February 22, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
891 
passing along the carriage-drive a short distance, the 
plantation arrests attention. Turning to the left, 
across a short piece of open grass, we came to some 
eighty trees in a copse by themselves. These arc 
special favourites of the proprietor, J. Harrison, 
Esq., who planted them nearly forty years ago. Each 
tree is from 40 ft. to 50 ft. high, perfect in form, 
splendid in health and colour, and the lower branches 
sweeping the grass underneath. Each tree hitherto has 
had room for its development, and it was very inter¬ 
esting to notice the different appearance which many 
presented. 
Some of the trees were much more drooping than 
others, but all were grand. It is to be hoped that they 
will not cripple one another, though appearances lead 
one to fear this may he the case in the not very remote 
future. 
These trees are in a rich loamy soil, on a sloping 
piece of ground, and not particularly sheltered. 
Conifers at this and several other places in this part of 
Derbyshire grow very freely. Noble specimens are 
met with, and where some attention has been given, 
and the under shrubs cleared away, they stand out 
with a beauty peculiarly their own. 
In the glass department I was shown some vineries 
sixty years old filled mostly with Black Hamburghs of 
the same age. These were in capital condition, and 
had borne good crops of fruit. The other vineries 
contained a fine lot of Muscats and Black Alicante, the 
bunches being good, and the colour all that could b? 
desired. Mr. Allen, the gardener, who has had charge 
here for many years, deserves much praise for the 
excellent condition in which he has everything in his 
keeping.— W. S., February 14 th. 
-- >X< -- 
SAXIFRAG-A LIGULATA. 
I CAN thoroughly endorse all that “ R. D.” has said 
(p. 362) on behalf of these large-leaved Saxifrages or 
Megaseas, both as to the enhanced beauty and colour 
brightness of their flowers when brought out under 
glass in cold houses, and also to their usefulness as 
pot plants for various purposes of house decoration. 
Though I have not much experience of the particular 
variety in question, I at one time used to pot up a few 
dozens of the old S. crassifolia and S. c. cordifolia 
purpurea early in the autumn, for the purposes of 
entrance hall and vestibule decoration, and grand 
objects they were. 
The best bit of decoration for effect for this purpose 
that I ever saw, was produced with half-a-dozen 
large plants of these large-leaved Saxifrages, large 
forced plants of the old Spirrea aruncus, and plants of 
Solomon’s Seal, with a few cool greenhouse Ferns 
interspersed. The large panicles of bright rosy purple 
flowers of the Saxifrages formed a quiet but very 
pleasing harmony with the feathery plumes of creamy 
white flowers of the Spirreas and the graceful arching 
stems with their many pendent, bell-like, and greenish 
white flowers of the Solomon’s Seal. 
The Saxifrages were potted up early in the autumn, 
and the pots plunged to their rims, in a shaded position, 
and left there till the plants had recovered somewhat 
from the disturbance ; they were then moved into an 
unheated Peach-house to bring out the flowers. They 
will bear slight forcing, but it must be very slight, 
otherwise the flower scapes will be drawn up weakly, 
and the flowers be of a pale washy colour. 
Two other good hardy plants which I used to pot 
up and use for the same purpose, are the Lenten Roses 
(Helleborus atrorubens and H. orientalis). The flowers 
of the latter are much improved by being brought out 
under glass in a cold house ; they come with much less 
green in them, and what does remain of that colour is 
very much toned down to a soft pea-green, and gives 
to the flowers a more pleasing appearance than when 
flowered in the open borders. It is surprising what a 
wealth of beautiful and most useful things for pot work 
there is among the hardy herbaceous plants if they 
were only known. 
Were I gardening for my own pleasure I would have 
a large cold house specially constructed with rock- 
work, &c., inside, suitable for these hardy plants, and 
into which I could draft such things as Saxifrages, 
Anemones, Spiraeas, Poeonies, Primulas, Liliums, and 
other bulbous plants and gems of the hardy border. 
The grand displays that could be made with these 
plants alone through the early months of the year could 
not be surpassed by the displays made by their more 
aristocratic compeers of the stove and greenhouse, nor 
for the wealth and quiet beauty of their flowers.— 
J. Kipling . 
CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES. 
The Spout, John Lambert. 
