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JOUBNAL OF HOBTIOULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



I March 23, 1374. 



In favourable seasons berries are produced, but not in anffi- 

 ciont quantity to be called a good crop, such as that yielded 

 by the common and Portugal Laurels, yet in many instances 

 they are sufficiently numerous to be conspicuous, being so 

 plump, pretty, and perfectly black. If they were borne in as 

 great abundance as those of the Aucuba sometimes are, the 

 Sweet Bay would be no bad competitor to that shrub, as the 

 berries are nearly as large, and about the same shape. 



Pew evergreen shrubs look better than this ; its abundant 

 foliage, thickly set on branches which in most cases point 

 npwards, gives it a tree-like character. Neither am I acquainted 

 with any plant not usually designated a tree that attains a 

 greater altitude. A Sweet Bay which we have here is con- 

 siderably more than 30 feet high, and of proportionate width, 

 while many others approach that size. It is seldom that 

 either a Portugal Laurel or an Arbutus attains so great a 

 height, as both seem more inclined to spread, and the same 

 is the case with the common Laurel, unless it is drawn-up 

 amongst other trees, which is not the case with the Sweet 

 Bay alluded to. I am not acquainted with any evergreen 

 better fitted than this to make a tall fine hedge wherever the 

 situation is favourable, neither do I know of any that bears 

 cutting better, as in this respect it far exceeds the Holly. It 

 is not equal to the latter in hardiness, but where the situation 

 is favourable it certainly grows faster, and is capable of being 

 trained to any particular shape. 



There seem to be more varieties than one of this shrub, as 

 is evidenced in the difference of the smell given off, some 

 plants being almost scentless, others very fragrant. There is 

 also a difference in the chai-acter of the leaves, some plants 

 having them much smaller than others, while in some the 

 surface of the leaf is undulated, in others plane, and the same 

 as regards the edges ; but in general the plant is conical, or, 

 rather, cylindrical, sometimes approaching to an elliptical shape, 

 but, of course, this form is not always maintaiued, and may 

 be altered or improved as circumstances render necessary. To 

 return to the cultivation. I would not advise the Sweet Bay 

 being planted in any situation but a very dry one, and if the 

 subsoil contains plenty of stones, and is of a somewhat cal- 

 careous nature, so much the better. In such a place the growth 

 is often as great as that of the Portugal Laurel ; and as I have 

 said before, where the growth of the preceding season has been 

 well ripened it seldom suffers from the effects of winter, while 

 in wet mUd autumns hke that of 1860, when every shoot was 

 charged with sap at the time hard weather set in, the injury 

 was correspondingly severe. The plants also sufl'ered in like 

 manner in the winter of 1866-67, and more slightly once since 

 that time, but in each case they recovered during the summer, 

 and even then did not suffer more than did one or two common 

 Laurels ; the latter, however, were not growing in snch a 

 favoured position. The difference in hardiness between the 

 two is, nevertheless, not so great as is usually thought to be 

 the case, whUe the beauty of the Sweet Bay entitles it to a 

 higher rank among ornamental shrubs and a more extended 

 cultivation than it has hitherto had. There are few people but 

 who admire the Sweet Bay, especially when seen in good health, 

 and occupying a position singly on a lawn or other sheltered 

 place. Fortunately it is one of those shrubs which require 

 neither pruning nor any other attention of the kind. — J. Koeson. 



GLEICHENIAS. 



I HAVE read the article by " Expeeto Ceede" on this inter- 

 esting subject, and I should like to add a few lines. Possess- 

 ing an unusually large collection of these charming plants, I 

 hope to be pardoned for attempting to handle the subject, even 

 if I occasionally differ from our friend. 



He has truly said that Gleichenias must rank as the aris- 

 tocracy of Ferns, for they possess a grace and majesty pecu- 

 liarly their own. What is more striking than a fine healthy 

 well-grown specimen ? To which should the palm be awarded ? 

 Ah! to which, indeed. Showing an old friend, an ardent Fern- 

 grower and lover, round my ferneries last week, he was greatly 

 puzzled which of mine to select as his idea of the perfect model 

 of grace and beauty. First of all his eye fell on a superb speci- 

 men of G. dicarpa, and he thought nothing could surpass it. 

 A little further on, and circinata glauca put dicarpa in the 

 shade ; but shortly afterwards my fine rupestris occupied his 

 attention, and all the others were beaten hollow. A fine race 

 indeed. Paipestris first, circinata glauca a good second, dicarpa 

 third, and the rest nowhere 1 But I am wandering, and will 

 return to my real subject. 



