174 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTDKE AND COTTAGE GAKDENER. 



[ September 7, 1871. 



the well-known fact that they are more liable to suffer from the 

 frost and freezing rain in winter and spring than any others, 

 and hence we should not allow them to be fully exposed to 

 those inflaences. 



Two distinct methods of dealing with them are adopted here, 

 which may be termed " in-door " and " out-door " culture. 



A span-roofed house with a double row of 4-inch pipes (flow 

 and retntn) has been provided for in-door culture. The plants, 

 standards and dwarfs, are planted out in beds, the branches 

 of the strong-growing kinds being trained under the roof, and 

 treated much in the manner of (irape Vines, while the more 

 moderate growers are fashioned into bushes and pyramids in 

 front and underneath. Here there is an abundance of beauti- 

 ful flowers in April, Hay, and Jane, before the Roses are in 

 flower out of doors. One Maiechal Niel, a standard, trained 

 under the roof, produced this year nearly a thousand magni- 

 ficent flowers ; and the Climbing Devoniensis, Gloire de Dijon, 

 Madame Falcot, Madame Bravy, Madame Willermoz, President, 

 Eabens, Safrano, Souvenir d'nn Ami, Yioomtesse de Gazes, 

 and others, although not so prolific, were abundant and equally 

 beautiful. Many of these continued flowering throughout the 

 summer and autumn, so that at no time, from April to Decem- 

 ber, was there any scarcity of flowers. This is in-door culture. 



Out-of-door culture is followed on two diiferent lines. In 

 May young plants are put out in front of a biick wall, but not 

 trained to it. Training to the wall stands condemned by my 

 experience : probably the dry hot air from the wall creates too 

 great a drain on the leaves ; it is better to plant 9 inches or a 

 foot away from the wall, so that the air may ciiculate all round 

 the plants, and that they may be watered all over when re- 

 quired. More vigour of growth and less spider are obtained by 

 this practice, and a goodly number of flowers, too, the first 

 summer and autumn after planting. The second line of out- 

 of-door culture followed is to bud on the Dog Rose standards 

 or dwarfs in August, so late that the buds may not break till 

 the following spring. If they break in autumn the probability 

 is that they will be materially injured and perhaps destroyed 

 in winter. Bat permit me to remark that both the wall plants 

 and the budded plants must be protected during winter. The 

 former may be surrounded with evergreen branches, and the 

 buds of the latter may be covered with strips of canvas tied on 

 with bast or string. 



The Tea-scented Roses are improving rapidly just now ; the 

 last two years have given us at least a dozen desirable varieties. 

 The following have bloomed here both in and out of doors, and 

 are so varied and beautiful that they are not likely to be lost 

 sight of for many years :— Belle Maconnaise, Coquette de Lyon, 

 Hortensia, Madame Azelie Imbert, Madame Gaillard, Victor 

 PttUiat, Annette Sein% Belle Lyonnaise, Madame Ducher, 

 Madame Levet, Madame Trifle, and Madame Hippolyte Jamain. 

 — WiLLiiJi Paul, Paul's Xiirseries, Waltham Cross, N. 



tubers under each of them, and many of them weighed 2 lbs- 

 each. — Thomas Pendek, Gardener to E. Durant, Esq., Shar^ham- 



LA VERSAILLAISE RED CUKRANT. 



The singularly cold damp weather which so long prevailed 

 daring the spring and early summer months of the present 

 year affected the Red Currant trees so much that in some 

 instances it has proved fatal not only to the fruit crop, but to 

 the trees themselves, many of them being completely killed, 

 and others so infested with blight and insects as to require 

 close and constant attention to prevent the speedy and prema- 

 ture decay, which at one time appeared to threaten the whole 

 of the foliage. 



Of a few dozen bushes planted last season in precisely the 

 same soil, and consisting of Knight's Large Red, White Dutch, 

 Eaby Castle, and La Versaillaise, all have suffered severely, 

 excepting the last-named kind, the plants of which have passed 

 -quite unscathed through the trying ordeal, and have produced 

 an abundance of vigorous shoots, and fine, large, deep green 

 foliage. The healthy flourishing appearance of these trees in 

 comparison to the miserable condition of the whole of the 

 ■other kinds is so remarkable as to induce me to send you a 

 note of the fact ; for if this hardy and robust variety is as 

 prolific, and the fruit is as fine in size and quality as it is said 

 to be, it will, doubtless, prove a great acquisition. — Edwakd 



LUCKHUKST. 



