1 



1851.1 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



5 



IM 



of the latter ; also of Elderberriei when ripe ; and their 

 creatly luxuriate in a little raw, scraped, tender beef, 

 free from fibre. The beef, when scraped, should be 



and 



did not make my final notes till they had flowered the 

 second season. 



moistened with water, but not made too- WW J 



it 'must Jilwavs be sweet If tainted in the slightest 



degree, do not a* mpt to introduce it. 



In the way of live food, throw m occasionally ants < gfl, 

 kll red worms, spiders, earwigs, mealworms, fiver- 

 eentles, et hoc genus om nc. The windows being kept con- 

 stantly open, hundreds of flies, gnats, and other minute 

 ephemera, will find their way in ; and no small amuse- 

 ment is it, to watch the gyrations of the birds as they 

 topple over to catch their prey. The wagtails, white- 

 throats, and tit-larks, in -particular, are most elegant in 

 their motions, while thus occupied. 



There have been many opinions on the subject of 

 giving your birds Hemp-seed. It certainly does tend, 

 homceopathically, to shorten the duration of their lives ; 

 but still, strange though true, they cannot live without 

 it ! It warms their stomach, and possesses an oleagi- 

 nous peculiarity of flavour, which, mixing with the other 

 food, forms a good general diet. It must be given 

 sparingly. Many people feed goldfinches, in cages, 

 with Hempseed ; this is quite a mistake. Canary and 

 Flax is all they should be allowed. They thrive well 

 on it, and escape getting over-fat — the ruin of half the 

 race. Their plumage, too, is always in beautiful order. 



To prevent the necessity for * medicine," properly so 

 called, let some crumbs of bread be scalded with boiling 

 milk; into this put some grocers' currants, after pre- 

 viously soakin, them some hours in cold water. All soft- 

 billed birds, nightingales, blackcaps, garden- warblers, 

 and whitethroats in particular, eat voraciously of this 

 dish ; and as boiled milk acts medicinally on all birds, 

 its curative prop ties will speedily became apparent. 



If my instructions be fully carried out, and plenty of 

 old mortar, well bruised, be kept constantly on the floor, 

 no Sanitary Commission need erer be appointed. It is 

 with birds a- with ourselves — air, exercise, temperance, 

 and proper uiet, will "pull us through w to a good old 

 age. William Kidd § New Road, Hammers milk. 



Fellenburff, Noisette. 

 Jaune D*-*prei f do. 

 ! L' Amie ViU rt, do.* 

 Lucida Duplex, Macartney.* 

 Maria Leonida. do. 

 Pourpre de Tyre (Fafait of 



some), Bourbon.* 

 Madame Desprez, do.* 

 Bourbon Queen, do.* 

 Paul Joseph, do.* 

 Madame Nerard, do.* 

 Souvenir de la Malmaison, do.* 

 Bouquet de Flore, do,* 

 Proserpine, do.* 

 Acidalie, do.* 



Madame !e Charone, do. 

 The Critnson Cliiaa.* 

 Princess Wurtemburg-, China.* 

 Mrs. Bosanquet, do.* 

 Geaat des Bataillei, Hybrid 

 Perpetual. 



Duchess of Sutherland, do. 

 La Keine, do. 

 Madame Laffay, do. 

 Marquess Boccella, do. 

 Doctor Marx, do. 

 Baronne Prevost, do. 

 lv bin liood, do. 

 William Jesse, do. 

 Rope du Roi, Perpetual 



with a * are the most con- 



Those which are marked 

 stant ; but all those not marked were, in respect to con- 

 tinuous flowering, the best of their family. Crito. 



VILLA AND SUBURBAN GARDENING. 



ROSES IN CONTINUOUS BLOOM. 



