36 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Octobeb 19, 1858. 
muoli grieved to learn, that, for several nights before our 
visit, some of the ill-disposed of the soldiers had got into 
the grounds after dark, took fruit, damaged the fruit 
trees, and ill-used and threatened Mr. Veitch’s servants. 
Many, after this, would have altogether taken away the 
privilege of entrance ; but there our well-disposed 
brethren in arms were walking, without let or hinderance, 
as if nothing unpleasant had happened. Let us trust 
that such large-hearted greatness of mind met its due 
reward, and that the young and thoughtless were 
thoroughly ashamed of such conduct. Our worthy de¬ 
fenders never stood more high in public estimation than 
now,—not merely for their heroism, but for their patient 
endurance and manly virtues. Pity it would be, if the 
misconduct of the few should bring disgrace upon the 
many. Every right-thinking man would guard such a 
privilege, as if a direct appeal were made to his conscience 
and honour. 
We were anxious to see the equally-celebrated rival 
establishment of the Messrs. Luscombe and Pince, but it 
was dark before we left the grounds of the Messrs. 
Yeitch, and we had to leave Exeter by five o’clock next 
morning. That pleasure we hope, with their leave, to 
have some other day. E. Eish. 
POMPONE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
Seeing that one of your correspondents wishes to know the 
meaning of that name, I beg to say, in the first instance, that the 
word Fompone is misspelt in nearly all the nurserymen’s cata¬ 
logues. It should be Pompon, being a French word, meaning a 
tuft; and, as most of these varieties originally came from France, 
it stands to reason they are called Chrysanthhne Fompon, or 
tufted. The old favourite, but pretty little Rose cle Meaux is, 
also, called Rose Fompon. —E. Pebsac, Rxet&r. 
THE BEST RIBBON BED IN THE KINGDOM. 
“ Hoetulanus,” at page 25, has not come within many degrees 
of comparison, between his bed and the best bed in the kingdom. 
Twelve inches of white, and twelve inches of dark purple down 
by the side of it, and next that thirty-six inches of white again, 
and the same from the opposite side of the bed and border, make 
but a mass of three tints of white, with a selvage of purple 
within a foot of the edge, which is a very poor conception of the 
value of colours. Mangle's is not a pink, but the weakest tint of 
pink in all the bedding plants, save some discarded Verbenas. 
A foot of it, with its white leaves, and a foot on each side of 
it of our best white-coloured flower, reads thus, — a double 
quantity of white required to guard one quantity of pale pink 
from being destroyed by one quantity of dark purple, with one 
quantity of white edge to it. With a true pink, or any shade of 
pink in the centre of that mass, the conception would not be 
much improved. The bed would not be according to rule : it is 
a fancy bed, which does not much strike the fancy of —Yova 
Reeoetee. 
THE HOLLY. 
The recent warm summers have had their effect even on 
our hardy, beautiful Holly. I observe the trees—for they approach 
that character—are loaded with their golden berries this year; and, 
therefore, a word or two on its culture, with a fist of the varieties, 
may be useful. Though almost universally cultivated, yet the 
many beautiful varieties are not sufficiently known and appre¬ 
ciated as they deserve to be. I lately saw a collection planted as 
an avenue, in the Handsworth Nursery, near Sheffield, that 
astonished even me, who have seen almost every garden and 
nursery in England. The great variety of foliage, and the beauti¬ 
ful variegation of the leaves of many of them, are really admir¬ 
able. Now, as the Holly will grow in almost any soil free from 
stagnant water, will thrive under trees not too close, and will bear 
a more smoky atmosphere than almost any other evergreen, I 
think it would be wisdom, in landscape-gardeners and planters, 
to recommend the planting of these beautiful varieties more 
generally. As a hedge-plant in this country, there is none equal 
to our common Holly, if a little extra pains arc taken in preparing 
and enriching the soil in which the hedge is to be planted, and the 
keeping it clear of weeds, and the soil frequently stirred until the 
fence is established. But my object, in this paper, is to recommend 
the plant as an ornament to the shrubbery, border, and pleasure 
grounds. 
