July 29, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



93 



walk3, and planted on the carpet system, some of the designs 

 and combinations being exceedingly chaste and effective. But 

 hardy garden flowers are also cared for, Mr. .Tames being not 

 only a grower but a raiser of Carnations, of which he possesses 

 many fine varieties. The flower garden also includes a rosery, 

 and although newly made has produced a rich display of splen- 

 did blooms, some of these on cut-backs planted in the autumn 

 producing flowers of almost equal merit with the best-exhibited 

 blooms of the season. The soil is all new to the depth of 

 2 feet, and is composed of heavy loam and manure, and hence 

 the vigour of the plants. 



The glass structures are not very extensive, but are in good 

 order, and are well adapted for their purpose. The plant 

 houses are light with high stages, so that the plants are as 

 near the glass as possible. Some are of north aspect, and are 

 useful for retarding, and have in fact kept Show and Fancy 

 Pelargoniums in perfect freshness to the present time. These 

 plants are grown to a state of great perfection, being perfect 

 globes of bloom from 2 to 4 feet through, and the foliage curl- 

 ing over and almost hiding the pots. The plants are now out- 

 doors ripening their wood, being turned on their sides on wet 

 days. They will be cut down at once. It may be said here 

 that those who intend to increase their stocks of Pelargoniums 

 cannot purchase plants at a better time than the present, for 

 each plant will afford cuttings to be put in forthwith. At this 

 season of the year there is no better plan of striking Show 

 Pelargoniums than by inserting them in sandy soil in the open 

 air and in the full sun. These make stocky vigorous plants, 

 and if the wood is well ripened very few cuttings fail to emit 

 roots. The Fancies strike better in pots under glass. After 

 being cut down the plants are left in the pots to break, and are 

 then shaken out. This shaking-out is a complete work. Every 

 particle of soil is washed from the roots, and these are trimmed 

 and repotted in smaller pots, throwing in a dash of silver sand 

 as the work proceeds. These cleansed roots forthwith emit 

 vigorous spongioles, and the old plants are made new again. 

 The Fancies are treated in the same manner, but they are less 

 robust and long-lasting, and in order to gain vigour they are 

 often grafted on the Show varieties. Grafting is done at the 

 present time, the stock being in advance of the scions, and the 

 grafted plants are stood on a north or shaded border until the 

 union is completed. By that simple means vigour is imparted 

 to tender and dehcate varieties. 



Calceolarias are ripening their seed, and the sowing of next 

 year's crop is usually made about the last week in July. 

 The seed should be sown thinly on light soil previously 

 watered and covered with a square of glass, and the seed pans 

 be placed in a cool, moist, shaded place out of doors. Then 

 is germination certain, and the young seedlings come up 

 stoutly and sturdy. By twenty years of steady perseverance 

 Mr. James has brought this flower to a high state of perfec- 

 tion. His strain is notable for high colour, large blooms, and 

 dwarf plants. 



Cinerarias are equally well grown, and the improvement in 

 this flower is also very marked. Seed is sown at the present 

 time, and treated the same as for Calceolarias. When sown 

 earlier the plants are Uable to receive checks by a dry atmo- 

 sphere. Mr. James's plan is to secure a regular progressive 

 growth from the moment the seedUngs appear to the time the 

 plants are perfected, and his great success is the best proof 

 that his treatment is correct. 



Cyclamens are grown exceedingly fine ; indeed, those who 

 have not seen the best examples of the few great growers of 

 this flower have no idea of its extreme beauty. The conns 

 aj-e now being potted. A soil composed of two-thirds of turfy 

 loam and one-third of dry lumpy cowdnng, and a free ad- 

 mixture of silver sand, is the staple compost. The plants are 

 kept rather close in cold frames to start them, and they are 

 frequently sprinkled with water to induce a free and healthy 

 growth. 



A great point in Jlr. James's success as a plant-grower is 

 the diligent war waged against insects. Pelargoniums, &e., 

 are regularly fumigated, and Cyclamens are dipped, not so 

 much to kill insects as to prevent their appearance on the 

 plants. Not only is this preventive plan emphatically the 

 most effectual, but it is also by far the most economical. 



