January 22, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
75 
down, and otherwise well attended to, the result being an abundance of 
bloom for three or four months in the season. In the fernery the most 
interesting plmts are Davallia Mooreana, D. bullata, D. insignia, 
Microlepia hirta cristata, Leucostegia immersa, and Adiantum Williamsii. 
The former is about 6 feet in diameter, and height accordingly, all in the 
best of health, but of little less dimension than the former. I may state 
that four of these took the first prize at the city show last spring. In the 
heathery and greenhouse are also to be seen the result of high cultivation 
and attention. G-reat cultural skill and artistic taste are manifest throughout 
the whole garden, the flower garden being a great feature in the summer, 
particularly the carpet bedding and the ribbon border, which is about 
400 feet long, and this year contained thirteen lines of distinct colours.— 
Quill Pen. 
CLIMBERS AND SHRUBS FOR WALLS. 
DURING the last half-dozen years the test to which wall shrubs and 
climbers have been subjected in the open air has been very great, and for 
all ordinary garden purposes may be considered conclusive, at least so far 
as their hardiness in this country is concerned. In connection with this 
subject in localities where the cold is greater than the plants can endure, 
the question of material for their protection has always been a troublesome 
one, and indeed this is said to be one of the principal objections put 
forward against the cultivation of these wall climbers. To the gentleman 
or gardener who is accustomed to everything being kept neat and trim 
the material in general use for protecting plants is always objectionable. 
Of course this can only be applied to the more primitive mode of cover¬ 
ing, in which worn-out mats, canvas bags, and straw were employed 
without any system, and often with uncertain knowledge of how much 
was required to ward off frost. Where neatness is of the first importance 
this objection is not without weight, for what is more displeasing in a 
walk through a trim garden than to be met at every turn with the ragged 
ends of mats and straw litter ? But why use plants that are only half- 
hardy at all ? There are many more plants than would stock a large 
garden perfectly hardy requiring no covering or protection whatever. 
Where the cultivator is of a speculative turn it may often be desirable 
to test new introductions or plants that have not hitherto been grown in 
the garden in question ; but this may be done in special corners, and 
coverings of Yew or Fir branches substituted, as they are just as effectual 
and harmonise much better with the surroundings, gradually every year 
thinning them as the plants become established, or as they prove to be 
able to stand more cold than was at first expected. Instances of how 
plants have been treated on their introduction may be cited. In the case 
of Jasminum nudiflorum, which on its first appearance was grown in the 
greenhouse until more venturesome cultivators succeeded in establishing 
it against a wall. Choisya ternata in the north is yet grown in the inter¬ 
mediate house or greenhouse, and in the south considered hardy, and is 
grown as a wall bush or as a standard in the open ground, where it seems 
quite at hom°, and where its sweet Hawthorn-scented blossoms are pro¬ 
duced as freely as need be. Many more could be given, but my object at 
present is to draw up a list as varied as possible, and all capable of 
standing unprotected the cold of an average winter in the neighbourhood 
of London. 
North Wall .—Rhyncospermum pulchrum, Rubus deliciosus, Cassinia 
fulvida, Rosa anemonaeflora, &c., Duvaua spinescens, Forsythia suspensa, 
Choisya ternata, Olearia Haastii, Jasminum officinale, Camellia japonica, 
Ribes speciosa, Ceanotbus in variety, and Rubus spectabilis. 
South Wall .—Fuchsias in variety, Convolvulus Cneorum, Clematis mon- 
tana, Rosa Banksioe and bracteata, Tecoma grandiflora, Mutisia decurrens, 
Eccremocarpus scaber in the south, Magnolia Gordon!, Periploca gneca, 
Clematis coccinea, Coronilla glauca, Embothrium coccineum, and Hy¬ 
drangea altissima. 
East Wall .—Rosa sericea, Clematis orientalis, &c., Parrotia persica, 
Decumaria barbara, Viburnum cotinifolium, Photinia serrulata, Akebia 
quinata, Clematis Pitched, Fabiana imbricata, Cassia corymbosa, Rosa 
Fortunei, Exochorda grandiflora, Indigofera Gerardiana, and Abelia 
rupestris. 
Wi.st Wall .—Chimonanthus fragrans, Jasminum nudiflorum, Rubus 
australis, Prunus triloba, Rhu3 radicans, Stauntonia hexaphylla, Solea 
virginica, Fallugia paradoxa, Vella pseudo-Cytisu^, Ceratonia Siliqua, 
Smilax tamnoides, ALburnum dentatum, Bridgesia spicata, and Escallonia 
rubra.—M. 
GOOD OLD FLORISTS' FLOWERS. 
I READ the communication at page 49 from Mr. Thomas Garratt with 
great pleasure. His deep-seated love for Carnations and Picotees has 
been renewed with intensity, and he hopes next season to be a victorious 
competitor. The young and. the old meet together in friendly rivalry 
at these meetings, and such old and tried veterans as Mr. Garratt are 
ever welcomed with the respect justly due to their years and ripe ex¬ 
perience. Mr. Garratt asks—“ Have the old varieties been surpassed ? ” 
alluding to Cartwright’s Rainbow, Flora’s Garland, &c. It would be 
presumption in me to give my own opinion on this subject, but Mr. 
Turner has no doubt that the improvement since the youthful days of 
Mr. Garratt has been progressive, sometimes slowly, at other times rapid. 
