1 62 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, April 27, 1858. 
the searching ordeal of ‘ The Experimental.’ I enclose you 
a good sized frond of Ceterach, growing at present most luxu¬ 
riantly in my greenhouse, and which 1 brought, last autumn, 
from Mote Park, the beautiful residence of Lord Crofton, 
where it grows in the greatest quantities all over the demesne 
wall. Large as it is, it is but a weed compared to the one I 
wrote to you about a fortnight since, but the strange part of it 
is, that on my side of the Shannon, Ceterach is very rare, and 
when found extremely small. (I enclose you an average speci- 
1 men.) At Mote Park, on the opposite shore of this magnificent 
stream, it is most abundant, and yet I find, close to my cottage, 
a gigantic specimen, much larger than any I ever saw before, 
and that in a spot where a Fern was never known to grow! 
“ I should feel much obliged for the names of a few hand¬ 
some, showy, and otherwise desirable bulbous plants—it i3 a 
tribe I greatly admire. What do you think of Anthocercis 
eleyans '! It has been recommended to me as very beautiful.” 
—Italicus. 
[Tell the Doctor he must give up all idea of superfoetation, 
| and must believe in the impracticability of bigeneric inter- 
[ course, as the right foundation of hybridising. Nevertheless, 
he need not believe that all botanical genera are naturally so. 
; The Geraniums and Pelargoniums will not unite, however, in 
; any of tlieir sections. We have tried all the European and 
Asiatic species on the African race, both ways, and will give 
the Doctor the “ apple ” of our eye for the first cross he will 
bloom between the two families. Mr. Rivers being the most 
practical man in our line, the Doctor can do no better than 
| take the size of glass which Mr. Rivers uses for his orchard 
| houses. The Doctor could not take his dislike to a “ fancy,” 
owing to the boasting of a crack-brained neighbour; but from 
the fact, that all the rules of all florists are inimical to a good 
system of flower-beds, of which the worthy Doctor is so fond; 
the Doctor’s bed will be the softest bed in England this 
! season. 
The greatest chance, that we know of, for a real liybridiser 
to make a name and a fortune, lies in that confused mass of 
subjects which go under the general name of Hibiscus. A hit 
or two might be made yet in the Geranium tribe, but nothing 
worthy of a great man’s ambition. We have not seen Antho¬ 
cercis eleyans , but not one of the old species of it is worth much. 
The best bulbous plants of the present day, are Suchet’s hybrid 
Gladioluses, the best of the Natalense breed. Suchet is gardener 
to Napoleon III., at Fontainbleau, but the Doctor ought to 
have had the best of that race. The Gladiolus Gandavensis 
was raised at Sydney, in Australia, and “letout” in Ghent; 
but it is wrong to say that Ghent or Dutch Gladioluses are 
half so good as our English crosses; but oius are now super¬ 
seded by the indefatigable Suchet. There is nothing new in 
any other department of hardy bulbs. There are about thirty 
i distinct kinds of Crocuses which have not yet been grown as 
j garden plants, and a vast number of Narcissean bulbs, all of 
which are good subjects for the Doctor’s skill at crossing ; but 
they must be sought for in botanic gardens, as there is no sale 
for such things. Every lake and river side in Ireland might 
shine in every tint of flower, from deep crimson to pure white, 
out of one genus alone, that of Crinum. The Amaryllis 
lonyifolia , of the Cape bulb collections, will “ breed like a 
fish,” with all the hardy and hardier Crinums in the east part 
of the Cape colony. Rut where is the Doctor who will take 
the trouble ?] 
AN AYENUE OF MAGNOLIA GRANDIFLORA. 
“In this county (South Hants) the Maynolia yrandijlora 
flourishes as a standard, and, independently of its magnificent 
and fine-scented flowers, has a foliage through the winter unsur¬ 
passed by any evergreen whatever. I have a great ambition to 
make an avenue of these beautiful trees; but as they are very 
slow growers, I should like to graft upon tall stocks. Can you, 
or any of your subscribers, assist me by telling me in what 
manner, and at what season, I should set about this ? and upon 
what stocks I can graft my shoots ? As I am quite certain 
my gardener will * Pooh pooh ’ me, if I venture to make the 
suggestion, without being backed by your authority, I have 
taken the liberty, as a very old and faithful subscriber to your 
journal, of asking for your aid in my difficulty.”—M. P. 
