381 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, September 27, 1859. 
Queen, which I once thought it was; the third best is 
mv Punch; the fourth best. Cerise unique ; and the fifth 
best, Compaclum ; _ but the one which made the greatest 
noise this season is the original Nosegay, Pelargonium 
Wiothergilli, of Sweet’s “ Geraniacese,” published some¬ 
where between 1825 and 1830. I refer to it thus par¬ 
ticularly, as I understand some visitor has claimed it as 
the seedling which his good lady rose two or three years 
since ! Still I am persuaded both of them are right as far 
as the “raising ” goes. For in my own practice there is 
hardly a kind in cultivation which I have not got from 
seeds ten times over. Wc have, all of us gardeners, done 
to the Crystal Palace people that which we would not be 
done unto in the matter of Geraniums. “ Nothing goes 
down there but those everlasting Tom Thumbs,” has been 
our usual cry, because we knew no better. The struggle 
for a first start was enormous to begin with; out of sixty 
kinds I only approved of the true Trentham Scarlet, 
Baron Eugel, ILarhaway, and Masterpiece, —after my 
own seedlings at the Experimental. It is not safe, how¬ 
ever, to try experiments before the public, and they kept 
to those kinds which they knew to be first-rate, and dis¬ 
carded more kinds, probably, than I did, after trying 
them in the private framing-ground ; and there are more 
kinds out now on the terraces than most gardeners are 
aware of, as I shall show when we come to read off the beds, 
i Meantime, I shall tell of those which they have in pre¬ 
paration for next year, and how they prove them. One 
of those long plank-pits is devoted to the proving of 
kinds every summer, or at least has been so this season. 
The soil is much the same as the soil in the beds on the 
terraces ; but when a kind is proved and put out in the 
pit to get a stock of cuttings from, the soil is something 
to speak about for depth and richness. Richmond Gem, 
the best of Mr. Kinghorn’s Scarlets, is there on trial and 
most promising. His Christina, and his Rose Queen the 
same ; Mrs. Vernon and Miss Vernon, two of the tallest 
Nosegays. The Mistress is over a dozen years old, and 
the Miss is in her teens, and the next shade to intervene 
between Mrs. and the best Scarlet. JTarlcaway they 
have for pincushion-beds and for edgings ; Baron Eugel, 
ditto; Grossularafolia, Dandy, and Citriodora Picta, as 
very dwarfs, to mix with deep blue Lobelias, or to edge 
pincushion-beds; and they have crimson, scarlet, and 
blush Minimum, three new, very dwarf Nosegays, to come 
in front of the Golden Chain, which they will also enter 
upon largely; and in this class they are going to mul¬ 
tiply their Nosegays by fourteen next year—that is, 
they will plant fourteen times more of it than they have 
yet done for the sake of the tints, and on account of the 
calls to know what it was this season on the Hose Mount. 
Their aim, as far as I can judge, is to procure three 
sizes, if possible, of all the shades and tints, so as to be 
able to use any one tint in the centre, or in the body, or 
at the outside of a bed. Not that the three are to be so 
planted, but that such a tint can be put in any part of a 
bed if it is required there. At present one is forced to 
use the strongest of the old plants for the centre of a bed, 
the strongest of the cuttings next, and the very smallest 
and weakest of them for the outside, supposing the bed 
to be of one colour, and is not to be as flat on the surface 
as Hutch water. But after the middle of the flowering 
season such beds generally have tall and dwarf plants in 
all parts of the bed ; whereas, if each part were of one 
kind, and differing in natural size from the other two, 
each part or kind would last out the season in the same 
proportion to the others as at first. H. Beaton. 
THE USE AND ABUSE OF MANURES 
IN CULTIVATING FRUIT TREES AND VEGETABLES. 
Manures are frequently misapplied in farming as in 
gardening, and such things occuiuing through a whole 
kingdom may be regarded as a national loss. 