Even if the flowers that stimulated Mr. Garratt’s youthful ard mr were 
equal to recent productions what avails it if they cannot be obtained ? 
The youthful vigour of Carnations and Picotees cannot be maintained 
into old age. I will select from the list of the old varieties Flora’s Garland 
to illustrate my meaning. I think it is the best variety named at page 49. 
As a seedling plant it was a vigorous kind, for in respect of constitution 
they vary as much as the human family. This vigour was maintained 
for Borne years, and although it retained its stamina longer than any of 
the others, owing, no doubt, to its more vigorous habit, it ultimately 
declined, and although I kept it up to a few years ago for the sake of 
“ Auld lang syne,” it is now, I believe, as extinct as the Dodo. But we 
do not need Flora’s Garland ; and although the old growers may long to 
see the charming flowers that stimulated their youthful exertions, they 
must accept the inevitable, and learn to admire the productions of more 
recent times. James Merryweather, John Keet, Sybil, Tim Bobbin, 
Jessica, and Rob Roy are all superior rose flakes to Flora’s Garland. 
Cartwright’s Rainbow has been surpassed by William Skirving, Master 
Fred, Harrison Weir, Rifleman, and Shirley Hibberd. I never knew 
the scarlet bizzare Martin’s Splendid, but Admiral Curzon, Arthur 
Medhurst, Robert Lord, and Hextall’s Mars may well compensate us for 
its inevitable lose. The gradual loss of stamina or degeneration of seed¬ 
ling forms of the Carnation and Picotee may well furnish material for 
reflection, and he admitted as a theme for profitable discussion. The 
influence which the flowers exercise over the vigour of the plants is in its 
way very mysterious. This is seen in what florists term “ run ” flowers, 
or such as sport to the self form. Leaf and flower work together to 
produce certain results. I will take scarlet bizarre Carnation Admiral 
Curzon, the first on all lists. When the flowers are in their perfect state 
of bizarre the plant is sure to be weakly, with pale foliage. If a branch 
sports to a condition in which the white is absorbed by the scarlet and 
maroon the production of that branch will be plants with darker foliage 
and a more vigorous habit; but, on the other hand, if the white and scarlet 
both disappear, leaving a maroon self only, we have a strong vigorous 
plant with rich dark leaves distinct in all respects from tbe plant in its 
perfect scarlet bizarre state. Sometimes our sportive Admiral will take 
the form of a scarlet flake, but in this state it is not a vigorous plant. The 
well-known scarlet flake Sportsman (Hedderley) is merely a sport from 
Eason’s fine scarlet bizarre Admiral Curzon. It has sported in other 
hands, but Hedderley being the first he claims to have his name added 
to it, as if it had been his own seedling production. I attribute the 
gradual decline in vigour of choice varieties of the Carnation and Picotee 
to two causes. The principal one is that the flowers of the best quality 
have not such vigorous constitutions as seifs. The plants are not selected 
for their vigorous constitution, but for the quality of the flowers they 
produce. The old Clove does not decline in vigour ; its constitution is 
much the same as it was fifty years ago. 
The second cause is to be traced to an over-anxiety to produce large 
blooms for exhibition ; for this reason the plants are over-fed, stimulated 
by rich composts until they get into an unhealthy condition. In its wild 
state the Carnation does not grow in rich meadows, but clings for support 
to old ruins or dry banks, where the soil is neither rich nor moist. I use 
for potting good yellow loam, leaf mould, and sand, with some decayed 
stable manure as the best fertiliser. There should be no dividing mark 
between border and show Carnations. All the varieties will grow out of 
doors and flower well even in the precincts of smoky towns. Witness 
the grand display annually made in Messrs. Veitch’s nursery, King’s 
Road, Chelsea, and other populous neighbourhoods.—J. Douglas. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Asparagus. —A few dozen good roots should be lifted and placed 
into the bed of the Cucumber bouse to force. They grow freely now, and 
will pay amply for forcing. Roots from four to six years old are very 
profitable, but young ones only partially developed are not. Asparagus 
plantations should be attended to at once. Put a forkful or two of good 
manure around each crown ; shake a small handful of salt over this, and 
then fork it slightly in over the roots ; but remember this, without 
breaking any of them. When each plant has been treated in this 
way spread more manure between the rows on the vacant ground, and 
fork it in. In heavy soil a quantity of river sand may be forked in 
with the manure which is put close to the roots. A dry light rich soil is 
best for Asparagus. 
Peas. —When the weather is mild and the soil moderately dry a few 
rows of the earliest sorts of these may be sown on a sunny border. We 
all know that Peas sown in November germinate freely, and those put in 
now will do the same, although they will not be so early as the plants from 
seeds we advised to be sown under protection a fortnight ago. It is quite 
a mistake, however, to wait for the days lengthening or warming before 
sowing Peas, as they are perfectly hardy and will remain fresh and healthy 
through all weathers. Those sown in the autumn and which are now a 
few inches in height should be earthed up and staked, putting the sticks 
in moderately close to afford shelter, but not sufficient to draw them up 
or make them tender. 
Broad Beans—A few rows of these may be sown. Make open drills 
4 feet apart and 3 inches deep, and sow the seed thinly in these. Strong 
rich soil is the only kind in which a profitable crop can be secured, but a 
lighter soil will suit them better now than later. Early Mazagan is 
