338 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 27, 1882. 
pyramid. Beurre d’Anjou, Beurre Clairgeau, Louise Bonne of 
Jersey, Fondante d’Automne, Comte de Lamy, Williams’ Bon 
Chretien, Winter Nells, and Doyenne du Comice, all repay 
well for a place upon the cordon wall, the last sort especialty, 
for the pyramids of it so often fail, when the cordon almost 
always has a crop.— Edward Luckiiurst. 
TELOPEA SPECIOSISSIMA. 
Muon attention was attracted by Mr. C. Green’s flowers of 
Telopea speciosissima at Kensington early in the present month, 
partly by their beauty and partly from their rarity. Like 
many other handsome Proteaceous plants, this Telopea has 
been greatly neglected in recent years, perhaps because there 
is a general idea that such plants are extremely difficult to 
grow ; and further, there has been s<3 great a demand for quick¬ 
growing plants, that those of the hardwooded type have to a 
considerable extent become neglected. For general utility, it 
is true, Proteads cannot be recommended, but in many estab¬ 
lishments the object is to have a representative collection of 
plants, and sufficient recommendation is the possession of hand¬ 
some flowers, even though these are not produced quite so freely 
as Zonal Pelargoniums. As to the difficulty attending the cul¬ 
ture of Telopeas, Banksias, or others of similar habit, it is not 
so great but that it can be overcome with a little care, and 
when the plants are in flower the cultivator will be amply re¬ 
warded for his pains. In past years it was not an uncommon 
circumstance to see fine and well-flowered specimens of this 
class at the chief metropolitan exhibitions amongst miscel¬ 
laneous collections in groups or otherwise ; but now, even when 
flowers only are shown, as in the case of the Telopea now espe¬ 
cially referred to, they are regarded as curiosities. This is re- 
gretable, but it is satisfactory to note that in a few establish¬ 
ments they still receive attention, and possibly some of the 
best may again come into favour, though it is doubtful if they 
will ever regain the position they once held. 
Telopea speciosissima, it maybe remembered, is the Waratah 
of New South Wales, where it is considered by the colonists as 
one of the most handsome of the indigenous shrubs, its large 
conical Rhododendron-like heads of scarlet flowers being pro¬ 
duced very freely, and except in the foliage, which has the 
margin cut, the plants must resemble Rhododendrons to some 
extent, especially in habit, being compact and rounded, the 
heads of flowers being terminal. It is said that in the colony 
the plant is a great favourite with the bees, as the flowers 
possess abundance of honey, and therefore it is useful as well 
as ornamental. In old works the Telopea is described as an 
Embothriura, and a very good coloured engraving was pub¬ 
lished in the “ Botanical Magazine ” in 1808, where it is stated 
that the plant was then grown in Loddiges’ nursery, but a plant 
was first flowered in the garden of J. A. Woodford, Esq., at 
Springwell, Hertfordshire. 
A warm greenhouse is best suited for the plant, and a com¬ 
post of light turfy loam with peat and sand is required, well 
draining the pots, the latter being a very important point, as 
water must be liberally supplied when the growth is advancing. 
Probably it would be rather difficult to obtain plants now from 
nurserymen, and the best way for anyone who wished to grow 
it would be to endeavour to secure seeds from Australia, or, if 
procurable, rooted layers from a plant in England would be 
preferable.—L. C. 
VINES AT LONGLEAT. 
C Continued from page 297.) 
GIVING AIR. 
One of the first lessons to be learned on this subject 
is that the ventilation of plant and fruit houses in 
general is not for the same purpose as the ventilation 
of a dwelling house. Jn the dwelling house the venti¬ 
lator is or should he used for the egress of air which 
has become unfit to sustain healthy life, and for the 
ingress of that which is fresh and contains in abun¬ 
dance the gases necessary for our existence. 'When 
the modes of heating were more imperfect than they 
are now, and sulphurous fumes were at times sent forth 
from the flue, it was necessary to provide means 
for their exit; but the heating by hot water in the 
present day, provided the apparatus is sufficiently 
powerful for the purpose, emits nothing injurious to 
plant life, and if we except the period when the Grapes 
are colouring there is now generally sufficient inter¬ 
change of air between the laps of the glass to keep the 
plants supplied with all they want in this respect. The 
only other time when there is' likely to be a deficiency 
is when the internal and external temperatures are 
nearly the same, and in such cases it is sometimes 
advisable to use a little fire and a little ventilation, but 
up to the time of colouring, unless a house is glazed 
closer than I ever saw one, it is not necessary to open 
the ventilators merely for an interchange of air. 
“ What ! ” says an old hand, “ do you, then, condemn 
the ‘ chink ’ of air at night which we have so often been 
told is the secret of success ? ” Decidedly I do, when 
used for the purpose just indicated. I do not, how¬ 
ever, condemn its use during the flowering period, but 
its purpose then is different, nor during very mild 
weather at any time, and I recommend its constant 
adoption after colouring has commenced; but generally 
speaking, to use it at other times is to waste fuel. The 
greater the disparity between the internal and external 
temperatures the more secure will be the ventilation, 
but many a time have I seen ventilators thrown open 
when the plants had already too much air. This can¬ 
not, however, always be avoided, and occasionally I 
have to resort to the practice myself, as, for instance, 
during such weather as we frequently experience in 
March, when the sun shines powerfully during a rough 
cold wind, and we are obliged to ventilate in order to 
prevent the temperature rising to a dangerous height. 
This shows a defect in our system of ventilation which 
we hope some day to see remedied. Meanwhile where 
there is convenience for it we open on the side opposite 
to that from which the wind comes, allow the tem¬ 
perature to rise as high as we dare, and by stopping 
the fire early and frequently damping the interior of 
the house we endeavour to reduce to a minimum the 
ill effects of too much harsh air. 
Eor all practical purposes I think I may safely say 
that, when my system of cultivation is followed, that 
giving air up to the time of flowering is only for the 
prevention of too high a temperature. Then, as our 
methods of ventilation are admittedly imperfect, we 
must try to prevent as far as possible the evil conse¬ 
quences of such imperfections. By having my Vines 
5 or 6 feet below the top ventilators I have great 
advantages in the way of getting the air tempered before 
it reaches the tender foliage which are not be found in 
any of the old-fashioned houses. In a house which is 
ventilated, for instance, by sliding lights, when they 
are opened a foot wide the part of the Vine in that foot 
of space is quite as badly off as if it were suddenly 
turned outside the house altogether. That the part so 
situated thrives fairly well is only a proof that the 
Vine is very accommodating, and not that the system 
of culture is the best. Those of my readers who occa¬ 
sionally indulge during winter in the luxury of a tepid 
bath, and know that the opening of a door ever so far 
away from them into their bath room, even for a 
moment, does not add to their comfort, may imagine 
the effect of a sudden rush of cold air on to the tender 
foliage. Not only in many cases is the cold air allowed 
