186 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



( Angnsi 26, 1616. 



" It is justly remarked by Mr. Gorrie that it adds mnoh to 

 the vahio of the Salii alba that its propagation and culture 

 are of the most simple description, and that it will grow luxu- 

 riantly in most soils where other trees make but slow progress. 

 According to Sang it will thrive well in high and dry grounds ; 

 and if planted in the grove manner in tolerably good soil, 

 perhaps no other plantation except Larches would give so quick 

 a return for the trouble and expense of planting." 



The flowers are in catkins, the males by themselves and the 

 females by themselves. Examined by the microscope, espe- 

 cially at the time of pollen-shedding, they are very beantifnl. 



Although no admirer of Willows generally, Gilpin makes one 

 exception in favour of the White Willow. " Some," he says, 

 " I have thought beautiful and fit to appear in the decoration 

 of any rural scene. The kind I have most admired has a small 

 narrow leaf, and wears a pleasant light sea-green tint, which 

 mixes agreeably with foliage of a deeper hue. I believe botan- 

 ists call it the Salix alba." We have seen many so made use 

 of; and as this Willow will flourish on a dry soil, though its 

 growth there is not so fast as in wet ground, if placed forward 

 on projecting parts of plantations and dark-foUaged Beeches 

 at the iimer parts of the retreating portions, the effect is 

 greatly increased. 



This Willow is so generally pollarded that few of onr readers 

 know it in its beauty, yet we have seen many fine specimens 

 and have heard of far more. Dr. Johnson visited one when- 

 ever he went to his native place, Lichfield. It grew close to 

 the premises where was his father's parchment manufactory. 

 Its trunk at the base was 15 feet 9 inches in circumference ; it 

 was id feet high, and its fifteen branches overshaded 4000 feet 

 of surface. 



Then there is, or was a few years ago, the still finer " Abbot 

 Willow " at Bury St. Edmunds growing on a part of the abbey 

 domains ; the height 75 feet, the circumference of the trunk 

 18 feet () inches, and the branches shaded a circle of more 

 than 200 feet circumference. There is a portrait of it in 

 Strntt's " Sylva Britanniea." 



BASKET PLANTS. 



Befoee referring to the plants I may state that I have con- 

 fined myself to what I consider plants suitable for suspended 

 baskets. The basket-like vases, made of split wood and set in 

 the conservatoiy or flower garden, I regard as true vases, 

 therefore I speak of them as such. Baskets are very various in 

 form and design, some being made of earthenware, some of 

 wood, and others of wire, the last being my favourites. Their 

 form and material of construction are simply matters of taste, 

 but I would suggest that the baskets be made with a greater 

 view to the well-being of the plants to be grown in them than 

 to their own ornamentation. When the plants grow luxu- 

 riantly they almost or entirely hide the baskets ; then, what 

 is the advantage of those which are costly over those which 

 are plain ? Sufficient means of drainage should in every 

 case be provided, especially as regards the close-sided bowl- 

 shaped sorts, for when the woodwork is open, or wire netting 

 used, nothing short of very bad filling could insure bad drain- 

 age. Line the inside of wire baskets with a layer of sphag- 

 num, within which put the soil ; when filling and planting 

 is finished, take a pair of shears and clip off evenly the ragged 

 sphagnum. As regards the baskets most suitable for the par- 

 lour, I would recommend the close-sided kinds that have little 

 drawers at their base for holding the spare water,'and thus pre- 

 venting it from spilUng on the floor. These drawers should be 

 emptied daily when the parlour is being cleaned and before the 

 flowers are watered again, otherwise an overflow and spilling 

 may be the result. The soil to be used just depends on what 

 the owner has convenient ; indeed, I think many foolish com- 

 posts are advised for plants. Some people recommend two parts 

 of loam with one of dung for a class of plants, and others may 

 use some peat and leaf soil besides for the same subjects, 

 which in both oases may equally luxuriate ; then we are at a 

 loss what to choose. 



I find that most plants grow well in good loam — turfy, if to 

 be had — and a httle leaf soil or light decayed manure added. 

 Peat I do not consider a decided necessity for any genus of 

 cultivated plants exclusive of Ferns and Orchids, and even 

 many of them grow well without it. Rhododendrons are con- 

 sidered peat-needing plants, but the Messrs. Lane & Sons, 

 England, grow hundreds of thousands of these in the very best 

 of health, and the most floriferous condition, in the pure sandy 

 loam of Berkhampstead Common, where there is not a particle 



of peat. Leaf mould is a good substitute for peat, and it is 

 nourishing, open, and hked by most plants. 



