July 12, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



27 



In looking through Mr. Darwin's book before mentioned two 

 or three years ago a valuable idea occurred to me with regard 

 to budding the Rose. I have frequently been annoyed in 

 looking over the Rose trees to find some that throw up a lot 

 of blooms crowded together almost as bad as the hen-and- 

 ohickens Daisy, and Madame Boll was a great offender in that 

 way. Sometimes you could scarcely find a Bingle Rose to 

 gather. "Why not cut them off?" suggested a friend, but I 

 could never make up my mind which buds to out off ; so they 

 all remained, and sometimes were so orowded together that 

 they never could bloom properly. There was occasionally a 

 shoot with a single bloom, and the idea occurred to me that if 

 buds were taken from that shoot and propagated the evil would 

 be remedied ; instead of which, by cutting off the single blooms 

 and leaving only the other shoots to bud from, the objection- 

 able features were extended by a species of non-natural selec- 

 tion and the survival of the least fit. I have had a few Roses 

 budded in the way suggested, and there certainly is an im- 

 provement in the right direction, but I have not gone far 

 enough yet to warrant it as a cure, and intended to continue 

 the experiment this year and let you know the result in the 

 Journal ; but as it would be two years longer before I could 

 say muoh about the result I give your readers the benefit of 

 the idea now, and hope it will prove of service to them. — 

 Amateur, Cirencester. 



FORCING VIOLETS. 



Violets do not force well, for they delight in coolness, 

 moisture, and air. Any approach to a close atmosphere or a 

 high and dry temperature is fatal. In a house, however, kept 

 at a moderate temperature, the plants will, if placed near the 

 glass and well ventilated, afford a quantity of their fragrant 

 flowers with certainty in winter and spring. To have Violets 

 duriDg those seasons preparations must begin early, and that 

 is why I allude to the subjeot now. In growhog Violets in 

 pots there is more than one way of doing it. We may pot the 

 rooted runners or suckers in early summer, be at much trouble 

 in watering them and taking off runners, and after all have 

 a harvest of leaves only; or we may pot in late summer plants 

 with poor crowns, having Buffered from drought and its con- 

 comitant red spider, and also fail ; and we may introduce plants 

 with the best of crowns to a warm and close atmosphere and 

 fail again. My failures in growing Violets in pots were formerly 

 signal, but now my efforts are successful. Bunches of flowers 

 were at command from cold pits from October to April in- 

 clusive. Very welcome are bunches of Violets, but some like 

 to see the flowers upon the plants, and the plants grown in 

 pots. What more acceptable than a stand having a panful of 

 Lily of the Valley in the centre, and blue sweet Violets sur- 

 rounding ? Well-bloomed plants of Violets in pots are always 

 appreciated, and to obtain them is one of the simplest practices 

 in horticulture. 



Violets in pots are grown in two ways — namely, as single 

 specimens and in masses. Single specimens are had by 

 planting even now rooted runners or suckers in an open 

 situation, watering copiously in dry weather, and keeping 

 free of weeds and runners. In September we lift the plants 

 carefully and pot in 7-inoh pots, though 8-inch pots are not 

 too large for well-developed crowns. The pots must be effi- 

 ciently drained with one flat crock and about an inch depth 

 of charcoal. Sound loam one-half, a quarter of old cow dung, 

 and a quarter of leaf soil well mixed together forms a good 

 compost. It is no use huddling the roots into a heap in the 

 centre of the pot and cramming the soil around them, but 

 work it in among the roots and make moderately firm. Give 

 a good watering, and place on ashes in a cold frame. Shade 

 from bright sun, and keep rather close for a week or ten days, 

 and then admit air freely day and night except in frosty 

 weather. Remove the old leaves as they turn yellow, and any 

 time after the middle of October the plants may be moved to a 

 shelf in a light house, and if air be passing over them they will 

 flower freely. The temperature must not exceed 50° by day 

 from fire heat. Any cool house from which frost is excluded 

 will answer admirably, air being plentifully admitted in mild 

 weather. The plants will require to be kept well supplied with 

 water and liquid manure. The best that can be given is soot 

 water, one peck to thirty gallons of water, which may be given 

 at every alternate watering. Soot water is not only a valuable 

 stimulant for the plants, but is a preventive of red spider. 



