368 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
September 9. 
longer period. In the same way an Alder shoot, or the 
top of a Currant hush, will keep a rose-bud alive for ten 
days, hut all this is only mere protection, and there can 
be no union without a natural relationship in the parts. 
It is quite true, however, that you may cut down a 
young Rose shoot to half its length, and hud the bottom 
half, and that the bud will grow, nevertheless. I did so 
myself last July, and' the buds succeeded; but that only 
showed what an easy and very simple thing it is to get 
roses to “take.” I have seen every bud put into a long 
row of rose-stocks fail by this same way of cutting the 
shoots. The state of the weather made all the differ¬ 
ence ; and there are scores of plants whose buds would 
instantly perish if the shoots on which they were worked 
were stopped at the same time. Therefore, although I 
cannot say so from experience, perhaps a Rhododendron 
bud would equally suffer under similar circumstances, 
and it is as well not to try the experiment with any 
valuable kinds; but if one had only a really good Rho¬ 
dodendron to get buds from, it is well worth while to 
try the experiment of changing the whole aspect of 
common hush Rhododendrons by this means. This is, 
i at the same time, the most easy and the most useful 
experiment that a lady can try, and the ends and odd 
bits from her worsted work will make the best tying in 
the world for the buds. Rose-hudding is really a dan¬ 
gerous work for most ladies, hut a child could bud 
Rhododendrons if he knew how. There are neither 
prickles nor green-fly on them to tear or soil the Augers 
The next question, after having the power of trans¬ 
forming a common Pontic Rhododendron to a cocoineum 
or qrandijlorum bush without diminishing its size, is— 
If it he possible for ordinary mortals to make fine stand¬ 
ards of them, like the Bagshot people? To be sure; if 
one happened to have a standard Rhododendron of any 
sort, it would be just as easy to change it to another 
kind as a bush plant, without losing a day’s growth, 
by either budding or grafting other kinds, or one good 
kind on all the leaders. This I have seen done this 
very season by Mr. Jackson, of Kingston, in one of his 
hothouses, and, in time, I make no doubt hut he will 
make standards of the Sikkim ones in the same way, for 
I see he has got an immense lot of seedlings of them in 
cold pits, and 1 tliinh he told me that Ciliatum could be 
sold now for 3s. 6d. If so, you might have four corner 
plants of it in bloom on the breakfast-table next Christ- 
mas-day, growing in common tumblers or finger-glasses, 
for the flower-buds are quite prominent now, and the 
plants not more than six inches high. I have said 
already that R. ciliatum belongs to the Azalea section 
of the Rhododendrons, and that the flowers are of the 
size and shape of those of Azalea variegata, from China, 
and also that it has sported into two or three shades 
from wild seeds sent home by Dr. Hooker, leaving no 
doubt on one’s mind of this plant making the best 
mother we have for a new race of dwarf alpiues, as well 
as for correcting some of our garden seedlings of Chinese 
Azaleas into florists’ flowers, and for the latter purpose, 
we have none equal to the old Variegata for the pollen 
side. Last spring, some of us thought that some magic 
or scientific process was put in force to get Rhododen¬ 
dron ciliatum to flower so early from seeds, and on such 
small plants, but the habit seems natural and Axed. 
I should think it as well fltted for a Wardian case as 
any of the Lycopods themselves. 
There are two ways open for those who would indulge 
in the fancy of making Standard Rhododendrons for 
themselves, one of which I urged in The Cottage Gar¬ 
dener some time since, and the other is quite new. 
| There is no more difficulty in converting a strong, 
healthy bush Rhododendron into a tall standard than 
there is in forming an imitation orange-tree out of a 
common or a Portugal Laurel. Just as either of these 
evergreens are on the point of making their first growth 
at the end of the spring, let them be cut down close to 
the ground, or somewhat lower than the general level of 
the ground, and forthwith there will spring up a host of 
rival shoots from the collar, the strongest of which is 
encouraged by stopping the rest as soon as they form a 
good tuft of leaves. This is better, at first, than pulling 
off all but the one shoot which is to form the standard, 
as the extra number of leaves will keep the roots in 
active play until such time as the principal one is of 
sufficient strength and capacity to require all that the 
roots may collect, and then it is not so well to pull up 
all the stopped shoots at one time, as to make three or 
four thinnings in succession, at so many weeks’ inter¬ 
vals ; because it is now a well-established fact, that a 
largo sacrifice of leaves, or shoots, at ono time, puts a 
sudden check on the action of the roots; whereas, a 
gradual taking of them off only lessens the power of 
the roots. Thus, Mr. Errington would think me daft 
if he saw me cutting off all the breast-wood on a 
strong pear-tree, at one pruning, early in the summer. 
The standard shoot of this Rhododendron bush would 
probably make three growths, if not four, the first 
season; and if the last growth appeared to bo very soft 
and unripe late in the autumn—and I have seen cases 
of the kind—it would be desirable to tie it to a stake, 
and to wrap the soft top in a handful of dry fern, or 
something of that sort, it being most essential to pre¬ 
serve the leading bud until the stem is standard high, 
otherwise a side bud, taking the place of the leading 
bud, would make the stem bow-legged, as they say in 
Scotland. As soon as the leading bud reached the 
height required, and this would be some time during 
the second summer after cutting down, it should be 
broken off; then there would be no more wound than 
just the size of the bottom of this bud, and that would 
heal over in a few weeks, leaving a stem as straight and 
clear as if it were cast from a mould. The next tier or 
two of buds below the leader would then start, and from 
them the spokes are to be selected which are to sustain the 
future head; therefore, see that a selection is made so 
that these spokes, or main leaders, are not too close toge¬ 
ther, and if you get five of them, the rest you may stop, 
and keep stopped all that season, on the same principle 
as if so many of the root-shoots were kept for awhile. 
Some stakes, or framework, should now he used, to train 
the fine shoots into a regular form, lowering the strongest 
of them, so that the whole may come of equal strength ; 
and when they are a foot or eighteen inches from the 
main stem, take out their leading bud also; each of 
them will branch out in turn, and very likely some of 
this second growth must be thinned-out, and so on, 
until the head is as big as the stem can carry. 
D. Beaton. 
ERYTIIRINAS AND CALCEOLARIAS. 
Erythrina Crista-gaeli. —Some time ago, I alluded 
to the culture of this plant for the ornamenting of the : 
greenhouse and conservatory, for which purpose few 
things make a more splendid appearance. Hints were 
also given for its management out-of-doors. A fortnight 
ago, mention was made of a splendid bed in the same 
garden where standards of the Salvia splendens were 
flourishing. A fow days after that note was written, a 
party of ladies and gentlemen asked me many questions 
about this Coral plant. Did I grow it? They would 
like to see it. Did it want much care to prepare it for 
planting out? Should it have heat previously ? Would 
it not stand out all the winter with a little protection ? 
Had I seen the bed at Pensanger, Earl of Cowpers, near 
Welwyn? the identical bed to which I have alluded, 
and which certainly furnished me with dreaming matter 
for several nights. A few days afterwards, another party, 
whatever they noticed or approved, seemed always to j 
