PROFITABLE MARKET GARDENING de

pends on the accumulation of fertility in the soil, and on the existence of a good available market for the produce. If a map could be prepared showing the occupations of the people, market gardens would be found clus-, tered about the centres of population and within reach of the manure of towns; so that whatever industry farmers may aspire to besides their own special calling-and we have known them thrive as dealers, brewers, publicans, millers, seed growers, tanners, auctioneers, and even as bankers-the business of market gardening is usually beyond their reach. In certain localities, no doubt, they may dabble in it a little, but, as a general rule, farmers can and do find numerous outlets for their enterprise, including not merely the avocations we have mentioned, but also such sports as hunting and shooting, but they cannot, in the long run, farm and garden on the same spot.

A few years since the experiment of market gardening was strenuously urged upon farmers, and examples were given of large profits by the growth of Sprouts and Cabbages, Turnip-tops, and Carrots. Mr. RANDELL, of Worcestershire, told the Commissioners, on the occasion of the inquiry into the causes of agricultural depression, that he had made money by selling Cabbages sometimes instead of giving them to sheep, and Mr. ROBERT RUSSELL, of Kent, has done exactly the same thing, as certain over sanguine writers are in the habit of stating in the agricultural papers. It seems to us that if farmers read the agricultural and gardening papers-and those who contribute to them have bitterly complained that they do not-they would meet with a great deal of very dangerous advice on the subject of growing vegetables. All the world knows that Wheat is at the present moment an unprofitable crop, in most cases, but that is no reason why farmers should speculate in the cultivation of crops which are still more unprofitable, while Barley and Oats and live stock have considerably risen in value. There is really nothing new in regard to the subject before us. Mr. RUSSELL is a large sheep farmer whose pet crop is the Thousand-headed Cabbage. He humorously admitted at the London Farmers' Club, that he had "Cabbages on the brain." But he knows his business well, and in seasons when green stuff is scarce in London, he allows his sheep rather more corn and spares some Cabbages for market. Mr. RANDELL does the same, and the same thing has been done this thirty years past in scarce seasons, when Turnip-tops and other hardy Greens have always come by train from unusual distances. But farmers know better than their inconsiderate advisers appear to do that constant markets are necessary to the development of a great industry. They know that the same horse has never won the Derby two years in succession, and they are not so foolish as to invest heavily in Turniptops because they may have gained a trifle on that crop last year. The annual yield of homegrown Wheat is from 12,000,000 to 13,000,000 quarters, worth about £25,000,000—a large sum to be made up by the cultivation of garden crops as substitutes. Farmers, it would seem, have lost the profit of a crop that has usually covered about 3,500,000 acres, and they are

told to seek it in the extension of market gardens, which in England and Wales cover less than 40,000 acres. Mr. RANDELL has added a few hundreds to his income by selling Cabbages in the fertile Vale of Evesham in a dear time, and farmers are exhorted and scolded for not doing likewise to the tune of £25,000,000. The industry and zeal of some writers are admirable, but they should remember that Mr. RUSSELL is a great sheep farmer, and not a market gardener. His sheep are the best in Kent, and he grows green crops for sheep, not for market. He was listened to with interest lately on the subject of agricultural depression, and these misleading writers will perhaps observe that, amongst his remedies, he omitted to mention farm gardening and occasional Sprouts as matters beneath notice in the discussion of an industry so extensive as that of farming. Those who need instruction on the subject of a very interesting occupation, and farmers who would pick up valuable hints on a system of intensive husbandry, which may teach them much, though they cannot emulate, or, at all events, copy it exactly, might spend a pleasant day in the season among the market gardens of Barking and the surrounding districts. The farm gardens extend as far as carts can travel to and from London, carrying vegetables and bringing back manure. The system of cultivation is dependent on the supply of manure from outside the farm, so that the gardening is strictly confined in its limits, and is replaced by farming beyond them. Other points of great importance upon which an enquirer should satisfy himself by accurate observation, are that the art of market gardening is special in its character, like that of stock farming; that masters and men in market gardens should have served an apprenticeship to their business; and that the union of gardening and farming has rarely proved successful. Manure is "the soul of agriculture;" in market gardening it is soul and body too. "The more manure the more Rhubarb," is a common saying among men who sometimes apply 100 tons of dung per acre at a cost of £30 or £40. In opposition to a great deal of misleading counsel in the papers farmers have had the advantage of listening to Mr. GLENNY, of Barking, who discoursed upon our subject, with full knowledgeof all its details, before the London Farmers' Club. Some time since, when we saw Mr. GLENNY'S market garden, it consisted of 116 acres under vegetables, the manure bill amounting to about £800 a year, and the labour bill to £1500, the number of horses engaged in cultivation and in the cartage of produce and manure a distance of 8 miles, to and from London, being a dozen, instead of only four which an ordinary farm would require. A prudent farmer living outside the proper limits will pause before he enters upon such a business as Mr. GLENNY'S.

