22 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTDKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ Jaly 13, 1871. 



should be given to thoroughly saturate the ball of roots at each 

 ■watering. 



Those plants which set their buds earliest should be selected 

 for early flowering. Nearly all the varieties are adapted for 

 forcing, but those with white flowers — such as the old white 

 and Fielderi, are peculiarly well adapted for early blooming. I 

 obtain flowers in abundance at Christmas from the above, by 

 placing the plants in October in a Pine house, where the night 

 temperature is 65°. A succession of flowers may be obtained 

 by placing fresh lots of plants in the forcing house at intervals 

 of three weeks. It is undesirable to bring Azaleas into a high 

 temperature directly, a night temperature of 45° being quite 

 high enough to start with. An early vinery or Peach house is 

 a capital place for them, where they can be started with the 

 Vines or Peach trees, as they require exactly similar treatment ; 

 the Azaleas will be showing flower and may be removed to the 

 greenhouse before the leaves are fully expanded on the fruit 

 trees ; remove them to the greenhouse as soon as the first 

 flower or two open their petals, as the flowers which expand in 

 a high temperature are flimsy, and do not continue fresh nearly 

 so long as those produced in a cooler and drier atmospbere. 



The varieties are now very numerous, and fresh candidates 

 for popular favour continue to present themselves ; doubtless, 

 the very best varieties are exhibited at South Kensington, and 

 those of the highest merit are duly reported on in this Journal. 

 I will add a list of the very best proved varieties — Alba, the 

 best white for forcing ; Chelsoni, Criterion, Due de Nassau, 

 Duchesse Adelaide de Nassau, Etoile de Gand, Extranei, 

 Fielderi, Flower of the Day, Iveryana, Madame Ambroise 

 Verschaftelt, Madame de Cannart de Hamale, Madame Miellez, 

 Magnificent, Mrs. Turner, President Humann, Stella, and 

 the deciduous variety with deep yellow flowers— Sinensis. — 



J. DODGLiS. 



AN EXPERIMENT WITH THE CALCEOLARIA. 



Last autumn at propagating time it occurred to me to try an 

 experiment with the bedding Calceolaria. My object was to 

 select a course of treatment during the winter and spring 

 months, which, it successful, would have the eflieet of retarding 

 the growth of the plants so as to have them in a better state 

 for bedding-out at planting time, and also to prove if such 

 treatment would ensure or promote a more regular course of 

 flowering than is generally the case during summer. I have 

 for some time thought that bedding Calceolarias are often too 

 liberally treated, and I know that in many parts of the coun- 

 try the spring months have almost passed away before it is 

 considered safe to trust the bedding stock in the flower garden. 

 Such generous treatment induces a too early development of 

 wood and flowers, or, in other words, the plants are before the 

 gardener's time. The plants flower very soon after planting 

 out, but in an imperfect form ; but during all this time fresh 

 growth for future flowering has been so checked, that before 

 the second or best lot of bloom can show itself the cool nights 

 of autumn come on, favouring the growth of wood rather than 

 of flowers, and the result is no more bloom on the Calceolaria. 

 It ia, perhaps, useless to talk of early planting, as I do not think 

 the plants would be any better of that, and in very few places, 

 if any, could that be practised so as to meet all requirements 

 in a design. • 



I therefore resolved to try an experiment at once — the most 

 simple and least troublesome experiment I could think of. 

 Accordingly, last October, I cleared a strip of ground 3 feet 

 wide along a Strav/berry bed ; the surface had a gentle slope 

 towards the south, and was elevated about 6 inches above the 

 garden walk, but was fully exposed to the east and north as 

 well as other points. The soil had not been dug up for a 

 year or more, nor was it dug then, for I merely cleaned and 

 levelled the surface, raking it fine. It was common garden 

 soil, with a large portion of road grit in it. Along the centre 

 I put in several hundreds of cuttings 3 or 4 inches apart. I 

 watered them but did not shade them, and allowed them to 

 take their chance, except that they were slightly protected from 

 the frosts by sticks bent over them and canvas laid on ; and 

 during that severe frost when the thermometer fell to 4°, or 28° 

 below freezing, they had only the addition of some short litter. 

