September 8, 1870. 



JOURNAL OF HOETIOULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



181 



found plenty of judges ready and willing to make leading awards 

 to plants that have been subjected to a degree of training and 

 torture that would be ridiculous were it not that it is almost 

 disgusting in appearance. Who that has visited metropolitan 

 shows is not familiar with those flattened surfaces bearing a 

 resemblance to giant floral Mushrooms? or, if you like, flower 

 beds upon wire ? What a miserable parody on plants do these 

 things present, tortured and twisted oat of natural form, devoid 

 of all grace and beauty ! They add another instance of the 

 fitness of the saying, " that Nature gave U3 form and outline, 

 and humanity alone are its despoilers." 



As a reverse to this, I have lately seen staged for competition 

 at a provincial show a lot of pillar-traioed plants, from 4 to 

 6 feet in height, certainly fairly flowered, but, nevertheless, 

 looking so ungainly as to merit ridicule rather than praise. 

 Unfortunately against them there was no competition, other- 

 wise I should have viewed with some interest the awards of 

 the judges, as, in spite of size and flower, I could not conceive 

 that any sensible men would have placed these statuesque 

 abortions before well and naturally- grown specimens. As a 

 mode of training to obtain plenty of bloom the pillar plant 

 may be very useful, but for exhibition it only deserves dis- 

 qualification. 



My specimens have usually been prepared for autumn ex- 

 hibition — say in the beginning of September ; and having this in 

 view, I get some cuttings and put them in early in the previous 

 year, and when well rooted, potted-up into 48's to stand the 

 winter, giviag the shoots their first stopping. In an ordinary 

 greenhouse these plants will not make much growth during 

 the winter, but by the beginning of April will be ready for a 

 shift into 32's, giving any robust 6hoots another pinching. 

 Plenty of air and light are necessary now to maintain robust 

 short-jointed growth, and by the time the pots are well filled 

 with roots the cold weather will have passed away, and the 

 external air may be safely trusted. To save much needless 

 labour, a shift Bhould now be made into the blooming-pots 

 (No. 12 is a good size for that purpose) ; and as tho plants 

 are to remain in these for a long time, a really good compost 

 should be used, nothing being better than yellow loam, well- 

 rotted manure, especially cow dung, and a fair mixture of 

 sand. I find it desirable to pot firmly, otherwise the soil will 

 settle very much by the autumn, and. therefore, it is better to 

 make it all the firmer at the first. When the plants are thus 

 potted, and especially potted low down, an open situation in 

 the garden is selected that is convenient for watering. A good, 

 hard, and level bottom should be secured, or, if soft beneath, 

 pieces of slate should be used to place the pots upon, to exclude 

 the worms. Here the plants should be placed at proper dis- 

 tances from each other to admit of growth without crowding, 

 and then filled-in all round to the brim of the pots with ashes 

 or some other good plunging material, so that the roots are 

 thus protected from the force of the sun's rays, and consequent 

 drought and exhaustion. The bedding Pelargonium can bear 

 almost any amount of solar heat with impunity, if its roots are 

 kept moist and cool. As I usually put my plants in the open 

 air at the end of May, and get them under glaBs from a week 

 to ten days only before showing, they thus get about three 

 months of thorough exposure to the weather, and are as dwarf 

 and short-jointed as could possibly be wished. Of course, the 

 process of stopping has not been neglected, but rather has 

 been maintained with constant regularity, every strong shoot 

 having its extremity nipped out as fast as it had made three 

 or four joints, care being taken also to encourage the centre 

 growth, so as to secure a somewhat rounded form. An oc- 

 casional turning round of the plants will also facilitate the pro- 

 duction of a good shape. Pinching out all points and flower- 

 buds is rigidly continued until within one month of the time 

 of showing, when the process is discontinued, and the plants 

 are allowed to grow away as freely as they please. 



As a result of all this careful attention and exposure, the 

 grower will find that he has a lot of robust, dwarf, bushy plants, 

 that will now commence to throw up a mass of flower well 

 above the foliage, that will, when expanded, need but the 

 finish of a week or so under glass to make them perfect speci- 

 mens. There are no yellow or discoloured leaves to be seen, 

 all is fresh and vigorous ; and the plants, after they have 

 brought the highest honours at the show, will, with a little 

 attention, make a greenhouse or conservatory look very gay 

 indeed nearly up to Christmas. 



