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JOUBNAL OF HCBTIODLTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



[ November 29, 1877. 



°" All who have Camellias under their charge not only should 

 but^must recognise the principle there laid dowD, or they can- 

 not^exeel ; and they must not only admit the importance of 

 it, but must act on it. It is not the mere acquisition of know- 

 ledge, but the application of it that makes a man famous in 

 his calling. 



In travelling and earning in contact with various minds it 

 is surprising to find how much latent knowledge there is in the 

 gardening world. The unused skill — or perhaps " wisdom " 

 would be the better word, for I imagine there cannot be skill 

 without action, but there may be quiescent knowledge — is 

 enormous. It is not so much a deficiency of technical know- 

 ledge as a disposition to procrastination — a hesitancy to prompt 

 actual work, that is the chief cause of shortcomings in gar- 

 dening practice. Sound knowledge and clear thought are 

 indispensable as the stock-in-trade of every gardener, but they 

 are not sufficient ; a man must have an aptitude for work — 

 prompt thorough work, or his attainments are rendered inert. 

 What is the use of knowing a " bookful" if the knowledge is 

 fruitless? A man may have a headful of technicalities, but 

 if bis hands are empty he will be left behind in this matter- 

 of-fact world. " But what has all this to do with Camellia 

 culture?" some may ask. My reply is that it has a very 

 direct and important bearing on the subject, and I will state 

 the reason why. 



Not long ago I visited two gardens in which were some large 

 Camellias. They were both in the same district, so that the 

 fundamental nature of the soil and water is the same. In 

 one garden the plants were in excellent health — green, clean, 

 glossy, and the flower buds numerous and firm ; in the 

 other they were unhealthy, the foliage dingy in colour and 

 dirty, with some scale on the shoots and the buds soft and 

 spongy to the touch. Yet the man in charge of these unsatis- 

 factory plants was well versed in Camellia lore. He could tell 

 me the genus was named after Camellus, that C. japoniea was 

 introduced from China nearly 150 years ago, that the variety 

 Saccoiana had nearly twenty synonymes, and that the plants 

 liked plenty of shade and syringing; yet what availed all this 

 knowledge since it was not applied to a practical end? The 

 plants were shaded no doubt, and were syringed regularly ; 

 but the syringing as conducted did more harm than good, 

 because it was made to compensate for a thorough spoDging 

 of the plants, and it disguised the real state of the border, 

 which was moist on the surface but dry beneath. In a word, 

 the plants were not clean and they were not well fed. In the 

 case of the healthy collection of plants the man possessed 

 little, or at any rate expressed little, historical knowledge of 

 the Camellia, but he possessed common sense and applied it. 

 He treated his plants, he remarked, "in the same way that 

 the coachman did the horses" — he "groomed them well and 

 fed them well, and bad no difficulty in keeping them in good 

 health." The system of management adopted in the case of 

 these excellent plants appears to be identical with that de- 

 scribed by " B. M. A." 



It is not enough to know what must be done, but the neces- 

 sary work must be accomplished promptly and thoroughly. 

 Camellias require more water and support than many growers 

 of the plants appear to be aware of. Hundreds of plants in 

 the country are in a semi-starved Btate. Provided the drainage 

 of the pots and borders is efficient it is not an easy matter to 

 give Camellias too much water during their season of growth, 

 and something more than pure water is very frequently 

 necessary. Oa the Continent weak and clear liquid manure 

 made from cow drag is occasionally given to the plants, 

 and their glossy foliage tells how greatly they enjoy it. 

 " B. M. A." has recommended, and I doubt not with good 

 reason, Standen's manure as an excellent application for 

 Camellias. This fertiliser is not always at hand, and I will 

 recommend another about which there can be little difficulty 

 in obtaining at aDy time — namely soot. I have found soot 

 particularly valuable in invigorating Camellias, and imparting 

 to the foliage that rich dark hue which so greatly enhances 

 the beauty of the plants. Spread on tho surface of pots and 

 borders, and watered-in thoroughly, soot can be employed not 

 only with safety but with great benefit when the plants— as 

 so many of them do — need a stimulant. When the collection 

 of plants in pots ia limited it is advisable to mix the soot in 

 water and to use the liquid in a clear state as being less objec- 

 tionable in its application ; but when the plants are in large 

 tubs or planted in borders top-dressings of soot and copious 

 waterings will be found an effectual mode of preserving Ca- 

 mellias in health, especially if accompanied by the all-import- 



ant condition of perfect cleanliness of the foliage ; for if the 

 leaves are encrusted with dirt, or the stems infested by insects, 

 no applications at the roots can act beneficially. — Nomad. 



