September 22. 
481 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
i 
may give an outline of tliis place, but, passing for tbc 
present from sucli tempting subjects as Orchidese in 
Gloom, and Ferns of such size as would delight our 
friend, Mr. Appleby, and such huge bunches and largo 
berries of the Black Morocco Grape, so difficult at times 
to set regularly, as would make lovers of fine fruit gaze 
more than a second time, I confess that fine, healthy 
plants of this White Azalea, growing more freely in the 
American plant clumps than ever I saw it in a pot 
under glass, and which, Mr. Fraser stated, bloomed 
liucly this summer, and had already stood uninjured 
for several winters, without the slightest protection, 
pleased me exceedingly, as bringing at least one plant 
within reach of the million, that used only to be asso¬ 
ciated with the aristocracy of glass houses. The shoots 
were luxuriant, foliage as yet of a rich green, and yet 
the points of the shoots were rounded, prominent, and 
firm, showing that already the fiower-buds were fully 
formed. Most of the plants were from a foot to eighteen 
inches in height, and with heads rather more in dia¬ 
meter, and had thus stood, uninjured, in an undulating 
valley, where many things generally considered hardy 
had been nipped or killed to the ground by the frost of 
last spring. Mr. Fraser has hundreds of young plants 
raised from cuttings this spring, which he means to 
turn out next season. 
LOAM.—SOIL FOR HAIR-ROOTED AMERICAN 
PLANTS, &c. 
Tt is not to be wondered at that so much uncertainty 
should exist amongst the uninitiated respecting soils. 
Many are the enquiries from ladies as to what gardeners 
mean by the loam they are always talking about, and 
more especially that very precious commodity, “ maiden \ 
loam.” By the latter, is merely meant soil that has been 
growing no crops but herbage, and which is full of 
fibrous roots, which cause it to adhere closely together, 
such as may be found by taking up a sod from any old 
pasture, or from a highway side, as was recommended 
the other week. Loam, in fact, is merely good soil, in 
opposition to sand, clay, chalk, peat, &c. ; and its 
qualities are defined according to the preponderance of 
these various matters associated with it,—as a sandy 
loam, a calcareous loam, a clayey loam; and thus, a free 
loam, or a stiff loam, a close loam, a fibry loam; and 
then as to colour, a dark loam, a hazel-brown loam, 
&c.; the last, in general, being preferable to all others 
for pot-plant cultivation. 
Other readers complain, and with more reason, that 1 
we gardeners seem to use synonymously the terms . 
heath-soil and peat-soil, and that thus vexatious dis- I 
appointments are the result. Witness the many direc- j 
tions as to composts, in which loam and peat are the 
constituents, and yet we would as soon attempt to fly, I 
without the appendage of wings, as give to such plants I 
a particle of that soil usually denominated peat, and I 
which, from the vast quantity of decaying woody fibre 
it contains, is used so largely for fuel; and also, in 
certain circumstances, as manure, especially when partly 
decomposed by the action of lime. In every case, then, 
in which a proviso is not given to the contrary, the 
term peat should merely be considered as heath mould. 
For the want of knowing this, I have known several 
instances of enthusiastic beginners carrying home 
baskets and handkerchiefs full of bog or peat earth, 
only to insure, by its astringency, the decay and death 
of the favourite plant to which it was presented. If 
possible, the term hog is even more inappropriate than 
peat, as the word is associated with a low position ; and 
water, or quagmires more or less prevalent. Now, all 
three terms, unless expressly mentioned to the contrary, 
mean the same thing; and that not the rich decom¬ 
posing matter, formed, and forming under water, or in 
damp places, and, therefore, full of astringent, vegetable , 
fibre; but a dark, sharp, sandy soil, full of vegetable 
fibre, found on high grounds, beneath a surface covered 
with heath and other herbage, such as occurs on 
Wimbledon Common. No one comparing the two 
could form any mistake between them. If wc could 
agree to use the term heath mould, all obscurity would 
vanish. The moss, the sphagnum, and even the fibry 
matter, found in natural peat bogs, when hard-pressed, 
and thoroughly dried, become rather useful ingredients 
in the culture of Orchidem. 
For Heaths, Azaleas, and Rhododendrons, this heath 
soil is still invaluable; but the strange part of the affair 
is, that when that kind cannot be got, they will then do 
the best in the very opposite,—a very clayey loam. The 
natural bog-earth, obtained from the cleanings of stag¬ 
nant pools and ditches, well aerated, and full of vege¬ 
table fibre, has at times done well in growing the hardier 
Rhododendrons and Azaleas, and yet there is so much 
uncertainty about it, that a prudent person would hardly 
be justified in going to any extent without previous 
experiment. There was a wonderful quantity of the 
best of this material collected before making the Ame¬ 
rican clumps at Luton Hoo, and Mr. Fraser used it 
rather liberally, after being certified, by many persons 
of great experience, that it could not fail to grow Ame¬ 
rican plants in splendid condition, some of these being 
the leading mercantile professionals of the day. I con¬ 
fess myself to being guilty to a spice of covetousness 
when handling and smelling the beautiful stuff, it being 
impossible to procure any such material, with any 
approach to economy, in this quarter. But, to the dis¬ 
appointment of all concerned, a great many of the best 
plants, and whole groups of Rhododendrons and Aza¬ 
leas, refused to budge onwards; they stood still, if they 
did not go a few steps backwards; their very attitude 
saying as peremptorily as possible, “ No; we wont have 
your fine stuff; let others have it who like it better.” 
Fertile in resources, as gardeners should be, Mr. Fraser 
looked and grumbled; but he did not stop there; a 
quantity of marly, clayey loam was procured, looking 
for all the world as if it had come deep down from the 
foundation of a house, and having lifted a number of 
plants last season, a good dose of this clayey loam was 
given to each of them. A large pile of the same 
material is collected for farther use. A glance will 
tell you where the loam has been—Azaleas healthy 
and luxuriant, full of flower-buds, and Rhododendrons 
with buds equally prominent, and foliage of a deep rich 
green. Only yesterday, Mr. Fraser pulled up a young 
plant, and there was the unctuous loam adhering to the 
original ball, and already occupied and perforated by 
myriads of fibres. The addition of this loam will, no 
doubt, give solidity in time to the boggy material. 
The above will so far illustrate the statement above, 
that when heath-soil cannot be obtained for American 
plants, then the opposite, in the shape of a rich, adhesive, 
clayey loam, would seem the next best alternative. 
I may mention another case in addition. 1 had seen 
the Rhododendron growing in almost all kinds of loam, 
in various parts of the Island; but, some twelve years 
ago, I had not learned that it had a particular dislike 
to soils containing any quantity of chalky calcareous 
m atter. 
I never attempted to form an Azalea group out-of- 
doors here, as the distance from heath-soil was next to 
an insurmountable objection. The surface soil was a 
stillisli loam, with a portion of calcareous matter; this 
loam resting on clay, and that again on chalk, at a 
greater or lesser depth. In forming the pleasure-ground, 
a quantity of turf was taken off very thinly, piled in a 
heap, chopped and turned several times; had leal-mould 
and sand added, and witli this I hoped to grow Rhodo¬ 
dendrons to perfection. But 1 counted without my host, 
for few of them ever made much wood; never became 
I 
