November 28, 1876. J 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



447 



little liable to be broken as those that are made of gold and 

 silver. When, therefore, he had made a vial of the purer 

 sort and such aa he thought a present worthy of Caesar alone 

 he was admitted into the presence of their then Emperor 

 Tiberius. The gift was praised, the skilful hand of the artist 

 applauded, and the donation of the giver accepted. The artist, 

 that he might enhance the wonder of the spectators and pro- 

 mote himself yet further in the favour of the Emperor, desired 

 the vial out of Caesar's hand, and threw it with such force 

 againBt the floor that the most solid metal would have re- 

 oeived some damage or bruise thereby. Caesar was not only 

 amazed, but affrighted with the act: but the artist, taking up 

 the vial from the ground (which was not broken, but only 

 bruised together, as if the substance of the glass had put on 

 the temperature of braBS), drew out an instrument from his 

 bosom and beat it out to its former figure. This done, he 

 imagined that he had conquered tho world, as believing that 

 he had merited an acquaintance with Caesar and raised the 

 admiration of all the beholders ; but it fell out otherwise, for 

 the Emperor inquired if any other person besides himself was 

 privy to the like tempering of gla3S. When he had told him 

 'No' he commanded his attendants to strike off his head, 

 saying that should this artifice come once to be known, gold 

 and silver would be of as little value as the dirt in the street. 

 Long after thia — viz., in 1610, we read that among other rare 

 presents then sent from Persia to the King of Spain were sis 

 mirrors of malleable glass so exquisitely tempered that they 

 could not be broken." 



The hot-wateb appabatcs fixed in th9 Arctic ship 



" Discovery," by Mr. Henry Ormson, King's Road, Chelsea, is 

 stated to have proved highly successful. 



ROSES IN SMALL GARDENS. 



I cannot agree with " E. M., Croydon," in his strictures en 

 Rose-growing. They seem to me to be only applicable to those 

 who have spacious grounds, and therefore can indulge in 

 giving each Rose plenty of space for "its voracious appetite." 

 But he can know little of cottage gardens, or even of small 

 villas, when he condemns the owners for growing Roses in 

 the " midst of a crowd of other flowers." The small plots of 

 ground available for gardens preclude the possibility of his 

 advice being taken, unless, indeed, the plots are to be given 

 up to the cultivation of one or two Roses, and, except for their 

 few weeks of blooming, the owners are content to have their 

 gardens a desert. 



I quite agree with "E. M.," that if Rose nurserymen would, 

 with their Roses, send printed suggestions as to planting, &c, 

 it would be a benefit to those who could profit by tho advioe ; 

 but permanent labels would only be valuable to a rosarian, 

 not to an ordinary grower of flowers or a cottager. — R. S. 



REPORT OF THE BRISBANE BOTANIC GARDEN. 



Mb. Waltee Hill, Colonial Botanist and Direotor of the 

 Garden, gives highly satisfactory details of its - progress. We 

 give a few brief extraots : — 



The principal plants that have flowered or borne fruit during 

 the past season for the first time are — Enkianthua quinque- 

 florus, Moringa pterosperma, Rhopala magnifica, Toxicophlaea 

 epectabilis, Phjlanopsis Schilleriana, Vanda Hookeri, Cata- 

 kidozamia MoLeayi (eleven years old), Raphia Raffia, Areca 

 alba, Chamserops excelsa, &c. 



During the past year 114,487 cuttings, 21,884 roots and bulba, 

 25,089 plants, and 74 lbs. 10 ozs., together with 1065 paokets 

 of seeds have been distributed amongst 806 public and private 

 establishments. 



It is worthy of remark, and as a proof of the growing dis- 

 position exhibited for the cultivation of useful tropical and 

 subtropical plants, that by far the larger proportion of these 

 are plants of economic and commercial value, many of them 

 introduced to thia colony through the means of this establish- 

 ment. 



A number of indigenous Grasses have been tested with 

 satisfactory results. AmongBt them are : — 



Cynodon dactylon (Couch or Indian Doob Grass), which is 

 indigenous to Northern Australia as well as India, and pos- 

 sesses good fattening properties. 



Miorolssna stipoides (Oat Grass). — Where Kangaroo Grass 

 grows this Grass is generally found, but does not suffer so 

 muoh from overstocking as the former. It is a good fattening 

 Grass, and vegetates freely daring the winter. 



