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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  25,  190ii 
younger  generation  of  members  never  knew  the  miseries  of  that 
period,  and  the  older  look  back  to  it  as  to  some  hobgoblin  experience 
of  their  early  youth.  Again  and  again  the  most  enthusiastic  despaired 
of  the  life  of  the  mother,  and  it  seemed  as  if  English  horticulture 
would  never  have  a  local  habitation  and  a  home  around  which  to 
gather  and  uphold  the  lamp  of  light  and  leading  for  the  honour  of 
the  land. 
That  we  have  emerged  is  due  to  the  skill  of  some  who  can  still 
direct  the  destinies  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  for  better  or 
for  worse;  and  none  who  love  horticulture  will  cease  to  hope  that 
the  good  judgment,  which  has  pulled  the  Society  out  of  the  mire> 
will  enable  it  to  take  the  right  turn  at  this  its  latest  critical  point 
of  departure.  It  is  satisfactory  to  think  that  the  present  question 
has  been  reasonably  debated  during  the  last  year,  and  time  given  for 
opinion  to  mature  among  the  members.  Of  this  we  had  evidence 
in  the  carrying  of  the  amendment  moved  by  Mr.  Arthur  Sutton  af 
last  Tuesday’s  meeting,  which,  while  not  committing  the  Society  to 
any  definite  project,  corrects  the  impression  that  the  Council  held  a 
mandate  to  negotiate  for  the  purchase  of  a  new  garden.  The  delay 
interposed  by  this  amendment  will  give  ample  opportunity  for  dis¬ 
cussion,  and  obviate  the  risk  of  precipitate  action. 
The,  questions  to  be  decided  are — 1,  What  is  to  be  done  with  the 
increasing  revenue  ?  2,  What  is  to  be  done  with  the  garden  at 
Chiswick,  the  lease  of  which  has  yet  some  twenty  years  to  run  ?  If 
the  exhibitions  held  seventy  years  ago  at  Chiswick  could  in  their  day 
be  successful,  and  a  Royal  Horticultural  Hall  is  desired,  it  would  surely 
be  better  to  hold  on  to  what  already  exists  at  Chiswick  and  develop 
rather  than  abandon  it  ?  London  is  growing  so  rapidly  that  Chiswick 
Garden  cannot  fail  to  be  a  material  asset  of  yearly  increasing  value  if 
the  lease  of  the  whole  or  a  portion  of  it  can  be  renewed.  Electrical 
traction  is  about  to  revolutionise  London  life,  and  less  wonderful 
things  may  yet  happen  than  to  see  the  special  trains  of  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  conveying  visitors  from  all  parts  of  London  to 
its  summer  shows  at  Turnham  Green.  Clearly  to  be  successful  in  any 
enterprise  in  these  days  the  public  imagination  must  be  captured. 
Never  will  the  senses  of  the  many  be  impressed  by  an  experimental 
garden  at  Chiswick  or  elsewhere.  Horticulture,  like  religion,  must 
have  a  visible  temple  wherein  its  beauty  is  symbolised,  and  in  which 
its  worshippers  can  unite ;  and  seeing  that  it  is  the  money  of  the 
many  which  supports  all  enterprises  in  these  days,  the  seat  of  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  should  be  conspicuous  in  London  where  it 
obtrudes  itself  boldly  to  the  view  of  the  public  of  our  great  metropolis. 
Greenhouse  Rardwooded  Plants. 
Hardwooded  plants  are  at  the  present  time  very  little  grown  by 
the  general  run  of  gardeners  compared  to  what  they  were  some  fifty 
years  ago.  In  saymg  this  I  refer  to  such  as  the  hardwooded  Heaths, 
Leschenaultias,  Correas,  Pimeleas,  and  Croweas,  which  were  at  one 
time  the  special  pets  and  favourites  of  the  old  school  of  gardeners. 
