118 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ August, 
an indefinite period. It has worthily been 
Certificated both by the Royal Horticultural 
and Eoyal Botanic Societies. We owe our 
thanks to Messrs. Veitch and Sons for the use 
of the illustration. 
The species was first described by Ivunze, 
under the name of Balantium Berteroanum , 
and was transferred to DicJcsonia by Sir W. J. 
Hooker, in his Species Filicum (i. 67), where a 
figure (t. 23) showing the details of the fructi¬ 
fication, will also be found.—T. Moore. 
VIOLA ARDWELL GEM. 
MONGST the numerous varieties of 
yellow Violas now in cultivation, Ard- 
well Gem stands out pre-eminent. It 
has all the qualities of a first-class bedding 
variety—a strong constitution and a compact 
habit—is a free, continuous bloomer, and pro¬ 
duces flowers of a fine substance and of a rich 
primrose colour. It is extensively grown, and 
much admired in this part of the country. 
It was raised a few years ago at Ardwell, in 
Wigtownshire, and was sent out by one of the 
London nurserymen. Wherever Violas succeed, 
it should find a place.— Archibald Fowler, 
Castle Kennedy , Stranraer. 
CAULIFLOWERS* 
HE delicacy and excellence of this esti¬ 
mable vegetable chiefly depend on the 
rapid and vigorous growth of the plant. 
Like all other Brassicas, it requires soil of the 
very best description, thoroughly cultivated, 
moderately deep, and highly enriched, and for 
a general crop an open plot of ground is to be 
recommended. The primary object in its cul¬ 
tivation is to obtain a supply ready for use bv 
the time the Broccoli crop is exhausted, and 
then to keep up a supply until frost comes and 
renders a continuance impracticable. 
The autumn seed-beds are here prepared on 
an open space where the soil is rich, and the 
seeds are sown about August 20th. As early 
kinds, we prefer Frogmore Forcing and Early 
London, and as a late sort, the Walcheren. 
We also grow another very excellent variety, 
which is not yet in commerce, named Bailey’s 
Selected, which will undoubtedly prove to be 
the best extant. When the plants are ready, 
the most advanced of the early sorts are care¬ 
fully lifted, and potted firmly in rich soil in 
60-sized pots, and placed in an open frame 
where protection can be afforded. These plants 
form the early section, and are by-and-by 
planted out under hand-glasses at the base of 
south walls, and in other sheltered places 
which have been prepared for them. 
At about the first week in February the 
next set of plants is taken from the same beds, 
and pricked out into prepared rich soil, some¬ 
what adhesive, for facility of lifting. These 
plants are intended for the general crop, and 
are not transplanted until about the first week 
in March, when they are placed, with all the 
material possible adhering to them, about 2 ft. 
6 in. apart every way, on an open flat, in some 
of the best ground at command. 
The third and last set of plants, obtained 
from the same beds, are the smaller ones, 
which are put into 60-sized pots, and kept 
as cool as possible during the winter months, 
and afterwards are removed in the pots to the 
back of a north wall, and subsequently planted 
out towards the end of May, part of them 
being planted on the north borders. By these 
means, we have been able to meet all demands 
for this vegetable, until others come in from 
the early spring sowings, which should be made 
—the first in a frame or a sheltered corner 
early in February, and the second out-of-doors 
about the end of March. These plants undergo 
the same preparation as the others, as to being 
pricked out, and afterwards transferred to 
where they are to be grown. We find that 
by this process the plants become strong and 
sturdy, and capable of withstanding the attacks 
of those pests which, under other conditions, 
are so troublesome. 
The after-cultivation consists in merely stir¬ 
ring the surface soil about the plants occasion¬ 
ally until the mulching material is applied, 
which should be done before vigorous growth 
sets in, after which all that is required will be 
copious supplies of water whenever dry weather 
prevails. When the heads begin to appear, 
shade them from the atmosphere by cover¬ 
ing them with some of the larger leaves 
of the plant; and in the autumn months, if 
frost is expected, they should be taken up with 
a ball of earth attached, and placed out of the 
* Condensed from the Gardeners' Chronicle, 