In regard to vegetable markets and to those "big Gooseberries" which farmers are advised to cultivate, there are no other markets and no other articles which suffer such sudden depressions, and such violent fluctuations. The "big Gooseberries," too, must be brought to market rapidly and disposed of at once, or they spoil like fish at Billingsgate in summer, and become worthless. All we can hope to do in an article is to bring forward reliable evidence on matters of fact, leaving the verdict to those who are interested. You cannot silence a critic. As regards the occasional over-supply of the vegetable markets, when "big Gooseberries" and other articles become even more unprofitable than Wheat itself, the critics buzz like bees around the subject. London has five great vegetable markets-Covent Garden, Spitalfields, the Borough, Farringdon, and Stratford-and it has hundreds of streets wherein Lord SHAFTESBURY'S friends, the costermongers, ply their trade at a small profit, besides a very large number of "cutting shops," which have greatly

increased in recent years, where vegetables and fruit are sold at a narrow profit. The critics say "break down the monopoly of markets and you may at once double the consumption of market-garden produce, and prevent the glut you complain of;" but surely if the critics cannot or will not farm so as to put their advice to the test in that direction they might and should try what they can do to supply those parts of London which they say are at present almost deprived of vegetables. They might work by barrow or by means of cheap shops, and in spite of the supposed monopoly, in spite of high quotations in the trade journals, they will find that they can purchase in the wholesale market as cheap as they could wish. But we fear our programme will not suit them. They will probably prefer, as heretofore, to stroll about Covent Garden at noon and test the strength of the monopoly by comparing the price of a single Cabbage in the Central Avenue with the value of Mr. GLENNY'S waggonload, sold in the street. They might as well complain of the price of a pint of bird seed in the retail shop-and bird seed will keep-as compared with the value of a cargo in the Thames.

On the whole, Mr. ALBERT PELL, M.P., was not far wrong when he applied to these statements of the critics the unvarnished epithet, "Humbug!" But none know better than the farmers that the management of their business must be directed by practice, not by theory. Have any of these critics tested their adventurous policy? French journalists are accustomed to put their names to their articles, and on a point of practical management, involving profit or loss, the critics we refer to may be reasonably asked to produce their credentials. Have they grown these "big Gooseberries" themselves, or only dreamt of them?

THE DATE PALM.-We have on various occasions alluded to the culture of the Date Palm at Bordighera and other places in the Riviera for decorative purposes. The leaves are tied together, and thus blanched, and after drying are gilded and used on Palm Sunday and other festivals of the Roman Church. But besides this, which was, we believe, the primary use to which they were put, the leaves are now largely used in the manufacture of ornamental baskets and similar elegancies. Our illustration (fig. 12) shows a portion of a plantation of Date Palms, Chamaerops, Latania, &c., belonging to Mr. WINTER, of Bordighera, from whom we lately received illustrations of very elegant bouquet-holders and similar articles fabricated from the Palm leaves. Although the Date Palm flourishes so well in the Riviera climate, the heat is not sufficient to induce it to flower, though at Genoa on one occasion we remember to have seen a spike of fruit which pro- mised to ripen with the protection of a hand-glass fastened

over it.

NEW ORLEANS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.-Messrs. CHEAL & SONS, of Crawley, Sussex, have been awarded the Gold Medal for the best collection of one hundred varieties of Apples, also five Silver Medals for other collections and classes of Apples and specimens of fruit trees, and money prizes to the amount of 420 dols. The whole collection consisted of about 2000 fruits, in 200 varieties.

ROYAL APPOINTMENTS.—We are informed that Messrs. ROBERT VEITCH & SONS, seedsmen and nurserymen, Exeter, have been recently appointed seed merchants to Her Majesty the QUEEN.-Messrs. THOMAS GIBBS & Co., Down Street, Piccadilly, London, the seedsmen to the Royal Agricultural Society of England, have received the Royal Warrant appointing them seedsmen to Her Majesty the QUEEN, this firm having for many successive years had the privilege of supplying Her Majesty.

"BOOK LORE."-This is the title of a new "magazine devoted to old-time literature." It is substantially got up and clearly printed. The articles are varied and interesting. It is published monthly by ELIOT STOCK.

MR. FORSYTH JOHNSON.-We are requested to state that this gentleman has resigned the managership of the proposed Forestry Exhibition at the Alexandra Palace. Mr. JOHNSON's offices have been removed to Albion Chambers, 60, Haymarket.

YARRELL'S BRITISH BIRDS (VAN VOORST). -The last part of this new edition, now edited by Mr. HOWARD SAUNDERS, contains the history of the herons, storks, bitterns, and allied birds, and is consequently of exceptional interest. It is needless to say anything in commendation of this well-known publication.

CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS.-One of the most concise of these is issued by Messrs. ROBERT VEITCH & SONS, Exeter, containing as it does an almanac filled in each day with a single line indicating some seasonable work to be done; thus fulfilling its task of a useful reminder to the gardener by profession and the amateur.

