6 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[Jan. 6, 



£vrnide Bartmioides is a very showy South American . Duchesse d'Angouleme: trees on Quince stocks, six it; and the character and beauty of the^l^f^ 

 plant, with large flowers of a bright yellow colour. It j years old from the bud ; 20 feet and more in height ; in this its natural growth. Now a grafted plant is^! 

 * * •*--•••« »< ,_. L _* 1=„ 'stems 6 to 8 inches in diameter; fruit large, many Ulb.; »--*-*- * -•-• "-••- 



flesh buttery, and very juicy ; in eating all July and 

 August. Beurre Diel : on Quince stocks ; trees seven 



grows about a foot high, and is of rather a straggling 

 habit. It is a tender plant, and only suitable for pots. 



Eutoca viscida. — This is one of the best of annuals. 

 Its flowers are of a deep blue, and are produced *in 

 great abundance ; it grows about a foot high. It makes 

 a pretty bed, or good specimens of it may be grown in 

 pots. It is a native of California. 



Gaillardia picta.— This is a splendid thing, with star- 

 shaped flowers of a purple colour, with a yellow edge ; 

 at grows about a foot in height, with slender stems. A 

 good plant either for beds or patches. It is a native of 

 Louisiana. 



Oilia achillecefolia is a neat Californian plant, of erect 

 habit, and when sown thickly makes a most beautiful 

 hed. Its foliage is of a dark grass-green, and its 

 flowers of a dark purple and blue colour ; it grows 

 about 15 inches high. It is a stronger growing plant 

 than G. tricolor. 



Gnaphalium (Helichrysuni) Iracteatum. — The old 

 Everlasting. This, although a very old New Holland 

 plant, is not seen in cultivation so much as it deserves 

 to be. Its large yellow flowers render it a very con- 



3>icuous object. It grows about 3 ft. lngn. There are 

 so white varieties of it. It is best grown in patches 

 on borders. 



Qodetia Schami.—Ot all the Godetias this one is the 

 fcest., It grows about 15 inches in height, and produces 

 an abundance of large pale rose-coloured flowers, stained 

 with a bright red blotch in the centre of each petal. It 

 is altogether a very desirable plant, well adapted for 

 beds. It is a native of California. 



Heliopkila trifida is an interesting little plant, either 

 for green-house decoration in spring, or open borders in 

 summer. It grows about 9 inches high, and produces 

 abundance of small blue and white flowers. It is a 

 native of the Cape of Good Hope. 



Hibiscus of) anus. — This is a profuse blooming plant, 

 which well deserves cultivation. Its flowers are dull 

 white, stained with purple ; it grows about 18 inches 

 high. It makes a pretty bed, and is also a good thing 

 for borders, keeping in bloom throughout the summer. 

 It is a native of Africa. 



Ipom&a Burridgi. — This plant resembles the com- 

 mon Convolvulus major, of which it is a variety. It is 

 a profuse blo'omer, with rosy-pink flowers, melting into 

 white in the centre. It is well adapted for covering 

 trellis-work. /. H. Beckman. 



( To be concluded next week) 





years old, large and vigorous, bearing heavy crops ; 

 after thinning this season, 150 specimens were left on 

 each tree, weighing from 1 to \\ lb. each ; they ripened 

 finely in the cellar ; in eating ail July and August ; 

 quality first-rate. Winter Nelis : on Quince ; fruit 

 large ; flesh buttery and very melting, abounding in 

 rich aromatic juice ; in eating October and November ; 

 quality quite first-rate. Chaumontel : fruit very large, 

 weighing 1 lb., ripe in October and November ; flesh 

 buttery, sugary, and melting, with a slight perfume. 

 Glou Morceau : on Quince ; trees ten years old, large, 

 and growing very vigorously ; fruit large ; flesh buttery 

 and exceedingly sugary; ripe in October. Marie 

 Louise : fruit large ; flesh very sugary, having also a 

 high vinous flavour ; ripe in August. T. R. 



Zephyr anthes.— Am I correct in supposing that what 

 they now call Z. Candida is that which we used to 

 call Tubispatha? I should also be glad to know 

 whether the other species (such as Rosea, Atamasco, 

 Carinata, and Grandiflora,) are as hardy as that one 

 which flowers in my border without being near any 

 flue. A. H. — [The learned author of Amaryllidacese 

 considered Z. Candida to be separable from tubispatha, 

 almost as a genus, which he called Argyropsis. The 

 other species are always regarded as greenhouse plants, 

 unless in very mild climates.] 



