248 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 26. 
“ The next favour I have to askis,—I have a bed of seedling 
Himalayan Roses. The gentleman who gave me the seed, 
said he saw the parent Rose growing wild there, and truly 
beautiful it looks; very like our wild Rose at present. I 
have had them two years; but no appearance of flowers. 
I am thinking of planting them out on the turf as pillar 
Roses ; but what think you of planting another good sort to 
the same pole or stake, in case this should not flower? 
Your opinion on these few remarks would greatly oblige, in 
the earliest number of The Cottage Gardener, with a list 
of the best sort of Roses for an early and late display. Would 
it be possible to grow Roses on turf as pyramids, such as 
Mr. Beaton gave us a description of, that were shown at 
the metropolitan shows last season ?— Ebles.” 
“ P.S.—For a future occasion, or when an opportunity 
offers, would you give Mr. Baillie’s treatment of Gesnera 
zebrina, and its best varieties ? A friend of mine called at 
Nuneham some little time back, but did not see the worthy 
Mr. B. himself; but he saw his Gesneras, and he told me 
they surpassed everything he ever saw in the way of Ges¬ 
neras. My Gesneras, rough as they are, generally gain ad¬ 
mirers ; but to see them in perfection, as Mr. B. grows them, 
they must charm the heart as well as the eye. I took a 
little more pains to grow them this year than usual, but failed 
in having the leaves perfect. I always get brown spots on the 
leaves, though I took a deal of pains to shade. I have two 
varieties; the earliest and freest flowering variety has the 
most crumpled and worst leaves; the latest flowererlias the 
best leaves, but does not flower half so freely. This last va¬ 
riety' I had from my friend who called at Nuneham. I think 
I shall discard the Gesnera, but not the friend. I have a 
low hot-water pit, an early and late vinery, with greenhouse 
for their accommodation. This will oblige in a month or so.” 
[I am not quite sure that you possess all the charac¬ 
teristics that entitle you to be enrolled among the finny tribe. 
I should, however, so much like to examine your points 
more closely, the appearances on the first inspection being 
so favourable, that, in addition to wishing that you may for 
once escape the vengeance of our Sea King, for your un¬ 
authorised intrusion into forbidden waters, I would calm 
your apprehension by stating my inability to punish, either 
by the grip of the Crab, or the sweep from the tail of the 
Whale. You must have been a happy boy, Mr. Eels! What 
a blessing to know one’s position in this watery waste, and 
to find that position recognised by others, and to have the 
sense to act accordingly. Three-fourths of the ills of 
, existence proceed from the fact, that those who ought to 
teach such as us wisdom, will not know, and therefore 
never can get, their place and position. A wise man was 
your progenitor! He took care your compatriots should 
recognise you as a scion of the Eel family, and thus your 
fortune was so far made—you were born to eat with a silver- 
spoon. Just think of the briny tears I have shed, and for 
no fault of my own, but because my progenitors had the 
folly, or the cruelty, to entail upon me something of a 
universal, instead of specific name! I once scribbled in this 
work, “ that there was much in a name;” and well did I 
know it, even before the day when I quietly laid myself 
down in a clear running stream, that every piece of toggery 
might be soaked, in order that T might be enabled to dis¬ 
card the hated petticoats, and don the trews, on every day of 
the week, as well as on the sacred Sabbath. Ah ! it was 
wrong thus to impose on those who so dearly loved me. 
Since that day I have exhibited the strange phenomenon of 
a Fish out of water, and, the strangest thing of all, more 
comfortable out than in. My want of a position in the page 
of genealogy was a grievous misfortune. I think the Crab 
was almost the only thing that ever was found in water, 
that I had not the honour of having applied to me by my 
comrades in school-training. That omission might have 
been owing to a habit of being open-fisted and open- 
mouthed, some said, open-breasted. Almost everything 
else was given me as a name. A sort of doggrel rhyme was 
made of all the finny tribe, terminating with the terrible 
Haddock and Grulse (Gr-r-r-ulse), and without, or with, any 
provocation, the delectable music was shouted in my ears. 
