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‘Royal Morticultural Society

: Phe Rev. W. WILKS, M.A., Secretary ;

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Mr. JOHN WEATHERS, Assistant Secretary.

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CONTENTS.
Dahlia Conference : - PAGE
The Origin of the Florist’s Dahlia. 5, the late Mr. Shirley Hibberd, F.R.H.S. 1
Single and Decorative Dahlias. By Mr. T. W. Girdlestone, M.A., F.L.S., &e.. 14

Show Dahlias. -By Mr. Walter H. Williams, F.R.H.S. ; Pees |
Bibliography of the Dahlia. By Mr, C. Harman Payne, F.R.H.S. we i 20
Cultivation of the Show Dahlia. By Mr.d. T. West. . 27

Analysis of the Dahlias shown at the Conference. By Mr. E: Mawley, f R.H. Ss. 33
The Grape Conference :

Opening Address. By Dr. Hogg, F.L.S., F.R.H.S. Rie ay a fee 40
Frontignan Grapes. By Mr. T. Francis Rivers, F.R.H.S. bs re ni 48)
The Enemies of the Vine. By Mr. R. D. Blackmore, F.R.H.S.. age wu. 44
Soils and Manures for Grapes. By Mr. W. Thomson, F.R.H. S. e a. 66
Packing Grapes. By Mr. W. Coleman,-F.R.H.S. ar HS area ie 2 Oo
Packing Peaches and Figs. By Mr. W. Coleman, F.R.H. S, ee ae ye 64
Crinums. By Sir Chas. W. Strickland, Bart., F.R.H.S. . 67
Trees and Shrubs for Large Towns. By Dr. Maxwell as “Masters, Fit, 8, Kern. 71
Chinese Primulas. By Mr. A. W. Sutton, F.L.S., F.R.H.S. at 99
On the Influence of the Mycelium of Ustilago Violocea on its host ae By
Mr. C. B. Plowright, F.L.S., F.R.H.S. . ee es
Notes on Hoar Frost. By Mr. C. B. Plowright, F.LS., E.R. H. S.. ¥i< ase ENE
On Figs and their Culture at Chiswick. By Mr. A. E- Barron. . sev 12
Report on Red and White Currants at Chiswick. By Mr. A. F. Barron’ te TBA
On the Effects of Urban Fog Hyer Cultivated Plants. ae Professor F. W.
Oliver, D.Sc. F.LS.-_..... a te e409
Persian Cyclamen. By Mr. W. Warne, ERHS. ces en aw wee 453
Hardy Cyclamen. By the Rev. W. Wilks, MAA. >... baie eve, ADO
Germination of Cyclamen. By Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, F.R. 8. Sen Ponts OG
Snowdrops. ~ By Mr, James-Allen, F.RsHiS2- oo... i eee ae TD
Snowdrops. By Mr. D. Melville ... is ae oy: = ove 188
Snowdrops. By Mr. F. W. Burbidge, M.A., FLS. ae op = AGI
The Cultivation of Hardy Bulbs and Plants. By Herr Max Leichtlin ..» 210
» -Lachenalias. By Mr. F. W. Moore, F.R.H.S. — ... ep ee we see 2EG
Cape Bulbs. By Mr. James O’Brien, F.R.H.S. . ieee oy i wa aoe
Hybrid Rhododendrons. By the Rev. Prof. Halla: M.A., ELS. Ss ..- 240
= Wola Dos MAL ERAS ee
Alpine Plants. “By” the Rev. C. Wo ey Do a8 ae ae
Tea-scented Roses. By Mr. T. a Girdlestone, M.A. F.L.S. x ie
ef Conference on Hardy Summer- owering Perennials :—
Wild Gardening in Meadow Grass. By Mr. W. Robinson, F.L.S.. 810
“Some of the Summer Flowers of my Garden. By the an H,. Ewbank, a
M.A., F.R.H.S.
The Picturesque Use of Hardy ‘Summer Perennial Plants. “By Mies Jekyll ee
F.R.H.
_List of Hardy Perennial Plants suitable for Various Purposes Atos .. 330

~ Conference on Small Hardy Fruits :—

Strawberries for Private Gardens. By Mr. W. Allan — ... te ... 340
Strawberries for Forcing. By Mr. G. Norman, Ey Hide tes at. w» G42
The Gooseberry. By Mr. D. Thomson he oa te .» 847
Raspberries. By Mr. G. Wythes, F.R.H.S. — ... as Se das Pere )5

~ List of Small Fruits for Private Gardens .. .» 360
‘Early Peaches and Nectarines. By Mr. T. Francis Rivers, F.R.H. S, 363
Ornamental Stove and Greenhouse Plants. By Mr. James Hudson, a H. 8. 370
The Gladiolus. By the Rev. H. H. D’ombrain, B.A., F.R.H.S. bg 380
Hard Water and Bog Plants. By Mr. Geo. Paul, FBS, <2: ae «OOD
Insectivorous Plants. By Mr. R. Lindsay, F.R.H. cs fas eS wee 893.

‘Insect-catching Plants. By Mr. Lewis Castle, F.R. He van se .» 406 |

Fruits for Cottagers and Small Farmers 9 we. see ese nee 411

JOURNAL

OF THE

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Vou. XIII. 1891.

DAHLIA CONFERENCE,
SEPTEMBER 28, 1890.

A ConFERENCE on Dahlias was held at the Chiswick Gardens
on Tuesday, September 23. The chair was taken by Harry
Turner, Esq., F.R.H.8., President of the Conference, who in
opening the proceedings said that, looking at the number of the
papers which were to be read that afternoon and the high
authority with which the several readers of them would speak,
he as Chairman would be consulting the best interests of all
concerned by making no opening address, but by simply calling
on Mr. Shirley Hibberd to read the first paper.

THE ORIGIN OF THE FLORIST’S DAHLIA.
By the late Mr. Sairtey Hisserp, F.R.H.S.

Tue formation of a florist’s flower affords so much direct infor-
mation on the biology of vegetable reproduction that any searching
study of the subject is likely to be well rewarded. The late Mr.
Charles Darwin necessarily gave the subject some attention, but,
being far removed in his pursuits and tastes from floriculture, he
depended much more upon replies obtained to questions he pro-
posed to a few distinguished florists than to any observations of
his own. Even by this slender second-hand system he acquired
a vast amount of knowledge, which he employed to good purpose
in those masterly generalisations that render his books of present
value and immortal fame. If he had applied his penetrating
genius to the subject before us, many points that are now obscure
would doubtless have been made plain, and the little that I can
B

2, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

attempt would have been rendered superfluous. And it is but
little, for I make no pretence here to penetrate below the surface
of any part of the interesting subject proposed to me. The
exigencies of daily life leave no margin for a serious inquiry into
the full meaning of the changes effected in any flower by the work
of the florist; but in a discourse of half an hour, with the help of
a few drawings and with examples of living flowers, I may at
least be enabled to entertain my friends with a slight attempt
at a scientific treatment of the subject.

