July 26, 1877. J 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



73 



directorship of Dr. Scbomburgk, and to cite the following 

 from the report of last year. "The interchange of plants 

 and seeds with kindred institutions and private parties has 

 been on the increase. Most of the plants of our extensive col- 

 lection have been obtained by exchange ; and had I to purchase 

 the annual increase of our collection £300 to £400 would 

 scarcely suffice, while our expenditure for the purpose iB not 

 £150. The Garden dispatched last year nineteen Wardian 

 cases, containing about 800 stove, greenhouse, and native 

 plants, and 1500 packets of seeds, which arrived at their desti- 

 nation generally in good condition. The recipients have been 

 botanic gardens, Kew, Natal, Mauritius, Java, Singapore, Cape 

 of Good Hope, Port Elizabeth, New Caledonia, Queensland, 

 New Zealand, Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Tasmania, and 

 Vienna. Collections of native seeds have been sent to the 

 principal botanio gardens of England, Germany, France, Russia, 

 and East India. Collections of seeds of Grasses and fodder 

 plants have again been forwarded to East India and the neigh- 

 bouring colonies. Our collection has been enriched during the 

 last year with 500 additional species and hybrids containing 

 many valuable plants from England, Germany, Belgium, India, 

 America, Africa, Java, Singapore, New Caledonia, and the sur- 

 rounding colonies. The numerous contributions from the 

 South Australian public indicate the continuous interest fell 

 towards this establishment ; and theBe have also materially 

 increased the collection by rare and valuable plants received 

 from many donors." 



The American " Gardeners' Monthly," in referring 



approvingly to the visit of Hek Majesty to the Summer Show 

 at South Kensington, observes : — " We are apt to laugh at the 

 idea that the smile or the frown of any one human being 

 should make all the difference between success or failure in a 

 horticultural or any other exposition ; but we must not forget 

 that there is something in the average human mind that 

 longs for a leader, and it will be to the everlasting honour of 

 Prince Albert that he set the good example of patronising horti- 

 culture. We have no social aristocratic classes here, but every- 

 body acknowledges and worships the aristocracy of intelligence, 

 and it does not take long for this to be acknowledged, and for 

 the possessor to be in some sort made to know that he fills 

 this elevated seat in public estimation. Horticulture in 

 America is, just now especially, suffering from the want of 

 leaders among those who worthily possess influence if they 

 would only UBe it." 



CUTTING EOSES FOR EXHIBITION. 



Odk friend the Rev. Mr. Camm has asked me to give a reason 

 for the unorthodox practice of cutting Roses in the sun, which 

 I have recommended for many years. I am glad he has tried 

 it for himself successfully, as he will, therefore, lend me a 

 more patient ear. 



I was first led to the practice by observing during a cold dry 

 wind with no condensation of dew how very much some fine 

 exhibition flowers which I had been anxiously watohing were 

 retarded and kept back on the trees. After making several 

 experiments to satisfy my mind I was led to the conclusion 

 that the safest plan and the best time to cut in very hot 

 weather for traveUing was at six o'clock in the morning and 

 three in the afternoon. At six o'clock you may cut flowers 

 with impunity for the next morning's staging, but they must 

 be large, deep, full-grown, half-opened buds, which if left on 

 the trees until ten o'ciook would be, to UBe a common expres- 

 sion, " blazed out." Very double massive varieties may be cut 

 in a more expanded state. Remove these to your boxes on the 

 ground in a cool dry shed or even cellar, without sun or much 

 light. Prop open your boxes about 6 inches, so much the 

 better if a current of air can be admitted under the door from 

 the north side. It is often well to hang a thick mat in the 

 doorway within a foot of the ground, so as to admit only the 

 coolest air from the surface. Go round again at three o'clock 

 in the afternoon and do precisely the same as before. Cut 

 only the large opening blooms, and you are quite safe for a 

 night or morning journey. You must not cut the large ex- 

 panded flowers in the morning, which appear fresh and beauti- 

 ful with the dew on them, having their centre petals closed or 

 partially folded up. These were " blazed out " the day before. 

