JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
C Jamiary 7, 1892. 
it is well adapted for culture in pots, and it continues flowering for 
a long period during the late autumn and early winter, a time 
when such plants can be most appreciated. 
At Kew it has been grown in a cool and somewhat dry house, 
but would no doubt succeed in an ordinary greenhouse. If seeds 
are produced freely, and propagation can be effected by means of 
the leaves, a stock will soon be obtained.—0. 
GOOD RESOLUTIONS. 
Unle.ss I am much mistaken, gardeners, as a body, are much 
given to forming good resolutions, and equally addicted to depart¬ 
ing from them. Let me, however, hasten to add that these 
offences are mostly of a venial description. At the same time I 
bold that when go id resolves are made they ought to be more 
adhered to than is often the case, and if the truth must be told, 
I am quite an old offender in the matter ; but then old poachers 
make the best of game keepers. How often, when it is seen what 
mistaken practicss we have been following, do we not decide that 
such blunders shall not occur again, and yet lack the force of will 
to guard against their repetition? Take,,for instance, the annual 
vegetable seed order. Catalogue after catalogue is closely scanned ; 
novelty after novelty is marked, and, it may be, ordered, and that, 
too, in addition to the usual selection of old favourites. And what 
is the inevitable consequence ? If not exactly chaos, it is dire 
confusion long before the season is past. Mistakes may not be 
made as far as sowing or planting is concerned, but the confusion 
certainly results when the kitchen has to be served with vegetables. 
If there is not enough of one variety to serve several days, changes 
being constant, the cooks are puzzled, and the employers most 
probably disgusted ; just when the latter have found something to 
their taste something altogether inferior substituted. In not a few 
cases if the gardener neglects to form a resolution to depart from 
such wrong practices he receives a strong hint. What, therefore, 
is, I maintain, a good resolution in this case, is to be content with a 
far more limited number of varieties, and to grow these in much 
larger quantities than heretofore. 
What every grower has to decide is which varieties succeed 
best with him and also give the greatest satisfaction on the dining 
table, and then to abide by them till something proves itself 
superior. This does not involve completely ignoring all novelties, 
but, on the contrary, a few may well be tried every season, taking 
care, though, that these shall not be unduly favoured, as too often 
happens. Let the trial varieties, not necessarily high priced 
novelties, fare the same as the rest, and if under such conditions 
they surpass older favourites for two seasons in succession, then by 
all means give them the preference. The change should be made in 
no half-hearted manner. Let the old ones be placed in the back¬ 
ground or, better still, disappear altogether, and then the good reso¬ 
lution to avoid growing a confusing number of varieties will not be 
frustrated. Space forbids all attempts to particularise extensively, 
but I would like to point out that it is Potatoes and Peas that are 
too often grown in confusing numbers. 
Good resolutions are, however, more often broken in the matter 
of overcropping than in any other direction I can name. This 
does not apply with much force to vegetables, unless the extra fine 
or prize-winning produce is required, but relates more especially to 
fruit culture. There is an old saying that each gardener should 
call in the aid of his nearest neighbour when the time has arrived 
for thinning out the crops, and there is no mistake about the 
frequent need of such extraneous help. All of us are ready 
enough in condemning overcropping in our friend’s case, but cannot 
make up our minds to do what is right by the trees, Vines, and 
plants under our own control. We see,' when too late, that the 
thinning was not nearly severe enough,’ and form a resolution 
that no such blunder will be made in the next season. How often 
these decidedly good resolutions adhered to I will leave it to the 
consciences of my readers to decide. Mine is certainly far from 
being clear in the matter, and yet nobody more fully realises the 
folly of attempting to do too much. We are too apt to flatter 
ourselves that causes other than overcropping were responsible for 
partial failures, and that we know the remedy. Sometimes there 
may be something in this, but, more often than not, the neglect to 
thin out the crops somewhat in accordance with the-state of the 
plant, trees, or Vine’s health, both below and above ground, is the 
sole factor in the failure, nothing but guarding against a repetition 
of overcropping remedying the evil. Occasionally there may be 
some excuse for overcropping, gardeners not being wholly their 
own mastersbut there is no mistaking the fact that next to 
nothing is gained by committing this error of judgment, while the 
chances are that the crops will be of far less value than would have 
been the case if judiciously thinned. Thus, for instance, if Grape 
Vines are not overweighted the produce is superior in quality, 
realising the best prices in the market, taking prizes, and, what is of 
still greater importance, gives the most satisfaction to all discrimi¬ 
nating employers. The same rule holds good with Melons, Peaches, 
Nectarines, Figs, Apricots, Pears, Plums, Apples, and Strawberries, 
and it is also worthy of note that when trees and Vines are not 
recklessly cropped they retain their health and vigour for many 
years, whereas those repeatedly overcropped soon arrive at an 
unprofitable state. Too many varieties of fruit are equally as 
objectionable as unlimited selections of vegetables, and among the 
many good resolutions formed and adhered to ought to be one to the 
effect that a weeding out process shall commence at once. 
