84 
JOURXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Dccenil>cr  24,  1903. 
Planting  Stocks. 
I  liave  >;eeii  lately  .several  bn.sli  or  clvarf  Rose  plants  of  long 
and  strong  growtli  blovn  over  by  the  vind,  and  in  some  cases 
nearly,  if  not  (|nrte.  blown  down.  The  canse  of  this  is  plainly 
a  defieiency  of  fairly  horizontal  roots  on  the  side  from  which  the 
wind  came. 
But  we  must  not  necessarily  conclude  that  there  has  been 
bad  planting  of  the  Rose  as  received,  for  I  regret  to  .say  that 
my  experience  is  that  a  large  proportion  of  dwarf  Rose  plants 
vent  out  from  the  nurseries  are  wanting  in  all-round  I'oots,  and 
that  not  a  feAV  have  unbendable  roots  on  one  side  only,  sometimes 
all  in  a  bunch. 
This  is  plainly  owing  to  haste  and  want  of  care  in  planting 
out  the  rooted  cuttings  for  budding.  If  they  are  just  dobbed  in, 
in  rows,  as  one  would  plant  out  Cabbages,  with  the  roots  all 
in  a  buncli  in  one  hand,  it  vaves,  no  doubt,  a  great  deal  of  time, 
and  labour  in  the  planting,  and  also  in  getting  up  the  maiden' 
plants  for  sale,  for  the  .spade  may  be  put  (piite  close  to  the  plants 
on  one  side,  as  there  are  no  roots  there:  but  none  of  these  can 
ever  be  perfect  fir.st-class  maiden  Rose  plants. 
Having  seen  lately  the  roots  of  .some  dwarf  plants  sent  out 
by  first-class  firms,  and  having  to-day  had  occasion  to  move  a  few 
of  my  own  maidens  and  rnn-out  stocks,  it  was  impo.ssible  to 
avoid  being  .struck  by  the  difference  of  the  spread  of  the  roots. 
Amateurs  in  general  iio  doubt  are  careful  to  spread  out  the  roots 
horizontally  in  every  direction  when  planting  stocks;  but  will 
not  our  friends  in  the  trade  spend,  if  possible,  a  little  more  time 
and  labour  in  doing  the  same,  for  we  are,  most  of  us.  willing  to 
pay  accordingly  for  the  be.vt  rooted  and  mo.st  perfect  plants 
procurable? — \VT  R.  Raillem. 
Book  Notices. 
The  Horticultural  Directory  and  Year  Book,  4904. 
The  present  is  the  forty-fifth  i.ssue  of  this  publication,  and 
as  an  up-to-date  directory  it  has  become  nigh  indispensable  to 
nurserymen,  seedsmen,  florists,  and  gardeners.  The  editor  of 
the  Horticultural  Directory  has  each  year  the  as.sistance  of 
many  nunseryinen  and  secretaries  of  horticultural  societies 
throughout  the  United  Kingdom,  who  .send  him  batches  of 
envelopes  whicli  they  (the  nurserymen  especially)  have  had 
returned,  and  the  editor  immediately  causes  incpiiry  po.stcards 
to  be  sent  to  ascertain  who  is  gardener,  or  what  alterations 
have  been  made.  We  believe  some  thousands  of  postcards 
are  yearly  .sent  out  for  this  purpo.se,  besides  which,  the  notifi¬ 
cations  of  appointments  that  appear  in  the  gardening  Press 
are  duly  recorded.  It  should  be  distinctly  understood  that 
only  gardens  where  two  or  more  assistants  are  kept  are  here 
included. 
Sometimes  it  appears  that  even  reputable  places  are  unre¬ 
corded.  Wherever  such  an  omission  occurs  the  compiler  would 
be  plea.sed  to  have  intimation  of  the  fact.  He,  on  his  part, 
has  solicited  the  kindly  help  of  the  entire  gardening  Pre.ss,  so 
that  as  wide  a  circle  of  contributors  as  possible  was  appri.sed, 
and  what  could  he  do  more? 
