*58 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



A Morning Mixture. 



Diluculo surpere saluberrimum est 



I fancied I could see the twinkle in the editorial eye as he popped on 

 that seductive heading, "An Evening Dose." Of course I began a smile 

 of complacency, already tasting the sweet nectar of that flattery which 

 imitation brings. But, Phoebus ! what a reawakening ! I have scarcely 

 got over the shock yet. A few more such " doses " and I shall seriously 

 contemplate handing over this column bodily to Peter. There are certain 

 mixtures which have to be well shaken before taken. This, however, is 

 one of those doses which reverse the order of events, and severely shake 

 the miserable mixer. 



Let me, however, hark back a little bit. It will serve a double pur- 

 pose — enable me to get a little breath, and also to acknowledge a very 

 handsome and unexpected compliment. For the soft answer that 

 turneth away wrath commend me to Mr. Lees. I ventured on a mild 

 expostulation at the introduction of autumn flowers when we were all 

 trying to forget about everything except glorious spring; and behold ! the 

 assailed one retorts with an offer to send a few young specimens of the 

 plant objected to, in order to bring me round to a wiser view. What can 

 I say but that I am abashed and silenced at the genial good-nature of 

 this rare-spirited gardener, and gratefully accept his offer ? The very 

 thought of it refreshes me. It is as jam to the powder compared with 

 that terrible evening dose. Mr. Lees may rest assured that the plants 

 he sends will have the best of care, although they may not be handled 

 with quite the same skill as they would have received from the giver. 



Somehow or other I can never resist an opening for breaking a lance 

 with "A. D." Not that I bear him the slightest ill-will. I know— few, 

 perhaps, so well— that under his somewhat rugged exterior there is a 

 kindly heart and a deep, single-hearted love of gardening. But a critic 

 so keen and persistent is bound to raise antagonisms, even though they 

 be friendly ones. Here is " A. D." coming to the rescue of Mr. Prinsep, 

 and thumping me heartily. But the excellent Buxted gardener might 

 well cry, " Save me from my friends." " A. D." thinks I have misread Mr. 

 Prinsep. Well, all I can say is that on page 161 the latter plainly 

 declared that he had " grown the heaviest crop of potatos ever produced 

 in England," a line or two afterwards alluding to thirty or forty tons per 

 acre. If the latter does not convey a definite statement of a marvellous 

 crop, the former does, and taken in juxtaposition with each other, any- 

 one may be excused who connects them. However, nothing is more 

 simple than to settle the matter. Did Mr. Prinsep's crop— " the heaviest 

 ever produced in England "—exceed thirty tons per acre ? If it was not 

 a full acre, what was the extent of ground and the quantity of produce 

 lifted ? We can easily calculate then. " Records " are the order of the 

 day; let us get at the potato record. Mr. Beckett's testimony proves 

 that I am not the only celebrity who is interested on the point. 



Mr. Fish defends the old peach-grower valiantly. All honour to him 

 and them. But his attempt to controvert what I still regard as an 

 abso utely incontrovertible proof of the greater tenderness of peaches will 

 not do at all. When you see, as I have seen, plums and peaches in the 

 same soil, on the same stocks, growing side by side, showing absolutely 

 different results after a hard spring frost, you may take it for granted 

 that neither soil nor stock is at fault, but relative hardiness alone. Plums, 

 Mr. Pish, make fishing-rod" shoots as freely as peaches do, but they 

 ™~ n ?i T ,I ? th * sam * wa y- . I should not dream of accepting the infer, 

 J at s?! 1 and are in fault in the nursery, because that would 



be putting blame on the nurseryman which he does not deserve. The 

 leading trade growers take the utmost pains to furnish their trees with 

 nS/J P ff b T earm J> r ^ ood f or their own protection. I hope I shall not give 

 offence if I say that as far as my observation goes there are more 



sra^OTj^&r* garden ones than overgrown 



Whenev 



•„ f » ^ £x,.^.c*x luuvciucm un wen-aennea lines depend 



veTs bee' ^ZIT* WelI - marked e «>nomic cause. There has for many 

 &^h t ^i;^---^ th ^ di ^ tiM ° f Subs < itutin * -door for 



ApR »- 2j, 1898. 



