254 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Dec. 20th, 1884. 
showy bracts of Poinsettia puleherrima, dwarf-grown 
plants of which can be easily utilized, whilst the 
taller stock of plants will furnish extra large examples 
that will do good service for special purposes. Scarlet 
Van Thol Tulips will also be very effective and telling 
when intermixed with the white variety. Bed and 
pink Camellias will also yield an abundant choice 
from among the earlier kinds. Blossoms of Epiphyllum 
truneatum, in two or three shades, could likewise be 
turned to a very good account; whilst the long 
racemes of Euphorbia jacquiniteflora would be 
extremely valuable when blended with white Azalea 
or other light-coloured flowers. The scarlet and other 
shades of Pelargoniums could each be made available, 
being at the same time easily obtainable ; the gumming 
process needs be followed, however, with the single 
kinds.— Grajplio. 
PLANTS FOR FORGING. 
In the generality of eases, plants intended for 
forcing are left unpotted till it is time to start them, 
which is a bad plan, and is much against them, as it 
is impossible for them to break strong without having 
made fresh roots, which they cannot do if lifted out 
of the ground and put right into heat at once, where 
the excitement causes the buds to move and twist 
before there is a sufficient flow of sap to feed and 
support them; under which unfavourable conditions 
the flowers are sure to be small and poor, when they 
soon fall from the plants. 
Among the subjects most useful for forcing, Rhodo¬ 
dendrons and Ghent Azaleas are, perhaps, the most 
valuable; and, fortunately, these suffer less from 
late removal than most others, as, with ordinary care, 
they may be got up with close compact balls without 
feeling much check from removal. Although most 
kinds of hardy Rhododendrons and Azaleas force 
readily, there are some earlier and better adapted 
than others, as those of the Nobleamun and alta- 
clarense type which open then- blooms naturally in 
March or April, and being of bright colours make a 
fine show. The way to treat them after digging them 
up is to trim the ball according to the size of the 
pots intended to hold them, when the plants should 
be potted firmly in peat, taking care to ram it tightly 
round them, and after this is done, the next thing is 
to water them, that the soil may settle closely and 
unite with the other containing the roots. The 
flowers of Kalmias are lovely, and plants of these are 
good for forcing, and may be managed in the same 
way as those mentioned above. 
Taking those of a deciduous nature, Roses stand 
pre-eminent, but these should always be grown in 
pots, as when well-established, they bloom so much 
better than when they have been disturbed. Those who 
are not so fortunate as to have them in the desirable 
state referred to, should lose no time in lifting as many 
as may be required, in doing which, it is important that 
every root and fibre be secured, that they may lay 
hold of the new soil quickly, and thus be able to feed 
and nourish the plants. In making choice of these, only 
those which are healthy, young, and vigorous should be 
selected, as good results cannot be obtained from 
starvelings, that have only weak shoots and buds, for 
if the flowers are not already there, they cannot be 
brought out in the forcing. In preparing the plants 
after lifting and potting, all that is necessary is to 
thin out, or cut clean away the weak growths, and 
only to shorten the others a little by pruning back to 
the most prominent bud. 
For early work, Tea Roses are the best, and these 
should be started first and the perpetuals after, but it 
is quite time enough for either after the turn of the 
year. Weigela rosea and Lilacs are valuable for 
forcing, and when these are potted it is advisable, 
where it can be done, to plunge them and all fresh- 
moved things intended for the same purpose in a bed 
of fermenting leaves, the gentle heat from which will 
set their roots moving and get them in advance of 
the tops, a point that will tell much in favour of the 
buds, as the warmth will assist them in swelling 
gradually while the plants are out in the open. 
Lily of the Valley is in favour with all, and where 
the blooms of this are only wanted for gathering, 
the best way is to lift the roots in masses or large 
clumps, as then they are not much disturbed, and if 
placed in light rich soil on a hotbed made in a 
heated pit or house, it is surprising how freely they 
bloom. If wanted for pots, unless the crowns are 
unusually strong it is necessary to shake them out 
and sort them, picking out only those that are fat 
and plump, as the pointed ones give nothing but leaf. 
