184 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 18, 1886. 
would be a pity to place it amongst other trees and shrubs, as it is in 
every way suitable to figure as an isolated specimen on the lawn.— 
J. MUIR, Margam, S. Wales. 
RENOVATING VINES. 
Vine culture is an important subject, as the articles, letters, and con¬ 
tributions to your Journal testify, and this induces me to give my latest 
experience upon some matters connected with it. 
I have been in trouble with my Vines, and perplexed as to the reason 
of the deficiency or failure in foliage and colour, but I am now convinced 
that in my case exhaustion of the soil, or, in other words, starvation, was 
the sole cause. I had a house of Muscats which in 1884 were in such a 
deplorable condition that I was upon the point of grubbing them up and 
planting young Vines, when one of my friends recommended me 
before doing so to use some of Jensen’s fish potash manure. I did so, 
applying a quarter of a pound to a peck of soil to the square yard, giving 
the border a good watering. To my satisfaction the result completely 
confirmed all that Ville, the French agriculturist, asserts as to the efficacy 
of a normal or complete manure. The Vines last year, 1885, were the 
picture of health, and finished a splendid crop of fruit, the borders at 
the present time being a complete network of roots. 
I have also used this manure for kitchen garden crops with gratifying 
success. When I examined the analysis the reason is not far to seek, for 
the fish contains ammonia in the flesh, phosphate of lime in the bone, and 
with the potash salts forms a complete fertiliser. I would strongly re¬ 
commend onyone who has Vines in an unsatisfactory condition to give 
Jenson’s Norwegian fish manure a trial, it is very powerful, and in general 
work but little is required.—J. G., Draycot Gardens. 
CULTURE OF BROWALLIA ELATA. 
This favourite perennial should be grown by everyone having a 
conservatory, greenhouse, or stove to embellish during the winter and 
spring months. If necessary it may be had in flower all the year 
by sowing a pinch of seed in February and again early in August ; 
but it is as a winter and spring-flowering plant that it is most de¬ 
serving of culture, because it is during those months that the plants, 
which are of branching habit, are most prized for decorative purposes. 
The blue Phlox-like flowers, which proceed freely from the tops of 
the side shoots, are then of the brightest hue. and contrast effectively 
when associated with flowering plants of light and bright shades of 
colour. A stock of this beautiful and very easily managed plant can 
readily be raised from seed sown in 4-inch pots previously crocked 
and tilled to the rim with a light compost consisting of three parts of 
sandy loam and one of leaf mould. Cover the seeds lightly with 
some fine soil, then put the pots in heat and cover them with a square 
or two of glass and a little moss, which must be removed as soon as 
the seedlings appear through the soil. From this time the seedlings 
should be gradually inured to light and air to prevent them from 
making a weakly growth, and with this object in view the plants 
should be grown on shelves near the glass. A board resting on a few 
flower pots on bricks in an early Melon or Cucumber frame would be 
a most suitable place in which to grow the plants in their earlier 
stages, protecting them from the ravages of slugs by dusting a mix¬ 
ture of fresh soot and quicklime along the board on each side of the 
plants. 
Three plants in a pot will be sufficient, and the superfluous ones 
should be pulled out before they become crowded, and be trans¬ 
planted in 4-inch pots if necessary to increase the number of plants. 
The latter should have a small stick about 18 inches long put to each 
plant for support, and be kept well supplied with water at the roots, 
and damped overhead with tepid water on bright mornings and after¬ 
noons, as much with a view to promoting a healthy growth in the 
plants as to prevent the attacks of red spider. If larger plants are 
desired a portion of the stock should be shifted into 6 or 8-inch pots ; 
and those in the 4-inch ones, which I find large enough for all 
ordinary purposes, should be top-dressed with a mixture of pulverised 
horse-droppings and loam when the plants attain a height of 10 or 12 
nches. This will enable them to develope finer heads of flower than 
would otherwise be secured.—H. W. W. 
SOWING PEAS EARLY. 
I see in the Journal, February 4th, page 84, your correspondent, 
“ Kitchener,” says he doubts very much if the Peas I have named, with 
the exception of one, would succeed if sown before the first week in April. 
If I did not sow the Peas named before the first week in April my chance 
of success at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Show at South Kensington, 
varying from the 1st to the 14th July in each year, would be small. The 
dish of Wordsley Wonder Peas that I won first prize with last year on 
the 14th July at South Kensington was from seed sown the first week in 
January, also the dish of House’s Perfect Marrow that I gained a similar 
prize with was sown at the same time, and they are both wrinkled Peas. I 
would also say to “ Kitchener” and others, If your land be rich and well 
drained sow Peas, either wrinkled or round, as soon as possible in January 
or February, and you will not miss having a crop more than once in ten 
years. 
“ Kitchener” makes a mistake when he says eight pints of the Peas 
that I have named would cost 5s. per pint or 40a. the collection, for the 
whole ten pints would cost 19s. 4jd., and I consider that taking the 
quality of the Peas the price is not so extravagant as “ Kitchener” would 
lead us, your readers, to believe. 
