March 7, 1889. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
189 
need be deeper than 9 inches, others within 2 inches of the surface, 
covered with light sandy soil to encourage fibres. Water is a help 
to wash out the soil and loosen the roots, and unless a Vandal has 
the work in hand the roots need not be so barbarously destroyed. 
Work of this kind should not be done when one is in a hurry, it 
is a delicate process and requires time and care. 
I have always made a point of keeping the soil clear after 
i planting from the base of the cane on the surface of the ball to 
i prevent lateral roots taking hold of the soil. With this care I have 
1 not had a failure, and such canes do actually grow the first season 
•as I have not seen in a pot, and am not likely to see. Many judges 
have seen some of these Vines and have pronounced them to be 
among the best they have inspected. 
Roots when spread out in this manner take possession of the 
foody of the soil and fill the border, as it should be, with fibrous 
roots, especially if the border is made in sections of 3 to 4 feet 
annually. The large goose-quill like roots, which would otherwise 
run straight through to the extremity of the border, by this method 
receive a check and branch out through the upright surface, and 
therefore fill each succeeding section of the border with fibrous 
roots. This I consider to be the most perfect method of filling a 
border with roots. 
As some may now be making Vine borders, I will briefly state 
our usual compost and formation. The soil that we use is rather 
poor from a deer park, generally stacked twelve months before 
using. We usually apply about one load of broken bricks and 
lime rubbish to six loads of soil, six barrowfuls of wood ashes, and 
one of soot, a sprinkling of slaked lime, 14 cwt. of half-inch bone 
and bonemeal mixed. Bones have been over-estimated for this 
purpose in the past; decomposition is very slow. I have recently 
taken out part of an old border with a quantity of large bones in it 
which have been there more than forty years. The bones are very 
porous, and may absorb manures in the form of liquid and gases, 
but the phosphates required for fruit trees are much better applied 
in a more soluble form for immediate effect. 
We add 4 to 6 lbs. to the load of the following mixture :— 
lbs. 
Superphosphate. 264 
Potassic nitrate . 220 
Burnt gypsum . 176 
This compost filled in when the soil is in good workable condition, 
and made firm, will last in a good state for many years. 
We never mix any farmyard manure with the soil. I have 
known a Vine border where cow manure in a green state was used 
freely, and in nine years it became so unhealthy that the Vines 
had to be destroyed and a new border made. There is sufficient 
humus in the turf to fix the ammonia and to assist other com¬ 
binations which take place with the variety of substances in the 
earth. Depth of border from 2 feet 9 inches to 3 feet, with the 
usual inverted turf and good drainage. The Vines when growing 
extra strong make joints from 6 to 8 inches apart, and would grow 
50 feet in a season if permitted, producing the highest quality of 
fruit.— George Harris, The Castle Gardens , Alnwick. 
NOTES ON HARDY PLANTS. 
Galanthus Elwesi.—A bold and striking member of the 
Snowdrop family, now prominently in bud, and a few days’ bright 
sunshine will fully expand its flowers. It is considerably in ad¬ 
vance of the ordinary forms, and deserves the attention of all 
lovers of hardy flowers. In point of hardiness and simplicity of 
culture it is equal to any of the genus ; and those especially who 
require the earliest flowers of the year should find room for a few 
patches of this charming plant. When well established it will 
attain to nearly a foot high, and added to this the fact of its 
blossoms being about double the size of the type, and some idea 
may be formed as to its desirability. It is most effective in groups 
on the rockery or sheltered spots in the garden. 
Anemone blanda. —This is now beautifully in flower, an 
illustration of the previous mildness of the season, and is one of the 
most delightful of hardy plants. It must not be confounded with 
A. apennina blanda, which figures in some plant lists, as that cannot 
be compared with the charming winter flowering species. It loves a 
cool sheltered spot, and thrives best in sandy loam and peat ; the 
flowers are of a lovely sky-blue and as large as a crown piece. 
It increases readily at the root, which should be divided when the 
plants are at rest, and fortunately it seeds freely, the seedlings 
coming up quite thickly, so that in a few years a good stock maybe 
had. It may be mentioned, however, that seedlings vary con¬ 
siderably, and though I have never seen one to equal the original, 
all are extremely beautiful and useful for naturalising in the wood¬ 
land or wild garden, to say nothing of freely distributing them as a 
margin to shrubs in the vicinity of the mansion or dwelling house. 
