402 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 9, 1876. 



traotive to the eye as a Paeony in a shrubbery. Beauty and 

 utility, say I. As to great size, most large Apples fail in 

 flavour. The smell of the uncooked fruit is a good guide as to 

 its taste when cooked. If I know the Greasy Coat, and I am 

 not sure I do, but I was familiar with one answering to the 

 written description, and its smell and taste when cooked were 

 none too pleasant. 



I see that several correspondents have not spoken favourably 

 of the Devonshire Quarrenden, Deither can I. Usually I have 

 found it here dry and tasteless, with nothing but its red — over- 

 red — oheek to commend it to the purchaser. But districts 

 differ as to the quality of their fruit. Thus I was talking 

 recently to the head gardener of a large establishment, and he 

 stated that the soil was such that he could not properly ripen 

 any Pears after Beurre Hardy and Beurre Die), and that all 

 the rest had to go for kitchen purposes. 



After discussing the best early and late varieties of Apples, 

 and these are the most valuable, it would be an almost equal 

 benefit to open the subjeot of early and late Pears, fixing 

 localities where certain varieties do best. A glaring instance 

 is the Scotch Aehan — north of the Tweed so good, in the south 

 so bad — yet it is not quite alone, or there would not be such a 

 difference in fruit oharaoter as noted in books, and catalogues, 

 and articles, and the experience of fruit-growers. I examined 

 a Ribston Pippin tree the other day, there was not a trace of 

 canker on it; yet how many localities show nothing but 

 cankered trees of that variety of Apple. — Wiltshire Rector. 



FORCING SPIRAEAS. 



There is only one variety of Spiraea which is generally 

 forced, and that is the old Spiraea japonica; but there are 

 three others which I wish to bring under the notice of your 

 readers as being equally worthy of the attention for greenhouse 

 or conservatory decoration. 



These are S. palmata, S. Aruncus, and S. filipendula flore- 

 pleno. S. palmata forms an excellent contrast to the white- 

 flowering kinds, as it produces very fine heads of purple-red 

 flowers. The stems are crimson, and the leaves green, so 

 that when well bloomed it forms one of the most handsome 

 of plants. Spiraea Aruncus bears a maBs of feathery panicles 

 of pretty white flowers, which I consider more effective than 

 those of S. japonica. Spiraea filipendula flore-pleno has ex- 

 tremely graceful leaves, being Fern-like, and although it is 

 not quite so well adapted for forcing as the others named, it 

 is worth growing in a pot for its ornamental habit. It also 

 bears large heads of flowers of a creamy hue. 



Those beginning to force Spiraeas for the first time will 

 require a quantity of roots, which m»y be bought cheaply from 

 any nurseryman. The present is the bett time to purchase 

 them. They will be found to be compact roots, suitable for 

 5 or 6-inch pots. A light sandy loam may be used in pot- 

 ting, and it should be pressed very firmly about the roots 

 to Bave watering, as great quantities of water will be required 

 "farther on. 



Newly-potted roots should be covered with a few inches of 

 ashes for a fortnight or three weeks, and subsequently be in- 

 troduced to any structure where the heat is about 60°. The 

 leaves will soon appear provided the plants are supplied with 

 plenty of water. 



There is no genus of plants more easily forced, and they 

 may be brought into bloom without much trouble, and when 

 they are in flower they are valuable for bouquets or any other 

 ornamental purpose. 



By introducing into heat a dozen plants now and again, a 

 «uocession of flowers may be had from December until May. 

 If the weather is cold or frosty when they have done flowering 

 they should have the protection of a frame until they can be 

 placed out of doors for the summer. Here two courses of 

 treatment may be followed. The one is to retain them in the 

 pots and grow them in this way throughout the summer ; 

 the other is to turn them ont of the pots and plant them in 

 a border. I prefer keeping them constantly in pots, shifting 

 them into larger pots when necessary, and plunging them 

 to the rims in hot weather. They require a little more atten- 

 tion in watering when kept in pots, but they start more 

 readily into growth when placed in their foroing quarters. 



In planting them out they may be set a foot or more apart, 

 and here also they must be liberally supplied with water in dry 

 weather. They should be lifted out of the ground not later 

 than the end of October, and potted in the same manner as 

 the roots which were started with at first. When a few good 



roots have been secured the stock may be increased by dividing 

 them in spring and growing the divisions on as established 

 plants.— R. J. N. M. 



■m 







LIATRIS PYCNOSTACHTA. 



We made a note of this beautiful hardy flower last month ; 

 since then the effect of the drought on summer-floweriDg 

 plants haB been counted up, and 

 the result in favour of this is eo 

 striking that in the hope of a 

 more general introduction we 

 have had a sketch made of one 

 as an illustration. Through the 

 greater part of the month of 

 August it was in full blossom, as 

 if the heat, so destructive to many 

 plants, was a matter of no con- 

 sequence to it. 



The plant is found wild abun- 

 dantly throughout the States of 

 Kansas and Texas and in the 

 Indian territory, and though long 

 known to botanists, and now and 

 then sent east by correspondents 

 during the past dozen years or 

 more, no attempt to introduce it 

 to general notice has been made 

 that wa are aware of. During 

 the past summer we saw a whole 

 row of it in the garden of a florist, 

 and the effect of so large a quan- 

 tity was beautiful in the extreme. 

 The plants were raised from 

 seeds brought originally from 

 Southern Kansas in 1873. If 

 Eown in the autumn the plants 

 bloom the next year, bnt the best 

 success follows when sown in the 

 spring, and the plants have a 

 season's growth before flowering 

 the next year. The roots are 

 somewhat bulbous, and will con- 

 tinue to bloom well for several 

 years. There are some twenty 

 species in North America, but this 

 is, perhaps, the handsomest of 

 the whole. The flowers are rosy 

 purple ; spike about 1 foot long, 

 as shown in the engraving. They 

 commence flowering at the top of 

 the spike, and the blooming pro- 

 gresses downwards. In the illus- 

 tration the lower blosBoms have 

 yet to open. 



Like so many beautiful plants 

 from the West, this has not been 

 known long enough to have an 

 English name, and we suppose 

 the Greek one will be considered 

 "hard" by the dear ladies, and 

 " pedantic " by the average man. 

 The settlers call it " Fire-weed," 

 and " Sky-rocket Plant," but as 

 these names are already given to scores of plants, and will be 

 to as many more, it is hardly worth holding on to them. The 

 eastern L. scarioBa is known as " Gay Feather ;" suppose we 

 all agree to call this the " Kansas Gay Feather." There are 

 other species of Liatris in Kansas, bat this is the best. — 

 (American Gardener's Monthly.) 



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Fig. CO. — Liatris pycnostaohya. 



WHITE ISCHIA FIG. 

 At this late season, when all kinds of frnits are scarce, I may 

 be excused for pointing out to those contemplating planting a 

 very valuable Fig, and though a small one is nevertheless a 

 very good and delicious fruit. I allude to White Ischia, which 

 has several synonyms, the last being Singleton. We had 

 occasion to turn one of our span-roofed Vine houses into a 

 Fig house. The house is 60 feet long by 20 feet wide. The 

 sorts I selected were Brown Turkey and White Ischia, two 

 trees of each ; one of each planted on either side. This is their 