Wherein consists the difference between the Dahlia as it is
found growing wild in its native land, and the Dahlia that
embodies in it both the governing idea and the results of the
patient work of the florist ? An appropriate reply would be that
in the hands of the florist it has changed from an open star to
a closely packed rosette, while in size it has been enlarged and
in colour greatly diversified. A more comprehensive reply would
consist in saying that the florist began with a single flower and
endeavoured to obtain a double flower. In that he has succeeded,
and the task now before him is to advance the double flower to
a certain ideal standard of form and proportion, and when he
has attained to a realisation of his ideal his work as a florist
will have been completed.

In considering the bearings of the primary question, the
subject naturally divides, on the historical side in one direction
and the biological in another. We must begin somewhere,
and history only can teach us where and how. I therefore invite
your attention first to a hasty review of the facts, as in various
ways recorded, of the introduction and progress of the Dahlia
as a garden flower in Europe, to the point where the florists
appear to have influenced it in view of their model of what it
should be to gratify their tastes and compensate them for its
cultivation. A fuller history than I shall now attempt formed
the subject of a discourse at the opening of the Dahlia Conference
of the National Dahlia Society, and may be found in the
Gardener’s Magazine of September 7, 1889. To that I refer the
curious in the matter of historical facts, while for present pur-
poses I shall hope to leave nothing unsaid that in any way bears
on the question that is immediately before me.

The first description of the Dahlia oceurs in Francisco
Hernandez’s treatise on ‘‘ The Plants and Animals of New

THE ORIGIN OF THE “FLORIST’S DAHLIA. 8

Spain,’ published at Madrid in the year 1615. The several
editions of this important work are described in the infallible
‘“‘Thesaurus’’ of Pritzel. For 180 years we hear no more
of the Dahlia, when it turns up again in 1787 in connection
with an interesting event. Nicholas Joseph Thierry de Ménon-
ville was sent to America by the French Government of
Louis XVI. to obtain the cochineal insect and the plant it sub-
sisted on. His instructions were that he was to secure it; and
the ethics of the case appear to have been of the ancient
diplomatic order. The expedition was successful; the cochineal
was secured, and in 1787 Ménonville published an account of it,
adding many particulars of other things he had seen or heard of.
Amongst events of interest, he had seen, in a garden at Guaxaca,
flowers that he described as large as Asters, on stems as tall as
a man, with leaves like those of the Hlder-tree. Clearly he had
seen single Dahlias in Mexico, and the florists of that place and
time were content to grow single flowers, and possibly doted on
them.

It may be said that the combined labours of Hernandez,
Ménonvyille, and others had created amongst the botanists of
Europe a craving for this great Mexican Aster; and, if the
cochineal could be secured, so might the less profitable—but no
less interesting—Aster-like flower. Spain, as by right, obtained
the first gratification of the new desire, for in 1789 a parcel of
seeds of the coveted plant was sent to Madrid by Vincentes
Cervantes, Director of the Botanical Gardens of Mexico, to be
grown by the Abbé Cavanilles, Director of the Botanical Garden
at Madrid. Then it was that England secured a share of the
prize, and the name of Lady Bute was immortalised in connection
with the introduction of the beautiful novelty to English gardens.

It is fortunate we have nothing to do with politics in this
history, for although they might come in, and a mixture of
French Revolution, Pitt, Burke, Bute, and even the Bastille
might follow, we can avoid them all by remembering that Lady
Bute, to whom we are in this matter peculiarly indebted, was
an enthusiastic gardener, and obtained seeds of the new plant
from Lord Bute, who was then diplomatically employed at
Madrid ; and thus the first cultivator of the Dahlia in England
was a lady, who, so far as I know, is as yet uncommemorated,

except in some such poor way as the mention of this circum-
; B2

4 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

stance. Lady Bute followed the horticultural rule of her day,
which was that all foreign plants required to be suffocated in a
close plant-house; and, accordingly, the Dahlia was lost to
cultivation in this country within two years of its introduction.
Kew obtained it about the same time, and lost it in the same
way. Being a foreigner it was suffocated.

But the plant had travelled to Paris, for in the year 1802
the Abbé Cavanilles communicated seeds from Madrid to the
Jardin des Plantes at Paris, and to M. de Candolle at Mont-
pellier, and thus the flower was somewhat diffused in Europe.
From Paris seeds of Dahlia coccinea were obtained in 1802 by
John Fraser, nurseryman, of Sloane Square, who flowered them
in a greenhouse in 1804; and from those flowers the first figure
published in England was prepared, this being No. 762 of the
venerable Botanical Magazine.

In 1791 was published at Madrid the ‘‘Icones et Descriptiones
Plantarum ”’ of the Abbé Cavanilles, and in it were figures and
descriptions of Dahlias, for Cavanilles is the author of the
genus which he dedicated to the memory of André Dahl, a
Swedish botanist and author of a work on the Linnean system
published in 1784. Humboldt has the credit of introducing the
Dahlia from Mexico in 1789, but this is a falsification of facts,
because Humboldt did not set foot on the American continent
until February 1800, soon after which he did see Dahlias in
cardens in Mexico, and was greatly rejoiced thereat.

The chronology sets before us two species of Mexican Acoctli
figured by Hernandez in 1615, and respectively named by
Cavanilles, in 1791, Dahlia pinnata and Dahlia coccinea. The
first of these became the Dahlia of the garden ; it is now known
by the appropriate name of D. variabilis, for it is beyond doubt
one of the most variable flowers in cultivation. In the produc-
tion of the garden flower, then, we begin with the achievement of
Cavanilles, who kept his flowers while other cultivators lost
them, and in the year 1791 had the good fortune to publish a
figure of the first double flower of which we have certain record,
he having obtained this as the result of his successful cultivation.
The now universally recognised generic name Dahlia was for a
time put aside, owing to a misapprehension, by Professor Willdenow
of Berlin, and the name Georgina was substituted in commemora-
tion of Professor Georgi of St. Petersburg. So late as the year

THE ORIGIN OF THE FLORIST’S DAHLIA. 5

1832, I find this name in use in Loudon’s Gardener’s Magazine,
but after that date I find no record of it except as a matter of
history. For, indeed, the year 1832 was a year of reform, and
the original name “ Dahlia ’”’ was finally established through the
action of Mr. H. Reynard, President of the Beverley Horticultural
Society, who justified it on the ground of priority, and since then
it has not been disturbed.

The flower having advanced in Madrid to the important
stage of doubling, had made no such progress elsewhere. In
London, Paris, Brussels, and Berlin it was valued for its beauty,
and the cultivators were of one mind in striving after double
flowers, but entirely without success until 1813, when M.
Donkelaar, of the Botanic Garden, Louvain (in whose honour a
eelebrated Camellia has been named), secured a near approach to
the coveted prize, and a year or two afterwards obtained flowers
perfectly double and with the promise in them of what we under-
stand by the term ‘‘ floral quality.”” The year 1814 was one of
great events, and, asI may not touch politics, 1 will proclaim it
a great year in the garden, for it saw the realisation of the hopes
of the early florists in respect to this flower, for in that year
Donkelaar had many double blossoms, and to him belongs the
honour of laying the foundations of this branch of the noble art
of Floriculture. Of him we may speak as being the Father of
the Dahlia as a florist’s flower, and in that capacity he is en-
titled to the reverence of all true florists. Camellia Donkelaari
is therefore a kind of monumental flower.

