51 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTS* GENTLEMAN, Octobee 20, 185S. 
quarian interest,—one having a rich collection of ancient 
China. The view from the summit embraces a large 
extent of sea, and a great extent of very diversified land, 
scenery. 
Not the least attractive to the gardener, however, arc 
the miles of green drives through the wood,—the young 
specimens of the rarer Pine tribes, that have-been planted, 
—the collections of the newer kinds of Rhododendrons, 
by the sides of these walks,—and the thousands upon 
thousands of the commoner kinds, which are hedging in 
these drives, and disputing with the Ferns the right of 
occupying undergrowth space. Mr Barnes told us, that, 
in one of his first years at Bicton, he planted more than 
thirty thousand Rhododendrons by the sides of these 
drives. In several cases, from slashing and layering the 
strong shoots at first, the plants have gone on laying 
themselves, so as now to extend, from the original plants, 
to the distance of thirty feet and more into the wood. 
Except with the rarer kinds, that receive, I presume, a 
little extra assistance, these commoner sorts arc revelling 
in the natural sandy loam of the place. The arborea, 
and other early hybrids and varieties, open their blooms 
very early in spring; but, before they do so, and when 
merely swelling freely, a supply of cut flowers is obtained 
for the mansion, by placing the ends of the cut shoots in 
water, in a forcing-house, until the blooms open. 
R. Fish. 
(To he continued.) 
TIIE GROWTH OF CELERY RETARDED BY 
DOT WEATHER. 
The three principal agents to horticultural success are light, 
Warmth, and moisture. The growth of most plants is accelerated 
by the abundance of all three, while the ripening of fruits often 
depends on the first two, and sometimes plants attain a pre¬ 
mature growth by these being in excess of the last one,—moisture. 
But this is not always true : some plants, whose well-being de¬ 
pends on the amount of moisture they receive, remain almost 
stationary, when that useful agent is not abundant. Such, for in¬ 
stance, is Celery, which in sonic places remains, for several weeks 
in the hottest part of summer, a sort of passive spectator of 
wlint is going on, and only starts into active growth when the 
rains, and a cooler atmosphere, set in at autumn. Tliis is in¬ 
variably the case here (Staplehurst), where we have but little rain 
during the summer; but, when those rains of autumn do set in, 
then there is a start, and great progress is made. 
Now, it is not my purpose to enlarge upon this matter, and to 
advise deluges of cold water, to cool and moisten the ground 
down to the temperature wanted by Celery ; but I write to show, 
that, though warmth and moisture are necessary agents in most 
oases, a certain amount of cold and moisture is more beneficial to 
Celery ; as this vegetable, like the fruit of the Gooseberry, is had 
in better perfection in the northern counties than it is south of 
London; while on very dry hot soils Celery is very difficult to 
obtain in the late summer months, but keeps better during a long 
winter, the soil being more favourable to its doing so. On this 
account, it would be better not to attempt growing too much 
summer Celery in very dry places; but to have as much for 
winter use as possible, unless when special circumstances render 
it necessary to crop differently. 
It is somewhat remarkable that young Celery plants, planted 
out in May and June, should continue almost in a dormant state, 
without advancing to premature ripeness. Lettuces and Cauli¬ 
flowers run t'o seed, Cabbages turn blue, Peas become mildewed, 
and even Onions, which like warmth, become stunted in growth, 
if dry, hot weather continues ; whilst Celery remains much the 
same as when planted, patiently awaiting the autumn rains, when 
it advances apace, not to seed, if th^variety bo good, but to that 
useful size which constitutes such an important article in the salad 
line. 
