198 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 15, 1870. 



at the present time (the beginning of September), have Mrs. 

 Pollock in the centre, and the white-floweriog Ivy-leaved round 

 the outside. The latter, by its robust character, makes up for 

 all the shortcomings of Mrs. Pollock, and nothing can well 

 exceed the profusion of its pendant shoots with its glossy 

 green foliage reflecting the pretty white blooms, while in the 

 interior some of its Bhoots climbing amongst the stems of Mrs. 

 Pollock improve the effect rather than diminish it. In plant- 

 ing such vases, however, select the best Golden Tricolors — that 

 is to say, the largest, with only small plants of the Ivy-leaved 

 Geraniums, as the latter by their more rapid growth soon over- 

 take the former. The crimson-flowered Ivy-leaf is, on the 

 whole, not so useful as the white-flowered, but may, neverthe- 

 less, be often used with advantage ; and a vase filled in the 

 centre with a pink-flowered Zonal Geranium — for instance, 

 Christine — may have an edging of the crimson-flowered Ivy- 

 leaved with perfect propriety, and some we have so treated 

 look well. We employed a stronger grower than Christine for 

 the centre, but of the same colour ; but I regard the Ivy-leaved 

 Geraniums as the most essential of any for vase decoration, 

 and a good pink-flowered kind is certainly as useful as either 

 the crimson or white. There is one with thick glossy green 

 leaves and a good-sized pink flower that is occasionally met 

 with, but I am not sure whether it has ever been dignified with 

 a distinctive name, still it is a great improvement on the oldest 

 variety of this class, and makes an excellent vase plant, pos- 

 sessing the free growth of the two kinds mentioned with flowers 

 of a bright pink colour. The Golden Ivy-leaf has also pink 

 flowers, but they are less plentifully produced, and on the 

 whole the plant seldom looks so well as the sorts just referred 

 to. There is hardly yellow enough in its foliage to entitle it to 

 the term golden, and in the distance it rather looks diseased 

 than edged with that rich striking hue, but it grows and flowers 

 freely, and many persons like it; an improvement, however, 

 rendering it as bright as Golden Chain is much wanted. I am 

 also constrained to make a similar complaint of the only silver- 

 edged Ivy-leaf I have used for the purpose, L'Elegante. It 

 may have more merit as an ornamental-foliaged plant, but its 

 habit with me has been for its shoots to grow over and amongst 

 each other, and not strike out boldly for the edge of the basket 

 or vase; even where they are tempted or constrained to do so 

 they do not bend down in the same graceful way as the flower- 

 ing varieties first mentioned. The leaves seem to want the 

 weight necessary to bend the shoots downwards, and the latter 

 stick out horizontally in anything but a graceful manner. I am 

 sorry for this, for the fine growth and other characteristics of 

 the plant appear to claim for it a high position aa a vase 

 plant ; but as I regard training, excepting of the very simplest 

 kind, as out of the question here, I am constrained to place 

 this plant lower in the scale of useful ones than I should like. 



In weighing the respective merits of ordinary bedding Gera- 

 niums, the position of the vase with respect to other things 

 must be taken into consideration. If the vase should be so 

 placed as to have a building of a light colour as a sort of back- 

 ground, then let scarlet, or some other colour approaching it, 

 prevail ; but if the background is of foliage, a light-coloured 

 flowering Geranium will be most telling — say pink, blush, 

 flesh-coloured, or white, which colours stand out well against 

 evergreens and similar plants, and should therefore be liberally 

 employed in such places. 



I may here remark, that whatever colour is determined on, 

 generally the Zonal GeraninmB are better than the Nosegays, 

 especially late in the season. It may be true that at some par- 

 ticular time, for instance the month of August, the Nosegays 

 may present a masB of bloom, which the others fail to do ; but 

 the bloom does not stand the long dewy nights and frequent 

 wettings of the latter part of the season. This observation ap- 

 plies to plants in beds as well as to thoBe in vases. I may 

 also observe, that where an edging of Ivy-leaved Geraniums 

 like thoBe recommended is used, upright-growing Zonals may 

 be planted in the centre, instead of those of spreading habit ; 

 for instance, an old variety called Crystal Palace Scarlet has an 

 upright growth, and most of its flowers likewise point upwards, 

 which is not the case with Tom Thumb, neither is it so' with 

 Cybister and Stella, popular Nosegay Geraniums ; but where 

 no edging plant is used, then a spreading habit is indispensable. 

