January 2, laio ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
13 
If six only are needed select the first, second, fourth, tenth, 
twelfth, and thirteenth.—W.M. Bardney. 
PRESERVING PLANTS IN WINTER. 
We are now in the midst of the worst period of the whole year 
for preserving plants, and if they can be successfully kept for the 
next six weeks or so they will give little trouble afterwards. With 
plenty of well heated glass houses all plants may be wintered as 
easily as they are retained in summer, but unfortunately instances 
of commodious and efficient accommodation are exceptions, and the 
great majority of growers, especially of the amateur class, are fre¬ 
quently at their wit’s end as to where to store and how to preserve 
their tender plants. But it is not so much particular storage as 
the exercise of care that will insure success. I have known many 
bedding and other plants wintered in peculiar and what might be 
termed unsuitable places. It is a mistake to give store or stock 
plants too much heat in winter. This keeps them growing when 
they ought to be resting, and the more they grow in midwinter 
the more tender they become, as there is nothing substantial in the 
growth formed now. They ought to be well hardened by the end 
of October, and kept in that condition. Cold, short of actual frost, 
will rarely harm any plant, provided the foliage and atmosphere 
are dry. This is the great secret of successfully preserving all 
plants in winter. 
Our Orange trees, which are wintered in an unheated house, 
would suffer severely from excessive damp were it not that the 
greatest care is exercised in watering, and they are kept decidedly 
dry at their roots. Some of them do not receive any water for 
four weeks at a time, and it is astonishing how luxuriant they 
remain. Through the deficiency of pipes in the Pine house the 
temperature is frequently down to 35° or 40° in winter, and rarely 
rises to 50° with artificial heat, and if kept damp at the roots and 
top in this low temperature they would soon become yellow and 
sickly, but by withholding moisture as much as possible they remain 
in fine health all winter. Store plants are rarely active at this 
season. They do not make any great demand for moisture, the 
natural condition of the atmosphere is generally sufficient to retain 
all their qualities, and in nineteen cases in every score deterioration 
is the result of superfluous moisture in the atmosphere, and especially 
at the roots. Whenever plants are going wrong let this point be 
considered at once, and it must never be forgotten in after treat¬ 
ment. I would rather winter plants in a temperature of 40°, and 
with a dry atmosphere, than in 60° and have damp to contend 
with.—J. Muir. 
USEFUL FERNS. 
AuxnouGn Ferns of all kinds are beautiful, yet, like other 
plants, some species and varieties are better adapted for decorative 
work than others, and in the following lists I have mentioned those 
that I know from experience to be useful for that purpose, as it is 
much better to work up a stock of a few useful sorts than to grow 
a greater variety, many of which perhaps are not adapted for 
decorative purposes ; but I wish to make it clear that I do not write 
disparagingly of forming collections of every species and variety 
obtainable, as a thoroughly representative collection is always 
interesting, but as many varieties which are very pretty and thrive 
well in ferneries are quite unfit for decorative purposes, much more 
satisfactory results are obtained by growing in quantities those 
that possess the good qualities necessary. 
Among Adiantums, Bausei, concinnum latum, cuneatum, f or- 
mosum, macrophyllum, and Sanctoe Catherine are all extremely 
useful, the two last-named being distinct, and are not so much 
grown as they should be. Davallia elegans is one of the most 
beautiful of all basket Ferns. D. Mooreana and Goniophlebium 
subauriculatum are also good for that purpose ; the last named, 
having fronds 6 or 7 feet long, should only be used when there is 
plenty of room for development. Sometimes in halls and large 
rooms plants of great size are placed in vases on a pedestal in such 
positions, this Fern forms a striking object. Alsophila australis 
and Cyathea dealbata are capital for placing in the centre of groups, 
or for standing singly in good positions. Lomaria gibba, Ne- 
phrodium molle, Nephrolepis davallioides, and N. tuberosa are also 
very effective and last well. The last named I have a great fancy 
for, for filling vases or growing in baskets, and should be 
grown in large quantities, as it is both novel and striking in 
appearance. Platycerium alcicorne is a useful Fern to use occa¬ 
sionally, on account of tha remarkably curious structure of its 
fronds. Curiosities of this description usually attract a good deal of 
attention, and are therefore worth using for the sake of giving 
variety, and interesting many who would scarcely notice more 
common types of far greater beauty. 
