344 
THE COTTAGE GARDENEE. 
Februaky 3. 
protection of a covering of canvass would live and 
dower satisfactorily:— A. armata, A. celastrifolia, A. 
dealhata, A. dolahriforme, A. grandis, A. sophora, A. 
verlioiUata. 
Alogsia citi iodora (Lemon-scented Aloysia).—Though 
the flowers of this plant are not showy nor bright 
coloured, nor the leaves particularly handsome, yet 
the pleasant odour the latter give forth when touched, 
renders it an universal favourite. It is, therefore, a 
desirable plant for the Preservatory. 
Amorpha glabra (Smooth Amorpha).—This belongs 
to a genus of shrubs that are very little lurown, which is 
rather remarkable, as they all ])roduce flowers of the 
much esteemed colours, blue and purple, and bavo 
leaves that are of a pleasing form, and bright green. 
A. herhaeea, A. Leirisii, A. micro 2 )hglla, and A. nana, are 
all desirable jdants to place against this wall to lill up the 
places between quick growing and lofty shrubs, so that 
every part of the wall may be covered down to the soil. 
Anopterus glandulosm (Gland-bearing Ano]itoris).—A 
rather new 2 )lant from Van Dieman’s Land, but is sup¬ 
posed to be nearly hardy. 'J'he leaves are arranged in a 
fern-like fashion, and are very jjretty. 
Arbutus (The Htrawberry-tree). — There are some 
species of this beautiful genus that are not quite hardy, 
but yet, on account of their flne evergreen foliage, are 
desirable and worthy of cultivation, and the Preservatory 
Wall is just the 2 )lace for them, ju'ovided they are not 
too closely jJruned. Their names are A. Oanariensis, A. 
densijiura, A. laurifoUa, A. serratifulia, and A. speviosa; 
A. procera, and^L ujidrachne, are hardy in the southern 
parts of Britain, but north of Birmingham seai'ccly so; 
and, therefore, require the 2 )rotoction of a wall beyond 
that line northwards. 
A rotostajjhglos longifolius (liong-lcaved Bear-berry), 
A. nitida (shining-leaved), and A- pungens, are all hand¬ 
some foliaged, half-hardy, evergreen shrubs, with shining 
leaves. The last is a dwarf, and may be planted between 
the others to lill iqi vacant spaces. 
Aster. —The shrubby Asters, or Star-flowers of the 
Capo and New Holland, are not much cultivated now in 
greenhouses, but many of them against a sheltered wall 
would be very ornamental, and there would regain their 
popularity. Many of them have blue flowers, and arc 
very ornamental. The following are the best:— A. 
angustifolius, A. erubescens, A. liratus, A. ingrsiniuides, 
A. rejiexus, A. sericeus, and A. dllosus. 
Azalea indica alba, and other varieties. There are a 
suflicient number of hybrids of these fine flowering 
plants to cover a wall a hundred yards long, and a mag- 
nifleent sight they would be when in flower. The white 
one is the hardiest. I saw a raised bed, in October last, 
about ten feet diameter, fllled with it, in a garden at 
Acton, near London, and the gardener said they had 
been planted there for three years, and had had no jiro- 
tection excepting a covering over the roots of dried fern 
leaves in winter. The jdants were about two to three 
feet high, and were more bushy, and had finer foliage 
than I ever saw them have in jiots. A selection of tlio 
ditt'erent colours, one of each, would be sutfleient for a 
wall of moderate extent. No doubt, the new species 
introduced by Mr. Fortune, from China, would thrive 
best in such a situation, as also would tire old sjiecies. 
Azalea sinensis. 
Banksia —This is an assemblage of shrubs from New 
Holland, with noble foliage, almost banished from our 
greenhouses on account of their not flowering till they 
are old and large. 1 judge, if Preservatory Walls 
become more common, they will become favourite 
objects to jtlant there, and would thou grow and flower 
treely, especially if grown in poor sandy peat soil. 
I'he lollowing are the most ornamental:— B. coccinea, 
B. grandis, B. ilicifolia, B. latifolia, B. marcescens, B. 
solandra, and B. speciosa. 
Beaufortia decussata (Cross-leaved Beaufortia).—A 
fine scarlet-flowering, tall-gi-owing shrub, hardy enough 
to bear several degrees of frost; flowers freely when old, 
but rather shy when grown in pots. 
Benthamia fragifera (Strawberry-fruited B.). — In 
Devonshire this tree has jiroduced its large, deejr red, 
handsome fruit abundantly against the walls ot a house. 
1 saw the fruit once, some two or three years ago, on , 
the tables of the Horticultural Society, in Regent-street, 
and thought them very handsome, and tempting to the 
palate; but Dr. Lindley stated they were not eatable. 
The flowers are yellowish-red, and tolerably handsome. 
These circumstances point out this as a desirable plant 
for the walls in question. j 
Berberis aristata, B. buxi/olia, B. macrophylla, B. | 
nervosa, B. inermis, and B. trij'oliata, are alt desirable | 
shrubs, with evergreen foliage and yellow flowers. Since 
the Dictionary was published, two beautitul new species j 
have been imj)orted, which are both adurirably adajrted 
to plant against a wall. They are named B. Ikirivinnii, \ 
almost, but not quite, an evergreen, with numerous | 
golden-orange-coloured blossoms springing iroui the 
axils of the leaves, and B. Nepaulensis, which has leaves 
nearly eighteen inches long and one-and-a-hall broad, 
deeply cut at the edges, and of a pleasing milky- 
green colour. The flowers of this latter siiecies are jiro- 
duced at the ends of the shoots in clusters of four or 
five spikes, and are of a deep yellow colour. 
T. Appleby. 
{To he continued.) 
PREPARING THE GROUND FOR SPRING 
CROPS. 
Notwithstanding the mildness of the weather, we 
fear the ensuing seed - time will be anything but a 
jdeasant one. Saturated as the ground has been with j 
wet, and probably may continue to be, the benefits it 
usually derives from a jieriod of rest have been much 
curtailed; and no doubt, in certain cases, a jiositiye 
evil inflicted. But the season is last apjn'oaching in 
which something must be done, almost desjiite the 
weather. Crojis that require sowing in early spring 
will want the ground in some measure prepared lor 
them beforehand. Usualljq what is wanted for Onions, 
Carrots, &c., is either ridged or rough digged early 
in winter, and, perhaps, once or more during the 
I'rost-fertilising season, and finally about a month or 
loss before sowing-time; the last digging may be less 
deep than the jirevious ones, if the weather, &c,, do not 
ju'omise to be of a kind to mellow it down. Now the 
])ast winter, up to the time I write (the last week in 
January), hardly deserves the name ot one, being more 
like a jirolongcd autumn, so that the conditions necessary , 
to fertilise, as well as jmlverise the ground, have been 
almost totally withheld ; a dilferent course must, there¬ 
fore, be pursued than is usual in seasons of an opposite 
kind. 
Soils of an adhesive nature, with that peculiar texture 
which a short exposure to atmospheric influence tends 
rather to increase their tenacity than otherwise, must 
not be treated the same as those soils which mellow 
down quickly after an exjiosure ol a lew days; the 
better j>lan with the former will be to lot alone the 
digging until the sowing has to be performed, and then 
to do both at once, as it will be in a better condition 
to rake down and afford a good bed tor the seed, than 
it would be if loft to the vicissitudes of the elements 
for a short time only. Observe, I do not mean to assert 
that sharp nipping frost or diying winds, tollowed by 
other changes, would not jiroduce a better state of tillage 
than the hasty mode of digging compressed ground, 
and sowing it the same day; but then, what chances 