The

THE "BOTANICAL MAGAZINE." January number of this, the oldest of all horticultural periodicals, opens with a figure of the magnificent Magnolia Campbelli, t. 6793. The representation is taken from a tree which flowered in Mr. CRAWFORD'S garden near Cork. The cultivated flowers are very inferior in size and colour to the superb flowers illus. trated in the Illustrations of Himalayan Plants from specimens collected by Sir JOSEPH HOOKER. The species is near M. Yulan and has deciduous leaves. The wood is valuable.

Idesia polycarpa, t. 6794, is a large Japanese tree, hardy at Kew, with broad cordate ovate leaves and pendulous slender much-branched many-flowered racemes of small yellowish flowers. The plant belongs to Bixaceæ, and has unisexual flowers, those now figured being the females. The berries, which are as large as small Grapes, stain the herbarium paper black or dark brown, and might possibly be used as a dye.

Fuchsia triphylla, t. 6795.-The history of this Fuchsia, the type upon which the genus was founded, was given in our columns by Mr. HEMSLEY, 1884, vol. xxii., p. 263. The coloured figure here given is very characteristic.

Dentaria polyphylla, t. 6796.—One of the most elegant of springflowering plants with a scaly rootstock, pinnately-cleft leaves with lanceolate segments and tall corymbs of white flowers (Crucifera). Native of mountains in Central Europe.

Torenia concolor, t. 6797 A.-Perhaps a variety of T. asiatica, from which it differs in its uniformly. coloured violet flowers.

T. Fordii, t. 6797 B, is a less attractive form, with cordate pubescent leaves and greenish-yellow flowers, spotted with violet. Native of the Lo-fau-shan Mountains, opposite Hong Kong. The Torenias are very attractive stove plants, flowering for many months in succession.

LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON.-A meeting will be held on Thursday, January 15, at 8 P. M., when papers will be read on :-I. "On Plants Collected by Mr. JOSEPH THOMSON in the Mountains of East Equatorial Africa;" by Sir J. D. HOOKER and Professor OLIVER. 2. "The Flora of Madagascar ;' by Mr. J. G. BAKER. 3. "The Orchids of Mada gascar;" by Mr. H. N. RIDLEY. 4. "On Japanese. Colydiidae;" by Mr. D. SHARP.

THE WESTERHAM NURSERIES.-We are informed that the partnership previously existing between Messrs. T. W. EDMUNDS and JEFFKINS, trading as ARTHUR JEFFKINS & Co., late JOHN CATTEL, has lately been dissolved, and that the business of these nurseries will be carried on under the title of the Westerham Nurseries & Seed Co.

ARISÆMA FIMBRIATUM. This extremely interesting new plant, described and illustrated in our columns on November 29 last, pp. 680 and 689, is now in flower in Mr. WILLIAM BULL'S Establishment for New and Rare Plants, King's Road, Chelsea. From the peculiar fringed character of its spadix it is totally unlike any other of the family we have seen.

POTATOS.-According to some experiments carried out at the New York Agricultural Station, single eyes used as seed yielded a satisfactory crop per hill, and more uniform crop per hill than whole Potatos or ordinary cuts. Single eyes yielded a smaller

percentage of smaller Potatos than did ordinary cuts or whole Potatos used as seed. Ordinary cuts, upon the whole, yielded more favourable results than whole Potatos, markedly so when the seed used is subtracted from the crop gained. Single eyes cut deeply so as to contain some substance gave a far superior yield to eyes cut shallow. The small seed-end eyes gave results by no means inferior, but rather superior, to those gained from central and butt-end larger eyes. Early planting showed far more favourably in crop than later planting, not alone in quality, but in total yield. Too close planting diminished the yield of good Potatos, and increased the yield of small Potatos, by measure. Fertiliser left over from last year's application exercised a marked influence upon the crop.

DOUBLE ABUTILON.-Some week or two since Messrs. CANNELL were so good as to forward us blooms of a double Abutilon Thomsoni which were unusually perfect and regular. The flowers will surely be welcomed by lovers of double flowers and florists, while those who are not usually enamoured of such flowers will not fail to recognise the merits of the present plant. Botanically it is of much interest as furnishing another illustration of the coincidence of variegated leaves and double flowers, which at one time was denied, and which is indeed a rare occurrence. The flowers in this case are doubled by the substitution of petals for stamens. A coloured plate of the same or a closely allied form is given in the Revue de l'Horticulture Belge for 1885.

