238 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  22,  1900. 
returning  to  the  garden  in  the  intervals  to  put  in  crops  and  “hough  ” 
the  weeds.  The  massing  of  colours  in  flower  beds,  with  the  dis¬ 
appearance  of  duty  on  glass,  was  the  means  of  bringing  unremunerative 
gardening  to  its  highest  pitch.  Flowers  out  of  doors  and  “  under  ” 
glass  alike  were  produced  almost  solely  to  look  at,  and,  no  doubt,  many 
of  us  can  yet  remember  the  horror  gardeners  felt  if  flowers  had  to  be 
cut,  and  I  notice  that  aged  proprietors  of  gardens  still  reluctantly  allow 
flowers  to  be  so  used 
It  is  plain,  however,  that  we  have  arrived  at  a  period  when  the 
relation'of  the  garden  to  the  house,  in  at  least  some  aspects,  has 
become  as  close  as  it  was  250  or  400  years  ago.  The  garden  is  now 
more  largely  than  ever  a  place  for  the  production  of  material  to  be 
used  in  the  house.  As  many  vegetables  as  formerly  are  consumed, 
and  much  more  fruit ;  but  it  is  in  the  two  items  of  plants  and  flowers, 
which  previously  were  only  sparingly  employed,  that  the  greatest 
increase  is  apparent. 
The  objective  of  plant  culture  has  been  completely  changed,  and 
we  do  not  now  produce  large  specimens  as  a  proof  and  example  of 
cultural  skill,  but  solely  for  the  use  they  can  be  turned  to  decoratively. 
Small  plants  instead  of  hardly  being  grown  at  all  have  become  a 
constantly  pressing  necessity,  so  that  in  place  of  one  or  two  large 
examples  of  a  species  which  were  cultivated  for  many  years  and 
became  objects  of  affection  to  the  grower,  dozens  or  hundreds  have 
now  to  be  produced  in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  to  be  then  utilised, 
and  not  infrequently  immediately  thereafter  thrown  away.  The 
system  is  essentially  a  wasteful  one  and  fatal  to  sentiment.  The 
methods  of  flower  production  and  the  ways  of  employing  the  flowers 
are  much  the  same  as  with  plants.  Quantities  of  particular  varieties 
in  uninterrupted  succession  to  be  used  in  profusion  in  the  adornment 
of  the  house,  form  the  chief  end  in  view.  Consequently  there  is  little 
room  for  sentiment  to  expand  here  either,  which  is  a  pity,  because 
the  best  results  cannot  be  obtained  in  plant  culture  in  the  absence 
of  sentiment. 
But  when  we  think  of  it,  there  is  space  for  the  exercise  of  as  much 
skill,  though  of  a  different  kind,  in  the  production  of  a  nine-month 
“  Geranium  ”  as  there  is  in  a  specimen  of  a  few  years  old.  The  one 
can  be  produced  alone  by  intelligent  and  unremittiug  care,  and 
exactly  the  same  virtues  go  to  make  success  in  the  other.  From  the 
selection  of  the  cutting  in  spring  till  the  day  the  little  plant,  perfect 
in  leafage  and  bloom,  takes  its  place  in  some  decorative  scheme  in 
autumn,  the  exercise  of  qualities  of  a  high  order  are  constantly  kept 
in  play.  The  depressing  element,  with  young  people  especially, 
arrives  when,  after  a  week  or  two  in  the  house,  the  plant  returns  a 
wreck;  and  when  this  condition  is  usual  from  week  to  week  and 
month  to  month,  the  interest  in  work  inevitably  slackens. 
It  must  be  the  business  of  the  head  to  arrange  that  this  waste  of 
material  shall  be  reduced  as  far  as  possible.  Care  in  watering  while 
plants  are  in  rooms  is  essential,  but  it  is  of  still  more  importance  th  it 
no  plant  be  allowed  to  remain  long  enough  to  suffer  bad  effects,  it 
will  often  be  found  that  not  only  in  different  rooms  do  plants  exhibit 
varying  effects,  but  in  large  apartments  plants  stand  in  good  condition 
for  a  longer  time  in  one  place  than  another.  The  greatest  source  of 
waste  in  cut  flowers  arises  irom  unskilful  gathering  or  from  ignorance 
of  the  nature  of  the  flower.  Gardeners  err  sometimes,  but  it  is  by 
members  of  the  family  who  like  to  gather  their  own  flowers  that  the 
greatest  waste  follows.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  in  such  cases  to 
have  plants  pulled  up  by  the  roots,  foliage  shorn  over,  and  when  this 
happens  in  the  case  of  Freesias,  Gladiolus,  and  even  Orchids,  the 
mischief  requires  no  completing. 