Now  at  the  present  day,  as  I  have  said,  they  are  seldom  grown  except 
by  certain  nurserymen  who  make  a  speciality  of  them.  The  soft- 
wooded  Heaths,  such  as  Erica  melanthera,  E.  hyemalis,  E.  colorans, 
E.  persoluta,  also  Boronias,  Pimeleas,  Acacias,  Correas,  and  such 
like  can  generally  be  bought  cheaper  from  the  nurserymen  than 
the  gardener  can  grow  them  ;  still  I  do  not  consider  this  good 
gardening,  and  I  for  one  regret  that  the  cultivation  of  this  class  of 
plants  has  fallen  into  such  disfavour.  Still,  no  axiom  contains 
more  truth  than  that  “  the  old  order  chacgeth.” 
It  will  be  well  to  consider  here  what  causes  have  led  to  the  general 
cultivation  of  these  useful  and  beautiful  plants  being  discontinued. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  principally  caused  by  the  greater 
demand  for  cut  flowers  to  be  used  for  decorative  purposes.  I  myself 
have  seen  a  good  collection  of  hardwooded  plants  consigned  to  the 
rubbish  heap  to  make  room  for  the  “cut  flower”  class  of  plants.  And 
now,  although  the  case  may  have  been  put  rather  strongly  in  favour 
of  the  hardwooded  plants,  I  would  not  have  the  reader  suppose  that  I 
in  any  way  depreciate  the  extensive  cultivation  of  the  many  useful 
and  beautiful  decorative  plants,  such  as  Primulas,  Chrysanthemums, 
Cinerarias,  and  such  like,  which  are  such  an  important  factor  in  the 
decoration  of  our  conservatories  and  greenhouses  at  the  present  day. 
Before  treating  of  the  cultivation  of  hardwoods  it  may  be  welt 
to  briefly  consider  their  history  as  garden  plants.  As  regards  their 
native  habitats,  they  are  almost  without  exception  natives  of  S.  Africa, 
Australia,  and  New  Zealand.  If  we  take  S.  Africa  first,  we  find 
that  the  bulk  of  the  Ericas  are  natives  of  the  Cape,  and  as  early 
as  1774-76  Francis  Masson  had  collected  and  sent  home  a  great 
many ;  it  is  also  interesting  to  note  that  this  collector  first  sent 
home  the  progenitor  of  our  Zonal  Pelargoniums — P.  inquinans.  As 
regards  our  first  Australian  plants,  we  are  indebted  to  Vancouver’s 
voyage  during  the  years  1791-95,  many  of  them  being  collected  by 
Archibald  Menzies,  who  was  surgeon,  and  again  in  Flinder’s  voyage, 
1801-3,  when  Robert  Brown  and  Peter  Good — a  Kew  collector— sent 
home  a  great  many  plants.  Later  on  we  get  Allan  Cunningham,  who 
collected  for  fifteen  years  in  Australia;  and  Drummond.  About  this 
time,  also,  collectors  were  sent  out  by  some  of  the  leading  nurserymen. 
Ericas. 
If  we  take  the  largest  genus  of  hardwooded  plants — namely/ 
Ericas,  we  find  that  there  are  not  so  many  in  cultivation  now  as 
there  were  about  the  beginning  of  last  century.  According  to  the 
second  edition  of  Aiton’s  “  Hortus  Kewensis  ”  (1810-13)  there  were  then 
in  cultivation  at  Kew  174  species  of  Ericas,  while  at  the  present  day 
there  are  only  ninety -two,  and  part  of  them  are  garden  h>brids.  I 
may  safely  say  that  all  the  rest  are  now  lost  to  cultivation,  and  it  is 
worthy  ot  notice  that  the  sorts  that  are  most  grown  at  the  present 
day  are  hybrids,  such  as  Willmoreana,  hyemalis,  and  Cavendishiana. 
Referring  again  to  Aiton’s  work  of  the  same  date,  we  find  that  the 
next  largest  genus — that  of  Acacia — has  risen  from  fifty-three  to 
eighty- two  species. 
As  regards  the  propagation  of  Ericas,  this  is  best  done  about 
August,  or  else  early  spring,  the  cuttings  being  inserted  in  4-inch  pots. 
These  should  be  half  filled  wiih  clean  crocks  to  insure  perfect  drainage* 
which  is  imperative,  as  a  stagnant  condition  of  the  soil  is  at  all  times 
fatal  to  the  well  being  of  this  c'ass  of  plants.  The  soil  should  consist 
of  finely  sifted  peat  and  sand,  finishing  with  nearly  an  inch  of  clean* 
sharp  sand  on  the  top,  the  whole  being  made  as  firm  as  possible. 
