323 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, February 21, 1860. 
Imperatrice. See Blue Imperatricc. 
Imperatricc Blanche. See White Imperatrice. 
Imperial Gage (Flushing Gage; Prince's Imperial 
Gage). —Fruit above medium size, oval, marked with a 
distinct suture. Skin greenish-yellow, marked with green 
stripes, and covered with thick bloom. Stalk an inch 
long, inserted in a small, even cavity. Flesh greenish, 
tender, melting, and very juicy, with a rich aud brisk 
flavour, separating from the stone. Shoots slightly downy. 
A dessert plum. Bipe in the middle of September. 
Imperial Diadem. See Biapree Bouge. 
Imperial Ottoman. — Fruit below medium size, 
roundish. Skin dull yellow, covered with a thin bloom. 
Stalk slender, curved, three quarters of an inch long, 
inserted in a slight cavity. Flesh melting, juicy, and 
sweet, adhering to the stone. Shoots slightly downy. 
An early dessert plum, ripening in the beginning of 
August. 
Imperiale. See Bed Magnum Bonum. 
Imperiale Blanche. See White Magnum Bonum. 
Imperials de Milan ( Prune de Milan). —Fruit large, 
oval, somewhat flattened on one side, where it is marked 
with a rather deep suture extending the whole length of 
the fruit. Skin dark purple, streaked and dotted with 
yellow, and covered with thick blue bloom. Stalk about 
an inch long, inserted in a narrow and rather deep cavity. 
Flesh yellowish, Arm and juicy, richly flavoured and 
sweet, with a slight musky aroma, and adhering to the 
stone. Shoots smooth. 
An excellent late dessert and preserving plum. Bipe 
in the beginning of October. 
Imperiale Bouge. See Bed Magnum Bonum. 
Imperiale Violette. See Bed Magnum Bonum. 
Irving’s Bolmar. See Washington. 
{To le continued.) 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Flower Garden Plan {Mrs. Grattan Guinness ).— A very beautiful 
plan by Mr. James Beaton, gardener, Beaumont, near Dublin. The planting 
is well done; but that style is obsolete. No. 1 must be your best va¬ 
riegated Geranium, edged with a good band of Lobelia spcciosa, or Baron 
Hugel Geranium—say the latter. Then 6, 7, 8, 9, clear yellow, Calceo¬ 
laria aurea floribunda , and 14, 17, 20, 23, brightest scarlet—-say Tom 
Thumb, any pair of them, the other two Masterpiece Geranihm. Do not 
risk 13 to match 11, which is (Enothera macrocarpa. Gazania splen- 
dens will be better. The rest will do very well as you have them. 
Linum grandijlorum will never do in an arrangement like this, and Age¬ 
ndums, 27, 29, will be too faint next light Verbenas. We would put the 
brightest purple or rosy Petunias, instead of Ageratum, for perfect 
harmony of contrast. 
Removing Greenhouses {C. LI. 21). —If the greenhouses are so fixed as 
to be, in legal phraseology, attached to the freehold, the landlord may 
prevent the tenant removing them, although that tenant may have been 
at the sole expense of erecting them. It is always the wisest plan to have 
a written agreement with the landlord before erecting such structures. 
We should not hesitate in removing the entire greenhouse detached from 
the house, but taking care to leave the brick foundation undisturbed. 
The greenhouse with its rafters let into the wall of the house seems to 
require more consideration; but, at all events, you may remove all the 
glass-sashes from it. The mildest proceeding is usually the best; there¬ 
fore, we recommend you to depute some friend to negotiate with your 
landlord. 
Eugenia Ugni (Carig Cathol).—Thc generic name Eugenia was given 
nearly a century since by Wildenow, a German botanist, and he gave it 
in honour of Prince Eugene, of Savoy, a patron of botany. Ugni is the 
name given to the plant by the natives of South Chili, where it grows wild. 
The Spaniards there call it Myrtilla. 
Netting for Fruit Trees. — T. K. wishes for information relative to 
netting for protecting fruit-tree blossoms. He asks, “ Which is the best 
to protect them from frosts, and the fruit from wasps?” What fruit trees 
exude gum, and from where ? Gishurst Compound is only to be applied 
when insects or mildew makes its appearance. 
CoxiFERiE.— Iii The Cottage Gardener I frequently see advertise¬ 
ments, by Mr. Stevens in particular, of sales by auction of cones and seeds 
of this most interesting tribe. It is scarcely necessary to remark that 
such sales are quite beyond the scope of country gentlemen, living hun¬ 
dreds of miles from the metropolis, who may wish to obtain seeds, and 
watch the progress of these trees from the earliest' stage. It has occurred 
to me that if some enterprising seedsman were to make a large purchase 
of these seeds, and advertise a few varieties for distribution among 
amateurs like myself at about 5s. the selection, he might realise a remu¬ 
nerative profit, and confer a favour on many. I receive many catalogues 
of seeds, but this tribe seems to be specially excluded; perhaps from the 
notion that if we want these we may procure them from a nursery when 
three or four years old ; but this is not the point. I can say with truth 
that I look with far more interest on an Araucaria grown last year in a 
pot from a seed than on every other plant about the garden of the same 
species procured from a nursery when three feet high.—H onor. 
