May 16, '1865. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORXICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



379 



not only valuable for the duration of their floorers, but for 

 the varying briglit tints which they assume whilst they are 

 in bloom, for the flowers of many of them are constantly 

 on the change, from rosy infancy to yellow maturity ; the 

 flowers also assume an elegant pendent position on the 

 stem, expand but little at the mouth of the tube, and have 

 the appearance of one flower partly within another — an 

 appearance which arises from the outer or shorter parts 

 being the sepals, and the inner or longer ones the petals. 

 Lachenalias may be had in flower from January to June, if 

 a portion of the bulbs be introduced into the forcing-pit at 

 ditferent times along with other early spring-flowering bulbs; 

 for the Lachenalias require no more care than a Hyacinth, 

 and last quite as long, if not longer, in bloom. 



Most of the species have various-coloured flowers, spotted 

 leaves, and beautifully-mottled flower-stems, which rise from 

 6 to 12 inches in height, and are mostly furnished with from 

 twelve to eighteen loosely-placed, drooping, tubular-shaped 

 flowers, which in most cases as the blossoms advance 

 change colour from bright red and deep yellow to a pale red 

 or yeUowish-green. A few of them, however, have self-coloured 

 flowers, which are either orange, yellow, red, pale blue, or 

 white, changing with age to a pale blush. The leaves are 

 mostly lance-shaped, glossy green, recurved, and beautifully 

 spotted on the upper surface; the flower-stems are also 

 prettily marbled, and, together with the spotted leaves, 

 contrast well with the graceful spikes of pendent or semi- 

 pendent flowers, the exquisite combination of whose chang- 

 ing hues defies every attempt of the pencil, and description 

 or portraiture fails to do them justice. 



Lachenalias will succeed m a warm south border, if well 

 protected in winter by a hand-glass, and other dry covering 

 in severe frost. What, however, is much better, and fre- 

 quently more convenient, is to place half a dozen bulbs in a 

 pot of light soil, in October, using equal parts of fresh loam, 

 rotten leaves, and fine sand, and affording them the pro- 

 tection of a cold pit until the spring, when they can be 

 planted out in the open border, and sheltered for a time 

 with a hand-glass. 



If the bulbs are intended for in-door decoration, they 

 should be placed on the toj) shelf in the greenhouse near 

 the light, and but sparingly watered during the winter ; but 

 freely so when the plants are in a growing or flowering 

 state. When the plants have done flowering, the pots 

 should be placed in a cold frame or pit, and the plants en- 

 couraged to complete their growth, and perfect their bulbs, 

 for upon that all future success depends. When the bulbs 

 have lost their foliage, they should be taken out of the soil 

 and kept dry in as cool a place as possible, that they may 

 not begin to grow too soon. By this mode of treatment the 

 bulbs may be either at once planted out in the warm border 

 in spring, and protected by a hand-glass, or be potted in 

 the autumn (in the end of September or beginning of 

 October) and placed in a cold pit, secure from frost, where 

 they must be kept tolerably dry until wanted for forcing, 

 placing in the greenhouse, or planting out in the spring. 

 The dSferent kinds of Lachenalia increase freely by offsets 

 from the old bulbs. Even the leaves under certain circum- , 

 stances produce bulbs, and beautifully illustrate the analogy ) 

 between bulbs and buds, the affinity of which is more perfect 

 than many persons probably imagine. Of this the Lache- 

 nalias present a pretty example, bulbs being produced from 

 the leaf and flower-stem. Of this curious phenomenon 

 Sir James Edward Smith relates that he had scaly bulbs 

 from flower-stalks of the Lachenalia tricolor, whilst laid for 

 many weeks between paper to dry, and which on being put 

 into the ground became perfect plants. Jfr. John Rogers 

 also relates another instance which occurred in his garden 

 near Seveuoaks, in Kent. The leaf of a species of Lache- 

 nalia having been broken off before the sap had descended 

 to the bulb, on the broken edges and lower part of the leaf 

 there were produced upwards of forty small bulbs, varying 

 in size fr-om that of a pea to a small pin's head. 



Many of the names given to Lachenalias in catalogues 

 are, no doubt, synonymous, or applied to trivial varieties. 

 The following selection, however, contains the finer and 

 more distinct kinds now to be found in cultivation. 



