SUFFLEMENT  To  -  if 
March  9,  1899.  JOURNAL  OF  RORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  1S5 
SOUGHT  AND  FOUND. 
Who  has  felt  what  it  is  to  lose  an  old  and  valued  friend  of 
forty-four  years’  standing — to  wend  his  way  for  the  last  time  around 
an  old  experimental  garden,  to  linger  alone  through  a  gutted  house, 
take  a  last  long  peep  into  every  dismantled  room,  to  hear  the  hollow 
boom  of  a  closing  door,  and  the  grating  sound  of  the  key  in  the 
lock  as  it  is  turned  to  he  taken  away  and  handed  over  to  the  trustees  ? 
Twice  I  have  survived  the  ordeal  in  regard  to  house  and  grounds, 
and  I  fear  another  Bitting.  However,  the  forces  of  life  are  irresistible ; 
old  associations  must  come  to  an  end.  But  some  of  your  readers 
may  begin  to  think.  What  has  that  to  do  with  water  ?  Let  me 
answer — everything  for  ray  theme,  for  without  the  above,  that  which 
is  to  follow  would  not  have  been  written. 
Those  will  sympathise  with  me  who  have  experienced  the 
difficulty  in  finding  a  house  with  a  few  acres  of  land  attached 
prior  to  1847,  for  the  purpose  of  growing  and  experimenting  with 
seedling  Potatoes.  I  wanted  a  home  in  Berkshire  near  the  town  ol 
Reading.  I  came  to  see  the  Cottage  Farm,  and  recognised  it  would 
be  a  long  uphill  task  to  work  it  into  shape ;  but  where  urgency 
drives,  one  cannot  always  choose.  Altogether  the  place  looked  a  sort 
of  no-man’s-land,  with  hedges  broken  down,  and  the  forlorn  little 
pond  on  which  the  house  depended  for  its  supply  of  water  was  filled 
by  a  recent  storm  with  liquid  the  colour  of  coffee,  which  had  run 
through  a  farmyard,  and  from  thence  by  roadside  rivulet  for  half  a 
mile. 
As  soon  as  we  had  shaken  ourselves  into  shape  I  investigated  and 
found  it  would  be  essential  to  properly  drain  the  land.  John  Tillen — 
“  Drainer  Tillen”  he  was  locally  called — seemed  providentially  to  have 
been  thrown  in  my  way.  He  was  nearly  amphibious — never  quite 
happy  unless  dabbling  in  the  water  meadows,  had  formerly  assisted 
with  the  draining  in  Windsor  Park,  and  in  fact  could  do  anything 
connected  with  water.  He  was  upright  as  a  ramrod.  I  inquired  of 
him  if  he  had  been  in  the  army.  “  Yes,  he  once  served  a  month 
in  the  ‘  Royal  Standbacks  ’  ”  which  I  ultimately  learnt  meant  the 
Berks  Militia.  I  instructed  him  to  form  two  tanks  to  catch  the  rain 
water  from  the  roof.  A  few  more  days  had  passed,  and  then  another 
confab.  I  said  to  “Drainer,”  “  Look  at  that  cow  up  to  her  knees  in 
quagmire  on  the  rising  ground  at  the  farther  side  of  the  meadow.  I 
have  roughly  taken  the  level  from  thence  at  a  tangent  to  this 
disreputable  looking  little  pond,  and  without  being  a  water  diviner 
I  feel  almost  certain  there  must  be  a  spring  there  or  thereabouts.  Tell 
me,  if  you  can  foresee  a  difficulty  in  a  drain  being  laid  from  where  the 
cow  is  to  this  spot ;  it  must  be  as  near  the  surface  as  possible  from 
here,  and  at  the  further  end  we  can  allow  a  depth  of  quite  6  feet.” 
Tillen  saw  no  difficulty,  and  after  some  labour  and  expense  the 
operation  was  successfully  carried  out,  and  water  fairly  bubbled  up 
at  the  depth  of  about  5  feet.  We  had  tapped  one  of  the  springs  of 
Berkshire — a  boon  indeed  for  this  place,  and  I  may  say  for  iny 
neighbours,  for  I  say,  “  ‘  Hoh  !’  come  for  water  whenever  you  want  it, 
but  be  sure  and  shut  the  gates  after  you.” 
It  was  all  plain  sailing  afterwards,  as  I  anticipated,  and  when 
completed  the  pure  water  entered  a  dip-tank  holding  over  two  hogs¬ 
heads.  The  “  pond  ”  was  cleaned  out.  Bamboos  and  Kingcups  were 
planted  on  its  margin,  goldfish  are  sporting  in  the  water  that  seldom 
freezes,  and  has  never  failed  us,  summer  or  winter,  since  the  spring 
was  tapped. — R.  Fenn,  Cottage  Farm,  Sulhamstead. 
BOUVARDIAS. 