As a wind-up to the few papers which I have written 

 upon the classification of Roses, I now offer a list of 

 those which, out of all the varieties of Roses recom- 

 mended to me by different nurserymen, have been most 

 constantly in flower ; and permit me to say, formed the 

 most pleasing objects for the longest time. lam far 

 from satisfied that I have mentioned all, or even nearly 

 all that deserve a place among those comprised in 

 my favoured list, but I should feel greatly indebted to 

 the more extensive cultivators if they would turn their 

 thoughts to improving it, or giving us a better. In a 

 general flower garden, or in a Rosery, I hold that the 

 great feature of bloom should be never impaired, but let 

 it not be supposed that I would discard the many noble 

 varieties which flower for a month and depart, but they 

 should have a place to themselves, and not assist in 

 throwing a gloom over borders, or making blanks among 

 the family of ever-blooming kinds. Let us suppose that 

 we were actually confined to two colours, red and white, 

 and that a row of these on each side of a path, or a 

 bank of them formed of dwarfs, half-standards and 

 whole ones were on each side, these two kinds being 

 always in flower during several months, would look in- 

 finitely better than a general collection half or two- 

 thirds of which were without a bloom. But we are not 

 confined to two varieties, nor ten ; I only wish to show 

 that it is better in a place where Roses form a principal 

 feature, as they ought in all gardens, to have 20 of a 



sort in flower, than 20 sorts without five or six in good 

 bloom. 



As a class which has disappointed me most I would 

 mention the so-called Hybrid Perpetuals. They are any- 

 thing but perpetuals, and if I must follow the sections or 

 families as now classified, I like best the Noisettes, the 

 Bourbons, and the Chinas ; but there are exceptions, 

 and marked ones, and I cannot help repeating my wish 

 that the Rose nurserymen would reclassify, it I may so 

 express myself, the whole family of Roses. At all 

 events, let those who want a hundred, or five hundred, 

 or a dozen, confine themselves to particular kinds for 

 all that have to figure in the general scenery of a well 

 kept garden, and not be afraid of half a dozen or half a 

 hundred of a sort, and let them grow the summer 

 varieties, no matter what family they belong to according 

 to the catalogue ; but I mean all those which only bloom 

 a month, in a portion of the garden out of the general 

 scenery. I strongly recommend every body who has 

 a hundred or two varieties planted for ornament, to re- 

 move all the summer kinds at once to some place 

 adapted for a general collection, and order continuous 



SS n u? Varieties > 20 of a sort > if necessary, to fill 



Wn^^r* 1 have ** ld enou g n to induce Messrs. Rivers, 

 vrn™™ f Ul ' Curtis > Hooker > Francis, and other Rose- 

 ETJ; I\ turn **">* attention to the subject of pub- 



SmiS^?™ 8 WUh S ° me n ° te Sll0Win S Whlch are 



iZ ™° ? ^ mers > for a11 the world ought to know 

 ^3 ?T\ m ^>*t the best, only temporary ; hybrid 

 Roses & 1 no Deue \ while manv other families embrace 



In pursuing the subject of Pear training, I shall begin 

 by explaining the mode extensively adopted by the great 

 market-gardeners in the vicinity of London, whose con- 

 tributions constitute the chief supply of Covent-garden 

 Market. The plan which they adopt may not be the 

 most beautiful that could be devised, or one that we 

 would wish to see in gardens of high pretensions, still it 

 appears to answer their purpose ; and there may be 

 many amateurs who pursue gardening upon economical 

 means, looking forward to a remunerative result rather 

 than to nice appearances. The market gardeners 

 usually plant the large and finer kinds of Pears by the 

 sides of roads and pathways in their orchards, and they 

 are trained horizontally, without muchj regard to regu- 

 larity. Horizontal training, when carried out perfectly, 

 requires the leader to be kept down until the number 

 of shoots requisite to form a perfect symmetrical tree is 

 induced. The market gardener pays no regard to this. 

 His object is the rapid production of a tree, from which 

 he expects to reap his reward ; and he finds that th 

 rude espaliers are quite as productive as the wire-drawn 

 looking examples of high artificial gardening on a 

 gentleman's garden wall. 



The materials which they use for the purpose of 

 training upon are of the rudest possible kind, being fre- 

 quently mere stakes cut from their hedges. Little regard 

 is paid to their uniform thickness or straightness, the 

 only point being to keep the trees in a direct line ; as 

 the extremities of the branches meet, they fasten them 

 together, and within a short distance of where I now 

 write there are actually walls of these espaliers support- 

 ing themselves without either stakes or anything else. 

 One of the most important advantages of this 

 mode of training is, that when the trees are in full 

 blossom, and when frost is apprehended, a tem- 

 porary covering may be thrown over these espaliers 

 without much trouble or difficulty, and the crop, in spite 

 of all atmospheric influences, is positively secured. 