The incoming of the Dahlia coincides with the first French
Revolution, and the establishment of double flowers with the
prelude to the battle of Waterloo. In all the plant-growing
centres of Europe it was now attracting attention, and the
British amateurs who followed the allied armies to Paris found
there a considerable variety which were valued chiefly for their
distinctive colours. Through M. Lelieur, a noted French
amateur of Sevres, French varieties were imported into England,
and in due time furnished subjects for figures in the Botanical
Magazine, which afford us a clear idea of the garden Dahlias of
that date, and the taste that prevailed in selecting them. ‘The
celebrated figures published by Dr. John Sims in 1817 repre-
sent the flower then known under the Linnean name Dahlia
superfiua, the fertile-rayed Dahlia, which at that time had

6 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

for synonyms Georgina superflua and Georgina variabilis.
The modest double purple flower there represented would con-
trast strangely with one of our huge show flowers of the present
day, but it displays in elementary form all the properties that
have been sought, and in some part attained, in the progressive
development of the florist’s flower. The magnificent single
scarlet flower of Dahlia superflua figured in the Botanical
Register of 1815 (plate 55 of the first volume of that work)
affords a pleasing illustration of its variability, and may with
advantage be compared with the Botanical Magazine figures of
the same thing by those who hold to the opinion that our
garden Dahlias represent several species fused into a new indi-
viduality by what is colloquially termed “ hybridisation.”

The progress of the Dahlia as a florist’s flower from 1820 to
1850—a run of thirty years—was marked by advance in every
desirable quality ; and with each decided gain in fulness, smooth-
ness, symmetry, and refinement of petal there was a corresponding
advance in popularity, so that the prices of new varieties not
unseldom ranged from twenty to thirty shillings for a plant.
The first volume of the ‘ Dahlia Register,’ published in 1886,
contains advertisements of Dahlias, the prices of which range
from 38s. 6d. to 21s., the principal trade cultivators of that time
being Brown, of Slough; Harris, of Upway; Heale, of Calne;
Saunders, of Jersey ; Wheeler, of Warminster; and Glenny, of
Isleworth. <A fair collection of that time would run to 3,000
varieties; at all events Mr. Glenny reported that he had made
a selection from that number. In recent years Mr. Charles
Turner, of Slough, regularly advertised new Dahlias at 15s.
each. Keferring to Mr. Cannell’s last catalogue, I find that the
highest-priced Dahlia is the Cactus-flowered variety, Prince of
Wales, priced 4s., while the general average price of plants is
only a few shillings per dozen.

From about 1850 the popularity of the flower declined to this
extent, that the exhibitions were fewer in number ; but there was
really no pause in the work of improvement, as a comparison
of the best varieties of successive years clearly shows. With
the establishment of the National Dahlia Society, in the year
1870, there came a decided and extensive revival, for all the
several classes of Dahlias were recognised as proper exhibition
subjects, and their properties were established on the broad

THE ORIGIN OF THE FLORIST’S DAHLIA. qT

foundations that have within recent years obtained favour with
florists. In the golden days of the flower the single varieties
were inadmissible, and the Cactus group was unheard of,
though it cannot be said to have been non-existent, because the
beautiful Jwarezit was a genuine introduction from Mexico in
the year 1872, and a suggestion of its possibility—one might
almost say a forecast of its coming—was seen in a variety known
as Brown’s Glowworm, that was in high favour in the year
1836.

The species of Dahlia number at least a dozen, if we reckon
by names. It is a question if we really know of more than two.
Dahlia imperialis is undoubtedly distinct from D. variabilis, and
may be dismissed as, for the present at least, having no direct
or immediate relation to the florist’s flower. D. frustranea is
the barren-rayed, and D. swperflwa the fertile-rayed; they rank
as species and the names are Linnean. But you will find no
essential or specific distinctions that will suffice to separate
them. Coccinea, crocata, crocea, lutea and awrantia are names
founded on colour alone, and it would only be waste of time to
discuss their claims to recognition. D. Barkeri@ is simply a
narrow-rayed form of the single Dahlia of gardens. D. Cervantesi
is a neat scarlet-rayed single of no special character. D. excelsa
makes a tall stem, and D. scapigera has flower-stems of great
length. D. glabrata compels one to pause in this kind of gene-
ralising, but a careful diagnosis will make it nothing more nor
less than a miniature form of our familiar plant. If glabrata is
a distinct species, then we must assign specific rank to Bantam
fowls and Shetland ponies ; and all our small editions of favourite
plants, that we have ourselves secured by breeding down and
successively selecting, will properly clamour to rank as new
creations. ‘There is not one essential character in any of these
that can separate it from Dahlia variabilis, a plant so appro-
priately named that it compels us to acknowledge that common
sense obtrudes occasionally even in botanical nomenclature.

Composite flowers differ from other flowers only in the close
association of many florets in one head on a common receptacle,
surrounded by an involucre of whorled bracts. The Dahlia
belongs to the first sub-order, Twbuliflore, the fertile florets of
which are tubular, and its immediate alliance is with Aster,
Bellis, Inula, and Telekia. It is a matter of importance to ob-

8 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

serve that while the flowers of these plants differ from others in
the aggregation of many in one head, they are each in all essential
particulars the same as other flowers; there is absolutely no
departure from the prevailing construction and the distinction of
the several parts. Thus in a Dahlia a number of flowers that
are called florets are associated in a cluster, forming what may
be termed a floral star. The several flowers in that star consist
of a calyx, a corolla of one petal, stamens, stigmas, and a one-
celled inferior ovary, containing one ovule. In examining a single
Dahlia we are immediately struck by the conspicuousness of the
external or ray florets, which encircle a closely packed central
disk, in which the stamens make themselves known by their
golden colour. If we pull a flower to pieces we discover that the
ray florets are tubular at the base only, where they present
occasionally aborted pistils, telling us that in acquiring a larger
size than the rest they have exhausted their powers, and are in-
capable of producing either stamens or stigmas. The outer
florets are in every sense sterile, and mere adornments, although
in that sense probably of vital importance, as attracting insects
to the flowers to effect fertilisation. The inner florets forming
the disk are minute, distinctly tubular, and in each is a closely
packed bundle of stamens that may be likened to the Roman
fasces, from the summit of which protrudes the pistil, divided
into two or three stigmas. Each of these central fertile florets
terminates in an ovary, to which the calyx adheres so as to be
indistinguishable from it, and the result of fertilisation is a
cluster of dry seeds on the receptacle known to cultivators as a
“nod.’’ The dovbling process consists in the multiplication of
ray florets and a corresponding suppression of disk florets; or
we may popularly describe the process by saying that the short
corollas of the disk are converted into the prolonged corollas of
the ray, and correspondingly the organs of fertilisation are sup-
pressed also, so that in place of the productive flowers of the
disk we have the unproductive flowers of the ray, a conversion
of obscure fertile into conspicuous infertile flowers.

