September 12, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



205 



the ground or stuck against a wall in such a way that no 

 moisture from below can reach it by any means ; but it must 

 be remembered that as it is placed in such an artificial 

 position, artificial means must also be used to keep it alive, 

 and, like a plant in a pot, it will soon languish and die when 

 water is withheld because it is not to be had. If designers of 

 ferneries, rockeries, and Alpine gardens would take a few more 

 lessons from Nature they would find that where vegetation 

 does flourish there means are taken to make it do so, and 

 where nakedness and sterility are the order of the day, the 

 means are much the same as those which the rockwork artist 

 adopts — i.e., there is no repository for either earth or water, 

 hence the absence of vegetation. Of course, climatic influences 

 are also at work in Nature's operations, but in man's handi- 

 work they cannot well be blamed for such failures as are often 

 met with. — J. Eobson. 



{To be continued.) 



DROPMORE PINETUM. 

 It may be interesting to many of your readers to know the 

 growth and progress that some of the trees have made in the 

 last half-century, or say in the service of one man. Mr. Frost 

 came to Dropmore on the 3rd of November, 1822, and conse- 

 quently will have been there fifty years on the 3rd of Novem- 

 ber, 1872. A packet of Pine seed was sent to the late Lord 

 Grenville from the Royal Horticultural Society, under the 

 name of Pinus taxifolia, which has since been changed, in 

 honour of poor Douglas, to Abies Douglasii ; this packet of 

 seed was put into the hands of Mr. Frost to sow in December, 

 1827, or early in January, 1S28. Only three of the seeds vege- 

 tated ; two of the trees are now growing at Dropmore, and one 

 had to be cut down, being planted too near a fine Araucaria. 

 The larger of the two is now 102 feet or more high, as the 

 leader leans obliquely to the north. This tree is as perfect a 

 specimen of i ts sort as can be grown. It is not necessary to 

 be an enthusiast to enable any person to admire its gigantic 

 proportions. The lowest branches are flat on the grass, occu- 

 pying a space o| 66 feet in diameter, from which they rise 

 tapering to the top. The trunk at 3 feet up is 9 feet 7 inches 

 in girth. I doubt if there is a finer or more perfect tree 

 in Great Britain, without the additional interest of still having 

 its raiser and trainer to keep its leaders single and give ad- 

 ditional food to its surface-feeders. If we take some of the 

 other Conifer?, we find a Pinus insignis, purchased at Mr. Lee's 

 Nursery, Hammersmith, planted in 1839 (a cutting plant), 

 height 68 feet, girth of trunk 8 feet 7 inches, diameter of the 

 branches 48 feet ; Cedrus Deodara, planted 1834, height 52 feet, 

 girth of trunk 9 feet, diameter of branches 47 feet — there are 

 others better, but not so large a seedling ; Pinus insignis,' from 

 the Royal Horticultural Society, planted in 1843, height 61 feet, 

 girth of trunk 9 feet, diameter of branches 41 feet ; Pinus 

 Benthamiana, planted 1843, height 30 feet, girth of trunk 



3 feet 4 inches, diameter of branches 30 feet ; Picea amabihs 

 (cutting plant), height 42 feet 8 inches, girth 3 feet 9 inches, 

 diameter of branches 21 feet, planted 1847 ; Pinus monticola, 

 planted 1835, height 58 feet 6 inches, diameter of branches 

 33 feet, girth of trunk 5 feet 6 inches; Pinus Lambertiana, 

 planted 1841, now 40 feet high. The large Araucaria is 51 feet 

 high, its girth of trunk at 3 feet from the ground is 6 feet 



4 inches, the diameter of the branches 28 feet ; it was planted 

 in 1830. Whether it is the finest or highest in Great Britain 

 or not I leave others to decide. I have seen none so perfect 

 nor so high either in Great Britain or Ireland. A great portion 

 of the success of these trees is no doubt due to the care in 

 preparing the places before planting, also the great amount of 

 surface-dressing. Mr. Frost gives them every autumn as many 

 dressings as he can ; they seem to root up into these however 

 thickly put on. 



It is proposed by some friends to present Mr. Frost with 

 some sort of testimonial on his completing his fiftieth year 

 at Dropmore in November next. — J. Fleming, Cliveden, Maid- 

 enhead. 



BEDDING GERANIUMS. 

 Having a house of these in full bloom , I cannot help feeling 

 that their value as greenhouse plants is not fully recognised. 

