778 
THE GARDENING WORLD. October 1, 1904. 
in such a. manner to give tone and harmony to' the whole. 
Large shrubbery borders intermixed with telling herbaceous 
and ornamental plants go> round the palace side of the grounds', 
while here and there large mounds and beds of alpine plants 
must in spring have a grand effect. Ini front stretch away the 
Abbey Park and Queen’s Park, while on, the south side rises 
in stately grandeur Salisbury C'ragsi and Arthur’s Seat; the 
walks and drive's around which a,si well as the extensive grounds 
are all under the fostering care of Mr. Alexander, who' for 
nearly eighteen years has 1 done what he could toi make this 
corner of “Scotia’s darling seat” more' beautiful than when, 
he found it. Visitor. 
[We also made a, visit to Holyrood, but had been forestalled 
by our correspondent, who voices the beauty and interest of 
the situation. He hardly does justice to the dense, rich and 
beautiful green sward surrounding the Palace, though, we can 
corroborate what he says about, the East Lothian Stocks and 
other flowers' which could not have been more floriferous ini 
the height of the season. The most, recent' improvement 
effected' on the place was the building up. of a bank of earth 
round the inside of the wall surrounding the policies. This! 
banks' covered with green verdure, of a piece with the rest 
of the lawns; so that no one viewing the place from, the inside 
could imagine that a high stone wall surrounds the place, and 
that there is a broad public thoroughfare just- outside it. 
Viewed even from the high stone stairs, by the Palace, the 
lawns Semi continuous with Abbey Park and other common 
land stretching away in the distance and disappearing behind 
the east side of Salisbury Crags. We may have a few note® 
on some interesting shrubs and trees in the grounds when 
space permits.-—E d.] 
Horticultural Hints. 
As a, keen observer of your esteemed paper, I And it hard 
to dilate on a subject without reiterating the, remarks of other 
contributors., so that I deviate from plant culture for a con¬ 
tribution. Undoubtedly, wei have plenty of scope for subjects 
to, select, but the question crops, up,, Are we practical in, our 
article's? Unless we can write from a practical knowledge on 
any horticultural matter, the benefits-to readers are trivial. 
When floral fetes are, in full swing, I might throw out, a remark 
or two. A gardener who had been an absentee from our best 
floral fete in, the north (that is, Edinburgh) for ten years said 
that you just find things in the same old place, no change what¬ 
ever. A great many of our local shows go down for that simple 
reason,—no change. 
Last year a, great novelty was the floral clock, which is so 
much more attractive by the introduction, of a, minute band 
and minor details. That is just what we want installed in our 
flower shows. Not floral clocks; altogether, but, some other 
novelty to 1 attract the public; which, is. the chief source of 
funds to carry on a prosperous show. Miniature flower clocks 
and gardens' are of more interest- to the general public than 
the other more useful exhibits. If we want success, create a 
change, in staging exhibits, form new ideas, introduce some 
attraction from the existing system. 'It, is very disheartening 
this season to have soi many fine displays, in floriculture, and 
yet so deficient in public patronage. 
A good class for gardeners would be what, I would call “ the 
all-round exhibit.” Many excel themselves in particular ex¬ 
hibits only, thus depriving the all-round gardener of. securing 
a prize. This class could be made up of various' sections of 
plants, fruits; vegetables; and cut, flowers; to be judged by 
points 1 opposite each section, and then, a total. That is but 
a brief outline of this ela,sis; which I am positive wordd be an 
interesting one. A handsome, prize could be awarded. Some 
of our more prosperous shows! may take! up the all-round ex¬ 
hibit. More classes for competition] might be, set, apart, for 
young gardeners ; also' the.installation of intelligent young- men! 
on .the! committee. The visiting parties- to inspect, theicom¬ 
petitors'’ entries' have much need of revision. 
A few notes might be said on the subject of horticultural 
associations. We have these in different districts for the pro¬ 
motion of our profession; meetings are held monthly, papers 
are read- and discussed. 
Becoming a, member of such a society but recently, my idea 
is that there- is -a want of practicability. How much an essay 
is improved and rendered instructive by a few practical illus¬ 
trations, ! For my own part, I can grasp the- situation at once 
when practice is introduced. Many of our horticultural essays 
cannot be illustrated. On, the other hand, essayists should en¬ 
deavour to utilise practical exhibits. Subjects such as arrange¬ 
ment of out flowers; pruning, Fern, culture, etc., are much en¬ 
hanced by a few practical bints: the youth of the trade is 
benefited. Space permitting, I would urge journeymen to 
make immediate application! to the British Gardeners’ Asso¬ 
ciation. Some havei said that wei will wait to see it started 
before we join. This is simply depressing, a,s its existence will 
be short if we all be of that opinion. Such was the reply of a 
horticultural association. We .will wait results. This is 
absurd, a® the society can go no further without a good muster 
of members. A. V. M. 
Notes on a Neglected Plant. 
Clroiisya. tomato, is a -plant that, is not so often seen in 
greenhouses as it deserves to be when one considers its value 
a,s a subject for the production of sweetly-scented white flowers 
in spring. Almost hardy, easily grown, and easily forced into 
flower, I have found it very useful in helping to bridge over 
the gap- which sometimes occurs in cold and late springs; be¬ 
tween the general batch, of forced bulbs and tliei time flowers 
can be had in, quantity from the open, border's-. 
If 1 a, few pots arei set into a warm greenhouse in January or 
February they will produce their umbels of chaste, Hawthorn- 
scent,ed flowers; throughout, March, when they will add a pleas¬ 
ing variety to, the greenhouse! stages or the, flower-vases, a ,3 
may be most desirable. Plants will stand -a fairly high tem¬ 
perature, but, then the syringe must be freely used, as red 
spider and 11 ii ip are apt to disfigure the foliage if kept too, 
warm and diy. 
As much syringing spoils! the flowers, it is better not to 
subject the plants to a, high temperature till flowering is over, 
when it, is- advisable to give a little more heat and moisture in 
order to “ draw ” thei young growth a, little, as these plants 
naturally make short and stocky growth, which is not s-o usef ul 
for cutting a,si when drawn a few inches longer. When flower¬ 
ing is over, potting should have attention, and plants, trimmed 
into, shape a: bit, if necessary, and, if convenient, given a little 
more beat for a, few weeks as advised. 
They should be gradually hardened off and finally set. out- in 
thei open by the; and 1 of June and kept carefully watered, when 
they will com]dele and ripen! their growth and ensure a crop 
of bloom for another spring. 
Cuttings of the young growth, with or without, a heel of older 
wood, root freely in spring in any ordinary cutting compost, set 
into a propagating pit, where some bottom beat is afforded, 
and potsi should be kept, fairly moist, till cuttings- are rooted. 
Unless they can be rooted e-arly, young plants are better not 
pinched, because, flowering a,si they do on the points of the 
young shoots, young plants imp-inched give -one good truss; 
whereas, if pinched; the resultant, breaks are often too late to 
ripen properly, and fail to, flower next spring altogether. In 
fact, no pinching of yotunsr growth should bo practised on either 
old or young plants, as they can be kept in, shape by cutting 
back freely when growth is- starting in spring. 
Good fibrous' loam with a dash of leaf-mould and sand is a 
good potting medium, though a, little peat, may be given cut- 
tin,gsi at their first shift, which- should be into, 4-in,, pots. 
Plants in large pots will do for several years with an annual 
top dressing, and occasional Irate,rings with weak liquid manure 
when in; full growth. Any light, frost-proof structure will keep 
the plants safe in, winter until wanted again, for' spring usiec 
G. F. 
