184 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Nov. 22nd, 1884. 
Tie Amatims’ Games. 
Arrangement of Cut Flowers. —People gene¬ 
rally seem to have improved very much in their ideas 
as to how best to arrange cut flowers, and we now seldom 
meet with those horrible mixtures of flowers placed 
together just as they came to the hand that we used 
often to see. The fact is, that it is now well-known 
that many sorts of flowers used in the same arrange¬ 
ment generally spoils the effect, and the fewer the 
kinds used, the more striking the arrangement, and 
the more easy to make. The great hold which the 
Marguerite has on us, seems mainly to be due to the 
many chances given to it of being seen alone, there 
being but the white and the yellow varieties, they 
never fail to arrange well, were these all shades of 
colour, the thoughtless would mix them together and 
soon ruin the character of the lovely Marguerite. 
So also it is with the single Dahlias, they are now 
very popular because the distinct colours are used, 
but whenever all the shades get mixed together, they 
will decline in favour. The question might be asked, 
Why mix them ? and the answer is not easy to find, 
certain it is that people will buy mixed and uneffective 
flowers, but the sale of such soon comes to an end, 
and the field is left open to the distinct coloured and 
effective favourites once more, many of them very old 
ones indeed. A glance round Mr. Green’s shop in 
Crawford Street, or that of Messrs.Nieman & Cornish, 
in Orchard Street, Portman Square, reveals the 
favourites arranged each by itself in a suitable vase, 
the arrangement of colour being effected by the 
artistic arrangement of each vase with its pretty 
tenant, the most prominent being vases of Margue¬ 
rites, Marigolds, Chrysanthemum, Elaine, Fair Maid 
of Guernsey, Peter the Great, Niphetos Roses, Mare- 
schal Kiel, and crimson hybrid perpetuals ; Roman 
Hyacinths, Violets, Odontoglossunr Alexandras, Bou- 
vardias and the ever present Vesuvius Pelargonium, 
Eucharis and Stephanotis, and many bunches of the 
useful. Maiden-hair Fern, which has to supply foliage 
for everything. 
It is to be regretted that many of the market flowers 
are cut with such short stalks as the bringing up of 
the flowers in an arrangement is absolutely necessary, 
and the larger the flowers are the more the necessity 
for elevating and loosely arranging them, for by such 
means a dozen or so of flowers of Chrysanthemums 
with stems a foot long can be made to look much 
more effective and natural than three times the 
number with short stems would. All w T ho have the 
making of table bouquets and floral arrangements 
will do well to remember that those made up of one, 
two, or three distinct kinds or colours of flowers, with 
suitable foliage, always look well, and anyone with 
ordinary taste can make them, but to use many 
colours effectively is a laborious task for an artist, 
and even when such arrangement is artistically done 
the one who made it can always find plenty of faults. 
— Madeline. 
Utilizing the Tops of Roses. —A correspondent 
of The Field writes :—“ The time of year has arrived 
when the long growth on Roses is of no further service 
on the plants, and, as a matter of fact, it will be a 
relief to them to have it shortened back, so as to reduce 
the size of the head, and give the -wind less power to 
blow the Roses about. The shoots thus obtained may 
be turned to profitable account by converting them 
into cuttings, which by careful planting may in due 
time be made into plants. There are two ways of 
dealing with the cuttings from which a fair proportion 
of plants may be expected. In our own case, having 
an odd light to spare, we have made a temporary frame 
on a warm border, and, having mixed some sand with 
the soil, have dibbled in the cuttings pretty thickly, 
and put the light over them. The latter we shall 
cover up during very severe weather, and once or twice 
during winter we shall get a thick stick and ram the 
soil firmly between the cuttings, as I find they root 
better in a firm soil than in a loose one, and the worms 
will be sure to work amongst them and loosen the 
earth. Another way is to plant the cuttings on a warm 
border in the open. The best way of doing this is to 
cut a niche 4 ins. deep with a spade, then put in some 
road grit or sand, an inch thick, to receive the base of 
the cuttings. Let the rows be 1 ft. apart, and the 
cuttings 3 ins. asunder in the rows. Press the cuttings 
firmly into the sand, so that they may have a firm bed 
on which to rest, and then press the earth firmly with 
the feet about them, so as to securely fix them in the 
soil. 
