AngnBt 9, 1877. J 



JODBNAL OF HOBTICTJLTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



115 



flower in the south. We ought to be very careful, then, in 

 condemning any flower merely because it does not happen to 

 do well under our treatment ; others may cherish what we 

 reject. Amongst a great number of fine blooms I noted the 

 following : — 



Sir Joseph Paxton (Ely). — A noble scarlet bizarre. As seen 

 here the petalB are large, broad, and beautifully cupped. It 

 seems to be a different flower from that grown at Loxford 

 under the same name. 



Gapt. Stott (Jackson). — A very beautifully marked crimson 

 bizarre. The colours of this flower were very bright and the 

 petals well formed. It is a very desirable sort. 



Warrior (Slater). — In the same class I notioed as being an 

 indispensable flower both for the home Btage and exhibition. 

 It is of the same type as Capt. Stott. 



Eev. George Rudrick (Reeves), is another crimson bizarre 

 with smooth petals and the colours of the Jenny Lind type 

 but brighter. The most showy flower in the collection. 



In Picotees, Clara (Bowers) arrested my attention as being 

 very pretty ; the edge seemed to be slightly serrated, an un- 

 pardonable offence as a florists' flower, but the colour was 

 very bright white, pure, and a sort no grower should lack. 



Cynthia (Lord), is a very pretty light-edged rose; a very 

 refined flower that will be an acquisition in a class rich in 

 first-rate examples. 



When looking over this fine collection I could but wish, and 

 have every reason to hope, that the culture of Carnations and 

 Picotees will be extended to the owners of villa gardens close 

 to our large cities, for these flowers will flourish where Roses 

 and many other flowers barely exist. We want to see some- 

 thing different from the scarlet Geraniums, Calceolarias, 

 Chickweeds.Houseleeks, ribbon borders of Beet and variegated 

 Tobacco plants, Cabbage, Eales, &c. We want sweet and 

 beautiful flowers that can be cut and placed in vases where a 

 few pleasant moments may be spent admiring them and dis- 

 cussing their points. — J. Douglas. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



We have received the schedule of the " Great International 

 Fbuit Show" which is to be held at the Alexandra Palace on 

 September 13th, 14th, and 15th. The schedule is divided 

 into ten divisions, and contains sixty-seven classes ; the 

 amount offered in prizes being about £350. For a collection 

 of Bixteen sorts of fruits the prizes are £16, £12, and £8. 

 There are also good prizes for collections of twelve sorts of 

 fruits. Pines have three classes, and Grapes twenty. For 

 eight varieties, one bunch of eaoh, the prizes are £8, £6, and 

 £4. There are six classes for three bunches each of six 

 specified varieties, and a similar number of classes for single 

 bunches. Prizes are also provided for the best-flavoured black 

 and white Grapes, bunches to weigh not lesB than 1 lb. each; 

 also prizes for the heaviest bunch of black and white Grapes. 

 Classes of this nature have brought out mammoth bunches in 

 the north, but in the south the "big" bunches exhibited have 

 been comparatively poor and rarely worth the prizes awarded 

 to them. A class for one bunch of not less than 1 lb. weight, 

 showing the finest bloom and finish, would have been worthy 

 of a place in the schedule. A similar class has brought out 

 splendid Grapes in the north, and will probably do so at Car- 

 lisle. As the compilers of the Alexandra schedule have " gone 

 in " so largely for Grapes it is unfortunate that a class of the 

 nature alluded to has not been provided. Hardy kinds of fruit 

 are well provided for, and there are several classes set apart 

 for foreign exhibitors only. For a collection of sixteen varie- 

 ties of vegetables prizes of £6, £4, and £2 are provided, and 

 similar amounts are offered for a dinner-table so arranged as 

 to show the best means of utilising fruit and flowers in its 

 adornment. Good prizes are provided for cut flowerB — Dahlias, 

 Asters, and Hollyhocks ; but there is no class for Gladioli. 



A correspondent, in referring to the Marquis op Bute's 



Vineyard, says that if as much sagacity were exhibited by 

 English as by French cultivators that Grapes would be grown 

 on the sunny slopes of hills in the southern counties. He 

 states that if terraces were formed in favourable positions in 

 England the same as is the case in France, and ordinary cul- 

 tural care was exercised, that there is no reason that such 

 early Grapes as the Black Cluster and Boyal Muscadine should 

 not ripen profitable crops in sheltered localities. He submits 

 that very little, if any, more heat is required to ripen early 

 varieties of Grapes than is required to ripen Tomatoes, which 

 he observes are now grown as field crops in the valley of the 



Thames. He remarks that he has seen Grapes ripen in warm 

 valleys in France where the Wheat harvest on the hills is little 

 if any earlier than the harvest in Kent and Sussex. 



