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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  May  26,  1904. 
on  the  Beiirre  d’Araanlis,  the  union  of  which  is  so  perfect,  and 
tlie  trees  thus  formed  so  healthy,  that  an  acre  of  double-grafted 
Jargonelle  Pears  would  be  a  little  fortune  to  a  gai’dener.  Gan- 
sel’s  Bergamot  double-grafted  becomes  a  marvel  of,  fertility,  and 
the  sorts  raised  by  the  Bcv.  John  Huyshe,  all  of  which  are  of 
great  excellence,  become  most  fertile  trees  when  double-grafted 
on  the  proper  kind  of  stock.”  I  have  cordons  so  grafted  of  Jar^ 
gonelle,  Gansel’s  Bergamot,  and  Huyshe’s  Victoria,  and  they 
certainly,  are  wonderfully  prolific,  Victoria  being  especially 
remarkable, for  the  abundance  and  excellence  of  its  fruit. 
Apple  cordons  should  be  on  the  English  Paradise  stock,  which 
is  superior  to  the  French  Paradise  for  cordons,  not  only  for  its 
excellent  dwarfing  property,  but  also  for  the  fertility  and  "the  late- 
blooming  habit  which  it  imparts  to  the  scion.  For  example, 
take  two  verified  cases  of  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin,  on  the  free 
stock,  the  French  Paradise,  and  the  English  Paradise.  The 
finst;  though  fourteen  years  old,  never  had  a  full  crop;  the 
second  at  first  grew  strongly,  and  came,  slowdy  into  fruiting, 
but  the  dozen  trees  on  the  broad-leaved  stock  were  alike 
remarkable  for  dwarf  growth  and  early  fruitfulness.  Planting 
them  was  cpiite  an  afterthought,  but  it  has  proved  a  most  valu¬ 
able  one,  and  I  advi.se  fruit-growers  who  regard  Cox’s  Orange 
Pippin  as  a  shy  bearer  to  try  it  upon  the  English  Paradise. 
The  earlin.e.s.s  of  the  blossom  of  so  many  of  our  best  varieties 
of  Apples,  and  its  consequent  frequent  destruction  by  frost  and 
cold  winds,  should  induce  greater  attention  to  the  importance 
of  securing  late-flowering  stocks  calculated  to  retard  the  bloom 
as  much  as  possible.  It  is  surprising  that  more  attention  has 
not  been  given  to  a  matter  of  such  importance.  I  have  known 
seed  of  many  kinds  sown  indiscriminately  for  free  stocks,  and 
believe  it  is  the  common  practice.  The  late  blooming  of  Court 
Pendu  Plat  and  its  comparative  immunity  from  frost  is  well 
known,  and  should  be  turned  to  account  by  using  it  as  the 
stock  for  standards  and  large  pyramids,:  or  by  ,  a  system  of 
double  grafting  it  might  tend  to  correct  the  "early-flowering 
tendency  of  the  French  Paradise. 
Single  diagonal  cordons  have  been  strongly  recommended 
for  general  culture,  because,  trained  as  they  are  at  an  angle  of 
45deg,  a  greater  length  of  stem  is  gained  than  could  be  if  they 
were  trained  vertically.  The  direction  in.  which  diagonal  cor¬ 
dons  are  trained  appears  to  me  quite  immaterial.  Du  Breuil 
says  if  the  wall  is  from  north  to  south  the  trees  should  incline 
to  the  south  to  afford  as  much  light  as  possible  to  the  under¬ 
side  fruit  branches.  I  have,  on  the  contrary,  found  them 
answer  admirably  when  inclined  to  the,  north.  The  upper 
spurs  of  an  inclined  tree  are  always  strongest,  whatever  be  the 
direction  of  the  incline.  Beurre  de  I’Assomption,  Citron  des 
Cannes,  Beurre  Superfin,  Doyenne  du  Comice,  Fondante  d’Au- 
tomne,  and  Marechal  de  la  Cour  are  all  bad  in  this  respect,  but 
they  are,  nevertheless,  highly  valued,  and  bear  plenty  of  fruit, 
which  IS  far  more  iniportant  than  mere  appearance  ;  and  the 
wi.sdom  of  hard  pinching  of  the  upper  growth  to  induce  stronger 
under  growth  for  the  sake  of  symmetry  ,  is  certainly  question¬ 
able  when  done  at  the  expense  of  fruit.  Many  of  our  best 
Pears,  however,  give  very  little  trouble  in  this  wav.  Some  are 
perfectly  symmetrical.  A  Knight’s  Monarch  now  "in  full  bloom 
i^s  a  striking  example  of  this,  and  I  question,  if  it  were  cut  off  a 
foot  from  its  base  and  taken  away  from  the  wall  now,  if  anyone 
could  tell  which  way  it  had  inclined. 