 The confinement of the roots of the plant when in a vase checks 

 all robust growth, therefore the most vigorous growers may 

 often be planted without any danger of grossness, and even the 

 rank habit of most of the double varieties may be so much 

 altered by confinement that free-flowering specimens will be 

 produced, and the present season they have done remarkably 



well in this position. Madame and Mirie Lemoine, Andrew 

 Henderson, Triomphe, and others, all gross in habit, have be- 

 come more free-flowering, and the almost entire absence of rain 

 has, no doubt, tended to make the beauty of the blooms con- 

 tinue longer than would have been the case in a moister season. 

 Their satisfactory flowering this season entitles them to be 

 tried again, for if a certain number of plants of a good double 

 variety present only half the number of blooms that such free 

 flowerers as Orange Nosegay, Indian Yellow, Brilliant, and single 

 varieties of old date exhibit, the fact of their being double -will 

 insure them many admirers. Double Geraniums edged with, 

 some other plant may be set down as well deserving of notice. 

 The old-fashioned Mangles's Variegated must not be forgotten, 

 for it is well deserving a place, although it does not withstand 

 the wind so well as the stronger varieties of the Ivy-leaved 

 section, neither is its habit so truly pendant. Most of the 

 greenhouse varieties of Pelargoniums, as they are commonly 

 called (for I am unwilling to apply that term to the bedding 

 Zonals), are not at all suited for the summer decoration of 

 vases and baskets, with the exception, it may be, of some of 

 the smaller-leaved varieties of the Oak-leaved section, of which 

 the old Shrubland Pet might be regarded as the type, but the 

 shortness of its flower-stalk, as well as that of moBt others, is a 

 drawback to its use for this purpose, except in some special 

 cases. The different varieties of sweet-scented Geraniums are 

 better suited for the mixed border, where a sprig may be cut for 

 every bouquet. — J. Robson. 



(To be continued.) 



DAMSONS. 



Obsektisg a few weeks since Mr. Robson's remarks on Crit- 

 tenden's Damson, I wrote to my friend Mr. Roach Smith, at 

 Stroud, asking him if the sort he gave me a few years since 

 under the name of the Cluster Damson was not the same, and 

 I enclose his reply, which is as follows : — 



" My former tenant, the late William Herbert, informed me he 

 noticed for years that in bis plantation of fruit trees opposite my house 

 one Damson tree bore constantly, while the others had fruit only once 

 in two or three, or three or four years, and then only sparingly. He 

 then noticed that the habit of the tree was different from that of the 

 old or common kind, being more spreading, while the other grows np 

 tapering and loose. But the grand characteristic is its enormous crops 

 of fruit, failing only once or so in ten or twelve years. It must have 

 been fully twenty-five years ago when Herbert discovered this tree ; and 

 the tree could not well have been under fifteen years old, as he said he 

 always made £1 a-year by it. But who is Crittenden ? Did he not 

 have it (if the same') of Herbert ? Herbert had no idea of husbanding 

 the treasure he had by sheer luck got hold of. — C. Eoach Smith." 



Damsons are undoubtedly the first remove from the Sloe, for 

 I perfectly well remember, some sixty or seventy years since, 

 my father raising a large number from seed, thinking to get up 

 a large Btock. The trees came into full bearing when I was a 

 youth, and I recollect that they were unfit for sale, for the 

 greater number bore small round fruit, much like Sloes, but 

 with less roughness and acidity. Among Damsons the Prune 

 or Shropshire Damson bears the palm for flavour, and, if Mr. 

 Pearson would tell us about his, I have no doubt that the pro- 

 duce of his trees would rival that of Mr. Crittenden. The Dal- 

 rymple Damson has the downy leaves of the Prune Damson, 

 but is of stiffer growth ; it is Scotch, and very hardy. Here 

 we have the English Damson larger than the Prune or the 

 Cluster, and really good. I have suckers from trees planted 

 by my great grandfather about 1730. 



The American Damson was so highly eulogised by the late 

 C. J. Downing some years ago, and I was so taken by his vivid 

 description, that I imported trees from America and planted 

 a hedge 300 or 400 yards long. The trees are about twenty 

 odd years old ; the fruit, now nearly ripe, is round, and good 

 in flavour without roughness, but it does not bear so well 

 as the Cluster or the Prune Damson. Another Damson I re- 

 ceived from Mr. Varden under a name common in Hertfordshire 

 many years ago, but now not known ; this is the " Damasoene." 

 It is larger than any other Damson. The Bedfordshire Damson 

 makes its appearance in Covent Garden in October ; this is 

 nearly or quite as large as the Damascene. I was much struck 

 with the lateness and goodness of this kind, and I wrote to 

 Leighton Buzzard for a dozen trees. They were sent. Most 

 uncouth suckers they were. This year they are bearing fruit. 

 Two or three are common small Damsons ; the others are bo- 

 tanical curiosities, being versions of our wild Plum, some red, 

 some green, but all worthless. 



