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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



395 



their grounds, the line of demarcation being a perceptible change 

 of soil, visible enough to the naked eve, and, doubtless, widely 

 different in its chemical constituents. Some other places might 

 be pointed out possessing similar features to the examples above 

 cited, and many other instances of successful cultivation might 

 be given, but it would be tedious to do so. 



Those who wish to see a large number of Rhododendrons all 

 in flower at one time ought to visit Cobbam Hall, near Gravesend, 

 where I believe Lord Damley kindly permits the public on 

 •certain days to see them. I should think the mass of plants ; f 

 collected would cover fifty acres or more. They occupy the 

 crest and sides of some dry peaty hills, a few Birch and other 

 trees being intermixed with them, ar.d walks or drives running 

 in various directions carry the visitor through a whole sea of 

 flowers ; while the wild beauty of the Foxglove profusely rising 

 in all directions is scarcely less striking. Here it is needless to 

 say that the Rhododendron sows and reproduces itself to any 

 extent ; and I believe the bulk of the plantation to have 

 come from seed, a previous occupier of Cobham having planted 

 the original in a soil in which they soon became naturalised, 

 the result being a complete cover of them. Sites differing widely 

 from this may occasionally be found where they do tolerably 

 well. Even in clay they will grow, but are not at home ; but I 

 have seen them do tolerably on the edge of a peaty morass. 

 The condition here that supported them against the undue 

 moisture was the mineral qualities of the water, and not its super- 

 abundance. 



The above examples of successful cultivation might be indefi- 

 nitely extended, and the various nurseries where large quantities 

 of plants are raised for sale might be named ; but it is needless 

 following the matter further than saving that most districts 

 possess a spot suitable to the growth of this plant. The diver- 

 sity of soil with which this country is favoured often exhibits 

 strata of widely different kinds in close proximity to each ether. 

 I remember once noticin? a black peaty morass, said to be 30 feet 

 deep, over which a turnpike road was laid, which vibrated very 

 considerably every time a load passed over it, and yet on the 

 very edge of this morass was a freestone quarry some 60 feet 

 or more high, and supposed to descend as deep as the morass, 

 the soil on the top of the quarry being ordinary loam mixed 

 with yellow sandstone shatter at the top. A peaty soil is also 

 sometimes found near chalk, and it not unfrequently happens 

 that the soil which overlies the chalk is of a kind not at all 

 unsuitable to Rhododendrons where there is plenty of it; and 

 where the wild Heath grows there will the Rhododendron grow 

 also. It must be understood that every black morass is not a 

 suitable place. I have seen plants killed by being planted in suca 

 a material, and that not on the spot where it was found ; for 

 the marshy peat was carried to a distance, and to a certain extent 

 deprived of some of its grosser qualities by the drier position it 

 was placed in, yet it contained sufficient poisonous matter to kill 

 plants that had previously been in good health. 



Some little judgment is, therefore, required in selecting a pro- 

 per place and a proper soil for the Rhododendron to grow in ; 

 for, though it is often found alike doing well in a damp position 

 and in a dry one, in a shaded place and an open one, and in fact 

 under circumstances that appear widely opposed to each other, 

 there seems to be no question but that certain soib furnish the food 

 it requires in greater abundance than others, and it is yet doubtful 

 whether the plant relishes such food in a liquid form, or con- 

 trives to absorb it from the dry soil that possesses it. Besides, our 

 knowledge of the chemical constituents of soils is not yet suffi- 

 ciently good to point out at once the kind of food that will most 

 likely suit it, or, rather, we are not sufficiently versed in the 

 science of making compounds of such materials as are always 

 at hand as will approach nearest to the natural soil in which 

 the plant prospers best. 



Rhododendrons are, however, often found thriving tolerably 

 well in the rich black soils that have been long in cultivation, 

 and also such plants may be seen struggling with a tolerable 

 share of success in a damp clay. But this is an exception ; they 

 are more likely to prosoer on the steep declivities of a rocky 

 glen overhung by trees and surrounded by the wild herbage 

 common to such places. Many other places might be pointed out 

 where they seem to flourish, but it is unnecessary to follow out 

 this Eubject further. We will, therefore, take a glance at the 

 places where they will not succeed unless favoured in some way 

 by artificial means. 



