160 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 20, 1890. 
Liabaud, and Leveque. These have all given us from time to time good 
Eoses, although unfortunately they have been weighted with a vast 
number of bad ones. Many raisers, some of whom are new to us, give 
only one each, and it is possible that amongst them may be found a good 
flower or two, but the probability is that we shall see very few of them. 
The English Rose growers for sale have frequently wasted money, time, 
and space in propagating worthless things, that they have very con¬ 
siderably contracted their orders for new varieties, and of course 
amateurs never do, and I fancy the growers are in their orders more 
influenced by the names of the raisers than by the descriptions of the 
flowers. We may see some of them this season, and then be able to 
judge. Kous vei-rom. —D., Deal. 
MAEfiCHAL NIEL. 
In answer to “ M. G. D.,” page 108, I have seen Marechal Niel Rose 
■do most satisfactorily on a back wall in a vinery, but for my part I 
would rather keep the wall bare than run the risk of getting insects into 
the house.—S. Scott, Itathmore. 
William A. Richaedson. 
I SEND you by post a box of W. A. Richardson blooms ; they were 
cut from a plant three years old, grown in a pot and trained on the roof. 
The plant covers a space of 6 feet by 2, and is very badly cankered. It 
was pruned and placed into a house on the 10th of October last, the 
temperature being about 65° by night and 65° by day, and it has pro¬ 
duced seventy-one flowers, in some cases four and five in a truss. They 
are a good colour, but the foliage is small, owing no doubt to the 
cankered stem. No mildew has appeared, and we cut the first bloom on 
the 20th of December, the enclosed being the last on the plant. I should 
like to know if any of your readers have had experience with it as a 
winter-flowering Rose, and if so with what success.— Sussex. 
[The specimens we have received are highly satisfactory.] 
GAEDENERS OUT OF SITUATIONS. 
I WISH to inform your correspondents that there is in Belfast a 
society for the relief of gardeners out of employment. It has been 
established several years, and is registered under the Friendly Society’s 
Act. Members pay 2s. 6d. admission fee, and Is. per month afterwards, 
which entitle him to 10s. per week for two months when out of place. 
If not suited at the end of the two months, by application he can have 
liis case brought before a special meeting. No member is entitled to 
benefit till he has been two years a member, neither can any member 
receive benefit more than once in two years. Noblemen, gentlemen, 
nurserymen, and seedsmen may become honorary members by paying 
£1 per annum. 
I am sure Mr. Dickson, Ormeau Park, Belfast, would have the full 
list of rules sent to any address ; or, if desired, I will forward them 
lor publication in this valuable Journal.— Coeeespondent. 
[Please send the rules for our examination.] 
I HOPE many of your gardening readers will communicate their 
ideas on the above subject, so that it may be seen to what extent the 
gardening fraternity concur in the suggestions thrown out by your 
correspondent “ B.” pfige 60, and other correspondents at page 118. 
This is the only means by which we shall ever secure a self-help society 
to render assistance to those brothers of the craft who may be out of 
situation and requiring help. My idea is gardeners should combine 
together for their own interest more than any other class of working 
men, but I am sorry to say they are far behind the times in this respect, 
but as such a favourable opportunity presents itself now it should not 
be lost. I notice your correspondent, “ R. M.” page 118, is inclined to 
think it is but an old cry “ so many out of place,” for he states it 
has been the same throughout his forty years’ e.xperience. I am inclined 
to think “ R. M.” is over the stile and through the wood, and has 
landed there without the aid of a self-help society, and consequently he 
thinks others might do the same. As I have only seen twenty years’ 
•experience, I cannot go back so far as “ R. M.” to form an idea, so I 
will mention the experience of two good old gardeners who can boast of 
ever forty years trudging in gardening, and they say they never knew 
■so many gardeners out of place as at the present day, and they attribute 
this to so many of our once noble gardens being closed. 
“ R. M.” again says, “ ‘ B.’s ’ ideas respecting gardeners going into 
the nursery and thereby causing an injury to the permanent staff is a 
ridiculous assertion.” It is a well-known fact, however, that if gar¬ 
deners who are out of place did not go into the nursery, nurserymen 
would have to employ a much larger number of regular hands, and pay 
them higher wages. Now if we had the self-help society, The gar¬ 
dener would not enter the nursery unless he received the same wage 
for the same amount of work as that of the permanent hand. I shall be 
. most happy to subscribe to any society which may be formed for 
helping gardeners.— Alfeed Bishop, Westlej/ Hall Gardens. 
It is not long since I saw one of those who are sometimes termed 
frozen-out gardeners,” so that I have read with the greatest interest 
the correspondence that has been going on in the Journal of Horti¬ 
culture recently. I am glad to see that there are gardeners in favour 
of a move being made in some way to help their less fortunate brethren. 
I should be only too glad to assist with my mite whenever it is required, 
and I know others who would be glad to give their support as far as it 
is in their power. 5Iy experience seems to have been much the same 
as “ B.’s.’’ I hope this matter will be taken up, I think it will find 
plenty of supporters.—W. J. 
