210 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Jttiy 3, 18G0. 
you will keep plants much longer in hloom than if they were 
placed on the south side. Again : When you wish plants to 
begin to grow after you have pruned them, that place would be 
the best for them ; and when fairly started, you could turn them 
to the south side to mature and ripen their growth. We presume 
you have a pathway all round your present stage, and thus the 
end-stages would look nice from each vinery at the ends of the 
greenhouse. Were we to make the most of such a house, both 
for growing and exhibiting flowering plants, we would have a 
broad shelf all round, except at the doorways, and just such a 
pyramidal stand as you have. Did we wish to grow as many 
plants as possible in such a house, we would have a shelf round 
the front and ends, and a sloping stage from back to front in the 
usual way ; the highest shelf being just so far from the glass as 
we wished to grow plants in height. For small plants and 
cuttings these steps and shelves might be six inches apart. Eor 
plants, such as Geraniums, intended to be fifteen to eighteen 
inches in height, the shelves should be a foot distant from each 
other. This for mere growing and displaying an even bank of 
flowers from the back to the front would be the best; but it 
would admit of little of the artistic in the arrangement, unless 
by introducing starers, and the ends would not look well from 
the vineries. Such a stage reaching the back, but the two ends 
also in steps, would, therefore, show the plants better. Your 
proposed arrangement will give you more variety in outline, but 
scarcely so much direct sunlight to the individual plant. It 
will not be so striking on entering from the front door; and, 
so far as we can judge, not only will the backs of the plants be 
seen from the vineries, but to get to either of these vineries from 
the greenhouse, we presume you will have to pass under the 
Btage to the glass door communicating between them, and in our 
opinion this arrangement of itself will destroy half of the interest 
the flowers would otherwise give you. If you are satisfied, how¬ 
ever, we have no doubt that you will make it answer, and will 
contrive to take your lady friends through that covered passage, 
when there would be no danger of drops from pots, or shelves, 
staining pretty dresses and sweet bonnets. As far as we can judge, 
any arrangement that would prevent comfortable thoroughfares 
between the three houses, or shut out the beauty of the green¬ 
house from either vinery, would be objectionable; but we by no 
means say that you could not make your plan answer well. If 
the plants were to be seen only from the door in front and the 
middle pathway, there would be none of these objections against 
your plan. Perhaps, after all, we misapprehend you. Meanwhile, 
if you disapproved of your back stage, we incline to think that 
a shelf round the ends and front, and a stage sloping to the ends 
and front, with a walk round the ends and front, and communi¬ 
cating with the vineries, would be a good arrangement. Like 
you, for general purposes we prefer slits of wood—say two 
inches square, to broader shelves, more especially when saucers 
are used for plants that do not like ever to be dry. Many things 
in winter would prefer standing on these slits (fixed two inches 
apart) to standing on a wide shelf, which might retain tiie 
moisture too long ; but in practice the mere arrangements of this 
kind are of little importance. If we have misapprehended you, 
write again and give a pencil sketch of the house and the stage.] 
WALL TREES DISEASED AND DECLINING. 
My garden is five miles east of Malvern ; slopes from east to 
west; the subsoil is stiflish red clay, vegetable soil about fourteen 
inches deep ; enclosed on the north witli a wall eight feet high, 
on the south side of which are Poach, Nectarine, and Apricot 
trees, some fourteen years old; they have been healthy, and 
fruited well till 1858. The frosts of 1859 killed the lower 
branches of the Peach trees, but did not seem to affect the 
Nectarines. The Peach trees are now in a sickly, I may say 
dying, state, the leaves knotty and curled, and all but the upper 
branches dead. The Nectarines in nearly as hopeless a condition. 
Two young trees planted in autumn made a start of six or eight 
inches have died back. Two Nectarines in pots for a winter 
orcliard-houso started well, and have also died back. The 
Apricot trees are looking healthy, but they blossomed late, and 
set very little fruit. The trees have been syringed with tobacco, 
and all usual care has been taken. 
The border has a good slope from the wall, and is usually 
cropped. The soil in which the young trees wero planted had 
been under Black Spruce for three years: would this be dele¬ 
terious ? 
