October 25, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF FIORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
379 
were in tbe shadiest place I can command, but that is not shady enough. 
My man was engaged from morning to nitiht about the church, and, in a 
■word, they ■were forgotten. The thermometer was at 80°, and judge of my 
horror when on the following morning I went to my frames and found the 
plants frizzled. And why is it that tbe best varieties are always those that 
are sure to suffer in such mishaps ? So I can only fay now, the best thing 
is to get your plants into their winter quarters at once, the frames to be 
facing south, and air to be given at all suitable times. 
Carnations and Picotees. —The drought told on these also. They 
had continually to be watered, and hence I suppose many of the layers 
failed, as the earth was wa'hed away from them. Still the grass is fine and 
healthy. I am writing of those in beds. The layers should be taken olf 
and potted in good sandy loam, one in a small po^, two in larger ones (dS's) 
placed in a cold frame and kept close for a few days. The frame should 
then be placed in the same situation as the Auriculas. When they are 
grown in beds, as with me, 1 take the layers off, place them in an empty 
bed, and then when I have the bed prepared for them plant them on any 
suitable day. This is by far the lea'^t troublesome way of growing them, 
but will hardly do for exhibition purposes, and makes tbe operation of 
layering somewhat difficult; but for those who grow for their own pleasure 
it has a great advantage over growing in pots. 
Chrysanthemums. —There are two ways of growing these—for exhi¬ 
bition purposes, and for blooming at home and for cutting. I grow for the 
latter. My plants are bushy and full of bloom ; I do not disbud, as I 
prefer quantity to quality. Perhaps not quite as much as the host who, 
seeing that his guests rather hung fire over the claret at luncheon, said 
“ Fire away, my lads ; I know it’s not very good, but there’s plenty of it! ” 
Still, I do prefer seeing a plant with plenty of flowers on it to one run up 
to two or three stems, but a giant mop on the top of it. They ought now 
to be housed and supplied occasionally with liquid manure. If I may 
judge from my own plants there is a prospect of a good season. 
Gladiolus. —I have grown these for well nigh thirty y^ears, but I 
never recollect having such well-ripened corms and so few losses as this 
year. The season has no doubt been favourable to them. The seed pods 
should now be all cut off, and as the foliage shows signs of decay they 
should be lifted, taking care not to rub off the spawn, for I am sure that 
it is to this cultivators must look if they wish to continue their growth. 
One of your correspondents recommends that when taken up they should 
be laid earth and all in a frost-proof shed to dry. In my light soil there is 
hardly ever any earth adhering to them if lifted in dry weather. My plan 
is to lay them out in a cold pit or any similar place where they will not 
get wet, and to dry them off gradually. When quite dry 1 stow them away 
either on shelves or bags, take off all the spawn carefully, keeping them 
in small bags. 
Pansies. —When grown in frames this is tbe best time to plant them 
out, taking care to secure them with a stout stake, as the wind is apt to 
loosen them, and then the water gets in about the roots. When grown in 
pots they should be placed under cover ready for repotting by-and-by. 
Alas ! my operations in either line are this year nil. 
Roses.—A busy time indeed with those who grow this queen of 
flowers, which can hardly be called a florists’ flower. It will be best now 
to examine the beds to see what plants are to be discarded, what new 
varieties are wanted, which old ones replaced. The beds should now also, 
when the weather is favourable, be mulched with well-decayed cow or 
horse manure. My plan is before doing so to draw earth up to the plants, 
so as to protect the roots in case of frost, and then to put on the top-dressing. 
Manure retains frost very much, and this plan I think obviates that 
danger. Long shoots should be shortened, and if persons are anxious to 
increase their stock of own-rooted plants now is the time to put in cuttings. 
They should be about 9 inches long, and inserted about 6 inches in the 
ground, the lower buds rubbed out, just leaving two or three eyes above 
soil.—I)., Deal. 
CONCAVE FLOWER POTS. 
Relative to “ Crute’s concave flower pot,” described and illustrated 
on page 261, our issue of the 18lh ult., Mr. John Matthews of Weston- 
super-Mare informs us that he has made pots of this character since 1876. 
Mr. Matthews has also placed before us a number of letters which give 
the whole history of the pot from its first conception to its ultimate 
manufacture in the year stated. The first drawing of this kind of flower 
pot is by the writer of a letter to Mr. B. S. Williams, which letter (before 
us) was sent to Mr. Matthews on February 1st, 1876 ; on the 12th of the 
same month Mr. Williams requested to have samples of different sizes, 
and on July 13th of the same year 333 pots in five sizes were sent to the 
Holloway Nurseries by Mr. Matthews. 
Also in April of the same year what was known as the “ Sutton ” 
reservoir pot was manufactured by Messrs. Wheeler Brothers at Reading, 
and advertised. Mr. James Blackley of Leyton, as is clear by a letter 
before us, dated April lOtb, 1876, suggested an important improvement 
on that pot. In the “Sutton” pot water could only escape from the 
crown of the raised bottom. Mr. Blackley suggested that provision 
should be made for its escape at the extreme bottom, thus avoiding the 
collection of water that would become stagnant and injurious to the 
roots of plants ; however, the same provision was made by Mr. Williams’ 
correspondent, as is shown in the original drawing above referred to. 