Laege Produce or Potatoes. — In the spring of the year I 

 had 1 lb. of Bresee's Peerless (a new American Potato). I cut 

 the 1 lb. into 46 pieces, and planted them February 16th and 

 dug them up August ■22nd, when they turned out the enormous 

 quantity of 135 lbs. Some of the stalks had five or six large 



POT CULTURE OP MIGNONETTE. 



In May put six or eight seeds into a thumb pot, and place it 

 in a Cucumber frame. Alter the young plants are well above 

 ground remove them to the greenhouse, placing them as near 

 the glass as possible. When they are an inch or so in height, 

 with a sharp knife cut off' all by the surface except two of the 

 strongest; allow these to grow a few inches, then with a knife 

 cut the weaker one away. In a few days shift each of the 

 plants left to larger pots, and never allow it to get potbound. 

 Put in a stake, but not too near the stem. Nip out every flower 

 that makes its appearance with the point of your knife ; do not 

 do it with the finger and thumb, otherwise the tender leaves 

 will be injured. In a word, keep shifting, and allow no flower 

 until the plant is as large as is desired. 



Mignonette is a most interesting plant. It can be trained 

 into any form one may desire by attending to these directions. 

 I have no doubt it could be grown G feet high and 6 feet in 

 diameter at the base — just by the rim of the pot. Give plenty 

 of room and headroom and there will be no fear. Never allow 

 water to touch the leaves in winter, and give just enough at 

 the roots to keep the plant alive. Set it out of doors in summer 

 in some sheltered corner. Mignonette requires a large supply 

 of water, and will be benefited occasionally by a little liquid 

 manure. It is not until the second summer that I would place 

 the plants out of doors ; and as it is about Christmas that we 

 want it to flower, discontinue nipping off the flowers in October, 

 it will then flower throughout the winter months in a cool 

 house. Of course it is well to have plants of various sizes and 

 forms, respecting which the cultivator must use his own dis- 

 cretion. The form of training which I prefer is the pyramidal 

 style.— C. M. M'Ckow, Nash Court, Faverslimn. 



HYACINTH CULTURE IN POTS AND GLASSES. 



In Pots. — It is not necessary to employ large pots, or pots 

 of a peculiar shape for Hyacinths. There is nothing better 

 than common flowerpots, and in those of 60-size (3j-inch) 

 single bulbs may be flowered in a most satisfactory manner. 

 The pots usually employed are 48-Eize (.5-ineh), and 32-Eize 

 (6-inchi ; the last-named being required only for selected bulbs 

 grown for exhibition. We advise the use of small pots, where 

 Hyacinths are grown in pits and frames for decorative purposes, 

 because they can be conveniently placed in ornamental stands, 

 or packed close together in baskets of moss, when required for 

 the embellishment of the drawing-rocm. 



A rich light soil is indispensable, and it should consist of at 

 least one-half of good rotten manure, and the remainder turfy 

 loam, with a liberal allowance of sharp sand. The mixture 

 should be in a moderately moist condition when ready for use. 

 When small pots are employed, one hollow crock must suffice, 

 but 48 and 32-siz6 pots must be prepared in the usual way, 

 with one large hollow crock and a little heap of smaller pot- 

 sherds or nodules of charcoal over it. Fill the pots quite full 

 of soil, and then press the bulb down into it, and press the soil 

 down round the bulb to finish the operation. If potted loosely, 

 they will not thrive ; if potted too firmly, they will rise up as 

 soon as they begin to grow and be one-sided. Finally, to quit 

 this part of the subject, they should be nearly covered with 

 soil, except when grown in small pots, and then they must be 

 only half covered, in order to afford them the largest possible 

 amount of root-room. 



When potted, the coolest place should be found for them, 

 and they should not have a drop of water, unless they go ab- 

 solutely dry, until they begin to grow freely, and are in the 

 enjovmentof full daylight. The pots may be roughly stored in 

 a dark cool pit, or any out-of-the-way place, where neither sun, 

 nor frost, nor heavy rains will aft'ect them, but it is advisable 

 to plunge them in coal ashes or tan, and cover them a few 

 inches with the plunging material. 



As to their removal, there are two matters to consider. They 

 must be taken out as wanted for forcing, and they must be 

 taken out when they push their flower spikes through the 

 plunging material, as they will do if they remain in the bed until 

 spring. The cultivator must be guided in respect of their re- 

 moval from the bed by circumstances, but when they are re- 

 moved, a distinct routine of treatment must be observed, or 

 the flowering will be unsatisfactory. For a short time they 



