March 5, 1S91. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
191 
There is one word of warning which ought to be sounded, Be careful 
that you get the right plant. There are some of the family very 
uninteresting, but being plentiful they are too frequently substituted 
for the rarer kinds to the great disappointment. 
Exogonum or Ijfomoea purga, the Jalap plant, a very beautiful and in 
some parts of our islands a hardy climber. I have seen it flowering in 
Canon Ellacombe’s garden at Bitton, near Bath, where in a warm and 
sunny corner it seemed to be quite at home. The flowers are pale, and 
are abundantly produced. This is the plant from which the well known 
medicine jalap is produced. 
_ Gypsophila pmiculata .—It may be said, and said truly, that this is 
neither new or rare, but if we may take the latter in its meaning 
of “ seldom seen,” it is entitled to be so ranked, for I have been aston¬ 
ished in how few gardens it is to be seen. It has no pretensions to 
showiness, quite the reverse. Its flowers are very insigniflcant, and yet 
I know nothing more useful for making up a bouquet. I was most 
struck with it some years ago in Paris, and saw how very useful the 
bouquetists found it in giving lightness and elegance to their produc¬ 
tions. It is quite hardy, and forms a large thick fleshy root. I may 
also mention that another plant I have found especially valuable for 
the same purpose is the pretty little annual Omphalodes linifolia. We 
find it much admired as giving lightness and elegance to a vase of cut 
fiowers. Of course where people think that a bouquet ought to consist 
of as many flowers as you can lump together these plants will be thought 
little of, but where elegance and lightness is sought for they will be 
found most welcome adjuncts for the purpose.—D., Beal. 
(To be continued.) 
A Late White Cheysanthemem. 
In’ answer to H. G.,” who inquires for a white Grandiflorum for 
late work, I may say that I have not seen one which approaches that 
■variety in form. The nearest to it for late use is L. Canning, a pure 
white Japanese, having long reflexed flat florets, which appears to be 
good for late flowering. It is only in this respect that I can liken it to 
drandiflorum, which is well known to be an incurved Japanese. Un¬ 
fortunately many of the late varieties are of poor quality, or this may 
be owing to the methods adopted in growing the plants for the pro- 
■ductioH of late blooms. The variety I have named was sent out last 
year, and failed as an ordinary November flowering sort, owing chiefly, 
I think, to the rapid manner in which propagating was carried out to 
meet the orders for this variety, in consequence of which the stock was 
weakened. Anyhow, the blooms resulting from the plants came in per¬ 
haps at a more favourable period than though they had developed fully 
in November. I would advise “ H. G.” to grow L. Canning for the pur¬ 
pose of late flowering.—E. M. 
Mistakes in Chrysanthemum Culture. 
Never during the one hundred years that have elapsed since the 
introduction of the Chrysanthemum into England has it had so many 
admirers or so many new cultivators as at present, all of whom aim 
to excel and who try to grow the flower to perfection, and in their 
anxiety to do so sometimes mistakes are made amusing enough to every¬ 
one else except the growers. As from time to time many of these have 
come under my notice, I will chronicle a few of them to keep beginners 
from the rocks that wrecked others in the early part of their career 
as Chrysanthemum cultivators. 
It is thought by many that some secret composition of soil is neces¬ 
sary before first-cfess blooms can be produced. A case of this kind 
came under my notice ; some time ago at a large exhibition a gentleman 
in conversation informed me that he had that day been mixing his soil 
for the final potting of his Chrysanthemums the following season. He 
said he had a mixture of his own which was certain to produce fine 
blooms, and he was anxious to have some fine Japanese the following 
j-ear. I intimated that I should like to be in possession of such a secret, 
and he said I should have it. Certainly it was a “ mixture.” This was 
the prescription :—One half loam, the other half to be made up of bone 
meal, dissolved bones, soot, charcoal, leaf mould, decayed horse drop¬ 
pings, dry blood, and pounded oyster shells. My opinion was asked as 
to what I thought of it. I inquired if he had grown Chrysanthemums 
before in such a mixture ; the reply was “ No ; but I am certain it will 
suit them.” I said my own opinion was there was no need for any such 
mixture, that some of the ingredients enumerated were in such a form 
that they could not be assimilated by the plants in their short season of 
growth at the same time. Something else is required, and that is 
unremitting attention from the cutting to the production of blooms, 
then success may be hoped for. The following year I saw the blooms 
produced by the mixture which had been relied on. Attention had not 
been given to the plants when they required it, the mixture was 
all-sufiicient and the blooms were nil. But the gentleman profited by 
his mistake, and since that time he has won prizes with creditable 
blooms. Moral; Uo not depend on “ mixtures.” The simpler the com¬ 
post the better for the plants. Have the' pots filled with roots, then 
other food can be given as they require it. 