In your issue for January 25th (p. 328) you give an 
illustration of Mr. Molyneux’s fine stand of Chrysan¬ 
themums at the Chiswick Chrysanthemum Conference 
in November last. You also mention the six best or 
finest incurved blooms in the stand, giving Golden 
Queen of England as one of them, and for that sort 
Mr. Molyneux received a Certificate. I think it only 
fair that it should be known that this particular 
flower was not grown from a Golden Queen of England 
at all, but from the sport called John Lambert, which 
is being sent out this year by Mr. Owen, of Maiden¬ 
head. 
Mr. Molyneux wrote me, saying “ Good judges 
have said, ' that is the best Golden Queen of England I 
have ever seen,’ and I think the same, and shall stick 
to it for that variety. It incurves so well, and is such 
a deep colour.” Now, was the sport likely to have 
been certificated if Golden Queen of England could be 
grown and shown like that bloom? If it could there 
would be no need of any improvement on it. But all 
good growers for exhibition know what a poor, pale, 
loose flat flower Golden Queen of England is, and how 
seldom anyone can cut a good show bloom of it. 
This sport, John Lambert, is fixed, and has been 
shown by me for three years. This last season it 
figured in seven first-prize stands, open to all, in¬ 
cluding the Cup stand at Sheffield against Mr. Parker, 
the champion. At this show Mr. Parker’s Emily Dale 
or Golden Queen of England was fetched, I hear, and 
put by the side of this sport, and Mr. Udale acknow¬ 
ledged there was a difference in them. Those who saw 
it growing here last season will bear me out in what I 
say—that it is quite as deep, as well incurved, as large, 
if not larger than Lord Alcester, its parent; and nearly 
every flower, like the last-named variety, is fit for 
exhibition. —John Lambert, Onslow, Shrewsbury. 
-—>X-c-- 
BUD DROPPING IN PEACH 
HOUSES. 
“Stirling” (p. 358) very seasonably draws the atten¬ 
tion of the readers of The Gardening World to the 
fact of the more than usually prevalent castiug of buds 
of Peaches this season. I say very seasonably calls the 
attention of your readers to this fact, because to many 
young beginners in Peach forcing, the wholesale shed¬ 
ding of the flower-buds is a mystery, and is a source of 
considerable perplexity and doubt as to how they 
should act in the matter. Having their attention, 
however, called to the facts thus early, and some of the 
principal causes of bud dropping pointed out to them, 
they will know betimes what to do and what to avoid 
during the present season’s forcing of both early and 
late houses of Peaches, and so guard against the evil as 
much as possible. 
To the old Peach forcer the trees casting their flower 
buds is no new thing ; indeed, it may be stated that it 
is a regular accompaniment of early forcing to a more 
or less degree every season. I have been forcing the 
same houses, and in one of them the same trees, for 
twenty-two years, and have experienced the disorder to 
a more or less extent every year, but always most in 
the earliest forced house, slightly so in the mid-season 
one, but none whatever in our two latest houses. In 
only one season of the twenty-two have I had the 
misfortune to lose, within a few dozens at most, the 
crop of fruit in the earliest forced house, through 
this persistent dropping of the flower buds. 
Some varieties are more prone than others to hud- 
casting. The worst with which I have had experience 
are the old Noblesse, Royal George, the Early Mig- 
nonne, and perhaps the very worst of all is that 
excellent and early variety, Hales’ Early. Experienced 
Peach forcers differ as to the principal or primary cause 
of the wholesale bud-dropping, but all are agreed that 
over dryness at the root has a good deal to do with it, 
and no doubt this is, in a good many cases, the princi¬ 
pal contributory, if not primary cause. 
I do not think, however, that drought at the root 
is the primary cause, and will, in all cases, account for 
bud dropping, otherwise how is it that Hales’ Early 
will persistently drop the greater percentage of its buds 
every year, and yet the border in which it is growing 
is kept thoroughly soaked with water from the time 
forcing begins till the time again comes round for 
closing the house to begin the process ? Or, how is it 
that we are never troubled with bud-dropping in our 
latest houses, where the trees are as liable and subject 
to dryness at the roots as are those in the early forced 
house ? Again, we hardly ever see Nectarines casting 
their buds, no matter how dry the borders may be; at 
least, this i3 my experience of Nectarines. My 
experience in Peach forcing is, that the worst cases of 
bud dropping are mostly confined to the early forced 
trees, and is most prevalent after hot and dry summers. 