I am no advocate for mixing sand in the compost ; in fact, 

 I partially agree with Mr. Croucher, the great succulent-plant 

 grower, who considers sand in many cases a plant-killer. It is 

 useful in propagating for very young plants, and for some 

 Ferns, Lycopods, Orchids, Heaths, &c. ; but for general plant 

 culture I depart from the opinion and practices of my apprentices 

 and journeymen masters, who thought its presence a necessity. 

 Clayey soil should not be used, or anything that is clammy or 

 binding. Make the soU sufficiently fine by chopping or break- 

 ing between the fingers, and avoid the use of the sieve. Cast 

 away worms, stones, and sticks. Place some of the roughest 

 of the material or a thin scattering of sphagnum over the 

 crocks to keep them clean and in good working condition. 



Examine the baskets every afternoon in order to supply their 

 wants as regards water, and use rain water in preference to 

 any other. If the soil becomes very dry steep the basket in a 

 tub or pail of water, otherwise the inner portion of soil may be 

 quite dry even after frequent appUcations from the watering- 

 pot. If the watering be done in the morning, and a hot sunny 

 day ensuing, the water soon dries up without doing much good ; 

 but if done in the afternoon it will remain in the soil till next 

 day at least, and then give full benefits to the plants. When 

 water is given give it abundantly, and do not scruple about 

 using the syringe to clean off dirt or insects, and to refresh 

 the plants. About 4 p.m. is a good time for syringing. 



The arrangement of the plants in the baskets is entirely a 

 matter of taste ; but care should be taken to have a good 

 permanent plant in the centre, with dwarfer plants or trailers 

 surrounding it. Little specimens of Myrtles, Indiarubber 

 Plants, stiff Ferns, Palms, Crotons, Dracaenas, Cyperns, Aoa- 

 lypha tricolor, Zonal Pelargoniums, or, in fact, anything there 

 is to spare may be used as a centre. 



Aeutilon VExiLLiRiuM TAiiiEGATCM. — A free-growing green- 

 house plant with pretty yellow-blotched leaves and numerous 

 short-stalked red flowers, the visible portion of the corolla 

 being bright yellow. This plant may be used advantageously 

 in large baskets amongst other plants, as alone it would have 

 a naked appearance. It is readily increased from cuttings of 

 the half-ripe wood. Small plants of this Abutilon make fine 

 edgings for flower beds if pegged down, and in this way they 

 are much used in the London parks. 



AcniMENES. — No one who has seen the immense baskets of 

 these at Chatsworth, England, the seat of the Duke of Devon- 

 shire, could fail to be surprised at their splendour. There in 

 the Victoria Eegia house, and suspended from the roof over 

 the spacious tepid water tank, are large wire baskets filled with 

 Achimenes that grow with such dense luxuriance as to form 

 specimens 6 feet in diameter, one mass of flowers, and com- 

 pletely envelopir-^ from view both top and bottom of the baskets. 

 Such samples of culture, however, are too clumsy for the 

 general public, and I will therefore give the method practised 

 by the fine old London firm of Osbom & Sons, that now directs 

 attention to house-furnishing or floral-decorating. Ten or 

 12-inch-wide wire baskets are chosen, and the Achimenes 

 planted therein in the bowl and between the wire meshes, the 

 plants being previously started in pots. The baskets are then 

 suspended in a warm greenhouse, and daily syringed in the 

 afternoons. As the plants grow they are pinched to induce 

 laterals, which are also pinched, and this pinching is continued 

 till a perfect circular thicket nearly 3 feet through is produced, 

 when they are permitted to come into full bloom. They are 

 stove or warm greenhouse plants, propagated as freely as Ver- 

 benas from cuttings ; but the usual method is by means of 

 their scaly tuberous " roots." Completely rest them in winter, 

 and start them in heat the following spring. A few good sorts 

 for basket work are Longiflora alba, L. major, Mauve Queen, 

 Vivicans, Stella, Argus, Leopold, Eclipse, and Pink Perfection. 



.EscHYNANTHUs. — Most of the cultivated species of these 

 may legitimately be grown in baskets in the stove, and they 

 thrive best in a moist shady nook. I have seen ,E. Lobbianus 

 cover the most of the back wall within a stove in Messrs. 

 Veitch's Nurseries, Chelsea. They are very free-flowering, 

 having long-tubed or club-shaped fleshy flowers of a red or 

 crimson shade of colour. Their leaves are also fleshy and 

 stems pendant, and in their native habitats they are of epiphytal 

 character, being chiefly foimd growing on trees. They like an 

 open spongy soil, and they are easily increased from cuttings. 

 I like to see them sole occupants of small baskets. A few of 

 the best are JE. speciosus, Lobbianus, longiflorus, bicolor, 

 javauicuB, oordifolius, and pulcher. 



