200 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 10. 
sentecl me with cuttings duly labelled, but the man 
who planted them out managed to confound them as 
ctt'ectually as if he had shaken the tallies in a lotteiy 
bag. These matters some of our friends may give 
us information upon. Eew that I have seen would 
suit a florist; but they are line things for the lovers 
of dowers and sweet scents. They are well named 
Perpetmil; but their great charm is that they bloom 
most adundantly, in autumn, out-of-doors, and in windows 
and greenhouses in winter, without wanting any forcing. 
I have seen them grown continuously in pots, with 
various degrees of success. I wish here merely to detail 
an outline of the system I adopted, with the results of 
which I am for the present satisfied. The cuttings were 
struck in a mild heat in the end of summer; when 
rooted they were doeked to furnish more cuttings, which 
were struck by the end of autumn. Some of the first- 
struck were planted out in a border in autumn, and 
defended with evergreen boughs in winter. The rest, 
and the second-struck ])lants, had rough treatment in 
the pots in winter. All of them, the younger ones 
being previously stopped, were planted out, about 
si.K inches from each other, at the end of March, jiro- 
tected a little by evergreen branches. In May, as 1 
wanted something to fill up a row of Cloves, I took the 
first-struck ones to do so. In August, September, and 
October they w'ere noticed by every visitor, as many 
plants had a dozen of open blooms, with scores of buds 
to open. In August, the second-struck ones W'ere care¬ 
fully raised with balls, and potted, some singly in six 
and eight-inch pots, and others three in a twelve-inch 
pot. Many of these have been in bloom for some time, 
and others are in bud. Those in the line of the border, 
notwithstanding the wet, were still so full of bud and 
bloom, that I raised and placed a number singly in 
twelve-inch pots, a fortnight ago, and set them in a cold 
pit. They seem to feel the change but little. The 
obtaining such quantities of bloom from young plants, 
I atti-ibute, first, to the stopping of the growth wheh 
young; secondly, to the planting out early in ricn 
mellow soil; and, thirdly, to repeated manure w'aterings. 
R. Ersii. 
CONIFER.E. 
{Conliniied Irom page IGo.) 
duNiPERUs spHCERicA (Round-headed J.).—A species 
from the north of China and the Altai Mountains. Dr. 
Lindley has named it, and describes it as very beautiful. 
1 have never seen it. 
duNiPERus SQUAMATA (Scaly d., or Creeping Cedar).— 
A low growing, trailing shrub, seldom exceeding three 
leet high; a native of Nepaul and the Bhotau Alps. 
Hardy only in the southern parts of Britain and Ireland. 
JuNiPKRDS TETRAGONA (Four-angled d.).—f)f this 
species very little is known. It is a native of IMexico, 
growing on the road-side from Real del Monte to Chico. 
JoNiPERUs THURiPER.E (Franlducense bearing J.).— 
A native of Spain; a handsome, upright species, thirty 
to forty feet high. 
doNiPERus ViRGiNiANA (Aurginiaii duniper, or Red 
Cedar).—Native of America, in the States of Alaine and 
Georgia, where it grows to a considerable size, rising to 
the altitude of from forty to fifty feet. It is very com¬ 
mon in the nurseries in this country; and there are 
some noble specimens at Dropmore, the scat of Ijady 
Grenville, and indeed in most gardens fine plants may 
be seen of it. The name Red Cedar is given to it 
because of the beautiful red colour of the inner wood. 
It is used as a case for black lead, but is not so much 
esteemed as the Bermuda Cedar for that purpose. The 
habit is pyramidal, the branches spreading partially 
horizontally when the tree is old, but in its young state 
they arc upright, but even then not so close as the 
J. communis sueica. As it is so plentiful in the nurseries 
the price is very moderate, even more so than any other 
duniper, except the common one. The cause of its 
abundance arises from the fact that it ripens its seed in 
this country. The wood being of such a beautiful 
colour, and so valuable in other respects, combined with 
the cheapness of young plants, renders it a tree desir¬ 
able to plant in quantities for the timber. It requires 
a deep, dry, sandy soil, such as prevails in Sherwood 
Forest, in Nottinghamshire. It is perfectly hardy. 
There are several handsome varieties, though none of 
them surpass the species in beauty. They are J. V. 
humilis, J. V. gluuca, J. V. pendula, J. V. aurea varie- 
gnta, J. V. BeeJ/ordiana, w'hich is beautiful, and J. V. 
Chamberlainii. All these are desirable, and are orna¬ 
mental objects for tlie lawn and the Pinetum. 
i Larix (The Larch). — To the greater part of our 
readers tliis tree is well known, both on account of its 
good qualities as a timber-tree, and its having been 
planted in immense quantities in almost every part of 
England, Ireland, and especially Scotland. Though a 
I native of the Alps of the south of Europe it was almost 
: unknown to our ancestors. The country is indebted to 
I a Duke of Athol for bringing it first into notice. He 
I received tw'o plants, cultivated them in pots, and kept 
I them in a greenhouse till they were too large for the 
place; they were then planted out in two beds in front 
[ of the building, where they grew till they attained the 
j height of seventy or eighty feet. Their pefect hardihood 
being thus established, seed was saved, and the produce 
planted out as forest-trees, and this led to their general 
cultivation as timbei’-trees. Millions of plants were put 
in on the Highlands of Scotland, which, on account of 
their quick growth, soon turned to profit;—this encou¬ 
raged our landed proprietors to extend its cultivation 
still further; and it was soon found that the ground on 
which the Larch grew was greatly improved by the fall¬ 
ing off and decomposition of its foliage, the Larch being 
a deciduous tree, that is, it sheds its leaves annually, 
which very few of the Pine tribe do. 
A drawback has come upon the culture of the Larch, 
arising from the fact that a disease has attacked them 
w'ithin the last twelve or fourteen years. The tops 
begin to wither and die, then the side branches, and in 
four or five years the trees die. This has been par¬ 
ticularly observed to have occurred to young trees of 
four or five years standing, but it is spreading to trees of 
older and larger growth. How far it will spread is of 
course unknown, but some measures should be taken to 
arrest its progress. I should advise every tree the least 
diseased to be instantly removed, root and branch, and 
burnt. 1 would also propose a query to all foresters 
and owners of Larch plantations, to this effect. What 
is the cause and probable cure of this serious disease 
of the Larch in Britain? It would not be amiss to 
procure seed from the Alps, as it is more than probable 
that seeds from diseased trees would produce a diseased 
progeny, or even the same effect would happen if the 
seeds were gathered from healthy trees growing amongst 
sickly ones. Then, again, the situation in which to 
plant this handsome tree should be attended to. If 
the land does not suit it, it will grow too fust, and 
become hollow in the centre. This is the case in low, 
rich land. The proper situation is on the sides of lofty 
hills, in thin gravelly soils. Though for the first three 
or four years its progress may bo slow, yet it will 
make rapid progress after that time, and by the annual 
fall of its foliage enrich the soil under it; thus, feeding 
itself, as it were, by that means. Another important 
point is close attention to thinning in time, selecting 
the most healthy and promising trees to remain. These 
thinnings make excellent stalks for such flowers as 
Dahlias and Hollyhocks. The wood of this tree is very 
durable, hence those stalks will last longer than an; 