LAPAGERIA IN THE OPEN AIR.-The Hon. and Rev. J. T. BOSCAWEN, of Lamorran Rectory, Cornwall, has forwarded to us a fine spray of this plant, dark red in colour, firm in texture, and uninjured in any part. He says:-"I can't help sending you a spray of Lapageria rosea growing in a north-west angle of my house. It has been there for ten or a dozen years, and has never been much injured by frost but once during that time, and then only that part of it that was exposed and had grown to the top of a chimney. It was cut at the time in full blossom. It is now a lovely sight in spite of the hard frost we had early in November, and some days since. I am sure that there are many angles facing N.W. in houses 'up the country,' as we say down here, where Lapa. gerias would do well. The white one this year was most striking, and is, if anything, hardier than Iosea. This is on a north wall not quite to the top of the house, but rosea is now climbing over the slates."

DWARF TREES.-The manner in which the Chinese produce their dwarf trees is stated by the Gartenflora to be as follows. The pulp of an Orange is removed by an aperture the size of a florin, and filled with cocoa-nut fibre, tow, and powdered charcoal. In the centre is placed a seed of the tree it is wished to grow. The Orange is placed in a glass or other vessel, and the compost kept moist. The seedling germinates, the stem protrudes through the hole in the Orange, the roots penetrate the rind. The roots as soon as they reach this stage are cut off close to the rind, and this is continued for two or three years. The tree ceases to grow, and assumes the aspect of an old tree. The roots equally cease to grow, and the rind of the Orange is painted and varnished. It would be easy to put this to the test.

THE SOIL OF NEW SOUTH WALES.-The Colony contains an abundance of soil of the richest description for the support of a very large population, when the conditions shall be more favourable for the pursuit of agriculture, for which in most districts the climate is very suitable. On the coast strip eastward of the dividing range there is a large area of very rich land in the river valleys. It has been extensively cleared, and in the southern part of the Colony is mostly under Lucerne, Corn, and Potatos, and yields immense crops. On the northern river-flats splendid crops of Sugar-cane are grown, as well as of Corn. The Tobacco-plant flourishes on this strip of land, as

well as almost all the cereals and fruits of temperate and semi-tropical climates. Wheat crops formerly were grown extensively here, but for many years past the area planted with Wheat has been very much reduced, owing to the extreme liability of the grain to rust when coming into ear. It is this that has doubtless rendered the production of Wheat in the Colony so far behind the yield of the southern Colonies. However, when we get on to the table-lands we find a large area of soil of very rich quality among the surrounding rocks and country of granite formation, and this promises to be the future granary of the Colony. At present the yield of the crops in some instances amounts to as much as 30 and 40 bushels per acre from the virgin soil of this part of the Colony. Here flourish the English fruits-Gooseberries, Cherries, Currants, and the like. As you go further westward the climate becomes less and less favourable for agriculture, owing to the uncertainty of the rainfall, and, as far as present appearances indicate, the great salt-bush plains of the interior, unrivalled for fattening stock, will for generations to come be chiefly devoted to that pursuit. With regularity of seasons agriculture might be possible, but the rainfall is very irregular in that part of the colony. Briefly summed up, we may say that the coast climate and soil favour the production of almost all kinds of vegetation found in temperate and semi-tropical regions; that the table-lands, with a magnificent climate, will produce all the cereals and fruits of the temperate zone; while away westward are hundreds of thousands of square miles of the finest stock-fattening country to be found in any part of the world,

SAGITTARIA MONTEVIDENSIS.-A beautiful stove aquatic with erect racemes of flowers, each about 2 inches across, with three roundish petals, each white with a reddish-purple spot at the base. It is an indispensable plant for the aquarium, large or small; in the former case it assorts well with larger species, in the latter it is in itself so beautiful that having it one need not regret the absence of others. It is figured in the Illustration Horticole, t. 543, and in a recent number of the Garden.

BANKSIA INTEGRIFOLIA.-Although this is one of the larger species, ultimately attaining treelike dimensions, it forms a conspicuous object for a large and cool conservatory during the winter season. A plant about 10 or 12 feet high has been flowering for many weeks in one of the octagons of the winter gar. den, Kew. The inflorescence consists of an oblong, erect, dense spike of pale yellow flowers, which, although individually small, are very effective in the aggregate. This cone-like spike becomes woody, persisting for years, and presenting a peculiar appearance shared in by other members of the genus. The leaves are long and lance-shaped, with an entire margin, and white beneath. This species is synony. mous with B. macrophylla and B. oleifolia, and is figured in the Botanical Magazine, t. 2770. It belongs to the section Eubanksia, or true Banksias of the Genera Plantarum.

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CROTALARIA SEMPERFLORENS. - Few of these plants are cultivated at the present day, notwithstanding the fact that about 200 species are known to science, and numerous species have been introduced from time to time. They are widely dis persed in tropical countries of both hemispheres, and the plant under notice was originally introduced more than half a century ago from the East Indies. The yellow flowers are produced in axillary racemes, and are rendered rather attractive by the large size of the upper petal or standard. It is figured in VENTENAT'S descriptions of new or rare plants in the garden of J. M. CELS (t. 17), and has been reintroduced lately. A plant in a small pot in the Palm-house, Kew, is well furnished with long arching or drooping, twiggy shoots, and ample foliage of a firm or rigid texture.

