JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
518 
[ December 7, 1882. 
prepared some months before), and beginning at one end about 
18 inches from the outside I dig a hole and cast into it a good 
big shovelful of old potting soil or road grit, and upon this I 
place my Rose, carefully spreading out all its roots. I then 
cover them completely with some more of this light soil, and 
fill up with the gault. 1 then go to the next hole, and so on 
until the row is complete. We never trample round the plants 
until the ground becomes tolerably dry, then we tread lightly 
round each tree and mulch. I ought to mention that we use 
planks to stand upon when doing our work, so as to avoid 
trampling on the beds as far as possible. Nearly all my Roses 
are on the seedling Briar, and have been obtained from the 
Oxford nurseries. During the last four years about two 
thousand, both Teas and Hybrid Perpetuals, have been treated 
in this manner, and not a score of them have failed. Shrubs 
do equally well treated thus. 
I have a sad tale to tell about the Roses on the Manetti, about 
three hundred in number, planted in October, 1881. They 
were fine plants when they arrived, and the wood seemed ripe 
and healthy ; but in the following spring I found that in spite 
of mulching, good drainage, and careful planting, at least one- 
third had died. The soil is too heavy for the foreigner. It 
simply dies in soil which seems to give full life and vigour to 
our English Dog Rose. I am well aware that people will say, 
“ Would it not be better to wait until drier weather before 
planting ?" I cannot say I think so. I hold that all planting 
should be completed by the end of the first week in November, 
and I have never found that Briar roots placed in light porous 
soil take any harm. 
Many of the blooms that I exhibited this year were cut from 
Roses planted in the previous October. I fancy some persons 
may doubt this. Let them try the plan.—W. H. J. 
[We give prominence to this short but very suggestive and 
useful letter. The method of planting is an excellent one 
under the circumstances. We have proved the value of a 
handful of fresh soil placed round the roots of a small plant 
when inserted, and a spadeful or two used in the same manner 
with Roses, shrubs, and fruit trees when the natural soil has 
been heavy and wet. The little extra labour involved by this 
care in planting is amply repaid by the satisfactory results that 
follow ; in fact, the difference between careful and careless 
planting is not infrequently a difference between achieving 
success and incurring failure. The question of the relative 
merits of stocks for Roses is to a great extent a question of 
soils, and on this subject the remarks of our correspondent are 
opportune and useful.] 
LOW NIGHT TEMPERATURES FOR GRAPES. 
This year I have given the Vines under my charge much lower 
night temperatures than heretofore with the most satisfactory 
results. I think it is only fair to those who have so strongly 
advocated low night temperatures that all who have given the 
system a trial should, for the benefit of others, state their successes 
and their failures. In the first place I may say that all our houses 
contain different leading varieties, about half of them being Mus¬ 
cats. Previous to this year during the flowering period they were 
kept at a night temperature ranging from 67° to 70°. This year 
they were kept from 55° to GO 0 , and all, including the Muscats, 
set well. After flowering the night temperature was 60°, or as 
near that as the outside temperature would allow ; on dull days it 
ranged from 70° to 75°, and 80’ to 90° with sun. One and all ex¬ 
ceeded my expectation, for without exception they finished well, my 
employers remarking that they were the finest and best-coloured 
Grapes they had ever had. The Vines are heavily cropped ; as 
a proof, four rods of Gros Guillaume have an average of 4 lbs. 
to the foot. The treatment in every respect was the same as in 
former years, with the exception of at least 10° lower night tem¬ 
perature. I am aware there is nothing exceptionally low in the 
above figures, still much higher is advocated by some. Let others 
give their experience on the subject. I am fully convinced that 
were lower night temperatures more general we should not see so 
many Vines infested with red spider, and badly coloured Grapes 
as is now too often the case.— G. S. 
