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JOUENAL Oe HOXvTlCL'LTUilE AKD COTTAGE GAliUEKEK. 



[ April 20, 1671. 



ought not to remain more than three years in the Bame place, 

 nnlees yon take cS the rnnnera and add manure liberally, 

 otherwiBe you get the flowers Bmall and short-stemmed. The 

 outside rows of the opposite beds ought to be 2 feet 6 inches 

 apart ; this gives room for a 1-foot path between the beds, 

 which, if the plants do well, will not be too much. — G. L., 

 Market Gardener. 



[Our correspondent has sent us blooms of some of the va- 

 rieties of Violets which are remarkable for the size and beauty 

 of the flowers and the great length of Ihe stalks : this is espe- 

 cially the case in "Queen," " Devoniensis," and "King." 

 The first and last are very handsome. — Ens.] 



When jast commencing to write a few lines on Violets, the 

 Journal arrived, and brought the charming letter from what 

 must be a charming spot — the land of Beulah. That such a 

 spot, that such friends of flowers as the young ladies of Gera- 

 nium Cottage, should be without Violets is indeed " a mistake." 

 That an alliance so natural, suitable, and becoming as young 

 ladies and Violets should not be speedily effected were a loss to 

 both, and so evidently thought the "old Gooseberries." 



Every garden worthy of the name should have Violets. 

 Nothing can give a more pleasurable return for the outlay 

 necesBary to their prosperity than beds of these lovely flowers, 

 chaste in beauty and redolent of perfume. They are of the 

 first to answer the summons of the sun, calling on the earth to 

 give up its treasures. It is a source of strength to the gardener 

 to feel that his efforts are productive of pleasure. It nerves 

 the arm, clears the head, and warms the heart. It lightens 

 the cares of life, turns toil into pleasure, and is an ever-present 

 reward. Would that employers generally could understand 

 this. 



But a few words practical, not cultural. As to kinds, my 

 experience is precisely that of the " old Gooseberries." I have 

 tried and discarded Kings and Queens, and stripes, and uncom- 

 mon sorts with fine names and characters. They are either 

 deficient in opening their blooms, in constitution, colour, or per- 

 fume. Five varieties are what I now exclusively rely on — viz., 

 Single Eussian, Single White (not many of these). Giant or 

 Czar, Neapolitan, and Double Eussian. These are enumerated 

 in their order of blooming, and will give a supply, subject to 

 weather in some degree, from January to May, especially if a 

 portion of the Double Eussian be planted in the coolest and most 

 shaded place in the garden. 



The main plantation should be in a sheltered place for early 

 bloom. Here I would sound a note of warning, not to regard a 

 wall as shelter, and plant in front of it. This is a common 

 practice and a common error. A hedge is the natural shelter 

 for Violets ; but no credit to me for the idea, which was imparted 

 to me by my present employer, and has been acted on for many 

 years with the best success. Violets have here been grown in 

 the same bed for twenty years, and this spring have been as 

 fine, if not finer, than ever. The border is a narrow one by 

 the side of a walk. It slopes to the south. The shelter is a 

 row of espalier fruit trees running east and west. Here they 

 flourish remarkably, but if instead of the trees the shelter were 



wall they would linger miserably. I know it is so because I 

 tried it, and since the idea occurred to me I have observed 

 result in scores of instances. Under the wall the roots are 

 dried up in the summer, and, which is of even more importance, 

 they lack the current of air passing over them to keep the red 

 spider down. In their natural habitat, hedge bottoms in the 

 country, a draught of pure air passes over them continually. 

 In towns they lack this, and are seldom seen in a healthy state. 



One half of the Violet border here is taken up every year 

 and replanted. The half left produces the earliest blooms, the 

 newly-planted half coming in a little later with finer blooms, 

 and affording longer pickings. The half left last year is taken 

 up this. Thus the whole bed is renewed in two years. Nothing 

 could answer better than this practice, except as to the Double 

 Eusaian. Every two years is quite often enough to replant this, 

 letting a portion remain three or four years without removal. 

 At every replanting some old soil is taken out and fresh put in 

 — turfy roadside choppings, no manure. 



Planting is done as soon as convenient after blooming. The 

 plants are soaked with water occasionally to have them estab- 

 lished, and dressed with soot frequently to ward off attacks of 

 red spider. The soil is worked deeply, and is good from top to 

 bottom. This induces the roots to strike downwards, and pre- 

 vents much suffering from drought. 



