224 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September IS, 1S83. 
thought if grafts were sent to a distance the old varieties would be easily 
reinvigorated. I suspect the old Golden Pippin in Thomas Andrew 
Knight’s time was in the same condition as the Foxwhelps, Skyrme’s 
Kernel Apples, and Taynton Squash Pears were when the Woolhope Club 
took them in hand. But I find on referring to “ Knight’s Treatise on 
the Apple ” that the Foxwhelp, Redstreak, and Taynton Squash Pears 
were in nearly the same condition as the Golden Pippin, especially the 
Taynton Squash Pear, which was quite as bad. It seems that he was 
very careful in his experiments, and the results of those experiments led 
him to suspect that varieties of Apples have their limits fixed by Nature, 
like the seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—and that it was 
impossible to perpetuate the old varieties. But I should think if he had 
tried his experiments at a distance, or procured grafts from a distance, 
the results would have been better. To make matters worse he cautioned 
planters from receiving trees out of the district. 
It may be of interest to some of the readers of the Journal to know 
how his experiments were carried on. In his “ Treatise ” he says :— 
“ When I first observed the unhealthy state of all the young trees of 
these kinds I suspected that it arose from the use of diseased grafts taken 
from old trees, and that I should be able to propagate all the valuable 
varieties by buds taken from young newly grafted trees, as these can 
scarcely be said to take any of the wood of the old stock with them ; but 
to remove still further every probability of defect which might be com¬ 
municated from the old trees, I inserted the young shoots and buds 
taken from newly grafted trees in other young stocks ; and I repeated 
this process six times in as many years, each year taking my grafts and 
buds from those inserted in the year preceding. Stocksvof different 
kinds were also used ; some were double grafted, others obtained from the 
branches of Apple trees which had emitted shoots from cuttings, and 
others from the seeds of each kind afterwards inserted in them, under 
the idea that there might be something congenial to the fruits in stocks 
of this kind. The grafts grew tolerably and equally well in all, but there 
was always a want of hardness and elasticity in the wood ; and at the end 
of three or four years all began to canker. Several kinds of fruits were 
subjected to these trials, but principally the Redstreak and Golden 
Pippin (particularly the latter); and as these had formerly grown well 
in the same soil, I began to suspect that their diseases arose from the 
debility of age, and would consequently be found incurable.” 
It will be seen by the above that his opinion was not theory.— 
A. Young. 
NOTES FROM MY GARDEN IN 1882.—No. 5. 
HERBACEOUS AND ALPINE PLANTS. 
Considerable attention having been directed of late in the 
columns of the Journal to these plants it may be interesting, 
perhaps, to some to know what can be done in a small garden 
with the careful use of means, and, I flatter myself, with an eye 
to the selecting of proper subjects for it. I have often advo¬ 
cated the more liberal use of these plants, but the multitude 
of varieties has often deterred persons from attempting them. 
This has been somewhat intensified by the desire that many 
people have to possess complete collections of different genera. 
This is all very well in its way for scientific objects, and doubt¬ 
less those who thus grow them are benefactors to horticulture; 
but it may be desirable for Mr. Maw to grow a complete col¬ 
lection of Crocus, or Mr. Barr of Daffodils, or Mr. Wilson of 
Lilies; but we cannot all do this, and my object has been to 
get together such herbaceous plants as are interesting for their 
flowering qualities and not merely as botanical curiosities, and 
also to insure through them and a selection of a few annuals 
and other plants a succession of flowers from the early spring 
to the late autumn, so that at any period I may be able to 
have something in bloom in my garden, and this is how I have 
managed it. 
In front of my greenhouse there is a border about 4 feet wide 
and about 30 long. This is an early bulb border. There are 
Crocuses at the edge, and just behind them alternate clumps of 
Chionodoxa Lucilin and Galanthus Elwesii, and behind them 
again some clumps of different varieties of Narcissus and Jon¬ 
quils, and when the grass of these has decayed I sow it all over 
with Mignonette, which is now (August) filling the beds and 
sending out its delicious fragrance much to the gratification of 
passers-by and also of the bees which are busy over it. I do not 
care much for a scentless garden, and I have walked through 
many a one gorgeous in its colouring and neat in its carpeting, 
but as far as perfume went you might as well have gone through 
a series of Turkey carpets ; therefore Lavender, Mignonette, 
and Sweet Peas always find a place with me. 
