316 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
{ October 24, 1878. 
in the greatest profusion on the ends of all the small branches, 
forming long dense spikes, which last a long time in beauty. 
CLIMBING PLANTS. 
Or the beauty and grace of climbing plants almost eyery- 
body has some degree of perception, for few can fail to find 
beauty where it is seen interwoven into forms so varied and 
colours embracing so wide a range, as is represented in plants 
of this nature. It must also be acknowledged that a thorough 
knowledge of the culture of such plants is by no means common. 
The sickly straggling growth that we so often meet with 
affords convincing proof that there are many to whom a few 
hints will prove useful as well as to “C. A. C.,”” who comes 
to us for help after “a three-years trial,” ending in almost 
total failure, for he has only induced a Passion-Flower and a 
Virginian Creeper to grow freely, other plants, including such 
hardy vigorous climbers as Jasmines and Honeysuckles, either 
-dying outright or making only weakly growth. 
The query of our correspondent is a timely one, for the 
‘season of preparation for planting is fairly upon us, and by 
turning our attention to the matter at once we may reasonably 
hope for success. In planting climbers against the walls of a 
house we should remember that the work is not for a season— 
mot even for a year, but rather for a generation or two. If the 
house be a new one children may be born, trained, and sent 
forth in the world bearing with them fond memories of home, 
among which the dear old Jasmine, Honeysuckle, or Rose will 
be cherished as things made sacred by many an incident when 
life was fresh and hope was bright. Let us therefore take 
“especial care to lay well the foundation of our work by putting 
enovgh good soil alongside the house for the plants to root 
freely into for years to come, and also by making sure that the 
soil shall be well drained; of which there is considerable risk 
-of its not being, unless special means are adopted to that end. 
Take, for example; a house with only a cellar or two behind 
~under the offices. When trenches are excavated for the founda- 
tions they are generally cut down into a heavy mass of subsoil 
more or less,retentive of water ; the walls are built and soil 
thrown in to close the openings about the foundations, and if 
sno outlet is made for drains through the subsoil down to the 
bottom of the foundations there is subsequently an accumula- 
tion of water from rainfall all along the bottom of the walls, 
snot only making the house damp, but proving fatal to the roots 
of any climbing plants, no matter how hardy or tenacious of 
life they may be; or when a large bulk of soil excavated for 
cellars has been thrown out to form a terrace there is much 
isk of its eventually settling down into a compact mass and 
preventing the free escape of water after heavy rains. See, 
then, to the drains: open also a trench along the foot of the 
~valls of the house, 4 or 5 feet wide and as much in depth, 
where climbers are to be planted ; fill it with rich soil, pre- 
-cisely such as will yield good vegetables, with gritty matter or | 
shattered stone or bricks to render it permanently porous, and 
syou may plant your climbers without much fear of failure. 
I have shown that imperfect drainage and poor soil are 
primary causes of failure. Another cause upon which I think 
undue stress is often placed is an elevated exposed situation. 
‘That this is a source of mischief it may be granted, but it 
‘ought not to lead to positive failure ; on the contrary, by 
choosing varieties with stout foliage and of sturdy growth to 
mingle with and afford some shelter to more tender plants, 
where is no reason why a building should not be well clothed 
thoweyver prevalent high winds may be. The projecting angle 
“of a lofty building fully exposed to south-western gales was so 
amuch wind-swept that the foliage of some Clematises.and Roses 
~vas battered to pieces, and the plants consequently dwindled 
and presented an appearance the reverse of ornamental ; a 
strong plant of Cotoneaster microphylla was therefore planted 
there, and it has thriven and made that part of the building 
‘quite as ornamental as the remainder. This plant may be named 
4is quite the best for such a purpose. But there are others that 
ear exposure well and are very ornamental. Of such the best 
are Hscallonia macrantha, with its stout handsome deep green 
glossy foliage and pretty spikes of deep pink flowers ; Escallonia 
pterocladon, with smaller foliage and spikes of white flowers ; 
Ligustrum japonicum, with bold handsome white flower spikes ; 
Crateegus Pyracantha, with white flower clusters, followed by 
large berries of a deep orange colour; Berberis Darwinii, a 
general and well-known favourite, with stout glossy foliage and 
deep orange flower-clusters ; B. stenophylla bearing a close 
resemblance to it, except in the colour of its flowers, which 
are of a pale yellow; and in the south at any rate Berberi- 
dopsis corallina does not suffer from wind, and proves one of 
the very best of our evergreen climbers. It is not often to be 
met with in a flourishing condition, and yet once established 
in good soil it becomes positively rampant, throwing out 
dozens of stout shoots some 6 or 8 feet in length every season, 
forming a dense mass of stout foliage of a very deep green 
hue, and bearing charming pendant clusters ofits deep crimson 
flowers throughout August, September, and part of the present 
month. 
