328 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 21, 1888. 
BULLFINCHES AND THE 
FRUIT-BUDS. 
I, TOO, have a garden surrounded at no great distance 
by woods, so that I have read the plaint of “ H. D. T,” 
at p. 314, with sympathetic eyes. Let me recommend 
him at once to suspend the slaughter of the innocents, 
and to try a complete change of tactics. The poor 
“ bullfincl e > and other birds ” would not eat his fruit- 
buds if they were not hungry; let him feed them, and see 
whether they do not, like all God’s helpless creatures, 
requite him for the kindness shown to them. 
Since the beginning of November, when the wood¬ 
land commissariat began to fail, the finches, robins, 
tits, and sparrows have come here daily to see what 
fare our garden might provide. "We take care that 
they find a beautiful breakfast on the path before 
the windows,— not of bread alone or chiefly, but 
of scraps of all kinds, bones, fat, cold vegetables, the 
trimmings of bacon, pie-crust, and, in short, anything 
that would be acceptable in a poultry yard. Three 
times a day we throw out such a collection,—sometimes 
less and sometimes more than a good plateful, but always 
some,—viz., after breakfast, after luncheon, and in 
the evening. The pleasure of watching our company at 
dinner is in itself ample repayment for the trifling 
trouble taken (the cost is not appreciable), but quite 
apart from the joys of hospitality bestowed, we are 
thankful to welcome the birds on purely selfish grounds ; 
so far from regarding them as foes, we call them our 
staff of under-gardeners ! Their breakfast over, they 
generally linger in the garden till two o’clock, wdien 
the banquet is repeated, and I—who keep no gardener, 
but stir the surface of my flower and fruit-borders 
myself—know, as no mere theorist can know, what 
manner of vile and wicked grubs and sleepy wireworms 
are picked up in the interval by these pretty creatures. 
No longer too hungry to search patiently aud specu¬ 
latively, they are diligent and methodical in their 
pursuit of the garden’s real enemies. Inside our 
boundaries no gun is ever fired ; the always increasing 
crowd of birds is a sweet and musical mob of labourers 
that are worthy of their hire.* 
Oh, let not “D. H. T. ” allow the six hundred and 
seventy-first little life to be taken ! Every one of 
the six hundred and seventy would have been 
welcomed here. Let him syringe his bushes with lime 
and soot while his faith in the little under-gardeners 
is weak (I, for my part, leave mine unsyringed, except 
when I am oppressed by the vicious insects, from which 
the dear birds do what beaks can to rid me) ; and, 
perhaps, before the winter is over his faith may be as 
strong as mine. 
“ "What ?” cries an indignant somebody, “ does this 
sentimental person actually deny that birds devour 
fruit buds ? ” 
No. But I say that when a poor man has just had 
a good dinner, and paid nothing for it, he is not likely 
to go out of his way to steal a turnip ; and if I do not 
help the helpless birds, and give them no dinner, I 
ought not to grudge them a poor meal made at my 
expense in the garden where they work and sing for 
me ; and as to the “ sentimentality ” charge, let not 
that have power to make us ashamed. “LI. D. T.” 
writes as if his heart yearned over the poor, tiresome 
bullfinches, as if he would so gladly spare them if he 
could. The desire is a noble one. For not a sparrow 
falls to the ground without Our Father, not one of 
them is forgotten before Him ; and on that assurance 
we are urged to ground our confidence that we too 
are not forgotten, and that the very hairs of our heads 
are all numbered, however unlike it things may some¬ 
times look. Shall we, then, forget the sparrows ? 
Can we ? 
But let the higher aspect of the question fall back, 
and let “ H. D. T. ” turn to the issue of The Gardening 
"World of January 10th, 1S85, p. 292. There he will 
find a short article entitled, ‘ 1 The Bird as the Labourer 
of Man,’’ which those who have never read should read 
and weigh, and those who have read it should read 
again and weigh afresh. In it the case of ‘ ‘ Bird v. 
Insect is ably and fairly stated on its own merits. Nor 
will the most prejudiced person be in a hurry to impugn 
the evidence of such a witness as M. Michelet. 