Mr. Matthews has further sent us one of the pots that were made in 
1876. It is substantially the same as the sample sent to us by Mr. Crute; 
but there are differences of detail. In the “ Matthews” pot there is no 
hole in the crown, provision being made for the escape of water by three 
holes in the sides of the pot at the base of the crown, or quite at the 
bottom of the inside of the pot, the water passing through to the outside 
la the “ Crute ” pot there is a hole in the crown as well as three others at 
the base, but the water passes inwards—that is, under the pot, provision 
being made for its further escape by small semicircular orifices in tbe 
rim on which the pot stands. 
In principle the two pots are the same, and they will answer the same 
purpose in the cultivation of plants ; but according to the evidence sup¬ 
plied to us, to Mr. Matthews must be accorded the priority in the 
manufacture of these concave flower pots. 
NOTES ON PLANTS. 
Ferns for Cutting. —While there are no Ferns so 
generally in demand for cutting, and which possess such charac¬ 
teristic lightness as the Adiantums, still there are a few that are 
very acceptable, and especially so when at a certain season the 
Maidenhair Ferns have from constant picking become destitute 
of fronds. While the Adiantums under certain conditions are 
the most valuable for all bouquet a,nd buttonhole arrangements, 
yet there are cases when they are useless. In the winter and 
spring seasons when Maidenhair is valued beyond measure, it is 
very difficult to get well-matured fronds, therefore the plants 
must now be furnished with abundance of young ones in various 
stages of development. During the autumn months Maidenhair 
Ferns should have plenty of room and receive every attention, so 
as to guarantee proper development, sun and air being admitted 
consistently with their well-being. To harden them thoroughly 
in a cooler temperature is also important. A light airy vinery 
is an excellent place wherein to harden these plants, which 
serves also as a rest for those thus treated, since instances have 
often occurred where the crown is literally packed with fronds 
ready to unfold as soon as the old crop is gathered and they are 
once more placed into heat. 
Apart from the Maidenhair Ferns, Pteris scaberula, when 
grown for the purpo e, is useful for cutting. It is light in 
texture, of free growth, and elegant. We recently saw quantities 
of this Fern in Messrs. Heath’s nursery at Cheltenham, where it 
is grown extensively for small bouquet work, for which it is well 
suited. It is not grown in pots in the ordinary way, but planted 
out on the front stages of several houses wherein are Camellias, 
Lapagerias, Himalayan Rhododendrons, or similar plants, pre¬ 
ferring a cool temperature. These stages are from 12 to 30 feet 
in length and about 2 feet 6 inches wide, the sides boarded up, 
making a bed about 5 inches deep. Here it has rambled for 
several years, till the beds are now densely clothed with abundant 
foliage. It only re juires protection from frost, and it is better 
suited than some others to withstand exposure to cold. The 
fronds are gathered from these beds of Pterises as required, and 
as soon as one is cleared, it is, after a slight rest, again started 
into growth. This Fern is well worthy the attention of gentle¬ 
men’s gardeners who require Fern at all seasons, and seeing 
that it rambles with equal freedom beneath the stages, it may, 
with the aid of a few stones, make that portion of the house 
attractive. 
Rosa rxtgosa. —From time to time attention has been called 
to the value of this interesting species. Its numerous claims on 
all true lovers of gardening are these. Primarily it is adapted 
to almost any situation or soil, next to which it is highly deco¬ 
rative in foliage oi’ in tiowei*. For isolated positions it has few 
equals. W’’hether placed on the lawn or on the tops of mounds 
it is everywhere a good plant. It is not well known unfor¬ 
tunately, and there are very few plants possessing such distinct 
and pleasing characteristics—viz., beauty in foliage, in flower, 
and in fruit. In foliage its shining leaves are widely distinct 
from .any other species; in flower it surpasses nearly all in regard 
to size, the colour being bright rose; and, thirdly, the large 
scarlet fruit in autumn produce an effect almost unique. It is 
fragrant, too, especially in the early morn. Like some other 
species it is rather impatient of the pruning knife. It comes 
from Japan, where, we believe, the fruit is used as a preserve. 
Bohvardias Planted out. —It is now fairly established 
that the value of Bouvardias is increased by adopting the out¬ 
door planting system. Bouvardias form one of the most con¬ 
tinuous and floi’iferous groups of plants which we possess. For 
seme time past growers have adopted the outdoor system, com¬ 
paratively few, however, planting them out. Grown in pots 
plunged in ashes in the open, the wood has a double opportunity 
of being thoroughly ripened, and which is so conducive to their 
floriferousness when transferred to the greenhouse for the winter. 
It is seldom that we meet them flowering during the summer 
with such freedom as we saw them quite recently in the College 
Nurseries, Cheltenham, wh( re they are grown by the thousand 
in this way. We were also informed that from the time they 
were planted out they had been flowering with remarkable 
freedom, and judging by the abundance of terminal and axillary 
