November 28, 1872. ] JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



423 



seeds from a plant which grew, flowered, and seeded in the 

 same place in 1871 without the slightest protection being 

 given to it. Though I always grow the Ice Plant, I have never 

 known it to bloom in the open ah, much less to bring seeds to 

 perfection. — A. E., Bromley, Kent. 



BENTHAMIA FBAGIFEBA. 



This noble-looking shrub was introduced from the East 

 Indies in 1825, and named in honour of Mr. Bentham. It 

 belongs to the natural order Cornacese, and is rendered more 

 hardy when grafted on Cornus sanguinea, but even then it is 

 doubtful whether it would thrive in the northern as it does in 

 the southern counties of England. There is in the arboretum 

 at Bicton a very handsome bush of it, which measures 12 feet 

 in height and 45 feet in circumference. Although this Ben- 

 thamia has been placed iu an open exposure it appears to be 

 quite at home, and is annually covered from bottom to summit 

 with its tempting Strawberry-coloured fruit. 



Eew if any shrubs can bear comparison with Benthamia 

 fragifera at this season, when well clothed in its attractive 

 garb. It is vexatious, however, to find it is so seldom seen in 

 full beauty. The fruit, which may be termed bitter-sweet, is 

 greedily devoured by squirrels and other pests ; perhaps it acts 

 as a tonic, which appears to be the case if we may form a 

 judgment from the quickness with which these quadrupeds get 

 fat upon the fruit. The tree is readily propagated either by 

 seeds, cuttings, or grafting. — Bobeet Begbie, Bicton Gardens. 



THE CLEMATIS AND ITS CULTURE. 



I think few plants have yielded such a glorious harvest to 

 the hybridiser as this genus ; indeed the only fear I have is, 

 that we may be inundated with too many varieties, by which 

 I mean too many differing in nothing but name. They are 

 really grand plants, and what will interest my amateur readers 

 most is the fact they are perfectly hardy, are equally adapted 

 to the cottager's as to the duke's garden, and will grow with 

 equal vigour in town and country ; indeed for the last three 

 years I have had many of these superb plants growing in my 

 garden, which is within sight of St. Paul's, aye, and blooming 

 most gorgeously. Clematis Jackmanni was a complete surprise 

 to myself last year, for all the flowers were of an immense 

 size, and nearly all had six petals instead of four, which adds 

 in no small degree to its beauty. 



It is as adj unets to town gardens that I wish particularly to 

 direct the amateur's attention to the hybrid Clematis, for in 

 such positions they cannot fail to be seen and appreciated by 

 everyone ; and since it is the far-too-prevalent fashion of 

 London builders to partition the small plots of grounds which 

 are left to our suburban houses by walls, these should at once 

 be covered to hide their ughness. For this purpose I would 

 thus proceed : First plant a quantity of the small-leaved Ivy 

 or Ampelopsis Veitchii ; either of these will attach themselves 

 closely to the wall, and each will have distinct claims to the 

 notice of plant-lovers. The Ampelopsis will clothe the wall with 

 its deep green leaves, and in autumn the leaves will assume 

 rich and brilliant shades of colour, but the wall will be left 

 bare in winter ; but in the case of the Ivy the wall will be 

 ■clothed with green all the year round. Whichever be chosen, 

 care must be taken to keep the plants pruned and trimmed-in 

 close to the wall ; over this covering the Clematis should be 

 trained, and the rich green background will add materially to 

 then - beauty, and will quite cover the blank wall, which the 

 leaves of the Clematis alone would not do. 



The Clematis, however, need not be confined to the single 

 purpose of covering walls, for they are equally adapted for 

 covering a verandah porch or trelliswork ; or they may be 

 trained upon pillars and festooned together. In this way I 

 have grown some dozen varieties in my London garden with 

 great success. Again, for scrambling over ruins, the rootery, 

 or rockwork, natural or artificial, they are excellent, and are 

 equally at home. Another use to which they may be applied 

 is for massing in large beds upon lawns, where they soon cover 

 the soil, and with a little attention produce an astonishing 

 effect. Indeed, I may sum-up their good qualities in similar 

 words to those which I have used on a former occasion — they 

 are perfectly hardy, quick in growth, require but little atten- 

 tion, are reasonable in price, and yield a profusion of large 

 flowers of rich and varied hues, which continue in full perfec- 

 tion for several months. 