It is usual at this period of the year to give good advice to the 
younger gardening brethren, but I have had a fling at the older 
sinners first, and have let them off lightly too, or more so than 
many deserve, reserving a few strictures for the young men to the 
last. During my bothy life I formed a great many good resolutions, 
and so also did those associated with me, though I am sorry to say 
not many of them were kept. One thing I can truthfully assert— 
viz., that none of my time was wasted in publichouses, and though 
not an absolutely total abstainer, I would yet strongly advise 
all under gardeners to let the drink alone. It is an expensive and 
not unfrequently a most debasing luxury, and one of the very 
worst that can be habitually resorted to. As a matter of fact there 
is, or ought to be, plenty of amusement of a light and instructive 
character within easy reach of bothyites if only they will pull 
together. No other profession, probably, can boast of such 
advantages in the way of books and papers published for their sole 
benefit, and a selection of these, a daily paper, and two or three 
weeklies ought to be taken for every bothy. It would be only 
right that the owners of gardens should provide the foregoing. 
But if all pull together subscribing for a few papers is not such a 
very serious affair, and is money very well spent, all papers (other 
than the most stupid novelettes) being of a more or less educational 
character. Advantage certainly ought to be tsken of the series of 
lectures delivered in connection with the Technical E location 
scheme, those relating to agricultural chemistry and horticulture 
generally being most instructive. The rudiments of botany might 
be mastered with advantage, but beyond that I would not advise 
young gardeners to go. There are so many other attainments of 
more value to gardeners than advanced botany', not the least among 
which ought to rank that of being able to write plainly and well 
upon most subjects relating to gardening. There are plenty of 
good text books, and working up a subject from, or with the 
aid of these, is of the greatest educational value, as well as 
profitable in later years. A knowledge of geometrical and 
free-hand drawing is well worth striving after, and many a 
good place might be had by British gardeners if only they 
could speak one or more continental languages sufficiently well to 
be understood. I do not advise any young man to resolve to give 
up the whole of his leisure to study, but a fair division should be 
made, not less than three nights in a week being principally 
devoted to self culture.— W. Iggulden. 
. SEMPERVIVUMS. 
It is perhaps fortunate that the last decade of the nineteenth 
century is what may be termed a period of practical thought, and 
that we have become somewhat sceptical as to the possibility of the 
discovery of the elixir vitae, or some enthusiast might have deemed 
that the name of this interesting genus of plants warranted him in 
presuming that some decoction or infusion of their leaves, might 
lead to the attainment of that dream of many—eternal life on 
earth. Our old botanists had, however, not distinguished between 
the Sedums and the Sempervivums and grouped them under the 
former title, or, in all likelihood, Culpepper would have offered some 
wonderful commentary on the power of the Sempervivum for 
preserving life, and the name derived from sevq^ervivo, I live, would 
at least have given some colour to its claim. We, in this sadly 
degenerated age, must, however, confess that we are profoundly 
lacking in the virtue of faith ; and even if we leave (as Culpepper 
says) “ Dr. Reason awhile and come to Dr. Experience, a learned 
gentleman and his brother,” we must contend that tried by 
“ Dr. Experience” the Sempervivum is only mortal and must rank 
with the “Everlastings” or “ Immortelles,” in fact must take 
only second place to them. The truth is the rosette, as we may 
call the individual plant, always dies after flowering. The popular 
name Houseleek is also rather an unhappy one, being suggestive of 
the well-known vegetable which is the chief ingredient in the soup 
known to Scotch readers as “ Cockie-leekie,” but which I am 
degenerate enough to express, dislike of ; indeed, the Leek in any 
form is unendurable to me. . .. . i. 
But a truce to this badinage, and let me speak of the Semper¬ 
vivum’, their beauties, .uses,* and culture. They are extremely 
