1S7!). ] 
GLADIOLUS BRENCHLEYENSIS.—VILLA GAEDEXIXG—.lAXUAEY. 
ir. 
Nectarines I look in vain for Ricevs' T7t'/0)vV?. 
[This variety was figured in our volume for 
1 Snf), Plate 22S.] As INlr. Turner classes/n'.s 
under the name as an cur/y fruit, there must 
be two. Rivers’ is so excellent, that a brief 
description seems almost to claim a space for 
its recommendation. 
It is a profuse bloomer, and very quickly 
sets every flower. It requires two radical 
thinnings, and grows its fruit to a large size. 
The crop ripens gradually, and from its sub¬ 
stantial skin will not only keep some days after 
gathering, but defies the earwigs. 
It is the offspring of the Persian Stanwick and 
the Yiolette Hative, possessing decidedly the 
unique flavour of the former. For three suc¬ 
cessive seasons I have gathered the last Victoria 
on 2 t)th September. It will not attain per¬ 
fection even in the oi'chard-house, but on the 
wall, an elevation which is only the fair a^vard 
of its merits.—G. D., Southampton. 
GLADIOLUS BRENCIILEYENSIS. 
GppT may interest those of your readers who 
Sj watch the changes that take place in the 
value of the materials of horticulture and 
floriculture, when I tell them that the first 
flower-bed which I planted of this splendid 
variety of Gladiolus cost us. each bulb; and it 
was well avorth the money, for when the 
flowers appeared they left nothing to be desired. 
The blaze could not, indeed, be surpassed by 
the best bedding-plant known, and the fact of 
its coming late gave it additional value. In 
order to make the most of these costly bulbs, a 
circular bed was got ready for them, with a 
slender evergreen bush in the centre, to act as 
back to the nosegay, for the narrow foliage of 
the Gladiolus required backing up to prevent 
seeing through the clump, and wdiatever blaze 
was exposed to view in this w'ay, there was 
always something concealed which gave a charm 
to the otherwise stiff linos. This grand old 
bulb is now within the reach of any one having 
a patch of flower-garden to grow it in, for it 
has been sold by auction in Manchester at ten 
for a shilling, the price of onions. 
The second season that I grew this flower I 
was unsuccessful with it, and your readers may 
profit as much by 1113 ' warning them of the 
danger of frost, as by the tale of 1113 ' success, 
for in the deceitful climate of Devon, where the 
experiment was tried, more than half of these 
costly bulbs rverc frosted by a late spring frost, 
intense enough to kill them and some others 
neai'U allied to them. It is therefore wise to 
pot the bulbs first, and keep them under cover 
until danger from frost is over. This saves 
from too deep planting, and may refer to other 
members of the same family who are risky 
when bedded out too eaiR'. The cheapness of 
Gladiolus brench/ipensis., however, now enables 
one to risk them boldly, and by so doing, they 
have gone ahead surprisingl 3 q as may be in¬ 
ferred from the relative cost of five shillings a 
bulb, and their price at the auctioneer’s hammer 
of ten for a shilling; even setting the auc¬ 
tioneer’s price aside, the bulbs may be had from 
the regular trade at a very cheap rate, and 
whoever invests in these, and gives them a fair 
trial, will not be disappointed. The cut 
spikes are brought to market in Manchester, 
and sell readily in the season, and they retain 
their freshness longer than most cut-flowers. 
In the dressing and adornment of churches 
they cannot be surpassed.— Alex. Forsyth, 
Sa/Jhrd. 
VILLA GARDENING. 
3a«ttnnj. 
we write, out-door gardening opera- 
p/) G tions are almost in a state of suspense. 
The frost has literally locked-up the 
earth ; it is covered with a mantle of snow, and 
the darkness in the air denotes there is more to 
come. It is well that it is so during wdnter. 
Frost and snow are beneficial influences in the 
economy of Nature, and if they subject gar¬ 
deners to present inconvenience, the ultimate 
benefits flowing from them will be written large 
on the face of the earth by-and-by. If Decem¬ 
ber and January’s days are brief and chill, they 
will, ei-e long, when east wind and frost are 
safely gone, be followed by the mild zephyr 
and balmy rain, — sure forerunners of the 
summer coming serenely on. 
Greenhouse. —Air should be given here on all 
favourable occasions, but cold draughts must be 
avoided. Want of attention in this particular 
is the cause of death in many plants. When 
the -weather is too frosty or too wet for out¬ 
door gardening operations, advantage can be 
taken of the opportunity to get the plants 
cleaned, especially those with thick leaves on 
which dirt gathers, such as Oranges, Camellias, 
]\flirtles. Oleanders, and other evergreen plants, 
which are much improved by the application 
of a sponge and clean, tepid water. During 