There is a border alongside of my lawn which is not (Goth 
that I am!) dedicated to lawn tennis. This border is about 
15 feet wide and 80 feet long, and contains a variety of herbaceous 
plants and bulbs. It is edged in its entire length with Cam¬ 
panula pumila alba, which is always green, and when, as it 
has been lately, it is in full flower, is exceedingly pretty. The 
Crocuses push their way up through it in the spring, and it 
forms a good groundwork for them. When they are withering 
I cut off the grass, and then the Campanula has its way. A.t the 
back of the border I have some of the taller-growing varieties 
of Lilies, some grand clumps— e.g., of L. testaceum, L. davuricum 
Sappho, L. incomparabile, L. auratum, L. superbum, and L. lan- 
cifolium rubrum. Intermixed with these are tall plants of good 
varieties of Delphiniums, and in front the smaller-growing 
kinds L. L uchtlinii, which has not done well, L. pomponium 
verum, L. Batemanni*, Ac.; also Fritillarias, Ornithogalum 
umbellatum and arabicum, Gladiolus Colvilli albus, Ac. The 
upper end is occupied by a large mass of Anemone Honorine 
Jobert; and amongst the herbaceous plauts used are Hypericum, 
Farfara, Senecio pulcher. Achillea Ptarniica fl.-pl., several species 
of Campanula, Ac.; while interspersed amongst them are a few 
clumps of such annuals as Sweet Sultan, Chrysanthemum, Du- 
mettia, and also some plants of Pelargoniums, especially Marshal 
McMahon, which tends to lighten up the border with its brilliant 
foliage. At the upper end of the lawn I have a wide bed about 
10 feet wide by 20 long. This is planted with tall lowering 
Delphiniums, and Phloxes at the back, Galega officinalis and 
officinalis alba, L. candidum, Ac. In front are, in the spring, 
clumps of Narcissus poeticus, Hyacinths, &c., and amongst them 
Sedum spectabile, which is dwarf when they are in bloom, and 
as soon as they die down fill their places. I have besides at 
each end clumps of the old Orange Lily, and in the bed the 
old Tiger Lily, Anthericum Liliastrum, Allium Mojy, Aquilegia 
chrysantha, Doronicum austriacum, Epimedium pinnatum, Ac. 
The Sedum makes the bed very gay in autumn, when its 
large heads of purplish lilac flowers attract large numbers of 
butterflies, especially Yanessa atalanta and Y. Io, besides my 
friends the humble bees, who seem to get almost tipsy with the 
honey they obtain from it. 
I have besides this a long border opposite my Rose garden 
in which there are a number of the larger-growing plants. Here 
I have Harpalium rigidum, Telekia speciosissima, the Winter 
Cherry, some clumps of Irises and Campanulas, Gypsophila, 
various Asters, and a number of Aquilegias, many of them self- 
sown seedlings of various colours, seedlings from chrysantha and 
californica, Bupthalmum salicifolium, Papaver orientale, tall- 
growing Lilies, Ac. It will thus be seen that I have throughout 
the season something in flower. There are a number of other 
plants which I have not enumerated which fill up the spaces in 
the beds, but I have named the principal ones. 
The rockery is, however, I think, my special favourite in this 
department of the garden, and in it I have endeavoured to get 
some of the best plants I could afford to. It is about 100 feet 
long and about 4 feet wide. The stones are placed, 1 hope, in 
not a very formal way, and I have endeavoured to give it as 
natural an appearance as possible. There is a dip in the ground 
about two-thirds of the way, and here is the only place where 
I can grow plants that like a damp situation, and as it is very 
limited there are but few. On the rockery I have the following 
plants—A delightful group of Ramondia pyrenaica under the 
overhanging shelter of a large stone, keeping it from the sun’s 
rays. Here is a mass of the Pyrenean Rose, which, howevei - , I 
have to keep within bounds, as it spreads rapidly in all directions. 
Amongst it are some plants of Hepatica angulosa and some 
roots of Crocus Imperati. Then there is a clump of Anemone 
apennina, very lovely in spring ; Triteleia unitlora, Silene alpina, 
Lychnis alpina, Dianthus neglectus, Gentiana acaulis; and over¬ 
running the stones and creeping all over the ground Arenaria 
balearica and Mentha minima, which form a green carpet for 
the other things. Here again on an elevation are Androsace 
carnea and carnea eximia (the Mont d’Or variety), and the 
Edelweiss, which is quite at home and has propagated itself from 
seed in other parts of the rockery. Campanula turbinata and 
turbinata alba are here, and running all over this portion is 
Acaena novse-zealandiae, which is now conspicuous with its crim¬ 
son spikelets. This forms a capital groundwork, as all other 
plants seem to push themselves up through it. Here, tco, are 
Anemone stellata fulgens, conspicuous in early spring with its 
brilliant blossoms. Erinus alpinus seeds itself over the rockery. 
Phlox Nelsoni makes a brilliant display in spring, but the slugs, 
one great bane of the rockery, have finished off Phlox divaricata. 
Androsace lanuginosa is here also; then Ajuga reptans varie- 
gata, although this will go back to the green form. AEthionema 
grandiHorum has flourished well here, while Campanula Allioni 
has quite disappeared. Dryas octopetala flourishes, but is a shy 
bloomer; but a large clump of Aubrietia (Ingram’s variety) is 
beautiful in spring. Here, too, Linaria alpina is very pretty. 
This is the lowest part of the rockery, and here I have a nice 
clump of the very beautiful Cypripedium spectabile, which has 
established itself well and flowers in abundance every year. 
Orchis foliosa I have not succeeded so well with, but Primula rosea 
does very well here and in the upper part of the rockery. I have 