[The simplest way, and by far the cheapest and easiest, 
would be to inarch the Maynolia yrandijlora at a height of 
ten to fifteen feet from the ground ; but, unless you have the 
stocks growing on the place already, your idea can hardly be 
carried out. You can only graft, or inarch, a Maynolia 
yrandijlora on some other Magnolia of the same evergreen 
section; although the yrandijlora would “take” on a de¬ 
ciduous Magnolia, we question if large trees of it could be 
had on deciduous stocks ; but, if they could, the Tulip tree 
(Liriodendron iulipifera) would be the cheapest stock for 
Maynolia yrandijlora. Therefore, as grafting tall trees, or 
old trees, with yrandijlora is much more difficult than in¬ 
arching, choose the latter; but do not entertain the idea that, 
by grafting Magnolia on any other kind of tree, in a young 
state, it would grow faster than on its own roots. The pro¬ 
bability is, that it will not grow quite so fast on any other 
kind of Magnolia; and after them there is only the Tulip 
tree to choose.] 
VERBENA YENOSA SEEDLINGS — HORSESHOE¬ 
LEAVED GERANIUMS—ZAMMARA. 
“ Will you be so kind as to state, whether the Verbena 
venosa will flower this year from seed which was sown in 
February, and the seedlings now nice young plants ? If so, 
will it do to be put in a bed between scarlet Geraniums and a 
yellow Calceolaria ? There are five beds, the centre scarlet 
Geranium, blue on each side, flanked with yellow. It is a 
shell pattern.”— Anxious. 
[Some of the seedlings of Verbena venosa will flower this 
summer, but they will be too late to give any effect in a bed 
with Geraniums. Recollect, this Verbena must not be planted 
with any of the bedding Geraniums, scarlets or not scarlets, 
unless the leaves of such Geraniums are variegated, like those 
of Flower of the Fay; and, last of all, the Verbena venosa 
does no good this way, unless it is planted with the oldest 
variegated Geranium in England—the Horseshoe varieyated 
of Linnaeus, in his “ Hortus Upsalensis” (foliis cordato- 
orbiculatis incisis zona notatis). The original name of the 
horseshoe-leaf mark was the Lady's-Mantle leaf; and if we 
suppose the leaf turned stalk end upwards, and big enough to 
cover the shoulders, what an elegant pattern it would make 
for a Spanish cloak, or mantle! One of the finest marked of 
the Horseshoe, or Lady’s Mantle, is called Zammara , and is 
an advance on Lucida towards the Nosegay section of Gera¬ 
niums. It w r as introduced to the neighbourhood of Kingston 
and Hampton Court, from Spain, by a family of refugees. In 
the mountainous parts of Spain the common people wear sheep¬ 
skin mantles, the Spanish name of which is Zammara, and 
after which this Geranium is named. Therefore, our Horse¬ 
shoe-leal', Lady’s Mantle, and Zammara, are tliree different 
names, signifying the same thing. Just reverse a “Horse¬ 
shoe-leaf,” and turn it over the shoulders of Mary’s doll, and 
the Queen never wore so exquisite a mantle; but, recollect, 
the leaf of Zammara makes the best mantle for Mary’s doll, 
and the pollen of Zammara makes the best nosegays for Mary’s 
mother, and the first variegated seedling from the race of 
Lucida and Zammara will make the best shot-silk bed with 
two-year-old seedlings of Verbena venosa for all of us. 
There is no great beauty in the flowers of Zammara , bu 1 
lots of it are sold by Mr. Jackson for window plant, on 
account of the Spanish mantle leaf.] 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Garden Plan (P. II .).—The plan is very good. The planting is so 
good that a seeming defect should not pass unnoticed. In the iirst 
group, from 1 to 7, the four flank beds, 2, 2, and 5, 5, do not correspond 
in colour ; therefore, 1 and 7 need not correspond either. 7 ought to 
be scarlet, say Tom Thumb , or else 5, 5, must be scarlet, "which will 
not tell so well. 12 and 13 must never stand “side by side,” on any 
principle of planting; and, in addition, 12 is an attempt to balance 4 
on the other side of the walk, a worse error than the first, because the 
two groups are not laid out to match. Keep 13 as it is, then discard 
the plants in 12, and match 12 with the plants in 14. The rule for 
altering this last group is this—three beds in a group, no matter how 
the beds are placed. No two of them can be planted with white flowers, 
and no two of them must be planted with variegated plants. But 
Mangle's would be in place as edging to 12 and 14. 
Destroying Worms {Hope). — The only safe way is by applying 
frequently common salt and lime water. This kills some, and drives 
the others away. Gulls and other birds will devour many, if kept in 
your garden. 