The Zonal Pelargonium is naturally a gross feeder, and will 

 take up an abundance of strong diet. The use of such ma- 

 terial, however, to plants in the open ground would have a 



most undesirable tendency. This objection does not exist in 

 the case of pot plants, as the roots, being confined within a 

 contracted space, are necessarily subject to different conditions, 

 and need stimulants to maintain that free growth so essential 

 to the production of good specimens. Any application of 

 liquid manure is scarcely needed until the flowering pots have 

 become filled with a mass of roots ; but when such is the case 

 — and that would probably result in about six weeks from 

 potting — then a watering of a weak mixture twice a-week is 

 desirable ; and this dose may be increased in strength when 

 the bloom is allowed to come up, as the claim on the resources 

 of the plants will be proportionately increased. Horse drop- 

 pings well soaked in water usually make good liquid manure, 

 and even stronger stuff than that may be used, such as guano 

 water, drainings from cow sheds, and even from the closet 

 cesspool, as I have used this latter during the past summerin 

 the proportion of one bucketful to about five of water with the 

 best results. Amateur growers, especially, may take my word 

 for it that they will secure better specimen plants in moderate- 

 sized pots with a free use of liquid manure than they can 

 obtain in large pots under any conditions, besides the credit of 

 having produced as good or even better results in small pots 

 than their fellow-competitors have realised in large ones. 



Headers will have observed that I have not proposed the 

 tying down or pegging of the plants in any way, and I say cer- 

 tainly not, as all these processes are to me highly objectionable. 

 I strongly contend that it should be the object and purpose of 

 all exhibitors to produce specimen plants that have been as 

 little as possible subjected to training with ties or sticks in any 

 shape or fashion. Especially does this apply to the Zonal 

 Pelargonium, as training of any description other than that 

 induced by stopping is both unnecessary and absurd. I have 

 now ready for show a fine lot of dwarf compact plants, with 

 close rounded heads, each about 24 inches in diameter, and 

 which will be larger still in a few weeks hence. Flower stems 

 are beiDg thrown up all over them, and I have every reason to 

 be satisfied with the prospect. 



The treatment that is here so strongly recommended for the 

 Zonal section bears with equal force to the growth of the Nose- 

 gays, with the exception that some of the latter require less 

 pinching, otherwise I make no distinction as to treatment. The 

 double Pelargoniums are now rapidly becoming popular, and 

 have become at many shows a class of themselves ; and ex- 

 ceedingly attractive they are when well-grown specimens. 

 With these pinching must be performed with rather more 

 moderation, but should still be carefully attended to, otherwise 

 the plants will soon become leggy. If well looked after and 

 grown as herein described, plants as dwarf and compact, and 

 aimost as free of flower as the single varieties, can easily be 

 produced. 



I shall conclude with a list of twelve good show Zonals, the 

 same number of Nosegays, and six double-flowering Pelargo- 

 niums, all of which will well repay good cultivation. 



Purity. 

 Clipper. 

 Rosabella. 

 Excellent. 



GraDd Duke. 

 Violet Hill Nosegay. 

 Chilwell Beauty. 

 Gathorne Hardy. 



ZONALS. 



Sambo. 



William Underwood. 

 Beaute de Suresnes. 

 Lord Derby. 



NOSEGAYS. 



Celestial. 

 International. 

 Eclat. 

 Emmeline. 



DOUBLE-FLOWEETNG 



Wilhelm Pfltzer. j Andrew Henderson. 

 Gloire de Nancy. j Victor Lemoine. 



— Exhibitor, (in The Gardener). 



Higbgate Rival. 

 Madame Madeleine. 

 Dr. Lindley. 

 Madame Werle. 



Dr. Hogg. 



Triomphe de Stella. 

 Pink Globe. 

 Mrs. Laing. 



Madame Lemoine. 

 Marie Lemoine. 



OSBORNS' SELECT RED BEET, alias DELL'S 



BEET. 

 Your number of August 25th contains an article on the so- 

 called Dell's Beet, justly praising it for its decorative qualities, 

 and expressing some doubts as to its retaining for any length 

 of time the same character. Now on this point we can speak 

 from experience. Nearly twenty years ago we had this same 

 Beet from Mr. Bogue, the intelligent gardener at Gorhambury, 

 near St. Albans (under whom Mr. Dell once acted as foreman), 

 and distributed it under the simple name of "Fine Dwarf Red 

 Beet," until the year 1866, when it became spoken of as a 

 very useful decorative plant, and to prevent confusion, with 

 Mr. Bogue's consent, we affixed our name to it, and have con- 



