70 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, November 2, 1858. 
Need I dwell longer on this painful story ? Finding fresh air 
of no avail in restoring them, and that as evening drew on they 
were indeed gone beyond the possibility of resuscitation, I dug a 
shallow grave, and interred them ou the spot. The gathering 
shades of night suited well with the gloom of my own thoughts, 
and I took my departure homewards, “ a sadder and,” perhaps, 
“a wiser”— Devonshire Bee-keeper. 
CULTURE OF DATURA WRIGHTII, 
In your impression of The Cottage Gardener, of the 12th 
inst., there are communications relative to the plant Datura 
Wrightii. I had myself received a packet of seeds in April, 
ordered and sent as Datura fastuosa, —intending the same, 
after a summer’s growth, for specimen cold greenhouse or con¬ 
servatory plants. This packet of seeds has produced no less 
than three varieties,—only one true of fastuosa. The two others, 
alike in habit, but varying in colour; one being a beautiful 
spotless white, the other a cream yellow. Fastuosa was, as 
usual, pendant, a dark bluish colour, Ac.; whilst the other two 
varieties were erect or upriglit-ilowering, being in growth in 
every respect as described in The Cottage Gardener. 
Now, is it possible for the two latter to be a sport or cross 
with one of the former, or fastuosa, or do you suppose that 
the. seed has been mixed. Fastuosa being an Egyptian species, 
and Wrightii, or erect floweiing, a Californian one, the latter is 
most likely. Nevertheless, 1 am highly delighted with the 
produce of my packet of seeds. 
As regards the mode of treatment, I simply sowed the seeds 
(thinly) in a deep seed-pan, in April, in a mixture of loam and 
leaf mould. After a little artificial, yet natural, heat had caused 
them to germinate, I placed them full in the sun, in a cold pit, 
and planted them out direct from the seed pan early in June. 
By pinching the flowers off those I wished to make pot plants, 
1 have plants of an astonishing growth for one season. 
But I would advise Ihose who only wish to grow them as 
specimen pot plants, to give them a free, open ground growth 
the first summer. When required to bloom in winter, for the 
greenhouse or conservatory, they require removal into a stove or 
forcing pit, to induce them to grow. But do not replace them 
in a cold greenhouse, or otherwise, too hastily. Do not do so 
until they have effected a nice growth, having the flower-buds 
conspicuously large, or the knowledge will be obtained, when too 
late, that by so doing you have caused a good display of flower- 
buds to turn Hind .— Wm. Earley, Digsivell House, Herts. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
ARBOUR WALKS. 
“ I propose to make an arbonr sixty-six yards in length, six or 
seven feet in breadth, and nine feet in height. I am informed 
that Hornbeam is the best tree to use for the purpose. I shall 
he glad to know about what number I should require for a walk 
of the size mentioned ? And I shall also be thankful for any 
hints as to planting, training, &c. ?”—G. W. II. 
[There is a similar arbour walk at the Stud House, Hampton 
Court, of great age, fall of Hornbeam trees, and romantic legends. 
In the olden times, trees were planted too thick for these arbours; 
but the Hornbeam will bear to he planted as close as four feet 
apart for an arbour walk,—that is, a walk with a row of trees on 
each side of it, feathered to the ground, and covered over head 
with the branches and tops of the said trees. Any time between 
this and February will do to plant these Hornbeams; and all 
they require is, to have the ground trenched for them,—say, four 
feet wide to begin with, and two feet deep.] 
CAPE BULBS. 
“ In the spring of the present year, you were consulted as to 
the treatment of some Cape bulbs, which were grown by me in 
the way you then recommended,—my efforts having, I daresay, 
met with as much success as I expected, though only partial. 
One of the things which has puzzled me most, is the fact to 
which you then alluded, that many of them have resisted all 
attempts to start them during summer, and are only now evincing 
symptoms of commencing to spring. I therefore trouble you 
again, to ask what course I should adopt with them during 
winter ? I must remind you, that 1 am not possessed of a green¬ 
house ; and, as I fear the ordinary cold frame will not suit them, 
I have thought it might be possible to save them by taking them 
in-doors during winter, in the hope of their standing through it, 
and growing in spring. 
