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JOTJBNAIi OF HOBTICTJLTCBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



[ Novemter 30, 1376. 



more than thirty years had afforded a comfortable home for 

 his predecessor. A radical alteration had been made without 

 sanction and encouragement, and what at first was pleasant 

 to the eye eventually resulted in bitterness and disappoint- 

 ment to all concerned. 



Other alterations which are really fundamental in the esti- 

 mation of an c-Jfner may appear trivial in the eyes of a gar- 

 dener, and a man should always consider well, and also make 

 inquiries, before uprooting a tree, shrub, or plant which can- 

 not be replaced. It is well to remember that there are plants 

 and trees in many gardens which possess no real beauty, yet 

 which are highly prized for the history which attaches to them, 

 and of which a "new man " may be ignorant. Never shall I 

 forget a mistake which I once made in destroying a common 

 Rose bush. It had no beauty, for it seldom flowered, and it 

 occupied space which I conceived might be rendered more 

 attractive. A hundred pounds would not have purchased that 

 Rose, for I found out when too late that it had been planted 

 there after having been rooted from a cutting in a bottle of 

 water by a dearly-loved son of my employer. That Rose was 

 a memorial of the dead, and its loss was mourned more than 

 would have been the loss of a jewel. I was forgiven for my 

 thoughtlessness, but I have never forgiven myself. I have 

 ever afterwards been careful never to destroy what may have 

 been in my eyes unsightly without being sure that I was acting 

 safely. A little inquiry costs nothing, and may save much. 

 By acting on the principle of destroying nothing which has 

 long been established on the property of another without a 

 clear understanding from the owner, I have been enabled to 

 pass pleasant years as a gardener, and am now rewarded by 

 enjoying the confidence and respect of my previous employers. 



The present is the time of changes, and new gardeners are 

 going to old places. Let me ask them to remember two things 

 — rot to mar the character and reputation cf their prede- 

 cessor, nor hastily to uproot any old belongings of a place 

 lest they should have a "hidden value" and a worth not to 

 be estimated by their beauty. 



This is also a period for "making alterations " generally. 

 Let there be an understanding that these are not only required 

 by the gardener, but also by the owner of the gardens, other- 

 wise contentions may at some time arise, and the weakest will 

 fall. 



Because I wi> h, to see disputes averted and confidence in- 

 creased between employers and gardeners, and because I know 

 that you, Messrs. Editors, desire the same, I submit this as 

 the advice and experience of — A Betibed Gaedeneb. 



MANETTIA MICANS. 



" Stove evergreens — climbers." Such is the brief but com- 

 prehensive description applied generally to this genus in our 

 " Johnson's Dictionary." It is somewhat vague, and if an ap- 

 proximate height were not appended to the description of each 

 species, one would feel disposed to attribute the . rarity of 

 Manettias to a misconception of their real value by those who 

 have only seen this description and have not had the privilege 

 of beholding any of the plants in full flower. 



Standing upon my desk close by me as I write is a plant of 

 Manettia micans. It is November 22nd. A dull murky day of 

 the true November type; a leaden sky, bare-limbed trees, de- 

 caying foliage meet the eye outside ; but a glance at my plant 

 robs the day of its dulness, for is it not bright with hundreds 

 of gay flowers nestling among foliage of deepest freshest 

 green ? Let me describe the plant and its culture, and try if 

 I cannot induce everyone having a plant house or pit that is 

 kept at a winter temperature of about ho* to grow some of it. 

 Including the pot my plant measures 2 feet high. It has a 

 clesr stem of 6 inches, being trained upon a wire trellis of the 

 foTm of half a globe 10 inches in circumference, more for the 

 Efke of novelty than for any decided preference for that form, 

 which in reality is not only concealed by the foliage, but is 

 altogether lost tight of in the somewhat wild grace of the 

 p'ant, for after the trellis was well clothed the growth was left 

 to ramble unchecked by training cf any kind, and so notwith- 

 standing its wire supports it now presents very much of the 

 free and graceful aspect cf a wild child of Nature. The foliage, 

 both in fcrm end colour, closely resembles that of the Bcu- 

 vardias, while the narrow tnbe-Ehaped flowers are bright 

 scarlet tipped with yellow, each flower springing singly frcm 

 the axil of a leaf, and as they have somewhat leng footstalks, 

 and are borne upon slender flexile branches, they present the 

 ieoes FpriEhtly ar-ffararce imaginable. About a dozen plants 



are now in full bloom. They are, moreover, growing freely, and 

 abundant blossom buds are visible upon the young shoots, so 

 that they will continue useful for a variety of decorative pur- 

 poses for Eome time to come. Some of the plants are cone- 

 shaped, others follow the outline of a balloon, but all are alike 

 ornamental and useful. 



