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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 21, 1872. 



piquant flavour ; flesh tender; a good variety. Eclipse, too 

 short in the flower-stalk, and deficient in bearing. Dr. 

 Livingstone, a new variety, a good bearer, firm in flesh, large, 

 all the fruit swelling to a good size ; flavour good. Grown 

 under glass, the fruit acquires a rich flavour and aroma. The 

 plant is of good constitution, and the variety the best second 

 or medium early. 



Late Sorts. — Dr. Hogg, large, fine flavour, and a good bearer, 

 but does not stand wet. This variety is subject to decay ; 

 when the roots are examined a fungus is found on them, but 

 they can sometimes be renovated by a good application of 

 manure containing many salts. It is astonishing what an 

 amount of salt Strawberries stand. In planting this variety 

 greater care that it receive no check is required than is neces- 

 sary iu the case of, perhaps, any other. Mr. Radclyffe is 

 also a good bearer, providing the crowns be early matured ; 

 large and fine-flavoured. Cockscomb requires rich soil, it is 

 very large, of good flavour, rough in appearance, but mildews 

 readily. Empress Eugenie, or Black Bess, only 20 per cent, 

 of the plants bore fruit, very large, coarse, and deficient in 

 flavour ; nearly the whole crop was destroyed by the wet. 

 Elton, heavy cropper, large, and of fine appearance, but acid. 

 Lucas, one of the best, taking all points into consideration ; 

 flavour excellent ; a medium variety. The last I have to 

 mention is a late variety, a seedling, but another year will be 

 required to test it ; it is the latest of any. — Lanarkshire Bee- 

 keeper. 



A SHRUB REDDER— DIPLOPAPPUS 

 CHRYSOPHYLLA. 

 One of the most objectionable points as regards the bedding" 

 out system is, that when the summer occupants are removed 

 from the beds, the latter are usually allowed to lie fallow, bare, 

 and cheerless throughout the winter, spring, and even the first 

 month of summer, till they can be again filled. This need not 

 be ; for," in what is in modern parlance called winter and 

 spring gardening, there are abundant resources and material 

 with which it is not alone quite possible, but easy, to have the 

 flower ground looking almost as gay, and, perhaps, rather 

 more interesting, during winter and spring than it does when 

 decked out in its gayish summer toggery of red, white, and 

 blue. The material usually availed of where spring gardening 

 prevails are bulbs, hardy annuals, hardy herbaceous perennials, 

 and variegated and otherwise curiously-coloured plants. 



The value of bright-coloured or variegated-foliaged plants 

 for the ornamentation of the flower-beds or dressed ground 

 during the winter or spring months cannot be too strongly 

 insisted on. Among gay-foliaged subjects of an herbaceous 

 habit, the Golden Feather Pyre thrum is by far the most useful 

 and effective plant we have. Some time since we devoted an 

 article to the subject of shrub-bedding, in which it was at- 

 tempted to show the advantages to be gained by a combination 

 of the Pyrethrum with the ordinary spring bedding. On the 

 present occasion our object is to direct the attention of our 

 practical friends and others interested in ornamental garden- 

 ing to a subject little known, and which, if taken in hand, 

 will, in its way, be as valuable as is the Golden Feather 

 Pyrethrum, and that is saying a good deal for it. 



' The plant we allude to is, like the Pyrethrum, one of the 

 Composite ; but, unlike it, is of a shrubby and persistent 

 character. Our protege is the Golden-leaved Diplopappus, 

 D. chrysophylla. Here is a hardy, low-growing shrub, which 

 may be popularly described as Heath-like in appearance and 

 foliage, with the exception that the Diplopappus looks as 

 though it had been dipped — leaves, branches, and stem — in a 

 solution of gamboge or other gold-coloured pigment ; in fact, 

 it is the most perfectly gold-coloured plant that has ever come 

 under our notice. It is perennial, perfectly hardy, will strike 

 freely from cuttings, -will accommodate itself, we should say, 

 to any requirement, whether it be to form a gilt volute or 

 Snial in the fanciful scroll garden, a lowly but perennial edging 

 or belt of gold to the flower-bed, or a veritable obelisk or pillar 

 of gold, should fancy so choose to fashion it. Apart altogether 

 frorn bedding or flower-ground considerations, grown in its 

 natural form as a shrub it is well calculated to arrest attention, 

 and deserving of being brought under notice. — (Irish Farmers' 1 



Gazette.) 



