followed by a conversazione in the evening, 

 Iheld in the Peel Park Museum. We may publish more notes 

 on the Exhibition shortly. 



TOWN GARDENING. 



I QUITE comprehend the difficulties of your lady correspondent 

 (page 146) respecting flower gardening, &a., near a large town. 



It has been my lot to have three summers' experience here, 

 in the vicinity of Liverpool, only two miles from the Exchange, 

 and I have reason to believe if there is one locality more than 

 another in the United Kingdom where the culture of flowers, 

 fruit, or vegetables is carried on under difficulties it is this. 

 In addition to the atmosphere being charged with sulphur, 

 and clouds of smoke constantly descending and leaving its 

 imprint of soot upon every green leaf under glass as well as 

 outside, we often feel the effect of a cutting west wind coming 

 up from the Mersey with great violence ; and in the early part of 

 the summer I have seen the ground literally strewed with young 

 green leaves cut from the trees by its influence ; yet under 

 ■these circumstances it would not do to leave the beauty of our 

 flower gardens entirely to the mercy of a few annuals. Far 

 from this. Bedding-out is carried on to a great extent almost 

 to the heart of this great commercial town, and in many 

 instances exceedingly well, especially at the Prince's Park 

 and the Botanical Gardens. Of course only such of the 

 hardiest varieties as can be relied upon are used, and these 

 consist of a great number of the most varied and beautiful of 

 our bedding plants. 



I will enumerate a few of these for the help of those who 

 may require it. In Scarlet Geraniums I think Vesuvius the 

 best ia its class ; Nosegay, Waltham Seedling, and Lady 

 Constance Grosveuor. In its colour, old Christine holds its 

 ground ; Amy Hogg also suits admirably. In Golden Tricolors 

 Sophia Dumaresijue seems more vigorous than Mrs. Pollock, 

 although the latter did well with me last season ; in Silver, 

 Bijou and Flower of Spring. In Bronze, Beauty of Calderdale 

 is preferred for our requirements. Calceolarias, Aurea flori- 

 (buuda, Prince of Orange, and Sparkler. To insure success 

 svith this class of plants they ought to be planted-out early, 

 say about the end of March, weather permitting. Verbenas, 

 scarlet. Lord Eaglau, Firefly, and Defiance ; white, Mont Blanc 

 and Boule de Niege ; Purple King and Celestial Blue also do 

 weU. The main point with these is to have strong, clean, 

 liealthy plants when put out. Ageratums, Imperial Dwarf 

 and mexieanum, spring-struck if possible. Lobelias any va- 

 Tiety. Some of the Nasturtiums make a nice show, such as 

 King of Tom Thumbs. The Violas are also very useful. With 

 these come the following useful ornamental plants, such as 

 the invaluable Pyrethi'um Golden Feather, DactyUs glomerata 

 variegata, Centaurea candidissima and Clementei, Cineraria 

 maritima, Stachys lanata, Cerastium tomentosum, Perilla 

 nankineusis, ornamental Beet, &c. ; and Iresine Lindeni may do 

 well in some places. All kinds of Dahlias do well here ; they 

 must be securely staked and constantly watched. I might 

 greatly extend this list, but if these are treated and used 

 properly they wiU worthily repay whatever trouble and ex- 

 pense may be incurred. 



Perhaps a few words on management may be acceptable 

 Firstly, then, the plants must be well hardened-off before 

 being planted. If you have them to buy, procure good strong 

 stuff at least a fortnight beforehand ; put them in a sunny 

 sheltered place, and cover with Shaw's tiffany eveiy night, 

 also in the daytime when very cold, and be careful they do not 

 suffer from want of water. I mention this because I have seen 

 plants brought from the nurseries and put out the same day 

 into the beds. How healthy and beautiful they looked, but 

 not for long. It was evident they had been under glass till 

 their latest moments in the nursery, and at the first blast of 

 a wind such as I have referred to the foliage is so injured that 

 half the season is gone before they properly recover. Next, 

 prepare your beds, if not previously done, putting in plenty of 

 well-decayed stable manure or leaf soil, adding a hberal quan- 

 tity of sand if the soil in the beds is of a stiff nature. After 

 planting, which should take place not before the last week in 

 May, give a good soaking of water; and as your garden is 

 bleak and exposed, protect with tiffany, not by putting it on 

 the plants, but in such a manner as to break the wind. I 

 would not advise you to water often, unless absolutely neces- 

 sary, but just sprinkle the foliage with a fine-rosed watering 

 pot every evening succeeding a fine day, to wash off the soot. 



Eespecting Boses, we have tried them here, and if they 

 have lived after the most kind attention it has only been to 

 our disgust. 



Of fruit trees we have some large specimens trained to walls 

 and otherwise, but we never expect much produce from them, 

 and therefore are never disappointed. They appear more as 

 monuments, reminding us upon what kind of trees their re- 

 spective fruits do grow. They consist of Pears, Plums, Apples, 

 etc. The only advice I can offer is. Root-prune them next No- 

 vember, if this has hitherto been neglected ; also have the 

 wood well thinned-out, and keep them free from American 

 blight, ttc, which I find a little ti'oublesome. Peas, as a rule, 

 do pretty well here, considering. — R. Scetees, Gardener, The 

 Quiiita, Prince's Park, Liverpool. 



THE CATHERINE PEAR. 

 I SEND you the enclosed extract from " Notes and Qrieries." 

 Can you supply an answer to a question in which I am as much 

 interested as the querist ? — Noins. 



" CiTHEBiNE Peah. — Suckling, in his 'Ballad upon a Wed- 

 ding,' compares the streaks of red on the lady's cheeks to those on 



" * A Catherine Pear, 



The side that's nest the son j ' 



and in the ' Schoolmistress,' Shenstone speaks of the lovely dye 

 of the Catherine Pear. Is this Pear extinct, or has it only 

 changed its name ? 



" Lavater tells us, we instinctively expect a handsome Apple 

 to prove toothsome ; but as the least comely Pears, so far as my 

 experience goes, are generally the sweetest, one might suppose 

 the Catherine Pear's charms to have been but skin deep, and 

 hence to have lost their hold on popular favour, were it not that 

 Shenstone declares its juice to have been equal to its dye. Will 

 some Melibccus afford this immortalised fruit a note 1 — Henby 

 Attwell, Barnes." 



[When Suckling and Shenstone wrote, the varieties of Pears 

 were very few when the list is compared with that containing 

 now many hundreds. The Katherine Pear is not now to be 

 found in any nurseryman's catalogue, nor anywhere except in 

 old orchards, and there we met with it many years ago. It was 

 ruddy on the side exposed to the sun, and when ripe the other 

 parts were yellow. When ripe it was mealy and insipid, and at 

 the best the juice was sweet and flavourless. It was probably 

 introduced during the reign of Henry VIII., and named in 

 honour'of one of his queens. Parkinson, in his " Paradisus," 

 published in 1629, describes it truthfully: — "The Catherine 

 Peare is kuowne to all I thinke to be a yellow red-sided Peare 

 Of a full waterish sweete taste, and ripe with the foremost."] 



THE WEATHER. 



A GOOD observer writing from Galashiels says, " We have 

 Wonderful weather. I saw at the Bridge of AUan, on the Gth 

 Inst., a Thorn hedge with fully expanded leaves. Clematis 

 Jackmanni coming into bloom on the wall of a dwelling house, 

 and the Chinese Pffiony with the flower buds showing. Pear 

 trees are nearly in full blossom. If frost come now it will play 

 havoc. This leads me to assure you I never was more struck 

 with a small invention than the alarum thermometer. My 



