90 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 12, 1889. 
quently decorated our churches much more profusely 
than was ordained in the ancient Jewish ritual. 
It was light to render thanks to Almighty God for 
the harvest, as the representative as well as the best of 
nature’s gifts. It should not he considered as a proof 
of God’s special interposition that the crop was an 
abundant one. A careful consideration of nature’s 
laws would explain it far more accuratel} 7 than attri¬ 
buting it to any special miracle. Nature knew no 
favouiites, and analogy showed that what would be a 
cause of plenty on one hand might be also a cause of 
scarcity on the other, and what would promote the 
growth of corn -would also promote the growth of 
thorns and tares. The world might be described as in 
a relative state of perfection as regarded man’s wants. 
There was nothing in connection with any circumstance 
but we could conceive a better, though all things in 
themselves might be considered good. Relatively to 
his own requirements, man looked upon all plants of 
the field which he did not happen to want as so many 
interferences with his labour, and in the moral world if 
a man looked upon things with a disordered vision, he 
began to see a curse where none existed. 
Just as the earth brought forth those things which 
man did not want, as well as corn, which he did want, 
so the corn he cultivated might bring forth a hundred¬ 
fold, forty-fold, or less. It was not for us to ask why 
it was so. God had so framed the laws of nature that 
these uncertainties must be expected. Let us remember 
also that God had given intelligence, by which the 
earth might be made to yield a hundred-fold more than 
unassisted nature would give. We should be duly 
thankful for the abundance we had, if not of one kind 
yet of another, if not in one season assuredly in the 
next. It was not only for the excess of anything, but 
for the maintenance of the average, we should be 
thankful. It was man’s province to subdue the earth, 
but he could not do it unless God had given him the 
necessary intelligence for the purpose, by which plants 
naturally poisonous or injurious were rendered perfectly 
wholesome and valuable. Professor Henslow com¬ 
batted the popular notion that thorns and thistles, 
snakes, tigers, and other similar animals were the results 
of man’s fall. No examination of any work of nature 
ever revealed anything whatever to countenance such 
a view. The curse of the ground in bringing forth 
these noxious plants and creatures was subjective, not 
objective. If a man felt anything to be a curse it 
became a curse to him, but such a curse was entirely of 
his own imagining. 
The Amateurs' Garden. 
-- 
Auriculas. 
Those who have a stock of these in frames must fre¬ 
quently look them over to remove decayed leaves. No 
alarm need be occasioned by the gradual disappearance 
of the foliage at this season, for the plants always do 
so on the approach of winter. So long as a firm bud¬ 
like centre remains all is safe. Watering should now 
be done very sparingly, just sufficient to keep the 
leaves from flagging, and that, too, early in the day, so 
that superfluous moisture may be dried up before closing 
the lights later in the day. Should much watering be 
given, so as to keep them growing, many of them will 
flower, thus weakening them for spring blooming. Out 
of doors all that can be done is to remove the llower- 
buds as they appear. 
PiOSES. 
All who contemplate making fresh plantations of these 
should set about it at once, for depend upon it the 
plants always give more satisfaction if planted late in 
autumn than when put off till spring. The ground 
intended for their reception should be trenched 2 ft. 
deep, and have plenty of good farmyard manure incor¬ 
porated with it. Should the ground be poor this 
trenching and manuring will have a beneficial effect. 
Plant immediately if the soil is sufficiently dry to 
permit of the operation without puddling. Bush or 
dwarf Roses that have been budded should be examined 
to see that no suckers are being developed from the 
stock, and if so remove every trace of them with a 
sharp knife. No harm will result, but the reverse by 
these suckers if the plants are on their own roots. 
Every amateur with spare time should try his hand at 
propagating Roses from cuttings. The practice is 
simple enough, and anyone may try it even at this 
period of the year. Get some short side cuttings of the 
present year’s growth, and remove them if practicable 
with a heel of last year’s wood. Pill some thumb pots 
with light sandy soil and insert a single cutting firmly 
in each. Plunge the pots amongst sand or a sandy 
soil in a frame, and after giving the whole a good 
watering, close the frame up and keep it so all the 
winter. When the weather again becomes warm in 
spring see whether the soil is dry, and give it a watering. 