The process of doubling consists, therefore, in the simultaneous
growth of ray florets at the expense of seed production ; the
flower becomes aristocratic, and ceases to be so productive as
when in its more humble form, and ends in becoming at once
splendid and sterile, in part or altogether.

THE ORIGIN OF THE FLORIST’S DAHLIA. 9

The history of the flower discloses the fact that the Dahlia,
in common with other pets of the florist, has attained to its
grandeur of complete doubleness by degrees. There is no
instance known of a florist’s flower becoming such by one change
only, for the remodelling to which the florist subjects his chosen
subjects, is a slow, and in some respects a tedious process, de-
manding immense patience and perseverance, and constituting
thereby a mental discipline of the highest value imaginable, one
parallel fact being that florists are good men, and have ever
been such; there is no example of an exception, unless it be
that of a man who has fallen from his high estate through
decline of sympathy for his once favourite flowers.

It is a custom with a certain class of persons, who appear
incapable of grasping more than half an idea at any time, to rail
at the florists and their flowers, the first as a kind of malefactor
engaged in suppressing vegetable vitality, the second as the
monstrous products of misdirected and perhaps iniquitous zeal.
If it be legitimate to ask, ‘“‘ Why alter the natural form of any
flower ?”’ it cannot be illegitimate to ask, ‘‘ Why cultivate any
flower, seeing that cultivation will inevitably alter it, and is
intended to do so ?’’ It is in the nature of man to impress upon
the forms of things he is interested in his own idea of what they
ought to be. We are not satisfied with wild Asparagus or wild
Roses; we alter them by cultivation. The architect imitates
the forms of trees in his stone constructions, and the mason who
sives the finishing touch to the Corinthian capital adds an Acan-
thus leaf in a fashion of his own, and not as it appears in
nature. The artist who excels in painting flowers according to
nature mixes the flowers of spring with those of autumn in order
to secure certain effects, while for decorative purposes he con-
ventionalises, or, in other words, presents them in impossible
attitudes, with fantastic variations of form, and wins the praises
of those same sublime esthetes who denounce the florists and
their flowers. The life of floriculture is in the changesit effects,
but these are subject to rules that have nature for their founda-
tion; and the double Dahlia illustrates the whole case, for
cultivation only encourages nature in certain directions, and
selection does the rest.

The achievements of the florist involve him in a complication
of difficulties. The perfect Dahlia—supposing such a thing to

10 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

exist—will be so crowded with prolonged florets as to be incap-
able of expanding symmetrically, and we come near to this in
what are called hard-eyed flowers, in which the central florets
are so closely packed and crowded that the outer parts of the
flower become aged ere the central parts are matured. And
another consequence of perfection, or even any near approach to
it, is complete sterility. As the production of new varieties is in
one sense at least the life of floriculture, the attainment of its
one great end, the perfect florist’s flower, is accompanied with a
kind of death warrant for the extinction of the art itself. But the
dreadful doom is not impending; the best flowers we possess are
far from perfect, and the occurrence of flowers with eyes, in other
words with a few central fertile florets, is sufficiently frequent to
ensure, even from the named varieties of highest quality, a certain
amount of useful seed.

A few dissections of show Dahlas will show that the Linnean
name swperflua is not altogether fanciful; for although we have
in the double flower a rosette composed of ray florets, it will be
found that towards the centre of the flower many of these have
a kind of potentiality of fertility that accidents may promote to
the status of facts. Often the fertile florets form a dense ring
around the centre, and in a hot, dry season the reproductive
organs assert themselves, fertilisation takes place, and there is a
good harvest of seed. In days when I grew Dahlias it was the
practice with a few successful raisers to cut out the centres of
flowers from which it was desired to obtain seed. This relieved
the nutritive organs from the task of perfecting the central florets
and increased the opportunities of the fertile florets that remained,
thus accomplishing a saving of time as well as increasing the
probability of the production of seed. In cutting out, the basis
or receptacle should not be injured ; just enough of the central
florets should be removed to afford increased room for those next
adjoining them to expand and push upward their stamens, which
are on elastic filaments and have to push through the five-valved
membrane which opposes their outlet at the summit. While the
flower is intact it is often so crowded, and the florets so pressed
together, that the stamens cannot rise, and hence much seed
that might be secured is lost, through neglect of the cutting out
to make room for these movements. As regards the original
potentiality, that may be the same in a cold and damp as ina

THE ORIGIN OF THE FLORIST’S DAHLIA. 11

dry and warm season, but the circumstances do not arise to
convert it into actuality.

The beginning of the doubling process is amusingly illus-
trated in a Dahlia shown in the present exhibition by Messrs.
Harkness & Son, of Bedale, Yorkshire. It is classed with the
single flowers, and its name is ‘‘John Burns.’ It is, however,
not properly a single flower, for it presents two or three rows of
florets in the ray, and these of necessity encroach on the disk
and mark the commencement of the sterilising process concur-
rently with the advance of the flower towards floral perfection.

If it be again asked, as it has been a thousand times already,
whether the doubling of flowers is a sign of an augmentation or
a diminution of inherent vigour, I reply that it is neither; it is a
sign only that the flower is adapting itself to changed conditions,
for while there is less seed production, and consequently less con-
sumption of material to that end, there is increased consumption
in respect of the outward adornments; and often the total of
flowers produced is far greater in the double than in the single
varieties. But in considering this question we encounter some-
thing that may be fancifully likened to an exercise of reason in
plants. We find that in nearly the same proportion that man
takes care of them they cease to take care of themselves. Discover-
ing that the race will now be perpetuated through the arts of their
human admirers, they yield to the persuasions of vanity, deck
themselves more gaily, give up all notions of family cares, and,
as true aristocrats, devote themselves to mere display and the
advertising of their superiority. The explanation is almost too
simple to be worth attempting, but to complete this paragraph I
may remark that men preserve and find means to multiply the
flowers that please them. And if double flowers find favour, the
process of doubling will be encouraged, and it follows that
sterilisation is one of the veritable results of prevailing tastes
in the flower-garden. But nature after all is never entirely
thwarted, and so it happens that from all our finest flowers,
whether Dahlias, Hollyhocks, Carnations, Pelargoniums, or
Chrysanthemums, to obtain seed is always possible, and the
problem for the practical man is to know how to do it.

