376 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ May 26, 1863. 



awarded tliem. The baBket of the same variety from the eame 

 exhibitor was equally good. Three good bunches of the Grizzly 

 Frontignan came from Mr. Henderson, of Coleorton Hall. 



Pines were very good. A Black Prince weighing 8i lbs., came 

 from Mr. Cox, gardener to A. Royd, Esq. ; and one nearly as 

 large from Mr. Roger, of Taplow, both being handsome fruits. 

 Good-sized Queens came from Mr. Barnes, of Bicton, and others. 

 Altogether there were twenty-three fruit shown. 



Violette Hative Peaches from Mr. Evans, and Royal George 

 from Mr. Henderson, of Trentham, were well ripened and re- 

 ceived firBt and second prizes. The Violette Hative Nectarines 

 from Mr. Henderson, were also excellent. 



Of Cherries, the Bigarreau Napoleon and Elton were both 

 fine, especially the former. Mr. Tillery had Black Tartarian, 

 well ripened ; besides which there were Beveral good dishes of 

 May Duke and other kinds. Magnificent fruit of Sir C. Napier 

 Were shown by Mr. R. Smith, of Twickenham ; British Queen, 

 large and fine, by Mr. Tillery, the former exhibitor having also 

 Sir C. Napier, Empress Eugenie, and British Queen ; and Mr. 

 Turner, of Slough, President, Oscar, and Sir C. Napier ; but 

 Mr. Smith's exhibition was the finest. 



Several good Green and Scarlet-fleshed Melons were shown ; 

 also, Vines and Strawberries in pots, Figs, and two large and 

 handsome Cucumbers, one of them measuring 30 inches long, 

 but the name was indistinctly written. 



GARDENIA CULTURE. 



MtrcH as has already been written and rewritten about this, 

 which is, I think, the most lovely exotic evergreen we possess, 

 yet I am not without hope that I may be excused for again re- 

 ferring to it. 



I commence by planting Btrong healthy cuttings of Fortuni, 

 florida, radicans major, radicans, and citriodora. It may be, 

 Borne of the others would succeed equally well, though I have 

 ever been cautious of varying the general Btove treatment as con- 

 cerns them. The cuttings struck, or nice young plants procured, 

 their whole first season's growth should be made upon a stage in 

 the stove ; never giving a larger pot than a 48 the first year, 

 pinching off any leading ill-placed shoots, giving occasional 

 waterings with not too strong manure water, and not allowing 

 any flowers to expand if any should show. 



I will now suppose the plants to be beginning to grow in the 

 March of the succeeding year. Let them make their first start 

 in the pots (48's) of last year ; when the shoots are showing 

 the third pair of leaves pinch all back to four leaves each, and 

 when they are about breaking afresh from the young shoots 

 repot them, putting them into large 32's, carefully picking out 

 as much of the old soil as is possible without injuring the ball 

 generally or the roots; giving no manure water until you see 

 that the roots are getting thick round the edge of the soil in the 

 pot, when a little — but only a little — weak manure water may 

 be given. 



The chief requisite in the autumn is a profusion of healthy 

 short-jointed wood. To obtain this, should your plants do well, 

 you will have to pinch back any leading shoots to four leaves 

 during the season. There need be no fear of pinching or even 

 cutting back, so long as the knife is kept away from all but the 

 growth of the current year. 



Towards October avoid giving any but clear water, and place 

 the plants more in the Bun. 



To ripen the wood gradually give the plants more sun, less 

 water, and keep around them a drier atmosphere, reducing the 

 temperature gradually as the days decrease in length, leaving it 

 during midwinter at from 45° to 50°. If at times with a dryish 

 atmosphere they are in a temperature of even 40° it will in no 

 way injure them. 



About March, as the light and heat increase, they will show 

 signs of active growth, and then any loose soil upon the surface 

 should be removed, and some good fresh soil be used for sur- 

 facing. Give plenty of liquid manure (strong now), and you 

 may expect from eight to a dozen flowers, and these fine for the 

 size and age of the plants. Give a nice moist growing atmo- 

 sphere, and a temperature of from 60° to 70°. When they have 

 finished flowering give another Bmall shift into a 24 or 16-sized 

 pot, and proceed again as above. I object to large shifts with 

 excessive heat, as tending to produce large growths and but 

 few flowers, besides taking up so much room. 



With the above treatment the plants in the 16-pots might 



produce Borne twenty-four flowers upon a surface of about 1J foot 

 in diameter upon a Fortuni or florida ; more in comparison upon 

 radicans. 