Chestnuts. — This abundant fruit may claim a place, not 

 equal to that of the Haricot certainly, but still an important 

 place, amongst the substitutes for Potatoes. The roasted Chest- 



nut is well known in England, but in France and other coun- 

 tries it is an important article of consumption. There are two 

 kinds of Chestnuts in general use — the wild variety known in 

 France as the Chataigne des Bois, and the great cultivated nut 

 called Marron. The former are small, but very cheap, while 

 the latter are large and highly nutritive. The sale of roasted 

 Chestnuts in Paris is enormous, and is principally carried on 

 by Savoj'ards, who come from their mountains for several 

 months to roast and sell what are amusingly called by the 

 Parisians " winter swallows." But the Chestnut enters regu- 

 larly into the French cuisine ; it is used to make stuffing for 

 turkey, and from it is made a puree, named after the great 

 Conde, who was a famous gourmet as well as a general, which 

 is eaten with many dishes in place of mashed Potatoes, and is 

 much liked by those who relish a certain amount of sweetness 

 in such preparations. Boiled Chestnuts are also eaten largely 

 in some districts, connoisseurs adding a little butter to them 

 when cut open, but utterly repudiating salt with them, in 

 which we think they are decidedly wrong. In Corsica they 

 form a large part of the food of the country, and in the south 

 of France, and in Spain, they are largely consumed. The 

 Chestnut certainly ranks among the most wholesome and 

 nutritious fruits, and deserves more consideration than it 

 receives in English houses. — (Food Journal.) 



VIENNA INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 



A slight alteration should be made in the wording of the 

 resolutions (see page 388). No. 2 should be so stated that it 

 will be at once apparent that only one exhibition is intended 

 to be made, and should read thus : — 



" That at a later period of the year (the special date to be 

 decided on as best to suit the interests of exhibitors who in- 

 tend sending), cultivators be invited to unite in making one 

 exhibition by sending flowering, fine-foliaged, and pot plants, 

 also cut flowers" — exhibitors only making one show, all joining 

 together for the one object. 



We believe most excellent arrangements are in contempla- 

 tion that exhibitors' interests shall be efficiently represented at 

 Vienna. Although it is proposed that English exhibitors should 

 not compete amongst themselves, still it is to be hoped the 

 Vienna Government will be willing to give medals to such 

 collections as may be considered sufficiently meritorious, which, 

 no doubt, will be a great inducement to some. 



The idea is to have just three shows— 1, One permanent 

 show of hardy plants; 2, One show of pot plants, &c. ; 

 3, A fruit and vegetable show. 



WEEPING TREES. 



The "Weeping Beech, or Fagus sylvatica pendula, is a tree of 

 great beauty. Our specimen, 40 feet high, covers an area of 

 2000 square feet. Unlike many weeping trees, it grows upward 

 and then throws its branches down in all sorts of fantastic 

 shapes. Looking upon it from the outside it seems like a 

 cathedral built by one of the old masters of architecture. 

 Enter through its branches, which sweep the "ground, you find 

 yourself in a natural arbour, fit for all those pleasant things 

 which young men and maidens enjoy but never mention to 

 unappreciative ears. Look up, and you see a sturdy trunk 

 with a bark like a rhinoceros's hide, and supporting limbs 

 twisted and gnarled as if Nature were trying to show how pic- 

 turesque and beautiful so crooked a thing could be. 



No tree in our grounds elicits so many expressions of wonder 

 and admiration. I would suggest one employment for the 

 Weeping Beech which would, I think, produce very striking 

 effects. Plant 20 feet apart in an avenue 30 feet wide, trim 

 up the inside branches 15 or 20 feet, and allow the outside 

 branches to sweep the ground. Iu this outside wall cut small 

 Gothic openings as high as a carriage window. In process of 

 time there will be a perfect arcade, dense on the outside, pictur- 

 esque on the inside, with glimpses of scenery through the 

 Gothic windows. 



A near relative of the above is the cut-leaved or Fern-leaved 

 Beech (Fagus heterophylla), with conical form, well-defined 

 outline, and deeply cut close foliage. A fine specimen of this 

 is well known to the frequenters of Newport, and no lawn 

 should be without it. Another indispensable relative is the 

 Purple Beech (Fagus purpurea). It has a very dark foliage, 

 and forms a fine contrast with the Chinese Cypress ; planted 

 alternately with it on an avenue, the contrast of colour would 

 produce a striking effect. For a lawn it is indispensable ; the 