 What tribe of plants is so easily cultivated ? Who can name 

 another which will remain in full beauty for so long a time, 

 or is so free from insect pests ? Yet at our shows, at Birming- 

 ham for instance, we see the same old kinds year after year as 



if there had been no improvement made. I do not show 

 myself, but I should like to see my kinds well grown for once, 

 and would give a prize of £3 or £4 for a dozen plants of kinds 

 I have sent out. If other raisers would do the same with their 

 varieties, I think it would make a far more interesting show 

 than one of variegated kinds ; there is so much more variety in 

 flowering Geraniums with green leaves than there is amongst 

 the " Tricolors." 



Talking about variety, I think the Royal Horticultural So- 

 ciety ought to vary the time at which the country shows are 

 held, otherwise people will not long travel great distances to 

 see them. There was great sameness between the Birming- 

 ham and Nottingham shows. — J. R. Peakson, Chilwell. 



PROPAGATING BEDDING PLANTS. 



Not having a reserve ground in which to grow plants for the 

 purpose, I take cuttings late, so as not to interfere with the 

 symmetry of the flower-beds, and go over these several times, 

 so that I have two or three successions of cuttings. Verbenas 

 are generally placed in pots, Pelargoniums in wooden boxes of 

 all sizes, from 18 inches by 6, and 2 inches deep, to 3 feet long, 

 9 inches wide, and 3 inches deep. In fact if I can obtain posses- 

 sion of any old wood, the boxes are made accordingly on wet days. 

 There is no doubt that all our bedding Pelargoniums would 

 strike well out of doors in August and September in an open 

 border ; but taking into consideration that the struck cuttings 

 must be lifted before winter, and boxed or potted, I prefer 

 potting or boxing the cuttings at once, so that we can move 

 them without much trouble in an emergency ; as a general 

 rule those cuttings now, on which I depend for large healthy 

 plants the following year, remain in their cutting quarters all 

 through the winter, and more room is only given them in the 

 spring. On an average, for cuttings of Verbenas about three- 

 quarters of an inch is allowed, for variegated Geraniums 

 1J inch, for stronger-growing kinds 2 inches, and for Calceo- 

 larias li inch, and with this allowance they must grow as best 

 they may until about March. I know that some advocate 

 planting the cuttings out in a border, and then lifting and 

 boxing or potting them, as it checks too free growth ; but I 

 can easily secure the same result in the boxes by letting the 

 soil become rather dry. I wish it to be clearly understood 

 that it is rarely my plants have more than the above room, or 

 are potted or planted out until spring. I know it is desirable 

 to pot separately in the autumn, but I never could find the 

 room to do so, and therefore never attempted it. 



If any should imitate me in using these rough-made wooden 

 boxes there are a few things to be attended to, more especially 

 if old unplaned wood be used. First, give the boxes inside 

 and outside a good coating of limewash ; this will greatly tend 

 to prevent fungus. Then, again, as the boxes will be open 

 enough, nothing much is required in the way of drainage, 

 except the roughest part of the soil. In default of that some 

 rough leaf mould might be used, but" only if you are sure there 

 is no spawn of fungi in it. I have so often suffered from this 

 cause that I generally eschew such material altogether, as 

 nothing is more unpleasant than to have the boxes covered 

 with spawn, and find it creeping over the plants. Strong lime 

 water will destroy fungus, but it often injures tender plants 

 also. In filling these boxes, then, we prefer, on the whole, 

 sandy loam, such as can be procured from the sides of a 

 highway road, riddled through a half-inch sieve, the riddlings 

 placed at the bottom, the riddled above, and then surfaced 

 with the riddled soil and sand, with a surfacing of sand over 

 all. One word more, if there is the least trace of fly or thrips 

 on Verbenas or Calceolarias, pass the cuttings through a 

 vessel of tobacco water without immersing the root end of 

 the cutting. — R. F. 



NOTES UPON FERNS.— No. 4.- 

 In my last communication (vol. xxii., page 360) I took a 

 cursory glance at the variations to be found in the veins of 

 Ferns, but far from exhausted the subject, for very much more 

 might be written upon the peculiarities of these organs. As 

 my articles, however, are not intended to be exhaustive, or to 

 detail all the differences which these plants assume ; and, 

 moreover, as the tastes and requirements of so many thousands 

 who read the Journal have to be catered for — sufficient, I 

 think, has been said on those organs to enable " Pteeis " and 

 other lovers of Ferns to resume the subject and prosecute their 



