March  4,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
183 
I  do  not  intend  to  dilate  upon  the  charms  and  usefulness  of 
the  ever  popular  Lilac,  as  theyare  well  known  to  all  who  take  an 
interest  in  gardening.  I  will,  however,  enumerate  a  few  of  the 
many  good  varieties  of  S.  vulgaris.  Alba  and  alba  grandiflora  are 
excellent  whites,  which  might  with  advantage  be  more  largely 
planted.  Charles  X.  is,  I  think,  one  of  the  very  best  for  general 
planting,  as  the  flowers  are  massive  and  of  pleasing  colour. 
Chinensis  bears  flowers  of  a  lovely  violet  shade,  which  are  borne 
on  shoots  more  slender  than  those  of  the  majority  of  Lilacs.  We 
have  a  large  bush  growing  on  a  steep  bank,  and  in  that  position  it 
looks  extremely  well  when  seen  from  below,  as  the  weight  of  the 
flowers  slightly  bends  the  shoots.  Persica,  Dr.  Lindley,  and 
President  Grevy  are  also  good  single  varieties,  and  among  the 
double  flowered  the  following  are  excellent  : — Emile  Lemoine, 
La  Tour  d’Auvergne,  Michael  Buchner,  and  Yirginale. 
should  be  deeply  trenched,  and  a  little  manure  worked  into  the  lower 
strata  as  the  operation  proceeds.  Then,  when  planting  is  finished, 
a  mulching  of  manure  or  leaves  ought  to  be  placed  upon  the 
surface,  with  the  twofold  object  of  preventing  injury  through 
drought  in  summer  time  and  of  encouraging  the  production  of 
surface  roots.  Much  of  the  planting  to  be  done  in  shrubberies  is, 
however,  of  a  different  nature,  and  consists  of  clearing  away  old 
shrubs  to  make  room  for  the  introduction  of  flowering  ones  to  give 
colour,  or  of  planting  standards  at  intervals  to  break  up  the  out¬ 
line,  and  thus  improve  the  appearance  of  existing  shrubberies. 
If  success  is  expected  in  these  matters  no  half  measures  should 
be  tolerated.  For  standard  trees  holes  from  4  to  6  feet  in  diameter 
and  3  feet  in  depth  ought  to  be  dug,  so  as  to  give  the  young  trees 
a  good  space  free  from  the  roots  of  surrounding  ones.  A  layer  of 
manure  and  leaf  soil  should  be  placed  in  the  bottom  of  each  hole, 
Fig.  39—  STAPHYLEA  COLCHICA. 
Viburnum  Opulus  (Gueldre  Rose),  and  the  dwarf  form,  Weigela 
rosea,  rosea  alba,  and  rosea  carminea  complete  my  list  of  deciduous 
flowering  shrubs.  To  some  it  may  seem  a  lengthy  one,  but  all 
should  be  grown  wherever  room  can  be  found  for  them,  and  I 
feel  sure  we  should  see  a  greater  variety  in  many  gardens  if  those 
in  charge  fuliy  realised  what  a  wealth  there  is  to  select  from. 
Planting. 
It  is  not  often  that  spring  planting  can  be  done  under  such 
favourable  conditions  as  those  that  prevail  at  the  present  time, 
the  heavy  rainfall  during  the  autumn  and  winter  months  having 
thoroughly  moistened  the  soil  to  a  great  depth  ;  and  yet  so  great 
was  the  need  of  moisture  that  I  find  our  light  soil  is  in  exactly  the 
right  condition  for  planting — viz.,  damp  enough  to  preserve  the 
necessary  plumpness  in  fibrous  roots,  and  yet  not  wet  enough  to 
become  “  pasty  ”  under  the  planter’s  tread.  Under  such  circum¬ 
stances,  of  course  the  proper  thing  to  do  is  to  push  on  with  all 
possible  speed  the  planting  of  trees  and  shrubs  of  all  descriptions, 
instead  of  tempting  fortune  by  delaying  the  operation. 
Where  new  shrubberies  or  clumps  are  being  formed  the  ground 
and  then  covered  with  soil  to  a  sufficient  depth  to  bring  the  surface 
roots  of  the  tree  to  be  planted  almost  up  to  the  ground  line,  deep 
p’anting  being  an  evil  to  avoid,  as  also  is  that  of  placing  manure 
near  the  roots  of  newly  planted  trees.  Other  details  which  require 
attention  are  to  remove  the  point  of  each  root  with  a  sharp  knife, 
to  spread  each  root  out  carefully  in  such  a  way  that  the  young 
fibres  may  take  hold  of  the  soil  without  coming  directly  in  contact 
with  its  neighbour,  to  tread  the  soil  moderately  firm,  and  to  stake 
securely. 
When  the  roots  of  trees  are  found  to  be  very  dry  on 
arrival  from  a  nursery  they  ought  to  be  immersed  in  water  for  an 
hour  or  so'  before  being  planted.  At  this  season  newly  planted 
standards  ought  to  be  pruned  back  to  two  or  three  eyes,  to  enable 
them  to  make  a  strong  start.  In  the  case  of  large  bushes  of  such 
shrubs  as  Syringa,  Ribes,  and  Deutzias,  instead  of  pruning  back 
each  shoot  the  old  branches  should  be  removed  and  very  strong 
ones  shortened  to  half  their  length.  Numerous  suckers  are  then 
produced,  and  but  little  after-pruning  is  required  for  some  years. 
I  hope  to  complete  this  series  by  a  note  on  evergreen  trees  and 
shrubs. — H.  Dunkin,  Castle  Gardens ,  Warwick. 