I shall be much indebted to you to give me any information 
your experience may suggest as to the cause of the destruction of 
the trees, and any hints as to future treatment. 
In this garden I would observe that the Brussels Sprouts, 
Savoys, Borecole, and Cottager’s Kale were unusually fine and 
plentiful the last winter.—C. G,, and an Old Subsckibee. 
[Your trees are evidently suffering from the effects of the 
severe frost in October last. Wo know many instances where 
Peach, Nectarine, and Apricot trees are completely killed, and 
even those in cool orchard-houses did not escape receiving a 
certain amount of injury. Cut out all the dead wood, and 
encourage the summer’s growth to replace that which lias been 
killed. The roots have got into the clay subsoil. These should 
be cut away, and by manuring the surface, mulching in summer, 
and not digging the border, roots should be encouraged to occupy 
the upper soil.] 
TREATMENT OF PELARGONIUMS AFTER 
BLOOMING. 
Can I pursue any better course than, when the plants have 
done blooming, to wait for the wood to ripen a little; then to cut 
them down to within one inch of the old wood, and leave them in 
their places in the greenhouse until they have made shoots an 
inch long ; then take them out of the pots, shake off all the 
mould, prune the roots, and repot them in smaller pots; put 
them back into the house for a couple of weeks, and then place 
them out of doors in an asli-bed, protecting them only from 
heavy rains until housed for the winter ?—G. D. 
[Your proposed treatment of the Pelargonium is quite right. 
Let the plants get dryish before pruning; and for a particular 
shape you may cut back to a single bud, or to a spur containing 
several buds, according to the form you wish to give your plant 
afterwards. In a week or so a short essay on Pelargoniums in 
pots will be printed. The plant you enclosed is Kalmia latifolia. 
Buy our “ Garden Manual ” for the information you need.] 
CROSSING POKYANTHUSES. 
Can the observations made at page 150 upon the authority of 
Mr. Beaton be really in seriousness ? I take the words of “ kinds 
of Polyanthus” to be varieties, such as the hose-in-hose, and any 
common Polyanthus, and Polyanthus of various colours, shapes, 
and sizes. If so, I must say it is inexplicable to me how any 
experiments made for forty years—nay, forty months—can be 
adduced as a ground for such a sweeping assertion, and also made 
in such extreme language. Although I have not thus experi¬ 
mented for forty years, I have for more than two-thirds of that 
time; and can instance many facts to prove most decidedly that 
the Polyanthus crosses with the greatest caBO if very ordinary 
care and skill be used. 
I as a boy had a Primrose of a dark colour, with the calyx 
converted into leaves of at least an inch in length, and placed a 
wild Primrose beside it; and this last produced seedlings, one of 
which, whilst it retained the colour of its mother, inherited the 
calyx of its father. The case I also mentioned about the hose-in- 
liose fructifying the yellow Polyanthus is indisputable; for I 
crossed every pip of this last—some with a liose-in-hosc, and 
others with the common Polyanthus of various colours, and they 
produced offspring, which evinced a likeness of the two parents, 
and were of nearly all shades, from brick colour to a brickisli 
scarlet, and this from a yellow flower, which uncrossed will only 
produce yellow offspring. 
It would be extremely interesting to have Mr. Beaton’s own 
views on his experience ; for his want of success is so opposed to 
mine, that I cannot help thinking it must arise from some cause 
which to discuss would result in adding to our stock of knowledge 
on this very instructive and interesting process. 
Mr. Darwin, in his talented and deeply interesting work upon 
the origin of species, states at page 48 to this effect, that although 
the Cowslip and Primrose differ in flower, and odour, and bloom 
at slightly different periods, grow in somewhat different stations, 
heights of mountains, and geographical ranges, yet Gaertner, 
after very numerous experiments and most careful observations, 
crossed the two.— W. Wooleb. 
[The “observations” and the “sweeping assertion,” referred 
to in reference to crossing Polyanthus, are in my identical words ; 
and they were made, really and seriously, as my firm conclusion; 
