208 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  5,  1896. 
This  superb  Rose  is  well  worthy  of  the  extended  cultivation  which 
it  receives,  and  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  good  old  Gloire,  I 
know  of  none  that  so  well  repays  the  efforts  of  the  cultivator,  its 
great  drawback  being  the  shortness  of  its  display  of  bloom,  but  during 
the  flowering  period  I  know  nothing  to  equal  it  in  beauty.  I  know  a 
knotty  cracked  old  specimen  that  one  year  yielded  over  a  thousand 
flowers,  and  that  with  little  trouble.  Where  the  plant  obtains  its 
nourishment  is  somewhat  of  a  mystery,  as  it  is  growing  in  an  8-inch  pot 
plunged  in  a  border  about  2  feet  wide,  and  none  of  its  roots  have  been 
observed  in  the  border  outside  the  pot.  If  they  have  gone  down  perpen¬ 
dicularly  after  leaving  the  pot  they  must  have  found  a  rich  feeding 
ground  somewhere.  It  is  budded  on  the  Briar  about  3  feet  above  the 
ground.  This  Rose  well  repays  for  cultivation  in  pots  for  early  forcing, 
and  that  cultivation  is  remarkably  easy.  Whatever  may  be  the  case 
with  some  Roses,  this  Rose  grows  as  well  on  its  own  as  on  foster  roots, 
and  roots  as  freely  as  a  Pelargonium. 
Cuttings,  which  may  be  had  in  plenty  as  the  plant  ceases  flowering, 
are  best  inserted  singly  in  thumb  pots,  using  good  sandy  soil  and  leaf 
mould  or  Mushroom-bed  refuse.  Place  them  quickly  in  a  propagating 
frame  in  good  heat.  Bottom  heat  may  be  an  advantage,  it  is  not 
indispensable,  and  they  will  root  in  a  month  or  five  weeks,  or  some 
in  less.  I  have  had  some  rooted  in  three  weeks,  and  others  have 
taken  twice  that  time.  When  rooted  they  are  taken  out  of  the 
frame  and  transferred  into  4^-inch  pots  as  the  thumbs  become  full  of 
roots  ;  and  here  I  may  say  that  if  any  do  not  grow  freely  at  this  stage 
they  had  better  be  thrown  away,  as  time  spent  in  coddling  a  weakly 
plant  is  wasted.  Employ  a  compost  of  sound  loam  with  sand  and 
decomposed  manure.  From  the  4J-inch  pots  they  may  be  transferred 
into  7-inch,  using  a  good  compost,  and  these  may  be  allowed  to  remain 
till  after  flowering. 
Our  plants  are  kept  in  heat,  trained  up  the  back  wall  of  a  lean-to 
Cucumber  house,  till  the  roots  have  taken  to  the  soil  in  the  larger  pots, 
when  they  are  removed  to  the  greenhouse  and  trained  up  the  rafters, 
and  with  careful  attention  grow  to  the  length  of  9  or  10  feet  by 
autumn,  and  after  being  rested  and  nailed  to  a  south  wall  they  can  be 
readily  forced.  If  bent  down  in  the  same  way  as  young  Vines  every 
bud  will  start.  After  flowering  they  may  be  transferred  to  larger  pots 
10  or  12  inches  in  diameter,  and  in  these  they  will  grow  well  for  several 
seasons  if  judiciously  fed  after  the  pots  are  full  of  roots.  I  have  a  large 
plant  whicn  has  grown  nearly  three  years  in  a  tub  that  holds  little  more 
than  a  cubic  foot  of  soil,  and  for  the  last  twelve  months  or  more  this 
tub  has  been  crammed  with  roots  ;  yet  the  plant  made  several  shoots 
last  season,  varying  in  length  from  5  to  10  feet  and  stout  in  proportion, 
beside  a  host  of  others  of  less  dimensions,  but  all  useful  for  producing 
flowers.  All  the  assistance  this  plant  had  was  a  potful  of  weak  liquid 
manure  once  a  week. 
This  Rose  does  not  seem  difficult  to  suit  in  the  matter  of  soil.  Two 
of  the  most  vigorous  young  plants  I  ever  saw  are  growing  in  widely 
different  composts.  One  is  growing  in  a  tub  about  2  feet  square  by 
1  foot  deep,  and  was  planted  in  sods  freshly  cut  ;  the  other  is  growing 
in  mixture  of  clay  and  decayed  garden  refuse.  Both  are  on  their  own 
roots  and  about  the  same  age,  and  there  is  little  to  choose  between  them. 
