308 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. c October e, issi. 
of the most glaring type—yellow, scarlet, orange, and a smatter¬ 
ing of pink; these were massed together in a large centrepiece, 
no attempt being made to relieve the mass of colour with a due 
proportion of greenery, or give it the least appearance of light¬ 
ness, but having that flat heavy appearance which we need not 
describe. In the smaller glasses, too, the same style prevailed, 
masses of yellow being highly conspicuous in the shape of yellow 
Dahlias and other kindred flowers. This gardener, in response 
to a question as to the propriety of employing such glaring 
flowers for table decoration, informed us that there was “ nothing 
like having large masses of yellow and scarlet for decorative 
purposes ; it shows up well.” Here then, we think, was ample 
need for a knowledge of the rudiments of taste. 
Again, with regard to bouquets. How many gardeners are 
there who can make a really tasteful bouquet ? Their numbers 
are not legion, at least judging from the samples which we meet 
with at flower shows. Instead of a bouquet distinguished by 
lightness, absence of crowding in arrangement, soft and pleasing 
to the eye, we find them crowded and glaring, and altogether 
unworthy of the name. 
Every young gardener who aspires to become a master of his 
profession should not neglect to cultivate a taste for the arrange¬ 
ment of cut flowers. He will not only find it useful to him in 
his profession. Depend upon it the services of a man holding this 
qualification are, and will be, much more valued by his employer, 
in addition to the greater amount of pleasure which a man derives 
from a systematic study of the laws of taste.— Horttts. 
PLUMS. 
These have borne abundantly, but have not been similarly 
productive in all positions. Kirke’s had a heavy crop against 
walls, but failed completely as pyramids and standards. Jefferson 
was equally fruitful both as wall trees and standards ; indeed 
the latter gave much the finer fruit, probably owing to the 
standards not being so much affected by the drought as the wall 
trees. Green Gage has been much finer from trees on a south 
aspect wall than those of trees on an east aspect, and preceded 
the latter by ten days. The finest of dessert Plums, July Green 
Gage, shows a disposition to cast its fruit just before ripening, 
and, this having been its prevailing characteristic for some years, 
it has been discarded. Boddaerts Green Gage is very much larger 
than the old Green Gage, and is very fine ; indeed, it is one of 
the very best, ripening in advance of Green Gage. De Montfort, 
although but of medium size, is of a fine deep purple colour with 
good bloom, and is first-rate, coming in by the middle of August. 
Jefferson invariably bears well, and in early and middle Septem¬ 
ber is what Coe’s Golden Drop is at the end of September and 
early October — indispensable from their surpassing richness. 
Kirke’s has borne abundantly as usual, the fruit being large, 
roundish oval, deep purple, with splendid bloom, and in quality 
unsurpassed by any. Belgian Purple is unquestionably a fine 
Plum when it comes to perfection, but it does not succeed with 
me on a south aspect, the fruit gumming. Denniston’s Superb 
bears freely as a standard, but if the weather be at all wet when 
the fruit is approaching ripening it cracks very much. Against 
a wall it thrives better, but to have Plums ripen perfectly when 
the season is wet, glass copings would pay the cost almost the 
first season by saving the crop ; indeed, all stone fruits need to 
have water or rain kept from them after they commence ripening. 
The very finest of the Gages, Transparent Gage, has not borne 
freely ; in fact it npver does, and the least moisture causes the fruit 
to crack. The trees thrive best when allowed to extend freely, 
training in plenty of young wood even if the old wood has to be 
removed to admit it. Purple Gage, one of the richest of Plums, 
fruits indifferently when closely spurred, but treated similarly 
to Transparent it is free, the quality being unrivalled by any, 
Green Gage not excepted. Golden Gage is another kind that 
does not bear freely when the growth is restricted much, and 
being very hardy succeeds admirably as a standard or pyramid. 
Ickworth Imperatrice if allowed to hang until it shrivels is richly 
flavoured, or if gathered when ripe and kept in a light airy fruit 
room, is, after a time, first-rate, and should be grown where late 
Plums are desired. It bears abundantly against a wall. 
Does anyone know an early Plum named Mother ; pale yellow 
streaked or spotted with red, with a white bloom ? It was grown 
in some gardens over thirty years ago against south walls as an 
early Plum, and ripened early in August. It was larger than 
Mirabelle, and of fair quality. Is it synonymous with Drap d’Or? 