THE PROPAGATOR.

PROPAGATION AND CULTURE OF
RHOPHALAS.

FOR decorative purposes the Rhopala is amongst the most useful plants the gardener has. For its graceful and ornamental appearance it is demanded and used with advantage at every season of the year. It is used for the decoration of the stove in mid-winter, and when the space taken up is at length required for the development of incoming and more tender plants, the Rhopalas can be removed to decorate the intermediate house; while in the summer and autumn months they can be utilised for the same purpose in the cold greenhouse and conservatory. At all times they are beautiful and lasting objects for indoor decoration.

1. FROM CUTTINGS.

at

Cuttings of the Rhopala may be taken any time during the year, provided always that they are fit to be taken, i.e., the wood must be thoroughly ripe, the foliage quite hard, and the top growths well finished up. It is a waste of time to put in soft cuttings, and can only lead to the vexation of the gardener. The cuttings should be selected from the weakest growths and the tops of shoots and each cutting should have three or four leaves upon it. Before potting them the bottom of each one should be cut off with a sharp knife, which should be twice drawn across the level surface, thus made so as to form an X. This operation is favourable to the production of roots.

In potting them long thumb-pots should be used, and the soil must be pressed very firmly around each cutting. In order to economise the room in the case it is well to put a stick to each pot, tying the main stem of the cutting in two places, and then looping up the leaves one by one, as erect as possible without damaging them. After they have been weil watered they can be placed in a cutting case or frame which must be situated upon a gentle bottom-heat. While the cuttings are in the case the cocoa-nut fibre, or whatever material is used in the botttom of the case must be well turned, well mixed, and watered once a week, and for ventilation the lights or glasses should be removed for an hour early each day. They should neither be allowed to become dry, nor should they be watered overhead, but they should only be watered with a fine spout-pot. For shading, which is necessary during Lright sunshine, a newspaper can be used.

When the cuttings have rooted they should be placed outside the frame for a fortnight to strengthen them before potting into large 60's. As soon as they have been potted they should be placed upon the front platform of the house upon a cold ash bottom until they have again well rooted through, and then the strongest plants can be potted into 32-sized pots, and the remainder into 48's. It is now necessary to remove them to a house of intermediate temperature, and here they must be well supplied with water at the roots, but they must never once be syringed overhead, especially during the formation of new growths. They can be again potted when occasion demands it. The scil for the cuttings sheuld be composed of threeqarters good peat and one-quarter river-sand, to which should be added a small quantity of finely broken pot. herds, the whole being well mixed together and sifted through a 1-inch sieve; but for the cuttings that have rooted the proportions vary thus :-half tuify loam, half peat, and one-quarter river-sand, a small quantity of finely broken potsherds or ballast being added. The treatment given above can be applied to R. corcovadensis, R. crenata, R. Skinnerii, R. complicata, R. aurea, R. elegantissima, R. Vervaeneana, R. granadensis, R. magnifica, R, javanica, R. Leboniana, and R. De Jonghii. The last-named plant is a very strong grower, and the only successful way of propagating it from cuttings is to cut down the old plant, and as fast as it breaks into growth the tops of the shoots should be pinched out until they are hard, and in a fit state for propagating purposes. 2. FROM GRAFTS.

It is necessary to graft R. De Jonghii and R. elegantissima, for which purpose R. aurea and R. magnifica should be respectively used as stocks.

Side grafting is the best. Beginning with the stock, it should be cut down to within 4 or 5 inches of the soil, the top of the stem should be

made quite level, and down the side of which a cut, 1 inch in length, should be made; the knife should, however, be withdrawn without completing the cut, which should be done from the outside by an inward and downward cut, so as to leave a cleft, upon which to rest the end of the graft. Care should be taken in making the graft to see that it fits the place made for it on the stock, to which it should be securely bound at both ends with Russian matting. After well watering them place them in a cutting case or frame upon a gentle bottom-heat, to receive the following treatment -Ventilation should be regulated and increased by degrees. For the first week the glasses or lights should be taken off for half an hour every morning; after that time they may be removed for an hour each morning. Those that have become dry should be watered, but great care must be taken not to wet the matting the grafts are tied on with, and they should be shaded from all sunshine. When the grafts have thoroughly united a little more ventilation should be given them both day and night for three or four days before they are removed from the frame to be placed in the open part of the house. Here they should remain for about three weeks, to harden and fit them for potting. They can be potted into suitable sized pots, placing a stick to each plant, tying it in such a manner as to prevent the graft being knocked off by accident.

The plants should now be removed to a good growing house, keeping them well supplied with water at the roots, but never syringing them during the formation of young growth, because the woolly covering of the young leaves, if wetted, is liable to cause the foliage to become deformed and stunted. As soon as the plants are strong enough they can be removed to an intermediate-house, and placed upon a cold ash bottom until they are ready for the gar dener's use. T. 0.