For pot culture, imported clumps are the most 
preferable, as they are generally superior to home¬ 
grown, and yield much finer flowers. 
The same remarks apply to Spirrsa japonica, and 
when these and the Lily of the Valley are obtained 
and potted they should be stood in a cold frame and 
covered with cocoa-nut fibre and kept close to give 
them a gentle start before being drawn from and 
placed in strong heat, where they ought to have damp 
moss over them till they are well on the move. 
Solomon’s Seal, though not very showy as regards 
its blossoms, affords some of the choicest bits of 
greenery it is possible to have, as when forced the 
handsomely-formed leaves come of a delicate tint, 
and the shoots arching over in the graceful way 
they do are most charming. The roots of this 
Convallaria are about the size of one’s thumb, and 
any of these may be dug up and potted, when all 
that is required to start them is a little warmth, as 
they force readily and quickly come into use. 
Beautiful as the Dielytra is in beds or borders, it 
is doubly so when brought on in heat, as both foliage 
and flowers are lovely, and those who have clumps 
for taking up are fortunate. The clumps, if large, 
may be divided, as they will bear cutting through.— 
Alpha. 
AN AMATEUR’S STORY. 
ONLY A ROSE LEAF. 
CHAPTER I.—THE INTRODUCTION. 
A family party had gathered once again about 
Farmer Jackson’s hospitable hearth. There was no 
chair vacant. Part of the homely yet wholesome 
viands remained on the old oak dresser in case a 
chance visitor dropped in. The big old table was 
moved back, and another huge log put on the ingle, 
when the farmer, glancing across at a thin, pale 
man, who sat beside his daughter, said, “ Now, 
Edward, ye mun tell us your tale again.” “Well, 
sir, I’ll try if you desire it; but perhaps some one 
will tell us a more amusing story. The only claim 
it has to be a Christmas tale is that it brought some 
of us glad tidings of great joy.” “ Ah ! ah ! my lad, 
all of us,” said the farmer’s wife. 
“Well, it’s thirty years since I first came to 
Appleton—thirty years the tenth of last September. 
It was a glorious evening, and the curfew was calling 
the tired reapers from the cornfields yonder. Your 
men were shouting as the last big load rocked on the 
creaking waggon as it went through your gateway to 
the riekyard there. Yet, notwithstanding, the shouting 
and the hurrying to and fro of loaded waggons, and 
the white-walled cottages and broad landscape steeped 
in golden light, I missed something, and yet scarcely 
knew what it was till I got as far as your gate here. 
Not a farmhouse or cottage in all the long broad road 
except yours had a flower-border ; even the front 
gardens were either littered over with Potato haulm 
or planted with winter greens. To me, all my life 
accustomed to the companionship of flowers, they 
seemed desolate and forlorn in the extreme. But 
when I’d got as far as your garden-gate I paused a 
moment to refresh my eye and steal a whiff of Roses 
and Mignonette. The borders were all aglow with 
colour—Stocks and Asters, Heliotrope and Geraniums, 
and Marigold, Musk, and Myrtle.” The farmer’s keen 
grey eyes glistened as he glanced across significantly 
at his daughter. 
“ It always seems to me as if a little flower-border 
by the path to the door gives one a welcome greeting. 
I’m sure this border did. I stood perhaps two or 
three minutes gazing at the flowers, when the eye 
unconsciously wandered along to the big bay window 
there, where there was a charming group of plants. 