Then those that have taken will soon show it by pushing 
their buds. 
Seed Collecting. 
Many things will still remain to be gathered and should 
not be neglected, otherwise they will soon spoil, owing 
to the damp weather. Gather Hollyhock seed and 
spread it out thinly 7 on a dry shelf or similar place 
where there is a free play of air. Some Carnations, 
Pinks, or choice Chinese Pinks may still remain to be 
gathered. Owing to the opening of the capsules at the 
top, the shoots cannot be tied in bundles and hung up, 
because all the best of the seed at least would drop out. 
Lay them thinly on sheets of cloth or brown paper in 
some airy place until they get tolerably dry, when they 
should be beaten or rubbed out, and after dressing, the 
seeds should he stored in paper bags. Such things as 
Dahlias and Marigolds will be liable to rot unless they 
are collected and dried. The so-called seed pods should 
he collected, and in the case of Marigolds it is good 
policy to clip away the top or showy part of the florets, 
thus removing the greater portion of what is most 
difficult to dry and likely to cause rot. When moder¬ 
ately dry, the Dahlia heads should be rubbed to pieces 
to hasten the process. 
Gladioli. 
Few amateurs go in for raising new seedling forms of 
Gladioli ; but the operation is quite within their reach, 
and sufficiently interesting to merit a trial. It may 
also be remembered that besides affording an oppor¬ 
tunity of raising new varieties of superior merit, 
seedlings are generally much more robust than old 
kinds, and if for nothing else they will prove very 
useful for decorating the ordinary flower border. Plants 
that flowered early will now 7 be ripening seed, and when 
the seed pods are observed to be bursting they should 
be collected singly, and laid out thinly in some airy 
place to dry. After this they may be stored in bags 
and bung up in a cool place, allowing the seeds to 
remain in the pods till it is time to sow them in spring. 
During the first season the corms will not attain a large 
size, and when dug up should be put in bags along with 
some dry sandy soil. This will assist in keeping the 
small nodular corms plump and firm till spring, when 
they should be planted moderately thinly in rich garden 
soil in an open and sunny position. They will soon 
attain flowering size under such conditions. The old 
corms may be allowed to remain in the ground till 
frost checks their growth, for so long as the leaves are 
green they are capable of storing the corm with reserve 
food material. 
Hardening Miscellany. 
——-=?»- 
Tradescantia virginiana alba. 
For. herbaceous borders and lor collections the Virginian 
Spiderwort is a desirable plant in all its three forms— 
namely, the typical blue, the red, and the white, the 
first and the last being perhaps the best. The albino 
is not strictly pure white, but rejoices in a bright sky- 
blue centre, consisting of the six stamens which are 
densely clothed with blue hairs as in the type. The 
petals are also tinted, especially along the centre, with 
a cerulean tint similar to that seen in Vanda ccerulea. 
The flowers are of good size, and are not in the least 
deteriorated by the faint blue tint with which they are 
suffused. The plant blooms the whole summer long, 
and at present appears bright and fresh, in spite of the 
wet and cold wintry weather which we have been ex¬ 
periencing for some days past. No special soil is 
required so long as it is kept moderately moist during 
summer. —e— 
Salvia coccinea. 
The length of time during which this plant remains in 
bloom should be an incentive to grow it more exten¬ 
sively for summer flower bedding in preference to 
Pelargoniums, which are still too profusely planted in 
many gardens, rendering them tame and uninteresting. 
Then, in wet and sunless seasons, the Pelargoniums 
grow as rampantly as Cabbages, at the expense of their 
flowering qualities. The Silvia in question continued 
to bloom all through the driest part of summer, and is 
now as fresh as ever, notwithstanding the cold winds, 
heavy rains, and frost. Smie species of Salvia are 
very susceptible of a low temperature, causing them to 
drop their flower buds ; but others, including the 
present, are proportionately hardy, and both grow 
vigorously and flower freely with the return of the 
autumn rains and the dull shortening days. By the 
use of such species as S. coccinea, S. pseudo-eoccinea, 
S. Grahami, S. Greigii, S. angustifolia, S. a. Pitcheri, 
S. involucrata, and others, a respectable show can he 
maintained in the flower garden until late in October, 
provided frost is not all the more severe. In the 
absence of sufficient stock, a number may be planted 
together in a bed ; but as they differ so much in habit 
and height, the better effect would be obtained by 
planting beds or large clumps of one kind only. 