Concerning the culture of these plants there is very little to 

 say. The cuttings were taken in March, and they rooted 

 freely in an ordinary hotbed. The young plants were potted in 

 a free mixture of loam, eld hotbed manure and sand; they 

 were placed in a vinery, Ehifted into blooming pots 6 inches in 

 diameter when they had plenty of roots, fastened to a trellis 

 as the branches lengthened, syringed, watered, trained regu- 

 larly, kept in the vinery till October, and then taken to the 

 stove where they have in due course burst in flower. What can 

 be more simple than such a cultural process as this ? Certainly 

 nothing can be more satisfactory thsn the present condition of 

 the plants to which it has been applied. 



I ought not to omit pointing out the value of this Manettia 

 as a Eource from whence an abundant supply of sprays may 

 be had to mingle with other cut flowers. The plants, too, may 

 also be turned to account for clothing the pillars of a warm 

 conservatory, and also for furnishing hanging baskets, either 

 alone or mingled with other plants, especially with FernB and 

 Lycopods. — Edwaed Luckhtjbst. 



THE RANUNCULUS. 



It is with feelings of great regret that I have heard from 

 Mr. Carey Tyso of Wallingford that he is obliged to give up, 

 owing to ill health, the cultivation of this lovely flower, with 

 which his name has been for so many years associated. He has 

 been the chief grower of Banurculuses in tbe south for a long 

 time ; and although of late one has missed his stands of beau- 

 tiful flowers from our leading shows, yet there was a time 

 when he was constantly taking prizes there and surprising the 

 public with the symmetry and marking of his flowers ; and 

 thus the small band of florists in the tenth is lessened, and 

 I suppose my own collection will ere long be the only one of 

 any extent where these flowers are kept under name. In the 

 hope, then, that some lover of flowers will make use cf the 

 opportunity — (for Mr. Tyso is offering his roots at a very cheap 

 rate ; sorts which I recollect being priced at 10s. and 20s. a-pieee 

 now being as low as" 6i.) — of commencing their growth, I 

 venture to put forth a plea for them. 



I know of nothing more beautiful and refined in the whole 

 raDge of florists' flowers than a bed of well-grown Banunculuses. 

 Nowhere is there greater perfection of flower, symmetry of 

 Ehspe, or variety of colour. Unlike the Carnation, Picotee, 

 and Pink, they require no art of the dresser, for to attempt it 

 would be like painting the Lily. Unlike the Dahlia they are 

 dwarf in habit, but like it in the immense variety of colour. 

 Amongst them you have olive, red, crimson, grey, white, 

 purple, and almost black selfs. Ton have cream-coloured, 

 yellow ; grounds mottled, regularly spotted, and edged like 

 Picotees ; again white grounds spotted and edged, and others 

 striped like a Carnation ; and I think it is impossible to look 

 upon a bed of well-grown and well-bloomed Banunculuses with- 

 out feelings of deep admiration. 



But the question may be asked, Are they not very trouble- 

 some to grew ? Yes, but is there any florists' flower that is 

 not ? And this I believe to be the secret of their decline, as 

 it has been of Heaths and other plants we used to see so fine 

 in former days. The great idea in modem gardening, at least 

 in the minds of owners of gardens, is decoration. The con- 

 servatory must be "gay;" the garden must be a blaze of 

 colour ; and all the energies of the gardener are so taxed for 

 this end that, except in very rare instances, can he (even if 

 he have the inclination) carry on the cultivation of plants 

 requiring so much care and making so little display. But to 

 the amateur who cultivates his own little plot I would com- 

 mend the Banuncnlus : it requires cere, but it will amply 

 repay him for it. 



The soil it delights in is a ccol, close, not stodgy soil; but 

 the finest beds I ever saw were grown in the ordinary soil of a 

 garden. My present plan is to grow them in the beds in which 

 I have grown Gladioluses and which have been well manured 

 for them. This is sufficiently rich withent adding any fresh 

 manure, which the Bannncums dislikes very much. There 

 are two points in its culture on which great stress must be laid 

 — the depth at which the tubers are planted, ard the time cf 

 taking them up after flowering. I knownot wbat is the reason, 



