136 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ Febrnary 23, 1371. 



dnced from seeds, but are not so attractive as the margined 

 varieties. 



I have also had some nice variegated varieties of Plantago 

 major and Coronopus, but find them diiEcalt to increase. How- 

 ever, I can see sufficient indications of different forms of varie- 

 gation in the Plantago family to warrant my predicting they 

 will find a place in the select herbaceous border, and become 

 welcome additions to the best collections of hardy variegated 

 plants. — W. E., Gardener, Cromwell House. 



THE EFFECT OF GAS LIGHT ON PLANTS. 



If there is any branch of gardening for which I have a 

 special liking, it is that of growing plants for house decoration ; 

 and if there is any part of my duty which I sometimes feel 

 reluctant to perform, it is after growing my plants to have to 

 subject them to the destructive influences of gas. This, per- 

 haps, is only a natural feeling, and it is surprising how easily 

 and almost imperceptibly such a feeling wears off when a per- 

 son considers that it is just his duty to do that which is re- 

 quired of him, and if employers are salijfied, why gardeners 

 should be so likewise. But it has occurred to me that as many, 

 if not most, of the private residences of the wealthy, both in 

 town and country, are now lighted with gas, and plants for 

 house decoration were, I think, never in greater demand than 

 at present, I cannot do better than devote a short paper to the 

 subject. Though my experience is rather limited, yet, as the 

 matter is of great importance to gardeners generally, I hope 

 that others will respond to my invitation and state their ex- 

 perience also, so that gardeners and purchasers may know 

 better what plants to grow or buy for the particular purpose in 

 view. 



Although I do not know of any plant that will even live for 

 any length of time, not to say grow, in an atmosphere strongly 

 impregnated with gas, yet a great variety of plants will with- 

 stand gas for a surprising length of time, though not without 

 injury ; while there are many that are injured beyond recovery 

 in less than one night or day. The flowers of plants are gene- 

 rally the first to suffer ; the thick petals of the Orange flower 

 and Camellia, and the more delicate petals of the Persian 

 Lilac, Begonia, Pelargonium, Myrtle, Daphne, Rose, Deutzia, 

 Fuchsia, Datura, Salvia, Acacia, Tulip, and Crocus, fall as 

 suddenly as if by magic, and with less than two hours' exposure 

 to gas light; while the flowers of the Hyacinth, Cineraria, 

 Spiriea, Primula, Gesnera, Epacris, Heath, and Poinsettia will 

 bear up for a considerable time, the last-named especially ; its 

 showy bracts shrivel up, but do not drop. Of the foliage of 

 the above-named plants, that of the Poinsettia, Orange, Rose, 

 Lilac, and Cineraria are the first to show signs of distress, 

 while the leaves of the others will mostly turn yellow or become 

 sickly-looking before dropping off. Next come plants with 

 ornamental foliage. Of these, the leaves of large-leaved So- 

 lanums, Coleuses, Acacias, Farfuginms, and Wigandias sud- 

 denly curl up, and as quickly fall to the ground ; and those 

 that stand the longest without showing distress are Eichardia, 

 Fious elastica, the strong-growing Caladiums, such as pictum, 

 esculentum, and atropurpnreum ; Maranta zebrina and Por- 

 teana, Gesneras, Crotons, and Ferns. Isolepis gracilis must 

 also be included. I observe that fine-foliaged plants are more 

 ornamental by gas light than flowering plants, excepting, per- 

 haps, the gaudy floral bracts of the Poinsettia. This plant is 

 quite an exception ; it will enliven the dulness of a bank of 

 evergreens, it bears the heat and gas well, and is a favourite 

 with everybody. 



Unless large quanlities of plants should be required for 

 special occasions, I presume the most expensive plants in the 

 list I have given would not be used, nor should I advise it, for 

 it is not difficult to compile a list of plants easily grown and com- 

 paratively inexpensive, and that will resist the influence of gas 

 tolerably well, so that less loss would be incurred if it should 

 prove fatal to them. These plants consist of greenhouse 

 Ferns, such as different kinds of Adiantum and Pteris. Eich- 

 ardia iethiopica, Primulas, Cinerarias, Lachenalias, Myrtles, 

 Gesneras, Ficus elastica, Isolepis gracilis, Poinsettias, Hya- 

 cinths, Epaorises, Heaths, and some hardy evergreen shrubs, 

 such as Thuja anrea, Cupressus torulosa, variegated Box, 

 Euonymus, and the like. These are all dwarf-growing and 

 manageable plants, but, doubtless, many more may be added. 



