December 26, 1872i 



JOUBNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



Sib 



sharp frost of October, which cuts down the greater part of 

 out-door bloom, till the beginning of December. It is during 

 this interval that flowers of almost any description are, if not 

 the most acceptable, used with the greatest economy. In 

 gardens with limited collections of plants, scraps of bloom 

 that at other seasons would be overlooked are, from the middle 

 of October till the end of November, carefully culled and 

 cherished. Blooming plants of standard character and beauty 

 are then most esteemed, not only for their own intrinsic 

 beauty, but because of the comparative scarcity of flowers how- 

 ever humble. 



It is a wonder and a pity that so tractable and splendid a 

 flower as the Camellia has not been more generally coaxed 

 into bloom at the season to which we have referred. Every 

 one admits its splendour further on in the season, even where 

 it has to compete with many rival flowers, and yet claim the 

 place of honour. Camellias in full bloom are rarely met with 

 in October and November." The — in a certain sense correct 

 — idea that Camellias will not submit to be forced, no doubt 

 to some extent accounts for this. They certainly will not 

 do very well to be forced to open their blooms hurriedly in 

 autumn. But the same applies with considerable force to the 

 Azalea and other flowering plants not properly prepared for 

 autumn blooming. If Azaleas have not been made to have 

 prominent bloom-buds and well-matured wood by August, they 

 will, when put into heat early in October, commence to grow 

 afresh, instead of opening their blooms. Yet when properly 

 prepared they come into bloom with comparatively little forc- 

 ing, and at this dull season they, too, are much to be recom- 

 mended. These remarks apply with more force to the CamelUa, 

 though it is rarely met with in bloom till December. 



We venture to think that any person who early in October 

 would place a large plant of the Double White Camellia on an 

 exhibition table would receive a meritorious award for so 

 unusual and unseasonable a production. We have not heard 

 of such an example of Camellia culture more than once or 

 twice. This is all the more strange, seeing how much appre- 

 ciated the CamelUa is at all times, and considering how easily 

 its early blooming can be broughf about when the forcing of it 

 is practised at the right end of the year. It is only necessary 

 to put the plants into heat in February, and to remember 

 that, during its growing season, the Camellia is subject in its 

 native country to a heat almost equal to that of Bengal, and 

 acting accordingly, subject it to stove temperature, with a cor- 

 responding amount of moisture both in the soil and in the air, 

 and to prolong such conditions until the wood is firm and the 

 bloom-buds prominent. Then, without sudden checks, gradu- 

 ally withdraw the heat and moisture to supplies that are just 

 necessary to keep the system of the plants healthy, but for the 

 time being quiet. This, it may be said, is the usual routine of 

 Camellia culture ; and so it is. But to bloom Camellias at the 

 time now referred to, it begins two or three months too late, 

 and does not continue sufficiently long after it is commenced. 



When caused to make their- wood and bloom-buds thus early 

 and prominent, there is absolutely no forcing required in Oc- 

 tober. And this is just the difficulty to be got over; for to 

 force Camellias hurriedly to open their blooms by fire heat, 

 causes many of the buds to drop, produces those that do open 

 of poor quality, and forces the wood buds prematurely into 

 growth. From our own experience, we are almost certain that 

 anyone who once gets a fine bloom of Camellias in October 

 and November, will come to the conclusion that at no other 

 time are they so splendidly pure in colour, at no other time do 

 they last so long in perfection, or are so much appreciated. At 

 any time Camellias will always hold a high position as flowers, 

 but after the period named they have more rivals. In frosty 

 weather at midwinter, when more fire heat has to be applied 

 to keep frosts from a general collection of greenhouse plants, 

 with which Camellias are in the majority of places classed, 

 Camellia flowers do not last nearly so long without dropping 

 as they do in an atmosphere that is cool and kept moderately 

 dry, with a minimum of fire heat. Like most blooms they 

 dislike a damp stagnant atmosphere, and the drier air-currents 

 of February and March are equally unfavourable to them. 



These remarks have not been made by way of depreciating 

 the Camellia at any season, but with the view of inducing those 

 who have not tried to bloom a portion of their stock in autumn 

 to do so, feeling sure that if they once get a good crop of 

 Double Whites and Imbricatas in October they will never wish 

 to be without them again. At this season they are most valu- 

 able for table decoration, and for almost every purpose to 

 which cut flowers are applied. Their effect in the conservatory 



at so dull a season is more striking and lasting than at any 

 other time. — (The Gardener.) 