KOMAN HYACINTHS. 



As early winter-flowering bulbous plants there are none 

 more useful than these ; they are such a pure white, so sweet- 

 scentsd, lasting also fairly well, and they can be had in suc- 

 cession from the end of October till the other Hyacinths and 

 Tulips can be obtained. But much depends upon how the 

 Boman Hyacinths are grown to give them their fair share of 

 favour. For example, when planted too thinly in pots tbey 

 do not give satisfaction at their flowering season. One way 

 that they certainly show well is by having about two dozen 

 bulbs in a pan, so that when in flower the whole is just a mass 

 of white. That mode of growing them is not applicable to 

 every place, but it undoubtedly shows these "lovelyminiatures" 

 to great advantage. When grown in pans they can be staked 

 so that the whole is in good form, the spikes rising from the 

 edge to the centre of the pan. For cutting late in the yetsr 

 Boman Hyacinths are very good, as at that time flowers are 

 not numerous. These Hyacinths have doubtless lost favour 

 by not having been grown in the way that shows them to 

 advantage. By having only two or three bulbs in small pots, 

 and these when in flower set round a conservatory stage, though 

 tbey be fairly flowered per bulb they make little show, and culti- 

 vators from such experience may be impressed to give up their 

 cultivation ; but when planted thicker or massed together the 

 effect is very different, and equal to that produced by any other 

 decorative plant of the season. When they come in flower in 

 such a dull time they last long in beauty. They require little 

 of either skill or care for their cultivation. 



If a few hundreds of bulbs are procured late in Bummer one- 

 fourth of the number might then be safely placed in pans. 

 Ordinary soil, such as is used for bedding stuff, will answer 

 well. A succession of bulbs may be put in at the interval of a 

 fortnight or three weeks from the time the first batch wa» put 

 in, and so on till the whole importation is potted. When 

 potted they will do well under a covering of 6 inches of sand 

 till they have grown a couple of inches, then they may be 

 placed in a frame or light pit. If they are wanted early they 

 will, if put on a shelf in a stove near the glass, very soon 

 come on and do well. Each succession can be grown in this 

 way till all are over. Provided good bulbs are obtained there 

 can scarcely be any failure in growing Boman Hyacinths. 

 Ordinary soil and a fairly good supply of water, other points 

 being attended to, will bring about success. For conservatory 

 decoration no flowers of their kind can be produced on shorter 

 notice. — E. M. A. 



JOTTINGS ABOUT KOSES. 



In scribbling about Boses it is not the easiest task imaginable 

 to avoid the track that has already been a hundred times 

 traversed, and yet a pile of repetitions is what all scribblers 

 ought to avoid. 



It may reasonably be considered that we have had Bose 

 selections and elections sufficient, yet I think there is juat an 

 opening for a few lines more, and I shall endeavour to supply 

 them. Besides growing for exhibition there are thousands 

 who grow Boses both in large and small quantities, and per- 

 haps there are as many more who would like to grow them, 

 and who, to commence with, would like to have a dozen that 

 would supply to them the greatest possible amount of pleasure, 

 and in, perhaps, their very contracted space. For such a pur- 

 pose elections for exhibition are misleading. We may have 

 sensational blooms, but, like angels' visits, few and far between. 

 Marie Baumann does supply us with blooms superbly charm- 

 ing, but then, provokingly, here in the north, without occupy- 

 ing some highly favoured position, she stubbornly refuses to 

 grow. Alfred Colomb, a real king where his realm ia to his 

 liking, but in cold smoky districts his smiles are obscured ; 

 you have him careworn-like, stunted. Amongst a dozen these 

 are not of the Boses that sive most pleasure. 



Some years ago, when much more enthusiastic about Boses 

 than I am at present, I took a seventy-miles trip to Leeds 

 exhibition to see the blooms of some new varieties, and there 

 for the first time I saw Baronne de Bothscbild, and which, 

 adopting the alphabetical order, I shall place first in my dozen. 

 Charles Lefebvre is also a good hardy BoEe, and either of these 

 two, if in a thriving condition, will supply blooms calculated 



