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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Angast 23, 1877. 



purplish crimson to pure white, almost every intermediate 

 shade being represented, many of the varieties having shaded 

 petals and distinct dark centres, and their perfume iB delight- 

 ful. The plants are grown in 8-ineh pots placed in the open 

 air, and receive much the same treatment as Chrysanthemums 

 — minuB, of course, stopping their shoots. No attempt has 

 been made to grow large specimens similar to some that Mr. 

 Laing has exhibited in previous years, but the object has been 

 to produce medium-sized handy decorative plants, such as 

 would fittingly adorn conservatories, corridors, and halls, and 

 such plants that may be equally well grown in any well- I 

 managed garden. The plants now flowering so finely were in 

 quite small potB last year at this time, and only good soil and 

 ordinary attention in watering them have been given to bring 

 them to their present excellent Btate. Such plants are worthy 

 of being extensively grown, and could not fail to add to the 

 attractiveness of any conservatory during the summer months. 

 They contrast admirably with ornamental-foliaged plants, and 

 afford an agreeable change to Geraniums, Fuchsias, and Achi- 

 inenes. Phloxes in pots require no " Bhelves near the glass " 

 for growing them — no shading nor fumigating, a timely stake 

 to each plant and good support being the chief and simple 

 essentials of culture. In borders they are beautiful, but to 

 have them in fullest beauty a few should be grown in pots, and 

 no summer-flowering plants will give a better return for the 

 necessary labour bestowed on them. A few of the finest 

 varieties are the following : — Yalentien, rosy salmon; Gustave 

 Duchesne, purplish crimson ; Alfred Crousse, salmon suffused 

 with purple ; La Croix de St. Louis, lilac, edge of petals 

 white; Madame Antin, crimson; Victor Lemoine, rich rosy 

 salmon; The Duke, lilac, shaded rose; George Grieve, rosy 

 salmon; Man of Kent, rosy carmine; Mons. Crousse, rosy 

 orimson; Mons. Malet, lilac, white centre; Mons. Taillard, 

 reddish salmon ; Mrs. Dombrain, white, crimson eye ; Queen of 

 Whites, French white ; White Lady, very pure ; Souvenir des 

 Ternes, white and purple, fine; J. M. Purvis, white, crimson 

 eye ; Delicatum, white and lilac ; and Madame la Comtesse de 

 Turenne. Those named are all superior ; only the prevailing 

 colours are given, but most of them have distinctly coloured 

 eyes. They all belong to the decussata or late-flowering section, 

 and are more vigorous in habit, more lasting in beauty, and 

 more generally satisfactory, at least in the southern counties, 

 than are varieties of the suffruticosa or early-flowering group. 



Pentstemons. — Of these there is an excellent collection, and 

 not many antumn-flowering plants are more elegant in habit 

 and more beautiful for border decoration ; they also produce 

 an excellent effect when grown in pots. The flowers of some 

 of the varieties are almost as large and quite as richly spotted 

 as FoxgloveB, and the colours are extremely varied, including 

 crimson, scarlet, purple, lilac, rose, and white. Although not 

 quite hardy they are as easily cultivated as Phloxes, their 

 chief requirements being good soil, an open situation, a few 

 stakes, and an adequate supply of water. Small plants struck 

 in the autumn and wintered in small pots in cold pits and 

 frames flower freely and attractively during the following 

 season. They are admirable for large beds, lines, and mixed 

 borders in gardens, and these are many, where flowers are par- 

 ticularly desired from August until November, and where 

 Geraniums, varied as they are, are not considered the "be-all 

 and end-all " of garden ornamentation, and where " carpet 

 beds " are not regarded as the climax of the gardener's art. 

 Pentstemons are effective without being formal, elegant in 

 habit, sprightly, and cheerful. A few excellent varieties are 

 here named — Count Munster, white throat; James Eothschild, 

 crimson purple, white throat; J. H. Stanley, red, white, and 

 claret ; Lady Coutts Lindsay, pure white ; Lord Carington, 

 purple, peach, and white; Mrs. G. Patrick, bluUh purple, white 

 throat ; Novelty, pink, blotched crimson ; The Bride, white 

 and rose ; W. E. Gumbleton, purplish rose and white ; W. M. 

 Dolben, purplish red and white ; William Paul, rosy crimson ; 

 Black Knight, maroon and white ; Brilliant, rosy purple and 

 white; Emilie Chate\ soft rose and white; and Mrs. J. Douglas, 

 claret and white. The above are established varieties. Some 

 fine newer sorts are Lord Salisbury, Midhat Pasha, Dr. Masters, 

 Raphael, Marechal MacMahon, Richard Wallace, Empress of 

 India, Robert Whyte, and Chloris. 