There is one peculiarity about citriodora that I may mention 

 — it is very prone to throwing up young growths from the base 

 of the plant : these, if not pinched back when a few inches high, 

 not pinching them out altogether but checking them, will at 

 times so monopolise the sap of the plant as to cause all the old 

 wood to wither and die. It would be as well, I feel convinced, 

 to cut out all eyes below the surface before the cutting is placed 

 in the cutting-pot. — W. Eabley, Digswell. 



MR. BULL'S PLANT ESTABLISHMENT AT 

 CHELSEA. 



Me. Bt/i/l is bo well known as an exhibitor of valuable 

 novelties at the metropolitan shows, that some notes taken on a 

 recent visit to. his establishment may not be unacceptable ; at 

 the same time it must be observed that his collection is so large 

 that any notice of it in the limited epace at our command must 

 be far from complete. 



It is to new and rare plants that Mr. Bull more particularly 

 devotes his attention, and that his stock is most extensive may 

 be judged from the fact that it occupies fourteen large houses, 

 including seven Geranium-houses, one of which is 100 feet long. 



On entering from the King's Road by the glass dome, we 

 come into the first conservatory, which is gay with Azaleas and 

 other flowering plants, relieved by the plentiful introduction of 

 Australian Ferns, and the handsome fern-like Grevillea robusta, 

 which forms an appropriate companion plant to these ; besides 

 which there are Orange trees both in flower and fruit, and one 

 of the finest plants in the country of the new Araucaria Cookii. 



On each side of this conservatory are wings, one occupied by 

 the offices, the other by ornamental stands for drawing-rooms, 

 filled with pretty variegated plants, as Caladiums, Maiden-hair 

 Ferns, Begonias, the variegated Cyperus, Aphelandra Leopoldi, 

 &c. There are also a number of Fern-cases of different patterns, 

 under two of which were fine specimens of the Killarney Fern, 

 and the beautiful New Zealand Todea pellucida. 



The winter garden, an extensive space covered with a lofty 

 span-roof, is the next house ; and immediately facing its entrance 

 is a majestic tree Fern, Cyathea serra, 25 feet high, whilst else- 

 where are variegated Aloes and Yuccas, Grevilleas, Acacias, 

 Dracaenas, Palms, &c, giving the house an exotic appearance ; 

 and no one can fail to observe the Norfolk Island Pine, one of 

 which could not measure less than 20 feet in height, and there 

 are others nearly as tall. 



Another remarkable object was a noble Cyathea medullaris, 

 the ebony-like stems of which have a striking appearance. This 

 with its congener C. dealbata is admirably adapted for conser- 

 vatories. There were also a very handsome Cycas revoluta, 

 which from its beautiful plumage-like foliage is always effective ; 

 Gleichenia flabellata, 5 feet high, and nearly as much through ; 

 Indian Azaleas, some of them 8 to 10 feet high ; Dracaena 

 australis, between 11 and 12 feet high ; Yucca aloifolia variegata, 

 standing about 6 feet high in slate tubs ; a lot of standard Bays 

 with very symmetrical heads ; also Laurustinuses, the same as 

 are employed at the Horticultural Gardens at Kensington ; 

 yellow Rhododendrons, and miscellaneous flowering plants ; and 

 Acer negundo variegata, which from its pretty white variegation 

 is employed as a relief to the green foliage. 



To effect shade in this large structure, Vines oover the roof 

 and festoon the columns supporting it, and are likewise trained 

 over arched trelliBes at the sides. Mr. Bull states that he 

 obtains excellent crops, and notwithstanding the general im- 

 pression that Grapes and plants cannot be grown together, his 

 experience has shown that m large houses at least, both can be 

 successfully cultivated. The roof being very light, and present- 

 ing no adequate support for a ladder, there is a platform running 

 on a railway down the centre of the house, so as to permit of 

 the crops being gathered, and training, &c, performed. 



On the right and left of the winter garden are stoves 70 feet 

 long full of the new plants, for which Mr. Bull has made himself 

 celebrated, one of them being filled with fine-foliaged plants, 

 and having as a whole a very ornamental effect. Among the in- 

 mates of these structures were the extremely rare Madagascar 

 Silver Palm, Areca dealbata, the gracefully arching foliage of 

 which is silvery on the under side ; a new Dieffenbachia, from 

 Brazil ; the formidable prickly Hippomane longifelia, the hand- 



