December 1, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICDLTTJBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



425 







WEEKLY 



CALENDAR. 















Day 



of 



Month 



Day 



of 



Week. 



DECEMBER 1—7, 1870. 



Average Tempera- 

 ture near London. 



Rain in 



last 

 43 years. 



Sun 

 Rises. 



Sun 

 Sets. 



Moon 

 Rises. 



Moon 

 Sets. 



Moon's 

 Age. 



Clock 

 after 

 Sun. 



Day 



ol 



Year. 



1 



2 

 8 

 4 

 5 

 6 

 7 



Th 

 F 



S 



Son 



M 



Trz 



W 



Princess of Wales Eorn, 1844. Linnean 

 [Society's Meeting. 



2 Sunday in Advent. 



Royal Horticultural Society, Fruit. Floral, 

 [and General Mi-eting. 



Day. 

 48.5 

 474 

 47.0 

 48.1 

 49.0 

 48.2 

 48.4 



Night. 

 84.9 

 83.7 

 35.8 

 36.4 

 35.2 

 36.7 

 38.5 



Menu. 

 41.7 

 40.5 

 41.4 

 42.2 

 42.1 

 42.4 

 43.5 



Days. 

 22 

 19 

 24 

 20 

 25 

 22 

 21 



m. h. 

 46af7 

 47 7 

 43 7 

 49 7 



51 7 



52 7 



53 7 



m. h. 

 58af3 

 52 8 

 52 3 

 51 3 

 51 3 

 51 3 

 50 3 



m. h. 

 49 af 1 



7 2 

 23 2 

 42 2 



3 

 22 3 

 49 3 



m. h. 

 room. 

 20 af 1 

 28 2 

 38 8 

 40 4 

 4G 5 

 52 6 



Days. 



8 



9 

 10 

 11 

 12 

 13 

 14 



m. s. 

 10 40 

 10 23 

 10 

 9 35 

 9 11 

 8 46 

 8 20 



S35 

 336 

 337 

 338 

 839 

 340 

 341 



From observations taken near London during the last forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is i 48.1°, and Hb night 

 temperature 35.9°. The greatest heat was 6i°, on the 1st, 1857 ; and the lowest cold 14°, on the 5th and 6th, 1844. The greatest tail ol 

 rain was 1.02 inch. 



THE NEW PELARGONIUMS OP 1S69. 



OAVEVER much we may deplore the fact 

 that the Pelargonium does not occupy the 

 position in public estimation that it once 

 did, it is, nevertheless, true that for some 

 time the magnificent collections with which 

 Turner, Bailey, Fraser, and others used to 

 astonish the horticultural world have dis- 

 appeared from our exhibitions. Mr. Hoyle, 

 one of our most successful raisers, has given 

 them up in toto ; and the vendors of Pelar- 

 goniums tell us that they are not sought after as they used 

 to be. I, whose earliest floral associations are connected 

 with this lovely flower, cannot but deplore this, and must 

 only hope that better times may come, and the Zonal 

 tribe be obliged to give place to its more aristocratic 

 relative ; at present democracy carries the day. It is 

 something, however, to be able to see that improvements 

 are still being made in the flower, and although the usual 

 complaint of sameness will doubtless be made concerning 

 them as concerning others of our favourites, yet the im- 

 provement is gradual. Having had the opportunity of 

 again growing the new varieties under my own eye, I sub- 

 join the following notes made concerning them as they 

 have flowered, taking first the Large-flowering or Show 

 section : — 



Attraction — -A very pretty rosy lilac flower, quite a new 

 colour ; small maroon spot, and a clear white throat. 



Bonnie Charlie — Rosy crimson, the upper petals intense 

 black or with a narrow edge of bright crimson ; clear 

 white throat 



Claribel. — Very pure white, with a small spot of very 

 bright crimson. Most chaste flower, and quite distinct 

 from other varieties in the same class. 



Corsair. — Bright purple, pure white centre ; top petals 

 black, shaded. Good habit. This is also novel, and a 

 very attractive flower. 



Cycle. — Rosy purple, maroon top petals. Smooth. 