 This is a matter which deserves the attention of all 

 Pear cultivators. Much care is bestowed on the Peach ; 

 but the Pear is a more valuable fruit, for at this season, 

 when we have few other fruits for the table, some Pears 

 are in high perfection, and their value is just enhanced, 

 in proportion to their excellence, in conjunction with 

 the absence of other native fruits. Pharo. 



Here a clArinhig view w 



I 



fcewise hope tiiel*^ 1 ^ ? s any two different sections 

 e y apnrovo omJ iV^ reiterate such of my notions as 



a<*d tutjy p 0W erful infli 



r Hose-growers to folio 



ln S are th^l^ W **» wholesome. 



tfey approve and a ? i ' xcuer2ue sucn OI m y 



* uiduce amateur p totir P owe rful influence to mine 



^ advice as thev\! ^ growors t0 follow so m ^h of 



1Q S are the van Jl? ay « <1 . rsem whol *s°nie. The follow- 



0Us, y ; they were ! f Sf* bIoon *« the most continu- 



* planted in good loam and dung, and I 



NOTES OF A TRAVELLER.— No. XV. 



Chinese Azaleas and Azalea Gardens. — These 

 gardens, in the neighbourhood of Shanghae, are not less 

 interesting than those in which the Tree Pseonia or 

 Moutan is cultivated, and which were described in my 

 last letter. About five miles north from the city there 

 are two nurseries, each of which contains an extensive 

 and valuable collection. They are generally known as 

 the Pou-shan gardens, and are often visited by the 

 foreign residents at Shanghae. A few days after my 

 visit to the Moutan district, I set out to see the Azaleas, 

 which I knew were then in full bloom. My road led 

 through a country, which is perfectly level, and in a high 

 state of cultivation. It was spring time, and everything 

 teemed with vegetable life. Deciduous trees were now 

 covered with fresh green leaves, as yet uninjured by the 

 attacks of the insect tribe ; Wheat and Barley were in 

 ear, and in some places tinged already with a yellow 

 ripening hue, and the air was scented with the field 

 Bean, which was in full bloom. Clumps of trees were 

 dotted over the country, generally divided pretty dis- 

 tinctly into two kinds — deciduous and evergreen. The 

 deciduous clumps marked the spots where the villages 

 and farm houses were situated ; the evergreens, con- 

 sisting chiefly of Cypress and Juniper trees, were grow- 

 ing about the tombs of the dead. 



Little more than an hour's walk brought me to the 

 garden I bad come to visit. There were no external 

 marks, such as name or signboard, to direct the 

 stranger to the garden ; indeed, a person unacquainted 

 with the customs of the Chinese would never have 

 dreamed of finding such a beautiful place as this is, 

 in a poor country village. Going up a narrow passage 

 betwten two houses, I reached the residence of the 

 nurseryman. He received me with great politeness, 

 asked me to sit down in his house, and called to one of 

 his sons to bring me a cup of tea. Having sipped the 

 favourite beverage, I then walked out with him to 

 inspect his garden. 



In the front of the house where we had been sitting, 

 three or four flat stages were covered with Japanese 

 plants, of which the old man had a good collection. A 

 small species of Pinus was much prized, and when 

 dwarfed in the manner of the Chinese, fetched a very 



high price ; it is generally grafted on a variety of the 

 Stone Pine. ^ The Azalea obtusa, and some vanities o£ 

 it with semi-double flowers, were in full flower, an4 

 highly prized by the Chinese. The colour of this 

 species is much more brilliant and dazzling in China 

 than I have ever seen it in Knglaud. A beautiful 

 variety, quite new, had small semi-double pink flowew, 

 which it produced in great profusion. This will be a 

 great favourite in England when introduced to our 

 gardens. Its novel colour, small leaves, and neat habit 

 will render it most desirable for bouquets and other de- 

 corative purposes. I have named it Azalea amoena. 

 On the stage with this plant I observed a new specie* 

 of Holly, which is likely to be of some value to English 

 gardens. I have named this species Ilex Reevesiana,* 

 and thus describe it : — A dwarf shrub ; leaves entire, 

 elliptical, acute, slightly wavy ; dull green, and covered 

 over with small dot?, somewhat like Ekeagous ; flowers 

 on short spikes, terminal ; fruit large, of a deep red 

 colour. A very ornamental bush, which flowers iu the 

 winter months, and ripens its fruit during the following 

 autumn like our common English Holly. It is the 

 Wang-sang-qui-wha of the Chinese, and said to have 

 been brought from Wang-San, a celebrated mountain 

 in Hwuy-chow. 



