214 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



March 16, 1912. 



pensed with when the border is wholly in- 

 side Even a combination of inside and 

 outside borders is not equal to one wholly 

 inside. I cannot see why a portion of the 

 roots^ should be exposed to all external 

 weather variations, and the renianider so 

 efficiently protected. This tonibination of 

 rooting space is, I know, a favourite 

 method among many successful growers. 

 Personally, I do not now advocate this dual 

 - rniciple,' but advise a border wholly in- 

 side, with proper safeguards as to drain- 

 age and situation. 



From the manner in which vine borders 

 are made, it is a fair conclusion to arrive 

 at that there are many g(3od methods. 

 Some borders are four feet deep, with little 

 or no drainage or concrete ; the roots are 

 allowed to ramble away at will, and many 

 records of slianked grapes are noted, and 

 manv iU-coloured and otherwise unsatis- 

 factorv l)anches have to be recorded. At 

 the same time the growers see better 

 results from vines differently situated, yet 

 do not grasp the reason of their own 

 failure, nor attempt to reason the matter 

 out for tliemselves, and so often blame 

 their predecessor for his want of know- 

 ledge! In a )u ()}>erly-constructed border, 

 with a suitabh' eh^viition, a rooting space 

 of two tt'ci six inches is ample for the pro- 

 duction (it ilu' finest grapes. It is not the 

 extra bulk of soil that is the princi])al 

 factor in the growth of the vines and their 

 produf t\ ht'cause so much depends upon 

 how tlir vines are fed, and how the growth 

 is produced. 



In sf)me situations vines will succeed in 

 the ordinary soil witbout any addition. In 

 such a case, however, there must be natural 

 drainage of a satisfactory character, with 

 a warm sulKsoil, sucli as a sandy gravel 

 wouhl |)r(ni(le, certainly not a stiff clay. 

 In makint:; a cheap vine bor(UM- the local 

 surroundings as to soil have to b(^ taken 

 into consideration, and even if these be 

 naturallv favourable the addition of 

 freshly-cut turf, linn^ rubble, wood ashes, 

 and a small quantity of quarter-inch bones 

 will be an advantage. An elaborate pre- 

 paration is not a necessity evett where lo<*al 

 circumstances are not favoiiraide as to soil. 

 The great point is to have a rooting 

 medium of a porous character to enable 

 the water to pass quickly away. Vines 

 enjoy copious su]>plies of moisture at the 

 roots, but it should pass quickly away after 

 wetting every portion of the border. To 

 remain longer is only to produce stagnation 

 about the roots, and that is all against a 

 healthy condition, inducing shanking of the 

 berries, mildew (if other attributes are 

 favourable to this fungus), a defection in 

 colour, and a general w^ant of that robust- 

 ness of foliage and growth w'thout 

 which success cannot follow. Firm soil is 

 also an important point in achieving suc- 

 cess, as a loose rooting medium does not 

 conduce to firm, short-jointed growth. 

 Maturity of the wood is a great factor in 

 success. The soil should not, however, be 

 made firm when in a Avet state— clogging 

 of the water pores would result, ami the 

 soil w^oukl l>e in a condition anything but 

 favourable to the free development of the 

 roots, which, it need hardly be said, is essen- 

 tial to the healthy growth of tlie vines. 



It is a mistake to make the border com- 

 plete at once; far better make it piece- 

 meal, giving the vines the added benefit of 

 new soil yearly until completion. Drainage 

 is an important point in making a new- 

 border. A great quantity is not a neces- 

 sity, and a 6in. depth of broken bricks pro- 

 perly laid, and protected from the admis- 

 sion of fine soil, which is apt to choke the 

 nassage of water, will suflficp. For this 

 latter purpose nothing is better than 



freshly-cut turf laid grassy side down- 

 wards^. There are many other points m 

 this interesting subject I would hke to 

 draw the attention of Gari^enees^ Magazine 

 readers to, but fear I have already tres- 

 passed far enough, and the remainder 

 must, perforr-p^ wait a more favourable 



CASSIA CORYMBOSA. 



opportunity. 



Swanmore Park. 



E. MOLYNEL'X. 



RARE SNOWDROPS. 



A curious, yet pretty snowdrop is that 

 named Galanthus virescens, or the Green 

 Snowdrop. It is a form of G. nivalis, our 

 common snowdrop, and its history is a little 

 obscure, as all we know of its introduction 

 is that it was grown by Professor Fenzl :n 

 the Vienna Botanical Gardens, and that 

 some bulbs were obtained there by the late 

 Max Leichtlin, by whom it was distributed. 

 Both the late Rev. Harpur Crewe and the 

 late Mr. James Allen received it from him, 

 and it was from the latter that I obtained 

 the original bulb which was the beginning 

 of my small clump. It is not a snowdrop 

 which nicreases rapidly, and in the eon- 

 sidcral)h^ number of years 1 have cultivated 

 it, G. virescens has multiplied but little. 

 It is thus a plant which requires some care 

 and cf)ns"derat:on if Ave are to prevent this 

 variety, which would almost appear to be 

 a survival of the original snowdrop, from 

 l>ecoming as extinct as the do<lo. Curi- 

 ously enough, the double green snowdrop 



a very singular flower indeed — is quite as 



slow of increase, and is even more likely to 

 be:om.e one of the vanished flowers. 



On the face of it, a green-flowered snow- 

 drop cannot be expected to be an attractive 

 flower, vet it is one which grows greatly 

 u]>on one's affections. 



