3U 



JOUENAL OF HOBTIGDLTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



£ October 31, 1872. 



beautiful still. In a short time the cavalcade moved on to the 

 sound of " music's soothing strains," 'while I was left lament- 

 ing. With a heavy heart I made the best of my way home, 

 and there " poured forth a sorrowful tale." On examining the 

 condition of the tender one whose existence was in jeopardy, 

 I was pleased to hear them pronounce the case not so bad after 

 all ; it might have been worse, for " while there was life there 

 was hope," and that with care and good nursing all would be 

 well again. Such a favourable report seemed to act upon my 

 saddened feelings like mercury in the sun, which rapidly rose 

 up from the zero line to the one-hundredth degree of happiness 

 again. 



Such, good readers, was my rather strange and ludicrous 

 adventure with the subject of this letter, " when we were first 

 acquaint." My protege was soon convalescent again, and in- 

 creased in comeliness of foi-m and stature every day. We 

 watched our tender charge with every promise of soon realising 

 in the budding beauty all the charms of matured loveliness 

 which were about to unfold. In due time, like a peerless 

 flower, as she undoubtedly was, her unrivalled charms seemed 

 to fascinate all who beheld her matchless beauty. I well 

 remember how delighted I was with the sight of the first open 

 flower, which was a marvel in those days. Floriculture has 

 made rapid strides in the march of improvement since then, 

 with Dahlias especially. 



Horticultural exhibitions, or flower shows as they were 

 generally called, were not so grand as now. The Dahlia, at 

 the time of which I write, was one of the chief objects which 

 engaged the attention of both professional and amateur 

 growers, and contributed most to the floral displays of the 

 country shows of that period. Recollection goes back to the 

 time when single and semi-double Dahlia flowers were ex- 

 hibited and obtained premiums. A single variety, the Para- 

 gon by name, was to be seen in every good collection. 



Perhaps the readers will smile at the simple tastes of our 

 forefathers in gardening in those days, but let me add one 

 word in testimony of the merits of the Paragon. Of all the 

 single flowers of its kind, it was true to name. It was a 

 paragon in every sense of the word, and I think should not be 

 despised at this day. The colour of its evenly-formed long- 

 pointed petals, which radiated from a golden centre (button- 

 eyed they were afterwards called, from the supposed resem- 

 blance they bore to a brass button) , were dark purple margined 

 with a lighter shade, and it was really a pretty flower. Sul- 

 phurea Elegans, a large shaggy kind, was the best of the 

 yellows (would be considered the worst now). Mary Queen of 

 Scots, a small lilac-coloured kind, and, like her namesake, had 

 some pretensions to beauty. Jones's Diogenes was a scarlet 

 wonder, while Anemonamora was a small, passable purple 

 flower, and somewhat resembled an Anemone. Queen of the 

 Whites was by no means so queenly a flower as her name 

 would imply, semi-double, with long compressed petals. Beauty 

 of Ackworth was a flaming scarlet with a full centre, was 

 showy and pretty good. The Queen of Sheba, in royal purple, 

 was a regal flower; while William and Adelaide, a kind of 

 floral sport, was the wonder of the day, " having flowers of 

 two colours on one stem," as the catalogues informed the 

 public. The Florist's Delight was curious if not delightful, 

 with its fawn, straw, buff, and yellow-shaded flowers, vide 

 catalogue of 1831-2. Wells's Eclipse was a much better flower, 

 and certainly eclipsed all the foregoing kinds, until Springfield 

 Rival, a handsomely-formed dark purple well-cupped flower, 

 outrivalled all its competitors. But the great marvel of the 

 day was the floral phenomenon Dodd's Mary, whose exquisite 

 beauty overshadowed all her predecessors. 



A deep cicatrice on my right hand from "the honourable 

 wound " I received when I shed my blood in defending Dodd's 

 Mary, remains to remind me of the time when Dahlias were 

 " all the go " in times gone by. Turning back the leaves of 

 memory, the mind's eye plainly sees a Dahlia show held in a 

 country town in England in the year of grace 1831, where the 

 above-named varieties were exhibited, and the first premium 

 was awarded for the twelve best flowers to my instructor in 

 horticulture ; and the first also for a single specimen of Dodd's 

 Mary. — T. Hakdisg, Noiiantum Hill, Brighton, Mass. (in 

 Gardener's Monthly.) 



