114 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[May 22. 
every second or third year as the plant extends its roots; 
thus a constant stimulus is provided instead of a large 
allowance at once. D. Beaton. 
GREENHOUSE AND WINDOW 
GARDENING. 
Hybrid Rhododendrons. —Since the introduction of 
the Rhododendron arboreum from Nepaul, where it is 
said to grow to the size of a tree, very successful efforts 
have been made by the hybridist to combine the mag¬ 
nificent flowers of arboreum, with the hardy qualities of 
ponticurn, and allied species and varieties. If anything 
had been wanting to awaken in the admirers of flowers 
a strong love for these beautiful productions, that want 
would have been more than met in the splendid exhibi¬ 
tions of American plants that have taken place at the 
Regent’s Park Gardens, and which are again to be 
repeated at the two great Metropolitan flower shows this 
season. In my boyish days, like most of our readers, 
I have feasted on many a flowery scene in Fairyland, and 
often inquired and inquired again, how access was to be 
gained to such happy climes ; but the scene beneath the 
large awning in Regerp’s Park, last season, far exceeded | 
my wildest visionary dreams, proclaiming, as it did, that 
nurserymen and botanic curators combined, could, when 
they chose, exert an influence as potent as the magi¬ 
cian’s wand and the enchanter’s spell. I say combined, 
because, gorgeous as the plants appeared, they would 
have been deprived of half their beauty, but for the 
manner in which they were grouped, and the admirable 
disposition, hill and dale, mount and valley character 
of the enclosed ground. It is said that nothing on earth 
is perfect; and the connoisseur would, no doubt, have 
wished to have seen other colours different from what 
American plants can supply, so as to have given more 
of a varied enchantment to the delightful prospect; but 
I shall be agreeably surprised, if, with American plants 
alone, such a scene of beauty can be surpassed 
But why, on such a subject, give us this digression 
on American Plant Exhibitions? I question if I can 
answer your query satisfactorily; but* were I to try, 
I should reply, for two reasons:—First, because Hybrid 
Rhododendrons constituted no inconspicuous feature 
there; secondly, because truth, even in matters of taste, 
is most surely promoted, not by direct violent attach upon 
error, but by undermining it; and as the importance of 
maintaining unity of expression in our plant-houses has 
been several times alluded to, I would humbly, but 
confidently leave the recollection of these exhibitions, 
and the study of the forthcoming ones, if similarly 
planted and arranged, contrasted with the mixed-pot- 
and-plant-out-system, which often obtains in conserva¬ 
tories, to work out their legitimate effect, in infusing a 
higher sense of order, and a more refined taste among 
amateurs and young gardeners. 
From circumstances too tedious to mention, I have 
had little to do with Rhododendrons out of doors for a 
number of years; but that little has convinced me, that 
in all close and hungry soils they will succeed without 
much trouble, without any assistance from peat, and as 
they are poisonous to most animals, nature has given 
these the instinct to let them alone, thus qualifying 
them well not only for undergrowth in our ornamental 
woods, but also for affording shelter to game, when 
almost everything else would be sure to be eaten up, by 
what, in many instances, despite the favour bestowed 
upon them, we gardeners designate as vermin, and the 
multitude of which, in some districts, is rendering wire¬ 
netting as necessary for the protection of peas and 
cabbages, as twine-netting used to be necessary for 
- keeping the blackbirds and thrushes from the cherries. 
Next to a peat soil, Rhododendrons seem to thrive best 
in stiff’ clays, with a fair proportion of leaf mould, or 
decomposed cow dung. The greater proportion of these 
hybrids, however, though hardier than arboreum, are, 
nevertheless, seldom seen in their full beauty in the 
open air, unless in favourable seasons and situations, i 
They bloom somewhat earlier than the hardy species, at [ 
least, the most of them do; and spring frosts and cold 
rains alike destroy or impair the beauty of the blossoms. 
The most of the best of them, in this respect, are only a 
few shades hardier than the Camellia, and although that 
will flourish as a shrub in warm parts of the soutli of j 
the island, and will exist tolerably well farther north 
against any wall except a south one; still, as these 
flowers are produced early, the amount of covering and 
protection necessary to avert the evils of frosts and rains, 
more than neutralises the interest that otherwise would 
attend such a mode of cultivating them. Just so with 
the Rhododendrum Hybrids. To be seen in their full 
beauty, they must, like the Camellia, receive the protec¬ 
tion of glass, if the flowers are wanted at an early season; 
and be defended from wet and bright sunshine, if wanted 
at a later period. A winter conservatory garden, such 
as the Crystal Palace might become, where the extreme 
of cold should be excluded, without greatly elevating 
the temperature by artificial means, would constitute for 
them an appropriate home, and there they would impart 
a massive grandeur, which many rarer and costlier 
plants would fail to produce. These plants, when well 
set with flower buds, and grown in pots and tubs, can be 
forced successfully any time after Christmas, and much 
more easily than the common varieties, while in the 
appearance of the two there can be no comparison 
whatever. 
The great defect they are alleged to possess, is un¬ 
certainty in blooming them when growing in pots and 
tubs, so much so, that some have even stated, that the 
arboreum itself could only be expected to bloom once in 
two or three years. This conclusion was more easily 
arrived at from the fact, that Messrs. Ivnigbt and Perry, 
who were among the most successful risers of hybrids 
from the arboreum, and who possessed the finest plants 
of the latter in the country, did not by any means 
succeed in blooming them continuously year by year— 
nay, to my own knowledge, several years elapsed before 
some of them at times showed trusses of bloom. I 
believe that it is quite as natural for the arboreum itself, 
and the hybrids from it, to bloom every year, when they 
have arrived at the flowering state, as for any other 
plant whatever, and that any little difficulty is owing to 
our own imperfect knowledge. 
It would give me much pleasure to throw some light 
upon the subject, so that we could rely on a fine display 
for our conservatories in spring and early summer; but 
I must content myself with mentioning a few facts, and 
leave our friends to form their own conclusions; well 
aware that flower buds can only be formed under the 
concentrating influence of heat and sunshine. Two 
years ago I placed some nice little plants, obtained 
several years before from Mr. Knight, and which had 
previously flowered with me, close to the fruit glass of a 
conservatory, turning them frequently, so that all parts 
might have equal access to light, hoping that by this 
means, the bloom buds would not only be larger, but 
earlier. I gave them every encouragement, until the 
shoots seemed to stop from elongating, and the terminal 
had seemed all right for yielding a fine mass of flowers 
the following season. The plants were removed from the 
conservatory in the end of June, were sheltered at first, 
and then exposed fully to the sun towards the end of 
July. No second growth took place. The buds looked 
well until about mid-winter, when smaller ones began to 
appear from the base of the principal one, and, to make 
a long story short, l had comparatively fewer flower 
trusses than I thought I had fairly worked for. Last 
