Jane 29, 1871. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. 



451 







WEEKLY 



CALENDAR, 















Day 

 of 



Month 



^7 



Week. 





Average Tempera- 



Rain in 



Sun 











Clook 



Day 



JUNE 29— JULYiS, 1871. 



ture near London. 



43 years. 



Rises. 



Sets. 



Rises. 



Sets. 



Age. 



Sun. 



ot 

 Year. 









Day. 



Night. 



Mean. 



Days. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



Davs. 



m. e. 





29 



Th 





73.2 



48.5 



60.8 



12 



47afS 



18af8 



43af4 



24afl 



12 



3 3 



180 



30 



P 



West of England Eoso Show. 



73.1 



48.3 



60.7 



15 



47 3 



18 8 



10 6 



3 2 



13 



3 15 



181 



1 



s 





74.8 



60.8 



62.8 



20 



48 3 



18 8 



31 7 



31 2 



14 



3 26 



182 



2 



Sun 



4 Sunday after Trinitt. 



73.4 



51.2 



62.3 



17 



49 3 



17 8 



40 8 



20 3 



O 



3 38 



183 



3 



M 



Meeting of Entomological Society. 



74 



60.2 



63.1 



19 



50 3 



17 8 



35 9 



25 4 



16 



3 49 



184 



4 



To 



Length of Day IGh. 25m. 



76.1 



60.2 



63.2 



15 



51 3 



16 8 



16 10 



40 5 



17 



4 



185 



5 



W 



Royal Horticultural Society, Rose Show, 



77.1 



50.2 



63.7 



17 



52 3 



16 8 



46 10 



2 7 



18 



4 11 



186 







[ Fruit, Floral, and General Meetin;?. 























From observations taken near London during fortv-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 74.6 



\ and its night tem- 



perature 49.9°. The gi-eatest heat was 97', on the 5th, 1852 ; and the lowest cold 84°, on the SOth, 1863. The greatest faL 



of rain was 



1.18 inch. 







GAKDEN PLANTS AT GIBRALTxiR. 



ITH questionable taste I dip my pea in ink, 

 as my best endeavours as a descriptive 

 writer will be feeble to pourtray the many 

 native charms to be seen and met with on 

 that beautiful spot, miscalled " the barren 

 rock." In undertaking such a self-imposed 

 task I sigh for " the pen of a ready writer" 

 to unfold to the readers of the -Journal in 

 panoramic order the masses of subtropical 

 vegetation to be met with in every cavern, 

 nook, and dell of the far-famed rook. But, most unfortu- 

 nately, the notes I made twelve years since, when wander- 

 ing amidst the horticultural treasures there to be seen, 

 have disappeared long since from my portfolio, and I now 

 must trust to memory to give but a very indistinct descrip- 

 tion of the plants and trees there to be met with. 



In the first place, it is quite needless on my part to point 

 out the geographical position of Gibraltar on the map of 

 Europe; suffice it to say that the rock juts out into the 

 waters of the Straits in the shape of an oval, or nearly so, 

 the inner or land end attached to Spain by an isthmus of 

 about 800 yards in width, called " the neutral ground," or 

 "north front." The southern point jutting out into the 

 waters of the Straits is called " Europa Point." Being the 

 southern point of the Continent of Europe, and distant 

 from Africa about 10 or 12 miles, the forlress of Ceuta is 

 plainly visible ; and from Europa as a starting-point, let the 

 reader bear patiently with me as I conduct him through 

 the most interesting parts (to horticulture) that I can well 

 remember. 



On all sides of us, and above us on the heights, are to be 

 seen Prickly Pears, Aloes in masses and in full bloom, the 

 Cactus in crevices of the rock, wild Thyme, Marjoram, 

 and Mint, with here and there a Scotch Fir tree, and very 

 many trees of Qiiercus Suber, Cork tree ; we may well 

 ponder as to the date of planting, or have they been ever 

 planted ' 



The historical student on this spot may look towards 

 Africa, and say to himself. It was on this spot I stand 

 upon, perhaps, that the Carthaginian general addressed 

 his troops after their successful passage across the Straits, 

 on their march to their premeditated conquest of Rome ; 

 or one might imagine to himself that he was, perhaps, 

 standing on the ground held sacred by the great Moorish 

 kings of Granada,, where they often came at sunset to 

 worship Allah and His prophet, and to cast a look of 

 afi'eotion across the waters of the Straits on the land of 

 their fathers. 