growing, by one of our leading nurserymen. He sooke *t v ■ T~ 

 the open air, with trusses eight inches long, gm«m 1™ nyacmt hs i n 



— open 0 . ^ 



feet deep, and fed with cow manure 

 soil for you* 



„ grown in sand worked \ 

 There is a lesson in worki^,^ 



Not less sweeping is Mr. Wythes on the pruning nne *' 

 we," he asks, w to ruin our prospects of splendid new caner/n^k" " Are 

 because of the time it takes to remove the old ones ?» Wh g / ro P s 

 suggestion have I made that the comprehensive word «rnin» u\l 

 come m ? Properly-pruned raspberries are never crmv^H 0uld 

 they have their full complement of fruiting and ne^wood ' l2 v ^? 

 pruning till autumn, and there is still no crowding, because' if j5 I 

 is exercised at the annual cutting eve™ qV»^+ ~u J JUU 8 



tne annual cutting, every shoot old and " 

 abundance of air and sunlight. This is a natural outcome of iS^ h f 

 studying the habit of the plant, which is absolutely 

 fruit trees. A grape vine really gives a better parallel. I do not s ml 

 Mr. Wythes cuts his laterals back to the base directly he : h? ? im^l 

 the bunches any more than I do. He leaves them to ripen so thTt°tK 

 elaborated sap may nourish the basal buds as it recedes The 

 parison is not exact, but it suffices, and it is practical. ' C ° m * 



" Suggestions " ! Ma foi, I am all but paralysed with horror at th P 

 levity of a correspondent on page 232. I am keeping the Magazine 

 out of my henchman's way until I have got him in a cheerful mood 

 Then, perhaps, I can gather in the lightnings of the breaking storm and 

 send them along the wire. 0 



Gard 



Ran 



Botanic ally the garden ranunculuses are known as Ranunculus 

 asiaticus, but through selection and crossing of the different varieties of 

 the species they are now usually classed into three or more distinct 

 sections, such as Persian, French, and Turban ranunculuses, and a 

 selected forms of Persian varieties are sometimes called Scottish 

 ranunculuses, having peculiarly striped, spotted, and variegated flowers. 

 For all ordinary purposes, however, the three former sections will 

 suffice. The difference between Persian (usually double Persian) and 

 French is therefore not so very great, excepting that the latter have finer, 

 larger, and brighter-coloured flowers, all perfectly double. The Turban 

 varieties are of more vigorous growth, usually with larger and coarser 

 foliage, and self-coloured, perfect, rose-shaped flowers, and are earlier 

 than the other forms. On this account they are the best adapted for 

 bedding, and especially for parks in or near large towns. 



These garden ranunculuses, as I shall collectively call them, because, 

 after all, there is really very little difference between the sections, are, 

 without doubt, among the most showy and useful of plants, and those 

 who have ever seen them in perfection will say the same. For some 

 unknown reason they have, generally speaking, gone almost out of culture 

 in this country, and, in fact, it is very rare indeed one sees them, and 

 then only put in the most unsuitable soil or position, and often overgrown 

 bv shrubs or weeds. On the Continent, especially in France, some parts 

 of Belgium, and Holland they are still in great favour, and much atten- 

 tion is paid to their culture, though even here they are not always seen at 

 their best To grow them successfully, the soil should be neither too 

 dry nor too damp, but well drained and light, no matter what the con- 

 stituents. The most favourable results are usually had when well-ripened 

 roots have been planted in a somewhat alluvial soil mixed with leafmould 

 and plenty of coarse sand, with a position sheltered against cold, drying 

 winds, as well as the fierce rays of the sun, though not shady, or even 

 partially so. To have a succession of bloom it is advisable to plant the 

 ranunculus in three distinct sets— the first, say, in November, in a cold 

 frame, the second in March, and the third in April or May; the last two 

 sets, of course, in the open ground. They can be planted right into the 

 summer, but unless well protected against sun and heat these are of very 

 short duration, and the plants sometimes die off before the flowers 

 develop. 