Hepaticas. 
I am now going through my collection of Hepaticas in 
pots, re-potting all that need it, and dividing such as 
can give increase. The plants are then re-potted in a 
compost made up of yellow loam, some manure, leaf- 
soil, and sand, with adequate drainage. Tne only 
way I can preserve Hepaticas is by growing th em in 
pots and plunging them in a bed of coco fibre all the 
year round. It is at this season of the year I go 
through the plants, treating them as above named, 
and re-plunging them for the winter. Any small 
offsets I place round the sides of pots, and during a 
season they grow into a size large enough to be placed 
singly in pots a year later. As a matter of course one 
cannot prevent the worms from working in the soil. 
That is what is pretty certain to happen in the case of 
plants plunged in the open ground, but little harm is 
done in consequence. When I see that a worm is 
working, I lift the pot, turn out the ball, and expel the 
intruder in a very summary fashion. Hepaticas are 
such pretty spring flowers as to richly deserve all the 
care which can be bestowed upon them.— It. D. 
Crocus speciosus. 
I gathered a few blooms of the beautiful autumn¬ 
flowering species a few days ago, and gave them to a 
lady who is fun 1 of flowers, aad she thought them 
ravishingly beautiful. So do I. It is now springing 
up and blooming in several parts of my garden, an! if 
it could articulate, would distinctly say, “ Plant me deep 
enough in good soil, where I shall be undisturbed, and 
let me alone.” Who can attempt to describe the 
richness and beauty of the prevailing colour iu the cup 
of this “ happy and beautiful ” Crocus ? Bright lilac, 
some blue, and lustrous mauve go to make up tlie 
colouring with which Mother Nature has adorned this 
charming autumn plant. It is true Crocuses are 
fleeting, but they are supremely beautiful while they 
last, and this one in paiticular.—A. D. 
The Great Oxeye. 
Such is the name given to Chrysanthemum uliginosum, 
better known amongst gardeners, perhaps, under the 
name of Pyrethrum uliginosum, and which is now the 
pride of the garden everywhere, if grown in quantity. 
The Sunflowers are, indeed, resplendent, but yellow 
Composites are generally too common during the 
autumn months, and this year is no exception to the 
general rule. Considering its hardiness and the beauty 
of its flowers, it is surprising how few give it that 
prominence which it deserves. For instance, what an 
effect would be produced by a large bed of it in the 
pleasure ground or Mild garden, where it might be 
grown in some half-hidden corner or some not very 
prominent position, where its fiowerless condition in 
summer would pass unnoticed, till its value became 
more than evident in the waning days of autumn. 
Another bed in proximity to it might be occupied by 
one or more of the late-flowering perennial Sunflowers 
which are now in perfection. The Great Oxeye is a 
native of eastern Europe, from whence it was introduced 
iu 1816. It will grow in any good garden soil, but likes 
a fair supply of moisture—which is sometimes deficient 
in certain soils, especially those of a chalky or gravelly 
nature—during summer ; but with this exception, a 
difficulty which might easily be got over by mulching, 
the plant is easily grown and flowers grandly during 
the latter part of September and beginning of October. 
Ceanothus Sceptre d'Azur. 
Several of the varieties of Ceanothus azurea are 
capable of producing such a profusion of bloom all 
through the summer and autumn months, even iu this 
country, that it is highly desirable their cultivation 
should be greatly extended. They are bushy, branching 
shrubs, which, when grown against a wall, attain a 
height of from 6 ft. to 9 ft. ; but useful specimens, 
about a yard in height and as much through, may be 
grown (or planting out in beds, or for forming clumps 
on the grass by themselves. Except against walls, C. 
azurea is not sufficiently hardy to withstand the severity 
