December 23, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
565 
rectly termed a golden gem. Good for small garden or bush trees, invari¬ 
ably bears well, and though small is much liked by connoisseurs. It is 
fit to eat in November, and with good management keeps good till May, 
in which month I received a small quantity this year. Adams’ Pearmain 
ought to be in every collection. It is one of the best bearers we have, 
and does well either bush or cordon trained. The fruit are apt to grow 
rather large but well coloured, very handsome and distinct in appearance, 
and available during November and till February. Wyken Pippin, a 
rather small sort, but which has several good qualities. It grows strongly, 
is a good bearer, and the fruit are good in quality during January and till 
April. 
Cornish Gilliflower appears to be most at home in the western 
counties, and is a very distinct variety of superior quality, available late 
in November, and keeps good sometimes till May. It is not an easily 
grown or profitable sort, and requires special treatment in the way of 
pruning, the fruit being borne on the extremities of the young well 
ripened shoots. It is most weighty as an exhibition variety. Court 
Pendft Plat, or the Wise Apple, so termed on account of its peculiar late 
flowering habit, is very distinct in appearance, and altogether a most 
desirable sort. It is a sturdy grower either as a cordon or bush-trained, 
and usually bears well. Very handsome in appearance, though not of 
extra good quality, and is available during December and till late in 
April, Northern Spy, a good variety for orchards and the markets, and 
does well bu9h-trained. Have seen it cropping heavily this season, and 
the fruit are in season during January till May. According to Dr. Hogg 
it is an American variety and considered one of the best. Golden 
Reinette is particularly good on orchard trees this season, and usually 
bears well under any system of training. It also looks well on the exhi¬ 
bition tables as well as shop windows. It is good in November and keeps 
till late in March. Scarlet Nonpareil does well as a bush tree ; a 
moderately heavy cropper and is good late in December and to March. 
Sturmer Pippin being a very good keeper ought to be generally grown. 
It does well either standard or bush trained, is a good cropper, ripens 
during February and frequently keeps good to June. 
A limited selection from the foregoing may well consist of Irish Peach, 
Kerry Pippin, Gravenstein, King of the Pippins, Cox’s Orange Pippin, 
Margil, Ross Nonpareil, Adam’s Pearmain, Wyken Pippen, Court Pendu 
Plat, Northern Spy, Scarlet Nonpareil, Golden Reinette, and Sturmer 
Pippin.— W. IGGULDEN. 
(To be continued.) 
CHRISTMAS FLOWERS. 
Without referring specially to the Chrysanthemum, of which 
plenty of blooms can readily be had at this season if late 
varieties be grown, there are abundant other flowers that prove 
most welcome now. Tea Roses may be named as general 
favourites, Safrano, Niphetos, and Isabella Sprunt being 
amongst the best for unfolding their delicate sweet buds during 
this dull period of the year. Then comes the Eucharis, so much 
in demand, with its pearly whiteness and rich delicate fragrance, 
strikingly beautiful in any association of flowers however chaste 
and choice they may be, or for whatever purpose they may be 
required. The highly prized and ever welcome Lily of the Yalley 
seems particularly appropriate at this season. The sweet-scented 
Mignonette, which is always a favourite, even when it grows 
like a weed in summer, but amongst choice flowers is indispensable 
during the closing days of the year. 
The Poinsettia with its brilliant crimson bracts is strikingly 
effective, either for massing with other flowering plants or for 
use in a cut state in any floral decorations. The natural flowering 
time is a little earlier than this, but if rooted the first week in 
June and slightly retarded in autumn, the plauts can be had in 
full beauty at Christmas, when they are most useful. Euphorbia 
jacquiniseflora, with its wreaths of small scarlet flowers can also 
be had in bloom, but this requires to be forced slightly after 
the flower buds once show signs of forming. These and all 
similar plants last longer if they can be gradually hardened to 
cooler treatment in the growing house before they are finally 
used for decoration. Justicia flavicoma, with its feathery hair¬ 
like yellow plumes over the darkest of green foliage, outrivals 
the Celosia, although useful and telling for beauty; at this period 
for cutting, room, or church decoration it is equally well adapted. 
Linum trigynum, Plumbago ro=ea, and Centropogon Lucianus 
brighten the stove and intermediate structures, if they are useless 
for cutting. 
Bulbs in quantity can be had, and the early white Roman 
Hyacinth certainly stands in the foremost rank, for its rich 
fragrance, favourite colour, and lasting properties commend it to 
all. Its easy culture renders it useful for amateurs or all who 
have a small greenhouse. The bulbs have been much cheaper of 
late years, and we do not doubt that they will be cheaper still in 
the future, so that they can be had in quantity during the season 
we are treating the same as is the case in spring when they are 
imported in small bunches. Two Dutch Hyacinths may be had 
in bloom—namely, Homerus single red. and double white La 
Tour d’Auvergne. Tulips can also be had, such as the early 
scarlet Due Yan Thol and White Pottebakker. The flowers of 
the latter before they are fully expanded are nearly as effective 
for bouquets, wreaths, crosses, and other floral ornaments as are 
the buds of Niphetos Rose, which they very much resemble. 
