Jan. 3rd, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
275 
Gardening is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man.”— Bacon. 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 3 rd, 1885. 
The New Yeab.— It is one of the stock topics 
of the Editorial pen, that as we insensibly glide 
from one year to another, the New Year should 
be made the subject of an homily. The Old 
Year is dead and done with. To recall his virtues 
may be but to insult the new comer, whilst to lift 
the veil from his errors would be unkind. Even 
gardeners may take stock of the new comer, for 
he comes big with fate to many if not all of them ; 
nay, there are few whose life is labour to whom 
the year comes with more of interest. The past 
year has been a singularly pleasant one and withal 
dry. If the New Year should be nearly as 
pleasant yet not quite so dry, it will be all the 
better appreciated, for gardening, after all, needs 
genial seasons for its success, in spite of all that 
human skill can accomplish to that end. There 
seems to be grave uncertainty hanging over the 
general character of its earliest months, for 
whilst some of the weatherwise assure us that 
these will be bitterly cold, others are not less 
certain that they will be of moderate tem¬ 
perature and withal genial. It is well to be 
prepared for all eventualities, for these new comers 
sometimes show strange fancies and play ducks 
and drakes with our expectations. If these early 
months be severe, we may find as a recompense 
warmer spring months to follow than usually 
characterize our seasons. If the severity does 
not come, we may well hope for the genial spring¬ 
time all the same, for the month of April may 
make or mar all our prospects. We earnestly 
hope a very prosperous year for horticulture is in 
store, that we shall see luxuriant fruit-crops, a 
genial season, abundant labour, and exceeding 
happiness and plenty all around. 
I -►*-<- 
Gardening Notes. —Mr. Temple writes from 
Carron House, Falkirk:—The interest taken in 
our gardening literature would be much enhanced 
if readers would make use of their opportunities 
in like manner to Mr. Wildsmith, who makes 
his summer outings not only pleasurable to him¬ 
self but instructive to others. Such notes as 
those on Davenham Bank, at p. 247 (which place 
is not unduly lauded as an example of Mr. 
Jaques’ first - class management, I for one can 
freely endorse), cannot fail to be interesting as 
well as give instruction in some form—especially 
by showing what an amount of gardening can be 
accomplished by masterly skill on a limited space. 
It often happens that in large places the garden¬ 
ing is proportionately small, from a cause which 
skill has no control over—viz., an absence of 
the “ wherewithal,” which many proprietors 
have to deplore, as well as give cause for their 
gardeners to lament! While winter evenings 
are long and horticulturists generally have much 
time on their hands, it would be time well spent 
were they to devote a little time in committing 
to paper what they may have seen during the 
past season—or what experience to them is new 
—whether it be in plant, fruit or vegetable 
culture. One branch of gardening is sadly 
neglected in our gardening literature — viz., 
landscape and architectural gardening, and the 
vague attempts which are made to beautify 
pleasure-grounds and parks, show that many of 
us are very weak in these branches. 
-- 
Chrysanthemums planted ouT.—If all the 
Chrysanthemums which had been flowered in 
pots and afterwards thrown away had been 
planted out in spare ground, between shrubs, or 
even in copses and hedgerows, what a quantity 
of bloom they would have produced in many 
situations, quite altering and brightening the 
autumn scenery. However, it is not yet too late 
to think about it, and we advise all who have old 
pot Chrysanthemums such as are usually put on 
the rubbish heap to plant them out, not making 
beds of them, but putting them in odd plaoes 
and under walls where other things will not 
want the space, and to never again throw another 
plant of Pompon, Japanese or Show Chrysan¬ 
themums away, but rather to give them to some 
one who would plant them under the hedge in 
his field. Some seasons Chrysanthemums out¬ 
doors are not a grand success, but even at their 
worst they give a profusion of useful flowers, while 
when they get a favourable autumn, they are of 
the most lovely and lasting flowers we have. The 
Japanese section gives the best and most free- 
flowering kinds for outdoors, but all are good, 
and as the stock for flowering in pots are grown 
from cuttings every year, a great number of fine 
old plants must be available which might easily 
be supplemented by a special batch of young 
plants for planting out. 
-hh- 
Epiphyllum truncatum. —Dr. Laver, of Col¬ 
chester, has a novelty in plant culture, consisting 
of a small lean-to house devoted entirely to Cacti, 
Euphorbia, Bhipsalis, and other allied plants, 
among which many striking beauties both in 
plant and flower are always to be seen. The most 
novel and striking feature in the house is the 
large Pereskia, which has been allowed to ramble 
all over the roof. This in itself would not be 
very remarkable, but some years ago it struck 
the Doctor that it would be interesting to embel¬ 
lish it with Epiphyllum truncatum, and he at once 
proceeded to graft pieces of that plant at different 
points all over it. The result now is surprising, 
at first sight it looks like masses of Mistleto 
suspended from the roof, but on closer inspection 
the Epiphyllum is, of course, recognized, with its 
points studded with prominent violet-purple buds, 
which foreshadow the gorgeous display of bloom 
which will be open in a few weeks. In most 
gardens there are in one or other of the houses 
a dry corner where ordinary climbers will not 
grow, and in them it would be a great success to 
imitate Dr. Laver’s extraordinary Epiphyllum. 