Dealers in Rhododendrons not unfrequently tell us that they 

 may be made to grow anywhere. This is true enough, and so 



might Rice, the Sugar Cane, and many other plants ; but is it 

 prudent to attempt to grow them everywhere ? In the case of 

 Rhododendrons extensive importations of a soil of a suitable 

 kind will induce a growth more or less healthy, according to the 

 allowance given to each plant, and also the character of the soil 

 or subsoil with which it is in contact. To lay peat on chalk or 

 calcareous limestone is placing two substances together, the 

 amalgamation of which rarely produces a good mixture. I 

 remember once seeing a large heap of mortar made of lime and 

 sand in the usual way, but the sand contained some mineral 

 quality at variance with the lime, which, after lying about a 

 year, and as the heap happened not to be wanted, completely 

 destroyed the lime, or, as the labourer said, the sand had eaten 

 the lime completely up. Now, lime or chaik will do the same 

 with peat. Chalky situations are, therefore, seldom adapted to 

 the Rhododendron, unless the surface soil be of the kind described 

 above, producing the wild Heath naturally. Some sands im- 

 pregnated with mineral matters of certain kinds are also unfit ; 

 and the same may be said of gravels, although some of the latter 

 are amonsst the best soils occasionally. 



So difficult is it to describe what kinds of soil will do by any 

 written description, and giving chemical analyses is of no uso 

 whatever to guide the judgment unless the soil to be decided on 

 be subjected to a similar test, that I fear it is only by studying 

 the herbage that a knowledge of the soil can be gained, and even 

 this is not at all times to be depended on. It has been already 

 stated that the wild Heath betokens a soil adapted to the 

 Rhododendron, and the same may be said of Furze in many 

 instances, but not in all. The wild Sorrel is often found in 

 such soils. The 'Whortleberry also is often an accompaniment 

 there, and Foxgloves likewise abound ; but their robustness 

 enables them to live in other places as well, so that without 

 further proof their presence must not be taken as worth 

 much. The same may be said of the Tew, which, though often 

 found wild on heathy moors or woods, is quite as often found 

 on chalky downs alio, as is likewise the Juniper. Generally 

 the Rhododendron and Birch thrive together. 'Where, there- 

 fore, the latter is found wild, the former may be planted. 

 Several Ferns betoken a soil and situation suitable to the 

 plant, and the presence of the little Stonecrop (Sedum acre) 

 may also be regarded as indicating a medium, though not, 

 perhaps, a situation suitable to the Rhododendron. Some 

 other plants might be given as examples ; but they are not 

 alwavs to be depended on, and are often found in situations of 

 an opposite kind. I may as well, perhaps, say that such plants 

 as Wild Thyme, Saintfoin, and several Tetches are often found 

 on soils the very opposite to that wanted for the Rhododendron. 



Of the various mixtures necessary to form a compound in 

 which this plant will thrive tolerably well — I will not S3y 

 particularly well — much might be said ; and there is, perhaps, 

 nothing in the gardening world as to which greater diversity of 

 opinion exists. "Unquestionably, dry peat cut with the Heath 

 and other herbage on it, only a few inches thick and laid up 

 just long enough to kill the herbage, is the best ; but where this 

 article has to be sought for some twenty miles or more, it cannot 

 be used to the extent it would be if more plentiful ; and though 

 the best class of plants may be treated with it, it may be necessary 

 to leave the less favoured ones to make shift with something 

 else. The following mixture has been made use of here for 

 some beds of Rhododendrons with a fair share of success, about 

 a barrowload or less being used around each plant, all of which 

 were small. It consists of such materials as are mostly to be 

 had everywhere. In a timber yard large quantities of old bark, 

 sawdust much decayed, and small chips in a similar stage of 

 decay, were mixed with about an equal quantity of leaf mould well 

 rotted. To this was added all the refuse of the potting-bench, 

 omitting, of course, all sticky matter, but retaining all the sand 

 and sandy soil and peat. With this were mixed several loads of 

 white sand, such as was used for striking cuttings in and to mix 

 with potting soils, and which I felt sure possessed no mineral 

 matters hurtful to vegetable life. This mixture was well amal- 

 gamated, and turned several times and exposed as much 33 

 possible to the air before being used. Some hundreds of plants 

 were planted in it, and so far they appear successful. The 

 natural soil of the place was of various descriptions, some being 

 a rather stiff loam, and some much less so, and what farmers 

 would call good land. I will, however, at a future day report 

 more on this. In all cases the planting of Rhododendrons on 

 soils not adapted to them should not be done without some 

 assistance in the way described : and amongst the many ia- 