What of Orchids ? Why, they are amongst the best of Christmas 
flowers, and Calanthe Veitchi, C. vestita rubra and its varieties 
are indispensable. The same may be said of Odontoglossum 
Alexandras, O Rossi majus, and Masdevallia tovarense. Many 
of these naturally flower at this season, and effective for any 
form of decoration or for the embellishment of the con¬ 
servatory. 
Camellias and Azaleas are very serviceable, but to have them 
in quantity at Christmas they must be trained early in the year 
to make their growth, and then they will unfold them without 
undue forcing at this season. The two best Azaleas for this 
purpose are Deutsche Perle and Narcissi flora. The first is a beauty 
and naturally flowers early. The buds when expanding are very 
similar to the buds of a Niphetos Rose. All who have a house 
where a temperature of 50° or 55° can be maintained may have 
Zonal Pelargoniums in great variety, both single and double, 
and what can be more useful for a variety of purposes ? Begonias 
will do well in the same temperature and yield quantities of 
flowers. Amongst the best are B. Ingrami, B. Knowsleyana, 
B. semperfiorens, and B. s. carminea, B. s rosea, and B. Carrieri. 
Callas are particularly useful and are as easily grown as Celery 
during summer, and only require gentle warmth in autumn to 
produce their beautiful spathes by Christmas. Any house where 
a temperature of 40° to 45° is maintained will yield in quantity 
the flowers of Abutilons, Habrothamnus elegans, Carnations, 
Ericas, Lapageria alba, L. rosea and Cyclamens. 
Primulas are always acceptable, both the single and double 
forms. The single are not generally used for cutting, because 
they drop and scarcely bear moving, but if a small pin is placed 
through the calyx and the tube of the flowers they are amongst 
the most serviceable flowers that can be had for various decora¬ 
tions at Christmas. 
These are but a few of many plants that can be had in beauty 
at this season of the year—for instance Primula Hirbinger, 
Bouvardias in variety, several other Orchids, Epiphyllums, Helio¬ 
tropes, and others, if only the convenience exists for their pro¬ 
duction, and they are prepared and trained by judicious treatment 
to flower at this period of the year.— Wm. Bardney. 
EVERGREENS. 
Evergreens play an important part in the Christmas decoration of 
our houses, churches, and places of amusement, and in this guise they 
have long been regarded as inseparable from this universal festival of the 
Christian world. But it is rather to evergreens in the attractive form of 
Conifers, as they present themselves to us in our gardens at Christmas, 
that I desire to call attention now. Living, as I now do in a veritable 
paradise of Conifer®, I am frequently impressed by striking features of 
various specimens, to which I would gladly call attention in the pages 
of the Journal if only time could be spared for such a labour of love, 
but the demands made upon my time are so incessant that my remarks 
must be brief. Conifers revel in a deep fertile loam with a free natural 
drainage, and develope such robust vigour as is never seen when they are 
planted in less suitable soil. Pinus cembra, that is invariably so un¬ 
sightly in a poor thin soil, no matter how carefully stations may be 
prepared for it, is one of our most striking and ornamental specimens in 
the loam. Libocedrus decurrens forms lofty columns of a lively green 
hue that are wonderfully effective, and which bid fair to outgrow even 
the Wellingtonia, Thuia gigantea is no mean rival of the Libocedrus, 
surpassing it in bulk of stem, and, I think, in rapidity of growth. 
Specimens of it 50 or 60 feet in height, feathered with foliage to the 
ground, form striking features in a shrubbery or park, having a singularly 
light and elegant appearance when seea from a distance, but closer in¬ 
spection shows that they lack the refinement of Thuia Lobbi, which is 
also of a richer Bhade of green and more dense habit of growth. Thuia 
Lobbi, I may mention, does answer well in a poor thin soil. I put this to 
the proof long ago upon the Hastings sand formation in Sussex, where it 
grew with remarkable vigour. So, too, did Pinus insignis, but Pinus 
cembra was so stunted in growth and sickly in hue as to be positively 
unsightly. Pinus insignis is, I think, more affected by climate than soil. 
Planted on the upper slopes of a valley in any of the southern counties it 
has no rival among Conifers. Its free robust growth and bright green 
foliage soon render it a conspicuous and very ornamental object. 
Queen of all Conifers is the silvery form of Cedrus atlantica. Devoid 
of all formality, its appearance, when it attains the height of 40 or 50 feet, 
is elegant and effective, especially when planted near green-leaved Conifers. 
A fine specimen of it near my garden is perhaps the most important 
feature of a group containing equally fine examples of Abies Morinda, 
Cedrus Libani, Taxodium sempervirens, and Abies Douglasi. The Red 
Bark (Taxodium sempervirens), grows both in height and bulk of stem 
with greater rapidity than the Wellingtonia. A little grove of this curious 
Conifer in my shrubbery has a special attraction for me. The bark kept 