Lastly, I would refer to a letter on this subject 
which appeared in The Gardeners' Magazine, of 
February 2nd, 1878, for the sake of the following 
passage, which is too apposite not to be quoted:— 
“Twelve years ago my gardener wished me to allow 
him to kill all the bullfinches, because they were 
pecking at the buds of the Gooseberry bushes. Although 
* It has been put upon record, by an accurate observer, that 
one pair of sparrows carried 3,360 caterpillars to their nest in 
the course of a single week! 
we have always plenty of bullfinches, our trees have 
passed scot-free ever since.” Famine, that is to say, 
and not a spirit of wanton mischief, drove the bull¬ 
finches of that particular district to the Gooseberry 
bushes in that particular season. “ Faute de mieux," 
they cried—and fell to. Shall not we garden-lovers, 
thanking “ H. D. T.” for the opportunity of entering 
into a league so honourable, combine in the endeavour 
to make that despairing cry, that Faute de mieux / 
an impossibility within our garden-walls ? Surely it is 
worth a trial, partly for our own sakes, more for the birds’ 
sakes, most of all for the sake of Him who has 
committed to us the charge of His defenceless creatures. 
— C. A. G., 1 6th January, 1888. 
-->X<-*- 
NEW ZONAL PELARGONIUMS. 
The illustration opposite serves to give an idea of 
the march of improvement that continues to be made 
in this old-fashioned, and, at the same time, most 
popular class of plants. Those who have seen the 
undermentioned varieties, or some of them, at recent 
exhibitions, will have no doubt as to the correctness of 
the representations, both with regard to the size, regu¬ 
larity, and general disposition of the petals ; but, at 
the same time, they give no idea of the substance, nor 
the delicate, yet charming and brilliant hues of all 
shades possessed by the flowers themselves, which have 
been wonderfully improved in recent years, thanks in 
a great measure to the encouragement given to raisers by 
such firms as Messrs. H. Cannell k Sons. 
On the upper left-hand corner of the illustration, the 
first figure represents Lady Frances Bussell, having soft 
rose-coloured flowers, with a white eye, and dwarf, 
short-jointed stems. The second to the right is Lady 
Roseberry, with petals of the richest salmon, and white 
at the base. Countess of Derby follows with suffused 
Pelargonium pip showing size a few years ago. 
salmon flowers, deepening to a fiery tint in the centre, 
and white at the margin. The fourth figure represents 
Brilliant, one of the richest and finest scarlet flowers 
existing in this class of plants. Lily, which follows, 
produces the largest flowers of any white variety, but 
is generally faintly tinted with pink at the base of the 
petals. Succeeding this is H. Cannell, Junr., which 
produces large flowers of perfect form in huge trusses ; 
the colour may be described as a deep crimson, heavily 
suffused with purple, and white at the very base only. 
No. 7 on the lower left-hand side represents the 
variety, Rev. H. Harries, with large, soft rosy red 
flowers, produced in bold trusses of great size. To the 
right of this is a pink variety, shaded with purple, and 
named Mrs. David Saunders. It flowers freely and is 
dwarf in habit, carrying the flower-stems well above the 
foliage. The small figure above is that of one of the 
Zonal Pelargoniums so popular a few years ago, and 
which, by comparison, serves to show the advance 
that has been made with the modern varieties, such as 
those above mentioned. Even this type is a vast 
improvement upon the original wild species. 
-—>X<-- 
CROTONS. 
"Whether grown for the ornamentation of the stove, 
dinner-table or exhibition tent, these beautiful varie¬ 
gated foliage plants must rank among the finest when 
w r ell cultivated and seen in perfect condition. I say 
perfect condition, because we sometimes meet with 
them in such a state that they are anything but things 
of beauty, and as it is said, that “Anything worth 
doing at all is worth doing well,” that adage may with 
advantage be forcibly applied to the cultivation of 
Crotons. 
Perhaps the most generally grown sorts are C. varie- 
gatum, introduced from the East Indies in the beginning 
of the present century; and C. angustifolium, admirably 
adapted for table plants, having long, narrow, drooping 
leaves; it makes a fine specimen, pyramid-trained, 
and may well be described as a “ Fountain of Gold.” 
