28 



JOtTKNAL OF HORTICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



[ January 12, 1S71 



plete the fignre. The points where the lines cross each other 

 are the angles of the beds and grass verges, e, (leds ; g, grass ; 

 w, walks. — M. O'DoNSELL, Gardener to E. Leeming, Esq., 

 Spring Grove, Richmond. 



ORNAMENTAL VARIETIES OF OUR NATIVE 

 PLANTS. 



I HAVE been looking ont amongst our British plants for orna- 

 mental and variegated forms, or any departure from the normal 

 condition, with a view to selecting such as may be thought 

 worthy of a place in our gardens. I have been rewarded with 

 many interesting varieties of Grasses, Veronicas, Lamiums, 

 Glechomas, &c. The variety of Malva sylvestris called crispa 

 must become a favourite winter-garnishing plant, as I see the 

 French Mallow is cut-up with the frost, and my Mallow will 

 stand any amount of cold without injury. The Grass, which 

 I think is Poa annua, is considerably shorter in its growth and 

 flower stems than Poa trivialis argentea. I have also a new 

 Dactylis glomerata, the whole foliage assuming a creamy-white 

 tint in the spring, but not so good in the summer, and a 

 Phleum pratense aureo-variegatum, which is very ornamental 

 during the summer. I was the raiser of Bull's Holeus lanatus 

 variegatus, Alopecurus pratensis variegatus, and Phleum pra- 

 tense albo-marginatum ; also Henderson's Lamium aureum, 

 and Thymus citriodorus aureus, and a new variety of Sedum 

 acre, and of Helianthemumvulgare, to be sent out by a Loudon 

 firm as soon as sufficient stock shall have been raised. 



My stock of new British plants comprises some one hundred 

 sorts of greater or less merit, and I can assure you that 

 my wanderings in search of novelties have been a labour of 

 love. Some of these plants have been propagated from the 

 most trifling beginnings. The Mallow, for instance, I dis- 

 covered on the wayside at Old Charlton, Kent, with only one 

 curly leaf upon the plant. I dug it up, potted it, and it pro- 

 duced another curly leaf or two, all the rest of the ifoliage being 

 perfectly plain. I gathered the seeds from the side of the 

 shoot with the curly leaves, and they produced a progeny with 

 some plants all curly, some all plain, and some partly curled ; 

 but the parts of partially-curled plants that were curled were as 

 well curled as the plants that were all curled, and I find that 

 the all-curled plants come perfectly true from seeds. Being 

 very prolific it will make a cut-and-come-again garnishing 

 plant from the autumn till late in the spring, when it loses 

 all its orispness and cannot be distinguished from the normal 

 state till the autumn again comes round. 



I have also a new gold-striped Lily of the Valley, and several 

 beautiful forms of Arum maculatum — viz., aureo-marginatum, 

 and albo-marginatum. 



My plants are all original and collected by myself, and al- 

 though there have been varieties of variegated plants, such as 

 Gleehoma and Veronica, found before, there are in every fresh 

 one differences which are very interesting. — Wji. Elliott. 



[We hope to hear often from Mr. Elliott on this subject.— 

 Eds.] 



THE METROPOLITAN FLORAL SOCIETY. 



It will, I am sure, interest some of your readers to know 

 what progress we are making in our attempt to bring more 

 prominently into notice those favourites, yclept florists' flowers, 

 which we believe have been too much shoved out of the way 

 by things more easily managed, but, we think, not half so 

 beautiful. 



I need not say that there was an immense difiioulty in or- 

 ganising a new Society ; for many would be ready to imagine 

 that it was the result of spleen, and, as I had had a pretty 

 continuous fight with the existing Societies (especially with the 

 Eoyal Horticultural Society, ou what I honestly believed to be 

 blunders and mismanagement), that in a spirit of opposition I 

 had originated this movement. As I felt perfectly at ease on 

 this score I did not much care what some might think, so long 

 as the point we had in view was gained. Tlie liberality with 

 which our advances were met by the Crystal Palace Company, 

 and the kind thoughtful manner in which the arrangements 

 were carried out by Mr. "Wilkinson, tended to make our first 

 show the most successful autumn exhibition ever held in the 

 metropolis. Thus encouraged we have made another move. 

 We felt that it would never do to originate separate exhibitions 

 — that would have had the appearance of opposition ; moreover, 

 we could not have made them sufficiently attractive, and we 

 conld not run the risk of failure. Wo therefore felt that it 



would be better to connect onr prizes with some existing ma- 

 chinery. The months in which we proposed to offer prizes 

 were April for Auriculas, May for Tahps and Pansies, June for 

 Ranunculuses and Pinks, and July for Carnations and Picotees. 