Such kinds as Czar and Victoria Regina will require 7 or 

 8-inch pots, but small growers such as Queen will do in 6-inch, 



whilst Neapolitan and its vars. New York, Marie Louise, &c, 

 will do well in 5-inoh pots, and the Double Russian and its 

 vars. King and Double Red (Viola suavis rubra flore-pleno), 

 one of the best for pots, will succeed in 4 or 5-inch pots. The 

 very finest of all the singles is Victoria Regina. I make 

 mention of those only in commerce, for it is surpassed by 

 Prince Consort, and if a white single companion be wanted 

 there is none equal to White Czar. These are the earliest, 

 commencing blooming with certainty in October; and a double 

 to come in at the same time is New York with the true Nea- 

 politan. All the others will not flower until after Christmas, 

 but they may be had somewhat earlier by forwarding them in 

 the gentle temperature above named. It is well, however, to 

 keep them in frames until well advanced for flowering. They 

 should be kept in the frames until drafted into the house for 

 flowering. I may mention Blandyana as a fine double Violet 

 and a continuous bloomer, abo Devoniensis, blue, single va- 

 riety, very sweet. 



The next mode of growing Violets in pots may be an old 

 practioe. I gained the hint from some pots received from 

 Paris. The pots were crammed with crowns not more than 

 an inch apart, and the condition of their roots lead to the 

 conclusion that they had only recently been " done up." They 

 were, in fact, neither more nor less than rooted runners, such 

 as Mr. Lee told us in this Journal how to manage in order 

 to raise-up a stook and bring-out their floriferous character. 

 Now, instead of cutting-off the runners as advised for speci- 

 mens, permit them to grow until they oommence forming a 

 crown at their extremity, then take out a little soil and lay the 

 wire for 2 or 3 inohes of its length next the crown, leaving 

 that or the extremity of the runner above ground, and seoure 

 with a peg. The runners are left on the parents until the 

 middle of September, when they are carefully taken up and 

 potted. Place the rooted runners an inch apart all around 

 the inside of the rim of the pot, and then fill-in the centre, 

 working the soil well among the roots, all crowns being plaoed 

 on a level and just above the soil. A 6-inch pot will not hold 

 more than a dozen crowns of suoh kinds as Victoria Regina, 

 whilst it will accommodate two dozen of Neapolitan vars. 

 and V. suavis vars. They must not be potted " hard ;" the 

 right mode is to fill-up the interstices just close — no more, 

 for we want the roots to run and to allow water to percolate 

 freely through the mass. If placed in a frame, and kept 

 close and shaded from sun for a week or ten days, they will 

 soon be established. If the weather be moist it answers to 

 place the pots on ashes at the north side of a low wall or fence 

 for about a fortnight, but they are best in a frame. When 

 rightly managed nothing can exceed these masses in the 

 freshness of their foliage with the flowers peering above it, 

 or the buds peeping from it in modest beauty. The one 

 great point to be aimed at is not to allow the crowns before 

 potting to be crowded, they want air and light. They must 

 also be kept free from red spider; the foundation of having 

 Violets in spring is giving good attention to the plants in 

 summer — now. — G. Abbey. 



THE AIR-TIGHT VINERY. 



This vinery was invented to supersede the ground vinery, 

 with which I was never satisfied. It is pleasanter to walk 

 through an avenue of Vines than to look upon them on the 

 ground ; besides, it is easier to prune the Vines and thin the 

 bunches. There is no fear of mildew, and the economy of 

 surface considerably greater ; but the most important thing of 

 all is that the Grapes are thoroughly ripened early in the 

 season, and the building constructed at half the expense. My 

 vinery has been built about eight years. It is a regular sun 

 trap, the temperature on hot days being often over 100°. The 

 principle is not to let in any external air ; once a-day the path 

 and borders are watered. A leaf is never scorched. — Observes. 



RICHARDIA .ETHIOPICA. 

 I have had the Richardia growing and flowering most freely 

 for more than ten years in a small cemented tank at"" ut 8 feet 

 in diameter in my garden. When I first made the tank I placed 

 a depth of 1 foot of common garden earth at the bottom, 

 planted in it a Bmall dump of Richardia, and filled the pond 

 to the depth of 2 feet of water above the earth. The next year 

 I was given a large clump of Richardia which had been growing 

 in a border and not flowering well. This clump I divided into 

 two, and threw the pieces into the pond or tank. I have never 



