110 



JOUKNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 7, 18C5. 



giving us a great acquisition to our gardens, for lie informs 

 me that he has had shoots on it 12 feet long — enough to 

 make any one's mouth water ; and as we have a climbing 

 Fairy Rose in Cinderella, there is no knowing what sports 

 we may have. 



I have heard some rumoiu-s of reviving a National Rose 

 Show, the proposed plan of liaving all shows at the Royal 

 Horticultural Society on Saturdays completely precluding 

 many of the most ardent admirers of the Rose iiom being 

 present, and it being thought by many desirable to have an 

 independent show, such as it was when first originated by 

 Mr. Hole. Whether this wiU be effected it is impossible to 

 say; but certainly there is no flower but the Rose which can 

 support of itself an exhibition as it has done for years. 



Have any of your readers, I wonder, experienced this 

 result with regai-d to that excellent yellow Rose Celine 

 Forestier, that when grown on a wall it will not flower, 

 or at any rate flowers very sparingly 'i I had a fine plant 

 of it that made shoots S or 9 feet long, but I had nothing 

 but a few indifferent blocme; while on plants as standards 

 and dwai'fs there was an abundant bloom. Triomphe de 

 Eennes, on the other hand, blooms profusely in the same 

 situation. A knowledge of these points would greatly help 

 Rose growers, and prevent much disappointment. Good 

 folk often imagine that their little experience is not worth 

 recording; but I am quite sure that if observations were 

 more freely given, a great deal of valuable information might 

 be gained. — D. Deal. 



The best remedy I have yet met with is to dress the trees 

 with coal tar very much weakened by mixing urine, night 

 soil, and soot with it. Of course, the tar must not be used 

 too strong, or the remedy will prove as bad as the disease. 

 I trust Mr. Fish's inquiries may induce others to give an 

 account of their experience. — W. Beown, EJmcJoii. 



EOYAL HOETICUXTUEAL SOCIETY.— Feb. A. 



The speciality for this occasion was Crocuses, but of these 

 there were no exhibitors. Messrs. E. G. Henderson con- 

 tributed a collection of fine-foliaged plants, comprising Dief- 

 fenbachia grandis and Baraquiniana ; Ficus Lyalli, with ! 

 polished pale green foliage ; Ficus Grelli, with shining dark ; 

 green leaves, not unlike those of Theophrasta imperialis ; | 

 Cupania tilicifolia, with very graceful and elegant Fern-like 

 leaves ; Dracaenas, &c. From the same exhibitors came also 

 Cyanophyllum magnificum and Sphierogyne latifolia, the 

 specimen of the latter with fine large broad leaves. For 

 the above exhibitions Messrs. E. G. Henderson had first- 

 class certificates. Mr. Bull, Chelsea, had similar awards 

 for a collection of Dracaenas, and another of Agave, Yucca, 

 Roezlia, Beaucarnea, and Bonapartea ; and a second-class 

 certificate for .Skimmia fragrans, a fine new hardy shrub, 

 which produces an abundance of fragrant white flowers. 



Mr. W. F. Catleugh, Hans Street, Chelsea, exhibited a 

 number of Chinese Primulas, well fringed and high in colour. 

 This strain, it was stated, was obtained by selecting the 

 highest coloured and most perfectly fimbriated, and fer- 

 tilising the one with the other. For those Mr. Catleugh 

 had a first-class certificate ; and a similar award was made 

 to Mr. Ingram, gardener to Her Majesty, for a finely-flowered 

 Rhododendron; and to Mr. Miller, gardener to Lord Foley, 

 Worksop, for a basket of very good Mushrooms. 



We take this opportunity to remark that the conservatory 

 is now well worth a visit, the baskets along the front having 

 been painted afresh; and Mr. Eyles has had them filled 

 with Hyacinths, Early Tulips, Solanum capsicastrum, Skim- 

 mia, Azalea amccna, &c., variously arranged. The effect of 

 the whole is excellent. In one basket, at the western end, 

 Berbcria nepalensis is producing numerous spikes, each 

 about 8 inches in length, of its lino yellow flowers. It is 

 evidently deserving of more extensive cultivation than is at 

 present accorded it. 



EABBITS AND 13EEBERIS AQUIFOLIUM. 