I avoid as much as possible sending in early- forced shrubs 

 and plants, such as Lilacs, Dentzias, and Ghent Azaleas. It 

 often happens that many of the rooms to be decorated are 

 heated to a high temperature, and, being a dry heat, it proves 



hurtful to such plants as Heaths and Epacrises, which have 

 very fine hair-like roots ; the life is dried out of them. A 

 good plan, when it can be adopted, is to tie some damp moss 

 round the pots ; it preserves the roots remarkably well. 



So far I have only noticed the behaviour of plants in heated 

 and confined rooms, with little or no ventilation, and with the 

 gas jets arranged close above, or may be below, many of the 

 plants. In such positions, with the fumes of gas rising up- 

 wards, the plants are at the greatest possible lisk of being in- 

 jured; but whether in large or small rooms, I think the injuri- 

 ous effects of gas upon plants will be found to be small in 

 proportion to the amount of ventilation given, and the facilities 

 afforded for the escape of the impure air before coming in con- 

 tact with the plants. Of this, however, I am not certain, and 

 I should like to hear from others having more experience than 

 myself, for gas-lighted structures are becoming so common, and 

 the information as to the best plants to put in such places is 

 so very scanty, that I hope to refer to the subject again at 

 some future time when I shall have gleaned more experience. 

 — TH03IAS Eecoed, Hatfield. 



HOP CULTIVATION FOR OENAMENT AND USE. 



No. 2. 



Pkopagatios an-d Ccltuee. — Having noticed the soils on 

 which the Hop is often grown, we now come to its propagation 

 and planting, the former being a simple affair, the latter often 

 preceded by some expensive operations on the land. I shall, 

 therefore, commence with planting, and say that when it is 

 determined to make a new plantation it is usual to select 

 one of the best plots of ground the farm possesses, and if it 

 should have already been in tillage (which land, I may remark, 

 is not considered so desirable as that which has been under 

 wood, orchard, or grass), it is ploughed deeply in the ordinary 

 way, and also subsoil-ploughed ; or, what is better, and very fre- 

 quently done, the surface is ploughed in the usual way, and a 

 gang of men^ten, or perhaps a dozen — follow and dig up the 

 bottom of the furrow before the plough returns. By a suitable 

 arrangement of man and horse power this can very well be 

 done without loss of lime to either, and is much better than 

 subsoil-ploughing. Trenching is not unfrequently performed, 

 and in the case of woods, coppices, or orchards the removal of 

 the roots generally effects the same purpose as trenching, and 

 Hops like such land better than that which has been long 

 under tillage ; the consequence is that in many places coppice 

 wood has entirely disappeared, only steep banks and a few 

 patches being left for shelter or game. 



Supposing a plot of ground to be ready for planting, some 

 one well used to marking out the ground is generally employed 

 to set it out, as great exactness is often exercised in doing this. 

 The most common way is to have what is called a ''square 

 plant" — that is, the rows are at right angles to each other; 

 some, however, prefer the triangle, or what gardeners would 

 eaU quincunx order, both often containing about the same 

 number of plants per acre, generally 1210, they being placed 

 6 feet apart each way in square planting, and something more 

 in the diagonal measurement of the " triangle plant." Some 

 planters give more space, but the majority only as much as 

 stated ; and a great portion of the work in the Hop garden 

 being done by the piece, it is customary to regard 1200 plants, 

 or hills as they are termed, an acre. In setting out a new 

 plantation care is taken to have the line as straight as possible. 

 An ordinary garden line with a piece of red worsted stitched 

 into it at every 6 feet is sometimes used, but as the line is 

 apt to stretch in dry weather and contract when wet, some 

 check is used along with it. A chain made on purpose is 

 more accurate. In the setting out, a stick is pushed in where 

 the plant is to be, and the planting is done all together ; I will, 

 therefore, take the preparation of the plants next. 



Although the Hop produces seed in as great abundance as 

 most plants, it is never propagated in that way, except for 

 experiment, the seedlings differing so widely from the parents, 

 and a considerable portion of them being very often what are 

 called male Hops — i.e., not possessing the bitter quality which 

 gives value to the Hop. It is, however, a disputed point amongst 

 botanists of the Linnean school whether the plant belongs 

 to the twenty-second or twenty-third class of that system, as 

 the same plants which produce male Hops one year may pro- 

 duce a few female ones the next, and vice versij ; accordingly the 

 great body of growers carefully eradicate all male plants as 

 they appear. Others again affirm that a few male plants in a 

 plantation are an advantage rather than otherwise, and plant 



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