Autumn Flowers.— Calendula officinalis flore-pleno has lately 
been making a grand display a3 a border flower. The seed was 
sown in spring and the plants treated as annuals, and their large, 
double, deep orange-coloured flowers are now admired by all who see 
them at this dull season. Campanula garganica as an edging plant 
is attractive, its pretty blue bells and dwarf compact habit being great 
recommendations. It may be had in bloom from early spring to late 
autumn. I find Zinnia Haageana a useful annual for bedding pur¬ 
poses and for borders ; is of a deep yellow colour, continues in bloom 
till the frost cuts it off, and is not affected by the wet. Chrysan¬ 
themum segetum has a lively appearance as a border flower. Another 
of our native plants which ought to have a place in all collections is 
Malva moschata alba ; it is for the border and wild garden as beau- 
ful as useful, continuing long in flower. East Lothian Stocks sown 
in the spring, grown on and planted out in the summer, are fine in 
the autumn. Plants so treated only need to be seen to be appre¬ 
ciated. Eucomis punctata, now established with us as a border plant, 
though not of bright colour, is interesting. That grand old Fuchsia 
Ricartoni does us good service in all places where a hedge of Fuchsias 
is required. This is one of the best for that purpose. Grown as a 
pyramid it makes a grand object for plunging on the lawn, and fine for 
the shrubbery. Achillsea compacta has been very fine in the border 
with its great plate-like yellow heads of flowers. —North York. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
It is some years since I have seen a show of Chrysanthemums ; 
and being in London on the day of the Borough of Hackney Show 
at the Aquarium I availed myself of the opportunity, and was 
the more glad to do so, inasmuch as I had seen in September the 
collection grown by my friend Mr. Heywood of Reigate ; and as 
I knew that he was an exhibitor was anxious to see how he came 
off ; and as I have grown the flower for thirty years in my small 
way, and used every year in old Mr. Salter’s time to enjoy the 
pleasure of visiting his winter garden and seeing all the new 
varieties of those days as they were coming out, my impressions 
of the Exhibition may be worth recording. 
Since the days I mention the dressing of Chrysanthemums has 
developed into an art, as in the case of the Carnation and Picotee, 
and those who are not adepts in it stand but a poor chance. 
Whether this is well I leave to others to judge. For myself I do 
not admire it, involving quite an artificial style of flower and an 
immense expenditure of time and trouble. As I looked along the 
long line of boxes my first exclamation was, “The dresser has 
been very busy here I should think and so I found it to be the 
case. On my observing to an exhibitor, “ I should think that 
those flowers have had half an hour each expended on them.” 
“ Nigher three hours,” was the quiet reply. But even with this 
drawback the sight was not easily to be forgotten. The varied 
colours, the large size, and the curious forms of the Japanese made 
a very attractive exhibition. But is the game worth the caudle ? 
I saw at Mr. Heywood’s hundreds of plants in the most robust 
health, but carrying, perhaps, two, three, or four blooms ; and yet 
when I spoke to his excellent gardener Mr. Ridout, and asked 
him why he was not in the larger classes, his reply was, “ Twelve 
are as many as we could do well. I might have put up twenty- 
four, but some of them would have been indifferent blooms—at 
least not up to the mark and when I saw the stands to which 
no prize was awarded I truly felt it was a difficult matter to come 
in in such a race. Mr. Heywood was first, however, as I should 
have anticipated. 
I was struck with the fact how little of novelty there had been 
of late years in the incurved or Pompon varieties. The old and 
grand flowers, Jardin des Plantes, Gloria Mundi, Nil Desperan- 
dura, George Glenny, Lord Derby, Beethoven, Golden Eagle, 
Queen of England, Empress of India, General Slade, Mrs. George 
Rundle, and such-like flowers are still the best in cultivation ; 
indeed most of the novelties in this class of late years have been 
sports from flowers already well known. The same remark applies 
to Pompons. We cannot now beat with new varieties the fine 
old varieties Cedo Nulli, Trevenna, Trophee, Bijou d’Horticul- 
ture, La Vogue, Mrs. Dix, Duruflet, &c. Now and then one 
crops up, such as Golden Madame Marthe, but as a rule the older 
varieties still hold the foremost place. By-the-by, it is a great 
mistake to show cut blooms of Pompons unless, as in Pompon 
Dahlias, in bunches. 
It is far otherwise with the Japanese section : indeed twenty 
years ago they were unknown. In looking back at a report of 
the Crystal Palace Great Chrysanthemum Show in 1861, reported 
in his usual racy way by good old Donald Beaton, there is not 
even a mention of them ; and when the first “ Ragged Jacks ” 
were introduced there was an outcry amongst the regular florists 
as to their hideous untidiness, and a regret expressed at seeing 
them, for they would inevitably spoil the larger flowers if they 
were hybridised with them. S une of us thought otherwise, and 
hoped to see a good deal of novelty introduced to this favourite 
winter flower, but I think few expected the results which have 
been obtained. Such flowers as Elaine, Fair Maid of Guernsey, 