The Holly may be successfully transplanted from now until 
the end of March, providing the weather is mild and open, if 
large plants are to be removed, it will be desirable to prepare 
them for the removal, by digging a trench round the tree the 
previous season. The space enclosed within the trench should be 
in proportion to the size of the tree; if it is a very large one, three 
feet would be the diameter of the ball; if less, of course the space 
should be less. It is not wise to attempt to carry away too large 
a ball, for in that case the ball sometimes breaks, and great injury 
to the roots is the consequence. All the roots extending beyond 
the intended ball should be cut off with a sharp knife, and the 
space made by the spade in digging the trench should be filled up 
with fresh turfy loam. The tree will, during the following year, 
throw out into this fresh soil a large quantity of young roots, 
which will almost insure success in the removal the next year. 
In nurseries that are well managed, the Hollies, and, indeed, all 
evergreens, are transplanted at least every other year, and thus 
success in removing them is made sure. The question of any 
purchaser, in buying large evergreens of a nurseryman, should 
always be,—have they been transplanted lately ? and the purchase 
should be regulated accordingly. It is true, the trouble ot re¬ 
moving large quarters of evergreens, in a nursery, is considerable, 
and they are obliged to charge a larger price for such trans¬ 
planting ; but then the certainty of the shrubs growing amply 
repays the small additional outlay. 
The ground to receive such trees should be duly prepared 
for them, by being thoroughly drained, well trenched, and cleared 
of bad weeds, such as Docks, Thistles, Nettles, Couch Grass, Ac.; 
and, if this can be done the year before, the ground will be in fine 
condition to receive the plants. A crop of Potatoes, or Turnips, 
might be taken off the ground, which would help to clean it, and 
repay the expense. 
Fropagalion by Seed.— The common Holly is raised from seed, 
and even the varieties sometimes produce seed. Indeed the 
varieties have never been obtained that way, but the seed of a 
variety is not sure to produce the same variety again. Yet I 
would recommend the saving and sowing of the seeds of every 
variety, for the chance is, that still more varieties may be pro¬ 
duced. Gather the seed as soon as it is ripe, and place it in a 
heap in some safe, out-of-the-way place. Cover it with soil three 
or four inches thick, and leave the berries there, to rot off the outer 
covering, till the autumn following. Then, having a piece of 
ground well dug, draw drills eight or nine inches apart, and sow 
the seeds in the drills, covering them up immediately. I prefer 
sowing in autumn, because, before the ground is ready in spring 
to receive the seeds, many of them are apt to vegetate. Having 
sown the seeds no further care is necessary, except keeping the 
ground clear of weeds. By sowing in drills, an advantage is 
gained of being able, after the seed has come up, to stir the 
ground, with a hoe first and a small fork afterwards. 
By Grafting and Budding. —The stocks are two or three-year- 
old seedlings of the common Holly. Strong, free-growing plants 
should be preferred. The grafting should be done in March, the 
budding in July. 
By Layers. —The branches of the Holly emit roots pretty 
freely, if covered with fine soil, two inches deep. The process of 
rooting will be greatly assisted, if the shoots are slit half-way 
through, in the same manner as florists do their Carnations. In 
two years time they will be sufficiently rooted to be removed to 
the nursery rows. 
By Cuttings. —Ripened young shoots, put in a thin layer of 
sand, in a shady place, under handglasses, will strike readily, but 
are several years in making good plants. The lower leaves should 
be trimmed off, and the bottom of the cutting made smooth with 
a sharp knife. 
The best mode of propagating the varieties of the Holly is 
that of grafting, or budding, on vigorous stocks; though the va¬ 
riegated varieties will keep their variegation better on their own 
roots. 
In conclusion, I may remark that, to cause vigorous growth, 
the annual application of well-rotted manure, to cither hedges or 
single plants of the Holly, is highly advantageous. Very little 
pruning is requisite; but, where there is more than one leader, it 
will be necessaiy to cut oft’ the superfluous ones; and any 
rambling side-shoots should be cut off, to produce a sym- 