It is not an easy matter to convey an idea of the capability
of the Dahlia for variation. The Mexican gardens have given
us many of the most diverse and distinctive forms, and the

12 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

variety of conditions that prevail in Mexico favour the esta-
blishment of typical variations of one and the same species; and
specific rank may fairly be claimed for them until cultivation
has revealed their consanguinity. Between frustranea and
variabilis there appears to be a great gulf fixed, but it narrows
rapidly under the observation of the cultivator. As regards
their relative fertility there is no essential difference, and
frustranea proves at last to be simply a more slender form than the
other, with a narrower foliage, a smaller flower, and a more con-
spicuous coating of whitish hoary efflorescence like the bloom
on fruit. In some such terms it igs distinguished in the note
accompanying the beautiful figure of D. swperflua in the
Botanical Register of 1815. When the Dahla was as yet a rare
thing in the garden, it commonly grew to a height of six to ten
feet. Continued selection has enlarged the flower and dwarfed
the plant, but the bushy growth of three to four feet that renders
the plant at once stately and manageable is the result in great
part of the cultivation. In the old times the roots were saved
and planted entire, and the plants possessed enormous vigour ;
but now we strike cuttings from the first shoots, and take
cuttings from these again, and the result is a diminution of
vigour and growth; but with this desirable accommodation of
habit we have an augmentation of the size and fulness of the
flowers. I remember well certain Dahlias in a garden that were
thought much of because of their exceeding tallness, for some of
them made stems fully ten feet high and required the support of
stout hop-poles. And once on a time some of them overhung a
fence on a road, and some boys were ambitious to obtain them,
because, perhaps, they were so far beyond their reach. But there
came along a party of acrobats, and with them a clown on very
tall stilts, and he plucked a number of these sky signs and threw
them to the boys, and secured for his company a few coppers
and many loud cheers that ensured the performers a welcome in
the next street. We donot see such plants at the present time,
but they could be reproduced in two or three years were they
needed and one step towards this undesirable end would be the
planting of whole roots and giving encouragement to free growth,
with suitable support for protection against. wind.

But the stature is much more determined by selection than
by cultivation. The raisers have favoured a dwarf, free habit,

THE ORIGIN OF THE FLORIST’S DAHLIA. 13

and have secured plants of such varying stature that they now
range in height from nine to fifty inches, these being nearly, if
not exactly, the two extremes. Nine-inch Dahlias are the very
latest novelties in the way of habit; and a race of plants bearing
single flowers, and ranging from nine to twelve inches, has been
obtained by Mr. T. W. Girdlestone, of Sunningdale, and are to
be brought before the public as ‘‘ Tom Thumb Dahlias.” Surely,
if we consider the immense range of variation in both flowers and
plants, it must be agreed that Dahlia variabilis is appropriately
named, for it is probably the most variable plant in cultivation.

A walk through a few acres of Dahlias of the several classes
now cultivated will impress the observer with a notion of infinite
variation, and yet further observation will show that the range
of variation is somewhat closely fenced in by the essential
characters of the species. To find two or three distinct cha-
racters in flowers on the same plant is no uncommon occur-
rence. We may even find flowers of two colours, say white and
red, so arranged as to produce the effect of two exact halves of
flowers of different colours united, the effect being ludicrous
when the colours strikingly differ. As to flowers with stripes and
tips, they vary in every imaginable way. The colours change
places, or one colour predominates, and we have selfs where we
should have stripes; and odd blotches of strange colours appear,
apparently without any reason or purpose whatever. One of
the most interesting of many strange things I remember in Dahlia
culture occurred in the case of the variety known as Jupiter,
which appeared in the year 1858. It electrified the Dahlia
world, and men travelled miles to see it. The late Mr. Charles
Turner placed a bloom on the table at the great Dahlia show
in St. James’s Hall, September 238, 1858, and averred that he
valued it at £5, and that it was worth more than that
amount to him as an exhibition sample. This wonder was a
dark flower, as dark as another favourite of that day called
Krebus. But Jupiter was tipped pure white, and with such
regularity, brightness, and purity as to have more the appear-
ance of a geometrical model painted with the severest precision
than a flower of any kind. But this wonder, though it was
allowed to exist for a few years, was true to its character for
one season only. When that particular season was past its glory
was over; for the next year it presented more self-coloured

14 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

than tipped flowers, and those that were tipped were irregular
and deficient in purity. It was a nine days’ wonder, but while
it lasted it was a real wonder and a memorable Dahlia.

The florist’s Dahlia is in a peculiar sense the creation of the
florist. Not one of the many other flowers on which he has
operated with an ideal form in view, has been so distinctly
modified and removed to a distance from its original state as
this, and it is amusing at least, whatever else may be said about
it, to see that the work of a hundred years is threatened with
annihilation by the growth of a preponderating taste for the
simpler forms that most truly represent nature’s idea of a perfect
Dahlia. But we need not fear for our grand show flowers; they
will always command admiration, and will be worth keeping if
only to illustrate the power of man in modifying organic forms,
and of impressing on the world around him visible embodiments
of his own abstract notions.

SINGLE AND DECORATIVE DAHLIAS.
By Mr. T. W. Grrptestone, M.A., F.L.S., F.R.H.S.

THERE is always a danger in regard to florist’s flowers, that the
florist, raising and selecting seedlings with one aim and object
only in view, may effect the development of the flower in the
matter of size or form at the expense of other essential qualities
in the plant. No one who has ever cultivated so-called florists’
flowers of any kind whatever, will have the least difficulty in
recalling numerous instances in which varieties, whose indi-
vidual flowers may have been all that the specialist could
desire, nevertheless proved anything but decorative garden
plants. The Dahlia has not entirely escaped this danger, for
although, owing to the naturally abundant vitality of the plant,
Dahlias of weak constitution are practically unknown, yet in
some cages the strength of the flower-stem has been unable to
keep up with the development in size and rotundity of the
flowers, so that those assuming a more or less pendulous position
are quite ineffective on the plant, and for the same reason are
even more top-heavy and undesirable in the cut state.

It was probably owing to some extent to this cause that a

SINGLE AND DECORATIVE DAHLIAS. 15

sudden reversion was made a few years ago to the cultivation of
the lighter and more elegant Single Dahlia, which quickly became
very popular. The extreme facility with which Single Dahlias
may be raised from seed and flowered the same season caused
their culture to spread at once with immense rapidity, but ulti-
mately, nodoubt, proved very inimical to their reputation ; formany
gardeners, growing nothing but a few chance seedlings, which may
all have been worthless—of poor habit, perhaps, or producing
coarse, weak-stemmed flowers—nevertheless from these formed
their estimate of Single Dahlias as a class. It is never worth
while to grow bad varieties of any plant when good varieties
exist, and Dahlias, of course, to be seen at their best, must be as
carefully selected as any other flowers; but it is incontestable
that the first-rate varieties of Single Dahlias which now exist
constitute a group of decorative garden plants which are hardly
surpassed for their brilliant and continuous display throughout
the late summer until cut off by autumn frosts.

For producing a good decorative effect in the garden the
essential qualities, for Dahlias of any class, are an erect and bushy
habit of growth, freedom in flowering, and the possession of
abundant and well-coloured foliage. The flowers should be stiff-
stemmed, in order that they may be carried erect, and so well
displayed on the plant; telling in colour; and, if variegated at all,
whether striped, edged, or tipped, the variegation should be con-
stant and clearly defined. Where Dahlias are only required ag
cut flowers, and that with comparatively short stalks, the quality
and disposition of the foliage are of course not very material,
and consequently raisers of Dahlias of the Show type have never
troubled themselves much about these points; but their impor-
tance in regard to the production of a decorative effect in the
garden is very considerable. Plants are liable to look very
‘Jean ” whose pairs of leaves occur only at long intervals upon
the stems; and of the undesirability of pale yellowish foliage,
which unfortunately disfigures a good many varieties in all
classes, it is only necessary to grow the two well-known white
Decorative Dahlias, Constance and Henry Patrick, side by side,
to be assured.