After looking over the plants upon the stage, I 

 passed on to the main portion of the nursery, which is 

 situated behind the house. 



presented to the eye. Two largo masses of Azaleai 

 arranged on each side of a Bmail walk were covered 

 with flowers of the most dazzling brightness and 

 beauty. Nor were they common kinds. Generally 

 they belonged to the same section as A. iudica (tha 

 varieties of A. variegata do not flower so early), but 

 the species so common in Canton and the south were 

 comparatively rare here. A most beautiful kind 

 having the habit of A. iudica and half deciduous, had 

 its flowers striped with pale blue or lilac lines, and 

 sometimes blo.ches of the same colour upon a white 

 ground. Another species allied to this had led stripes, 

 and a third was mottled and striped in its flowers, tha 

 colours being still the same. These are all quite new, 

 and they flower early in the season, fully three weeks 

 or a month before that section to which A. variegata 

 belongs. A red variety, which flowers later, is parti- 

 cularly worthy of notice. Its habit is different from 

 any known species, its leaves are dark green, shining, 

 and evergreen ; and its flowers are of a deep clear red, 

 and very large. Each flower measures from 3 to 

 4 inches in diameter. It is said to be a Japanese 

 species. 



1 now passed over a little wooden bridge to the third 

 compartment of the nursery, which cont lined a collec- 

 tion of the common shrubs of the country. Along the 

 banks of a ditch, through which the tide ebbs and flows, 



there is a row of the far-famed Qui-wha, or Olea 

 fragrans. In England we know nothing of the eautj 

 of this charming plant. Here it is a Hue ev i green 

 bush, always handsome, and in the months « f Sep- 

 tember and October literally covered with its agrant 

 blossoms. One tree is enough to scent a whol garden* 

 I have often sat down under the shade t these 

 very bushes, in the midst of this perfumed atmosphere, 

 and almosrfancied myself in the garden of Eden. R.F. 



Home Correspondence. 



Aquatic Floriculture. — I would gladly learn what has 

 been ascertained, and see fresh experiments made, con- 

 cerning aquatic plants. It is worthy of enquiry what 

 character distinguishes palustrian from aquatic plants. 

 Certainly not alone the natural habitat, for we know that 

 plants will flourish where they are not found wild. A 

 plant whose roots grow under the water level is, quoadg 

 its roots, aquatic ; only its stem, or the lower part 

 thereof, is embraced by air and not by water. The 

 tendency of a plant to have its stem or leaves corrupted 

 and macerated by immersion, while its roots are 

 proof against it, would seem to me to be the dis- 

 tinctive palustrian character. But is it not an in- 

 teresting field of experiment to try in how many 

 instances such a distinction really exists, prejudi- 

 cially to the beauty of our ponds and tanks? This 

 is remarkable in some aquatics, that they are not so, 

 and that in the extreme degree. Crinum capense 

 grows, flourishes, and blows in my pond, rejoicing iff 

 water and ice, with boys and girls skating over its bulbs; 

 and it does all the same in the south border against my 

 house through the long droughts of spring and summer. 

 Calla sethiopica flourishes in deep water, and lives well 

 enough on a neglected shelf of a greenhouse, in a bridk 

 of dry earth. Iris Pseud- acorus will live for years is 

 raised borders and unwatered. Epipactis palustrw 

 grows in a raised border agairist my house, watered bj 

 me when I remember it, and by nobody when I do not* 

 or when I am absent for weeks. Since absolute sub- 

 aqueous aquatics are patient of drought in its utmost 

 degrees short of growing like a Snapdragon on a wail, 

 there is surely reason to dout>t whether the nature o£ 

 many plants will not bear stretching in the other 

 direction. For only consider how vast is the distinc- 

 tion between plants growing in a pond, and plants baked 

 in a pot, or roasted under a dry south wall ; and how 

 trivial seems the distinction which separates plant* 

 rooting under the water-level from those which grow 

 under a water surface. The wild yellow Iris (Paeutf- 

 acorus) is common in muddy ditches, and I read that it 

 is also found in shallow ponds. It may be the onjy J« 



* Named in compliment to Mr. Beeves, whose kind introdufr 

 ti< ns have beeot of great assistance to me ia Cftina* 



m 





