Ootoier 14, 1876. ] 



JOUENAIi OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



841 



place no one stone will be found in its original bed. This, 

 however, is a digression, but a digression which I have been 

 induced to make, because all that I saw in Italy and Switzer- 

 land so certainly confirmed what I have previously noticed in 

 the woods aud dale valleys iu Yorkshire, where Ferns grow 

 with great luxuriance and beauty, that nowhere do they suc- 

 ceed so well as in the loose stones and ik'bri,^ washed down the 

 face of the cliffs or in the beds left by mountain torrents. I 

 do not mean to say I never saw a Fern growing out of the 

 exposed strata of rocks, but it is an exceeding rare thing to sec 

 them do well, aud none hardly but the Ruta murariaortho 

 Ctteraoh officinale, or occasionally the Bkchnum boreale ; but 

 as a rule Ferns rejoice in much more depth of soil, and shade, 

 and moisture than stratified rooks will give them. 



On the Switzerland side of the St. Gothard Pass we did not 

 again meet with the same luxuriant vegetation as in the valleys 

 on the Italian side. The valley of the Eeuss as it nears the 

 Lake of Lucerne is, however, very fertile ; and after passing 

 Amsteg the roads are much improved by the use of the moun- 

 tain limestone for roads instead of the white granite. The 

 Eeass is full of the detritus of granite aud gneiss washed out 

 of the mountains by glacier action, and the whole of the Lake 

 of Lucerne, especially at the north end, is coloured by it. At 

 Lucerne the waters of the lake leave it a deep pure green, and, 

 till the Keuss joins the Ehioe, the water of the river is very 

 beautiful to look at. Here I will conclude for the present, and 

 will finish in two more papers with a few remarks on Paris 

 aud Battersea Park. — C. P. P. 



OUR BORDER FLOWERS— WALLFLOWERS. 



This is an estenoive family of plants met with in many 

 parts of the world and under various circumstances. We, too, 

 in our " own loved land " have a grand representative of this 

 cherished family in Cheiranthus fruticulosus, so prized among 

 our rural population. Few of them would like to be left without 

 their favourite, for a garden is not complete without Wall- 

 flowers. They appear to chng to the old homo with a lifelike 

 tenacity, aud well have they been termed the emblem of 

 fidelity. They attach themselves to the desolate, and conceal 

 the crumbhag records of feudal times ; they occupy the chinks 

 of the mouldering edifice, and weave garlands of beauty on 

 the ancient monument. 



" For this obedient breezes bear 



Her ligbt seeds round yon turret's mould, 

 Aud undispersed by temijests there 

 They rise iu vegetable gold." 



Wallflowers are at home everywhere. They are of shrubby 

 habit, sometimes lasting for years. When once established 

 they take care of themselves. Others there are that require 

 more attention ; these are the beautiful double varieties that 

 are not met with so often as they ought to be, uor nearly so often 

 as they might be. In old-fashioned times and in old-fashioned 

 places you might meet with three or four varieties of double 

 Wallflowers, but now you look for them in vain. I would ask, 

 What flower is more esteemed, aud especially for fragrance? 

 The old double Wallflowers are easily increased by cuttings 

 made of half-ripe shoots which may be struck in heat, or by 

 shoots taken off with a heel in autumn aud inserted iu light 

 sandy soil under a handglass, also by layering during the 

 summer. 



For indoor decoration no plants are more desirable. With 

 care they may be grown to a large size in pots ; by stopping 

 and potting-on they may be made to approach a small bush in 

 form ; and when iu bloom in late winter aud early spring what 

 can be more charming than these fragrant Wallflowers ? They 

 succeed well at the foot of a wall or by the dwelling house side 

 in dry sheltered situations. One of the best of the double 

 varieties is Cheiranthus purpureus and its compeer the varie- 

 gated variety, and when grown in masses the air becomes 

 loaded with their perfume. As they have been, so must they 

 remaiu, favourites with all lovers of beautiful-scented flowers. 



The German Wallflowers are a splendid race of plants; they 

 may not emit such a perfume as our own, neither do they 

 prove so hardy in our changeable climate, yet thoy do us good 

 service for spring garden and border decoration. Then we have 

 Cheiranthus alpinus, a real gem, perfectly hardy, and readily 

 increased by cuttings in autumn iu a cold pit or under hand- 

 lights, or by division in early spring. It is a capital rock plant. 