I  think  that  plants  on  their  own  roots  are  nearly  as  liable  to  crack  as 
worked  plants.  I  know  two  valuable  specimens  that  commenced  to  crack 
in  the  main  stem  about  3  feet  above  ground.  As  soon  as  the  crack  was 
observed  a  box  supported  on  stakes  was  placed  round  it  and  filled  with 
good  soil.  Roots  soon  began  to  appear  at  the  cracked  part  of  the  stem, 
and  when  the  box  was  full  the  main  stem  was  severed  and  the  whole 
plant  lowered  till  the  box  rested  on  the  ground,  when  it  was  knocsed 
away  from  the  ball,  which  was  planted  in  good  soil,  and  tbe  plant  soon 
grew  away  as  freely  as  ever.  If  the  crack  is  situated  so  that  boxing 
cannot  be  done,  and  the  stem  below  is  bare  of  shoots,  a  few  buds  may  be 
inserted,  and  when  they  have  taken  the  stem  may  be  cut  below  the  crack, 
which  will  cause  them  to  start,  and  if  the  root  is  sound,  a  good  plant 
will  soon  be  had.  If  there  is  a  healthy  young  shoot  below  the  crack  it 
might  be  inarched  into  the  stem  above  the  faulty  part,  and  a  supply  of 
sap  again  established.  This  mode  of  renewing  the  cracked  stem  of  a 
fruit  tree  is  successful,  and  I  see  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  applied 
to  the  Rose,  but  I  have  not  tried  it. 
Some  growers  prune  this  Rose  severely  after  flowering,  going  to 
the  length  of  cutting  all  growth  back  to  three  or  four  buds  from  the 
main  stems.  By  this  method  strong  growths  are  obtained,  but  the 
blooming  capacity  is  lessened,  as  flowers  are  freely  produced  on  the 
shorter  growths  which  spring  from  last  year’s  wood.  I  believe  the  only 
pruning  needed  is  that  of  thinning  out  the  weak  growths  as  the  plant 
becomes  crowded.  Bending  down  the  strong  growths  as  much  as  possible 
when  growth  has  ceased  for  the  season  has  the  effect  of  causing  every  bud 
to  break  into  flower  in  the  coming  spring,  and  also  of  sending  strong 
growths  out  from  the  base  of  last  year’s  wood,  thus  securing  all  the 
advantages  of  close  pruning  without  its  attendant  sacrifice  of  valuable 
flowering  wood.  I  believe  it  is  necessary  to  bend  down  the  wood  early 
in  winter,  as  I  have  never  had  such  a  regular  break  when  it  has  been 
deferred  till  growth  has  nearly  begun. — Rosakian. 
PRIMULA  CAPITATA. 
The  Round-headed  Mealy  Primrose  is  perhaps  one  of  the  finest  of  the 
hardy  Primulas,  and  closely  allied  to  the  better  known  P.  denticulata. 
It  is  botanically  known  as  Primula  capitata,  and  was  first  introduced  to 
cultivation  by  Sir  J.  D.  Hooker,  who  found  it  growing  on  gravelly 
banks  at  Lachen,  Sikkim  Himalaya,  at  an  elevation  of  10,000  feet  above 
sea  level.  It  has  also  been  found  common  in  the  Hariab  district  in 
boggy  and  spongy  meadow  ground  that  is  watered  by  springs  at  eleva¬ 
tions  of  8000  feet.  Although  a  true  perennial  in  its  native  habitats  it 
can  hardly  be  regarded  as  such  in  our  gardens  ;  for  although  a  few  will 
continue  to  flower  the  second,  and  even  the  third  year,  this  is  excep¬ 
tional,  and  the  majority  of  them  die  after  having  flowered  once. 
It  ripens  seeds  fairly  well  in  good  seasons,  and  a  succession  may  be 
had  in  this  way  ;  but  if  the  seedlings  are  raised  in  pots  it  is  always 
safest  to  plant  them  out  as  soon  as  they  are  ready  to  handle,  as  their 
chance  is  greater  than  when  kept  in  pots  or  boxes.  A  north  exposure 
should  be  chosen,  shady  but  open,  and  employ  a  mixture  of  rich  loam 
and  peat  in  about  equal  proportions.  In  dry  weather  they  should  be 
kept  well  watered  ;  indeed,  they  should  never  be  allowed  to  get  dry  at 
the  root,  and  as  much  care  as  possible  must  be  taken  to  keep  the  water 
off  the  leaves.  The  seed  may  be  sown  as  soon  as  ripe  in  the  autumn,  or 
kept  until  the  spring,  say  the  present  time.  The  latter  we  think  the 
safer,  as  the  plants  gain  strength  enough  to  carry  them  through  the 
winter  without  showing  flower  until  the  second  year,  unless  the  situation 
be  too  hot. 