We last week alluded to the wholesale manner in which 



Tomatoes are grown in the London market gardens, and not 

 much less remarkable is the appearance presented by acres of 

 Vegetable Marrows. In MesBrs. Bagley's grounds the plants 

 were turned out under handlights about the 22nd of May, the 

 station for each plant being made with a large barrowful of 

 fermenting manure. The plants are about 16 feet apart, and 

 so rapid has been their growth that the ground has been com- 

 pletely covered for some time, and thousands of fine Marrows 

 have been sent to market. The growth is never pruned nor 

 stopped, but rambles at will, and it is surprising how fruitful 

 the plants are. The sort grown is the old cream-coloured 

 Marrow, but is a longer variety than is commonly met with in 

 private gardens. Vegetable Marrows are in great demand by 

 the London public, and they will probably be used to a greater 

 extent than usual this year for preserving for winter consump- 

 tion, since fruit is bo Bcarce and dear, and Vegetable Marrow 

 jam is much relished by children. 



Alluding to the article on Melons on page 65 "A 



Southern Grower," who was a successful exhibitor of them 

 last year, states that his Melons in frameB are not doing so 

 well this year as they did last year. He attributes this to the 

 cold weather during May and the early part of June, which 

 checked the growth of the plants in their early stages ; and 

 Melons, he remarks, should not receive any check either by 

 low temperature, excessive pruning, or lack of water. Last 

 year his Melons in frames were the best ; this year those in 

 houses are in the most satisfactory condition. 



Our correspondent "A Northern Gardener" states 



that in his opinion there is a disease common amongst Cucum- 

 bers quite distinct from that figured by Mr. Smith. He has 

 seen Cucumbers grow with great luxuriance and with apparently 

 healthy root action, and certainly without any nodosities on 

 the roots, and yet the leaves and shoots become so suddenly 

 and severely affected as to render the crop worthless. He does 

 not think it is caused by mites in the soil, because the extremi- 

 ties of the growths are first and chiefly affected, the lower 

 portions of the plants appearing quite sound and healthy, 

 while in the disease figured by Mr. Smith the lower portion of 

 the plants are the first to afford evidence of the malady that 

 affects them , so seriously. Cucumbers, he remarks, are more 

 liable to what he calls the "root disease" when grown in 

 light than in comparatively heavy soil. 



One of the best annuals for spriDg decoration is Silene 



pendula. It is perfectly hardy, grows freely, and makes 

 glowing pink beds or lines in April and May. It is alluded 

 to now because the present week is the best time for sowing 

 seed. It should be sown thinly in drills, and the plants be 

 thinned early to 6 inches apart, in order that each plant can 

 become sturdy and hardened by thorough exposure to the air. 

 Frequently the Silene is not sown until September, which is 

 too late, the plants not having time to become large enough 

 for covering the ground quickly, and flowering early, strongly, 

 and profusely. The variety S. p. compacta should not be 

 overlooked, well-grown plants in 5-inch pots produce a charm- 

 ing effect in the early spring months. This variety is becom- 

 ing popular in Covent Garden Market, which is good evidence 

 of its merits as a decorative plant. 



We have received from Mr. W. Lovel, Weaverthorpe, 



York, a little pamphlet detailing "How to Grow Strawberries 

 with Success." The author states that his object is to give 

 some "plain cultural directions, the result of practical expe- 

 rience," on a subject with which he appears well acquainted. 

 The pamphlet appears at an opportune time, and contains 

 good and reliable advice On the cultivation of this esteemed 

 fruit. 



A short time ago Mr. Douglas alluded to the adapta- 

 bility of Fuchsias fob training on the eooes oe greenhouses, 

 and he enumerated some varieties suitable for that purpose. 

 One, however, that he did not name, although an old variety, 

 is one of the best for that or any other mode of culture — viz., 

 Venus de Medici. This extremely free-flowering and very 

 elegant Fuchsia is now in fine condition at Eew, both as 

 trained on the roof of one of the houses and also as a column 

 or slender pyramid reaching to the roof of the temperate house. 

 Many Fuchsias are planted in the borders of that house and 

 are nearly 20 feet high, but no variety is more beautiful than 