 C. Marshaliii is a telling plant in the spring garden, and is 

 worthy of extensive cultivation ; C. ochroleucus is much like 

 alpinuB, and is sometimes substituted for it. The i^latits should 



be frequently renewed or they become unsightly, and old plants 

 often drop off altogether after wmter. All are beautiful, lasting 

 a long time in bloom. 



There are many other kinds equally attractive which ought 

 to be more sought after, but those I have named are among the 

 best of the race and should be in all collections.— Yewtas. 



BEES AND FRUIT. 

 I DEC, to add my testimony to the destructive habits of our 

 honey-producing friends. I thought I was the only sufferer 

 by their fruit-eating propensities, and would bear the incon- 

 venience in silence in the hope that they would of themselves 

 leave off troubling me. I thought, too, that I might be 

 accused of presumption had I made my trouble known. I will 

 now state that they have not forgotten for the last four years 

 to visit my British Queen Strawberries, and defy all my powers 

 to prevent them in their attacks, and the worst of it is the 

 bees are not our own, but come from a distance. The destruc- 

 tion they make is incredible. Apricots have also come in for 

 their share of attack as well, and the only means to prevent 

 their ravages I find is to gather the Apricots a little under-ripe 

 and place them in a warm room where the bees cannot obtain 

 ingress. My Aston Red or Warrington Gooseberries, netted or 

 matted, they are determined to have and devour. I have not 

 seen them attack other kinds of fruit.— Obsekver, 



I THINK that bees are of great and inestimable value in 

 setting the fruit of Gooseberry, Plum, Apricot, Peach, Apple, 

 Pear, and other fruit trees, and that it is but seldom they injure 

 fruit. My experience extends over fifty years, and I have wit- 

 nessed two cases only of bees injuring fruit. The first time 

 was in September or October of 181::!. The weather being 

 warm, and the flowers being over, the bees did attack and 

 destroy many luscious fruits of Coe'a Golden Drop Plums that 

 were hanging near to them. The other case happened in 18GS, 

 when the herbage was burned up by a long and severe drought. 

 There were no honey flowers, and the weather was uncommonly 

 hot. The bees then resorted to Raspberries, sucked the juice 

 out of them, and rendered them comparatively worthless. In 

 neither case were the bees prompted by hunger, having plenty 

 of honey in their hives at the time mentioned. Our bees are 

 surrounded by Raspberries, but they have never touched ore 

 since. — A, Petiiqbew. 



SALVIA GESNER^ FLORA. 



Evert October for I cannot remember how many years past 

 I have had the pleasure of potting up from the open ground 

 immense pyramids of this fino Salvia. My lot has fallen iu 

 a place where not only a full display of flowering plants are 

 required, but where scarlet is expected to be the prevailing 

 colour. Now, it is not an easy matter to set a conserva- 

 tory ablaze with scarlet during the winter and early spring 

 mouths, but the plants which above all others are capable of 

 producing it are Salvias. Scarlet aud whito are the most 

 effective colours for winter. Both by dayhght or gaslight they 

 are alike striking, and if the flowers can be had in elegant 

 sprays they are doubly useful for many purposes of decoration 

 and in giving relief to the formal masses of Camellias, Azalea?, 

 &c. For affording floriferous sprays of these colours my staple 

 plants have long been Deutzias and Salvias. 



Salvia fulgens is now iu full beauty, and will continue until 

 December. S. splendeus will continue until February, and by 

 that time the handsome pillars of S. gesnerasflora will be in 

 their zenith of beauty, Usting until April. But while all of the 

 trio are useful, the one last named is the greatest and the best. 



Very commonly aro these plants grown in pots throughout 

 the summer, but' by that mode of culture it is almost impos- 

 sible to bring out their full beauty. By an occasional want of 

 water or an insufficient amount of food the fohage loses its 

 rich green tint, and the plants are deprived of half their 

 attractions. By planting-out in deep rich ground in May and 

 affording occasional supplies of liquid manure, every leaf is 

 preserved of a full deep green, and the spikes are produced of 

 twice the size over those from plants which have been grown 

 in pots. 



By striking the cuttings in March, growing carefully on until 

 May, shifting in larger pots as required, and subsequently 

 planting-out, I have had no difficulty in growing plants 7 feet 

 in height and 3 feet through near the ground, and tapering — as 

 they will do without any pinching— to a point. Such plants 



