544 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 24, 1891. 
The other kinds I give in a list at the end of this paper. The North 
American Lilies, such as pardalinum and its varieties, also superbum, 
give autumn flowers, mingled with the Spiraeas in this bed. The double 
Cardamine is a weed here carpeting the ground, and the Zebra Reed 
(Eulalia) is most effective. 
Some very pretty variegated Sedges (Carex) do well in these beds. I 
am getting sphagnum established on the wet top bed, on which no doubt 
the Sundew will also re-establish itself. I had forgotten one plant which 
I owe to Mr. Wilson, of Wisley—the large American Cranberry. 
From these remarks I think it is evident that a bog garden may be 
made into a useful as well as a very bright and interesting spot, as my 
High Beech garden has been for some years. Now as to the second 
garden made on an entirely different site and strata, and in a different 
manner. I venture to think that such a place may be made in any of 
the damp, spriDgy spots such as I spoke of as existing in most gardens, 
or indeed wherever the clean waste from a pump, a tap, or from the 
house-top can be led. I wanted soil to raise what my friend Mr. 
D'Ombrain has facetiously styled “The Broxbourne Alps,” and as I had 
only a flat surface to deal with, I formed a square pond at the foot of 
the line of one side of this projected hillock, using the earth for 
the hillock. I kept to the terrace formation, making about three 
levels, and into them I led the drains from the paths adjoining the 
nursery quarters, taking means also for artificially flooding them occa¬ 
sionally, in case of drought. After very heavy rains the beds on all 
three levels are entirely covered with water, which gradually sinks down 
into the pond-like hole in the centre, in which Bullrushes, the giant 
Hock, and the Water Iris flourish. 
It will be noticed that the idea of the clay banks is preserved, to 
Tetain the water a short time in the upper reaches of the pond. This 
pond was carefully puddled, as the loam resting on gravel is thoroughly 
porous. All the beds were then filled up with black peat and leaf soil, 
into which the plants were put. Most of the kinds thriving at High 
Beech do well here, and have the advantage of more space. The bolder 
foliage plants, such as the Bamboos Metake, viridis, glaucescens, and the 
large Polygonum sachaliense, attaining 8 to 10 feet in height; the 
dwarfer varieties P. compactum and molle, with their Spiraea-like 
bloomp, are useful at this time of the year. Then two or three of the 
American plants, such as the Andromeda pulverulenta and the dwarf 
Ledums, are beautiful winter evergreens and love the moisture. Primula 
farinosa and involucrata or Munroi, Asclepias tuberosa and its pink 
form, are at home, and the Astrantias are almost too free. Claytonia 
sibirica becomes a weed. Corydalis nobilis and lutea, in the higher beds, 
form beautiful yellow patches, and the Trillium and Cypripedium do 
well in peat on the banks just above the water levels. Dielytra 
•spectabilis assumes quite another form to that usually seen, and 
Dodecatheon Jeffreyanum is foot high. The Willow Herbs 
have to be banished, from their determination to monopolise all the 
space. Euphorbia, Cypcrus, and Stylophorum japonicum make dwarf 
groups. Helonias bullata, a beautiful pink-spiked plant, wants the 
moistest place ; and all the purple Hellebores, or Lenten Roses, thrive. 
Iris aurea is beautiful in June or July, and some of the Mertensias thrive 
well there. The Duck-feet, or Podophyllums, are also at home. Senecio 
pulcher takes wonderfully to the moist upper beds, and some few other 
plants w T hich I have named in my list of bog plants. I am inclined to 
think that some such wet, peaty beds should surround all well-con¬ 
structed rock-gardens. There are so many of the Alpine plants which 
love moisture at the root, with in some cases full exposure to the sun, 
and in others enjoying shade. Some of the Alpine Primulas would grow 
well in shaded bog. I have Primula involucrata, nivalis, and Wulfiana 
all doing well in such positions, as well as the Dryas and several Cam¬ 
panulas, which soon dry up on the higher shelves of the rock garden ; 
and with the many North American and Himalayan plants, such as 
Meconopsis, which are likely to enrich our Alpine gardens, this is the 
secret of culture. Where water can be retained, all bog gardens should 
have their central or through-running pond, and here the culture of 
water plants can be judiciously and easily joined with that of bog 
plants. Such is Mr. Campbell’s garden, wdiich I will attempt to describe 
somewhat to you. 
His water supply is the overflow from the house roofs, stored in two 
or three tanks of various kinds, to secure a constant supply in case of 
need. It is on the sloping side of a hill, and consists of a series of 
small basins, very artistically surrounded with small rocky banks, on 
which many Alpine plants succeed. Each part is devoted to one or two, 
or at most three, kinds of Water Lilies in the deeper part, while the 
rather shallower sides have some water plants which do not require any 
great depth of water. Thus the upper pool, 3 feet deep, is devoted 
to yellow N uphars of various sorts. In the next is Nymphsea tuberosa 
odorata, with a red centre, and a very fine form of the white Water Lily ; 
in the shallower water being Arum virginicum, the flowering Rush 
(Butomus umbellatus), and the three forms of Bullrush (Typha latifolia 
angustifolia, and minor). The third pool is full of Aponogeton, or the 
Cape Pondweed, the yellow Iris and a locally found white variety, the 
I. Kaempferi, I. foetidissima, and I. pseudacorus, a variegated form of 
Carex riparia, and the Zebra Rush (Juncus zebrina). On the rocks 
close down to the water, looking north, Ferns seem to do exceedingly 
well. The Marsh Ferns, North American Claytonia, and even the two 
Hymenophyllums cover the rocks; while the Spiraeas and other bog 
plants to which 1 have alluded clothe the banks. A little island of 
sphagnum rising out of the water on a clay hillock has Pinguiculas, or 
Crass of Parnassus, and the mealy Primrose of the Scottish moors. 