To ensure a brilliant display in the garden, the plants, what-
ever their class, must be well cultivated. They should be planted
in a border that has been well dug and manured; they should be -

16 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

liberally watered in the event of hot, dry weather; they should be
protected from the depredations of slugs early and of earwigs
later in the season; and each plant must be provided with a stout
stake. Single and Pompon Dahlias need nothing further for the
production ofa telling mass of bloom; but many, if not most, of
the Cactus Dahlias require the additional operation of disbudding,
in order to bring their flowers into view above the foliage. For
it must be regretfully admitted that many of the so-called
Decorative Dahlias are not Cactus, while not a few of the Cactus
are anything but Decorative, owing to the fact of their flowers
being concealed by their own foliage. or in these cases, when
the terminal bud on each shoot has developed to a certain extent,
two other buds, one on each side, start into growth, and increase
so rapidly that they overtop the terminal bud, which, in conse-
quence, by the time it has developed into a bloom, is hidden
from view by the leafy flower-stems that have grown up beside
it. The original Cactus Dahlia (Juarez) is not exempt from
this objection ; but the most conspicuous example is the more
recent variety, Amphion, whose flowers are almost as retiring
as those of the modest violet. The only way to remedy this
defect is to ‘‘disbud”’ freely—that is to say, to pinch out the
side-buds as soon as the terminal bud is clearly visible—and
then in due time the flowers will be well displayed above the
foliage.

With a view to making a telling effect of colour it is best,
where space affords, to grow several plants of a variety grouped
together, rather than to plant mixed groups in which each plant
is of a different variety. Comparatively few varieties, boldly massed,
will produce a more decorative effect than a general collection
containing but one or two examples of each of many sorts. Then
again, unless for special purposes or situations, it is generally
desirable to cultivate varieties that do not grow too tall. Dahlias
of all classes have greatly improved in this respect of late years,
and there has doubtless for a long time been a tendency towards
a dwarfer and more bushy habit. Indeed, among Single Dahlias
a race of quite ‘‘ Tom Thumb”’ varieties, some of which will
probably be distributed next spring, has been raised during the
last few years, and is likely to furnish a valuable addition to
popular bedding plants ; the general character of the tribe being
to produce a sturdy, bushy plant of from nine inches to a foot

SINGLE AND DECORATIVE DAHLIAS. 17

high, covered early and continuously with large substantial
flowers of brilliant colours.

As cut flowers, perhaps Dahlias of the true Cactus type are
the most valuable ; next, the Singles; and then the Pompons.
It hassometimes been said that Single Dahlias are too fugitive to
be of value for cutting, but thisis by no means the case if they
are cut in the proper state. People who complain of Single
Dahlias falling as soon as cut are generally those who cut the
flowers without much regard to the time they have been expanded,
or to their condition at the time of cutting. In this matter the
central disk affords absolutely reliable information: if the
flowers are cut before the central or disk florets have begun to
shed their pollen, they will last admirably in water: and, in fact,
exhibitors of Single Dahlias do not need to take “ spare’’ blooms
with them when travelling to a show, so long as the bunches
can be secured from rubbing against each other or the sides of
the box in transit, as flowers cut young never shatter even with
the shaking incident to a long railway journey.

In selecting Dahlas of whatever class for the purpose of
affording a supply of cut flowers, it is of vital importance to
secure varieties whose flowers are stiff-stemmed, so that the
blooms may remain erect when placed in water, and not, from
the weakness of their stalks, tumble about in all directions in
the vases. So important is this point that it would probably be
found a useful plan if exhibitors of Decorative Dahlias of any
class, whether Single, Pompon, or Cactus, were required to stage,
in addition to the usual bunches, at least several wnwired
blooms.

During recent years, and especially during the past season,
in addition to growing thousands of plants, very careful note has
been taken, in visiting the nurseries of leading Dahlia-growers, of
the most conspicuous varieties in each section ; and taking into
consideration also the varieties exhibited at the exhibition of the
National Dahlia Society at the Crystal Palace, at the meetings
ef the Royal Horticultural Society, of the National Chrysan-
themum Society, and at the present Conference, lists have been
prepared, which it may be of interest to give, of the best and
most reliable kinds of Single, Pompon, Cactus, and Decorative
Dahlias. It will not be worth while to give the description of

Cc

18 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

each variety, as that can be easily obtained from any catalogue ;
but the lists are briefly as follows :—

Twenty-four of the best Single Dahlas.—Kclipse, Amos
Perry, Kate, Victoria, Northern Star, Enchantment, Cetewayo,
Excelsior, Gulielma, Marion Hood, Miss Roberts, Sunningdale
White, Mrs. J. Coninck, Marie Linden, Mr. Kennett, Miss
Henshaw, Mikado, Duchess of Albany, Sunningdale Yellow,
James Scobie, Walter Ware, W. C. Harvey, Duchess of West-
minster, Paragon.

There are a good many varieties (not included in this list)
with flowers of great excellence of form, but of questionable or
dreary colours. It has been sometimes suggested that it is
desirable to grow some of these doubtful colours to show up by
contrast the brighter and more beautiful varieties to even greater
advantage ; but the morality of knowingly allowing a rogue to be
at large, solely for the purpose of making conspicuous the honesty
of other men, can hardly be admitted.

Twenty-four of the best Pompon Dahlias—Pheebe (of most
excellent habit, freedom, &c.), Fashion (very bright, and not tall),
Darkness, Fairy Tales, Little Duchess, White Aster (of which
Guiding Star is a synonym), Grace, Whisper, Golden Gem,
Janet, Isabel, Iseult, Hurydice, Ariel, Vivid, Ernest, Leila,
Gem, Mabel, Lothair, Red Indian, Don Juan, Lady Blanche,
Admiration.

The best of the Pompon Dahlias produce a most gay and
decorative effect in the garden, but in the cut state the flowers
cannot be entirely acquitted of a certain primness and formality
—having neither the grace and lightness of the Single, nor the
brilliance of the Cactus Dahlias.

Twelve of the best Cactus Dahlias.—Panthea (at present the
most beautiful and effective, whether in the cut state or in the
garden, of all the Cactus Dahlias), Juarezii, Mrs. Hawkins,
Delicata, Professor Baldwin, Honoria, Asia, Duke of Clarence,
Lady Brassey, Amphion, Glory of Swanley, Robert Maher.

Of the above, as has been already mentioned, Amphion hides
its fine flowers among its foliage, and if the selection be made
with a view only to effect in the garden, Amphion might be
replaced by King of Cactus, which is very showy on the plant,
though rather coarse for use in the cut state.

Twelve of the best Decoratwe Dahlias.—Glare of the Garden

SINGLE AND DECORATIVE DAHLIAS. 19

(small, but always amass of bloom), Empress of India, Constance
(hardly so pure a white as Henry Patrick, but making a hand-
somer plant in the garden), Charming Bride, Cochineal, William
Raynor, Mrs. J. Douglas, Lady Marsham, William Pearce,
Henry Patrick, Mrs. HE. Hunt (small, good for cutting), Mrs.
L. Shuter.

