16G 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



L August 30, 1864. 



less the plant is given to perfecting seed the better; and 

 kinds having seed-vessels pointing downwards instead of 

 upwards are the least unsightly. The flower-stem to point 

 upwards generally, although this qualification on the outside 

 plants is rather a disadvantage. The stem may either be 

 green or white, but I cannot see any advantage in the latter 

 colour. 



By the above rough outline it will be seen that I have 

 preferred the plain Green-leaved class to those marked with 

 the horseshoe. The latter I have no objection to admit as 

 pot plants for more close inspection ; but at the distance 

 most flower-beds are viewed at, the black marking is rather 

 a defect than otherwise. For a like reason I have condemned 

 the white eye, and have preferred the spreading in habit to 

 the upright grower. For particular purposes, perhaps, a 

 variety of upright growth might be preferable ; but for 

 general use one that spreads laterally, with at the same 

 time sufficient sturdiness to support itself, is better. A very 

 long fiower-stem is no particular advantage so far as I can 

 perceive, but the flower ought to be well elevated above 

 the foliage, say 3 inches or so above the highest part of any 

 leaf; and as the stalk must descend some distance, there 

 will be plenty for all nosegays or flower-stands . I might 

 also have added that flowers that will withstand the greatest 

 amount of sun, wind, and rain are preferable to those less 

 serviceable ; and if they drop off in decaying they are better 

 than if adhering to the flower-stalk, as attention to picking 

 off the blooms is not possible everywhere, and in such cases 

 the varieties which do for themselves are better than those 

 that have to be waited upon. 



The above remarks having extended to a greater length 

 than I intended, I will at a future time enter into the 

 merits of the Variegated class, which, I may observe, is every 

 day becoming more and more numerous. In the mean- 

 time I invite opinions on the merits of the Scarlet class ; 

 and later in the season I will report on the lands which 

 we grow here, for it would be premature to do so in the 

 middle of the season. I may, however, confess that one or 

 two of my greatest favourites last year have signally failed 

 this season, and I have no doubt it has been the same else- 

 where. Other changes, too, may take place ere the flowering 

 season of 1S64 be at an end. As the Geranium is unques- 

 tionably at the present moment our most popular bedding 

 plant, anything bearing on its merits as well as on its 

 management must be acceptable to the general reader; and 

 as my worthy fellow-labourers in this Journal have at various 

 times set forth its culture, it remains only for us to deter- 

 mine what constitutes the right sort of plant to cultivate. 

 I hope, in conclusion, that everyone opposed to the views 

 above stated will at once put his own on record in the pages 

 of The Jouexal of Hokticttltuke. J. Robson. 



BEDDING GEEANIUMS. 



{Continued, from page 86.) 

 Although it is advisable to put in the stock of bedding 

 Geranium3\;ifT August, propagation is sometimes deferred 

 till September, which is not nearly so good a time, as the 

 cuttings are then more gross and watery, and on that account 

 more liable to damp off; the sun's power is also less at that 

 season, and the cuttings have to be struck under glass, a 

 little heat being necessary to cause some of the variegated 

 sorts to root freely. These late-struck plants, too, are later 

 in making a show in the following season, and with Golden 

 Chain and other slow-growing and rather delicate kinds, 

 the practice does not accomplish the object aimed at; — 

 viz., providing strong plants to decorate the flower garden 

 in the following season. Where the propagation of Geraniums 

 has been delayed until the last week in August or beginning 

 of September, cuttings should be taken at once, and inserted 

 singly in small pots in a compost of light turfy loam with a 

 liberal admixture of river sand. Silver sand is preferable for 

 some of the variegated kinds, for they do not grow so freely 

 as the Scarlets. These cuttings, if placed in a vinery, or 

 any house with not too dry an atmosphere, if shaded a little 

 and. the soil in the pots kept sufficiently moist, but on no 

 consideration wat, will root freely in three weeks or a month, 

 and may then be removed to a light airy situation in the 

 greenhouse, where they will only require water to prevent 



their flagging and losing their leaves. All yellow and 

 decayed leaves should be removed as they present them- 

 selves. 