Anthistiria australis. — This Grass ia found in all parts of 

 Australia, and is one of the most useful of the indigenous 

 Grasses. Its nutritive qualities are at the highest when it 

 begins to turn brown in autumn ; and at this stage it is one of 

 the best Grasses for sustaining the working powers of horses 

 and cattle. When closely grazed by Bheep it soon dies out. 



Panicum italicum, L. — This Grass, notwithstanding its 

 specific name, is of Indian origin, and is also a native of 

 Northern Australia. It is a good pasture Grass, and possesses 

 fattening properties and thrives well upon poor dry soils. 

 Although an annual, it increases quickly, from being an 

 abundant seed-bearer. The seeds, when pounded, mixed with 

 water and baked, are used as food by the natives. 



Danthonia pectinata, Lindl., and Danthonia lappacea, Lindl., 

 the celebrated Mitchell Grasses, seeds of which were received 

 through the courtesy of W. H. Barton, Esq., Aramac, are worthy 

 of special mention. They are perennial desert Grasses, resist- 

 ing drought, and are sought with avidity by stock. From then- 

 well-known fattening and dronght-resistiig properties they 

 are so important as to be deserving of culture in their native 

 habitats, and are likely to prove serviceable when introduced 

 in many localities in which at present they are strangers. 



OUR BORDER FLOWERS-MULLEINS. 



Veebasccms are not frequently met with in cultivation. 

 Whether they are considered too common for dressed borders 

 or are not sufficiently known, or, what is worse, are not oared 

 for, I am not prepared to say, yet many of them are very or- 

 namental. They may be despised and rejected, yet they are 

 in possession of attractions that ought to secure for them 

 more prominent places than they are at present occupying. 

 No great amount of skill is required in their cultivation, for 

 any good sandy loam will afford them a good medium to 

 develops themselves in. They should not be crowded, and 

 efficient drainage should be provided for them. 



Our own Black Mullein, Verbascum nigrum, withita varietiea 

 are fine plants, and do us good service in the shrubbery and 

 herbaceous border. From the Caucasus we have Verbasoum 

 cupreum, a rather tall-growing kind ; but its copper-coloured 

 flowers are very attractive. It flowers in early summer, and 

 continues for a length of time. From that memorable moun- 

 tain — of more than human interest — Mount Sinai, we have 

 Verbascum Rthiopicum, but it is rarely found in cultivation. 

 Verbascum fasciculatum is similarly scarce. There are many 

 other kinds, such as Verbasoum montanum, V. cretioum, 

 V. Thapsoides, and V. Lychnitis, that deserve notice. Verbas- 

 cum phoeniceum is one of the most attractive of the family. 

 Thia, with its varieties, in a group are very beautiful, their 

 colours being white, purple, and red. 



Verbascums are increased by seed sown as soon as ripe, and 

 by division of the roots in spring. When once established 

 they last many years. — Veeitas. 



SOME SPECIES OF PRIMULA.— No. 1. 

 No more appropriate name could be applied to the genu?, 

 for nearly all the speoies are " the little firsts " of the year to 

 flower. Our earliest authority, "The Greate Herball," pub- 

 lished in 1561, says of the Primrose, "It is called Prymerolle 

 or Primula of prime tyme, because it beareth the first floure 

 in pryme tyme," that is in the spring; and Milton, as usual, 

 was a true annalist when he wrote — 



" The flowery May, who from her green lap throws 

 The yellow Cowslip and the pale Primrose." 



In that month they are in their greatest strength, but their 

 advanced guard appears in April. 



Lyts, who wrote a little after "The Great Herball" was 

 published, says, " The petie Mulleyns are called Cowslippes, 

 Primeroses, and Oxelips. These herbes do floure in April!, 

 and sometimes also in March and February." They were two 

 centuries ago special objects of culture; thus Gilbert in his 

 " Florists' Vade-Mecum," published in 1683, says, " Many 

 sorts were raised lately from seeds and given me by that in- 

 dustrious rare florist, my truly worthy friend Peter Egerton, 

 Esq., of Boughton near Chester." Parkinson some years pre- 

 viously described twenty-one kinds. I have no doubt that 

 Primrose is a corruption of the earliest name of the flower, for 

 it has no resemblanoe to a Rose; but Primrolle is strictly 

 applicable, being a compound of Anglo-Saxon words equivalent 

 to " Spring-unfolding." 