 The moment the dew is evaporated these grand flowers will 

 quickly fade and disappoint you at the last minute. I attribute 

 this to colour being an ammoniacal compound ; ammonia 

 having a great affinity for moisture the colour is thereby 

 quickly discharged and fading takes place, the rapid action of 



evaporation affecting even the light and white varieties. We 

 often read descriptions of a brilliant French Rose edged with 

 light. This is a case in point. 



Cutting over the ends of your Rose stems when yon re- 

 arrange your boxes in the morning helps to get more water 

 into their tissues ; keeping your green moss as dry as possible 

 around them has a tendency to bring up the centres of your 

 blooms, which is very desirable. — Henry Curtis, Devon. 



WHOLE versus CUT POTATOES FOE PLANTING. 



A month or two ago "A Northern Gardener" took occa- 

 sion to say that my plan of planting Potatoes whole was not 

 the best one. A crowd of stems and small tubers were to be 

 the result. Nothing could be further from being correct than 

 this. Our garden Potatoes will cover about an acre. Every one 

 of the tubers were planted whole, and I have seldom seen a 

 more promising lot of Potatoes. But this is not all. We have 

 been lifting Potatoes out of doors for the last six or seven 

 weeks. The Borta are Rivers' Early, Ashleaf Kidney, Glouces- 

 tershire Kidney, and King of the Earlies. A better crop no 

 person need wish to see. From one root I lifted to-day 

 twenty-five full-sized kidneys. There is a south border here 

 on which early Potatoes have been grown for more than a 

 dozen years. Formerly the sets were out, this year they 

 were planted whole ; and while the crop in previous years was 

 much below the average, it is better this Beason than it ever 

 was. The cottagers about here to economise seed cut the 

 Potatoes to every eye. When one fails there is a blank; and 

 worse than this, this year the blight is extensive within a 

 stone's throw of our own crops, and yet not one root of the 

 latter is touched in the slightest. In this short distance there 

 cannot be much difference in the soil nor atmosphere either, 

 but remember there was in the sets. Now, as to the disease, 

 and cut versus whole Potatoes, I think the whole tuberB have 

 the advantage. The late Mr. Paterson of Dundee said, and 

 many think, that by cutting a little bit of the end of each 

 tuber, or cutting them into pieces, tbe sefd decayed quicker 

 and did not rob the young tub6rs of their nourishment. I 

 thiDk differently. I know of nothing that will cause young 

 Potatoes to become diseased quicker than having an old rotten 

 one in their midst. 



Potatoes when planted whole do not decay at all under 

 the soil, and it is a simple matter to pick them out as the 

 whole are lifted. If any of your readers do not remember my 

 mode of choosing and dealing with seed Potatoes, as I stated 

 in a bygone number, it is this :— Use all the large tubers ; 

 preserve all those about the size of a small hen's egg for seed, 

 plant them whole, and give the very small tubers to the pigs. 

 — A Kitchen Gardener. 



[We consider your plan good, and you have proved that it is 

 successful, but we think "A Northern Gardener" did not 

 advise the cutting of kidney Potatoes.— Eds.] 



LOBELIA EMPEEOE WILLIAM. 

 The flower is dark and distinct, with a well-formed white 

 eye, and in habit is quite a little bush, answering admirably 

 for carpet bedding. I found it did not grow exactly true from 

 seed ; still the variation was very small — not more than 10 per 

 cent., but even at this rate it would greatly mar the effect in 

 a piece of ribbon or carpet bedding. I at once came to the 

 conclusion that if I let my chances for cuttings alone till the 

 autumn there was every chance of the true and untrue cuttings 

 getting mixed again, so in July I selected a few of the most com- 

 pact plants, which I cut down near the surface of the ground. 

 These threw up hundreds of fresh young cuttings, a batch of 

 which I inserted in August. They grew well, each being 

 capable of producing eight or ten plants in the spring. I men- 

 tion this Lobelia because it is an excellent one, and because it 

 is by cutting a few plants down at this period of the year that 

 plenty of good cuttings are produced for securing a full stock 

 of healthy plants. If the plants are not cut many of tho 

 dwarf free-flowering Lobelias produce but few healthy cut- 

 tings. — B. G., Co. Down. 



DISEASED CUCUMBEB BOOTS. 

 We have received from " C B. E." specimens of Cucumber 

 roots distorted and enlarged by clusters of white knobs. 

 The root-nodules in question are generally assumed to have 



