6 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  6,  1898. 
which  should  not  be  omitted.  They  are  grown  and  trained  in  the  old 
fashioned  style,  and  such  plants  are  rarely  seen. 
Apart  from  the  successful  attention  ^Slr.  Cypher  gives  to  exhibiting,  he 
also  conducts  an  extensive  nursery  business,  particularly  in  Orchids, 
indoor  plants,  and  open  air  shrubs.  The  cut  flower  trade  done,  too,^  is 
most  extensive,  especially  in  bouquets,  wreaths,  and  crosses,  for  which 
this  nursery  is  noted.  In  years  gone  by  many  persons  will  remember 
Mr.  Cypher  as  a  most  successful  competitor  in  the  dinner  table  and  other 
decorative  classes  at  shows.  I  have  frequently  admired  the  aptitude  he 
displayed,  and  have  told  him  frequently  it  was  a  pity  he  discontinued 
it.  One  of  the  most  valued  prizes  Mr.  Cypher  has  ever  secured  was 
when  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  held  its  show  at  Carlisle  some 
fifteen  or  sixteen  years  ago,  a  show  much  noted  for  excessive  moisture,  if 
I  recollect  rightly.  A  local  countess  offered  a  twenty-five  guinea  cup  for 
the  best  decorated  dinner  table,  and  Mr.  Cypher  won  the  coveted  dis¬ 
tinction  ;  a  mark,  I  think,  amongst  many  others  which  stamps  the 
recipient  as  a  genius  in  all  that  relates  to  flowers.  But  I  am 
deviating. 
All  kinds  of  decorative  plants  are  quite  as  well  grown  as  the  large 
specimens.  Three  houses  are  given  up  to  Maidenhair  Ferns.  Two  large 
houses  were  full  of  December-flowering  Chrysanthemums  in  fine  leaf,  and 
with  a  profusion  of  buds  and  bloom.  The  varieties  grown  for  this  time 
are  Niveus,  Lady  Lawrence.  Golden  Wedding,  and  W.  H.  Lincoln.  In 
the  summer  time  these  houses  are  devoted  to  Tomato  culture.  Many 
Bouvardias  are  grown  for  the  usefulness  and  excellence  of  their  flowers 
at  this  season.  Carnations  in  pots  also  receive  attention.  Miss  Jolliffe 
is  a  leading  favourite,  as  is  Lady  Rothschild. 
Greenhouse  Rhododendrons  are  finely  grown,  and  were  bristling  with 
flower  buds  like  an  Azalea.  Fielder  s  White  is  regarded  as  the  best 
amongst  the  latter  for  cutting.  Its  flowers  are  perfect,  and  it  grows  so 
freely  that  if  2  or  3  inches  of  wood  and  a  quantity  of  foliage  is  cut  oflT 
with  each  head  of  flower,  the  plant  will,  by  another  year,  be  as  luxuriant 
as  ever.  Stephanotis  are  growing  on  the  roof  of  several  of  the  houses, 
the  flowers  being  regarded  as  indispensable  in  summer  for  choice  deco¬ 
rations.  Lily  of  the  Valley  is  also  in  great  demand,  and  some  60,000 
crowns  are  forced  for  the  supply  during  the  shorter  days  of  the  year. 
There  are  also  houses  devoted  to  Cinerarias,  Primulas,  Gardenias, 
Cyclamens,  Camellias,  Tea  Roses,  and  other  plants. 
Upwards  of  seventy  hands  are  employed  in  the  nursery,  and  Mr. 
Cypher's  style  of  dealing  with  these  is  original.  He  does  not  believe  in 
his  men  as  “  rolling  stock,”  consequently  they  are  mainly  permanent 
hands  who  have  been  taught  in  his  own  efficient  way,  and  master  and 
men  live  on  terms  of  harmony  to  an  extent  that  is  not  often  experienced 
or  seen. — PEREGRINE. 
HERBS  AND  AROMATIC  PLANTS. 
{.Concluded  from,  page  604,  last  rol.) 