These so-called ‘‘ Decorative’’ Dahlias form a sort of transition
group, which will probably be allowed to disappear when
varieties of the true Cactus form are obtained with all the good
points of colour and habit which now characterise some of the
Decorative Dahlias. For instance, Empress of India, in spite of
its half-quilled petal and of its often having too much green
visible in the flower, is wanted until there is raised a true Cactus
variety of similar colour which shall be equally effective both in
the garden and in the cut state; Constance and Henry Patrick
cannot be discarded until the arrival of a pure white Cactus; and
William Raynor, although its brilliant salmon and orange flowers
are of the wrong type and are nearly always cross-eyed, never-
theless in the garden produces the most telling effect, which is

only surpassed by Glare of the Garden.

Of Dahlias of the Show type, the flowers are generally too
ponderous to be very valuable in the ordinary way as cut flowers,
but a good many varieties.of bushy habit that have stiff, sturdy
flower-stems are decorative enough in the garden; such, namely,
as John Bennett, Cardinal, Mrs. Langtry, Lustrous, Gaiety,
Rifleman, H. Glasscock, Willie Garratt, and others.

It will thus be seen that the term ‘‘ Decorative Dahlias ”
includes in reality a considerable number of each and every
section ; and while the attention of raisers may well be specially
directed to the extension of that very beautiful section, the true
Cactus Dahlias, it is to be hoped that the general culture of the
Dahlia—perhaps the most useful of all autumn-flowering plants
—will continue greatly to extend throughout the country.

DISCUSSION.

Mr. SHrirLeY Hipserp, in reference to the height to which
Dahlias grow, said that the dwarf forms were praised, and
rightly so. The Dahlia had been dwarfed and improved, not

as the result of breeding, but as the result of cultivation. In
c2

90 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

the days when he grew these flowers it was the custom to plant
strong roots, and from these, plants to the height of eight or
twelve feet were produced. If plants like this were wanted now
the same means should be adopted. The plants are dwarfed by
being obtained from cuttings, this method imposing a check on
the growth.

Mr. BE. Mawtey, F.R.H.S., said: I think we are all indebted
to Mr. Girdlestone for his excellent paper. I took a great
interest in the Dahlia for some time, and I think it is very im- _
portant to consider as to what are the best qualities of the plant.
I am afraid we are not quite in agreement as to what they are
in the Cactus or Single types. Mr. Girdlestone is the Secretary
of the Dahlia Society, and it would be well to bring out a
catalogue of the best Dahlias in all the sections, and then we
should be in a better position to know them. There is one point
I should like to draw attention to in connection with the Single
Dahlias, and that is that by taking off the seed-pods as they
appear the plants are kept in a better condition, and will con-
tinue to bear a mass of bloom until the frosts destroy them.

Mr. GiRDLESTONE, replying to the remarks of Mr. Hibberd
as to plants being larger if grown from the root-stocks, said that
had not been his experience. The height of Dahlias did not
always depend on the method of propagation, and he had abun-
dant evidence of this in his own garden. Plants are propagated
from cuttings and from seed in the spring, and there is no dis-
tinction between the plants to show which were propagated from
cuttings and which from old roots. The stature of a variety is
inherent in it, and if it grow toa certain height it will always
retain it, the variability being exceedingly small. Ifyou observe
a number of Dahlias of one kind in a row, you can place a rod
all along, and it will touch each plant. He was of opinion that
the Dahlia had been dwarfed by cultivators. In reference to
taking off the seed-pods, as mentioned by Mr. Mawley, he said
that if the single-flowered Dahlas were allowed to carry their
seed-pods the plants would go quite to rest in the endeavour to
ripen up the seeds. |

Mr. CHEAL said his experience of Dahlias was that seedlings
increased in height for the first year or two, and then remained
at the point they had reached. We hear ‘that the Dahlia is a
variable plant, and it has been proved to be so. Those of us who

SINGLE AND DECORATIVE DAHLIAS. A

raise new varieties take much pleasure in watching the changes
which take place. And when we have a number of seedlings
what a pleasure it is to go out and inspect them in the hope of
something new turning up. At the same time he would not
recommend everyone to go in for the raising of seedling Dahlias,
for, as Mr. Girdlestone observed, an enormous number must be
raised before a few good varieties are obtained. There is great
variety in the different types of Dahlias, and cultivators are
mostly aiming at certain definite objects. In the Cactus varieties
we want the points of the petals drawn out more, but in the
Singles it is our object to obtain just the opposite—the petals
more flat and rounded at the point, and overlapping each other.
He thought there was still a great future in store for Dahlia-
growers, and there was plenty of room for work in developing
these fine flowers.

SHOW DAHLIAS.
By Mr. Wautsr H. Wiwtiams, F.R.H.S.

S1ncs the centenary of the Dahlia last year so much has been
said and written on the Show Dahlia that I trust you will pardon
me if I wander over somewhat the same ground, and, after all,
give you very little information that can be considered new.
Perhaps the only line of thought which has not been so fully
discussed with regard to this flower, is, the Show Dahlia from
an esthetic point of view. Is it essentially beautiful? For
my own part I find in the perfect development of a noble flower
a different kind of pleasure, though not one less intense, than I
derive from a single flower, provided, of course, that its colour is
artistic and full of harmony. In nature and in art we find many
different kinds of true beauty. Because we admire the simple
loveliness of the fertile valley, we do not condemn the rugged
vastness of the barren mountain gorge. Each has its own
peculiar charm. So is it with the Dahlia. In the single flower
we have the charm of simplicity; in the double the intense com-
plex perfections which lead us into realms of delightful wonder.
We admire not only the result but the skill and patience of
the man who has chiselled out of the rude rock a form divine
whose lovely lines and curves give ravishment to the eye. So

92, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

may we admire the patient care and untiring cultivation which
has transformed the Dahlia from her flower of half a dozen florets,
into one with a perfect maze of numberless florets—all these
florets arranged in the exact position for which they are intended,
not one too long or one too short, the whole being of perfect
symmetry and outline, and yet with an infinite variety of colours,
some of which might charm the senses of a god.

Mr. Shirley Hibberd has told us about the development of
the double Dahlia out of the single form.’ I may be wrong, but
I believe that there are still vast possibilities of improvement in
this noble flower. Probably advance will be slow in the future ;
still it would be absurd for us to think the climax has been
reached in such varieties as Mrs. Gladstone.

It is interesting to note that three of the Dahlias that stand
very near the top of the tree in Mr. Mawley’s valuable Analysis.
(see page 36) have been in cultivation for upwards of twenty
years. These varieties are Mrs. Saunders, Rev. J.B.M.Camm, and
James Cocker. Other and perhaps more pleasing varieties have
been introduced, but they have not stood the test of years. ‘They
have their day and cease to be.’’ Consequently it is necessary to
be continually bringing afresh stock of new varietiesintothe world,
or else in a few years our Dahlias would speedily deteriorate.