I was pleased to see the remarks of your correspondent, “ Lathyrus, 
February 11th, page 109, as he practically bears me out in the remarks 
that I have made regarding early sowing.— Henry Marriott. 
NEW v. OLD VARIETIES. 
Mr. Molyneux's sound advice on page 84 tempts me to offer a few 
remarks on the above subject. It is not alone in Chrysanthemums that 
old varieties are superior to many new ones, but in vegetable and other 
seeds. When entering on my present charge my difficulty, like many 
other young men’s, would have been the first seed order, but, fortunately 
for me, my father is a gardener, and his advice on marking the order 
sheet was, Leave the novelties alone. I can get Peas from Is. to Is. fid, 
per quart that yield produce of gooi quality as long as Peas are obtain¬ 
able, and I should not be studying my master’s interest if I bought Peas 
at 5s. per quart that may prove worse on the dinner table. 
I tried a new Beet last year, but it was not so good as Dell’s Crimson, 
of which I get four times the seed for the money ; this year Dell’s only 
will be grown. I do not grow many varieties of anything. Brussels 
Sprouts are represented by Aigburth only, Cauliflowers by Early London 
and Yeitch’s Autumn Giant, Tomatoes by Hathaway’s Excelsior, and 
Turnips by White Stone and Chirk Castle. I possess good varieties of 
Cabbage, Celery, Lettuce, and Onions, and save my own seed. Like Mr. 
Iggulden, I shall buy no more Melon seed. I have bought seed labelled 
Read’s Scarlet Flesh that produced three kinds of fruit, none very good. 
For the future I shall grow only a seedling of my own. I would have 
enclosed my seed order for publication in the hope of helping some 
perplexed youngster, but it seems such a modest affair I am almost 
ashamed of it.—A. L. G. 
HIBISCUSES. 
Wherever it is desired to increase the collection of flowering plants 
in the stove a few plants of the numerous forms of Hibiscus should be 
obtained The flowers of most of the single varieties are somewhat fugi¬ 
tive, and in the case of H. Rosa-sinensis they are extremely so ; but to 
compensate for their brief peiiod of beauty they are produced successionally 
for a considerable time. They are also welcome for their brilliant hues, 
as in most stoves there is too great a preponderance of foliage and insuffi¬ 
cient brightly coloured flowers to render them attractive. The conser¬ 
vatory is commonly far more beautifully furnished in this respect, although 
the deficiency in the warmer structure is more due to want of selection 
than to an insufficiency of plants suitable for the purpose. Fine-foliage 
plants have had a large share of popular favour, but they are now losing 
their high position, and the demand for flowering plants is proportionately 
increasing. In consequence, any additions that can be named are wel¬ 
come, and amongst these must be counted the Hibiscuses. 
The genus is a large one, and comprLes species of very diverse habit. 
We have groups of both hardy and stove annuals, then a group of hardy 
herbaceous perennials, including the deciduous shrub H. syriacus, which, 
with its many coloured varieties, is a common occupant of town gardens. 
A few also of shrubby habit, but evergreen, are obtained from Australia, 
and require a greenhouse temperature, while larger numbers are from the 
tropics in various parts of the world, and have to be grown in the stove. 
It is to the latter that reference is n iw specially made, and as their 
culture is simple it can be summed up in a few words. Most of them are 
free and quick gr jwers, at least all those of the H. Rosa-sinensis section, 
and require an open compost of light turfy loam, leaf soil, and sand, in 
the proportion of two-thirds of the first to one-third of the two last 
named. Then if the plant requites any additional support, it can be 
afforded in the shape of liquid manure at the time of flowering. The 
pretty variegated H. Cooperi is too seldom seen in vigorous health, and 
it needs a lighter compost than th4 described for the other forms, sub¬ 
stituting peat for the leaf soil and using sand freely. Very old plants of 
this are also liable to become what is termed “ scrubby ”—that is, producing 
rough bare stems with a few leaves at the points only, and it is then very 
unsatisfactory it is preferable to grow on a few young plants as stock 
to succeed the others. The same remarks apply to the flowering Hibiscuses 
of the Rosa-sinensis type, although by hard pruning these can be more 
readily furnished with fresh growth. All these are easily increased by 
cuttings inserted in sandy soil in heat. To insure the production of 
compact specimens the shoots of the young plants will need stopping 
several times until they are well branched and bushy. They flower in a 
small state, but it is not until specimens 2 or 3 feet jin diameter |are 
obtained that they are really seen in their best condition. 
Hibiscus Rosa-sinensis is an old inhabitant of British gardens, for it 
was known to and cultivated by Miller in the last century, as early as 
1731. The single form was that first grown, and though not quite so 
brilliant as some of the varieties that have been subsequently obtained, its 
flowers were of a fine rich red colour. One of the old writers—Rumpbius 
—gave a full account of this and the double form, together with a figure 
of the latter, which he stated was more generally grown both in China 
and India than the single variety. He also remarks upon the fondness of 