Golden Bicolor Geraniums — Some years ago Mr. Laing 

 Set up an ideal standard to be attained in the foliage of this 

 very effeotive section of a popular family of plants, and he 

 has about attained it. Stout leathery foliage of circular out- 

 line, clear zone and margin, and sharply defined and rich con- 

 trasting colours, were the objeots which have been steadily kept 



in view, and the result is varieties which make their way out 

 of the nursery as fast as they can be propagated. No Gera- 

 niums are more easily cultivated than these, for they grow as 

 freely as the green-leaved kinds, while their brilliant golden 

 colours and rich chestnut zones render them singularly gay. 

 Their chief requirements are plenty of light and air, with good 

 soil and support to keep their roots moving. Open-air culture, 

 with only slight shelter in extremely inclement weather, is the 

 mode adopted during the summer to bring the plants to per- 

 fection. They are now being partially rested and matured 

 preparatory to being pruned and propagated. Some of them are 

 highly effective bedding plants, notably Marechal MacMahon. 

 This is the best of all for beds, the growth being free yet com- 

 pact, and the colours bright and distinct. The newer variety 

 Exquisite is also very telling when planted out. This is a 

 splendid variety, and if surpassed by any it is by John Jenner 

 Weir, which is strikingly uniform and rich in colour. Japan is 

 a fine new variety, as also are Australian and Richard Thornton. 

 The Czar is the darkest of all. The Shah, Warrior, Prince 

 Bismarck, Count Munster, Mrs. F. J. Horniman, and W. E. 

 Gumbleton are all distinct and good. 



Besides the plants named there are collections of nearly all 

 other flower-garden and greenhouse plants, including a con- 

 siderable stock of the new Chrysanthemum Golden Empress of 

 India, which is an admirable grower and very sturdy in habit. 

 Another plant having its " home" in this nursery must not 

 be passed in silence — Fuchsia Lord Beaconsfield. It is the 

 result of a fortunate cross between F. fnlgens and one of the 

 garden varieties, and has received a first-class certificate from 

 the Royal Horticultural Society, also at the Royal Botanic 

 Society and at the Crystal Palace. It is a distinct and striking 

 variety, with immense flowers with rosy carmine tube and bright 

 carmine corolla. It is a strong grower and most profuse and 

 persistent bloomer, rendering it valuable for decoration, and it 

 can scarcely fail to become very popular as a " market plant." 

 Yet another plant worthy of note is a new double Petunia 

 Souvenir de Chiswick. It is rosy purple striped with white, 

 and has crimped petals, and is extremely effective. 



Rutland Park Nursery. — This is twice the size of the Stan- 

 stead Park Nursery, and the soil and situation are specially 

 suitable for the cultivation of fruit trees and Roses, both of 

 which are extensively grown. Finer trees — standards, pyra- 

 mids, and trained trees of Apples, Pears, Plums, Apricots, and 

 Cherries — could not be desired than the robust short-jointed 

 stock in this nursery. Roses are grown by thousands, and 

 thrice the usual number are being budded this year, so great 

 has been the demand. That rich dark Rose Louis Yan Houtte 

 is unusually brilliant on this soil. Perhaps the finest bloom 

 of it ever exhibited was staged by Mr. Laing at the Biekley 

 Show. There is a " great run " on this variety, also on 

 Belle Lyonnaise, which has all the good properties of Gloire 

 de Dijon with greater purity of colour. All the most popular 

 varieties of Roses are extensively grown, and the second is a 

 fine one. Ornamental trees and shrubs also thrive well ; in- 

 deed, the nursery is an excellent one, and is in capital order, 

 and a meed of praise is consequently due to the foremen of 

 the firm— Mr. Badman at Stanstead Park, and Mr. Wakelin at 

 Rutland Park. — Visitor. 



FLOWER FARMING IN FRANCE. 



In the south of France the Jasmine is cultivated in enormous 

 quantities for perfumers' use. The cuttings are planted in 

 rows nearly 3 feet apart and 2 or 3 inches from each other ; 

 during the first year vegetables of certain kinds are grown 

 between the rows. In the second spring the Jasmines are fit 

 for grafting. Ordinary cleft grafting is practised, the stooks 

 being headed down to an inch or two above the soil. A good 

 workman, aided by a woman to tie the graft, will work one 

 thousand to two thousand Jasmines a day, the man earning 

 5 franos, and the woman 1 J franc a day. In July and August 

 flowers are produced, which must bs gathered perfectly dry; 

 and if there is seen during the night to be any danger of rain, 

 men are sent into town at three o'clock in the morning to 

 summon the women to the farm to pick the flowers before the 

 rain comes. 



The proprietors of the flower farms at Grasse have the right 

 to use the sewage of the town, which is collected in oemented 

 tanks and distributed by irrigation. One thousand plants of 

 Jasmine in good soil will furnish in the seoond year after 

 grafting about 120 lbs. of flowers. In subsequent years the 

 production of flowers is very much larger, so that from 3500 