 In the first and last of these months it was decided that it 

 would be desirable to connect our exhibitions with the Eoyal 

 Horticultural Society, and in May and June we felt that there 

 was no choice left, as the Crystal Palace Company had offered 

 to help us materially in our prize list. Communications were 

 opened with the Council of the Eoyal Horticultural Society, 

 and arrangements were made advantageous to both. The Eoyal 

 Horticultural Society will gain the advantage of having, we 

 hope, an attractive addition made to two of their minor shows, 

 while we shall gain a place to exhibit our flowers where they 

 will be seen by many lovers of flowers. 



These preliminaries having been arranged, a meeting of the 

 Committee was held at St. James's Hall on Tuesday the 3rd 

 inst. to determine what was to be done. The Committee felt 

 that it would be very unwise to venture too much. Societies 

 are often vigorously taken up at first, and then people cool on 

 them ; and if plans are arranged on the larger scale, then there 

 comes the necessity of clubbing together to pay debts — a most 

 unprofitable proceeding. Hence if the schedule of prizes agreed 

 upon may seem to be small after so much talking about them, 

 let it be remembered that our motto is "festina lente," freely 

 translated, " Slow and sure goes far in a day." 



I should add that the Royal Horticultural Society have con- 

 sented to the Society having their own judges. We propose, 

 therefore, to offer the following prizes to be competed for by 

 members of the Metropolitan Floral Society alone : — 



la April — 6 Auricnlag (amateors) £2, £\. 10s. 



1 do. Green edge (open) 7s. 5d., 5s., 2s. 6d, 



1 do. Grey edge (open) 7s. 6(i , 6s., 2s. 6d. 



1 do. White edge (open) Is.Hd., 5s, 2s. I'd. 



1 do. Self (open) Is.dd., 5s, 2s. Bd. 



In May— 38 Pansies (open) £2 £1 Ws. £1 



24 do. (amateurs) £2 £1 10s. £1 



12 Fancy Pansies £1 Ids. 10s. 



86 Tulips (open) ^2 £1 10s. £1 



12 do. (amateurs) £i il 10s. £1 



InJune— 21 Pinks (open) £i £1 Ws. £1 



12 do. (amateurs) £2 £1 10s. £1 



24 Ranunculus (op»n) £2 £1 10s. £L 



12 do. (amateurs) £1 10s. £1 10s. 



In Jnly— 12 Carnations (amateurs) £1 10s. £1 10s. 



12 Picotees (amateurs) £1 lOs. £1 lOs. 



The prizes oft'ered at the autumn show will be on the same 

 liberal scale as last year. Having thus explained our present 

 position, I hope that we shall receive such additional encou- 

 ragement as will enable us another season to place a more 

 liberal scale of prizes for the florists to compete for. Our 

 object is not only to encourage those who already cultivate 

 florists' flowers, but also to induce others to attempt or recom- 

 mence their culture. — D., Deal. 



A MAMMOTH BLACKBERRY ORCHARD. 



One of the most interesting calls we have made this year 

 was to the great Blackberry patch of John S. Collins. The 

 following, from the Practical Farmer, gives an excellent idea 

 of things as we saw them. 



We visited about the middle of the past month, approaching 

 but not quite at the height of the picking, the 'large Blackberry 

 patch of our friend, John S. Collins, near Merchantville, New 

 Jersey, about four miles from Camden. It comprises seventy- 

 five acres, all planted in Blackberries, and now bearing pro- 

 fusely, but far yet from being up to its maximum production. 

 They were planted mostly three and four years ago. 



The day of our visit, 7000 quarts had been picked ; 14,000 

 quarts were fully expected the day following, which would be a 

 full day's work for the hands employed, who, when we saw 

 them, were quietly resting or lounging about under the shade of 

 ti-ees, and recruiting for the morrow — 7000 quarts being about 

 half a day's work. A visitor to this patch would at once be 

 satisfied that there is many a homely adage less truthful than 

 the very trite one, " as plenty as Blackberries." Here were 

 seventy-five acres occupied with nothing else than Blackberry 

 plants — thousands of the bushes bending nearly to the ground 

 under their weight of fruit. The rows were Si feet apart, and the 

 plants 4 feet to -ij in the rows. The tillage had been excellent, 

 no weeds at all to be seen, for the simple reason, we presumed, 

 without asking the question, that the berries brought a better 

 price in the market than weeds, and the proprietor, being essen- 

 tially a practical man, had given the strength of the soil and 

 the labour of cultivation to the crop which brousht in the most 