-- 
Spaerows. —We read in the daily papers that 
that eminent entomologist, Miss E. Ormerod, has 
entered the lists against the sparrows, and it may 
be taken for granted that when a woman turns 
rough she means business. No doubt the sparrow 
is at times troublesome, though, on the other 
hand, he repays us somewhat because of his free 
and easy deportment, his characteristic homish- 
ness, and his partiality for humanity. As a rule, 
he does not do much harm, and if he becomes 
troublesome, he can be easily kept in check, for a 
cat or two trained to like sparrow suppers, or a gun 
charged with small shot, will do wonders to keep 
our sparrowincheck. Bough,also asMissOrmerod 
notoriously is upon insects, it seems marvellous 
that she should have an antipathy to sparrows 
because they, especially at breeding-time, and that 
is apparently all the summer, devour countless 
myriads of insects, and in that way do much 
good. Probably these birds do most mischief in 
the harvest season, when they play havoc with 
standing Oats and Wheat, or feast with gour- 
mand-like voracity upon Peas. They however, 
but claim to share in the bounteousness of the 
harvest, and who can tell how much their activity 
in devouring pestilent insects earlier in the year 
may have helped to promote that bounteousness. 
Perhaps the farmers of Wirrall, to whom Miss 
Ormerod has sent of her money as well as of her 
sympathy, are specially injured by sparrows, but, 
if so, no information has been afforded. It would 
be rather hard upon our feathered, though very 
often mischievous, companion, if, under the guise 
of doing public service, he is made a victim to the 
passion of men for the destruction of anything 
which hath wings. 
-►*-,- 
Ceasshla lactea. — This pretty winter¬ 
flowering plant is now so fine with Dr. Laver, at 
Colchester, where it is found to be one of the 
nicest and most useful of Christmas flowers, that 
we caunot help thinking it would be equally 
useful to others if they would but try it as a cold, 
and rather dry, greenhouse plant. Crassula lactea 
produces numerous many-flowered sprays of pure 
white star-shaped flowers, each of which, with a, 
little Maiden-hair fern, forms a light and elegant 
spray for a lady’s dress or hair. 
- ^ —- 
Soil fob Potting. —In the large majority of 
our best private gardens the securing of a plentiful 
supply of soil for potting is a matter of ease. 
Certainly, it will be long ere those who reside 
in the strictly rural districts, and have scores 
of acres of turf and glade around them, will 
lack the best elements of pot compost. But in 
and around towns and urban localities, where land 
is dear and restricted, the getting of loam becomes, 
to all who grow plants, a matter of extreme 
difficulty. The nurseryman and market grower, 
to whom good pot soil is as essential to business 
success as is any article with which he may be 
connected, finds it needful to send far afield, often 
some ten or twelve miles, to get what he cannot 
possibly do without, and the great cost of the 
material, which is of course heavy, and of cartage, 
not only becomes a tax upon his business, but 
renders it almost impossible that he can profitably 
supply his amateur neighbours who may wish to 
grow plants also. There is hardly a more hope¬ 
less task than is found in the attempt to cultivate 
plants without proper pot soil, and onerous as is 
the labour in the country it is greatly intensified 
in town districts, where atmospheric surroundings 
make plant culture so much more difficult. The 
town plant growers of all classes, but especially of 
the poorer classes, merits our hearty sympathy in 
the matter of pot soil, and we may well ask 
whether it would not pay some country dealers 
to establish not only town depots for pot soil, 
but also to hawk about good screened mixtures, 
which humble plant growers may use as needed, 
or store till required. It is simply a commercial 
question. 
Eeost and Boot and Potato Stobes. —There 
is ample evidence to show that the action of frost 
is not generally thoroughly understood. This is 
shown by the way clamps are covered with 
manure on the top and half-way down the sides. 
The singular fact, however, is, says a writer in 
The Field, that the top of a clamp is never 
injured—that is, unless the frost is so severe and 
prolonged that the whole mass is frozen—if the 
clamp be fairly covered with straw and earth at 
starting. “ The severity of an attack of frost begins 
and continues from the outer soil at the base of a 
clamp or brick store, as a barn or other building. 
Whether this is because a gentle fermentation of 
the roots or Potatos goes on, the warmth thus 
caused rising to the top, or whether it is because 
the lowest temperature is nearest the immediate 
r 