To ensure success with these Clematises, plant them in a 



mixture of good turfy loam, well-decomposed leaf mould, and 

 some thoroughly decayed manure ; let this compost be turned 

 frequently with a spade to ensure its becoming thoroughly 

 mixed, and about this time in the year I give a good mulching 

 of manure and leaf mould. During the flowering season they 

 enjoy occasional waterings with weak liquid manure. 



Before giving a list of a few of the best Clematises which I 

 have grown and which are deserving the attention of all ama- 

 teurs, I would call the attention of my readers to the fact that 

 there are two sections of Clematis, one producing their blooms 

 upon the old, and the others upon the young wood. It will be 

 easily understood, therefore, that if the old wood be pruned 

 away from those plants belonging to the first-named section 

 no bloom need be expected ; therefore those kinds which flower 

 upon the old or previous year's growth should receive only a 

 slight pruning, and the operation is best performed in autumn. 

 The second section should be pruned hard back late in autumn, 

 in order to increase the surface of young wood. I append the 

 names of a few in each section. Some of the last new ones 

 I have not yet seen, and therefore I cannot speak of their 

 qualities. 



Section I. — Blooms Produced upon the Old Wood. 



Clematis Fortunei. — Large, double, pure white. A fine flower, 

 produced during May, June, and July. 



Azurea grandifiora. — Rich blue shaded with violet. It blooms 

 from May to July. 



Standishii. — Deep violet. Flowers in May and June. 



Beline. — A fine white flower with pale yellow centre. Pro- 

 duced in May and June. 



Sophie. — Mauve barred with straw. Fine flowers, produced 

 in May and June. 



Sophia flore-pleno. — Flowers double, white, shaded with 

 mauve and yellow. May and June. 



Begince. — Flowers large, pale mauve. Produced in May and 

 June. - 



Section II. — Blooms Peoduced upon the Young Wood. 



Jackmanni. — Flowers deep violet, barred with red along the 

 centre of each petal, very large and fine. Flowers from July to 

 October. 



Bubella. — Flowers large, rich claret. Produced from July to 

 October. 



Sieboldii. — Pale yellow or straw colour, light green centre. 

 From end of June to October. 



John Gould Veitch. — Flowers double, lavender. Blooms 

 during the whole of summer. 



Prince of Wales. — Flowers purplish violet, barred with red. 

 Produced from July to October. 



Lanuginosa. — Clear azure, very large. Flowers from the end 

 of June to October. 



Lanuginosa Candida. — Pure white, large. Blooms from July 

 to October. 



Gem. — Rich blue. A very late bloomer. 



Ccerulea odorata. — Flowers small, sweet-scented, rich purple. 

 Produced from June to September. 



Lady Londesborough. — Flowers large, silvery grey, shaded 

 with pink at the base of petals. June to October. 



Albert Victor. — Large flowers, dark lavender faintly barred 

 with brown. Produced from June to October. 



Miss Bateman. — Pure white, petals barred with creamy white. 

 Flowers from June to October. — Bxperto Ckede. 



STOCKS FOE EOSES. 



It is seventeen years since I budded my first Eose on a two- 

 year-old seedling Briar stock. It produced shoots 1 foot in 

 length from the two buds inserted the same season. In the 

 autumn it was taken to our cottage garden, where it remained 

 two years, was afterwards sold, and when I saw it four years 

 ago had a stem the thickness of a man's wrist, and a head 

 4 feet across. Being so successful with my first, in the follow- 

 ing March I collected fifty more seedlings of good size from 

 some neglected hedgerows and ditches, where the heps had 

 fallen from the bushes overhead, vegetated, and taken root in 

 the soft earth and leaf mould beneath. The plants were easily 

 brought away, planted, and worked in season with the best 

 kinds of Roses then known. Many of these worked- stems are 

 thriving to this day. For Eoses as standards- the bandy-like 

 stocks often used are useless for durability and head growth, 

 as the second year after planting they throw up suckers which 

 are dormant eyes brought into activity by the root and head 

 pruning. Cutting-off at the surface increases the number of 

 these suckers ; take them up, cut out the upright growers, rub 

 out the eyes, and retain those stocks which are likely to form 

 fibre and root, shortening to 1 foot from the stem — this adds 

 to their durability in several ways ; and I am sure General 