FLORISTSFLOWERS

HERBACEOUS PHLOXES.

TAKEN as a whole the genus Phlox may be said to be one of, if not the most useful genera among hardy plants, and one which receives more attention probably at the hands of gardeners generally than do the majority of hardy plants. There is much to be said of these Phloxes, too much, indeed, for my present brief note, in which I will endeavour to assist your correspondent and as many more who may wish for similar assistance. Strangely enough, the numerous varieties of the genus Phlox, which, taken as a whole, are free seeders, are seldom raised from seed in English nurseries. Nine-tenths of the varieties of these charming flowers owe their origin to the enterprise of Continental florists. There is, however, nothing to prevent their being raised with equal freedom on this side of the Channel. The herbaceous or decussate section seed much more freely than do the. alpine section, seeing that the flowers and fertilising organs are much larger, as is also the tube. As with all other florists' flowers, the numerous fine kinds of Phloxes now in commerce are the outcome of many thousands-of seedlings, all of which, while not attaining the standard of perfection, are good and useful for the shrubbery. The only special mode of fertilisation is in the judicious selection of varieties about to be operated upon. After the crosses are made the heads may be covered with fine muslin, and secured to the main stem, so as to shut out the bees, who invariably work busily among them, and especially so among the more fragrant kinds. It will not be necessary to have many covered up, seeing that the panicles in most cases are large; consequently several crosses may be made upon each, numbering or marking them separately if occasion requires.

Special attention should be paid to good formed flowers, vigorous constitution, fine proportioned trusses, and so forth. There is no better time for sowing the seed than the end of the year or the early part of the new year, or as soon as possible after being collected and dressed. Seeds thus treated will not germinate till the ensuing spring, and flower these, if groan without a check, will during the early autumn months, making, as a

rule, a good succession to the general collection. With regard to the rarity of self-sown plants, to which a correspondent alludes, a word or two may suffice to make it obvious. It must be borne in mind that the flower stems, if allowed to remain on the plants, will retain the capsules intact for several months; in fact, I have known instances where they have remained as stated till several inches of new growth has been made, but the flower-stems being removed the seed goes with them to the rubbish-heap. Another reason why self-sown plants are rare is from the extreme and unusual hardness of the capsules, so much so that they may be buried for months in the soil and remain uninjured, and the seeds which it contains, being uninfluenced by light and heat, remain dormant. Seeds may, if placed in air-tight vessels, be kept till February, and then sown in pots or pans and placed in slight warmth. Liberal treatment, a deep, well enriched soil, and an abundance of water at flowering time are essential. Of the many and various means of employing them I may refer on a more seasonable day. E. Jenkins.

THESE are wintered in cold frames in the same way as Auriculas are, but they do not thrive if allowed to become very dry at the roots. Auriculas would, perhaps, not suffer much if they did not receive any water from now until the end of January, but the Polyanthus would; they are quite as liable to be attacked by greenfly as the Auricula. Their desperate enemy is red spider which attacks them during the summer months; they suffered very much last season, and the pest has considerably reduced our stock of plants. I had some hope of grow. ing them in our new garden, where the soil is heavy with a clay subsoil underneath, but they gradually disappear with the double Primroses, or any other of the named kinds. Our greatest success with all classes of Polyanthuses and Primroses has been by raising seedlings annually. The seeds are sown in March for the laced Polyanthuses, and in April for the fancy kinds.

The seeds of the poorest quality will perhaps produce the best quality plants; and in order to get the thin and poor seeds to vegetate well we place the pots or pans containing the seeds on a hotbed with a very mild bottom-heat. As soon as the plants are well up they are removed to a cold frame, and when large enough are pricked-out in boxes an inch apart, to be planted where they are to flower after they have grown to a considerable size in the boxes. The seedlings possess sufficient vigour to withstand the assaults of red-spider. 7. Douglas.

The Flower Garden

ROSES.

Hayden.

ALL dead plants should be made good; remove 18 inches of the surface soil and replace it with rotten dung and fresh loam, and afterwards have all staked and made secure. They will be greatly benefited if mulched with manure, which will also serve to protect them from frost. If the Rose Briers are not planted this should be looked to at once, as the sooner those that are intended for budding in July are got in the better. Cuttings of Manetti should be put in at once if not already done. Hard, well-ripened wood strikes freely if planted in light sandy soil in rows 18 inches apart and 6 inches in the rows. Make the cuttings 6 inches in length and plant 4 inches deep, making them very firm in the soil.

BEDDING ROSES.

I prefer for bedding-out Roses those on their own roots, such plants throwing no suckers; and most of the hybrid perpetuals strike freely from cuttings if taken off with a slight heel of the old wood and planted as above described for Manetti. They make nice plants in twelve months, and prevent much of the disappointment that is occasioned by the loss of plants from improper pruning of worked stocks. I find to grow Roses successfully, if the soil is poor and sandy or exhausted, it is much better to remove it altogether to the depth of 18 inches and replace with rich soil. Wm, Smythe, Basing Park, Alton.