I possess about twenty specimen Gleichenias (I think I hear 

 someone exclaim, " Oh, what a stoi-y the man is telling, to be 

 sure ! ") and fifteen of them are very fine plants. At this 

 period of the year there is nothing to prevent their all being 

 grown together for a time, as a little extra warmth is a great 

 advantage to them, and encourages their new growth after 

 they have been thoroughly looked over, cleaned, and if neces- 

 sary repotted ; but ere long they must be separated. I grow 

 all mine in good fibrous loam, silver sand, and a httle leaf 

 mould^not an atom of peat near them, and I defy anyone to 

 produce finer plants. I wish " Expekto Ckede " would come 

 and see them, for they are worth a long journey to behold even 

 now, and two months hence they wiU be far finer. 



Iiupestris is not, in my oi)inion, a cool-house Fern. I have 

 three plants. Two of them are in a warm greenhouse just 

 now; the other, a most magnificent specimen, is luxuriating 

 in a stove, which it must have to be grown thoroughly well. 

 It is 5 feet through and 4 high, in full vigorous growth, perfect 

 all round, and fresh as a Daisy. What will it be in June ? 

 The true semivestita is, in my experience, very imperfectly 

 known, microphylla doing duty for it, and I have repeatedly 

 seen it sent out in the place and name of it. They are, how- 

 ever, very different in appearance and habit. Semivestita is 

 much stronger, the fronds larger and far more branching. 

 Moreover, a fully developed frond forms a perfect hexagon, 

 which readily distinguishes it from microphylla. 



Gleichenia circinata glauca, or Mendelii so called, is a truly 

 glorious plant, and I presume " Expeeto Ckede " refers to it 

 as microphylla glauca. My specimen is at present most lovely, 

 in full growth, and as silvery underneath as Cyathea dealbata. 

 It is extremely rare, and is not possessed by the trade, with 

 the exception of Mr. Dixon, of I5everley, who has one plant ; 

 and I only know of one other plant in addition to my own, 

 and they were both purchased at Manley Hall sale last year. 

 Furcata, too, is even rarer, for I am not aware that it exists in 

 any private collection except my own, though there was a 

 plant at Kew, I beUeve. It is a stove Fern, most beautiful, but 

 very shy and difficult to grow well. It seeds very abundantly, 

 but none of the spores ever germinate ; in fact, I have never 

 raised any Gleichenia from seed, though I have repeatedly 

 tried to do so. 



I have eleven distinct kinds — viz., speluncfe of gardens and 

 true spelunca; (the latter very hard to make anything of), 

 flabellata, microphylla, semivestita, dichotoma, furcata, rupes- 

 tris, dicarpa, hecistophylla, and circinata glauca. 



I could write much about them, and I may possibly send 

 you ere long another article, but I feel that I have already 

 occupied more than my share of your space this week. Let 

 me just add that when perfect drainage is secured all the 

 Gleichenias require an abundant supply of water — not over- 

 head. Grow them close to the glass, and give them now aU 

 the sun you can, provided, of course, it is not too scorching, 

 for from such heat they must be shaded well. — T. M. Shuttle- 

 worth, Hotoick House, Preston. 



PEABS NOT KEEPING. 



Peabs have kept badly this year, rotting from the core out- 

 wards. It would be useful if those of your correspondents 

 who grow many varieties, would state which sorts have kept 

 best. I have had no fault to find with Easter Beurru grown 

 as an espalier, and not much with Bergamotte d'Esperen 

 from a wall. That exceUent baking Pear, Leon le Clerc da 

 Laval, on espaliers has kept till now, though a few fruits have 

 rotted. I have on several occasions observed that after very 

 dry summers Pears are liable to go off in this way. — G. S. 



FLOWERS FOR OUR BORDERS.— No. 28. 



CYCLAMEN PERSICUM PUNCTATUM.— Spotted Persian ClcLASrEN. 



The well-merited popularity of the genus Cyclamen, more 

 especially of C. persicum, entitles it to a prominent place 

 in any selection of hardy window plants. True even of the 

 typical species, it is still more so of the improved forms, with 

 larger flowers and more varied shades, to which careful culti- 

 vation and selection have given rise. The spotted variety here 

 illustrated is but one of many equally interesting, but will 

 serve as a peg on which to bang a few cultural hints. 



Cyclamen persicum is almost exclusively grown as a pot 

 plant, and is admirably adapted for associating with early- 

 flowering Scillas, Hyacinths, Narcissi, and other spring bulbs 

 in the window garden. Supposing the amateur Las purchased 



