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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  22,  IbOO. 
and  more  work  seems  to  await  the  hand  of  the  lover  of  flowers.  At 
this  season  there  is  much  to  be  done  that  cannot  be  delegated  to 
another.  We  cannot  reap  without  sowing,  and  the  hand  of  the 
slothful  is  of  little  use  where  plants  abound.  The  work,  however,  is 
pleasant,  too,  and  those  who  tend  in  the  main  their  own  flowers  have 
sources  of  pleasure  unrevealed  to  those  who  leave  all  to  others. — 
S.  Arnott. 
- - 
Deatli  of  Bfr.  Thos.  Boyd. 
The  many  friends  of  Mr.  Thomas  Boyd  (fig.  69),  late  gardener  to 
W.  Forbes,  Esq.,  Callendar  Park,  Stirlingshire,  will  be  deeply  moved  to 
learn  that  one  so  well  known  and  much  respected  was  removed  suddenly 
from  our  midst  on  Monday,  19th  March.  Our  friend  and  neighbour 
had  not  been  quite  well  of  late,  but  indicated  nothing  to  show  that  his 
•end  was  near.  His  kind  and  affable  manner  had  gained  Mr.  Boyd 
many  friends.  Either  as 
an  exhibitor  or  judge  at 
exhibitions  he  was  most 
courteous,  and  possessed 
of  an  unassuming  manner, 
which  rendered  him  very 
popular.  He  was  a  native 
of  Hopetown,  near  Edin¬ 
burgh,  and  from  early  life 
had  good  opportunities  of 
gaining  a  sound  experience 
in  gardening. 
At  an  early  period  in 
his  career  he  was  well 
known  as  a  successful  ex¬ 
hibitor  of  fruits  —  with 
collections  —  and  Grapes 
especially.  He  attended 
all  the  international  ex¬ 
hibitions  in  England  and 
Scotland,  where  his  suc¬ 
cess  was  always  well  to 
the  front,  and  returned 
from  the  shows  in  possession  of  many  of  the  most  valuable  prizes.  He 
received  foi  Grapes  two  Veitch  Memorial  prizes — in  both  cases  they  were 
Muscat  Hamburghs.  He  also  had  many  cups  and  plate  which  were  won 
in  hard  contests  at  exhibitions.  He  gave  a  good  account  of  himself  for 
some  years  at  Loch  Ryan,  Wigtonshire,  while  gardener  to  Sir  W.  Wallace. 
From  there  he  went  to  Callendar,  where  he  has  so  successfully  laboured 
for  over  twenty  years.  Mr.  Boyd  was  fifty -three  years  of  age,  has 
left  a  widow  and  large  family  to  mourn  his  loss. — M.  Temple,  Carron. 
Hardy  Lettuces. 
CoNSiDERiNa  how  badly  some  winter  crops  have  withstood  the 
weather,  it  is  more  than  a  little  surprising  to  find  the  autumn-sown 
Lettuces  have  come  through  the  winter  so  satisfactorily.  Broccoli, 
Winter  Greens,  Spinach,  and  Sprouts  fared  badly,  as  also  did  an 
autumn  sowing  of  Endive.  The  plants  from  the  latter  were  intended 
for  lifting  to  refill  frames  cleared  of  the  early  stocks,  and  were  protected 
with  a  covering  of  leaves,  but  a  severe,  though  short  spell  of  frost 
completely  destroyed  them.  Among  the  Lettuces  there  are  surpris¬ 
ingly  few  casualties,  especially  with  the  Hardy  Hammersmith  and  Bath 
Cos.  Paris  Market,  which  in  some  seasons  stands  well,  and  furnishes 
useful  salading  much  in  advance  of  the  others  named,  succumbed  to 
the  frost,  and  Hicks’  Hardy  White  Cos  is  less  satisfactory  than  usual. 
In  some  springs  I  have  found  fuller  ranks  and  better  plants  of  the  last 
named  than  of  the  Bath  variety,  proving  that  there  is  no  uniformity 
of  results. 
Lettuces,  like  other  winter  crops,  suffer  when  there  is  an  excess  of 
rain,  e.ven  without  much  frost.  This  year  the  two  first  months  were 
characterised  by  a  superabundance  of  moisture,  and  some  severe 
touches  of  winter  frost.  No  less  than  inches  of  moisture  were  re¬ 
corded  for  the  two  months — January  3'34,  February  5  19.  Some  heavy 
snow  storms  contributed  to  this  total,  and  while  there  was  sufficient 
depth,  gave  protection  to  Lettuce  crops.  Under  warm  sheltered  walls 
growth  is  now  proceeding  actively,  and  some  plants  are  ready  for 
cutting.  There  have  been  seasons  when  as  good  material  could  be 
had  in  February;  in  others  not  until  much  later  than  the  present 
moment.  The  value  of  these  hardy  Lettuces  is  much  enhanced  where 
frame  room  is  not  available  for  spring  forcing,  and  even  when  this  is  so 
there  is  always  satisfaction  in  having  a  good  reserve  to  draw  upon  in 
times  of  pressure. 
For  the  daily  winter  salad  Endive  has  no  rival,  Lettuce  taking  its 
place  from  now  onwards,  or  is  used  in  conjunction  with  it.  An  early 
sowing  of  such  a  variety  as  Commodore  Nutt,  and  the  plants  prepared 
for  early  planting  by  hardening  in  cold  frames,  comes  in  useful  for 
spring  supplies  under  the  shelter  of  warm  walls. — W.  S. 
- <-♦♦> - - 
Amaryllis  Culture. 