[This Dahlia was raised by Mr. Dodd, gardener to Lord 

 Montague, at Slough.] 



about £520. Odontoglossum vexillarium var. giganteum sold 

 for £5. 



Sale op Orchids. — Five hundred lots of imported Orchids 

 were sold by Mr. Stevens on the 17th inst. ; they realised 



ELECTION OF BOSES. 



Circumstances have prevented my replying earlier to the 

 Eev. C. P. Peach. I see that he is already engaged on the 

 Strawberry election, and I will gladly undertake the duty of 

 returning officer for Eoses. 



The questions I propose to put are the following : — 



1. Bestricted to one Bose for all purposes, which would you 

 select ? I am disposed to think that the voting on this may 

 bring out some Boses that a few amongst us might not consider 

 amongst the best twelve. 



2. Name what you consider the best twelve Eoses in culti- 

 vation amongst the Teas and Noisettes. 



3. Name what you consider the best fifty Eoses in cultiva- 

 tion, and underline out of this fifty those you consider the 

 best twelve. 



I shaU be happy to receive replies from any rosarian, or the 

 more modest Bose-grower. The poll will close about the end 

 of November ; but as the returning officer here may examine 

 votes at once, the sooner any of the readers of " our Jour- 

 nal" choose to send their lists the better. — Joseph Hrrrnv, 

 Warminster. 



JOTTINGS ON THIS TEAK'S GARDENING.— No. 2. 



THE POTATO DISEASE. 



To avoid the disease, let us plant a frame under precisely 

 the same conditions as those laid down in my previous article, 

 and treat them in an exactly similar manner until the haulm 

 is strong and tubers have begun to form ; then put on the 

 lights. Do not raise the frame, but tilt the lights. Do not 

 give more water than is required to keep the plants in a healthy 

 state and secure the swelling of the tubers, and admit no rain, 

 The leaves will die-off yellow, the tubers will be sound. 



The question will be asked, Have I tried these experiments ? 

 The first I have not in the way named. It will be said, Then 

 how do you know it will result in disease ? My answer is, 

 that by keeping a Potato wet by frequent sprinklings overhead, 

 giving heavy waterings to those grown in frames, keeping the 

 soil wet and the atmosphere close, warm, and moist, we retard 

 ripening, increase and prolong the vigour of the plant, and 

 such a course continued long enough will result in disease, as 

 I have noticed on more than one occasion. What results in 

 disease in one case must be equaUy, if not more, effective in 

 producing it when the treatment is such as in a higher degree 

 to predispose the plant to an attack. 



It may be urged that the Potato disease occurs in a dry as 

 weU as in a wet season. Admitting that there may be such 

 instances, it will be found that when the disease prevails in 

 the so-called dry season the weather was wet for a considerable 

 time, the atmosphere surcharged with moisture, the range of 

 temperature very little owing to cloud, that there was scarcely 

 any dew when the Potato crops had arrived at their maximum 

 of growth, when the whole vital forces of the plant are concen- 

 trated on the growth and ripening of the tubers. It seems to- 

 be altogether forgotten that the Potato is a tuber, requiring a 

 tuber's treatment — i.e., a, season for growth, needing moisture, 

 or rains, and heat, and another for maturing that growth, re- 

 quiring a gradually diminishin g amount of moisture — in fact, 

 dryness and full exposure to light and heat. Plant a Potato- 

 when and how we may, it will grow until it has attained its 

 full size. More it will not do, nor can all the art of man make 

 it. Dp to this stage it does not matter what the state of the 

 weather may have been as regards moisture ; only, if the 

 s'eason has been moist and congenial, the plant will be con- 

 siderably stronger in growth than if the contrary had been the 

 case. Up to this stage the plant's energies are directed towards 

 growth, after this to the swelling and ripening of the tubers. 

 If the weather is dry the crop will be of finer quality and free 

 of disease ; if wet, and such as to promote growth, the crop 

 may be heavier, but the quality will be inferior and diseased. 



Again, the disease is not uniform in its effects. Some crops 

 are much diseased, others not at all or very little, and this in 

 adjoining localities. The cause is not inexplicable if we will 

 only stoop to examine the conditions of soil in each case. 

 Where the disease is worst, is the soil not fvdl of humus ? 

 Where it is not found, or not extensively, the soil is dry ; the 

 water passes away both by percolation and evaporation more 

 freely, so that the ripening process is not injuriously affeeted. 



Then we have kinds proof against the disease — for instance, 