The Golden Gourd in its present coat of rich green 

 and gold makes a pretty substitute for flowers in hang- 

 ing pots in verandahs and 

 other dry places, where they 

 last a long time, and become 

 a rich orange colour. Somerset. 



Gynerium argenteum. — I 

 have been rather appealed 

 to in reference to this plant ; 

 but I can add little to what - 



Home Correspondence. 



Tlie Lois- Weedon Cultivation. — I have always been 

 interested in the perusal of Mr. Smith's pamphlet, but 

 one stubborn fact has invariably met me, viz., the cost 

 of the double digging, and I may also add that of the 

 single or 'common digging or forking. lama nursery- 

 man, and have many acres of land with a stiff" clay as 

 subsoil under cultivation with the spade; this is a fine 

 Wheat soil, and has often given from 5 to 7 quarters 



£;r acre of Wheat when under the plough. Now this 

 nd when first broken up, and indeed, always, costs Is. 

 per rod to double dig, i.e., to dig two spits deep, and 

 bring the bottom spit to the top; this of course is 8/. per 

 acre. Now if I understand it correctly, I read in your 

 columns last week that the double digging of the spaces 

 between the crop on an acre amounting to half an acre 

 of land, costs only 1/. 10*., or 4±d. per rod. Again, the 

 Single digging of the same quantity of land, costs 10$., 

 or 1 hd. per rod. Every year I have many acre's of 

 land double dug; the stiff clayey land costs invariably Is. 

 per rod, or 41. the half acre, and when the subsoil is 

 broken up for the first time, often Is. 2d. or Is. 3d. per 

 rod, and a tender loamy clay without stones that has 

 been nearly a century under spade cultivation costs 10U 

 per rod ; this is the lowest price I have ever given, and 

 the labourers require being; looked after very sharply to 

 make them do it thoroughly and well. I have lately em- 

 ployed Parkes's fork?, which have made the work less 

 laborious, but have not decreased the expense, as their 

 wear and tear is most rapid when employed for double 



IFt gm n F ° r sin S ,e d :in S or irking my price is, for 

 stiff badly working soils U. per rod, or 11. the half acre: 

 for fnaMe free-working soils, 2JA per rod. Now this 

 great difference in the cost of labour in counties so near 

 to each other as Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire is 

 ot vast importance to the carrying out the Lois- Weedon 

 system. I am inclined to think that there must be some 

 error m the Lois- Weedon prices. Perhaps some 

 Northamptonshire friend can throw a little light on the 

 subject. T. i?., Ht r. h 



Pears <m < ice Stocks in Mississippi. —The following 



extracts from the proceedings of the American Pomo- 



logicai Society just published, are of interest as showing 



trie effects of a warm climate and rich soil on Pears. 



xne ml near -Natchez, in which the trees alluded to 

 below gr 0W) 19 a rich y^ ?able mou!d 18 inches 



in depth resting upon a stratum of hard clay, under- 

 laying tv inch is a yellow loam filled with fresh- water 



has been already said about 

 it. Its head-quarters are un- 

 doubtedly in La Plata ; it is 

 found abundant near Cor- 

 rientes, on the Parana, as 

 stated by " A. W.," of Liver- 

 pool ; it is also abundant 

 at Conception, and on the 



river Salado, and may extend to Buenos Ayres, 

 but I did not see it at the latter place. * A. W." has 

 confounded G. argenteum with G. saccharoides when 

 he states that it is found at Sanguexuga and San Paulo, 

 in Brazil ; the latter is found there very abundantly, 

 and I think is far the more ornamental of the two — the 

 panicles being longer and thicker, the stems stronger, 

 and the leaves nearly twice the width. My friend D. 

 Moore, Esq., of Glasnevin, states that the two plants 

 which he raised were both females, and that there cannot 

 be any male plants in the country. I have enclosed you 

 a spikelet from the St. Vulcen's plant, and one which I 

 received yesterday from Kew ; the latter is evidently a 

 male, the anthers being very distinct ; I am not aware 

 where the Kew plant came from. You will perceive 

 a great difference in the colours of the spikelets, but 

 this may be owing to the weather. K. S., Woodlands, 

 near Dublin. [The plant from Kew is no doubt a male, 

 that from St. Vulcen's is a female, as is the plant in the 

 garden of the Horticultural Society. The differences 

 you remark are sexual. It was too late to use the male 

 Kew plant when it was ascertained that it was a male.] 



