September  19, 1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
279 
varieties  instead  of  six.  But  for  this  my  exhibit  would  have  gained  the 
premier  prize,  and  I  was  naturally  disappointed  to  find  it  marked 
“  disqualified,”  and  inquired  the  reason.  I  invited  them  to  taste  more 
of  the  dish  of  Cherries,  which  they  did,  and  could  find  no  other 
Morello  in  it.  If  “  A.  D.”  had  been  judging  in  that  case  I  fully  believe 
such  a  trivial  matter  would  not  have  merited  disqualification. 
I  certainly  do  not  agree  with  ”  Y.  B.  A.  Z.”  (page  228)  in  his 
objection  to  the  use  of  Parsley  as  a  garnish  to  the  vegetable  dishes, 
especially  in  collections.  One  only  requires  to  see  two  of  these  staged, 
one  furnished  with  the  bright  green  groundwork  of  Parsley  and  the 
other  without  any  garnish  at  all,  to  decide  which  has  the  better  appear¬ 
ance  and  efiEect,  and  it  will  be  an  evil  day  when  these  are  to  be  staged 
withost  any  accompaniment,  whether  it  be  Parsley  or  any  other  vege¬ 
table  garnishing.  It  is  altogether  too  popular  with  the  public  to  be  dis¬ 
pensed  with,  tasteful  arrangement  claiming  greater  interest  with  them 
even  than  quality.  In  judging,  of  course,  quality  comes  first ;  but 
artistic  arrangement  is  not  usually  an  undeserving  art. — W.  S. 
NARCISSUS  TELAMONIUS  PLENUS. 
The  bulbs  of  this  useful  old  double  yellow  Daffodil  from  Lincoln¬ 
shire  are  larger  than  we  have  had  them  for  many  years  past,  judging 
from  the  bulbs  abundance  of  flowers  will  certainly  result.  For  our 
earliest  blooms  the  bulbs  have  been  boxed  fully  a  month,  and  we  are 
convinced,  after  many  years’  experience,  that  there  is  no  other  Daffodil 
that  will  yield  such  an  abundance  of  flowers  for  the  labour  and  expense 
required  in  production.  Obvallaris  may  be  useful  for  early  work,  but 
we  have  not  succeeded  in  forcing  it  into  bloom  earlier  than  the  common 
double  yellow.  We  promised  some  time  ago  to  give  details  of  culture  in 
time  to  be  of  service  to  those  who  need  information  on  this  subject. 
Many  persons  evidently  do  from  the  numerous  letters  that  reach  the 
Editor  during  the  spring  months  asking  why  the  flower  spathes  are 
blind. 
We  grow  the  bulk  of  our  stock  for  cutting  in  boxes  2  feet  4  inches 
long,  1  foot  wide,  and  inches  deep.  These  are  smaller  than  we  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  using,  but  they  are  a  convenient  size  for  men  to 
shift  from  one  place  to  another.  When  18  inches  wide  and  the  soil  is 
moist  they  are  rather  too  heavy.  Where  a  lesser  number  of  flowers  is 
required  at  one  time  boxes  18  inches  long  and  the  same  width  and  depth 
as  the  others  will  be  found  very  useful.  The  strips  that  form  the  bottom 
of  the  boxes  should  be  about  4  inches  wide,  with  ^-inch  spaces  between, 
so  that  good  drainage  is  certain.  When  in  active  growth  liberal  supplies 
of  water  are  needed,  but  on  no  account  must  water  stagnate  about  the 
roots. 
When  plenty  of  openings  at  the  base  are  provided  no  other  drainage 
is  needed.  A  thin  layer  of  old  Mushroom  bed  refuse  or  thoroughly 
decayed  manure  is  spread  over  the  bottom  of  the  boxes,  then  a  good 
layer  of  the  compost  in  which  the  bulbs  are  to  be  grown.  This  may 
consist  of  old  potting  soil,  a  third  of  fresh  loam  with  the  addition  of 
sand,  a  little  leaf  mould,  and  one-seventh  of  decayed  manure.  The 
compost  placed  over  the  manure  should  be  made  firm  and  sufficiently 
deep  to  allow  of  the  top  of  the  bulbs  just  being  buried  when  the  soil  is 
level  by  the  sides  of  the  boxes.  The  bulbs  must  be  packed  closely 
together  in  the  boxes.  The  spaces  about  the  bulbs  should  be  filled  with 
soil  by  the  aid  of  the  fingers  and  pressed  as  firmly  as  possible  without 
injury  to  the  bulbs. 