As a carpet for North American plants, such as Trilliums and Cypri- 
pediums, the effect would be most pleasing, and would in no way 
interfere with their progress. 
Fritillaria recurva. —Although this genus includes some 
showy bulbous plants, the above named species is one of the most 
remarkable and beautiful, and yet withal of as easy culture as any 
of the forms of F. Meleagris. Few plants of recent introduction, 
especially hardy bulbs, can lay claim to the beauty which is cha¬ 
racteristic of this charming species. At first it is of somewhat 
slender growth, but gains strength with age, attaining a foot or 
18 inches high, and producing bright scarlet flowers marbled with 
yellow. When well established, and better known among growers 
of hardy bulbs, this charming plant will be eagerly sought after. 
It flowers in early spring, and is easily grown in equal parts of peat 
and loam made rather sandy. If grown in pots it is worth the 
protection of a frame, but if planted in the open ground, a dry 
warm situation should be selected for it. 
Iris stylosa. —This charming winter-flowering species deserves 
a sheltered sunny nook in every garden, for despite the fact that 
we cannot regard it as making a good display at any given time, its 
lovely light blue flowers burst upo i us so unexpectedly from 
November till the end of March that they are always welcome. It 
presents little or no difficulty to the cultivator, and succeeds well 
in light loam soils. It is readily increased by division, an operation 
best performed in early spring. The season of 1888 seemed to suit 
this particular species, also I. graminea, the two planted side by side, 
did remarkably well, and I have rarely seen these two make such 
progress, though the same remark will not hold good for some of 
the sections under the head of I. germanica, and which apparently 
suffered considerably from the absence of sun. 
Orchis foliosa.— The noblest of the Orchises, and a plant of 
easy culture. As a companion plant to the Trilliums, and planted 
in peat, leaf mould, and sandy loam, it is at once one of the grandest 
objects which could possibly occupy a cool moist spot in any garden. 
One point of much importance concerning it is planting it at the 
right time, though, of course, where the plants are supplied in pots 
they may be transferred to their permanent quarters at any time. 
Where the reverse is the case they should always be planted when 
dormant—that is, any time between October and the end of 
February. Let it have a good depth of soil to root in, and you 
will get fine spikes of its rich purple flowers 3 feet high. Unlike 
many species, the one under notice has plenty of foliage, hence its 
specific name, thus rendering it still more attractive. It is some¬ 
what slow to increase, which can only be accomplished by separating 
the small tubers from the main ones when dormant, previously 
shaking away all the soil, and perform the operation with finger 
and thumb ; a knife must not be used. It will be seen at a glance 
if two crowns exist, and these may be removed from the parent if 
of sufficient size. This is certainly one of our finest herbaceous 
plants, and no collection is complete without it.—J. H. E. 
VEGETABLES AND MARKETS. 
“ A. D.’s ” remarks on the price of green vegetables sent to the 
metropolitan markets is certainly a subject of great interest to 
gardeners, and more especially to market gardeners, when he states 
that good Colewort heads fetched only 3d. per bushel. That is a 
ruinous price. That there has been a glut no one can deny, but 
one thing suggests itself to me, and that is—Has there been too 
large a supply for the markets ? or, Are there enough markets for 
the supply ? I am merely speaking of London. I have spent ten 
years of my gardening career in the vicinity of the metropolis—five 
at the western, and five at the eastern end of it; and many a time have 
I seen waggonloads of Cabbages, Drumhead Savoys, Vegetable 
Marrows, and other commodities, that to me as a countryman 
seemed models and wonders of loading, wending their way London 
wards, towards one or other of the great markets of Spitalfields, 
Stratford, the Borough, or Covent Garden. Since then the question 
has often suggested itself to me, that the carting by the producers 
through these miles of streets to a few central markets was wrong, 
to be carted back again by the numerous light carts and vans of the 
suburban greengrocer and barrows of the street vendors. London 
has increased, in round numbers, to perhaps four millions of people, 
and market gardens have been further edged out for bricks and 
mortar ; but no provision seems to have been made in the large 
suburban parishes for markets for perishable commodities, such as 
vegetables and fish. It is true there are street marts in some 
places, but at second-hand, as the commodities have to be fetched 
from the central markets. Take the case of market gardeners 
around Feltham, Isleworth, Hounslow, Barnes, Mortlake, and 
Brentford having to take their produce through Gunnersbury, Chis- 