“ Of the large bulbs, the Brunsvigia made repeated spasmodic 
attempts at growing during summer, shooting out an inch or so 
of leaf, which went down again in a few days ; till about a 
couple of months ago, when it shot out half-a-dozen leaves 
vigorously for live or six inches, in which position it now stands. 
The Hajmanthus has shown no sign of life; and I suppose the 
only chance for both these (perhaps for the others, too) is, to 
hand them over to the care of a nurseryman, to be placed in the 
stove. I may add, that in one instance, one of them, which 
bloomed in June, seems to be growing again. Will it spoil the 
root to dry it now ?”—J. W. Bowie. 
[All bulbs tell llieir own tale. Our Tulips and Hyacinths grow 
in winter, flower in the spring, and rest in the summer, and so 
do the Iris and the Ixia tribes from the Cape. But the Gladiolus 
section flower in summer or autumn ; and most of the Cape 
Amaryllises flower in the autumn, after a summer’s rest. Your 
Amaryllises, having lost one year by the change from thence, will 
not flower for the next two or three years ; and, if you will at¬ 
tempt to force them to bloom, or grow them in heat more than 
from 45° to 50° in winter, some of them will not bloom for seven 
years. They are bad subjects for growing in rooms ; a cold pit 
is the proper place for them. The ILemanthus will hear stove 
heat, but will suffer from it in the long run. Brunsvigia will 
never bloom if put into the stove. Get rid of them, by all means ; 
but keep all the small bulbs—the Ixia-like bulbs.] 
IIOYA CARNOSA. 
“ I beg to send you a report of a small plant of Iloya carnosa, 
which has flowered three times witli me this summer, each time 
having from thirty to forty trusses of bloom. I have counted 
thirty-three trusses fully expanded at once. The plant is grown 
in a six-inch pot, and is about fifteen inches high from the rim, 
and nine inches through, merely coiled round some sticks. Per¬ 
haps you, or some of your readers, will oblige by giving us an 
account of their experience witli this fine old plant?”—J. Calgate, 
Gardener to W. F. Woolley, Esq., Campden House , Kensington. 
[There are several accounts in previous volumes of how to 
bloom this fine old plant. Plenty of light in summer, then 
moderate water, all the sun possible in autumn, and curtailing 
water, giving no more than will keep the thick leaves from drying 
until allowing bloom next spring, arc the principal things. We 
consider you have been extra successful with such a small plant, 
and think few would he better fitted than yourself to give in¬ 
struction on the subject.] 
CROSS BETWEEN THE CHINESE PINK AND 
SWEET WILLIAM. 
“ By this post I send a parcel, containing some blooms of a 
hybrid Diantlius, raised by me from the Chinese Pink, crossed 
with the Sweet William. The seedlings all favour the latter 
parent in habit and leaf; but the blooms on the trusses and the 
trusses, both being considerably larger than those of the Sweet 
William, the Pinks are not higher than the Chinese varieties, 
and the stems are stronger and more erect than either the Sweet 
William or Chinese Pink. The plants raised from seed, sown in 
the spring, bloom the following summer. 1 have had a bed of 
them this summer, and it has been very effective since July. 
After the trasses are over (and they continue much longer in 
i bloom than those of the Sweet William) the hybrid throws out 
j laterals, which flower freely up to this month; I apprehend, 
! therefore, the plants will be valuable as bedders. Some of the 
j varieties are double and semi-double. The blooms I forward to 
you are the only colours I can gather now; there are some 
lighter ones, but none paler than a rosy pink. I saved all the 
first blooms for seed, and have, therefore, weakened my plants ; 
but, notwithstanding this, the plants are making growth fast, 
j and look very healthy, and, to all appearances, are perennial. 
The colours of some varieties are very brilliant, and the markings 
regular and distinct. If Mr. Beaton would like some cuttings 
I for his Experimental, they shall b? qt Jiis service. The blooms I 