Plants and their Culture.

INSECTS.

NEXT to the mealy-bug, I consider the white. scale to be the most troublesome insect; there is some of this but not on the Pines, I am glad to say. The conservatory climbers have been troubled with it but now I hope to get rid of it from among them. Had I feared it as I do the bug, there would not have been any left. Our practice for white-scale has been to use an insecticide at double the strength advised on printed instructions; this I have found to be more than they can withstand. Brown-scale, thrips, redspider, and aphides, are likewise very troublesome pests. A watchful eye needs be kept on each and all of them, and measures taken to destroy them. It is grievous to see the damage that is done by omitting to take such matters in hand at an early date, the effects not being obliterated for a long time to come in some cases. At the present season I strongly advise means to be taken to ensure cleanliness in each department before the increased amount of work presses upon us. A clean start in the spring will go a long way towards securing a healthy growth and eventually a more satisfactory floral and foliar display.

FUTURE ARRANGEMENTS.

All arrangements for the ensuing season should be well considered. Any fresh introduction or varia. tion, whether in the kinds or quantities of plants that are to be grown, or any diversity that can be made in the mode of arrangement, should receive attention. It is always a good plan to vary the features as much as can be done; the mode of procedure of one season being repeated again and again, even if it is ever so good, will be monotonous, and should be avoided where possible. If in any par ticular instance there should have been a partial failure during the past season endeavour by extra attention to that particular case to prevent its recur. rence. If it is observed that any particular plant is not of service in some form or other then it will be by far the better way to dispense with it, and so make more room for those that are more valued. James Hudson, Gunnersbury House Gardens, Acton, W.

The Hitchen

Garden.

FORCING DEPARTMENT.

ASPARAGUS.-Where the old system of forcing this on stable-litter and leaves is still practised, considerable labour must be employed in keeping up a supply. The most expeditious way is to force in frames heated with hot-water at this time of the year; here it can be given more air, and at the same time a steady temperature can be maintained during all kinds of weather. The "grass " is equally as fine under this treatment, and certainly of a better colour and flavour, at least so we find it. I force it in an old Pine pit, where it succeeds admirably.

FRENCH BEANS.

Keep up the supply by planting in 8-inch pots three-parts filled with light soil. As soon as the Beans are 2 or 3 inches above the rims of the pots earth them up, and supports may be placed to them at once. Place them as near the glass as possible, and do not apply any stimulants until the Beans commence setting.

CUCUMBERS.

A few seeds of Telegraph should now be sown, in order to have some plants for early planting. Plants in bearing will now require careful treatment in the way of watering and airing.

TOMATOS.

Old plants with still a few fruits on must be kept thin, and regularly tied once a week, to give all light and sun possible to the fruit. Some seed should now be sown to raise plants for planting-out under glass, or pot work.

POTATOS AND RADISHES

well above ground] must be freely aired during mild

and sunny weather, and in the absence of cutting winds. The first-named of course will be in hotwater frames, or growing in pots or boxes in houses. TARRAGON, CHIVES, AND MINT.

A few roots of each should be put in heat at intervals.

SALADS.

Endive.-Lift from the store frames according to demand, plant in boxes, and place in the Mushroomhouse, or in a dark cellar free from frost, where it will blanch, and be fit for use in five or six days. Chicory can be put in suitable sized pots, eight or ten in a pot, and placed in gentle heat in a dark place. G. H. Richards, Somerly, Ringwood.

THE MEXICAN SILVER FIR.

ABIES RELIGIOSA.-I forward you cones of two forms of the above Silver Fir. Seldom have we the two forms in cone at the same time; but these, like many other Pines, coned very freely last season, and thus I have the opportunity of sending them for comparison. The dark coloured cone was taken from a tree that was introduced here from Messrs. Veitch's nursery, of Exeter, about thirty-five years ago, I think, under the name of Picea sp. nova. A few years ago I was requested by Sir Joseph Hooker to send cones to Kew, and on comparing them with dried specimens of P. religiosa it was found to be identical. The lighter coloured cone is taken from a tree that has a more spreading habit than A, and, although it is at the same elevation, and only 40 yards from A, it is much more tender, having had the top and some side branches killed by frost in 1880 and 1881. The leaves of this specimen are not so dark, neither is the tree so healthy in appearance. This may, in a great measure, be caused by the difference in the age, the latter being much older than the other. W. Osborne, Fota Island, Co. Cork.

[The specimens sent are of much interest, and both of much beauty.

The branches of A, with the dark purple cones, are cinnamon-brown in colour; the young shoots brownish above, olive-coloured beneath, slightly hirtellous. The largest leaves measure 1 inch, linear-pointed, curved, deeply grooved on the deep green upper surface along the midrib, silvery-grey on the under. surface between the prominent midrib and the strongly recurved margins.