Beet-root.— “ At page 20G, under the head of ‘ Beet-root,’ you say, 
‘ Turner's Pine Apple Beet.’ Permit the error to he altered into ‘ Hender¬ 
son's Pine Apple Beet.’— F. Brewer.” 
MonochjEtum ensiferum [M. G .).—There was an answer to another 
correspondent relative to this plant in our last week’s number. Your 
plant is in too low a temperature. 
Size of Flower-Pots ( Dandelion ).—The following are the sizes in 
inches of the London flower pots. Thimbles and thumbs; any size under 
three inches diameter at the top. 
Width of 
top in 
inches. 
Depth in 
inches. 
Old name. 
Three-inch pot . 
3 
4 
60s 
48s 
32s 
24s . 
16s 
Five-inch. 
5 
5 
Six-inch . 
6 
6 
Eight-inch . 
8 
8 
Nine-inch. 
9 
9 
Eleven-inch. 
11 
10 
12s 
Twelve-inch . 
12 
11 
8s 
Thirteen-inch. 
13 
12 
6s 
Fifteen-inch. 
15 
13 
Eighteen-inch. 
18 
14 
2s 
In addition to the above, there is a description of flower-pots called 
uprights, which are used for growing bulbous plants, the roots of which 
do not spread laterally, but perpendicularly. They are deeper in pro¬ 
portion to their width than common flower-pots, and may be thus par¬ 
ticularised ;— 
Top width 
in inches. 
Depth in 
inches. 
Upright 15-inch 
(Old upright 16s) 
15 
16 
Used for growing 7, or a large mass of 
Gladioli, and third-sized bulbs of Japan 
Lilies; for ordinary-sized AlstrCme- 
rias; and for large tubers of Tropivo - 
lum tricolorum and its allies. 
Upright 8 - inch 
(Old upright 24s) 
8 
10 
For 5 Hyacinths, Narcissi, or strong early 
Tulips, like Golden Standard and Bex 
rubrorum. 
Upright 6 - inch 
(Old upright 32s) 
6 
7 
For 3 Hyacinths, or Narcissi, and for 1 
stiong Gladiolus, Auricula, &c. 
For single Hyacinths, or Narcissi; for 5 
Ixias or Crocuses; and for 4 dwarf 
early Tulips, such as the VanHoutte. 
Upright 5 - inch 
(Old upright 4Ss) 
5 
6 
For sizes larger than 15-ineh it is needless to have any pots but those of 
the usual proportions. Thimbles are sometimes called “ small nineties,” 
and thumbs, “ large nineties.” 
Galvanised Iron Wire (-).—For securing corks in bottles this may 
be obtained of Messrs. W. Fox & Co., 105, Holborn Hill, E.C. They will 
send you particulars if you write to them. 
Nectarines near Bideford (22.).—The cause of their shrivelling and 
falling off instead of ripening is a want of moisture at the roots. We find 
Nectarines do the same if not watered and mulched in summer. A sprink¬ 
ling over head gently with the engine or syringe in the evenings, after 
sunny days, would also be an advantage. For the open air we should 
prefer, as White Grapes, Royal Muscadine and Dutch Sweetwater; and 
as Blacks, Hamburgh and Esperione. On such a north wall, fine Pears, 
as Marie Louise, Louise Bonne of Jersey, &c., will do well, and come in 
late; and so will the early Plums, as Green Gage. In fact, they will be 
a surer crop than on a south wall, though not quite so rich in saccharine 
matter. 
Steps to a Garden Terrace {A Subscriber).— Stone for such steps 
would, of course, be best, and they need not be white; and if they were 
they would soon lose their polish by exposure. Very nice steps might he 
made of bricks and cement, and a sloping wall go down each side in a line 
with the grass banks. At the top and bottom of these slopes a little square 
pier could be built, nine inches or fourteen inches wide, and six inches or 
nine inches above the lower and higher steps respectively, and on these four 
piers four little vases could be placed. If you do not like the looks of the 
bricks, whitewash the whole over with fresh lime, and in a week paint 
them all over, and when thoroughly dry paint again, and give what colour 
you like, by throwing on as much dry sand of a white or dark colour as 
the paint will absorb when wet. If these are not approved of, Oak or Deal 
planking may be used the same way ; or if that should he too expensive, 
boards the necessary width, and from one inch and a half to two inches 
thick may be used, and these will last many years. These we would make 
in the same style, as the sloping pieces down the sides give the whole a 
nice finish. These may be rough painted and sanded, to resemble light or 
dark sandstone at once, and the vases might be pretty earthenware pots 
done in the same way. If the blind wall faces south-east or west, nothing 
could he more ornamental than Tea and China Roses relieved by Ceano- 
thuses, Magnolias, Clematises, &c. If to the north, various coloured Ivies 
would he best. The straight outline may easily be broken if desired. For 
such a position as the kitchen garden, we would make the boundary a 
waved or out-and-in line of Larch or other poles crossing each other 
diagonally, so as to present anything but a straight outline, and 
against aiid through these poles we would train Ivy planted in a good 
border. We would have the top of the fence nearly as much, or more, 
varied than the ground outline ; at one place rising into points and pin¬ 
nacles, festooning then into curves, and then rising again into irregular 
arches. We have seen good boundaries in such places by placing rough 
wood, roots of trees, &c., into irregular mounds, with intervening spaces 
of less height, hut tliey did not look well until they were covered, The 