It  is  hardly  nece.ssary  to  .describe  the  arrangement  of  the 
Directory.  Each  county  in  the  British  Isles  is  recorded 
alphabetically,  and  the  names  -of  gardens,  gardeners,  pro¬ 
prietors,  anti  the  neare.st  po.stal  address  are  tabulated  in  four 
parallel  rows-.  The  whole  arrangement  of  names  is  alphabetical 
throughout.  Foreign  and  colonial  nnr.serymen  and  seedsmen, 
curators  of  botanical  gardens  at  home  and  abroad,  .secretaries 
of  societies,  and  superintendents  of  parks  are  here  listed,  so 
that  the  representation  is  very  wide.  This  year  the  names  of 
the  Victoria  -Medalli.sts  of  Honour  in  horticnlture  are  fui’- 
ni.shed,  together  with  the  names  and  addres.ses  of  horticultural 
instructors  in  England,  Scotland,  Wales,  and  Ireland. 
Mistakes  appear  in  places.  That  is,  perhaps,  excusable 
where  1.3.000  addres.ses  are  dealt  with,  but  we  Avould  ask  pur¬ 
chasers  to  note  that  the  .secretary’s  address  of  the  Royal 
Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund  is  now  30,  Wellington  Street,  Strand, 
London.  W.C..  and  not  the  one  given  in  the  Directory,  The 
price  is  Is.,  or  Is.  3d.  post  free,  from  the  offices  of  this  journal. 
Publications  Received. 
'•  d’he  Amateur  ( iardcners’ Diary  and  Dictionary.”  price  Is.  This 
is  published  by  “  Garden  Life.”  Hatton  House,  Great  (jueen  Street, 
London.  It  contains  cultural  notes  on  the  back  of  each  leaf,  the 
oi)posite  side  being  blank  for  notes.  *  *  “  .Journal  of  the  Kew 
Guild."  1903.  Vol.  TL,  No.  XL.  contains  many  interesting  letters  from 
Old  Kewites  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  There  are  also  portraits  and 
memoirs  of  A.  Godefroy  Lebeuf.  Robert  Mackellar,  and  G.  S. 
Jenman,  each  deceased,  and  of  Mr.  W.  Lathom,  who  recently  retired 
from  Edgbaston  Botanic  Garden,  *  *  University  College. 
Reading.  "  Scholarships  for  Young  Gardeners." 
‘•The  Amerieau  Florist.”  *  '•  Le  Jardin.”  *  *  ‘■Garten 
Flora.”  *  *  The  .Journal  of  the  Depai'tment  of  Agriculture  of 
Victoria,”  November,  1903,  part  IV.  Contents:  The  Need  for  Soil 
Investigations,  How  to  Foretell  Frosts,  Spraying  for  Black  Spot  in 
Apples,  Ringing  the  Currant  Vine  in  Greece,  Rainfall  in  Victoria, 
Fruit  Pulp,  Flax  Cultivation  in  Europe,  Kerosene  Emulsion  as  an 
Insecticide,  Ac.  *  *  Report  on  Experiments  on  the  Manuring  of 
Turnips  in  1901,”  by  R.  Patrick  Wright,  F.R.S.E.,  Professor  of  Agri¬ 
culture,  AVest  of  Scotland  Agricultural  College.  Glasgow.  *  * 
‘■Report  on  the  Relative  Effects  of  Superphosphate  and  Basic  Slag 
upon  the  Feeding  Quality  of  Swedes,”  by  John  AV.  Paterson,  B.Sc., 
Ph.D.,  Prof,  of  Chemistry,  AVest  of  Scotland  Agricultural  College. 
*  *  “  Agricultural  Returns  of  Great  Britain,  1903  (Produce  of 
Crops)  Board  of  Agriculture  and  Fisheries,  3,  St.  James’s  Scpiare, 
S.AV.  *.  *  “  Le  Alois  Seientifique.”  *  *  “  Annual  Report  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institute,  AVashington,  1901  and  1902.”  These  are  two 
stout,  cloth  bound  volumes  numbering  over  450  pages  each,  and 
9in  by  Gin. 
Certificated  Plants. 
{Continued  from  page  559.,  vol.  46.) 
The  PoTEXTiLLA,  now  a  much  less  popular  plant  than  it  was 
formerly,  is,  after  all,  not  quite  neglected,  a,s  sometime.s  a  variet’ 
or  two  put  in  appearance  in  a  collection  of  cut  hardy  flowers. 
No  novelty  in  Potentillas  of  a  .striking  character  has  come  before 
the  Floral  Committee  since  1895,  when  Mr.  Alauricei  Prichard' 
obtained  an  award  of  merit  for  the  double  yellow  P.  califoimica, 
a  valuable  variety  which  does  not  appear  to  have  found  its  way 
into  general  cultivation.  Of  the  most  popular  of  the  double 
varieties,  and  those  which  are  most  largely  grown,  are  Louis 
Van  Houtte,  dark  crimson,  and  the  gloAving  orange-vermilion, 
AA’illiam  Rollisson. 