Primula  capitata  (fig.  30)  grows  about  a  foot  high,  each  plant 
bearing  two  or  more  scapes,  and  each  carrying  a  large  globular  head  of 
flowers  not  unlike  a  Sea  Pink  or  an  Allium.  The  flowers  are  sessile, 
closely  packed  together,  deep  purple,  eet  off  to  the  best  advantage  by 
the  mealy  dust  that  covers  the  whole  plant.  The  leaves  are  radical, 
about  6  inches  long,  oblong  lanceolate,  rugose,  with  sharply  serrated 
margins.  From  seedlings  two  good  varieties  have  been  introduced 
under  the  names  of  coerulea  and  atro- violacea,  the  latter  being  by  far 
the  best  colour  we  have  ever  seen.  Another  called  grandiflora  seems  to 
be  a  hybrid.  It  has  distinct  leaves,  and  improves  on  the  type  in  the  size 
of  its  flowers,  which  are  produced  in  June. 
CULTURE  OF  ONIONS. 
The  Onion  is  an  ancient  root,  which  helps  to  digest  many  important 
articles  of  food  that  would  otherwise  fail  to  nourish,  while  also  it  con¬ 
tributes  materially  to  the  enjoyment  of  health.  My  intention  is  to 
give  my  plan  of  cultivation  of  this  most  valuable  vegetable.  There  are 
two  varieties  of  Onions — namely,  the  Tripoli,  or  autumn  sown,  and  the 
spring  sown,  but  I  will  deal  only  with  the  latter.  In  the  autumn,  say 
October  or  November,  if  your  ground  is  light  give  a  thorough  good 
dressing  of  farmyard  manure.  By  saying  farmyard  manure  I  do  not 
mean  that  you  are  obliged  to  get  it  direct  from  a  farmyard,  but  such  as 
half-decayed  cow  or  pig  manure  spread  evenly  over  the  ground  intended 
for  Onions.  On  the  top  of  that  place  a  dressing  of  soot,  and  do 
not  be  afraid  of  over-application.  I  am  a  great  advocate  for  soot  as  a 
very  valuable  fertiliser,  in  fact  I  claim  soot  as  the  best  dressing  I  can 
give  Onions.  After  the  manure  and  soot  are  on  the  ground  dig  the 
latter  well,  not  being  afraid  of  putting  the  spade  deep  in  the  ground, 
leaving  it  as  rough  as  possible  for  tbe  frost  and  weather  to  penetrate 
it  thoroughly.  This  work  should  be  finished  by  the  end  of  November 
or  beginning  of  December,  leaving  it  in  state  mentioned  until  the  first 
week  in  February. 
Stronger  ground  should  be  dressed  with  a  lighter  kind  of  manure — 
namely,  that  from  the  stables,  with  ashes  and  soot  intermixed,  applied  in 
thesame  way  as  on  light  soil,  digging  thoroughly  and  leaving  as  rough  as 
possible  ;  but  in  this  case  I  consider  that  this  work  should  be  finished 
by  the  end  of  October,  as  this  class  of  soil  requires  to  stand  longer  than 
a  lighter  soil,  leave  it  rough  Hntil  the  first  week  in  January,  when  it 
should,  if  weather  permits,  be  forked  lightly  over,  giving  another  dressing 
of  soot,  but  not  such  a  heavy  one  as  before,  leaving  it  then  until  the  first 
week  in  February.  The  first  week  in  February  give  another  dressing  of 
soot,  and  then  rake  all  over  with  a  wooden  rake,  such  as  is  used  in  the 
hay  fields.  This  completed,  go  through  the  same  process  with  an  iron 
rake  merely  to  level  the  ground.  Then  go  over  it  again,  tread  all  firmly 
with  the  feet  close  together,  and  cross  it  in  the  same  manner,  afterwards 
raking  to  level  the  foot  marks  out,  and  the  ground  is  then  ready  for  the 
seeds. 
I  prefer  the  drills  to  be  14  inches  apart,  it  being  a  great  mistake  to 
have  the  rows  too  close,  as  it  is  then  very  difficult  to  keep  the  ground 
clear  in  the  growing  season,  and  if  weeds  are  allowed  to  grow  they  check 
the  growth  of  the  Onions  in  their  young  state,  which  keeps  them  weak,  and 
the  fly  has  a  better  chance  to  penetrate  than  is  the  case  with  strong  young 