Rain and Temperature during 1854, at Castle Hill, 

 Devon : — 



January..., 

 February.. 



March 



April 



May 



June 



July 



August .... 



September 



October 



November 



December 



Quantity 

 of liain. 



Quantity dur- 

 ing the year 



3.86 

 2.37 

 0.99 

 0.29 

 3.52 

 3.21 

 3.74 

 1.69 

 1 .82 

 5.87 

 3.38 

 5.70 



Greatest 



quantity 



during 



24 hours. 



ghest 



Hi 



tempera- 

 ture 



Lowest 

 tempera- 

 ture 



36.44 



Date. 

 29 



5 



10 



29 



3 



12 



31 

 14 



14 



" 9 



29 



18 



0.48 



0.39 



0.21 



0.10 



0.31 



0.72 



0.76 



61 



0.62 

 1.04 



0.74 

 0.7 



during the daring the 

 month. month. 



Date. 





Date. 



20 



50 



6 



21 



52 



10 



31 



65 



1 



8 



75 



25 



17 



74 



4 



25 



80 



7 



25 



85 



20 1 



2S 



90 



18 i 



4 



85 



22 



1 



75 



27 



1 



57 



27 



14 



50 



11 



17 



20 



1 



2 



29 



34 



40 



42 



1 



19 



shells. 



Climate 



*™« a *\A * u Wl!iters generally mild and open ; 

 snow seldom falls ; the thermometer has been known to 



S«lin« V \ S is ver y U1,usual ; the temperature 



tZUj *° n i bs ° f a *' June > *"«* August, and 

 beptember is almost torrid, the thermonx 



falling under 80-, and ofi^l^Sj? ""'* 



kinds of Pears " 



latest 



The 



Willi*™' R„„ ru >■- n P e " ear} y ^ the autumn. 

 W Ulums Bm Chretien, on the Quince, fruit lar^e manv 



woghiqg fu 1! v 1 lb. ; in eating duringall Julyandlu™ 7 



A. Saul. 



Grafted Rhododendrons. — My remarks on grafted 

 Rhododendrons (seep. 821,1854) assumed considerable 

 'length, because I was called upon to explain the 

 principles on which my objection to them was founded; 

 and this led me away from the practical part of the 

 subject. I would now offer a few further remarks on 

 the practical objection to such plants, which holds good 

 alike in small and in large gardens, and is altogether 

 independent of the question whether the finer varieties 

 are dwarfed by grafting or not. These remarks applv 

 qually, if not with greater force, to Azaleas, which it 

 is now also the fashion to graft, as to Rhododendrons 

 proper. I do not of course speak of greenhouse 

 Azaleas, to which grafting is in many cases specially 

 applicable, but of the common shrubby species. All 

 these plants, both Rhododendrons and Azaleas, are 

 thorough shrubs, continually throwing up sucker-like 



requires gathering before ripe and ripenednfru ctuar' T TT T' co , m i } L throwin * U ? 61 



r f cum JI ™t cellar, j shoots from the root stock wherever light has 



eluded from exhibiting this habit; nor is this all & 

 stock possesses and retains it, and the utmost vi&W 

 will scarcely prevent such shoots pushing up from 4 

 stock and starving the graft. Their shoots mJt 

 destroyed in the nurseries, where the plants are J! 

 stantly looked over, but when once the plants & 

 transferred to beds and masses in private gardens the* 

 shoots are sure to be overlooked. I have never* 

 looked through a collection of grafted Rhododendron 

 without detecting such shoots which had escaped ti» 



gardener's eye, 

 apparent plant, 

 still greater. 



grafting. 



