346 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  7,  1897. 
rather  unsightly,  was  cut  down  by  the  owner  under  the  impression  that 
he  would  secure  stronger  growth  from  the  base.  He  has  secured  such 
growth,  and  also,  what  he  did  not  expect,  grander  heads  than  the  plant 
ever  produced  before.  This  he  regards  as  a  lesson,  and  he  is  so  convinced 
of  its  value  that  he  intends  cutting  the  plant  down  again,  as  he  is  certain 
this  is  the  best  method  of  managing  it,  or,  in  other  words,  growing  it  as  an 
herbaceous  plant. 
There  are  now  many  plants  of  this  distinct  and  fine  Hydrangea 
grown  in  different  counties,  and  it  would  be  well  if  some  of  them  could 
be  cut  down  by  way  of  experiment.  There  can  be  little  to  lose  and  may 
he  much  to  gain,  for  certainly  the  heads  of  flowers  alluded  to  are  extra¬ 
ordinarily  fine.  Grown  on  the  cutting-down  system,  and  in  richer  soil 
than  is  usually  found  in  shrubbery  borders,  it  is  fair  to  suppose  that  the 
heads  would  be  still  larger,  and  large  beds  of  this  plant  with  a  back¬ 
ground  of  shrubs  would  form  a  striking  feature  at  this  period  of  the  year 
in  any  garden. 
The  plant  is  readily  propagated  by  cuttings  of  half-ripened  wood 
taken  from  the  plant  after  flowering,  and  inserted  under  hand-lights 
jdaced  on  the  shady  side  of  a  wall  or  hedge.  Younger  growths  can  also 
be  employed  for  cuttings,  and  these  will  root  quickly  if  inserted  either 
singly  in  pots  or  a  number  together  (the  first  method  being  preferable), 
and  placed  under  hand-lights  or  in  a  close  frame  until  they  are  rooted. 
If  propagated  in  heat,  give  a  good  watering  after  insertion,  and  keep  the 
cuttings  close  and  well  shaded  afterwards  until  they  are  rooted  ;  cuttings 
possessing  two  joints — one  to  be  in  the  ground  and  the  other  just  above 
the  soil — will  suffice. 
The  chief  secret  of  flowering  it  well  in  a  pot  is  the  thorough  matura¬ 
tion  of  the  wood.  After  flowering,  the  plant  should  be  hardened  and 
placed  outside,  then  in  autumn  or  early  spring  should  be  closely  pruned 
back  ;  if  one  pair  of  eyes  is  left  on  the  new  wood  that  will  be  ample.— R. 
TRAVELLER’S  TALES. 
Ever  and  anon  some  simple  subject  brings  in  its  train  a  host  of 
arguments  ;  good  enough  in  one  way,  valuable  in  another,  provided 
that  the  chief  object  is  kept  well  in  view  and  no  descent  is  made  into 
petty  personalities.  This  in  allusion  to  the  controversy  anent  the 
decadence  of  wall  tree  culture  in  particular,  and  gardening  in  general. 
To  the  latter  phase  1  have  ventured  to  repeat  the  query  which  is  appended 
to  the  heading  of  the  article  on  page  308.  From  the  intense  interest  that 
“  Traveller  "  presumably  takes  in  the  matter,  one  must  try  to  suppose 
that  his  primary  object  is  the  welfare  of  the  cause — of  gardening  and 
of  gardeners  ;  hence  we  will  endeavour,  like  “  The  Autocrat  of  the 
Breakfast  Table,”  “  to  love  him  none  the  less  for  anything  he  has  told 
us.” 
Whether  his  mode  of  attack  is  the  best  means  to  that  end  is  another 
matter,  and  one  open  to  question.  “  Methinks  the  gentleman  doth  protest 
too  much.”  What  would  he  have  when,  in  flinging  down  the  gauntlet 
from  “  the  rock  bed  of  unassailed  accirracy  Has  he  not  judged  — 
prejudged  the  whole  community,  and  found  them  wanting  ?  If  this  is 
admitted,  cui  bono  ? 