Angelica  and  Anise  are  yet  in  some  large  esiablishments  esteemed 
for  confectionery  purposes.  The  former,  a  biennial,  if  sown  in  early 
autumn  wi^l  produce  the  following  season  sufficiently  large  leaf¬ 
stalks  for  candying,  a  purpose  for  which  it  is  almost  exclusively 
grown  with  us,  although  put  to  further  uses  on  the  Continent.  Anise, 
an  annual  now  seldom  seen  in  cultivation,  I  found  to  be  often  in 
demand  by  an  old-fashioned  housekeeper,  when  our  summers  permitted 
the  ripening  of  the  seeds.  Balm  and  Borage  may  be  mentioned 
together,  both  being  used  in  the  concoction  of  claret  cup,  and  woe 
betide  the  man  who  upon  their  demand  is  found  wanting.  However, 
a  few  roots  of  the  first,  a  “well-known  perennial,  will  generally  meet 
all  requirements,  and  the  annual  Borage,  when  once  introduced  to  <-he 
herb  border,  will  eventually  assert  its  right  of  being  by  running  over 
the  garden.  Still  to  prevent  errors,  although  few  can  mistake  it 
either  in  or  out  of  riower,  it  is  best  to  keep  a  few  plants  to  their  own 
place ;  one  man  who  catered  for  the  kitchen  having  a  predilection  for 
gathering  Anchusa  italica  in  preference  to  the  genuine  article. 
Fennel,  one  short  row  of  which  will  be  found  sufficient,  requires 
annually  cutting  down  prior  to -seeding,  thus  keeping  it  to  its  own 
quarters.  Like  Borage  it  is  of  weedy  habit,  but  indispensable  to  a 
collection.  Chervil  holds  a  prominent  place  among  the  herbs  proper, 
and  in  some  places  is  in  daily  demand.  In  this  case  several 
sowings  from  spring  to  autumn  will  be  necessary,  the  latest  pro¬ 
ducing  strong  plants  to  stand  the  winter  without  “bolting.”  The 
ubiquitous  pot  Marigold  is  seldom  absent  from  old-fashioned  gardens, 
with  its  cheerful  blossoms,  the  virtues  of  which  for  culinary  purposes 
are  now  rarely  recognised.  The  improved  forms  are,  indeed,  worthy 
of  space  in  any  mixed  borders  or  otherwise,  but  I  still  have  a  penchant 
for  a  single  line  on  the  herb  border  of  the  old  deep-coloured  single 
variety,  which  charmed  me  as  a  child  in  the  long  ago. 
Burnet,  Caraway,  Clary,  Coriander,  Costmary,  and  Dill  one  need 
hardly  descant  upon.  They  are  old-fashioned,  practically  “  out  of 
date,”  hence  the  reason  room  was  found  for  them  on  my  herb  border. 
Tansy,  too,  enters  into  modern  cookery,  although  its  elegantly  curled 
foliage  is  distinctly  ornamental  ;  however,  once  introduced  it  is  a 
thorough  vagabond,  insinuating  itself  amongst  the  most  substantial  of 
Box  edgings.  Still,  with  all  its  faults  I  can  tolerate  it,  and  for  rough 
decorative  purposes,  where  its  highly  aromatic  perfume  is  not  its  ban, 
I  have  found  it  useful  for  cutting.  Chives  are  often  called  for  by  a 
French  chef,  and  Garlic,  to  which  a  small  bed  may  be  devoted,  with 
the  same  treatment  as  for  Shallots,  which  are  equally  important,  will 
suit,  unless  grown  on  a  larger  scale.  A  good  manuring,  with  a  well 
firmed  soil,  and  early  planting,  will  give  good  ripened  bulbs  for 
'harvesting  ere  summer  is  out. 
Rampion,  a  biennial,  the  nutty  flavoured  roots  of  which  are 
occasionally  used  in  salads,  was  in  one  place,  where  salad  making 
was  studied  as  a  fine  art,  considered  to  be  indispensable.  Sorrel, 
under  one  or  other  of  its  forms,  is  often  called  for,  but  seldom, 
perhaps,  in  sufficient  quantity  to  require  more  than  two  or  three 
lines  of  it  finding  a  place  on  the  herb  border.  The  common  Sorrel 
is  well  known,  but  there  is  a  round,  glaucous-leaved  variety,  of  much 
more  pronounced  acidity  now  rarely  met  with,  but  well  worth  having. 
Ilorehound,  Wormwood,  and  Rue,  all  easily  raised  from  seeds,  will 
invariably  be  found  in  a  good  collection.  The  merits  of  Chamomile 
are,  I  think,  sufiBcient  to  justify  one,  at  least,  of  our  beds,  as  previously 
outlined,  being  planted  with  it ;  the  annual  crop  of  blossoms  may  be 
gathered  at  intervals,  as  they  develop,  for  drying. 