On  looking  over  the  plants  which  have  been  flowering  during  the 
autumn  and  winter,  and  which  are  at  present  in  bloom,  I  can  find 
none  that  have  made  a  prettier  picture  that  Bouvardias.  Yet  they  are 
not  grown  in  the  majority  of  establishments  nearly  so  largely  as  they 
ought  to  be,  or  as  their  merits  entitle  them  to  be,  and  many  people 
who  are  often  at  a  loss  for  small  flowers  in  the  midst  of  the  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  season,  quite  overlook  the  fact  that  in  the  Bouvardia  they 
have  a  plant  that  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  them.  Causes  for  this 
apparent  neglect  are  not  difficult  to  find,  one  being  that  cuttings 
have  a  happy  knack  of  damping,  but  this  may  be  remedied  if  proper 
precautions  are  taken,  whilst  another  is  the  prevalence  of  insect  pests, 
which  if  allowed  to  gain  a  hold  will  soon  undo  the  work  of  a  season. 
Passing  to  the  cultivation  of  the  Bouvardia  it  may  be  stated  that 
the  plants  can  be  raised  from  cuttings  or  division  of  the  root,  ei:her  of 
which  will  prove  successful.  The  plants  after  flowering  should  for  a 
time  be  kept  on  the  dry  side,  and  somewhat  cooler,  and  then  when 
introduced  into  heat  will  produce  abundance  of  young  shoots, 
these  making  the  best  of  cuttings.  When  2^  or  3  inches 
in  length  take  each  shoot  with  a  heel,  and  have  ready  some  Sg  ,or 
4-inch  pots  half  filled  with  fine  crocks.  Over  these  place  a  little 
rough  leaf  mould  and  fill  nearly  level  with  a  light  sandy  compost. 
After  the  base  of  the  cuttings  have  been  carefully  trimmed  with  a 
sharp  knife  insert  them,  and  plunge  in  gentle  bottom  heat,  being 
cautious  not  to  overwater,  and  just  leaving  a  chink  of  air  to  dispose  of 
superfluous  moisture. 
By  this  ineans  there  will  be  very  few  failures,  and  the  plants  wi!‘ 
soon  be  ready  for  potting.  A  free  open  compost  of  leaf  mould,  a 
little  loam  and  plenty  of  silver  sand,  will  be  found  most  suitable, 
placing  the  strongest  plants  in  Si-bich  pots  and  others 
according  to  size.  After  potting  place  in  gentle  warmth,  using  water 
somewhat  sparingly  until  the  roots  begin  to  work  freely  into  the- 
compost,  when  the  syringe  may  be  used  to  advantage  with  a  view  to 
keeping  insects  in  check,  as  it  is  just  at  this  time  when  the  foundation 
is  being  laid  that  any  inattention  will  soon  cripple  the  plants. 
When  the  pots  are  well  filled  with  roots  a  compost  may  be 
prepared  for  the  final  potting,  an  excellent  mixture  consisting  of  three 
pirts  of  turfy  loam,  one  of  good  leaf  mould,  and  sufficient  silver  sand 
Fig.  39. — Mk.  R.  Fenn. 
to  keep  all  porous.  I  find  6-inch  pots  large  enough  for  the  first 
season,  firm  potting  being  quite  essential  if  good,  sturdy,  short- 
jointed  plants  are  to  be  secured.  As  the  weather  becomes  warmer 
the  plants  may  be  removed  to  cooler  quarters,  a  useful  place  being  a 
cool  frame,  plunging  the  pots  to  their  rims  in  ashes,  which  prevents 
rapid  evaporation  during  the  hot  weather.  As  the  pots  become  filfed 
with  roots  weak  liquid  manure  can  be  given  twice  a  week  with 
advantage,  the  lights  of  the  frames  being  removed  for  a  time, 
replacing  during  very  wet  weather. 
In  early  autumn  the  plants  must  be  removed  to  a  house  with 
gentle  warmth,  wbicli  may  be  gradually  increased  until  a  temperature 
of  from  60°  to  70°  is  reached.  Abundance  of  bloom  will  be  the  result ; 
in  fact,  every  point  will  finish  its  truss  of  flower  to  perfection. 
Division  ot  the  roots  may  be  effected  with  a  sharp  knife,  the  after 
treatment  being  as  advised  for  cuttings.  It  old  plants  are  retail. ed 
they  furnish  excellent  material  for  cutting.  The  only  care  they 
require  is  to  shake  the  roots  out  of  the  pot-,  reducing  the  soil,  and 
repotting  with  a  good  compost  into  8-inch  pot-.  The  following 
varieties  aio  all  excellent : — 
Singles. — Bocki,  deep  coral,  beautiful  and  free  ;  elegans,  large 
reddish  scarlet ;  Ilumboldti  corymbitlora  grandiflora,  pure  white, 
grand  variety;  iMrs.  Robert  Green,  lovely  salmon  colour;  Priory 
Beauty,  nerhaps  the  must  charming  of  all,  colour  ])ale  satin  rose  , 
President  Cleveland,  the  finest  of  all  scarlets ;  and  W'hite  Boiuitiet, 
pure  white  sport  from  \’rcelandi. 
DouUes.  —  Alfred  Neuner,  white,  excellent;  flavescen.s,  jiale 
sulphur,  vigorous;  Hogarth,  scarlet,  fine;  and  President  (larlield, 
pink,  large  truss,  free.— R.  Pinnington,  Uohy,  Liverpool. 