I  am  fully  aware  that  “Traveller’s”  indictment  offers  temptation  to 
engage  with  him  in  wordy  warfare,  and  that  he  has  baited  his  hook  with 
such  choice  morsels  that^ome  at  least  may  bite  to  their  cost,  for  I  doubt  not 
but  he  will  land  his  prey  somewhere  upon  that  solitary  “  rock.”  It  scarcely 
appears  possible  to  face  this  question,  “  Is  gardening  decaying  ?”  without 
drifting  into  some  of  those  side  issues  the  travelled  one  apparently  dreads, 
because  to  get  at  the  truth  analysis  is  necessary,  and  to  analyse  brings  us 
to  details.  However,  'tis  as  well  sometimes  to  see  ourselves  as  others  see 
us,  but  in  this  case  what  a  spectacle  ’tis,  surely  1 
Should  “Traveller”  return  to  his  tale  of  woe,  one  hopes  he  may  he 
able  to  point  the  way  to  better  things.  Who  among  the  whole 
“fraternity,”  young  or  old,  is  not  willing  to  learn,  and  is  learning  daily 
by  experience  ;  and  seeking,  too,  the  light  of  knowledge  from  others  who 
may  have  it  to  impart?  So  far  our  “trenchaut  ‘Traveller,’  who  has 
suddenly  appeared  to  sparkle  over  a  degenerate  world,”  dazzles  but  to 
“  lead  astray  ;  ”  and  at  present  appears  to  have  enveloped  himself  in 
conviction-proof  armour,  forged  upon  the  anvil  of  imagination. — Vespa. 
I?rFLTJEXCE  OF  FORESTS  OX  Farjiixg. — In  a  recent  article,  in  which 
reference  is  made  to  the  influence  of  forests  on  farming,  the  “Boston 
Transcript”  says  that  soil,  moisture,  and  heat  are  the  three  servants  of 
the  farmer.  The  soil  he  can  regulate  by  culture  and  fertilisers,  but 
moisture  and  heat  seem  out  of  his  control.  These  are  not  out  of  the 
control  of  the  woods,  however,  and  the  farmer  by  judicious  management 
of  his  tree-lot  can  bend  them  to  his  ends.  He  can  prevent  or  temper  the 
effects  of  atmospheric  changes,  he  can  avoid  the  disasters  of  excessive 
rainfall,  and  he  can  manage  the  water  to  his  own  benefit.  It  is  explained 
that  the  snows  of  winter  are  conserved  by  the  shade  of  the  trees,  and  do 
not  rush  away  at  the  earliest  moment  of  sunshine  to  swell  the  spring 
freshets  ;  the  loose  soil  of  the  woods,  not  hardened  by  the  impact  of  the 
raindrops,  holds  the  water  and  lets  it  percolate  to  the  springs  below  ; 
the  tree-covered  area  catches  more  of  the  snow,  and  the  shaded  surface 
does  not  give  up  its  moisture  in  evaporation  ;  there  is  more  water  there, 
and  means  are  present  to  prevent  its  waste,  so  that  the  subsoil  distribu¬ 
tion  is  better  and  stronger,  and  it  is  the  subsoil  waters  that  are  the 
farmer’s  standby  in  ease  of  need.— (“  Garden  and  Forest.”) 
Foreigx  Chrysanthemum  Shows. 
The  interest  in  the  Chrysanthemum  on  the  Continent  is  shown  by  a 
list  of  exhibitions  to  be  held,  which  appears  in  the  current  number  of 
“  Le  Chrysanth^me.”  Those  whose  dates  are  already  fixed  are  given  as 
follows  : — In  France,  4th  November,  Bourges  ;  4th  to  9th  November, 
Montpellier;  6th  to  10th  November,  Orleans;  10th  to  14th  November, 
Paris;  13th  to  15th  November,  Havre;  17th  to  21st  November,  Dijon. 
In  Belgium,  6th  to  8th  November,  Brussels  ;  14th  and  15th  November, 
Namur.  In  Switzerland,  17th  November,  Geneva.  In  Germany,  13th  to 
16th  November,  Carlsruhe  ;  14th  to  16th  November,  Munich.  Other 
shows,  the  dates  of  which  are  not  fixed,  will  be  held  at  Chambery, 
Frankfort-on-the-?VIain,  and  Strasbourg. — P. 
Welsh  Chrysanthemums. 
I  READ  with  interest  your  weekly  notes  on  Chrysanthemums,  and, 
living  so  far  from  any  grower,  I  should  be  very  glad  of  your  opinion  of 
the  enclosed  leaves  in  comparison  with  those  of  growers  in  more  favoured 
situations.  I  have  not  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  any  other  plants  this 
year.  With  regard  to  the  variety  Baron  Ad.  Rothschild,  which  is 
mentioned  by  your  Irish  correspondent,  it  does  not  lose  its  bottom  leaves 
here  any  more  than  do  the  other  varieties,  but  it  goes  spotted  all  up  the 
plant,  as  you  will  notice  by  the  enclosed.  During  the  six  years  I  have 
been  here  I  have  never  seen  an  earwig  on  any  of  the  plants,  and  mildew 
is  almost  at  vanishing  point  every  season.  The  Japanese  this  year  are 
much  dwarfer  on  the  whole,  while  some  of  the  incurved  are  a  trifle  taller. — 
Wm.  Mabbott,  Dowlais. 