As  the  various  kinds  of  herbs  likely  to  be  required  for  culinary 
purposes  come  to  the  blossoming  stage,  good  bunches  should  be  cut 
and  dried.  Some  cooks  prefer  to  do  this  themselves;  but  in  any  case 
it  is  as  well  to  have  an  edition  of  this  hortus  siccus  kept  in  the  garden, 
each  kind  to  be  legibly  labelled.  Those  aromatic  plants  which  remain 
to  be  noticed,  being  chiefly  of  shrubby  habit,  may  well  claim  a  place 
in  the  background  of  our  mixed  borders.  The  principal  of  these  are 
Lavender  and  Rosemary,  each  of  which  requires  no  pressing  of  their 
claims  on  those  who  love  old-fashioned  plants.  A  packet  of  seed  of 
each  will  give  vigorous  plants  for  all  purposes,  any  surplus  lending 
additional  interest  and  charm  to  the  shrubberies  or  other  part  of  the 
kept  grounds  according  to  circumstances.  For  the  fragrant  Southern¬ 
wood  one  would  fain  ask  a  place,  and  Aloysia  citriodora,  the  so  called 
Sweet-scented  Verbena,  has  charms  so  peculiarly  its  own,  that  no 
garden,  great  or  small,  should  be  without  it ;  and  where  a  little 
protection  is  necessary  to  insure  its  well  being  through  the  winter, 
none  could  grudge  the  labour  thus  involved.  A  small  plant  wintered 
under  glass  will,  upon  starting  in  the  spring,  provide  slips  easily  • 
rooted  in  a  little  heat. 
Myrtles,  two  varieties  of  which,  the  broad  and  narrow-leaved,  are 
commonly  cultivated,  are  no  less  worthy  of  our  regard,  and  a  favoured 
spot  under  the  shelter  of  a  warm  w'all.  The  grace  and  beauty  of  the 
broad-leaved  variety  when  studded  with  its  simple  flowers  it  would  be 
superfluous  to  extol,  whilst  sprays  of  the  narrow-leaved  kind  may  well 
enter  into  the  composition  of  any  bouquet,  however  rare.  Amongst 
things  of  lowly  growth  suitable  for  rockwork  such  deliciously  perfumed 
and  elegant  little  flowering  plants  as  Thymus  minima  and  T.  minima 
alba  must  be  named,  and  the  pungent  peppermint-scented  T.  Corsica, 
probably  the  most  odorous  of  the  family,  is  a  gem.  Our  list,  although 
not  exhausted,  is,  perhaps,  for  all  practical  or  sentimental  purposes, 
sufficiently  comprehensive,  hence  one  may  conclude  with  the  hope  of 
eventually  seeing  a  certain  amount  of  interest  revived  in  the  matter. — 
Herbalist. 
A  “DULL  JOURNAL”  and  LIVELY  DISCOVERY. 
A  Lesson  from  Life. 
“  Mr.  Edward  Ess,  at  the  Hall,  and  I  both  think  the  last  number 
or  two  of  the  J.  of  II.  rather  dull.  He  suggests  that  you  might 
charter  the  Emperor  for  a  lively  series.”  That  is  what  I  have 
received  on  a  postcard  from  the  Editor,  with  the  laconic  request — 
“Find  Ess,  then  trace  ‘ I.’  The  postal  stamp  suggests  tboy  are  in 
your  district ;  find  them  and  make  the  best  of  them.” 
I  have  long  knowm  how  difficult  it  is  for  a  gardener  to  make  any 
kind  .of  forecast  of  what  he  may  be  called  on  to  do,  and  have  been 
more  than  once  astonished  by  the  nature  of  things  which  were  assumed 
to  come  within  the  scope  of  his  “  duty,”  and  have  tried  to  think  of 
more  in  order  that  I  might  prepare  myself  to  be  up  to  anything  ;  but 
in  all  my  imaginings  I  never  came  within  miles  of  anticipating  being 
called  on  to  play  the  part  of  defective  or  explorer,  and  that  I  should 
receive  a  missive  to  “  find  Ess,”  I  think  no  one  could  anticipate  such 
an  outlandish  surprise,  _____ 
In  ruminating  over  the  matter,  I  was  overcome  by  some  peculiar 
influence  savouring  of  the  romantic,  and  another  missive  —  an 
historical  missive  of  the  past — filled  my  mental  vision.  It,  too,  was 
from  an  Editor  to  a  man  of  resource  and  great  daring  —  “  Find 
Livingstone.”  Oh,  the  vanity  of  poor  humanity !  What  utter 
absurdity  that  I  should,  even  in  a  momentary  flash,  feel  myself  a 
Stanley.  We  cannot,  however,  help  the  association  of  ideas.  They 
just  associate  themselves  in  spite  of  us,  and  not  many  of  even  the 
most  sober,  sedate,  and  unemotional  but  who  have  not  at  some 
time  or  other  played  at  “  Kings  and  Queens.”  But,  to  come  to  facts, 
Livingstone  was  found,  and  so  was  “  Ess  and  1.” 