The Pterises are extremely serviceable to decorators. A few 
plants of the different varieties arranged amongst other plants 
give quite a distinct feature. To be seen to the best advantage they 
should be used sparingly as dot plants, so as to show distinctly the 
glowing outline of the individual plants and fronds. P. argyrsea, 
the beautiful silvery markings shown on the arched fronds of this 
variety give it a character quite uncommon among Ferns, and it 
also has the advantage of being very attractive as well as uncom¬ 
mon. P. cretica and P, cretica albo-lineata are fairly effective and 
last well, but the real gems of the family, which should be grown 
in large quantities, are P. serrulata, P. serrulata cristata, and 
P. tremula. These last well in dwelling rooms, even when placed 
in comparatively dark corners, and when properly arranged in 
mixed groups aid materially in producing that glowing undulating 
surface which is rightly considered the coirect method of artistic 
plant-grouping. Small plants of these varieties are also much 
sought after for filling receptacles for dinner table decorations, or 
various bronze and china figures, which have a small interstice for 
holding Ferns, and are generally placed in prominent positions 
within the drawing room or boudoir. Among hardy Ferns the fol¬ 
lowing are worth growing in pots for decorative purposes:— 
Adiantum Capillus-Veneris, Polystichum proliferum angulare, 
Scolopendrium crispum, and Woodwardiaangustifolia.—H. Dunkin. 
BKAMBLES. 
Can any of your readers give me any information as to the universal 
success of such varieties as Kittatinny, Lawton, Mammoth, Philadelphia, 
Snyder, Wilson junior, or any of the others of that tribe 1 I would 
gladly go by a slow train that stops at every station from Land’s End to 
John o’Groat’s to inspect them.— South Wales. 
I CANNOT allow the remarks of “ South Wales,” on page 527, to pass 
unnoticed. He says, “ I cannot congratulate ‘ De Nova ’ on the in¬ 
formation he has tendered as to the great success of the American 
Blackberries.” What does he mean ? I have read his note on page 487, 
and the conclusion I arrived at was that “ South Wales ” had never 
either seen or heard of a good crop, and if any of your numerous 
readers knew of one, he would be pleased to hear of it, and as I visited 
Darlington in October and saw a splendid crop of the fruit in question, 
I informed him, “ through the medium of the Journal,” of the fact. I 
venture to think my note on page 509 does not deal with Blackberries 
in general as to whether they are a success or otherwise, it only deals 
with one particular crop that came under my notice. I, like your 
correspondent, have ceased to regard one swallow as making a summer; 
I have also ceased to regard one failure as final.— De Nova. 
When foreman at Tulliechewan Castle, Dumbartonshire, I remember 
the proprietor wishing to try some Brambles in the kitchen garden in 
order to increase their size, and the young men were sent to lift them 
from a bank of gravel. They were planted in an open position, staked 
as Kaspberries, and the long rods tied from one stake to the other. 
They were about two years coming into a fruiting condition. After 
leaving I made a call now and again on Mr. Smith, the head gardener, 
and in walking round with him I noticed the Brambles were nearly all 
dead, and was told it was the severe weather in March that killed 
them. They had made stems 12 or 14 feet long. No doubt the strong 
growth was too soft, as those outside were safe enough. Perhaps this 
may interest “De Nova” and “ South Wales.” I never saw an American 
Blackberry in Scotland worth looking at, no need for tasting.—W. E., 
Rutherglen. _ 
I PLANTED three plants of Kubus laciniatus, IG feet apart, in 
January, 1883, against a south wall. In 1887 we gathered twenty, 
one quarts of fruit, in 1888 twenty-seven quarts, in 1889 thirty-eight 
quarts ; on August 17th last we gathered the first quart, the last 
on October 20th. The longest growth made this year was 30 feet. When 
there is not enough new growth to take the old place, we prune the 
old close in, and leave what is required to cover the wall. The fruit 
and foliage have been admired by many. The fruit is fine and very 
useful.— William Kipps, Walton Lea. 
I WAS always under the impression that the Parsley-leaved Bramble 
was an American. This I have been very successful with. Some of the 
branches have produced from sixty to one hundred ripe fruits, and some 
very fine. I have been trying different kinds for this last six or seven 
years, and have filled up the places of some with good English ones I 
have found in the hedgerows. Some of these have borne heavy crops. 
The Parsley-leaved Bramble seeds freely, and plants can also be raised 
from eyes the same as Vines, but when once established the best and 
easiest way of propagation is to bend the points an inch or two into 
the ground ; they will soon strike root, and can then be planted where 
they are to stand for a year or two. If planted in favourable situations, 
strong shoots from 10 to 20 feet long will be produced during the season, 
and if well ripened will produce an abundance of fruit the following 
year. I suspect that some persons who complain about them have not 
planted them in situations at all to their liking. If they were to pay 