LAND DRAINAGE. 



In new work drainage ought to be the first consideration. 

 Where turf can be had and is placed grass side downwards, 

 so as to leave a little space between the drain and the turf, 

 it is very desirable for covering the drains. Any covering of 

 small stones with a sprinkling of finer material over them, 

 as gravel with the finer portion washed or sifted out of it, 

 will enable the drain to run clearly for many years. 



A drain of any kind is better than none. I have had drains 

 made of brushwood, Thorn faggots, &c, and they answered 

 well for years, and might have continued to do so much longer 

 if I could have dispensed with an outlet, or so managed the 

 outlet by trapping that the external air could not have free 

 access to the drain, as air, heat, and moisture soon rotted 

 the faggots ; and as these decayed the drain gradually became 

 stopped up. I cannot tell how long faggots would last if so 

 covered up that air could not reach them. Some were dug out 

 that had been used to good purpose for bottoming a marshy 

 piece of road, and after doing service in making a good road 

 for thirty years ; they were more firmly wedged together by the 

 superincumbent weight, but seemed as fresh as ever — not a 

 sign of decay or rottenness. They had a thin covering of clay 

 before the gravel and stones were placed over them. 



Rough stones neatly piled make a good drain, the smaller 

 stones being uppermost. Some of these I have been assured 

 have run well for forty years ; and one advantage of their use 

 is that they give refuge to few vermin, or only to the smallest. 

 None of these methods, however, will be found so good as 2 or 

 3-inch pipes. I wish to bring before your readers for discus- 

 sion, correction, or confirmation, two matters : the first is, the 

 fall of drains. I used to think the greater the fall to the outlet 

 the better, but I now consider that for effectual draining the 

 fall may easily be too great. I have been assured that a fall of 

 3 inches or even less in 100 feet, will drain the land better, 

 that there will be a more uniform flow, and that the drains 

 will keep sound and effective longer, than when there is twice or 

 thrice that amount of fall. I should certainly like more than 

 2 inches' fall if it could be obtained. What do your experi- 

 enced readers say to this ? Simple though the matter appears, 

 it is most important. . 



Then, again, I am satisfied that it is not every soil — no, not 

 even a stiff loam with a seemingly clay bottom, that will be 

 improved by drainage. I have drained such land from 2 to 

 3J feet deep, deeper towards the outlet, and the drains flowed 

 freely after much rain. I have drained other soil as much 

 alike as possible, and but seldom had the smallest outflow of 

 water from the drains. This puzzled me very much ; but I 

 imagined I discovered the cause when, on finding different 

 colours and different degrees of compactness in the clay, and 

 testing these_with acids, I found that the clay was permeated 

 liberally by veins of marl. Draining such ground was there- 

 fore almost as useful as draining soil that lay on a thick bed 

 of open chalk. What was wanted in such stiffish land was 

 deepening the staple, by breaking-up the under strata by 

 trenching and picking, if even the under strata were left at 

 the bottom after moving. This would allow the surplus mois ■ 

 ture to descend more freely. I also noticed that in such 

 ground, where the superfluous moisture found a way for itself 

 naturally, the crops stood dry summers better than on the 

 well-drained land. I presume the heat of the sun brought a 

 part of the moisture back again, and that the roots obtained 

 a share of it as it passed them. I throw out these hints for 

 consideration, as all that I have done in draining has been on 

 a small scale. Meanwhile I would suggest to your readers, 

 that before they become acquainted with the true nature of 

 then' soil, and before they expend much money on pipes and 

 earthwork, it would be well to dig a number of holes 3 feet 

 deep. If no water stands in these holes they may well doubt 

 if that land will le improved by draining. — R. Fish. 



DANGSTEIN.— No. 1. 

 The Residence op Reqinald H. Nevill, Esq. 

 The fame of Dangstein, in a horticultural point of view, 

 rests not on the extent of its pleasure grounds, not on flower 

 gardens in which thousands of brilliant-coloured bedding 

 plants dazzle the eye in the summer months, not on its archi- 

 tectural embellishments and the work of the sculptor's hands, 



