October 18, 1864. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



305 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day 

 of 



M'nth 



Day 

 of 



Week. 



OCTOBER 18—24, 1864. 



Average Temperature 

 near London. 



Rain in 



last 

 37 years. 



Sun 

 Rises. 



Sun 

 Sets. 



Moon 

 Rise3. 



Moon 

 Sets. 



Moon's 

 Age. 



Clock 



alter 

 Sun. 



Day of 

 Year. 



18 

 19 

 20 

 21 

 22 

 23 

 24 



Tu 

 W 

 Th 



• F 

 8 

 Sun 

 M 



St. Luke. 



Hazel leaves fall. 



Virginian Creeper leafless. 



Sun's declination 10" 38' S. 



Walnut leafless. 



22 Sunday after Tbinitt. 



Privet berries ripe. 



Day. 

 57.9 

 59.5 

 59.1 

 58.3 

 58.7 

 58.0 

 56.2 



Night. 

 41.3 

 39.9 

 40.0 

 39.6 

 43.1 

 40.4 

 39.5 



Mean. 

 49 6 

 49.7 

 49.6 

 4S.9 

 50.4 

 49.2 

 47.9 



Days. 

 18 

 18 

 15 

 16 

 21 

 20 

 17 



m. h. 



32 af C 



33 6 

 35 6 

 37 6 



39 6 



40 6 

 42 6 



m. h. 

 59af4 

 57 4 

 55 4 

 53 4 

 51 4 

 49 4 

 47 4 



m. h. 

 14 7 

 6 8 



5 9 



6 10 

 10 11 

 morn. 

 12 



m. h. 

 14 10 

 13 11 

 after. 

 44 

 17 1 

 44 1 

 8 2 



18 

 19 

 20 

 21 



c 



23 

 24 



in. s.. 



14 52 



15 3 

 15 13 

 15 22 

 15 31 

 15 39 

 15 47 



£92 

 293 

 294 

 295 

 296 

 297 

 298 



From observations taken near London during the last thirty-seven years, the average day temperature of the week is 58.2°, and its night 

 temperature 40,5°. The greatest heat was 73° on the 21st, 1831 ; and the lowest cold, 17 c , on the 23rd, 1859. The greatest fall of rain was 

 0.96 inch. 



ZONALE GEEANIUMS AT LINTON PAEK. 