Let us next descend towards the city. We pass through 

 a cavern or opening in part of the rook, on the road from 

 Europa point to Buena Vista (a good view), and we noticed 

 in some English residents' gardens masses of subtropical 

 plants, the Aloe and Cactus having the lead of all others 

 in wild free growth ; several very large Apricot trees loaded 

 with fruit, also Pomegranate trees ; and in the Hospital 

 Square about one dozen beautiful Lemon and Orange trees, 

 with some branches of the latter laden with ripe fruit, 

 Ko. 6S5.— Vol. XX., New Sebois. 



others green, a few branches only in blossom ; and we 

 noticed a few very good Palms in a situation called Rosia, 

 and the Vine and Fig tree reigning predominant every- 

 where in wild unrestricted vegetation. 

 Let us next enter the Almeida, a public square or pro- 

 j menade, which is surrounded by trees peculiar to the soil 

 ! and situation, and underneath these trees the sward con- 

 sists chiefly of Mesembryanthemums with their starry- 

 like flowers, so beauteous just after sunset; and close by 

 the Convent, or Governor's residence, were very fine plants 

 of Kalosanthes bedded out and in vases. On our way to 

 the market we noticed a hedge of florists' Pelargoniums 

 fencing-iu a pleasure garden and tea house. 



We then enter the market. The stalls are all well filled, 

 and presided over by turbaned Moors, Jews, Spaniards] 

 and Portuguese — a Babel of tongues. Grapes are abun- 

 dant, but not a black Grape to be seen; donkeyloads of 

 Melons, both Water and Sugar kinds ; Cucumbers in heaps 

 everywhere about ; Oranges very fine at five for a penny; 

 Lemons very large, and six a-penny ; and Pumpkins of a ' 

 tremendous size, but I forget the price. I paid for Grapes, 

 I think, one penny per pound. 



We next pass upwards towards the old Moorish castle, 

 through what are called " the Lower Lines," and some 

 native British Ferns are to be found. The following are a 

 few which I noticed : — Asplenium Adiantum-nigrum, As- 

 plenium Trichomanes, Kuta-muraria, Scolopendrium' vul- 

 gare, and Ceterach oflicinarum ; and some Castor- oil trees 

 are growing wild about, with Aloes in bloom on all sides, 

 the flower-stems from 10 to 20 feet in height. 'Z~:t~z^ 



Very high up the rock, on our way to the signal station' 

 we passed a Plum orchard, of a couple of acres in extent,' 

 called the Farm. We at last mount the plateau on which 

 the signal station stands, and what a glorious sicht is 

 spread to our view ! North of us, and one would imagine 

 underneath us, is San Roque, a town about four miles 

 distant from the rock. Algesiras and Tariffa can also be 

 seen, the latter place memorable during the Peninsular 

 war; all the blue mountains of Audulusia resemble the 

 billows of the Mediterranean ; let us, then, look southward 

 and westward, and the rugged mountains of Africa seem as 

 if ready to plunge into the waters of the Straits, while 

 overhead is the union Jack, and what more appropriate 

 pedestal than the rock could support that flag '? — J. MoD. 



BROCCOLI.— No. 3. 



When the plants have two or three leaves in addition to 

 the seed leaves they should be pricked off about 3 inches 

 apart in nursery beds in good, fine, but not very rich soil. 

 The earlier this is done the more stifi' and sturdy the plants 

 will be, and the less liable they will be to run to stem ; 

 besides, some kinds when left to become tall and drawn in 

 the seed bed are of very little good afterwards ; in fact, it 

 would be a saving in every way to throw them away rather 

 than occupy ground with them. In pricking out, it is well 

 to lift each plant with a stick, say the point of a stout 

 label. In this way many of the fibres will be preserved 

 and shading, however bright the weather, may be dispensed 

 with, but water should be given every evening in briaht 

 No. Iisr.-YOL. XL v., Olb Sebibb. 