“ In securing the cuttings, no attempt should be 
made to prune the Roses, but on most established 
plants there will be long shoots, which, as before 
suggested, may be advantageously reduced in length. 
It is from this surplus growth that any number of 
cuttings may be obtained, and, as has been already 
stated, it will do the plants no harm if these long 
shoots are shortened back to within 6 ins. of where 
they will have to be cut back to in spring from the 
hardest of the shoots. Thus obtained, the cuttings 
may be made, rejecting the soft tops, as they will be 
sure to die. For this purpose, a rather long cutting is 
desirable, as it enables the operator to fix it more 
securely in the soil than a short one. As nearly as 
possible, every cutting should be 8 ins. long. It is not 
of much importance whether they have leaves on them 
or not; although, if they can have two or three leaves 
above ground, they will be likely to form roots sooner 
than such as have none. 
“ I find that when the cuttings are put in at this 
time, whether under glass or in the open, it is best to 
let them stand one year before being moved, as by that 
time they will have made a sufficient number of roots 
to bear removal with safety. Some like to take them 
up in spring just as they have formed a callus, and pot 
and place them in heat; but unless they can be dealt 
with in a careful manner, great risk of losing many of 
them will be incurred. Those put in frames will 
require an occasional watering as spring advances, and 
the light should be tilted in warm weather to admit 
air. At the end of May the lights may be removed 
altogether, and as summer advances many of them 
will begin to grow vigorously. The strongest may- 
have their tops cut off when they have reached a 
height of 18 ins. If left to themselves, some will flower 
during the summer ; but if strong plants are wanted, 
they should not be allowed to do so. By the time they 
have been twelve months in the ground they will be 
ready for potting, or for any other purpose for which 
they may be required.” 
Apple, King of the Pippins. —If I were so closely 
restricted for room that I could grow only one Apple- 
tree, the King of the Pippins is the one I should 
desire before all others that I am acquainted with. 
There is one tree of a good size here from which I 
gathered three sacks of Apples this autumn, and I 
gathered exactly the same quantity in the autumn of 
1883 ; the tree, in fact, almost always bears a good 
crop. A gardener, my senior in years, and a good 
pomologist too, called here a few days ago, and was 
much struck with the beauty of the fruits as they laid 
on the shelves in the fruit-room. It is a fine golden- 
yellow when ripe, with streaks of crimson on the 
sunny side; the flesh is also yellow, with a crisp 
sweet, juicy flavour. It is not a late Apple, but if 
kept covered from the air, will keep some time into 
the new year. The tree is a free, but not a gross 
grower, because it makes long shoots, which develop 
a quantity of fruit buds, and eventually fruit, quite 
weighing the branches down. It does not get thick so 
as to require thinning-out like some kinds; in fact, its 
habit of growth is peculiar to itself, for the tree here 
is a facsimile of two trees that grew close to the 
cottage home of my younger days in Flintshire, and 
which were then, and in that district, known as the 
Orange Pearmain. It is first-class for either cooking 
or for the dessert. It is in some places miscalled the 
Golden Winter Pearmain, and in others is known as 
the Hampshire Yellow, but rightly it is the King of 
the Pippins, and well it deserves the name.— T. IF., 
North Norfolk. 
— g ■ - ■ 1 — 
Pabbotia pebsica.— This handsome little tree is still 
somewhat rare in gardens, which is largely due to its 
not being easily propagated. The large oblong dark 
green leaves are very effective during the summer, but 
in the autumn as they change to the deepest yellow 
and even to scarlet, the tree has a brilliant appearance. 
THE LOWFIELD NURSERIES. 
The fine collections of Apples which Messrs. 