[Our  correspondent  has  sent  us  fifty-four  leaves  of  distinct  varieties, 
and  as  each  one  is  named  their  foliage  characteristics  can  be  seen  at  a 
glance.  In  texture  the  leaves  are  perfect,  while  the  subsfiance  is  no  less 
inferior,  as  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  five  leaves  weigh  ozs., 
the  heaviest  one  turning  the  scale  at  just  over  half  an  ounce.  They  are 
most  creditable,  and  we  shall  be  pleased  if  IMr.  Mabbott  will  send  us  half 
a  dozen  blooms  to  see  if  they  are  commensurate  with  the  exceptional 
excellence  of  the  leafage.] 
Prevention  of  the  Chrysanthemum  Leaf  Miner. 
It  is  now  nearly  a  year  since  I  sent  you  some  leaves  of  Chrys¬ 
anthemums  and  Cinerarias  very  badly  infested  with  the  Chrysanthemum 
leaf-mining  maggot  (Tryptera  Artimisae)  and  asked  your  advice  for 
preventing  the  same  this  season.  Amongst  the  preventives  j'ou  gave  me 
was  one  I  determined  to  try — namely,  putting  pieces  of  cardboard  coated 
with  ?Myocum  gum  in  split  sticks,  and  place  among  the  plants  for  the 
purpose  of  catching  the  fly.  I  am  glad  to  testify  to  the  excellence  of  this 
plan.  Our  plants  are  mostly  grown  for  large  blooms,  and  in  their  summer 
quarters  were  trained  to  a  wire  trellis.  On  the  wires  I  hung  the  gummed 
cardboard  the  second  week  in  June,  and  I  have  kept  them  well  coated 
with  gum  until  we  housed  the  plants  this  week.  We  succeeded  in  catching 
many  flies,  and  the  very  few  maggots  that  did  get  into  the  leaves  were 
soon  settled  with  the  thumb  and  finger.  Other  collections  in  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood  are,  as  usual,  literally  infested  with  them.  I  send  you  a  few 
leaves  for  your  inspection,  picked  at  random  from  the  plants,  which  are 
(in  spite  of  the  very  wet  season  we  have  had)  fairly  well  ripened.  I 
advise  all  growers  who  are  troubled  with  the  leaf  miner  to  try  the  plan 
above  mentioned.  I  also  adopted  it  with  the  Cinerarias,  and  up  to  the 
present  there  has  not  been  a  single  maggot  in  the  leaves. — J.  C., 
Lancashire. 
[The  leaves  sent  were  clean,  fresh,  and  with  no  sign  of  insect  or 
other  pests  on  them.  ] 
Chrysanthemums  at  Overcltffe,  Gravesend. 
One  of  the  most  promising  collections  of  Chrysanthemums  I  have 
seen  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Gravesend  is  under  the  management  of 
a  very  promising  and  industrious  young  gardener  —  namely,  Mr.  H. 
Carpenter,  gardener  to  Captain  iMarsden,  Overciiffe.  His  plants  are  well 
grown,  strong,  and  healthy  examples,  promising  to  produce  exceptionally 
good  blooms.  They  are  of  medium  height  in  every  case,  as  the  whole  of 
the  collection  was  cut  down  in  ^lay  and  early  June.  Fairly  dwarf  plants 
are,  in  his  case,  almost  a  necessity,  owing  to  the  inconvenience  of  housing 
very  tall  plants. 
Having  been  grown  throughout  the  summer  in  an  open,  sunny  position, 
without  any  shade  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  has  undoubtedly  proved 
of  great  assistance  in  the  building  up  of  the  stout  growths,  with  their 
bold,  leathery,  deep  green  leaves,  furnishing  the  plants  well  down  to  the 
pots.  The  wood  is  b^ecoming  thoroughly  ripened,  the  best  buds  have  been 
secured,  whether  crown  or  terminal.  In  most  cases  the  crown  bud,  or  the 
first  bud  showing  after  the  cutting  down,  has  been  selected. 
IMr.  Carpenter  confines  his  selecnon  of  varieties  chiefly  to  the  Japanese 
section.  About  100  plants  is  the  number  grown,  all  varieties  of  proved 
excellence.  Those  varieties  having  the  most  forward  buds  included 
Mutual  Friend,  Mons.  Freeman,  W.  Seward,  Miss  Watson,  iMrs.  0.  H. 
Payne,  Etoile  de  Lyon,  Duke  of  York,  W.  H.  Myers,  Beauty  of  Exmouth, 
Lady  Saunders,  W.  H.  Lincoln,  Henri  Jacotot  Fils  (this  variety  and 