 In answer to Mr. Fish's inquu-ies respecting Berberis 

 aquifolium being eaten by rabbits and hares, I planted in 

 1862 about 3000 plants of it with IVivet, Yews, Hollies, 

 Bhododendrons, and other things, and I am sorry to say it 

 is quite 08 much eaten by these animals as anything else. 

 In fact, I think more so than the Privet, and it is not the 

 young shoots they eat so much a« the old wood. Even strong 

 shoots 2 to .3 feet high they bite in two a few inches from 

 the ground, and there is cotliing I know of that escapes 

 their nibbling propensities except Rhododendrons ; and 

 nothing makes a better cover where the soil suits them. 



STEAWBEREY FOECING. 



SIuoH of the success attending the forcing of Strawberries 

 depends on the prepai-ation of the plants. The main points 

 are to have strong plants with their buds well developed, 

 and the pots filled with roots. Various modes of preparing 

 the plants are adopted, but there are three which I know to 

 be attended with very good results. 



One mode is, to take the moderately strong runners in 

 August, and prick them out in nursery-beds about 3 inches 

 apart every way. If light the soil is made firm by treading 

 it firmly. Water is given freely, and slight shade until the 

 plants become established. The situation should be ojjen. 

 In this position they remain until the following March, when 

 they are taken up with a little ball and potted in 31- and 

 4J-inch pots — the former for the early forcing small kinds, 

 as Black Prince and May Queen ; the latter for main crops 

 of the old Wellington, Keens' Seedling, Oscar, and Sir 

 Charles Napier ; also, for British Queen for late crops. The 

 soil should consist of strong turfy loam from rotted turves 

 a year old, chopped pretty fiine with a spade, but not sifted ; 

 and for the culture of the Strawberry in pots I prefer this 

 compost without any mixture of manure whatever. The 

 Ijots should be washed clean both inside and outside, ojid 

 but one crock placed over the hole. On this a little rough 

 sod will also act as drainage, and the roots wiU ramify 

 through it. If a little soot be sprinkled over it woi'ms will 

 not like to come through the hole, besides the Strawberry 

 roots are particularly fond of the soot, which is the best of 

 manures for Strawberries. Pot the plants firmly, and let 

 the crown be elevated in the centre of the pot. Give a good 

 watering and on no account allow them to become dry after- 

 wards, watering overhead twice weekly with soot water. Soot 

 water is a certain cure for the attacks of red spider. After 

 potting half jjlunge the plants or pots in coal ashes in an 

 open situation, and if the floor is formed of ashes and boil- 

 ing coal tar it wUl be impervious to worms. The flowers 

 should be pinched out as they show. 



In June the plants will be strong, and should be potted 

 forthwith into their blooming-pots, which should be six- 

 inch for the early, and seven-inch for the main crops. At 

 this potting the drainage is made more certain by placing 

 more crocks at the bottom than in the former case, but three 

 pieces of pot are ample ; a little rough fresh sod is quite as 

 good a drainer as a larger amount of crock drainage. Pot 

 with the ball entire, and ram the soil around the ball quite 

 firm. Be carei'ul not to sink the crown but keep it well up, 

 ltd base level with the surface, and allow a quarter of an inch 

 below the rim of the pot for watering. The plants should be 

 plunged as before, and bo kejjt well watered, giving water 

 overhead on the evenings of hot days. Move the plants 

 frequently to prevent theii- rooting into the soil, cutting off 

 the roots outside, which will cause fresh ones to be emitted 

 inside the pot. The plants should not be huddled together, 

 but have rooui for their foliage so as to enjoy light and aii\ 

 Under no circumstances ought they to be suffered to flag for 

 want of water. All runners should be pinched off close. 



By the second week in September the plants should be 

 stood on boards or slates about 1 foot from the base of a 

 south wall, and no water given except enough to keep the 

 soil just moist, and to prevent the leaves flagging. Towards 

 the middle of October the plants may bo placed in a cold 

 Irame, especially those intended for first work, the later 

 sorts being plunged in ashes or tan in a sunny place, to bo 

 transfen'ed to frames as room can be found for them. Whilst 

 in the frame they are to have air daily, and protection from 

 rains and severe frost by a covering of mats. These plants 

 will please most people, and for a cold locality where runners 

 cannot be had early it is almost the only mode of raising 

 plants to have fniit early and with certainty. 



Another method is to lay a runner in a small pot as 

 early as runners can be obtained, placing a small stone on 