The Czar, or what I call the Giant, seeds freely enough, and 



reproduces itself as truly as the Single Eussian does, but it 

 blooms very sparingly, and is not worth growing in this way. 

 Neither it nor the Eussian, how ever, are seeding freely this year ; 

 the sun being so hot has dried up the embryo seed vessels, 

 which is the case with other things bcEides Violets, the seed of 

 which, or the pulp surrounding it, is of more value than Violet 

 pods. The variety I have under the name of Giant ia better 

 than that named The Czar, in being more free in growth and 

 free in blooming. — J. W., Lincoln. 



CULTURE OF WEEDS. 



" So use thy foes as to improve thy fortune." 

 I HAVE long been a reader of " our Journal," and have often 

 been interested as well as instructed by the many and varied 

 methods of cultivation set forth and debated in its pages, but I 

 do not remember to have noticed the " Cultivation of Weeds," 

 although it appears to me that instruction as to their culture is 

 of some importance to most cultivators of the soil^I say most, 

 because I observe in the accounts given by some of your corre- 

 spondents, that in the best kept gardens weeds are not allowed. 

 Well, all I can say on that subject is, that I have not seen a 

 garden so kept. Weeds, says a friend of mine, " mill be sure 

 to take advantage of the gardener's absence, particularly at cer- 

 tain seasons of the year, so much so that it is necessary to do 

 little more than close the garden door, and return to find a fresh 

 batch of the pests." 



Now, if weeds are the rule and must be endured, at least would 

 it not be advisable for the gardener to include tkem in his cata- 

 logue of plants to be cultivated, and then try to turn them to 

 account ? This appears to me quits within the bounds of possi- 

 bility ; if it should be disputed, we must acknowledge one of 

 two facts, either that weeds, as a class, are an unmitigated evil, 

 or that horticulturists have not arrived at a sufficiently advanced 

 state of proficiency in their art to enable them to realise their 

 intended position in the vegetable world. 



Then as to their proper cultivation, if such must be admitted, 

 so as to enable them to fulfil their appointed place in the economy 

 of Nature, it is necessary to ascertain first to what useful pur- 

 pose they can be applied. My answer is, to manure the ground 

 on which they have grown. If I am right in this opinion, then 

 the more matured they are, short of seeding, the better, for theri 

 they will have drawn from the earth and air all the elements of 

 which vegetation is composed, which, when dug into the ground 

 and decompofed, will be within the reach of the succeeding crop. 

 To accomplish this, all that is necessary is to hoe or rake over 

 the ground after each crop in September or October, and allow 

 the seed to strike and grow, which will not only rid us of the 

 seed which would otherwise remain as a pest for years to come, 

 but also be a benefit to the succeeding crop. — Stabbeck. 



CINERAEIA CULTURE. 



Amongst softwooded spring-flowering plants suitable for 

 decorative purposes in the greenhouse and conservatory, also 

 for placing in various positions in dwelling-houses, there are 

 few more useful than the Cineraria. The plant is inexpensive 

 as regards its first cost, and when well managed nothing can be 

 more striking than its dense masses of brilliant-coloured 

 flowers. Admirers of this flower who have frequented the 

 metropolitan exhibitions during the present season must have 

 observed a considerable falling-off, both as regards the finish 

 of the specimen plants sent for competition in the various 

 classes, and also in the quality of the flowers, neither being 

 more than second-rate. Probably this may arise from the sum 

 oilered in prizes not being deemed suflioient to cover the ex- 

 penses of conveying large plants to and from the exhibition ; 

 certainly plants with heads of flower 15 inches across are not 

 what one expects to see at the London shows. Even the varie- 

 ties do not seem to be improvements on those which used to 

 be set up for exhibition a dozen years ago. 



Of new varieties introduced to the notice of the public 

 during the present season, some of the flowers seem to be ac- 

 qniaitions— large in size, and of good form and substance, 

 bright and decided colours being predominant amongst them. 

 No certificates have been awarded to any of them ; probably in 

 some cases the eeodling plants only were shown. Messrs. 

 Standish & Co., of Ascot, have produced some good seedlings, 

 and there were some promising flowers sent to the first April 

 meeting of the Eoyal Horticultural Society by Messrs. F. & A. 

 Smith, Dulwich. 



For ordinary decorative pnrposeB I prefer seedlings, as being 