Ericas,  in  common  with  all  hardwooded  plants,  will  not  root  into  a 
loose  compost.  The  small,  twiggy  side  growths  should  be  selected  for 
cuttings,  pulling  them  off  wi^h  a  heel.  In  trimming  off  the  leaves 
great  care  is  required,  as  one  is  apt  to  strip  off  the  bark,  and  this 
applies  to  a  great  many  other  plants  of  this  class.  The  cuttings  may  be 
inserted  half  an  inch  apart,  taking  care  to  firm  them  well.  They  should 
then  have  a  thorough  watering,  and  may  be  placed  on  a  bed  of  ashes 
well  up  to  the  light,  cbvering  with  a  propagating  glass,  and  accorded  a 
temperature  ranging  from  55°  to  60°.  If  cuttings  have  been  taken 
from  the  cold  do  not  give  such  a  high  temperature  until  they  have 
callused.  The  glasses  should  be  wiped  dry  about  every  second  day, 
and  as  they  will  take  some  six  weeks  to  root,  careful  attention  should 
be  given  to  tie  watering,  and  if  they  are  at  any  time  watered  it  is 
advisable  to  allow  them  to  dry  a  little  before  replacing  the  glasses. 
When  rooted  they  will  commence  to  grow  a  little,  whence  they 
may  be  gradually  accustomed  to  more  air,  and  inserted  during  August. 
They  should  have  a  light  position  in  winter,  being  kept  well  up  to  the 
glass.  In  early  spring  they  should  be  potted  off  singly  into  small  pots, 
and  kept  growing  all  summer,  syringing  them  and  shutting  them  up 
early  in  the  afternoon  with  plenty  of  sun  heat.  They  may  be  twice 
stopped  during  the  season,  this  being  important  if  one  wishes  to  lay  a 
good  foundation  for  the  future  plants.  Towards  the  end  of  summer 
leave  off  the  use  of  the  syringe  and  give  more  air,  which  will  serve  to 
get  the  wood  well  ripened  for  the  coming  winter,  during  which  time 
they  should  be  kept  cool  and  dryer  at  the  root,  but  on  no  account 
should  they  be  allowed  to  suffer  from  the  want  of  water. 
The  following  spring  they  will  require  a  shift  into  larger  pits, 
using  a  rougher  compost  of  good,  hard,  fibrous  peat.  This  is  best 
pulled  into  lumps,  the  size  of  which  will  be  regulated  by  the 
development  of  the  plant  and  the  shift  it  is  intended  to  give.  To  the 
peat  add  plenty  of  clean  sharp  sand.  In  potting,  see  that  the  drainage 
is  ample  and  carefully  arranged,,  covering  the  crocks  with  rough  fibry 
peat  from  which  all  the  fine  material  has  be<m  sifted.  It  is  only  by 
strict  attention  to  these  small  details  that  success  is  to  be  attained  in 
the  cultivation  of  this  class  of  plants.  A  special  point  in  potting  is  to 
ram  the  soil  firmly,  taking  care  to  leave  plenty  of  room  for  watering, 
as  peat  is  a  thing  that  is  difficult  to  get  properly  wet,  especially  if  it 
has  been  allowed  to  set  in  the  least  dry.  When  repotting  larger  sized 
plants  they  should  be  placed  in  a  tub  of  water  to  make  sure  that  the 
ball  is  thoroughly  soaked.  The  collar  of  the  plants  should  be  kept 
well  up,  as  they  are  very  apt  to  go  wrong  here  if  potted  too  low. 
This  applies  especially  to  the  harder  wooded  section.  The  above 
treatment  should  be  followed  out  each  year  until  such  time  as  one 
thinks  they  are  fit  to  flower,  and  if  one  wishes  to  lay  the  foundation 
of  a  good  specimen  the  plants  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  flower  for  at 
least  three  years. — J.  Coutts. 
(To  be  continued  )  v  •  *  -*,v  ‘  ■■ 