J. Cheal & Sons have exhibited in London and 
elsewhere during the last few years, have brought 
the Lowfield Nurseries well to the front, indeed we do 
not know of any firm which has gained so high a 
reputation in so short a time, or one which is so 
likely to become still more widely known in the future, 
if we may judge from the enterprising spirit with 
which their business is conducted. Fourteen years 
ago, to somewhat alter a now familiar expression, the 
Low-field Nurseries were not in existence, indeed the 
land now occupied by thriving Fruit, Forest and 
Ornamental Trees, was under the plough, and but a 
short time before formed a portion of Lowfield Heath, 
an open common in the large parish of Charlwood, 
Surrey. The nearest railway station and post town is 
Crawley, Sussex, about tw-o miles distant, but betw-een 
that town and Lowfield Heath runs the boundary line 
of the two counties, and the Lowfield Nurseries are on 
the Surrey side. 
The visitor to Lowfield, who may have heard much 
of the famed Cordon fruit-trees there grown, or have 
seen some of the splendidly coloured Apples exhibited 
from time to time by the Messrs. Cheal, immediately 
on his arrival somewhat feels a sense of disappoint¬ 
ment. He has pictured to himself, may be, a sunny 
site, sloping to the south, and snugly sheltered from 
north and east winds, a place made by nature for a 
fruit-tree nursery—but what is the reality? A flat 
open country for miles around, without an atom of 
shelter of any kind, so that all the nursery quarters 
are exposed to every wind that blows—a country that 
delights the hearts of fox and stag hunters, but which 
can hardly be considered a horticultural paradise. 
The soil of the district is a good stiff loam, on a 
subsoil of clay strongly impregnated with iron, which 
is believed to be responsible in a great measure for the 
high colour attained by many of the varieties of Apples 
grown in it. That the soil suits the trees well, and the 
fruit-trees especially, is seen as soon as we get amongst 
them, so clean and thrifty a growth do they make, and 
so free are they from any symptoms of canker or 
blight. 
From the time the first tree was planted on the 
ground, the Messrs. Cheal have gone in largely for 
Cordons, and Cordon-trained trees are the speciality 
of the nursery. The stock increases yearly in large 
numbers, and the demand also, so rapidly, we are 
glad to say, is the prejudice again** the Cordons 
dying out, for there can be no doubt where variety 
and high quality are demanded the Cordons are the 
trees for garden culture. This year's saleable stock 
of Cordons consists of 15,000 AjU'es, Pears, and 
Plums, to say nothing of Cherries! and one may 
note the fact as a sign of the times that a greater 
demand than usual has sprung up for Cordon Plums. 
As a stock for the latter, the Messrs. Cheal have 
been trying the Myrobella Plum, which is blight 
proof, and admirably suits their u-Al. For the Pear 
Cordons, the Quince is used entirely, and many of 
the sorts are double worked, a process the value of 
which has hardly yet been so much recognized as it 
deserves to be at the hands of fruit-tree raisers. As 
Apple Stocks, the French Paradise is used for the 
dwarf trees, the Doucin for those required of medium 
strength, and the English Paradise for the tall ones ; 
and as far as possible the stocks are budded in 
preference to grafting, the latter method being only 
followed when budding cannot be done. 
The greater portion of the Cordons are single and 
upright at first, as they can be planted obliquely 
afterwards if desired, but a certain number are 
trained as double Cordons, to be used either for- 
planting against pillars, or to form those pretty 
diamond patterns, which look so well, and are withal 
so useful, in any kitchen-garden. The single Cordons 
are also recommended, and indeed have been largely 
used for covering archways over garden paths, and 
for which purpose they are admirably adapted. The 
great advantage gained from planting Cordons in new 
gardens especially, is that they give a return at ouce, 
that is to say, if frost lets them alone, they will bear 
a crop the season after planting, and some varieties 
a good crop too, while as to quality, the Messrs. Cheal, 
Mr. Haycock and other successful exhibitors, have 
shown conclusively that the largest and best fruits 
are obtained from the Cordon trees. 
