January 12, 1871. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



23 



Lady liirkland, which I bad only judged before from a single 

 plant in my possession, which I had thought most promising, 

 more than verified what I expected oi it. The trusses are very 

 fine, and I especially remarked the whole bed had not a seed 

 pod on it, and Mr. Laing said it hardly ever showed one during 

 the exceedingly hot weather. In colour it is something like 

 Dacbess of Sutherland. Lady Hawley, another sent out by Mr. 

 Laing this year, was also very good, fine scarlet, a crimson shade, 

 not orange, dwarf, and free-blooming. Sunshine and Sunlight, 

 also good. They have bloomed exceedingly well with me in 

 small pots this winter, cuttings struck in August being in good 

 bloom now. Of the Zonal Nosegay seedlings not yet sent out 

 were Star of Fire, scarlet crimson, very vivid colour, free-bloom- 

 iag and spreading habit, sure to be a good bedder ; and Phosbe, 

 orange cerise, of nearly the same habit as Star of Fire ; Moor 

 of Venice, pure crimson, fine colour and good habit; George 

 Peabody, somewhat similar in colour but more scarlet, also not 

 seeding, in habit putting me much in mind of Mr. Pearson's 

 strain. Mr. Laing had several of the French seedlings planted 

 out, but all seemed to me to be wanting in firmness of petal. 



But the greatest acquisition among new seedlings was a pink 

 Zonal Nosegay called Pink Queen, fi basket of which Mr. Laing 

 had shown at the Metropolitan Floral Show at the Crystal 

 Palace, and which I here saw planted out. In colour it is more 

 like Helen Lindsay than anything else, but it is of a finer 

 tint, and has a large truss instead of a small one, as Helen 

 Lindsay has ; to judge from the way small plants of it bloom 

 it is likely to prove a most valuable bedder, Mr. Pearson's seed- 

 ling Miss Rose Peach being the only rival to it I have yet seen. 



To turn to the Bronze and Gold section. There were many 

 fine unnamed seedlings planted out, though as bedders none, 

 I think, surpass two Mr. Laing has already sent out — Impera- 

 trice Euggnie and Crown Prince. The first, Imperatrice Eu- 

 genie, is the most brilliant in point of colouring of any Gera- 

 nium I have yet seen bedded in mass ; and next to it comes 

 Crown Prince with a stronger habit, though it will never be 

 coarse, as it has so little green in it. Mr. Laing had most ol 

 his best seedlings at the Crystal Palace, but as they were still 

 unnamed it is not possible to particularise them. In my 

 opinion, however, in aiming after form and breadth of zone he 

 has rather lost colour, some of the zones in the Bronzes being 

 so broad as to leave very little centre or margin ; but for those 

 who like very circular fiat leaves and dark-coloured zones of 

 the Black Knight type there are some very fine sorts. Kext 

 to Imperatrice Eugenie I class Brilliancy in point of colouring ; 

 then come Mrs. Alan Loundea, Harrison Weir, Princess of 

 Wales, and Charming. Mrs. Lewis Lloyd, a fine gold colour 

 with only a narrow zone of red, makes a very striking bed. One 

 peculiarity of this type of Bronze is, as I have before remarked, 

 that they do not turn green as they die oiJ, but a lighter colour, 

 the zones sometimes crimson, and the effect in a bed is very 

 remarkable ; in fact, the colour of a bed of Impgratrice Eugenie 

 is more gold and red than bronze. They require warm treat- 

 ment in winter and good food in summer to bring out their 

 colours, and they well repay all care. 



I would again repeat what I have said before : If people wish 

 to have Geraniums in good order when planting, and to make 

 a garden gay early, never let them be too cold in winter. Hardy 

 though they are, a cold damp treatment is the worst they can 

 have. Keep them growing, with plenty of light and air, and a 

 temperature never under 45° nor above 60°, and a garden will 

 be gay a month or six weeks sooner than if they had been 

 what persons call hardened in the winter, which is really no 

 hardening, but a stagnation of life from which the plants recover 

 with difficulty. I have now all my cuttings, which were not 

 taken from the beds till the middle of September, potted off, 

 and they are more forward than if they had been strack in the 

 open ground in August and then kept in cold frames and pits, 

 and they will be still more forward by bedding-out time. — 

 10. P. Peach. 



The Advantages op Bottom Heat on a Lakob Scale, — One 

 of the most curious phenomena in connection with coal mining 

 is exhibited at theBjnk Colliery, near Eotherham, the property 

 of Earl Fitzwilliam. This pit caught fire one hundred years 

 ago, and all the efforts of the workmen at the time, and subse- 

 quently, have been quite ineffectual to extinguish it. A short 

 time ago it was ascertained that the fiames were approaching the 

 bottom of the shaft, and it was then resolved, if possible, to stay 

 their progress, so that they might not extend to other parts of 

 the workings. At length the superintendent of the collieries, 

 Mr. T. Cooper, conceived the idea of building a wall to shut in 



the fire, and in order to ascertain the best site for this wall, 

 several of the officials crept on their hands and knees, through 

 the dense atifiing smoke, as far as possible into the workings. 

