1'kbruary 10. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENEE. 
.‘165 
stake to keep it from betraying its weakness; but, if we 
consider the plants that are grown now, whether for 
exhibition, or only for ornament, even the most I'asti- 
dious observer must allow that the schoolmaster in 
i culture has been abroad and learned more than a little 
to teach the young race of cultivators that the old mode 
1 ol growing plants is now only a mark of ignorance and 
1 stupidity, or something worse. 
To discern a good grower, a clever, industrious, and 
enterprising man, we need only look at his plants, 
whether they be a common Geranium, a Fuchsia, a 
Cineraria, a Heath, or any other plant. If any of these, 
whether young or old, are grown in an indifferent, care¬ 
less way, the cultivator is set down as one of the old 
school, and valued accordingly. As one of my corre¬ 
spondents, now in want of a gardener, justly remarks, in 
a letter now before me, “ it is better to grow one plant 
well than .500 badly.” If a plant is worth growing at 
all, it certainly is worth growing well. 
The great difficulty is to be content with a certain 
number of plants, so as to allow each its duo share of 
light, space, and air. This is the great stumbling-block 
of most cultivators, they want to grow too many varie¬ 
ties, or too many of each in the space they possess. 
Perhaps it is easier to raise plants than it is to have 
courage to throw away the superfluous stock ; or, it may 
he, that a gentleman or a lady visits a Nursery cele¬ 
brated for plants, sees them well grown, and in line 
bloom, and is struck with their beauty. Desirous of 
possessing a plant of each, a considerable order is given 
and sent homo to an already over-stocked stove and 
greenhouse. They arrive, and the poor gardener is 
sadly pu/zled what to do with them. The old ones 
he dare not throw away, and the new ones must, 
at all events, be taken care of; and the consequence 
is, that although probably a very good gardener, dis¬ 
satisfaction arises, and he is discharged or rendered 
very uncomfortable. In such dilemmas, all that is 
required is a consultation between the jiarties, and 
an understanding that if now plants, whether Gera¬ 
niums or any other tribe of ])lants, are to bo jjur- 
chased, either room must bo made for them by dis¬ 
carding an equal number of plants of older varieties, 
or more glass must be put up to cultivate the additional 
plants under. The grand rule to bo observed in growing 
Pelargoniums, or any other plants, is never to allow the 
leaves of each j)lant to touch or interweave with its 
neighbours; the moment they do, in consequence of 
growing larger, they must—aye, must —be set farther 
apart; there must be no doubt or delay on this point. 
With those few preliminary remarks, I commence a 
paper or two on Pelargonium culture, with a view to 
finishing with a descriptive list of the best kinds or 
varieties for 185.^; and should be glad if some of my 
readers would assist mo by sending lists of such as they 
know to be first-rate in properties. Already, without asking 
for it, I have bad a list from one person, my esteemed 
Herwick correspondent, for which I heartily thank him. 
j In this day of railroad speed, it might reasonably bo 
i supposed, tliat as soon as a good variety of any florists’ 
! flower was raised, the fact would be known almost im¬ 
mediately, though the parties were as widely separated 
‘ as the Land's-eird from John o’ Groat’s house; yet it is 
, not so, unless the parties, through the medium of pages 
as widely circulated as these, made known their success. 
We have already seen what has been done by the 
growers of Pansies; they have sent lists of their collec¬ 
tions of that charming flower; and I know, in more 
than one instance, changes have been made in con¬ 
sequence. No doubt the lists of Pefuryownwaa from many 
of our readers would lead to similar results. 
1 xVs usual, I shall divide Pelargonium culture into 
, difi’erent sections; a method which renders the subject 
! more perspicuous and more easy to remember. 1st, 
Propagation ; 2nd, Summer treatment; 3rd, Winter 
treatment; 4th, Preparing for exhibition; 5th, Diseases; 
(itli. List of the best kinds for 1853. 
It is well understood that both myself and my able 
coadjutors write principally for amateurs and the be¬ 
ginners in cultivation, and therefore the directions 
given on any subject of gardening or floriculture are 
as simple and full as our space will allow. INIany 
of our observations may possibly call up a smile on the 
faces of the knowing ones. For such we do not write ; 
and I must deprecate their criticism, by stating the fact 
over again, that we write for the information of those 
who arc willing to learn and value the directions given 
in the pages of The Cottage GAnnENER.—T. Appleby. 
(2'o be continued.) 
CONIFER All. 
(Continued from pnge .325.) 
iST—SECTION OE PINUS, WITH LEAVES TWO IK A SHEATH- 
(CONTINUEH.) 
PiNus LARicio (Larch Pino).—This is an European 
species, inhabiting the island of Corsica, Spain, Greece, 
and Italy. It is a handsome species, and attains the 
considerable height of 100 feet. Our readers must not 
confound this with the common Larch (Larix Euroguea), 
which is, as is well known, deciduous, whereas the 
Larch Pino is a beautiful evergreen, easily distinguished 
by its very intensely green foliage, long tapering buds, 
and small cones, and its regular mode of growth. It is 
a suitable species to plant on sandy soils, and will bear 
the severest frosts of our winter. There are several 
interesting varieties, which are all worthy of cultivation. 
Their names are P. laricio pggmaa, a small, dwarf, 
slow-growing-variety, seldom exceeding from three to 
four feet; P. L. monsjieliensis, P. L. altissima, P. L. 
Corsicana, P. L. Calabriea, and P. L. Caramanica. 
Pin us Masson iana (Mr. Masson’s Pine).—So named, 
by Mr. Lambert, in honour of Mr. Masson, a botanical 
collector, who resided several years at the Cape of Good 
Hope. It is a native of China and Japan, where it 
grows to the height of seventy feet. A handsome dis¬ 
tinct species, and perfectly hardy. 
Pinus mitis (Soft-leaved Pine).—An American spe¬ 
cies, producing the yellow deal of commerce, and is a 
very handsome species. Its young shoots are parti¬ 
cularly beautiful, being of a rich violet colour; the 
leaves are long and slender, the cones long, and the 
scales prickly. From the fact of it growing in New 
England on the poorest soils, in low situations, it 
might bo advantageously planted in similar situations 
in this country, it is perfectly hardy. 
Pinus Mugho ('The Mugho Pine).—Its native name. 
This species is found, but rarely, in the forests of 
Austria. It is a curious species, and there are two 
distinctly marked varieties, named P. M. ptimilio, and 
P. M. obliqua, very proper, on account of their curious 
appearance, to be planted in a conspicuous place in the 
Pinetum. 
Pinus aiuricata (Prickly or Scaly-coned Pine).—'There 
is a great peculiarity in the scales of the cones of this 
very distinct species ; the outside of the scales are 
round, and lengthened out, and bent back near the 
base; but those in the inside are square, and nearly 
flat. It is a rather low-growing species, seldom exceed¬ 
ing forty feet. It was found in California, by Mr. 
Hartweg, growing in mountainous places near the sea. 
Pinus Pallasiana (Pallas’s, or the Tartarian Pine).— 
Native of Taurus. A fine species, and very ornamental, 
with long leaves, and very largo cones. As it is such a 
fine species, and coming from a cold country, it is well 
worthy of extensive culture. 