' OME little time ago I 

 pointed out many of 

 the qualifications which 

 Ithought most desirable 

 in the Zonale Geranium 

 for bedding purposes, 

 one being that the foli- 

 age ought to be plain 

 and bright green rather 

 than marked with the 

 horseshoe, as a great 

 many really good va- 

 rieties are. In a sub- 

 sequent paper Mr. Ab- 

 b ey very properly differs 

 with me on this point, remarking on the many really good 

 varieties that possess the leaf-marking, and the compa- 

 tively few kinds without it. This I by no means deny, 

 but, on the contrary, agree in ; and the list which I give 

 of the kinds grown and flowered at Linton Park during 

 the past summer proves that the greater number of them 

 exhibit the horseshoe marking. But if we examine every 

 object by the standard of excellence laid down as gene- 

 rally approved of by the most able censors, it will be 

 found that comparatively few things approach that stan- 

 dard, and Geraniums are no exception. Although some 

 of the sections into which I have divided the class of 

 Geraniums here described scarcely offer an example of 

 an entire plain leaf, I am nevertheless in hopes of seeing 

 some of the family assume that more simple garb, and 

 still possess all the attractive features of the best of their 

 section. Once direct the public in the right way, and 

 the caterers for them will on their part furnish what is 

 wanted. The fact of some of the very best bedding 

 Geraniums of the day lacking the black marking of the 

 foliage is a proof that a good flower may be produced as 

 well by a plain-leaved plant as by a zoned one. For 

 instance : Tom Thumb and Crystal Palace Scarlet have 

 both plain leaves, to which may be added Punch, Chris- 

 tine, TrenthamEose, and some others ; and the markings 

 of Stella and Magenta are faint, and might disappear 

 entirely in another generation, and no one would wish to 

 see these varieties changed for horseshoe-leaved ones. I 

 am far from denying all merit in the latter class ; on the 

 contrary, in plants for a greenhouse, or where imme- 

 diately under the eye of the spectator, a well-defined zone 

 of one or more colours on the leaf, clearly and distinctly- 

 formed, is an additional attraction to some kinds ; but in 

 the flower-bed that is to be admired at the distance of, 

 perhaps, 50 yards or more, the less of the marking the 

 better. Fancy Geranium Christine with a deep band of 

 black on the foliage, and see how it would damage the 

 rich tint of the flower ! Why, it is as much the foliage 

 as the flower that gives Christine pre-eminence over 

 Kingsbury Pet as an old variety and Eve as a new one, 

 both being marked in the foliage ; while the white and 

 flesh-coloured ones seem to suffer more from the confu- 

 No. 186.— Vol. VII.. New Series. 



sion that the two colours on the foliage create than the 

 other sections do. I may also mention that I dislike a 

 white eye in a scarlet Geranium as it weakens the colour • 

 the other qualifications are so well known as to require 

 no further comment here. 



The past season has in some respects differed from 

 former years in the well or ill doing of certain kinds of 

 Geraniums. In the garden here the dry weather had 

 the effect of dwarfing many of the rank growers, and 

 inducing a profusion of bloom such as they never before 

 exhibited, while the dwarf sorts were dwarfed still more 

 the individual blooms — for instance, those of Little David 

 and Brilliant — being very small. The season throughout 

 must, however, be regarded as having been favourable to 

 the Geranium, and with tbe exception of Cloth of Gold 

 and one or two others all have done well. I would 

 suggest to those who make it their duty to furnish new 

 kinds to try the yet unexplored tract, leading from the 

 deepest crimson or purple we now possess to a still higher 

 or deeper tint of the same colour ; scarlets, rubies, pinks, 

 flesh colour, and whites are plentiful enough and to spare, 

 but little has yet been done in the direction I point 

 out. The Nosegay class seems to offer the best medium 

 for producing what is wanted in that way ; but alon°- 

 with it must march a section of the more compact form 

 of the most approved of the Zonale-leaved kinds. The 

 Silver-edged varieties require but little amendment, but 

 the Golden ones much. To these, however, I will advert 

 on another occasion. 



In dividing the list into the following sections I by no 

 means aver that the lines of distinction between each are 

 clearly defined ; on the contrary, they blend into each 

 other ; but as near an approach to accuracy as possible 

 has been aimed at. The varieties named are both old 

 and new, and though not numerous, I prefer giving only 

 those grown here ; but I should like other growers to 

 furnish a list likewise, so that we might compare notes 

 Many really good kinds have only a local reputation, but 

 with the advantages of a publication like The Journal 

 of Horticulture there is no reason why they should not 

 be better known ; and I shall be glad to hear further; 

 remarks or criticisms on this interesting subject. 



Class 1. — Zonale Geraniums with white flowers ; foliage plain 

 or horseshoe-marked. 



Ethel. — Upright grower, vigorous ; horseshoe marking 

 medium; flowering trusses good and tolerably abundant. 

 It flowers also very well as a potted plant. 



Snowfiahe. — Dwarfer in habit than the last named, which, 

 however, it much resembles in other respects; its flowers 

 may possibly be a shade whiter, but it falls short of the 

 qualities its name implies. 



White Tom Thumb. — I fear that this may not be correct, 

 as the foliage has a clear and rather dark marking, which its 

 namesake has not. It is, however, a good variety in its 

 class, flowering more freely than some otheis. 



Madame Vavxher. — Strong grower, having the foliage dis- 

 tinctly marked ; flower-truss good when the blooms are all 

 expanded at once, which, however, is not so often the case 

 in this class as in those of darker colours. I believe this is 

 the best known of all the Whites, and it has many admirers 

 No. 838 Vol. XXXII., Old Sheies. 