I will refer to the culinary Plums in a future issue.—G. Abbey. 
Lily of the Valley. —The delicate and fragrant flowers of 
these plants are always acceptable, and any means should be 
adopted to prolong the supply. My plants were started early in 
the year, were continued under glass in a good light position, and 
assisted with liquid manure to make a strong growth ; then, being 
placed outdoors in June, the growth was completed early, and the 
crowns are well developed. Such plants will force readily in 
gentle bottom heat and with a temperature of 60° to 65°. Those 
I have now introduced will flower by the middle of November. 
Imported or home-grown single crowns or clumps started before 
January need bottom heat to encourage growth before they are 
exposed to light, which should be. done gradually. The bottom 
heat I find most suitable is about 90 3 , and top heat G0° to 65° to 
75°.—X. 
THE GLADIOLUS. 
The Gladiolus has not yet attained to the position occupied by 
many florist flowers, the cultivation of which has been reduced to 
the certainty of a science. The Gladiolus is still the subject of 
much diversity of opinion as regards what are essential points in its 
cultivation. If w r e visit a garden where a certain flower has been 
made a speciality we may expect to find the same flower better 
represented after the lapse *of five or ten years. It is altogether 
different with the Gladiolus. The garden which half a dozen 
summers back could boast of corms by the hundred or thousand, 
may be at this date destitute of one representative corm derived 
from those. We have all our pet systems of cultivation, which all 
seem to fail under particular conditions. Several years ago, when 
on a gardening tour, I saw a splendid collection in a baronet’s 
garden under tbe care of a shrewd gardener, who was a formidable 
competitor at the local flower show. The great secret in the 
cultivation of the Gladiolus, according to his opinion, was to be 
found in the mode of planting the corms. However, Gladioluses 
have ceased to be a feature in that garden long ago. The various 
theories regarding the deterioration of the Gladiolus audits dying- 
out in collections have been from time to time under discussion 
in this Journal, but so far I am afraid without any certain means 
of keeping the stock healthy having been broached. I have an 
amateur friend who buys corms every year, as he does his 
Hyacinths, and I had a friend in a large garden who worked on 
the same principle ; but it is comparatively few, either gardeners 
or amateurs, who have money to spare for this purpose. 
Since I have made a point of lifting late-flowering plants, 
which up to the beginning of October had not finished growth, 
and allowed them to “ finish up ” under glass, I have found a 
great improvement. There is no difficulty with early-flowering 
varieties, as in most seasons they make enormous corms. I have 
had a corm of Shakespeare, one of four from one root, which was 
over a foot in circumference ; but the late variety, Meyerbeer, I 
never find complete its growth here without being lifted, and, of 
course, the corms are very small, though they flower freely. To 
ascertain the truth with regard to bought roots being superior to 
home-grown ones, I last spring bought, amongst others, duplicates 
of some of the newer leading varieties, and found on comparing 
these with our home-grown corms that in no single instance were 
the bought roots larger, but, on the contrary, some of ours were 
three times larger. Fourteen of the purchased corms did not grow, 
and in every case where they have grown the home plants are 
stronger. 
What I consider the main points to be acted on in order to 
secure healthy growth are these : Not to plant too early ; to have 
rich well-prepared soil ; and, in seasons like those we have ex¬ 
perienced of late years, to lift all plants which have not finished 
growth, and allow them to do so under glass. To explain these 
points more in detail, I find that nothing is gained in earliness 
by planting at an early date, when both soil and atmosphere are 
cold. Here planting is not performed till April, nor later than 
the middle of the month, though in more backward districts it 
might be done later than that time. I have always found that 
the warmer the soil was before planting the stronger and quicker 
has been the growth of the plant and the longer the spikes of 
bloom. Early varieties come in at their usual time, and late 
varieties do not hasten, so that practically there is nothing 
gained by planting one batch earlier than another. Last year, 
from corms planted on the same day, we had blooms from the 
middle of July until the stock was lifted in the middle of 
October, and from some of these lifted plants we furnished vases 
with spikes until late in November. But in order that the most 
may be made of the genial weather from the beginning, a rich 
soil is an equal necessity. Our ground is trenched two spades in 
depth, the loose soil is shovelled out, and the bottom of the 
trench forked-up, manure being worked in at the same time and 
as the work goes on. The manure we use is half from the cow 
houses, with the remainder old hotbed manure. Watering has 