Altogether this picturesque little garden, filling what would be other¬ 
wise a shady, damp corner, is, throughout the spring and summer 
months, one of the most interesting parts of the garden. 
In Mr. Lynch’s water garden at Cambridge there is a large central 
pond with narrower beds on either side, and a much more extensive 
collection of plants are there grown. 
I understand he has all the newer and rarer of the hybrid>’sed Water 
Lilies, including, I believe, the pink one, which is now beautifully in 
flower in several of the Hertfordshire gardens. The Sagittarias, or 
Arrow-heads, with the beautiful double one, thrive well in such a 
water garden. The Marsh Plantain is a distinct and bold-looking plant. 
The Water Mimulus (M. luteus) on the margin of the banks makes 
glorious ma'ses of yellow. 
During the past year I have had great difficulty in planting p’ecesof 
water with suitable plants. One was a piece of w T atcr where, the bottom 
being cemented, there was no roothold for the plants. This difficulty 
was obviated by putting the water plants in paraffin tubs cut in half, and 
sinking them to the required depths. The plants succeeded admirably, 
and are easi'y kept free from weeds. The other was a swift-running 
stream, about 4 feet deep, through the chalk. Some large specially 
made drain-pipes, into which the plants had been put, had the lower 
ends worked into the chalk bottom, and some large burrs built up in a 
hollow manner round groups of three or five prevented the plants and 
pipes being washed away, and at the same time gave plenty of shelter to 
the trout with which the stream abounded. A small island formed in 
the same manner, and covered with Calthas and Sarracenias, has been 
successful. 
THE CULTIVATION OF THE TOMATO. 
The usual fortnightly meeting of the Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ 
Mutual Improvement Association was held at the Guildhall under the 
presidency of Mr. D. C. Powell. During the meeting a specimen of the 
Richardia africana com pacta, a kind of dwarf Arum Lily, was on the 
table for inspection by the members. The plant was one which had 
been exhibited at a meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on the 
27th October by Messrs. Robert Veitch & Son of Exeter, when an award 
of merit was unanimously accorded it. The ordinary business of the 
meeting having been transacted, the Chairman introduced Mr. W. 
Rowland, who had promised to read a paper on “ The Cultivation of 
the Tomato ” to the meeting. 
Mr. Rowland said :—“ My Experience with the Tomato,” seems to 
me, on second consideration, a better title to my paper than “On the 
Cultivation of the Tomato.” I intend to give my own personal expe¬ 
rience, both with regard to my successes and failures. It is well known 
in the fruit department a failure with the Grape crop is about the worst 
thing that can happen to a gardener ; the same, I think, can be said in 
the vegetable department with regard to the Tomato. One stands i-n 
amazement when he thinks of the rapid strides this vegetable has made 
in public estimation. Forty years ago it was practically unknown to 
the general public, and plants were only to be found in a few private 
gardens, where, as a rule, they were grown as much for their orna¬ 
mental nature as for their use. Now everyone knows the difference. 
It seems uncertain at what date the Tomato was introduced in this 
country, but probably it was during the latter part of the last century. 
It belongs to one of the largest of our natural orders—viz., Solanaceae 
(the same as the Potato), and is found wild in Brazil and on the coast 
of Mexico. The first Tomato plant I ever remember seeing was growing 
uncared for in the moist bottom of a gravel pit. Apparently the seed 
had been carried there by a bird in the same manner as we see the 
Gooseberry bushes growing practically wild in the woods. I remember 
the plant had a splendid crop of fruit, also the first impression 1 had 
on tasting the fruit. Since I have become better acquainted with thi 3 
plant the remembrance of seeing it growing in such poor soil has shaped 
my own mode of cultivation to a certain extent. 
Indoor Cultivation. 
Now I will try to explain my mode of treatment year by year, since I 
have taken a special interest in Tomatoes, giving both the good and the 
bad results. About s.x years ago Mr. Brock had erected a span-roof house, 
The thought struck me it would be a capital house for Tomatoes. The 
house is 8 feet high, with a 3 feet path in the centre, and a bed on each 
side 4 feet wide. The beds are not heated, but were filled up to within a 
foot of the top with soil that was taken out of the path. About 2 inches 
of coal ashes are spread on top, on which stand Bouvardias and 
Cyclamens; in winter a 4-inch pipe flows round the house. Having 
procured plants of the old Large Red variety, and potted them in 5-inch 
pots and placed the pots in a line on the ashes about 18 inches apart, I 
covered the pots with a ridge of loam, top-dressing with loam. The 
result exceeded my most sanguine expectations. The plants began to 
fruit so low on the plant that they rested on the ground. As the fruit 
began to sw T ell I gave them plenty of liquid manure to sw r ell up the 
fruit, the result being very little foliage to cut aw T ay, and plenty of 
good fruit. 
For two years I kept to the plunging-in-pot system and had good 
results. I may add that I kept to the Large Red, selecting the best fruit 
for seed. After this the large Red variety began to get too common, and 
I started with other sorts. At the same time I gave up the plunging 
system and planted out in the usual way. The result was that the 
plants grew so rapidly and made so much gross wood that I had to stop 
the copious waterings I had been in the habit of giving. Then it was 
I first became acquainted with the Tomato disease, which made its 