After  the  bulbs  are  boxed  they  should  be  placed  outside  and  covered 
with  4  inches  of  fine  coal  ashes  or  cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse.  The  soil  ought 
to  be  in  an  intermediate  state  for  moisture  ;  on  no  account  ought  it  to  be 
BO  dry  as  to  necessitate  water  being  given,  and  on  the  other  hand  it 
must  not  be  too  wet.  If  dry  weather  ensues  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to 
cover  the  ashes  with  litter,  or  even  water  the  surface,  the  former  being 
the  better  method.  If  grown  in  pots  the  treatment  is  the  same,  only  the 
6-inch  pots,  which  are  the  best  size,  should  be  drained,  and  six  bulbs  can 
be  grown  in  each . 
By  the  time  the  bulbs  have  made  1  inch  of  growth  they  will  be  ready 
to  remove  from  the  ashes,  as  the  boxes  will  be  full  of  roots.  Success 
or  failure  depends  entirely  on  the  treatment  they  receive  from  this  time 
forw.ard.  Those  not  needed  for  early  forcing  should  be  placed  in  a  cold 
frame,  and  light  gradually  admitted  to  them  until  the  foliage  is  green. 
Those  needed  for  early  flowers  may  be  stood  under  the  greenhouse  stage, 
where  partial  light  will  reach  them,  and  the  drip  of  other  plants  will 
not  fall  on  them.  After  about  ten  days  they  may  be  placed  on  the  floor 
of  any  cool  house  where  a  little  heat  from  the  mains  can  reach  them. 
I  am  writing  now  of  forcing  one  or  two  boxes  at  a  time,  and  not  large 
quantities.  The  bulbs  in  the  side"  of  the  box  nearest  the  warmth 
will  soon  show  signs  of  moving,  and  the  box  is  then  turned  round. 
This  starting  is  the  most  dangerous  period  in  the  forcing  of  double 
Daffodils. 
They  start  splendidly  after  being  in  a  cool  house  for  a  fortnight  if 
stood  on  a  bed  of  leaves,  the  moist  genial  warmth  suiting  them  well  if 
abundance  of  air  is  given  at  the  same  time.  Once  the  plants  are  on 
the  move  an  intermediate  temperature  may  be  given  until  the  flowers 
are  pushing  up  freely.  Gentle  forcing  is  necessary  for  all  bulbs  until 
they  reach  the  stage  indicated,  when  they  will  bear  close  warm 
treatment  with  impunity,  but  at  no  time  do  we  advise  a  higher  tempera¬ 
ture  than  65°. 
When  first  removed  from  the  ashes  we  do  not  soak  the  boxes  with 
water.  On  the  contrary,  we  merely  dew  them  with  the  syringe  once  or 
twice  a  day  until  they  display  signs  of  growth.  After  this  stage  we 
give  them  a  good  soaking  of  water,  and  never  allow  the  soil  to  become 
dry,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  do  not  pour  water  into  the  boxes  for  the 
mere  purpose  of  doing  so.  Feeding  we  do  not  practise,  and  have  never 
found  it  necessary.  Give  the  plants  a  good  fairly  rich  compost  and  they 
need  no  feeding  afterwards.  If  attention  is  paid  to  the  details  given 
cultivators  need  not  fail  in  growing  to  perfection  Daffodils  to  whichever 
section  they  may  belong. — Wm.  Babdney,  Osmaston  Manor. 
Tea  Bose  Maman  Cochet. 
I  CUT  a  bloom  of  this  Rose  the  other  day  nearly  5  inches  ic 
diameter  and  beautifully  formed  and  coloured.  I  cannot  speak  too 
highly  of  this  variety.  It  is  one  of  the  best  Roses  of  recent  introduction. 
It  does  well  on  both  dwarfs  and  standards,  and  blooms  continuously  and 
well  throughout  the  season.  It  should  be  in  everybody’s  garden.  I  am 
so  delighted  with  this  new  Rose  that  I  shall  be  glad  if  you  will  advise 
the  readers  of  the  Journal  to  grow  it,  knowing  as  I  do  that  it  will  be  to 
their  advantage  to  do  so. — Hy.  V.  Machin. 
[We  can  say  nothing  that  would  add  weight  to  Mr.  Machin’s  estimate 
of  this  Rose.] 
Planting  Rose  Stocks. 
I  peefer  early  spring  for  this  instead  of  autumn.  All  through  the 
winter  and  summer  the  bulk  of  our  young  stock  has  been  below  the 
soil,  and  to  lift  and  expose  the  soft  bark  to  a  severe  frost  does  not 
recommend  itself  to  me.  We  may  now  plant  as  shallow  as  possible,  but 
not  in  too  rich  a  soil,  unless  they  are  in  permanent  quarters.  We  must 
also  consider  this  point  as  regards  distance  between  the  stocks,  and  again 
give  a  little  thought  to  the  habit  of  growth  possessed  by  the  varieties  to 
be  worked.  Why  I  would  not  use  a  rich  soil  at  this  stage  is  because  a 
coarsely  grown  stock  often  overfloods  the  bud  with  sap,  or  the  bark 
overgrows  and  smothers  it. 
