136 



JOUKNAL OF HOBTICULTtJBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



[ AnguBt 16, 1877. 



for Eoses than we have had this year. Except a few days in 

 Jane it has been rain almost every day, and cold along with 

 it.— A. A. 



STRIPED QUARRENDEN APPLE. 



Whebever ripe dessert Apples are wanted about the end of 

 July and the beginning of Angnst this variety should be grown. 

 We have been using it for some time now in excellent con- 

 dition. The fruit is about middle size, pale yellow, streaked 

 with red outside, and white, juicy, and rich in the flesh. It is 

 grown under several other names, as may be found in the last 

 edition of Dr. Hogg's " Fruit Manual," which contains under 

 the name of Margaret the following descriptive and historical 

 account of this good Apple : — 



" A first-rate early dessert Apple ; it is ripe in the beginning 

 of August, but does not keep long, being very liable to become 

 mealy. To have it in perfection, it is well to gather it a few 

 days before it ripens on the tree, and thereby secure its juicy 

 and vinous flavour. 



" The tree does not attain a large size, being rather a small 

 grower. It is a good bearer, more so than the Joanneting, and 

 is quite hardy, except in light soils, when it is liable to canker. 

 It is well adapted for growing as dwarfs, either for potting or 

 being trained as an espalier, when grafted on the Paradise or 

 Pomme Paradis stock. 



«* " This is a very old English Apple. It is without doubt the 

 Margaret of Eea, Worlidge, Eay, and all our early pomologists 

 except Miller; Mr. Lindiey, however, is of a different opinion, 

 for he believes the Margaret of Miller to be identical with that 

 of Eay. That this variety is the Margaret of Eea, his descrip- 

 tion is sufficient evidence. ' The Margaret or Magdelen Apple 

 is a fair and beautiful fruit, yellow, and thick striped with red, 

 early ripe, of a delicate taste, sweet flavour, and best eaten off 

 the tree.' Eay gives no description of it, but it is only reason- 

 able to suppose that it is this variety he refers to, seeing it is 

 the Margaret of all authors both immediately preceding and 

 subsequent to him. And indeed in no instance is that of 

 Miller noticed by any English author but himself anterior to 

 Mr. Lindiey." — A Kitchen Gardener. 



OUR BORDER FLOWERS— LILTWORTS. 



We have not a native representative of this charming order 

 of plants. I wish we had. We have a plant bearing the name 

 of Lancashire Bog Asphodel (Narthecium), but then it is not a 

 Lilywort. As to their wherefrom, they reach us from many 

 places far over the sea. The King's-spear Lilywort (Aspho- 

 delus ramosue) is from southern Europe, and has long been an 

 occupant of our borders, but has not received that amount of 

 attention it ought to have done. Truly it is a noble plant 

 when established, and wants leaving alone. It is said to cover 

 immense tracts of land where it is located, and affords good 

 nourishment for sheep. It was sacred to Proserpine, and used 

 at funeral ceremonies. Asphodelus luteus is most commonly 

 met with, and when well cultivated is a very useful early and 

 long-continuing border flower. A. luteus flore-pleno is a very 

 desirable plant, and an improvement on the parent. A. fistu- 

 losus, said to be from France and Italy, is but very little known 

 and seldom seen. Perhaps the least interesting of the family, 

 yet useful for filling up spaces in waste or out-of-the-way 

 places, is A. creticus. A. capillaris is one of the dwarfest of the 

 race, and ought to be much more cultivated than it is at 

 present. There are other kinds that might be enumerated, 

 but the foregoing are found in general cultivation. 



They are not particular as to soil or situation, but are all the 

 better for having liberal treatment afforded them. They enjoy 

 light, and thrive well in ordinary garden soil mixed with 

 sandy loam and well-decomposed vegetable matter. The 

 spaces they are intended to occupy should be well broken up to 

 the depth of 2 feet, and the above compost mixed with the soil. 

 They are benefited by thorough drainage, and water when the 

 weather becomes dry. If mulched they are all the better, and 

 they require staking to prevent the wind from breaking them. 

 They are increased by Beed, but more easily by division, either 

 in the autumn or early spring, when growth is commencing. 

 — Yeeiias. 



ROSES FROM CUTTINGS. 

 A jew years ago I was persuaded to strike some Eoses from 

 cuttings. I did so, and was very successful, and I have been 

 following the same plan every year since* without failure. 



Early in October I procured some good cuttings, and out them 

 with a sharp knife and let them dry slightly at the ends, and 

 planted them firmly in a bed of common garden soil mixed 

 with a little old lime rubbish. The result has been that eight 

 out of every ten cuttings have rooted. I have struck nearly 

 all sorts up to the present time. As I notice you have had 

 some inquiries from correspondents who want to increase their 

 stock of Eoses I advise them to try this simple plan. — S. J. W., 

 Trowbridge. 



IXORAS. 



Few stove plants are more valuable both for exhibition and 

 decorative purposes than Ixoras. As large specimens with 

 rich deep green foliage and noble heads of flowers they have 

 an imposing effect, while as smaller plants with from one to 

 half a dozen trusses few plants can excel them during their 

 period of flowering. S^JS 



Ixoras are purely tropical plants, and the imported species 

 are almost exclusively from tropical Asia. An Asiatic name 

 has therefore been appropriately given to the genus, Ixora 

 being a Malabar idol, to which the flowers of Ixora striota (as 



Fig. SO.— Ixora for decoration. 



it was originally named, but now known as coccinea) are offered 

 by the natives. This species is the first that was introduced 

 to Europe nearly two hundred years ago, and it is popular and 

 deservedly so, even when it has as rivals several beautiful 

 garden hybrids which have recently been raised and distributed. 

 Ixoras can be easily propagated by cuttings. Take a short- 

 jointed half-ripened cutting about 6 inches long and insert it 

 firmly in a small thumb pot in a compost of peat, leaf soil, a 

 little fibrous loam, and a good admixture of silver sand. 

 Plunge the cutting pots in bottom heat in a moist well-heated 

 stove or propagating house, and not many days will elapse 

 before roots are emitted. When these reach the sides of the 

 pots transfer them to pots a little larger, and eventually into- 

 4S-sized pots, using the same sort of soil as described for the 

 cuttings. Healthy plants in 5-inch pots are of great use for 

 table decoration, while medium-sized plants with 6 or 7 trusses 

 of flowers on them are very valuable for many purposes of 

 decoration, as may be judged from the example shown in the 

 accompanying illustration, fig. 30. The next shift should be 

 into a 32-sized pot. Future shifts must be at the discretion of 

 the grower, according to what size plants are required, but large 

 shifts should never be given, which often result in sour soil 

 and unhealthy plants. A little liquid manure may be given 

 occasionally when the plants are established. Do not give the 

 plants too much water in the winter time, and avoid drips 

 from the roof, especially on such tender varieties as Colei, for 

 drip at that period is fatal to good foliage. During the growing 

 season afford plenty of heat and syringe twice a-day, the pots 

 if possible being half plunged in a hotbed. Any shoots 