To  vertical  cordons  no  objection  can  be  taken  about  lateral 
1  •  prefer  them  for  walls  and  buildings  over 
lOit  high.  Practically  no  building  can  be  too  lofty  for  them, 
and  every  nook  and  angle  may  be  turned  to  account.  This  fact 
IS  or  especial  importance  to  the  occupants  of  villas,  farmhouses^ 
and  cottages  having- no  walled  garden,  for  although  ^  cordons 
answer  well  trained  to  fences,  yet  walls  of  any  kind  are  infinitely 
preferable  for  the  greater  certainty  of  a  crop  which  they  afford, 
as  w-ell  as  the  superior  flavour  of  the  fruit.  So  far  as  was  pos¬ 
sible,  1  have  tried  Pears  of  known  excellence  both  as  pyramids 
^^f^l^st  walls,  and  have  found  a  marked  superiority  in  the 
wall  fruit  generally.  Madame  Treyve  from  the  wall  has  been 
n  ®  been  uneatable  from  a  pyramid.  Beurre 
Clairgeau,  Louise  Bonne  of  Jersey,  Fondante 
d  Automne.  Comte  de  I.amy,  Mhlliams’  Bon  Chretien,  Winter 
Aehs,  and  Doyenne  du  Cornice,  all  repay  well  for  a  place  upon 
wall,  the  la.st  soi-t  especially,  for  the  pyramids  of  it  so 
otten  tail,  when  the  cordon  almo.st  always  has  a  crop.— C.  C.  L. 
Urceolina  pendula. 
This  beautiful  and  somewhat  curious  bulbous  plant  is  seldom 
to  )e  seen  in  plant  stoves.  When  met  with  it  is  sometimes 
iiiiuer  the  name  of  U.  aurea,  a  di.stinctive  name,  given,  no  doubt 
on  account  of  its  colour,  which  is  principally  yellow.  Somewhat 
.similar  culture  to  that  of  the  Eucharis  suits  the  Urceolina,  that 
IS,  it  enjoys  plenty  of  water  while  growth  is  being  made,  and  a 
general  stove  temperature ;  but  it  ought  to  be  kept  both  cooler 
and  drier  when  at  rest.  A  fibrous  loam  and  leaf  mould  in 
equal  parts,  with  sand,  as  a  compost  answers  well.  'The  usual 
period  of  blooming  is  early  summer,  and  visitors  to  the  Veitchian 
.Chelsea  during  this  period  (Jiinebmay  generally  see 
p  ants  ot  it  in  flower.  It  is  a  Peruvian  plant,  the  flowers  being 
yellow  and  green. 
The  Hollyhock.* 
Few  plants  surpass  the  Hollyhock  in  stateliness  or  grandeur 
when  it  is  at  its  best,  under  favourable  conditions,  and  its 
proper  treatment  is  under.stood.  They  po.ssess  a  great  range 
of  colour,  from  the  iiurest  white  to  almost  black,  and  if  well 
grown,  .so  that  each  flower  is  distinctly  seen  on  the  .spike,,  the 
effect  is  very  .striking.  It  is  one  of  our  oldest  garden  flowers; 
in  fact,  its  history  is  very  remote.  It  is  mentioned  by  Gerafde 
and  others  upwards  of  three  hundred  years  ago,  but  only  two 
varieties  with  double  flowers  are  mentioned,  viz.,  double  red 
and  double  purple  ;  hence  we  are  probably  safe  in  assuming 
that  these  two  double  forms  were  the  first  parents  of  all  oiir 
present  double  varieties. 