Climbing plants may usefully be divided into two sections— 
fast-growing sorts, which by careful training will soon climb 
to the top of the most lofty buildings ; and slow-growing sorts, 
comparatively dwarf, and which are equally valuable in their 
way to mingle with the others, and to cover and make gay the 
lower parts of the building they so often leave bare. A select 
dozen species of the tall free growers may comprise Ampe- 
lopsis Veitchii, so beautiful now in the. varied tints of its foli- 
age, varying from a deep purple through crimson to brightest 
scarlet, and much more valuable than the old Virginian Creeper 
from its longer duration in full autumnal beauty and the ad- 
mirable manner in which it spreads upwards and laterally with 
little if any assistance from the trainer: Berberidopsis coral- 
lina, Jasminum officinale, Lonicera flexuosa, L. brachypoda, 
Wistaria sinensis, Escallonia macrantha, Aristolochia Sipho, 
Akebis, quinata, Maréchal Niel Rose, white and yellow Banksian 
Rose. Of the more dwarf or rather slower-growing kinds we 
may take the Berberries, the Ligustrum, the double-flowering 
and American Blackberries, a selection of the Clematis, Coton- 
easter microphylla, C. Simonsii, Fremontia californica (worthy 
of a place in every selection), Tea Roses, and in the south 
Ceanothus azureus, C. rigidus, C. divaricatus, and Desmodium 
pendulifolium.— EDWARD LUCKHURST. 
EXHIBITION ROSES. 
Mr. HINTON, in the interesting notes appended to the return- 
ing officer’s declaration of the state of the poll, remarks, “I 
would like to start another subject in connection : What is the 
best time to cut Roses for exhibition? And again, At what 
stage should the Roses be cut from the plant?*’ On the former 
of these points something has been already written. I sup- 
pose the latter should be in such condition as that the judge 
might see it about two-thirds blown. But both questions con- 
tain interesting points for discussion, and both require a certain 
sifting, which if they could obtain it during the dull months in 
the Journal would supply matter that some of us, I suppose, 
always pounce on first, and also information which will be 
valuable to all next year exhibitors. 
As respect the former question, I certainly prefer and always 
cut in the early morning. If I cut overnight and try the 
cellar they are sure to be discoloured. With the exception per- 
haps of two or three much-enduring Teas (Mi. R. G. Baker 
gave us not long ago a wonderful history of one such) [hardly 
know any Rose that would not be the worse. for such a night's 
rest. I prefer cutting in the early morning with the dew on 
them, but Iam by no means sure that these’stand as well as 
those which open in the sunshine later. At a country, show 
not long ago, where some exhibitors on the spot were bringing 
in fresh Roses and taking away weak blooms almost up to the 
very time of the judging, I noticed that these stood the hot 
tent certainly a vast deal better than others from a distance 
which had perforce all been cut early. We have also been told 
on high authority that Roses cut at 3 P.M. will travel through 
the night in better order than others cut in the evening. It is 
a matter of experience, and which I trust will draw opinion 
from some of our great exhibitors who haye studied the subject 
on a large scale. ’ 
Perhaps the great question of all to be answered is, What 
Roses travel best? which requires careful observation as well 
as long experience. And this again may be put in another way, 
Which professedly exhibition Roses trayel worst? I appre- 
hend there are some highly placed in the twenty-four, or at 
any rate in the first forty-eight, to which some of us would be 
inclined to give rather a bad character.. The time of cutting 
enters into the calculation, also the kind of day. JI this year took 
a box of twelve to the Alexandra Palace, expecting to find two 
or three, as on former occasions, go off. It happened to be the 
beginning of a tropical week. After a couple of hours’ railway 
journey seven out of the twelve, when the lid was- taken off, 
appeared perfectly useless. They were fair average Roses, 
and such as would have stood under ordinary circumstances. 