formed nearly half fo 

 In the case of Azaleas, the evil j 

 Azalea pontica, which is employed as ft 

 stock, is a very strong growing kind, with a peculi 

 tendency to throw up sucker-like shoots ; and the* 

 will in a single season out-top the rarer variety grafaj 

 upon it. The Azalea has in fact a very great tendene 

 to renew even its natural growth in this manner— ti 

 older branches growing feeble, and the plant bein 

 renewed by strong shoots from below; and this 1 

 especially the case if its growth be checked byrenwi 

 As far as my experience goes something of the saot 

 kind takes place with all grafted Azaleas. Theyloi 

 more like branches broken off and stuck in than r* 

 thriving shrubs, and they are surrounded with a for* 

 of suckers. I consider that a grafted Rhododendm 

 is quite as objectionable as a grafted Fir tm 

 though from a different cause, and much moreinex 

 cusable. It is difficult, or at least tedious and troubb 

 some, to strike the genus Pinus from cuttings, and the 

 do not make good plants ; so that, if you wish to 

 propagate a rare species, of which no seed has j8 

 ripened in England or can now be procured froa 

 abroad, you are almost reduced to the expedient i 



In the case of Rhododendrons there is k 

 such excuse. They strike from cuttings with little 

 difficulty, and are propagated so easily by layers tk 

 natural layers may be found around most old plants; 

 they are, moreover, raised with the greatest ease from 

 seed, and the individuals of a batch of seedlings diffe 

 so little from one another, that out of the many hundrei 

 of alta-clerense which were raised from the same batd 

 of seed, and dispersed throughout the country, every 

 individual may be recognised at once as belonging to the 

 same species, though some slight individual differences 

 may be detected between them if compared. In con- 

 clusion, I believe that whenever a collection is formed 

 of grafted Rhododendrons, before many years ha?e 

 elapsed the bed will be found to consist principally of 

 Rhododendron ponticum, the grafts having perished 

 and the stocks assumed their place. /. R. 



CuthiWs Black Prince Strawberry. — I potted I 

 quantity of this variety in the latter end of July last, 

 and by the end of October I found that they were throw 

 ing up blooms ; I therefore placed them in a Vinery 

 whose temperature ranged from 50° to 55°, where thej 

 still continue to bloom and set fruit. I gathered a fei 

 ripe berries on the lf>th of December, and on Christmas 

 Day I had a beautiful dish of ripe fruit. To-day, agai: 

 (1st of January, 1855), I have gathered another duk 

 equally good, and I have still a quantity of fruit set d 

 blooms appearing in succession so as to promise 1 

 supply for the next two months. I think that by brifl| 

 ing back the early forced plants of other varieties into 

 the houses and introducing this variety early in autnDWj 

 Strawberries may be gathered every month in the year. 

 as I have only been out of them 6 weeks since February 

 last. George James, Pontypool Parle. 



C 



octette** 



Pomological, Jan. 1st. 

 Specimens of a Seedling 



Mr. John Lee in the chair 



by % 



Apple, exhibited 

 Marshall, Esq, of Ely, were found to possess a'bri 

 flavour and considerable juiciness, with the aroma 

 the Osliu. A collection of 8 varieties of apples, froi 

 orchards in Gloucestershire, were sent by G. 

 Wintle, Esq., of Gloucester ; among them were fine 

 examples of Golden Harvey, grown on a clay soil ; ai* 

 of Ashmead's Kernel, from a light loam on a sandy s^ 

 soil. The others were chiefly Cider Apples of th 

 neighbourhood. Mr. Cranston, of Hereford, exhibit 

 specimens of 10 varieties of P« ars and 11 of Apples : $ 

 former embracing many of the seedling varieties rai* 



by the late Mr. Knight. Four new members *eff 

 elected. 



SflttttSi 



£ool&+ 



The Flora of Yorkshire; with a Supplement. 



Baines. 8vo. 



By E 



. Longmans. 



m This is a reissue of the author's original work col* 



bined with a new supplement of about equal dimensioi* 



The latter has been prepared by Mr. J. G. Baker *& 



Mr. John Nowell, and when we say that it forms » 



worthy companion to Mr. Baines' very useful work,** 



place it where it should be, alongside the best of ^ 



local Floras. The Supplement may be described * 



a critical inquiry into tlie districts really occupied •>? 



undoubted Yorkshire plants, and the claims which to* 



doubtful inhabitants have upon the Flora, toge** 



with the relation that exists between the distribute 



of the vegetation and the geological formations of * e 



county. In these considerations the new editors & 



evidently at home ; they are well acquainted person^ 



with the greater part of the facts on which they m r . 



access to they have had excellent assistance from judicious 



ani 