Strange  to  state,  no  award  rvas  made  until  1878,  when  Prince 
Arthur  obtained  a  certificate  of  merit  ;  but  it  is  not  to  be  met 
with  in  any  pre.sent-day  list  of  hardy  plants  I  have  been  able 
to  consult.  Some  of  the  species  or  sub-species,  of  which  there 
are  a  very  large  number,  such  as  P.  atro-.sanguinea,  P.  Hop- 
woodiana  (white  shaded  with  rose).  P.  nepalen.sis  (formosa), 
and  a  few  others  can  be  met  with  in  old  gardens,  and  tvhen  well 
grown  they  add  greatly  to  the  gaiety  of  the  garden  on  account 
of  their  floriferousness :  but  many  of  the  more  modern  varieties 
are  of  somewhat  loose  growth,-  and  need  to  be  tied  to  .stakes 
in  order  to  display  their  charms  to  the  best  adA’antage. 
The  Genus  Primula. 
The  genus  Primula  looms  largely  in  the  lists  of  certificated 
plants.  I  have  already  dealt  with  P.  Auricula  under  that 
heading.  I  can  claim  the  honour  of  having  obtained  the  first 
award  made  to  a  single  Primrose,  when  I  gained  a  certificate 
of  merit  for  the  rich  maroon-crimson  auriculgeflora  in  1873.  I 
had  previously  exhibited  this  on  several  occasions,  only  to  find 
it  passed  over;  but  a  little  importunacj'  goes  a.  long  tvay.  and  at 
last  the  certificate  was  gained. 
It  Avas  by  crossing  this  on  to  P.  altaica,  a  single  deep  lilac 
Primrose  Avhich  Avas  distributed  by  the  late  ?Jr.  Charles  Turner 
.some  twenty  years  previously,  that  there  Avas  gained  that  break 
in  the  single  Primrose  Avhich  originated  the  fine  coloured  varieties 
so  plentiful  in  the  present  day.  There  Avas  some  difficulty  in 
convincing  the  committee  that  the  Primrose  Avas  Avorthy  its 
consideration,  but,  Avhen  accomplished,  niy  A’iolet  Gem  obtained 
an  aAvard  in  1873,  folloAved  by  Splendour  and  A’iolacea  in  1874, 
and  later  by  Brilliant.  Amaranth,  Ealing  Crimson,  Octoroon,  Ac. 
A  little  later  came  the  late  Mr.  G'.  F.  AATlson,  Avith  his  blue 
varieties,  Scott  AVilson,  G.  F.  AATlson,  OaltAvood  Blue,  James 
Niuimo,  Hermann  AA^ilsqn,  and  others;,  and  yet.  a  little  later. 
Air.  J.  FI.  ArkAvright  obtained  an  aAvard  of  merit  in  1898  for 
his  large  yelloAv  Evelyn  ArkAvright.  P.  Elatior.  the  Polyanthus, 
alsp  undei'Avent  great  improvement,  and  in  course  of  time  several 
A'arieties  of  my  oAvn  and  others’  raising  Avere  recognised  by  aAvards. 
The  Giant  or  Fancy  Polyanthus  has  come  to  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  popular  of  spring  bedding  plants,  and  fine 
•strains  are  noAv  quite  common.  P.  sinensis  has  been  largely 
recognised  by  the  Floral  Committee.  -  In  18G0  the  late  Air.  C. 
Turner  obtained  a  certificate  for  sinensis  atro-rosea  plena,  Avhile 
Air.  AAL  Bull  had  commendations  in  1861  for  niA’ca  plena  and 
rosea  plena.  In  1865  Alessrs.  AA'indebank  and  Kingsbury,  of 
Southampton.  aa  Iio  did  so  much  for  P.  sinensis  in  the  early'days 
cf  its  improA-ement,  had  a  certificate  for  Kermesina  splendeiis 
plena  :  Air.  R.  Parker,  one  for  a  double  Avhite  in  1868 ;  and  a 
little  later  Air.  Cb  Turner  had  an  aAvard  for  a  semi-double  striped 
A-aritty.  It  is  cu'rious  to  notice  that  as  .soon  as  attempt>  Avere 
made  to  cross-fertilise  the  best  of  the.  single  A'arietiesi  semi- 
dcuble  forms  at  cneo  put  in  appearance,  and  they  verp  not  the 