AURICULAS IN SCOTLAND. 
The early part of winter being so mild Auriculas started into growth 
about the first week of the year, fully a month earlier than usual. 
During the whole season, since the plants were placed in their winter 
quarters, they have looked healthy and well, and notwithstanding the 
absence of frost they have required little water. A large number of 
the plants are now so far expanded that the truss is seen. In my own 
collection Prince of Greens was the first to give promise of a bloom, 
then Acme, then my own Mrs. Sinclair, and now there is a host of 
others. From the advanced state of growth among the plants I antici¬ 
pate an early bloom, even though frost come farther on. There has 
been only one death in my whole stock, and my friends write me that 
they are much in the same condition. Young growers should notice 
that if at this time any plant does not show signs of expanding its 
foliage it should be examined, and the chance is decay will be found in 
some part of the stem. When there is no frost the plants should be 
getting more water, and the surface soil should be stirred without dis¬ 
turbing the fibres if possible, and where the soil has sunk in the pot 
fresh soil should be added. I have always held that top-dressing the 
whole stock is a waste of time, and now many growers are of the same 
opinion. 
The number of Auricula houses is increasing in Scotland. It is the 
most satisfactory way of growing the plants, as one can get amongst 
them whatever the weather be. I have been exceedingly pleased to see 
from requests to myself and other growers for the older varieties that 
the idea of growing only a few of what are called the finest kinds is not 
spreading in Scotland, From my correspondence I learn that there are 
many seedlings on trial which are expected to take good places among 
our best flowers. The Scottish Primula and Auricula Society is to hold 
their Show in Dundee this year instead of in Edinburgh, where it has 
been hitherto held. It is very likely that a Narcissus section will_ this 
year be added, which will be an additional attraction. I hear a prize is 
to be offered for the best self seedling stage Auricula (named) entered 
for competition for the first time. It is expected that the Show in 
Dundee will be a thorough success.— John Moeeis. 
SCENTED FERNS. 
Detnaeia (Polypodium) Willdenovi. 
It was recently announced in the London daily papers that at one 
of the Saturday meetings of the Royal Botanic Society at Regent’s 
Park “ an interesting sweet-scented Fern was exhibited. The perfume, 
which closely resembles that of fresh hay, is retained after the frond is 
dry, and lasts for many months, if not years, imparting its fragrance to 
anything in contact with it. The Secretary thought it might be grown 
as a source of perfume by amateurs, if not commercially. As yet it 
appeared to be little known in collections of exotic Ferns.” This para¬ 
graph seems to have awakened the interest of a correspondent of a 
metropolitan paper, who produces the following remarkable article, but 
whether it is written in a satirical and sarcastic vein, or in sober serious¬ 
ness, we must leave our readers to discover. It seems to be an age for 
calling public attention to extraordinary plants. Lately we have had 
“the Weather Plant” brought into great prominence by a scientific^re¬ 
port from Kew, and now the Regent’s Park garden produces a rival 
phenomenon in the shape of a “ Fragrant Fern.” 
But let us see what the writer named has to say on the subject. 
“ At certain times and seasons in the history of the animal and vege¬ 
table kingdom there are plants and animals, birds, beasts, and fishes 
which have, as it were, ‘ greatness thrust upon them,’ in the sense that 
wholly unsuspected qualities of attraction and gratification are dis¬ 
covered in their lives, habits, and structure. Thus for centuries there 
lived in harmless and blameless obscurity a tiny shell-fish, the murex, 
by the shores of Tyre. No one minded him as he clung to his Syrian 
rock, and as he was not good to eat he was let severely alone. One day, 
however, a fisherman drying his linen garments by the sea-shore 
happened to crush the little murex, and, behold, his fisher’s robe was 
straightway dyed a deep purple, which no cunning could wash out. 
The good folk of the district saw at once that there was distinct 
artistic and commercial value in the murex, and after a few alfresco ex¬ 
periments learnt the great secret of the Tyrian purple. Henceforth the 
murex and his crimson juices became part and parcel of the symbol of 
imperial sovereignty, and ever since his august colour has ruled the 
world. The cochineal insect, the musk-rat, and the leech as a phlebo- 
tomist, are among similar examples of discovered charms and values ; 
but our present subject deals with the latest developed attraction of a 
highly respectable member of the group of cryptogamic plants in the 
shape of the sweet-scented Fern from the Royal Botanic Society’s 
Garden, which was exhibited by the Secretary, Mr. Sowerby, at the 
meeting of the Society last week. Perns have always been mysterious 
puzzles to mankind, especially in the inaccurate days when there was 
much strange talk of their so-called ‘ seeds,’ which are now called 
‘ spores.’ We know that Shakespeare makes Gadshill say, ‘ We have the 
receipt of Fern-seed, we walk invisible,’ and Ray ridicules Tragus for 
spreading linen cloths on the ground to catch the seed of E'erns on the 
eve of Midsummer Night, when, as Ray properly observed, it would be 
indeed astonishing if any fell, seeing that it is not mature until the 