Feeding is another fertile source of mistakes. The beginner is anxious, 
and he is quite sure that there is some secret preparation which they 
must have. Some think sulphate of ammonia the best; it is no doubt 
a powerful stimulant, but should be used carefully, and not exceed \ oz. 
to the gallon of water. I received one morning a letter from a would-be 
exhibitor as to what was best to be done under the following circum¬ 
stances. In order to have his blooms ready by a certain date he had 
been giving them double and treble supplies of the ammonia, under the 
impression that by these means he would hasten the blooms as they 
looked like being late ; the result was the leaves hung limp about the 
stems, and altogether they had anything but a promising appearance. 
The only thing I could advise him to do was to carry them to the rubbish 
heap and try again. He did try again, and since that time has been 
fairly successful. At a small show one year an exhibitor had obtained 
a third prize in a class for twenty-four blooms, half Japanese the other 
half incurved ; amongst the former were two fair blooms of Comte de 
Germiny and Fair Maid of Guernsey, which he declared were from 
plants that had been supplied with sugar.” “I thought,” said he, “ if 
it was good for feeding animals it would make good blooms, and it has ; 
look at them.” 
Taking the buds is a source of trouble and mistake to beginners, 
securing the bud would perhaps be more correct. Late in September 
I went to see a collection of 400 plants with which the proprietor was 
not satisfied. On my arrival I was taken to the kitchen garden where 
a temporary structure was erected in which to flower the plants ; no 
signs of bloom could be perceived by the owner, nor could I. The 
general factotum who, amongst other duties, had that of attending to 
the Chrysanthemums, was sent for, and on my inquiring what he had 
done with the buds that ought to have been on the plants, he said, 
“ Wha a tuke em off as t’ beuke said a had.” Some of the early varieties 
were again showing buds, and I pointed out to George that these must 
be left on or there would be no blooms. He said, “ Then what’s the 
good o’ t’beuke sayin’ I ha’ ta tak’ em off if I hevn’t?” Great things 
were expected from these plants in the shape of blooms at a local show ; 
George had told everybody how tall they were, what thick stems and 
large leaves they had ; but no blooms from these plants were at the 
show. This is not the only instance that has come under my notice 
where buds have been “ taken-off.” 
Dressing Blooms. —Another grower who I do not think profits by his 
mistakes is an authority in his way on this subject, “ tworling ” he 
calls it. He has exhibited three years in succession : but although his 
Japanese are fairly good his incurved are always very rough, as a conse¬ 
quence his record for three years’ labour comprises two third prizes. 
The mistake in this case is he is over-anxious ; he secures the first buds 
that the incurved varieties produce, especially of the Queen family, 
depending on his ability “to tworl them up,” the said “tworling” 
resulting in bruised unsightly blooms, hence his place at the exhibitions. 
Dressing of this kind should always be avoided ; nobody can “ tworl” a 
rough bloom into an exhibition bloom. 
I must not trespass further, or I could multiply instances of mis¬ 
takes, and if we only profit by our mistakes as did a young grower who 
had never seen a Chrysanthemum show, but who thought he. had good 
blooms and carried three dozen blooms in a box of three twelve-stands 
seven miles on a frosty morning two years ago, his precious blooms he 
would not have jolted in any conveyance. I am sorry to say he did not 
obtain a prize ; but he saw where his mistake was, and the same earnest¬ 
ness that helped him in his long trudge since that time has made him 
a dangerous opponent. In conclusion, I would say to all beginners, You 
are sure to make mistakes ; but try again, remembering that there is no 
royal road to success, and that it is only by patient persevering industry 
anyone can hope to become a successful cultivator of Chrysanthemums. 
—T. B. 
BOMBAY GARDENS. 
(^Continued, from page 53,') 
The soil of most Bombay gardens is very different from what we 
are used to see at home. What principally strikes the new comer is 
the prevalent red colour of the soil of our hills, and many people will, 
no doubt, at the first sight think the colour and objection to its fertility 
as indicating a presence of iron. I have not been able to find any re¬ 
port on its exact chemical contents, but though there can be no doubt 
that the “ red earth” contains a considerable per-centage of iron salts 
it is, on the other hand, certain that these must be comparatively harm¬ 
less to vegetation, or that their action is so modified by the presence of 
other valuable matter that they only assist in forming a most valuable 
and fertile soil, which in regard to its physical qualities partakes of the 
most desirable properties of the varieties of soil known to us from home. 
It is porous and at the same time retentive, and has, I believe, a great 
capacity of absorbing power (a property upon which the fertility of a 
soil principally depends). In the lower lying districts of Bombay we 
meet clay, humus, and sand, only slightly differing from the same kinds 
of soil at home, but which it is not possible, even by artificial means, to 
so enrich as to compare favourably with the red earth of the hills, at 
least in respect to producing the brilliant colouring of shrubs, &c., for 
which, especially Malabar Hill, is justly famed. The public health de¬ 
partment has always a large depot of most valuable manure, by which 
means it is easy, at a comparatively small cost, to enrich the soil when 
required. 
A few words about the legal aspects of gardens in Bombay may 