At the present time the Fuchsias are the most attractive 

 plants at Redlees. They are veritable fountains of bloom, not 

 large, but in rare health. They are not trained to any fancy 

 style, but are left, as Mr. Taylor so nicely puts it, to Nature 

 and her own sweet ways, and we are of those who believe that 

 no other way is bo good in the training of this elegant flower. 



Mr. James is turning his attention to the raising of seedlings, 

 of which he has some promising varieties. He also grows 

 Auriculas well, and holds a rich and valuable collection. These 

 are repotted and placed in a shaded place. Ferns and Orchids 

 are grown for decorative purposes. 



The most attractive plants in the stove are the Achimenes. 

 They are not mentioned because they are large, but to draw 

 attention to Mauve Queen, a variety which all should possess, 

 for it is exceedingly fine in size of bloom, substance, and 

 colour. Before leaving the plants we may note that old 

 Epacrises cut hard in like Pelargoniums were breaking freely, 

 but Heaths treated in the same manner will never break again. 



Besides the houses for plant-growing Mr. James has ranges 

 of low brick pits, along the front of which runs a row of hot- 

 water pipes. These pits are staged, and are so arranged that 

 the stages can be raised or lowered at convenience, so that the 

 plants are always close to the glaes. These are valuable aids 

 to plant-growing. They are better than houses, and the most 

 cheaply made and heated of all glass structures ; they should 

 be provided in every garden where good plant-growing ia 

 expected. 



But being a " plant place " it may be supposed there is no 

 fruit at Redlees. Let us step into the vineries. The Black 

 Hamburghs are mostly cut, but Vines thirty years old have 

 carried one of the most useful crops we have ever seen. The 

 berries are perfect in size and finish, but the bunches are not 

 large. How could they be when we count on one Vine with 

 two rods fifty-two bunches averaging three-quarters of a pound 

 each ? The rafter may be about 18 feet in length, so that it ia 

 seen that the crop is a very fine one. Lady Downe's Seedling 

 is carrying about forty bunches to each Vine, and Muscats are 

 perhaps still finer. These are grown on the extension system, 

 and all the roots were lifted last autumn. Considering this 

 the crop is very heavy, to heavy surface-dressings of rich 

 manure on the borders is to be attributed this very satisfaotory 

 example of Grape-growing. 



The kitchen garden is outside the grounds. We cannot 

 notice its contents, having only space to say how James's Pro- 

 lific Marrow Pea is looking at home. Mr. James can show 

 grand rows of this sterUng Pea. It grows 3 feet high, is ex- 

 tremely robust, and laden with pods down to the ground. The 

 pods are fine, well filled, and in colour light green. For pro- 

 ductiveness and quality this ia one of the best Peas which has 

 ever been raised, and the rows now growing are amongst the 

 finest features of Redlees. 



CURL IN POTATOES. 



The curl in Potatoes is said to be entirely prevented by 

 taking up such as may be intended for seed two or three weeks 

 sooner than would be advisable for the general crop. It was 

 known to many of us long before the year 1845. My opinion 

 is that the curl and the Potato disease is one and the same, 

 only different in the form of attack. — W. Giles, Nottiiig Hill. 

 The curl began in 1792.— Eds.J 



THE LOWER GROUNDS, ASTON PARK, 

 BIRMINGHAM.— No. 1. 



While these Grounds are celebrated as a popular place of 

 resort for the inhabitants of the metropolis of the midlands, 

 they possess a much wider interest as having been the site of 

 some of the finest horticultural exhibitions of recent years. 

 The ability which has been exercised in the formation and 

 management of these Grounds and the enterprise of Mr. 

 Quilter in inaugurating the great annual horticultural gather- 

 ings, are such as to demand the recognition of all who are in- 

 terested in horticultural pursuits. The more is this the case that 

 the object of these exhibitions is pre-eminently worthy, as, on 

 the one hand, conferring benefit on a valuable institution, and 

 on the other as stimulating and encouraging the spread of high- 

 class gardening. Such gatherings as those with which the 

 Lower Grounds are identified have a direct tendency to popu- 

 larise horticulture, for by bringing together the best of the 

 earth's products in a densely populated district, and this in a 

 manner to arouse a general interest, a love of gardening is 

 engendered, and a spirit of emulation is fostered which cannot 

 but lead to a salutary end. 



But besides the popularity of these Grounds— a popularity 

 brought about by a combination of tact, skill, and liberal- 

 minded policy — they are in themselves worthy of a visit both 



