406 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 5, 1885. 
Spring Bulbs. —There surely ought now to be no difficulty in providing 
any garden with a good supply of these. When one sees the amounts of 
our great leading firms, the incessant sales at our auction rooms, and the 
temptations held out by growers in Holland to get them direct, they ought 
surely to be found everywhere. There are two ways in which they 
may be grown—one, leaving them in the ground always ; the other, 
taking them up and storing them, and planting them in the autumn. It 
will be seen in the following notes that I adopt both of these plans. 
Crocuses. —I think the best way to grow these is as a border to the 
herbaceous beds. You may have clumps here and there of them, but 
they look gayest and best, in my opinion, as a bright border in spring. I 
leave mine in the ground for a few years without taking up at all, and 
have the edges of the border planted with the white Campanula pumila. 
This makes a green bed for them, through which they readily push them¬ 
selves, and when they have done blooming and the foliage is tolerably 
yellow they are all cut off close, and the space occupied by them in spring 
is quite gay in the summer with the Campanula. 
Hyacinths. —Here also I have no planting in the autumn, or at least 
very little. My plan, as I have stated, is to plant out each year those I 
have grown in pots and then to leave them; by this means I have all over 
my garden clumps of them, which give fine blooms. When they have to 
be planted it should be done at once, as I see some I have just had 
from Messrs. Cutbush & Son are emitting roots, showing that it is quite 
time for them to be in the ground. They can now be had in various 
colours, guaranteed to bloom at the same time ; so if a simultaneous bloom 
is wanted these are the best to obtain. I, however, prefer them to come 
on in succession, although the named varieties are of course more expensive 
than those which are to be obtained in colours. I do not think that the 
Hyacinths will refuse to do well in any light garden soil. 
Tulips. —The early-flowering varieties of these, as they are called 
in contradistinction to the florist varieties, make a very showy appearance 
in the garden. I have a large bed which I always use for them, 
manuring it well in the autumn before they are planted, and they 
grow and flower well. After they have done flowering they are taken up 
and dried, and the bed is planted with Marvel of Peru, which blooms until 
very late in the year, and scents the whole place of an evening. The 
following varieties are showy—Bird of Paradise, yellow; Chrysolora, 
large pure yellow ; Etna, crimson ; Rose Luisante, bright rose ; Vermilion 
Brillant. rich vermilion ; k Couleur de Cardinal, flamed scarlet; Kaisers- 
kroon, yellow striped with red ; Proserpine, rich rose ; Rose Gris de Lin, 
delicate rose ; Globe de Rigauf, purple, white streak ; Wouverman, rich 
claret ; Yellow Prince, rich yellow. I do not grow the double Tulips, as 
I think them inelegant and quite unworthy of a place alongside the single 
ones ; others think diff-rently, and the same treatment is available for 
both. 
Daffodils. —The rage for these has become so general that there is 
no need to insist upon their desirability for the garden in spring, the 
great difficulty being amongst the very large number of varieties, or so- 
called varieties, to select those which are most suitable. They are 
amongst the easiest grown of all bulbs, and the only question with me 
about lifting them is they so soon begin to occupy too large a space, 
but there are a few what are sure to be favourites with everybody. The 
beautiful little Hoop Petticoat, with its citron-coloured variety ; the 
grand Emperor and Empress, the much-talked-of Sir Watkin, and the 
chaste Poeticus ought to find a place in every garden ; but with regard to 
others, the best way, I fancy, is to put oneself into the hands of one of 
those nurserymen who have given special attention to the matter, and 
obtain from them according to the extent of the garden what they would 
consider the best ; once established they give very little further 
trouble. 
SciLLA SIBERICA.— This beautiful blue-flowering spring bulb has 
been so largely propagated of late years that it has become a much 
cheaper article than it used to be, and for a few shillings a good quantity 
may be obtained. Planted in clumps or used as a border it is equally 
effective, and easily accommodates itself to most garden soils. Its worst 
enemy I find to be slugs, which are in the habit of eating off the young 
flower bulbs. This I find especially to be the case with those planted on 
the rockery, the slugs always finding good shelter under the stones. I 
have been but little troubled with them this season. 
Chionodoxa Lucili-e.— This charming blue-flowering bulb is now 
much reduced in price, as, indeed,'it ought to he. There is no bulb 
which seeds more freely than it does, while it also increases rapidly. I 
planted a good many some years ago in clumps in the border fronting my 
greenhouse, and these have now greatly increased in size. I have 
noticed each year the self-sown seedlings all round the clumps, and I 
believe that these flower the following year, while the older ones have 
increased in strength so much that good spikes of bloom, carrying eight 
and nine flowers on the spike. It puzzles me very much that some people 
shou’d try to disparage it by comparing it with Scilla siberica. With 
the exception that both flowers are blue there is no point of comparison 
between them. The Scilla is of a metallic steel blue, the Chionodoxa 
coerulean with white centre. I will not say that both have equal merits, 
but both are indispensable. I have found Chionodoxa later in its period 
of blooming than Scilla. It, too, is easily cultivated ; in any good garden 
soil that will grow bulbs at all it is sure to do well. It does not require 
deep planting. 