 Their efforts were successful, and a wall is now completed 

 nearly 1000 yards in length, and varying from 9 inches to 5 feet 

 in thickness. At distances varying from 30 to 50 yards metal 

 pipes have been inserted in this wall, which are securely plugged 

 at the end, so that at any time, by removing the plugs, the state 

 of the air on the side of the fire, and even the position of the 

 fire itself, can be ascertained. So intense is the heat arising 

 from this fire that people possessing gardens above the colliery 

 declare that the growth of plants is materially affected, and that 

 they are enabled to obtain two and three crops every year. 



GROWING EARLY POTATOES. 



Any method by which the easy culture of early Potatoes can 

 be accomplished is sure to be of service to those on whom 

 there is a great demand for them early in the spring, and to 

 that end the following paper aims. A method usually adopted 

 for obtaining early Potatoes is to prepare a bed of fermenting 

 materials in a pit, or to form one on which frames are laid, and 

 after the soil within becomes warm, to plant the sets at once 

 without any careful preparation. As a matter of course the 

 Potato is soon at work, the heat from the bed forcing it rapidly, 

 and at a season when much air-giving is seldom admissible ; 

 the consequence is too frequently an abundance of haulm, with 

 a light crop of tubers. 



I invariably obtain good crops of early Potatoes by potting 

 some in 8inch pots the first week in January, using a handful 

 of fresh horse droppings over the crock, and light fresh soil for 

 potting in. Having the set disbudded to one shoot, and giving 

 the Potato a cut about an inch in length and depth at its base, 

 I place the set low down in the pot. The pots can be stored 

 in any structure affording a gentle warmth until the leaves 

 break through the soil. By this time a slight hotbed is ready 

 for them, the depth of fermenting materials being about 2 feet ; 

 on this is laid to the depth of 6 inches soil, which should be 

 rough and light. On it the pots are placed for about a week or 

 ten days, admitting air in abundance at all favourable opportu- 

 nities. When the stems are 4 inches high, the plants are 

 turned out of the pots and planted at distances of 18 inches by 

 1 foot, opening up the soil sufficiently to admit the ball to half 

 its depth. The soil removed is then carefully worked round 

 each plant, scarcely covering the roots. When the growth 

 is 8 inches high, warm soil is worked in between the rows up 

 to 2 inches above the original ball of earth, leaving the whole 

 surface flattened. The plants seldom require water, the moisture 

 arising from the bed being nearly sufficient for them. Give air 

 at all favourable opportunities, covering well up on cold nights, 

 but having constantly a slight amount of air. By the time 

 the foliage commences to curl the Potatoes will be rapidly 

 forming, after which scarcely any water should be given, other- 

 wise it will materially interfere with their flavour. 



The best variety for frame work, if steadily grown, is Myatt's 

 Prolific, the tubers coming out very even in size, about 2 inches 

 under the surface of the soil, and passing beyond the original 

 ball of soil some inches. 



I also find it serviceable to pot in 10-inch pots a quantity of 

 the Cockney, an early dwarf-topped Potato, well adapted for 

 pots, the tubers forming close at home, and being of good size. 

 This is done in the first week of April, placing them in any 

 unheated house or frame, and when fear of frost is past, a 

 trench is then opened on a south border, in which they are 

 placed, still remaining in the pots, over and between which 

 the loose soil is carefully worked, leaving the mound of soil 

 about 4 inches above the surrounding level. By this means I 

 obtain an excellent lot of young Potatoes a fortnight sooner 

 than from the open borders. — T. C. Sage. 



GROWING DWARF POINSETTIAS. 

 When the Bev. C. P. Peach is trying his experiments with 

 the dwarfing of Poinsettia puloherrima, as I see he intends to 

 do next year, may I ask him to try the plan of growing four 

 plants in a pot, and flowering them as dwarfs ? If he succeeds, 

 of which I have no doubt, I think he will be highly pleased. 

 I have not yet had the opportunity to do more than try two or 

 three pots, and these gave me satisfaction. They were so very 

 handsome and effective when placed in a row with the Single 

 White Eoman Hyacinth, and edged with small plants of Sela- 