I can remember them all this minute as if I saw 
them still. In the centre was a tall chimney Cam¬ 
panula—a white one, on each side of this a blue one, 
with its stately pyramid of a hundred clustering bells; 
then between were Geraniums, rich brown and sulphur 
Calceolarias, Heliotrope, Cactus, and half-a-dozen 
pots of Musk, emerald velvet cushions with golden 
studs! But”—and here the speaker’s cheek was 
flushed somewhat, and there was an unwonted flash 
in his dark brown eye — “ I then saw reaching 
modestly over the back row of flowers to give a 
plant some water, a face that made my heart beat. 
Yes, I’m not ashamed to say so ; and even now, when 
the brown tresses show here and there threads of 
silver, still it beats. It suddenly withdrew, however, 
and I wended my way to the Rectory to deliver my letter 
of introduction. But the face haunted me still, and 
still I hope it will till mine and it sleep our long 
sleep together. Ah ! there are faces one would like 
to recall and cannot, and faces one don’t want to 
recall, but cannot help it. At this moment I see 
them both ; one here, beautiful, loving, and tender 
don’t blush, darling ; the other some of us remember ; 
I do too well, though its long since dead and gone. 
“ Further down the village on the left, by the 
picturesque old church, is the road to the Rectory, 
which stands, you know, surrounded by stately Elms. 
I was appointed here as schoolmaster, and had to 
deliver my letter of introduction. The butler ushered 
me into the presence of the great man, who, after 
reading the letter, initiated a conversation with the 
view, I presume, to discover if I could talk in English. 
Young and sanguine, unabashed by the presence of 
the church dignitary, for such he was, he was 
compelled to listen to my diatribe on the want of 
taste and appreciation shown by his parishioners in 
the matter of flowers. The grave and stately man 
looked askance, it seemed, at the priggish pedagogue 
who had come to train the rising generation of 
Appletonians. He then stepped across to his writing- 
table, and in a few minutes handed me a note to my 
father-in-law, Mr. Jackson. After a few minutes’ 
conversation he gave me the necessary instructions 
as to opening the school on the following Monday, 
and then in tones low pitched, grave and hesitating, 
warned me against speaking to, even much more 
being seen to walk with, Miss Jackson. It is 
unnecessary to assure you how implicitly his solemn 
injunctions were obeyed. Polly and I have been 
married these five-and-twenty years; to-morrow is 
our silver wedding. Perhaps you will see now how 
it came about.” 
- ->$-« - 
CHAPTER II.—MY GARDEN. 
The buildings and school-house were new; the 
architecture of the style most in vogue in rural 
districts where endowments originally bequeathed for 
the education of “poor scholars ” are utilized by the 
trustees of the said endowments for the benefit of 
themselves and then- friends. One might call it the 
“red square and bare” order, assimilated to what is 
ungraciously characterized as the “streaky bacon” 
order, only that this particular example had none of 
the white courses of brickwork typical of the fat. 
The premises, yard, and garden stood on a portion of 
Appleton Common, a wide expanse of Heather, Gorse, 
and Bracken dotted here and there with groups and 
single trees of the Scotch Fir, here apparently 
indigenous. As it was understood that I should 
occupy the cottage, which was partly furnished, it 
was necessary for a time to take in lodgers; or, 
rather allow them to take in me,-which was eventually 
the case! 
The garden, or rather the garden in embryo, was 
my great attraction; there was a wall on the east of 
it, and the cottage front faced south. The miserable 
condition of Appleton gardens had moved me con¬ 
siderably, and I had resolved io do what was possible 
to open the eyes of the villagers to their terrible 
negligence in this respect. Within the first two 
months, -with the help of a fine young fellow, a 
labourer who assisted occasionally in the Rectory 
garden, my bit of the common gradually assumed a 
civilized aspect, and a young friend, the son of a 
nurseryman, sent me a large bundle of fruit-trees— 
curious specimens they were of misdirected energies, 
but mostly of good varieties; of course these were 
unmercifully headed back, and taught to grow up in a 
straightforward manner. The hungry, lean-bacon 
architecture was gradually covered with creepers, 
Roses, of course Glorie de Dijon, and on the front 