From very close observation and careful notes of the 
same made from year to year in trying to find out 
the true cause, l have come to the conclusion that the 
disorder must be put down to a too early ripening of 
the wood, followed by the too early and premature 
shedding of the leaves, leaving the fruit buds in a too 
fully developed, but not perfectly matured state. In 
this condition the trees have to go through a state of 
semi-rest and dormancy of far too long a period, and 
through this cause the too developed fruit buds become 
partly dried up at their base, possibly through an 
insufficiency of sap circulating through the branches, 
and then the evil of bud-dropping is set up long before 
the time again comes round for forcing the trees. 
When this time arrives, and the houses are again 
closed for forcing, the borders receive an extra soaking 
of tepid water, and the trees syringed night and morn¬ 
ing to excite them into action; the sap gradually rising 
from the roots, rushes through the branches, slightly 
swelling them and pushing the too developed flower 
buds off, because they have lost the power to swell 
with the wood in response to the rising sap, through 
being partly dried up and half dead at their base. 
The principal contributory causes to the too early 
ripening of the wood and premature shedding of the 
leaves, and the resultant bud casting are, firstly, the 
keeping up of too high a temperature in the home from 
the time the fruit begins to ripen to the time the 
trees shed their leaves ; secondly, allowing the borders 
to become too dry through the same period of time ; 
and thirdly, all >wing re 1-spi ler to get a foot-hold and 
have its own way too much amongst the leaves, which 
is sure to end in the premature loss of foliage. 
The remedies and preventatives are to have at the out¬ 
set the borders made of a good sound calcareous loam rest¬ 
ing on ample drainage, and the soil to be well consolidated 
about the roots : indeed, the more firmly rammed down 
the better, as loose borders encourage a too vigorous 
growth of willow-like shoots, and it is always the 
thickest and strongest-looking of the shoots that cast 
the most buds. Keep the borders in one uniform state 
of moisture, more especially after the last fruit is 
gathered, till the trees are again started for forcing. 
The temperature of the houses should also be kept as 
cool as possible from the time the fruit commences 
ripening to its finish, that is, as cool as is consistent 
with the perfect ripening and finishing off of the fruit; 
and to have it of high-class flavour, abundance of air is 
necessary on all favourable occasions. 
As soon as the fruit is gathered, all the air possible 
should be put on, and kept so night and day to as late 
a period as possible, aud the absence of frost at night will 
allow. To keep the trees clean and free from insect pests, 
they should be syringed constantly twice a day, save when 
in bloom, and the trees are ripening off their fruit ; 
should red-spider get a foot-liold it should be rigorously 
dealt with and dislodged with insecticides before it has 
time to do any harm to the leaves—in short, everything 
should be done to keep the trees clean and in a healthy 
state, and the leaves encouraged to hang on the trees 
as long as possible. When these latter do fall, make a 
practice of root lifting and re-planting, if not every year, 
at least every two years, more especially those trees 
that show a tendency to grossness and make too thick 
shoots. By this latter practice I have reduced bud¬ 
casting in our early houses to a minimum, and although 
this year we are troubled with it a little more than 
usual on the’variety Hales’ Early, we shall, if all goes 
well through the stoning period, still have more than a 
full crop of fruit on it. 
If the foregoing points of culture be attended to, 
bud-casting will be reduced to a point that should cause 
no uneasiness to the Peach forcer ; though he may 
expect to have a certain percentage fall every year, he 
will yet have more than a full crop left. 
I quite agree with “Stirling” that it is an evil to 
stifle Peach houses with “ Mums’’ or any other plants, 
and which should be avoided where possible, but alas, 
in how many private places is it possible to avoid it? 
Nevertheless I do not think filling Peach houses with 
Chrysanthemums in the autumn has anything to do 
with bud-casting, for, as before stated, we are only 
troubled with it in our earliest house to any very great 
extent, and into which a Chrysanthemum is never 
placed, whilst our two latest houses are crammed with 
them, and in these the Peach trees hardly ever cast a 
bud.—/. Kipling. 