The  planting  out  of  stocks  to  bud  on,  and  their  transplantation  as 
Rose  plants,  affords  another  good  opportunity  of  cutting  out  any 
suckers,  which  seldom  develop  on  properly  worked  plants  after  the  first 
season.  Besides,  we  can  get  many  more  plants  on  the  same  ground, 
and  be  sure  of  sufficient  for  the  purposes  intended.  Supposing  we 
intend  to  grow  a  collection,  some  of  such  growth  as  Madame  Gabriel 
Luizet  and  Gloire  de  Dijon  ;  others  like  Baroness  Rothschild  and  Mrs. 
John  Laing,  or  such  short  growers  as  Etienne  Levet  and  Lady  Mary 
Fitzwiiliam,  it  is  much  best  to  set  out  our  number  of  stocks  at  suitable 
distances.  The  strongest  growers  need  3^  feet  between  the  rows  and 
foot  from  stock  to  stock.  Three  feet  is  ample  for  such  as  Mrs.  John 
Laing,  with  1  foot  in  the  row  ;  while  the  dwarfer  growers  may  be 
cultivated  in  maiden  stage  as  closely  as  2  feet  by  9  inches. 
Always  plant  dwarf  stocks  a#  shallow  as  possible,  and  then  draw  up 
some  soil  around  them.  This  acts  both  as  a  protection  and  as  a  support 
during  the  time  they  are  not  rooted  into  the  soil  enough  to  stand  firmly. 
When  budding  time  comes  round  again,  we  remove  this  ridge  of  soil,  and 
thus  expose  a  soft  and  pliable  bark  as  well  as  greatly  facilitating  the 
insertion  of  the  Rose  bud  upon  the  base  of  the  stock.  As  I  have  already 
pointed  out,  we  cannot  get  this  too  close  on  the  crown  of  roots. 
Early  rooted  cuttings  may  also  be  lifted  in  November  and  potted  for 
grafting  the  following  spring.  Standard  and  half-standard  Briar 
stocks  need  a  little  preparation.  I  like  to  have  these  before  hard  weather 
sets  in,  as  the  collectors  are  apt  to  get  a  few  at  a  time  and  let  them  lie 
about  exposed  to  frosts  and  drying  winds.  When  planted  early  these 
also  callus  and  root  before  trying  weather  arrives,  and  they  invariably  do 
better  than  late  planted  stocks.  I  trim  Briar  stocks  much  closer  than 
many,  and  find  it  an  improvement.  When  planted  with  coarse  and 
straggly  roots  or  knobs  there  is  not  only  a  much  greater  risk  of  future 
suckers,  but  it  so  often  happens  that  the  new  roots  are  formed  on  the 
edge  of  the  coarse  roots,  becoming  broken  and  otherwise  injured  during 
lifting. 
Like  the  dwarfs,  I  prefer  to  plant  these  thickly,  and  raise  a  maiden 
Rose  tree,  transplanting  this  again  later ;  but  we  do  not  root  the 
standard  stocks  a  season  previous  to  budding.  They  are  set  in  rows, 
prepared  the  same  as  for  dwarfs,  but  3  feet  from  row  to  row,  and  9  inches 
or  more  from  stock  to  stock.  As  growth  breaks  in  the  spring,  all  but  two 
or  three  of  the  most  prominent,  and  situated  nearest  to  the  height  we 
desire  our  future  Rose  trees  stem  to  be,  are  rubbed  off.  This  gives  us  a 
stronger  shoulder  to  work  the  bud  on,  and  prevents  so  great  a  tangle 
of  growth,  which  would  otherwise  hinder  the  operator.  If  possible 
choose  the  shoulders  to  be  on  opposite  sides,  as  if  they  are  directly 
above  one  another  it  is  obvious  that  the  Rose  growths  from  each  will 
crowd  and  incommode. 
When  lifting  maiden  standards  for  transplantation  we  must  again 
give  a  close  look  for  suckers.  Never  aim  at  higher  stems  than  you  can 
avoid,  and  still  suit  your  purpose  ;  nor  should  we  attempt  any  but  strong 
and  free  growers  in  this  form.  Short  hedge  Briars,  about  a  foot  or  two 
only,  are  most  useful  for  many  of  the  delicate  Teas  and  H.  Perpetuals, 
and  more  especially  for  those  of  drooping  habit,  like  Souvenir  d’un  Ami 
and  Niphetos  for  example. — Practice. 