Snowdrops.— These universal favourites are too well known to need 
anything to be said in their commendation. They used to be considered, 
as their name implies, the earliest of all our spring flowers; hut that 
must be conceded now to the Cyclamen, whose pretty flowers of white and 
crimson I have found to be far ahead in this point of the Snowdrop. Any 
who have not already obtaine 1 it ought to grow the Asia Minor one— 
Galanthus Elwesii, which for size and beauty is far ahead of our old 
favourite, the common Snowdrop. I do not think there is much differ¬ 
ence in point of earliness, and it is also very free in seeding, so that I 
have found it in my border springing up in all sorts of places; and I 
do not think, when once it is established, much thought will be given to 
the older variety. It is very constant, for I have never found the least 
variation in any of the seedlings. 
There are several other spring bulbs which are worthy of attention ; 
but they belong rather to the rock garden, such as Iris iberica, Anemone 
apennina, and A. stellata fulgens, but those which I have enumerated 
are bulbs for every garden, and those who have not already obtained 
them should lose no time in doing so. Let me just say that I have a good 
many of those mentioned in a border facing my greenhouse. Here are 
Daffodils, Snowdrops, some Crocuses, and Chionodoxa, and when these 
have all died down the ground is sown over with Mignonette, and a 
fragrant bed is in full vigour all the summer months and late into the 
autumn, thus avoiding the unsightly appearance of bare beds for long 
together.—D., Deal. 
EXHIBITING GRAPES. 
“ J. W., The Elms," in his note on exhibiting Grapes might have gone 
a little farther and told us what he would have to meet his case. Nowa¬ 
days most exhibitors are working gardeners, though of course there are 
a few exceptions ; but I suppose most of the Grapes exhibited are sold. 
Perhaps providing a class for single-handed gardeners or where a man and 
Iny are kept would have been mere to his idea. I have sometimes 
thought if classes were provided for two or more bunches of Grapes to be 
cut either from a given Vine or number of Vines in a certain space it 
might answer. A single-handed gardener, to my knowledge, has 
frequently a better opportunity for growing Grapes than the head 
gardener in large establishments ; and “ J. W.,” must take courage and 
try his skill at one of the forthcoming shows, and then he will perhaps see 
for himself that he has as good a chance as the men he speaks of. At one 
time I thought market growers should exhibit in classes alone, but what 
is the difference between them and the noblemen who dispose of their 
produce in the same market? Personally, if I mean to show, no thought 
or fear of duke or lord, or any man in fact, wcu!d deter me from doing 
so, even if I knew they would defeat me. It would be a very poor show 
indeed if only just sufficient were staged to obtain the prizes offered. I 
like to compare side by side the good, bad, or indifferent points, and see 
what is to be learnt from it. Success in exhibiting is not only a question 
of & s. d., but also of instruction. A stranger at a show of course feels 
somewhat lost at first, but my experience is that he has no need to be 
strange long at such places, for even in staging, a brother gardener, while 
doing his best to excel, will always hold out the right band of fellow¬ 
ship. 
I have known men to be very successful at very large exhibitions in 
good competition, when their stock of Vines was limited to a single house. 
It is not the size of the establishment, but rather the man that puts 
his mark on the Grape-growing. Legitimately encourage Grape-exhibit¬ 
ing by all means ; to do this the fewer restrictions the better. 
Now a word to employers of Grape exhibitors. In my younger days 
I was told that exhibiting meant so much loss in weight of crop, &c., 
which is quite a fallacy, for I can honestly say that a gooi moderate crop 
will produce better Grapes than a light crop. The latter will be very 
disappointing when show time comes. A word also to the grower. Do 
not oppose the wish of your employer. Of course it is the be3t you want 
for the exhibition table, and unless you all sail together keep the Grapes 
at home.— Stephen Castle, West Lynn. 
MAIDEN TREES OF PEACHES AND NECTARINES 
I cannot lay claim to any long experience with the system 
of planting maidens in preference to the trained trees which not 
long since were invariably employed whenever old trees had to be 
supplanted by young ones, or when totally new sites had to be 
furnished. These trained trees, it must be conceded, were very 
frequently grown into fine specimens, many of which existed for 
a long period, and, as a rule, they were much more perfectly 
formed than are the trees cultivated by the present generation 
of gardeners. Very few, if any growers, nowadays, expend 
much time in the attempt to secure a perfect outline, and which 
after the years occupied in its maturation, may be completely 
marred by the loss of one or more main branches in one season. 
It is now felt to be much too slow and unprofitable, and the aim 
is, as it should be, to furnish the walls or trellises, as the case 
may be, as expeditiously and cheaply as possible; tree worship 
in its old form thus taking a much more practical shape, to the 
advantage of all concerned. Probably perfectly formed trees 
are as much admired now as they ever were, but we judge by 
results rather than appearances. 
One great result of the improved system of pruning and 
training is the rapidity with which a house may be furnished 
with fruitful trees, and which trees, owing to the more intelligent 
methods adopted, are undoubtedly much less liable to gumming 
and consequent loss of important limbs and branches. In a 