A  most  unhappy  result  of  the  garden  having  become  so  largely  a 
mere  manufactory  of  material  for  use  in  the  house  is  the  tendency  in 
some  quarters  to  allow  the  kitchen  garden  to  sink  into  a  condition  of 
semi-neglect.  One  occasionally  finds  it  rougher  than  a  field,  and  too 
often  with  dirty  walks,  unkept,  or  no  edgings,  and  a  general  air  of 
untidiness  that  is  unsatisfactory.  The  reason  is,  of  course,  that  this 
garden  is  really  a  manufactory,  and  utility  with  thrifty  management 
ought  to  rule.  Personally  I  think  this  is  a  mistaken  view.  A  kitchen 
garden  can  be  managed  economically,  while  at  the  same  time  sufficiently 
well  kept  to  be  a  pleasure  to  stroll  about  in.  Its  borders  may  be  as 
profitably,  while  more  ornamentally,  filled  with  flowering  plants — 
Hoses  and  Paeonies — as  with  Turnips  or  Potatoes.  We  certainly 
cannot  stay  the  ever  growing  tendency  to  utilise  every  department  of 
the  garden  as  a  feeder  to  the  house,  but  that  is  no  reason  why  we 
should  on  that  account  allow  the  i  garden  to  deteriorate  in  any  way  of 
degree. — B. 
- - 1 
Notes  on  Cleniatises. 
The  Clematis  is  one  of  the  quickest  growing  of  hardy  climbing 
plants,  and  is  well  adapted  for  covering  spaces  on  walls  or  buildings, 
clothing  pillars,  porches,  trellises,  arbours,  tree  trunks,  or  ruins. 
These  positions  will  soon  be  occupied  by  the  growth  of  the  most 
vigorous  kinds,  and  in  spring  and  summer,  or  towards  autumn  as  the 
case  may  be,  a  profuse  display  of  flowers  will  result. 
Clematises  are  divided  into  groups,  termed  fiorida,  Jackmanni, 
lanuginosa,  montana,  pitens,  and  viticella.  Each  of  these  groups 
possesses  characteristics  of  its  own,  and  to  insure  securing  the  best 
results  from  the  plants  the  style  of  growth  must  he  considered,  and 
the  time  of  blooming.  Pruning  is  then  carried  out  iu  a  manner 
suiting  each  group,  as  some  flower  most  freely  on  the  old  or  ripened 
wood,  while  others  do  so  the  best  on  the  new  wood. 
Taking  first  ttie  Jackmanni  group,  which  is  probably  the  best 
known  and  most  generally  used.  The  varieties  in  this  are  summer 
and  autumn  blooming,  and  produce  the  flowers  on  new  wood  between 
June  and  October.  This  allows  them  to  be  pruned-in  closely  each 
spring.  The  space  allotted  to  the  growths  may  be  covered  with  a 
series  of  main  shouts,  and  the  side  shoots  tmanating  from  them 
pruned  back  to  within  a  few  buds  of  the  main  growths. 
The  florida  group  produces  all  double-blooming  varieties,  which 
flower  between  May  and  July.  The  ripened  growihs  of  the  previous 
year  ought  in  this  case  to  be  laid-in  freely,  shortening  them  only 
where  space  does  not  permit  of  the  shoots  being  laid-in  further  or 
they  are  not  ripened. 
The  lanuginosa  type  has  floweis  of  large  size,  produced  in  summer 
and  autumn.  Practically  the  previous  year’s  shoots  may  be  retained, 
with  the  exception  of  cutting  off  about  one-third.  The  blooms  come 
on  short  lateral  shoots,  which  issue  in  summer,  hence  the  necessity  of 
retaining  the  older  growths,  from  which  they  may  be  produced. 
The  montana  section  produces  small  flowers,  but  they  are  very 
numerous  and  attractive  in  the  axillary  clusters,  which  spring  from 
the  old  or  ripened  wood,  plenty  of  which  should  be  retained  each 
season.  As  a  rule  this  group  receives  very  little  pruning,  and  is  the 
best  type  for  covering  any  unsightly  object  in  wild  profusion, 
A  grand  display  of  bloom  results  in  May  and  June, 
The  next  group  or  viticella  is  a  large  flowered  summer  and 
autumn  blooming  type,  commencing  in  July  and  ending  in  October. 
The  flowers  are  produced  successionally  in  masses  on  the  new  wood, 
therefore  it  is  best  to  adopt  fairly  close  pruning.  In  some  positions, 
or  where  the  flowers  are  wanted  low,  cut  the  plants  down  to  within 
2  feet  of  the  soil,  but  to  effectually  clothe  higher  positions  the  plan 
recommended  for  Jackmanni  type — namely,  securing  a  series  of  main 
growths  or  stems  and  pruning  back  the  annual  growth  each  season, 
proves  good.  The  patens  section,  also  large  flowered,  blooms  from 
the  old  wood  during  May  and  June.  Prune  weak  or  exhausted  wood 
away,  and  shorten  the  tips  of  the  shoots  retained. 
Clematises  pay  for  generous  treatment  in  regard  to  providing  a 
liberal  root  run  where  the  roots  may  ramify  in  rich  soil.  It  is 
desirable  to  trench  or  dig  the  ground  deeply,  taking  out  a  double  spit 
of  soil  about  2  feet  square  for  each  plant.  Break  up  the  subsoil  and 
return  to  the  space  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  good  loam  of  a  turfy 
character,  leaf  mould,  decayed  hotbed  manure,  and  coarse  sharp  sand. 
Introduce  this  compost,  making  it  firm,  and  plant  during  April. 
Spread  but  the  roots  as  far  as  possible,  covering  them  carefully  with 
fine  sdl,  and  distribute  them  well  in  preference  to  bundling  them 
together.  All  the  varieties  will  be  best  pruned  rather  closely  after 
planting  in  order  that  vigorous  growth  may  be  produced. — E.  D.  S. 