: And it is not only a loss as to the manure itself, but a 
j loss in the produce; instance such things as an over- 
I manured plot of Potatoes smothering each other, and, in 
the end, producing a very inferior article to those on 
moderate soils; or Pear trees highly manured and pro¬ 
ducing little but spray. There are three distinct classes 
in vegetables as to their demands in regard to manures:— 
First, what may be termed gluttonous habits: secondly 
those which on fair soil are bettor without manure ; and 
thirdly, things of a medium habit in this respect. 
In the first class we may place our Cauliflowers, Celery, 
Asparagus, Lettuces, Spinach, Endive, Cabbages, and the 
Broccoli family generally. As those which are better 
without manure, I may name Radishes, Beets, and even 
Carrots, if the soil is in good heart, and Parsnips. Most 
of the other kitchen-garden things may be called of the 
medium class. 
As for Asparagus, abundance of manure is indispen¬ 
sable, both under the plants, above them, and also at the 
sides of the beds. Celery is next to Asparagus in this 
respect; but it is my firm opinion, that such as are intended 
for late or spring use are far better with a moderate 
quantity. I feel assured that heavy manurings force 
such a powerful root-action, even as early as February, 
that plants of any strength make an effort to grow ; and, 
as we all know, the first effort this way in spring is to 
run to blossom. The Broccoli family are known to re¬ 
quire liberal manurings; but in consequence of the 
“ club,” the best of manurings may be defeated. Still I 
believe that spring Broccoli may be over-manured, ex¬ 
treme grossness but makes them more susceptible of a 
severe winter. Cabbages revel in manure. Lettuces may 
be grown tolerably fine on sound soil without manure ; 
but to have a Lettuce crisp, succulent, and of noble bulk, 
give it plenty of manure. The same may be said of Endive. 
Amongst the moderate class let us examine Potatoes. 
I have a few lines in the kitchen garden here (Oulton), 
of w hat is called the French Kidney —a singular tuber as 
compared with ordinary Potatoes, being like a Fir cone: 
surely it must be a species. These I grew nearly thirty 
years since, and proved that they were totally unfit for 
our kitchen gardens; and why F Simply because there is 
so much humus in the ground, without any manure, that 
the plants run wild: and as for produce, never was such 
a host of rubbish seen, and the plants extended five feet 
on either side. Now, these Potatoes, which I have known 
excellent on ordinary unmanured soils, are splendid 
roasters, and, indeed, are, if boiled, a mass of flour. But 
we may meet with cases of the same kind in our fields. 
Observe Wheat on highly manured soils, or even as 
following root-crops on soils highly enriched. How fre¬ 
quently do we see it prostrate and seriously injured. But 
let us turn to fruits. There are some kinds which are 
rendered unproductive in the extreme by manures in the 
soil; such is the Pear, for instance. Then others will do 
with a medium quantity; this includes the majority. 
Some few will bear heavy manurings ; of such are the 
Gooseberry, Raspberry, White Currant, and a few kinds 
of Apples. As for the Pear, in general, manure in the 
soil is out of all question. There are, perhaps, a few 
kinds, if on the quince-stock, which would enjoy a little 
manure, such as Louise Bonne of Jersey and Winter Nelis, 
Pears either naturally great bearers, or of delicate habit. 
But with several kinds a generous loam is even too good, 
especially if too deep. Apples are so various in habit 
that it is difficult to class them as to rich soils. There 
are some kinds which bear on the young wood, such as 
the Manlcs Codlin, the Ribston Pippin, &c., and I have 
always found that such will bear a liberal amount of 
manure. But the chief of them, on espaliers, or, indeed, 
in any dwarf form, are quite content with a sound loamy 
soil. Trees in a trained state, and while young, will be 
completely spoiled with manure in the soil, unless it is 
some barren material. Here, again, a plain loamy soil is 
amply sufficient. Of course, in all these fruits there are 