I have been led into the above remarks by hearing complaints 
of good usefid Celery not being forthcoming, hi August and Sep¬ 
tember, in dry places. The plea for its not being had at that 
time is excusable enough. Celery is a marsh plant, its roots 
ramifying through the muddy sediment of ditches and wet places, 
often but a very little beyond the reach of salt water. Of course, 
j in such places it is enjoying a cool bottom ; and what warmth the 
[ summer’s sun directs towards it tends to raise a sort of vapoury 
I exhalation amongst its foliage, equally assistant to its well-being, 
j Tliis is poorly imitated in the dry, almost dusty soil of an ordi- 
I nary kitchen garden; and, until nature steps in to modify the 
! evil by the rains she sends in autumn, there is but little progress : 
fortunately, what progress there is, is not retrograde. But, until 
we have better means of imitating the natural condition of Celery 
in the dry summer months, in our dry situations, than we now 
possess, of occasionally pouring a few gallons of hard water over 
the plants, we must be content to come in second to the Lan¬ 
cashire growers of this vegetable, who, in addition to a humid 
atmosphere, have more than double the amount of rain we have, 
and, in other respects, a soil more in accordance with its require¬ 
ments.—J. Robsox. 
A SELECTION OF VERBENAS. 
Seeing in The Cottage Gabdexee, of September 8th, a long 
list of Verbenas, from Mr. Scott, and thinking an abridged list 
might be of use to some of your readers, I shall enumerate 
eighteen or twenty of the very best for bedding purposes. I have 
grown most of the sorts mentioned in Mr. Scott’s list, and have 
devoted a piece of ground for some years past to Verbenas, where 
I prove them previously to planting out on the lawn. 
I must here give Mr. Scott his due, by saying that his is a 
faithful list. But it would be folly for any gardener to grow 
them all, as there is such a sameness in many of the varieties. I 
get most of the new ones every spring, and I then weed out 
some of my older sorts, after I have proved them. I shall begin 
| with — 
Admiral Dun das. Not in the list, but one of the very best 
j Verbenas grown. Crimson, a shade lighter than Grant dcs 
| Bat allies; nearly as good a habit as Bur pie King. Stands the 
sun and rain well. I have a bed of it that has been a complete 
mass of bloom ever since the beginning of June, and is now the 
same, and has only been pegged twice all the season. 
Mrs. Woodroff' and Defiance are the two best scarlets. 
Mrs. Holford. The best white. All the other whites, such ns 
White Perfection, Gem of the Whites, Celine Mallet, Moonlight, 
and many others, are useless in comparison with Mrs. Holford, 
—some being rambling, and others altogether weak growers. 
Purple King. The best purple blue for bedding purposes. 
Matchless. True to the description given of it. 
Duke of Cambridge. Also true to its description. 
Domvilliana. Rich bluish purple, not in the list. Largo 
white eye: 
Lord Raglan. A great deal better than Cardinal Wiseman 
and General Simpson. True to the description given of it. 
Evening Star. True. If I were Mr. Beaton, I should prefer 
this to King of Scarlets, the latter being a rambling grower. 
Loveliness. True. A beautiful rose. 
Madame de Stael. Bright cerise, yellow eye. A good bedder. 
Not in the list. 
Manrico. True. Perpurea Magnified. Both rich plum. 
Good bedders, and rather strong growers. The latter not in 
the list. 
Leviathan. Better than Standard Bearer. Very large white 
eye. Not in the list. 
Prince of Wales. Bright ruby-crimson, with large lemon eye. 
First-rate. 
Empress Eugenie. A shado lighter than Reine Victoria. Much 
better than her Majesty, or Souvenir de VExposition. A good 
bedder. 
Brillante de Vaise. A fine thing for a large bed, or rockwork. 
The following sorts are better adapted for pot culture, or for 
border plants. A long row, with the colours nicely intermixed, 
is very effective : — 
Victory. Rosy purple, with largo light eye. 
Gcant des Batailles. Fine crimson. 
Nymph. Pinky white, large. 
Mrs. Woodroff. Scarlet. 
Mrs. Holford. Fine white. 
Topsy. Dark purple, white eye. Largo and fine. 
Wonderful. Rich plum. Large. 
-General Simpson. Carmine lake, with bright eye. 
Mrs. G. F. Coley. 
Doctor Maclean. Fine lilac, with large white eye. Better 
than Tranby, or Annie Laurie. 