The leaves start from all sides of the branches, but are so twisted as to form about four lines, one on each side of the branch, from which the leaves come off, at an angle of about 40°, and two others disposed along the centre of the horizontal branches, the individual leaves being given off at an angle of 10°, the lateral leaves thus spreading more or less horizontally away from the branch, the uppermost ones appressed to it, and more or less parallel in direction to it. The buds at the end of the lateral shoots are subglobose, covered with whitish or pale violet obtuse scales.

The cones are erect, 5 by 2 inches, cylindric, oblong, slightly narrowed towards the top, rich dark violet covered with whitish resin, with prominent bracts ending in an acuminate point and markedly reflected.

On a cross section of the leaf the deep central groove on the the upper surface is very conspicuous, as also are the revolute margins, the two resin canals are close to the epidermis on the lower surface, and the strengthening cells or hypoderm do not form a continuous layer, but are broken up into detached

masses.

In the second specimen, B, the old wood is not so deeply coloured though the rind on the younger shoots is more so and more hirtellous, but both in colour and amount of hairiness there is a considerable range of variation.

The leaves are arranged as in the other specimen, but shorter (1-14 inch), narrower, and of a yellowishgreen colour. The buds, too, are smaller. The cone is of the same form and dimensions, but not so deep violet.

A cross section of a leaf shows a narrower leaf not so much depressed in the centre, with the same general

arrangement as in the other specimen, but with continuous hypoderm.

The variations in this beautiful Silver Fir are interesting, because they serve to elucidate its history, and they show, as Mr. Osborne says, that some varieties are hardier than others, and hence that there is a possibility that the disparagement expressed against this tree by reason of its insufficient hardihood may be obviated by careful selection of variety as well as by judicious choice of locality. At one time A. hirtella was considered distinct from religiosa, the latter being said to have glabrous shoots. The specimens before us show considerable variation in this respect, and Seemann, who investigated the matter, came to the conclusion that the two forms are specifically identical. The condition of the layer of woody fibres beneath the epiderm is also variable. In the darker green, healthier specimen sent, these fibres do not form a continuous layer, but are broken up into detached masses. This is of some moment, because there is in the Kew Herbarium a specimen collected by Skinner in Guatemala, a good deal south of the Mexican habitat, which Dr. MacNab refers to religiosa, but in which "the hypoderm cells are more scattered."

From our own observations we are not inclined to place much reliance on the hypoderm as a character, for in the two specimens sent to us, as has been shown, the arrangement differs; while an examination of a leaf from the same Guatemalan specimen as that examined by Professor MacNab showed distinctly continuous hypoderm; indeed, it might be expected that this, which is a mere mechanical arrangement, would vary according to altitude, exposure to wind, &c. In all the native Mexican specimens examined by us (Bourgeau 1143, Linden, three, Parry and Palmer 847) we found the hypoderm continuous.

Abies religiosa is one of the most beautiful of the Silver Firs, forming a tree of 150 feet high on the mountains ranging between 15° and 22° of N. latitude, and ascending to an elevation of 9000 feet. It derives its name "religiosa " from the fact that the Mexicans make use of the branches to decorate their churches.

The tree produced cones some years ago in Mr. Boscawen's garden at Lamorran, Cornwall, from one of which our figure, here repeated (fig. 13), was taken. It corresponds almost exactly with Mr. Smith Barry's, above described. ED.].

HOME CORRESPONDENCE.

The Phylloxera Laws. In the Gardeners' Chronicle of January 3, p. 20, a note is given from Mr. Vertegans, to the effect that plants of any kind, except Grape Vines, can be introduced freely into Germany under the conditions that they be accompanied by a certificate from a magistrate in reference to Phylloxera. This is certainly the case if the plants come from countries which have adhered to the Convention of Berne, but I doubt very much if it is actually the case for plants coming from other countries, especially from Great Britain. Such plants are accepted with the said certificate without any difficulty into the kingdom of the Netherlands, but for Germany-as far as I know, at least-there is wanted for every consignment the permission of the imperial authorities, which, however, it is said, is usually given with a very short delay. The latest documents about this question have been published in the Garten Zeitung of Dr. Wittmack, published at Berlin, No. xlix., pp. 580-589 (1884). There will be found, as I suppose, the exact particulars of the present state of the question. In that article it is said that plants may be easily sent through Holland to Germany. This is not the case, and those who would like to try it would certainly be disappointed. I have sent a note to the Editor of the Garten Zeitung to contradict this statement. 7. H. Krelage.

Mr. R. H. Vertegans' note in the last number of the Gardeners' Chronicle, referring to the sending of plants to Germany, might lead English plant merchants exporting to Germany to believe that a certificate of any sort from a magistrate in reference to Phylloxera is sufficient. This, however, is not the case. I had quite lately a package of plants from England refused entry at Hamburgh, though accompanied by a certificate from a magistrate, and furthermore testified to by a German Consul. The certificate, which contained everything