Lachenalia teicolor (The Three-coloured Cape Cow- 

 slip). — This is one of the oldest and handsomest kinds we 

 have. The flower-stems rise to a height of 8 or 9 inches, 



and generally produce ttom twelve to eighteen flowers, 

 which are loosely placed, drooping, tubular-shaped, and com- 

 posed of three colours — namely, bright red, yellow, and 

 green. The colours of the flowers, however, have but little 

 permanence, for they change considerably as the flowers 

 advance to maturity; being when young of a bright red 

 and greenish yellow, while when fuUy matured they are of a 

 light yellow, stained near the ends of the petals with pale 

 green. The leaves and flower-stems of this species are 

 beautifully spotted and marbled with reddish brown. There 

 are two distinct forms of this plant, one with broad leaves, 

 and another with narrow ones, which latter is frequently 

 named quadrioolor in gardens. 



Lachenalia flava oe aukea (The Golden Yellow Cape 

 Cowslip). — This is a beautiful kind with large, tubular- 

 shaped, golden yellow flowers and spotted leaves. The 

 flowers are more or less drooping, and produced on stems 

 from 6 to 9 inches long. 



Lachenalia luteola (The Pale Telle w Cape Cowslip). — 

 This is a strong-growing kind with flower-spikes from 8 to 

 9 inches high, furnished with numerous partially drooping, 

 tubular-shaped, light yellow flowers, stained with pale blush 

 when young. There are two varieties, one with spotted, 

 and the other with unspotted leaves and flower-stems. 



Lachenalia pallida (The Pale Blue-flowered Cape Cow- 

 slip). — This kind has flower-stems from 9 to 12 inches long, 

 furnished with large tubular-shaped flowers of a pale blush 

 colour when young. There are two varieties of this kind, 

 one the minor with very pale blue flowers, which change to 

 blush when fully blown; while the other has bluish-coloured 

 flowers, and a more robust habit of growth. 



Lachenalia anguinea (The Snake-stemmed Cape Cow- 

 slip). — This has spotted leaves, and beautifully marbled 

 flower-stems, from 9 to 12 inches high, sparingly furnished 

 with tubular, bell-shaped, drooping, white and green flowers, 

 which fade away to pale blush with age. 



Lachenalia pendula (The Pendulous Cape Cowslip). — 

 This is a fine robust- growing kind with large, bright, parti- 

 coloured drooping flowers, deep red, bright yellow, and pale 

 green when young, but these colours become much lighter 

 or more pallid as the flowers advance to maturity. The 

 flower-stems grow from 9 to 12 inches high. There are 

 two very distinct varieties, one with spotted leaves and 

 flower-stems, and another with unspotted ones. — Geokge 

 GOKDON, A.L.S. 



CUTTING- DOWN YEW HEDGES. 



Ip the Yew trees are planted thick enough, it is not 

 absolutely necessary to cut them down, as directed in 

 answer to " R. B..,'' page 366. They may be deprived of 

 their branches from the base to the top, and they will break 

 thickly all over; or the branches on one side may be lopped 

 off, and the others left on for awhile, to be served in due 

 time in the same way. Be careful where you put the lop- 

 pings. Yew loppings killed two beautiful Guernsey cows 

 that I gave to Lord and Lady Curzon on their marriage.^ — 

 W. P. Radcltppe, Tarrant Uushton. 



THE 



MODEEN PEACH-PEUNEB. 

 No. 9. 



We now come to the consideration of the shorter shoots 

 of the Peach. These valuable classes have hardly met 

 with the notice they deserve at the hands of long-pruners. 

 Indeed, in some works it is recommended to suppress them 

 as much as possible. This is a great error ; for other writers, 

 such as Knight and Dubreuil, recommend their careful pre- 

 servation, wherever found at all possible ; and in the works 

 of such masters of close pruning as Professor Gressent, of 

 Orleans, and M. Grin, of Chartres, the main dependance 

 for fruit is placed on Class 5, which is well known, more- 

 over, to produce the finest specimens. Very close pruning, 

 such as is well suited to orchard-house trees, rarely fails to 

 develope Classes 5 and 7 in great abundance, especially in 

 the case of established trees. Though all the classes of 

 this division occur under every form of training, they are 

 peculiarly the result of that sudden concentration of the 