Another method is to insert four cuttings in a 32-sized 

 pot, six in a 24, or eight in an 18-sized pot, placing them 

 round the inside, and if they are kept in any house where 

 there is a little heat and a not-over-plentiful circulation of 

 air, they will become well rooted before the dull dark days 

 of winter set in. The pots are then placed near the glass 

 in any light airy structure from which frost is excluded. A 

 readier mode, and one that takes up much less room, is to 

 employ propagating-pans 1 foot 6 inches long, 1 foot wide, 

 and 4 inches deep, outside measure, inserting the cuttings 

 in these as closely together as possible without literally 

 crowding them one upon the other. One of these pans will 

 hold fifty cuttings without crowding, and the pan itself 

 takes up less room than is necessary to hold a dozen cut- 

 tings in pots. Next in utility to these pans are wooden boxes, 

 and these are of two sorts :- — 1st, long narrow boxes made 

 of three-quarter-inch deals, 3 feet long, 6 inches wide, and 

 4 inches deep, outside measure ; 2nd, wider and shorter 

 boxes each 1 foot 6 inches long, 1 foot wide, and 4 inches 

 deep, both kinds having six holes bored in the bottom to 

 allow the water to escape. The former description of boxes 

 will hold four rows of cuttings, the two outer rows being close 

 to the sides of the boxes without actually touching them, 

 and the two inside rows 2 inches apart, and the cuttings 

 2 inches from each other in the rows. The narrow boxes will, 

 therefore, hold seventy-two cuttings, whilst the wide boxes 

 contain about eighty. These boxes may be made neatly, 

 and if painted green they have a tidy appearance. They 

 are prepared for the cuttings as follows : — A few crocks 

 are placed at the bottom to a depth of from half to three- 

 fourths of an inch, and on these is placed an equal thickness 

 of the rougher parts of the compost, which should consist 

 of turfy light loam two-thirds, and river sand one-third, 

 sifted through a half-inch riddle. "With this compost the 

 boxes are to be filled quite level, and in it the cuttings are 

 inserted at the above distances and gently watered. They 

 are then placed in a greenhouse or any other house, heated 

 or not, only they will be a week or ten days later in rooting 

 in a cold house, and will not do so with the same degree 

 of certainty as in a structure with a higher temperature. 

 No more water must be given than is sufficient to keep the 

 soil in a nice healthfully moist condition. A slight bedewing 

 of the foliage is beneficial, and preferable to a very wet 

 state of the soil, which is hurtful to the stems of Geraniums 

 at any time, but more so when they are inserted in the soil 

 to strike root. 



By the beginning or middle of October the boxes or pots 

 should be placed on shelves about a foot from the glass, so as 

 to insure a stiff, hardy growth. During the winter the plants 

 will not require watering oftener than once or twice a- week, 

 nor, indeed, so frequently in dull, cloudy weather, no more 

 being given than is sufficient to keep the soil in a healthy 

 state. They should, however, be examined occasionally, all 

 yellow and decayed leaves removed, and the surface of the 

 soil between the plants stirred with a piece of wocd. These 

 are small matters, but attention to them is very conducive 

 to the health and vigour of the plants. Air must also be 

 given on all favourable occasions, admitting it early, with 

 the thermometer at 45°, and closing early, so as to shut in 

 as much sun heat as possible, which will lessen the necessity 

 for lighting a fire. Fire should only be employed to prevent 

 the thermometer falling below 40° ; though it may sink to 

 35°, yet a minimum temperature of 40° is low enough to 

 keep Geraniums in good health. The temperature should 

 range from 40° to 45° with fire heat, whilst a rise of 10° or 

 15°, with sun and abundance of air, is very conducive to 

 health. A gentle fire now and then to dry up damp in dull, 

 moist, or rainy weather, accompanied by ventilation, is also 

 essential to success. 



These remarks apply equally to cuttings that may be 

 taken from the last week in August until the last week in 

 September, by which time the last batch of cuttings ought 

 to have been secured. Even that is but a haphazard 

 system of raising bedding Geraniums, and gives plants that 

 are late in coming into bloom in the following season. 

 Besides, some of the weaker and dwarfer kinds, as the 

 Nosegay, and all the variegated sorts which it is desirable 