At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Devon  and  Exeter  Gardeners’ Association 
Mr.  Slade,  the  well  known  gardener  at  Poltimore  Park,  read  an  excellent 
paper  on  these  handsome  plants,  prefacing  his  cultural  remarks  with 
some  historical  references.  The  chair  was  taken  by  Mr.  Andrew  Hope, 
and  there  was  a  good  attendance.  We  make  a  few  extracts  from  the 
paper  as  reported  in  a  local  contemporary. 
At  the  outset  Mr.  Slade  gave  a  brief  sketch  of  the  progress  made 
by  the  hybridisation  of  these  flowers  during  the  past  century.  Dean 
Herbert  hybridised  the  African  and  American  species,  and  founded  a 
new  genus,  which  he  named  Hippeastrum,  or  Knights’  Star  Lily,  whence 
spring  the  present  race.  He  then  spoke  of  the  failure  of  the  attempts 
by  himself  and  others  to  cross  the  flowers  of  Hippeastrum  and  Olivias. 
TUe  present  race  of  Amaryllis  sprang  from  various  wild  species.  Many 
of  these  were  named,  and  the  history  of  the  flower  brought  up  to  the 
seedlings  raised  by  Yan  Houtte  of  Ghent,  and  De  Graaff  of  Leyden, 
the  latter  of  whom  raised  a  hybrid  named  Empress  of  India,  from 
which  have  sprung  some  of  the  best  types.  In  1867  Messrs.  Veitch 
took  the  Amaryllis  in  hand,  and  having  found  Leopoldi  and  another 
species  in  Peru,  commenced  working  with  them,  and  by  crossing  with 
some  of  De  Graaff’s  best  forms,  produced  the  very  fine  hybrids  of  the 
present  day. 
The  essayist  then  passed  on  to  the  culture  of  the  Amaryllis.  A 
good  compost  is  two-thirds  of  fibrous  loam,  one-third  of  cow  manure, 
with  a  liberal  portion  of  silver  sand.  These  should  be  thoroughly 
mixed  previous  to  potting.  He  himself  generally  used  the  refuse  from 
an  old  Mushroom  bed,  and  with  excellent  results.  The  Amaryllis 
should  be  under  rather  than  overpotted,  ample  drainage  given,  and  the 
soil  be  in  a  moist  condition.  January  is  the  best  time  for  potting.  If 
not  all  potted  at  one  time  those  left  should  be  kept  cool.  In  potting 
the  bulbs  every  particle  of  soil  must  be  shaken  from  the  roots,  and  all 
decayed  portions  be  cut  away.  The  roots  should  be  separated,  and  the 
soil  carefully  worked  in  among  them.  After  potting  a  temperature  of 
50'’  to  60°  is  desirable,  and  if  plunged  in  some  suitable  material  it 
would  prove  beneficial  at  first — without  bottom  heat.  A  plant  house  or 
vinery  of  the  temperature  given  wer^  useful  places  for  growing  the 
plants  in.  He  grew  ttem  in  an  intermediate  plant  house  until  after 
the  flowering  period,  and  then  placed  them  in  a  vinery  with  more  heat, 
but  only  partially  under  the  shade.  The  plants  were  benefited  while 
making  growth  by  being  plunged  and  a  slight  bottom  heat  given. 
After  repotting  no  water  should  be  given  until  the  flower  spikes  and 
leaves  have  grown  several  inches.  Then  a  moderate  supply  should 
be  given  till  the  flower  buds  show,  when  the  quantity  should  be 
increased. 
After  flowering  the  plants  should  be  placed  in  a  warmer  house,  and 
slight  shading  afforded.  As  growth  becomes  more  active  water  ought 
to  be  given  liberally,  wrh  daily  syringing  to  keep  them  clean.  When 
the  growth  is  finishing  the  shading  should  be  gradually  diminished, 
and  water  given  more  sparingly.  Later  on  the  shading  may  be 
removed,  and  water  gradually  withheld  until  the  foliage  is  ripe,  when 
they  should  be  kept  quite  dry  until  they  commence  growing  again.  A 
Peach  house,  where  the  ’ruit  has  been  gathered,  and  in  which  the  bulbs 
can  be  exposed  to  the  full  sun,  with  abundance  of  air,  is  a  suitable 
place  to  ripen  them.  Seme  growers  do  not  pot  annually,  bat  Mr.  Slade 
thought  it  better  to  do  so  unless  the  collection  is  a  large  one  and  the 
pressure  of  work  heavy. 
The  bulbs  may  be  increased  by  offsets,  but  new  colours  and  varieties 
are  raised  from  seed,  .m  giving  some  advice  how  best  to  deal  with 
insects,  he  said  thrips  were  destroyed  by  fumigating,  and  red  spider 
kept  away  by  the  syringe.  The  Eupharis  “  mite  ”  may  attack  them  if 
there  are  errors  in  wateriig  in  the  early  stages,  but  he  was  of  opinion 
that  neither .  Eucharis  nor  Amaryllis  would  be  affected  by  the  mite  if 
properly  watered.  The  tvo  essential  things  to  secure  success  in  growing 
Amaryllis  are  watering  an]  resting  ;  given  these,  their  culture  is  simple 
and  easy,  and  they  had  a  nost  useful  flower,  gorgeous  in  effect  either  in 
the  cut  state,  or  as  a  decoiative  plant  for  the  mansion  or  conservatory. 
A  prolonged  discussion  took  place  as  to  whether  the  Amaryllis  could 
be  grown  by  gardeners  hav'ng  limited  accommodation.  Mr.  Slade  stated 
that  it  was  practically  as  easily  grown  as  the  Hyacinth,  and  its  treat¬ 
ment  was  of  the  simplest.  Neither  did  the  plant  require  any  special 
assistance  in  the  way  of  heating. 