 They remained covered up except at suitable intervals, when 

 light was let in for an hour or two, but they were frozen through 

 again and again for weeks. There were none of them rooted 

 just before the severe frost, though most were oallussed ; but 

 after the thaw roots sprang out quickly, and the foliage assumed 

 a healthier colour, but apparently the plants did not grow till 



March. After that the centre shoot was pinched out of every 

 plant and they began to make side shoots, but so dwarf and com- 

 pact were the plants that they looked pretty and were admired 

 by most people. They had no protection after March, but 

 were exposed to all weather, and several times were covered 

 with snow ; the earth about them was very hard and never 

 loosened, but merely kept clean ; it was also very poor. The 

 growth of these plants was so slow that they were no further 

 forward in the first week of June than those growing in frames 

 were in the first week of March ; consequently at planting-out 

 time they were just in a fit state for the flower garden, being 

 dwarf and compact plants with only one flowering shoot, yet 

 their growth was a lot of nice wood that will produce a blaze 

 of bloom at the proper time. The object in placing them in 

 poor soil was to secure slow growth, also that they might grow 

 the more vigorously when transferred to the flower garden. 



It will be seen, that from the time the cuttings were put in 

 till planting, they were never moved. If at the end of the 

 season I am only able to say that the plants have succeeded as 

 well as the others, I shall have the satisfaction of knowing that 

 even then the experiments would be a success, in so far that 

 the results were obtained with far less trouble and with means 

 that are so simple and inexpensive as to be within the reach 

 of all. — Thomas F»eookd. 



ROSES THIS YEAR. 



I AM again tempted to give you my notes on the Eoses with 

 me this year. The four that have given me the most unmixed 

 pleasure have been La France, Marie Baumaun, Baroness de 

 Rothschild, and Xavier Olibo. Of these, La France has 

 bloomed continuously, every bloom good, with the finest per- 

 fume of any Eose I know. Last week I had two perfect blooms 

 over 5 inches in diameter, well filled up to the centre. This is, 

 indeed, a first-class Eose. The other three have bloomed con- 

 tinuously and well. Duke of Edinburgh is very fine, but hard 

 to keep in colour. Louis Van Houtte, good grower, a splendid 

 Eose, bloomed well for a young plant. Madame Eugenie Ver- 

 dier. Marquise de Mortemart, fine flower, but shy grower. 

 Dupuy-Jamin, lovely Eose, fair growth, and a good bloomer. 

 Princess Christian, an honour to its raiser, will, I think, be 

 equal to Baroness Eothschild. Thyra Hammerick, very profuse 

 in bloom, but very hard to get a perfect flower. Clemence 

 Eaoux, more peculiar than beautiful, not one in twenty-four 

 fit to put in a stand. Edouard Morren, the same fault, but 

 when a perfect bloom is obtained it is splendid ; both these, 

 with Pierre Netting, are very prone to mildew. Eeine Blanche, 

 very rough, but at times fine. So much for my experience 

 of the new Perpetnals. Of old favourites, I have had magni- 

 ficent blooms of John Hopper, Victor Verdier, Jules Margottin 

 (always ready and always good), Duke of Wellington, and Lord 

 Macaulay ; in fact, of all my stock of old favourites I have had 

 a fine supply. 



Of my particular friends, the Teas, it is yet too early to say 

 much, as I always pinch them back so as to have my ehief 

 blooms in autumn. I am more and more delighted each season 

 with Eubens and Souvenir d'Elise. Of these two I have 

 blooms now which will go in a stand of twelve which will be 

 grand ; they are, I am certain, among the best of the Teas. 

 Mareohal Niel, owing to cold east wind, has not been up 

 to the mark of past seasons. Many of my friends, when I 

 have mentioned Madame Falcot, have replied, " Oh ! it is very 

 well in the bad." I find in early spring and late autumn that 

 it is only second to Mareohal Niel. Any who were at the 

 Bath May Show must have remarked the splendid examples of 

 that Eose shown there. 



Of the new Teas, Unique is much more inclined to make 

 wood than bloom, but it is certainly beautiful when in its 

 perfection. Adrienue Christophle cannot fail to become a 

 favourite, it is so very distinct. I am more favourably inclined 

 to Monplaisir than I was, but it will never equal its parent 

 Gloire de Dijon nor yet its sister Belle Lyonnaise. 



Your correspondent thinks it strange to find seedling Gera- 

 niums that have stood the winter. I have' now taken up three 

 hundred of the most promising self-sown Geraniums that have 

 stood the winter in the borders, and have had to throw away as 

 many more for want of room to keep them. There are several 

 already showing for Tricolors and Bronzes. 



There are no Apples in the orchards here this year, but I 

 have a fair amount on pyramidal trees. Pears, Plums, Straw- 

 berries, Gooseberries, and Currants are in great abundance ; 

 but it has taken much labour and abundance of soft soap and 