As the roots of these 

 of them only costing a lew 



magnificent plants are so very cheap, a hun 

 w shillings, it is best to plant them m beds 



_.. < • 0 'it i — ;i ™„Armi» the 



hundred 

 like 



the beds 



has led in v. t 7 The [act is, the cheapening of glass and timber tuli P s or crocuses, and only in well-prepared soil, covering 



similar I„I! v ■ been done half a century or more ago under a ( ter planting with cocoa-nut fibre ; if planted during the wu..-, 



Sv3,Tk C ° nt " S r f each e rowers of those da y s would have w,th faw, which should be taken away when the danger of frost has 



been in thifr t e l ° f ^ advan tages which now exist, if it had Passed ; then with a little protection, such as shrubs or trees afford, and 



S^tKS?2 1 , aVC before wondered at the simplicity of the sufficient moisture, a good crop of flowers is certain, and there are fe» 



with o. rW 5! ov v erlool 5ing of the fly which leads to so many troubles P Ia nts as variable in colour and as beautiful when in perfection. There 



splendid r, P ht a ^ e , have thous - ln(ls of growers who produce ar ? all shades of colours, excepting, perhaps, blue; but yellow, purp£ 



auen 1 ffS : 65 , Under S ,ass > and the X succeed because they pay crimson, hl^u . ce P _ *nd the floors 



of e X anc" S^VvT^ 1 ^ 1 '*^' Careful trainil *' P re ^°" 



ce " ^ Well » ar e we to assume that directly these 



^Srilr°Zot^^^ open air, all their skill goes off 'at their 

 ripe wood ? iSSS nr t add COgniZe th * deadI y " ™« lose all idea of 

 fly is black and" S green ' someth,n » of a P each g ro ^r, that the 



in a transparent fallacy, bSl tfijff ff raCti ? & man aS - Mr * Wyth 

 raspberries, or nerh-in* 1 « V 1 have him 01 



elements are wisL^L. .° U >: n !. t0 s ?y over the soil. The idea that food 



are all shades of colours, excepting, perhaps, blue ; but yellow, pui^, 

 crimson, black, white, salmon, &c, are all represented, and the «o«n 

 are often deliciously scented, and consequently most useful at all seasons. 

 tor those who have never grown the ranunculus, I enumerate are 

 the best varieties, although there are a great number imposstwc w 

 describe or enumerate here. , 



Double Persian RANUNCULUS.-Bouton d'Or,^ double sca'ie • 



Citrone, yellow ; Jaune Supreme, yellow ; Queen of the Nethcrlan * 



Orange, oranee : Queen Victoria, violet ; Mont nuu* 



black ; Brilliant Orange, orange ;' Queen 

 white. to 



Double 



elements are washed do wn to h ° T ?™ ih t 5 ° iL The idea that food Em P eror Fi^^l^T^No^S^bm*" I The S , hat 

 -rked, is uttcr , wron « o the drainage when a hght soil is deeply yellow ; L'EtinceLnte crfmson Salvor Rosa, scarlet ; Couleur 



aown /TfTo, tTC ha' tafkleda ^^J^^ ^^^- ----- - -a 



Cafe, 



pillarity 



nan Peter. What 



food elements Hntvi 



dark brown j Mathilde Christine, white. . netals red 



Double Turban Ranunculus.- Viridiflora, gr een he P* 



>ed ; Grandiflora, crimson, yellow striped ; Herculus, white, k 



I know Sans Pareil, scarlet. 



same. If I 



ago. 



read, w Z l^f on , ,his in the magazine 

 , too, the report of a lecture on Dutch bulb. 



r *™ l > scarlet. . ^nun 



As with some anemones, the little claw-like tubers ot toes , 

 culuses retain their vitality, when kept dry, for two years, and so 



longer, provided they were well ripened. 