It is, in shape and general appearance, 

 like the ordinary G. nivalis, but the ex- 

 terior of the outer segments is striped and 

 clouded with green towards the base and 

 over a considerable portion of the remain- 

 der, while the interior ones are all green, 

 with the exception of a narrow margin of 

 white. It is a distinct flower, indeed, and 

 we find it more appreciated in our gardens 

 as we grow better acquainted with it. It 

 is later flowering than G. nivalis commonly 



is. 



G. virescens does not reproduce itself true 

 from seeds, as has been proved by several 

 snowdrop lovers who have seeded it, and is 

 increased by means of offsets. It requires 

 no special soil, and it is only necessary to 

 be careful that the bulbs are not destroyed 

 in winter before the blooms appear, or 

 later^ after the leaves have died down. 



Galanthus AVarei, which I once had, bub 

 lost during my removal to my present 

 home, seems to be now very scarce, and 

 some bulbs I procured from an Italian 

 source did not give flowers of the charac- 

 ter of G. Warei, as I obtained it first 

 through the kindness of Mr. W. B. Boyd, 

 who procured it from Mr. T. S. Ware under 

 the name of (i. Scliarloki. I have been 

 vsorry to be witbout this snowdrop, although 

 it does not differ mu<b. if anytbing, from 

 certain seedlings of (J. Scharh)ki, some of 

 which have not tbe divided spathe of that 

 variety, althougb it has a good deal of the 

 green exterior markings of the latter. The 

 interior segments in G. Warei have/how- 

 ever, the markings of larger size. Autho- 

 rities are of opinion that it must have been 

 derived from Scharlok's form of G. nivalis, 

 but no one has been able to clear up the 

 point, which is, however, of little conse- 

 quence, save to the student of botanical 

 chnracters. It was never a vigorous plant 

 with me. S. Arnott. 



Of the many si)ecies of cassia introduced 

 into this country, the only one in general 

 cultivation is C. corymbosa, and as a de- 

 corative plant it is the best of them all, 

 for it is alike useful as a bedding plant or 

 for furnishing the conservatory during the 

 dull months of autumn. When used as a 

 pot plant, it is much better to root the 

 cuttings in spring and grow them to a single 

 stem. If old plants that have been win- 

 tered in a cellar or shed are introduced 

 into a warm house they will soon make side 

 shoots from the dormant buds^ and when 

 these have attained a length of three or 

 four inches they should be taken off with a 

 heel attached, and inserted singly in 3in. 

 pots, which have been filled with light sandy 

 soil. If the pots are plunged in a hotbed 

 where a temperature of from 70 to 75 de- 

 grees can be maintained^ the cuttings will 

 soon root, and when the pots liave become 

 filled, the plants should have a shift into 

 pots a couple of sizes larger. After potting 

 return them to the hotbed until estalilished 

 in the new soil, and afterwards thev niav 

 be hardened off by standing them in a cold 

 fram.e early in iiVIay. 



CarCj however, wall be needed to see they 

 do not suffer from a sudden change of tem- 

 perature ; the lights should be kept closed 

 for a few days, so as to gradually accustom 

 them to their new^ quarters, ami when the 

 weather becomes favourable, which will be 

 about the beginning of June, they may be 

 fully exposed to the open air. By this 

 time the pots will be filled with roots, so 

 that the plants will be ready for their firal 

 shift into 32s. When again potted select 

 a sunny position that is sheltered from the 

 Avinds, and here the pots should be phinged 

 to their rims, where they can remain uutil 

 housed in the autumn, by which tiiiie. if 

 due attention has been paid them, they 

 ought to be from two to three feet high, 

 clothed to the top with bright green foliage, 

 and the upper portion carrying several 

 lacemes of clear yellow floweis. 



Cassia corymbosa was at one time treated 

 as a stove plant, but lately it has been 

 much employed for bedding, and I hi^ve 

 seen it in bloom most profusely -mtil quite 

 late in the autumn. When planted iv a 

 sheltered position and the weather l:as been 

 mild, I have cut fine flowering sprays from 

 the open borders as late as the middle of 

 November. For bedding old plants are pre- 

 ferable, as these bloom much earlier in the 

 season than young ones. In some places 

 in the southern counties, where the sod is 

 warm and the situation sheltered, the p>ants 

 will withstand the slight frosts experienced, 

 but such positions are by no means general, 

 and only on two or three occasions "^^'^^ 

 been able to keep the plants through W 

 winter without lifting. Our plan was to 

 lift the plants in the autumn to prepare 

 the beds for spring bedding, and then ttie 

 were stored away in a dry phace where 

 frost could be excluded. If we were desir- 

 ous of increasing the stock of strong ph^"^* 

 the shoots were cut off at the time ot }\r - 

 ing and inserte^l in pots and pl«<^7 /^^J 

 gentle heat ; here they soon pushed tort^ 

 young growths which were taken ofr a" 

 rooted in the ordinary way, and by sprin^ 

 these were ready for their final shut, ^ 

 that at planting out time they were 

 couple of feet high. . j 



This cassia is verv accommodating, •'J" 

 will put iw with a lot of rough usage, d 

 on the other hand, if liberally treated i 

 will well repav for the care and trou 

 bestowed. As a plant for covering 

 of a conservatorv or as a pillar plan 

 is most useful, especially as it retains 

 foliage and flowers through the winter. 



1 