Crotons to be grown on into specimens should be 
propagated early in the spring, and strong well- 
developed shoots, if taken off, inserted singly in small 
pots—-using soil mainly composed of sand—and placed 
on a good bottom heat, covered by a hand-light, will 
soon root. Pot on as required, but do not give too 
large a shift in the anxiety to produce extra growth. 
They are plants that delight in a high temperature 
when in active growth, and require syringing morning 
and afternoon—with rain water if possible—which will 
go a long way towards keeping the plants free of 
insects, especially thrips, to which they are most liable, 
and which soon disfigure them if allowed to obtain a 
lodgment on the leaves. 
Allow the plants sufficient room for development, 
placing them where they will get plenty of light and 
hot too much shading, as sunshine is required to 
produce high colour, aud bring out to perfection their 
beautiful variegation. Crotons require a good holding 
soil, composed of turfy loam, one fourth of old Mush- 
room-bed manure, and a good admixture of sharp 
coarse sand, and the drainage should be thorough. 
Manure water may be advantageously used when the 
plants are well furnished with roots. 
As to the mode of training for specimen plants—bush 
or pyramid—I may say that I greatly prefer the latter 
style, especially for those of the C. angustifolium type 
of growth, bush training being more adapted to those of 
the large-leaved section, as C. variegatum ; in either 
case they should be well furnished down to the pot, 
like the plants I remember Mr. J. Hudson, now of 
Gunnersbury, used to exhibit at the Brighton shows a 
few years ago. I have mentioned that the plants 
should be syringed with rain water, because we have 
been under the necessity of using hard spring water, 
which, after a few applications, left a sediment on the 
leaves as though they had been syringed with clear 
lime water, and which occasioned a deal of labour in 
sponging with Gishurst Compound. 
There are now so many kinds in cultivation that it 
is difficult to make a selection ; they are all more or 
less beautiful, and the cultivator must be guided by 
the purpose for which he requires them. The following 
are very worthy of cultivation as table plants :— 
Elegantissimum, Majesticum, Weismanni, Johannis, 
Angustifolium and "Warrenii; for specimen plants :— 
Challenger, Queen Victoria, Prince of Wales, Mortii, 
Sunset and Majesticum.— George Potts, Junr. 
■ -—- 
THE BEST CONIFERS FOR 
PRESENT PLANTING. 
( Concluded from p. 31 5). 
The Weeping Spruce (Picea Morinda) for beauty 
and grace would be hard to match. The long weeping 
spray and fresh green tint of foliage render this tree 
as distinct and unusual as it is handsome. The timber 
is not of great value, but this is made up in the orna¬ 
mental appearance. 
The Japan Cryptomeria (C. japonica). —This is 
a fast-growing tree when perfectly established, and one 
that rarely suffers, even during our most severe winters. 
It should be used along the margins of woodlands, 
especially deciduous, as it imparts a warmth and dressy 
appearance to such. The wood is prettily grained, 
smooth, and susceptible of a high polish. Wind-swept 
districts should not be chosen in which to plant this 
Cryptomeria. 
The Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) should be 
used in similar situations to the Douglas Fir, where 
it will produce an almost equal quantity of timber in 
the same time. It is a tree of massive proportions, 
well fitted for planting in rich valleys where the force 
of the wind is broken up, and produces a nice, clean, 
and beautifully-coloured timber. 
Wellingtonia gigantea is nearly allied to the 
latter, but it is rather more hardy, and produces timber 
of about equal value. As an ornamental tree it has 
received a great amount of attention, and, certainly, for 
a conspicuous position on the lawn and where it is 
sheltered from the prevailing winds of the district will 
be particularly well suited. 
Araucaria imbricata is about the worst-used 
Conifer with which we are acquainted, for be the 
soil, altitude, or situation suitable or not, every person 
from the landlord down to the humble cottar must have 
his Araucaria. The “wee bit ” town garden, be it only 
6 yds. square, must be ornamented with this tree, 
although the smoke and grime are slow poison to it, 
while the elevated garden of the farmer and labourer 