The  cro.ssing  of  these  two  with  all  the  various  shades  of 
single  flowers  was  taken  up  by  a  iMr.  Charles  Baron,  a  shoe¬ 
maker  of  Saffron  'VYalden,  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century, 
w-hen  many  shades  were  produced,  all  of  a  .semi-double 
character.  These  were  handed  on  to  the  famous  rai.ser,  the  late 
Mr.  Wiiliam  Chater,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  many 
lovelv  shades  of  colour  we  now  posse.ss.  Air.  Chater  raised  and 
distributed  them  far  and  wide,  and  in  1847  published  his  first 
catalogue  of  named  varieties,  and  continued  issuing  one  yearly, 
and  adding  new  shades  and  forms  until  1873,  when  the  disease 
made  its  first  appearance  and  devastated  his  plantations  with 
great  virulence,  and  many  of  his  choicest  flowers  were  lost  for 
ever.  • 
For  several  years  aft'et' this  date  it  was  difficult  to  procure 
a  plant,  either  from  seed,  cuttings,  or  grafts,-  in  a  fit  condition 
for  pianting ;  hence  the  old  method  of  propagation  had  Jo  be 
discarded  both  in  raising  plants  and  also  in  the  cultivation,  for 
flowering.  The  wintering  of  plants  under  glass  for  propagating 
purposes  had  to  be  abandoned,  and  the  treatment  of  the  Holly¬ 
hock  as  a  hardy  plant  was  found  to  be  the  only  method  by 
which  the  disease  could  be  combated,  and  the  raising  of  plants 
from  seed  the  only,  practical  form  of  propagation.  In  fact,  ail 
our  named  varieties  are  now  obtained  from-  seed,  all  being 
rai.sed  in  the  open  ground,  and  they  are  equal  in  quality  and 
far  superior  in  constitution  to  those  propagated  by  means  of 
cuttings  or  grafts.  ^ 
.  .  Sowing  Seeds. 
The  seed  of  the,  Hollyhock  maj^  be  sown  in  the  open  ground 
at  the  end  of  May|-or  beginning  of  June,  when  it  will  quickly 
germinate,  and  in  a  few  weeks  v'ill  form  one  single  tap  root. 
When  these  attain  to  the  size  of  the  little  finger  each  plant 
should  be  partly  lifted  with  a  spade,  entirely  severing  the  tap 
root,  after  which  new  fibres  ivill  soon  be  formed,  and  in  a  few 
weeks  it  will  be  in  good  condition  for  transplanting  to  its 
flow-ering  quarters. 
The  Hollyhock  requires  a  good  depth  of  soil,  and  in  order 
to  obtain  the  best  results  it  is  nio.st  important  that  it  should 
be  well  prepared  by  trenching  or  double  digging  to  the  depth 
of  2ft  at  lea.st,  leaving  the  bottom  soil  at  the  bottom,  and  if  it 
is  of  a  poor  or  light  character  a  plentiful  supply  of  cow  manure 
should  be  incorporated  as  the  work  goes  on.  The  soil  being 
thus  prepared  for  the  planting,  proceed  with  the  work  as  soon 
as  the  plants  are  of  sufficient  size,  bearing  in  mind  that  if  this 
can  be  accomiilished  by  the  end  of  Augu.st  or  the  early  part  of 
September  so  much  the  better,  as  the  plants  will  be  enabled 
to  become  well  rooted  and  established  before  the  winter  sets 
in.  For  although  the  Hollyhock  may  be  considered  under  this 
treatment  quite  hardy,  I  have  known  it  to  succumb  and  wither 
aw-ay  when  planting  is  deferred  until  late  in  the  season.  The 
plants  require  plenty  of  space  in  order  to  develop  their  large 
spreading  foliage.  'They  also  like  an  abundance  of  air,  which  is 
indeed  essential  to.  a  healthy  growth  ;  hence  a  distance  of  not 
less  than  Sjft  apart  is  absolutely  necessary.  Little  further 
remains  to  be  done  but  an  occasional  look  after  a  grub  similar 
to  that  Avhich  attacks  Lettuces  and  other  plants  during  the 
autumn.  If  left  undi.sturbed  it  will  work  great  havoc  and  mis¬ 
chief,  but  its  presence  may  easily  be  detected,  as  the  plants  w'ill 
show  .symptoms  of  flagging  and  withering  from  the  root,  being 
all  but  eaten  through  ;  but  it  can  easily  be  arrested  by  remov¬ 
ing  a  portion  of  the  soil  with  a  pointed  stick  a  few  inches  from 
the  surface. 
CuLTUEAL  Hints. 
Keep  the  soil  well  .stirred  by  frequent  hoeings  during  the 
spring  months.  Secure  the  plants  against  boisterous  winds 
with  a  strong  stake  about  4ft  in  length,  tying  the  plants  to  it 
as  growth  proceeds.  Give  copious  waterings  with  liquid  manure 
during  dry  weather  whilst  the  buds  are  forming ;  a  mulching 
of  stable  litter  will  also  be  of  great  service  in  assisting  the 
plants  to  open  their  numerous  flowers,  and  also  in  prolonging 
their  flowering  season.  Thin  oiit  the  buds  where,  crowded, 
leaving  them  evenly  distributed  up  the  spike ;  where  large 
flowers  are  required  the  top  of  the  spike  may  be  shortened. 
•«.’  *  “  The  Hollyhock,”  by  George  Webb.  Reprinted  from  the  Journal  of 
the  Royal  Horticultural  Society.  -  > 