Gratulation — Rose petals, top dark crimson, with black 

 spot, shaded ; a pale rose edge. 



Harold. — Crimson, pencilled lower petals; top petals 

 black, with crimson edge. Free flowering. 



Her Majesty. — A very bright pale pink flower, small 

 Mack spot on the top petals, clear white eye. 



Heroine. — A very beautiful flower, in the style of Mary 

 Hoyle, small maroon spot on the top petals, orange rose 

 edge, white centre. Good, dwarf habit. 



Jerome. — Dark flower, in the style of John Hoyle ; thin 

 wiry foliage. 



Llewellyn. — Rich deep crimson. Splendid colour, and a 

 very striking flower. 



Marion Wilkie. — Pale rosy pink, the same style as Her 

 Majesty, but not so good a flower. 



Maid of Honour. — Light rosy pink, small dark maroon 

 blotch on top petals. A very fine flower, and by far the 

 best of the pink varieties that we have. 



Plantagenet. — Light rosy pink. A good flower, in the 

 same style as the preceding, but not so fine. 



No. 505.— Vol. XIX., New Sekteb 



Regent. — Crimson, with dark maroon top petals. A wiry 

 habit of growth. 



Velutina. — Purple, small spot on the lower petals, top 

 black, shading to- a purple edge. Bad habit. 



Of these, then, I consider Attraction, Bonnie Charlie, 

 Claribel, Corsair, Her Majesty, Heroine, Maid of Honour, 

 and Llewellyn as the best. 



The Fancies sent out at the same time were very 

 superior, and especially remarkable for the greater vigour 

 of habit and the freedom of their blooming ; in fact, the 

 Fancies may now be considered almost as robust as the 

 Show varieties. 



Agrippa — White, large pale lilac spot. A distinct and 

 good show flower. 



East Lynn. — White ground, crimson top petals, lower 

 petals heavily marked with crimson purple, shaded; white 

 eye. 



Excelsior— A. very bright flower. Deep rose; white 

 eye and centre. A beautifully-shaped flower. 



Lady Carrington. — Soft pale peach, top petals shaded 

 with pink ; white centre. 



Leotard. — A. very strong grower, similar in colour to 

 Lord of the Isles. Very good. 



Marmion. — Rich crimson top petals, shaded with purple. 

 Large and good. 



Of these I should prefer Excelsior, Leotard, and Mar- 

 mion, particularly on the point of habit. — D., Deal. 



NOTES ON OUR NATIVE TREES. 



Whatever merit the fashionable plantsman of the pre- 

 sent day may take to himself or be accorded, there can 

 be but one opinion, that Nature presents us with much 

 grander objects in the magnificent trees of various kinds 

 occasionally to be met with — trees which strike the be- 

 holder with admiration either at their size or antiquity, 

 or perhaps both combined. It is mostly in the parks of 

 our great landed nobility and gentry that such are to be 

 found, with now and then a tree on some piece of common 

 land which owed its preservation to the fact of no one 

 having had authority to cut it. 



In some of our natural forests, which, however, are now 

 few, large trees are to be met with, and I believe the large 

 trees in Welbeck Park are to be traced as originally 

 forming a part of Sherwood Forest ; whether those now 

 remaining were coeval with the celebrated outlaw Robin 

 Hood it would be difficult to say, but I believe there are 

 authentic records of other Oaks having lived a period 

 nearly as long. The Oak trees in Cadzow Park, adjoining 

 Hamilton Palace, in Scotland, were, I believe, planted by 

 royal charter some four hundred years- ago, and certainly 

 had not a more ancient look in IMS, when I saw them, 

 than many others to be met with ; neither were they sucu 

 noble-looking trees as those which many parks in England 

 contain. Some years ago a fine heallhy Oak tree of large 

 size was pointed out to me in the grounds of Earl Cowper, 

 in Hertfordshire ; it promised to be a noble specimen for 

 centuries — it was so healthy, and it covered an immense 

 space of ground. A still larger tree was .cut down in. the 



No. 1157.— Vol. XLIV., Old Serie . 