The last time that a bloody stream flowed copiously from 
my frontispiece was when I attempted to chastise a giant 
fellow for his impertinence, and, as in the case of all war¬ 
fare, even though victorious, got pretty well thwacked in I 
return. Stick to, rejoice in your Eelship, Mr. Eels; wo will - 
swim together if we can; but do not blame me for incivility j 
if either 1 cannot paddle along with you at all times, or, I 
when hard pressed, get ensconced with you in mud or 1 
gravel, where some of your family friends have already j 
baffled my efforts to bring them safely to land, and rightly ' 
too; for views of a skin round my wrist, and sights of a 
delicious morsel hissing in a frying-pan, no doubt presented 
themselves to their affrighted vision. Hurrah for peace ! 
but not at any price. 
We are certainly gratified by your opinion of our little 
craft, because it is so generally expressed by others ; and, I i 
believe, that opinion to be based by the confidence, that the | 
old boatman, and all the younger ones, and the captain, 
know what they are about: are too wise to quarrel, and too 
prudent to waddle beyond their depth, describing the 
bottom of things as far and no farther than the lead drags. 
I see no great objection to your proposed standarding, 
half-standarding, or pyramiding the open places, in your 
geometrical flower-garden ; but should have formed a better 
opinion if I had seen a rough plan of the garden, with the 
knowledge given, whether it was raised, level with, or sunk 
below the surrounding surface. If these open spaces are 
to be turned into small clumps, and it is desirable to make 
them starers, as it were, there would be nothing gained in 
making four next the outsides groups that would merely 
contrast with the larger groups surrounding them. Many 
might think an open space of grass, with or without a 
single plant, different from any others in the flower-garden, 
would be preferable. Perhaps you would notice, some 
time ago, how unfitted Roses in general were to group with 
the general mass of bedding-plants, just because they 
cannot be got to bloom as continuously and to look equally 
massive. There would not be the same objection to a 
pyramid of Roses, as they would rise two or three feet 
above the garden level; but few perpetuals would answer 
well for this purpose, as they bloom more in succession than 
continuously. Such Chinas as Abbe Mioland, Fabvier, Cra- 
moise superieure, among the crimsons ; and Mrs. Bosanquet 
among the whites; and Belle de Florence, blush, and 
Aime Vibert, white, among the Noisettes, would answer 
better than perpetuals, because they bloom more con¬ 
tinuously. I have had flat cones of the Belle de Florence 
in such a four-feet bed, covering it wholly, and rising 
some five feet, or more, that were covered with bloom 
from the end of May to the end of December. In these 
places, five plants went to form the mass quickly; one in 
the centre and four round. But other things might answer 
better than the Roses, such as standard or pyramidal Giant 
Scarlet Geraniums, pyramidal bushes of Rollison’s Unique 
Geranium, or as a Cryptomeria is in the centre, and flowers 
were less wanted, nice plants' of Irish Yew. Great beauty 
during the summer, things that -will be better day by day 
until the frost comes, will be more in harmony with the 
surrounding low groups than Roses. We quite approve 
of having the highest of these starers in the centre. Lists 
of Roses for different purposes have been given not long 
ago. I would advise trying your Roses from the Himalaya 
before placing them in a conspicuous position. With re- ! 
spect to Gesnera zebrina, I would say, never think of 
giving up anything you set your mincl to. Much of the 
success depends upon well-ripened tubers, and I find that 
plants that bloom very late never bloom so well next season. 
Several gardeners in this neighbourhood grow them in 
massive grandeur; your conveniences ought to do. In 
addition to shades, keep the plants a fair distance from the 
glass, with a little air on, to prevent condensed moisture 
resting on the foliage. The points of culture have often 
been given, but may be repeated before spring. Wo have 
no doubt that the plants at Nuneham would be fine. Per¬ 
haps some one may tickle Mr. Baillie’s generosity bump, and 
let the community profit in consequence. I was fortunate 
in meeting Mr. Baillie, at Nuneham ; but I am in a little bit 
of a quandary, whether a lively sense of previous kindness 
could be the best plea for personally asking an additional 
favour. 
October and April, respectively, commence the volumes. 
Back numbers and the volumes are to bo had at the 
usual price.—R. Fish.] 