In the future we must endeavour to get varieties which pos-
sess all the best qualities. In addition they should be hardier,
to confront the frosts which of late years have come so early
as to cut down the glory of our gardens almost before they have
developed into perfection. If we could only do this we should
at once ensure a much greater demand for the Dahlia.

That it would be possible to raise a hardier race of Dahlias
seems likely from the results of the frost on September 1 this
year. On that fateful day the thermometer at Salisbury four
feet from the ground registered three degrees of frost. Among
my own plants the large Show varieties were far the most
damaged, while the Pompons and Cactus, excepting Juarezil,
escaped almost without harm. Frequently seed has developed
on these two types when the large ones were entirely destroyed.
Consequently I am led to believe that the Pompon and Decora-
tive types are better able to resist frost than the Show type.
Among the large type, the low-growing varieties suffered much
more severely than the taller ones. Naturally this is accounted

SHOW DAHLIAS. 93

for by the fact that the frost is always more severe near or on
the ground than it is three or four feet from it.

Of late years we have prided ourselves on having reduced the
height of the plants, but we must admit that, though much has
been gained, something has been lost by bringing the blooms
and more tender shoots and leaves nearer the frosts.

According to the Darwinian theory, any useful variation ot
which the plant is capable can be perpetuated by careful selec-
tion. If we find any one plant, either among the named varieties
or in our seed-beds, which, though subjected to exactly the same
influences as its neighbours, in the least degree withstands the
frosts better, we should grow that variety purposely for seed.
By such means we should in time gain the end in view. Certain
of the cabbage tribe have been much improved in this direction.

But perhaps a still more needful improvement lies in the
more careful selection of colours. Dahlia raisers must remember
that, if they wish to perfect their art, a large share of attention
must be paid to colour. What applies to the horse, of whom it
is said if he is a good horse he must be a good colour, will not
apply to the Dahlia. I contend that some Dabhlias are positively
ugly. Some Fancy varieties and all magentas and puces are
included in this condemnatory clause.

Is there anyone brave enough among our cultivators to once
more start at the beginning with original single varieties, and,
through years of patient labour, again go over the well-trodden
ground, and, by careful cultivation and selection, watch for useful
variations of different types ?

We are doing this to someextent. Already we have four dis-
tinct types. Is it not quite possible to raise as manymore? Of
course it would be difficult to imagine what they would be, but
this is no argument against the possibility, for it must have been
difficult at one time, when only the large Double type was grown, to
imagine a Pompon type, or that a Cactus could be considered
beautiful.

The bee is a great friend of the Dahlia-grower, in promoting
the fertilisation of the flowers; but by artificial fertilisation we
may to some extent control the colours of the seedlings. It is
useless to attempt this unless circumstances are particularly
favourable, and the flower so fully developed as to show its centre,
containing the essential organs in a ripe condition.

94 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

If new and improved varieties are to be raised, we should
work from the very best only.

The cultivation of the Show Dahlia is not difficult, though if
the object of the cultivator is to enter the lists in competition he
must be prepared to give a considerable amount of attention and
care to his plants. Skill is required in tying, disbudding, and
preparing his blooms for exhibition, but to my mind there are
few plants which repay more for the trouble expended on them
than the Dahlia.

The well-known golden rules for successful cultivation are :
Grow your plants as large and sturdy as possible before planting
out. Plant out the first week of June in well-worked, heavily
manured soil. Keep down the slugs. Water when required,
and then do so thoroughly. Disbudding, which can only be
learned by practical experience, should be done judiciously.
Keep your shoots well tied up,fand secure the blooms from wind.

Perhaps the only essential difference practised in the Salisbury
nurseries from most of the other Dahlia grounds is that we
never bag and never shade the blooms.

If Iam asked for the best varieties, 1 should refer to Mr.
Mawley’s list (page 33), for you may depend upon it that most
of those exhibited are the most useful varieties for the purpose.

The drawback to the Show Dahlia les in the fact that it has
no great ancestral genealogical tree like the Narcissus, the Rose,
or the Apple. It has no stately ancient legends. Its hundred
years are not much longer than the average life of aman. Not
having the flavour of age, it does not so well suit the public
palate.

Poets have scarcely had time to sing its praises; perhaps even
the name is not rhythmical enough for them. And yet it is too
old to be the rage of fashion. Still what we claim for the Dahlia’
is, that in its own season it certainly wears the regal crown among
early autumn flowers. No other plants at this time of year
fill our gardens with so much glory. The Dahlia, coming as it
does in its freshness and beauty after most of the other flowers
are Over, gives colour and magnificence to the otherwise over-
blown garden. As long as the weather remains at all genial, so
long will its splendour last.

The popular impression that the Show Dahlia is only useful
for exhibiting in long and straight lines on green boards was

SHOW DAHLIAS. ~ 95

surely disproved last year in some of the exhibits in the Cen-

tennial class, where Show Dahlias were arranged for decorative
effect. For extensive decoration few flowers can be made to

present a more effective appearance if they be cut with long

leafy stalks and arranged in tall vases.

DISCUSSION.

Mr. GrorcEe Paut said he was pleased to hear Mr. Williams
refer to one thing in his paper, namely, the endeavour to obtain
a hardier race of Dahlias to withstand frost. There was no
doubt that the early frosts of late years had been very detrimental
to Dahlias, and had cut them off just when they were on the point
of showing their beauty. He would suggest that growers should
try to raise an earlier flowering Dahlia, in the same way as they
would seek to infuse increased hardiness into varieties. During
the last few years the best flowers had been lost through being
nipped by the frosts, and his experience pointed out that the old
Show Dahlias were more tender than the Single kinds.

Dr. Hoae, F.L.8., said he had listened with great pleasure
to the various papers which had been read, and he was sure that,
if all present shared his feelings, they would not depart without
giving their best thanks to the readers. He said there was a
great deal of invaluable matter in Mr. Shirley Hibberd’s paper,
and also in those of Mr. Girdlestone and Mr. Williams, and on
behalf of the Conference he had great pleasure in proposing a
hearty vote of thanks to those gentlemen.

Mr. CANNELL, in seconding the vote of thanks, said he was
highly pleased with the Conference and the papers read thereat,
inasmuch as he was one of the first to raise single and decorative
varieties of Dahlias from artificially fertilised seed.

Mr. Sairtey Hisserp thanked the meeting on behalf of
himself and the other lecturers for the compliments paid to
them, and said he was pleased that his remarks were not quite
agreed to. Besides, it would be folly to have a Conference if
there was not some discussion or dissension. They all remem-
bered the time when Dahlias were so tremendously tall, and
Mr. Girdlestone gave the raisers great credit for reducing their
height; but in old times, when many planted roots, the plants
obtained were much taller than now.

2°26 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

A question as to self-fertilisation having been asked, Mr
HispeRD said he did not intend to convey the idea of self-
fertilisation in its literal sense, for everyone could see the busy
bee in its work of fertilisation. But he was sure there was a
great deal of self-fertilisation going on among Dahlias, and this
might also be seen among Hollyhocks.

THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE DAHLIA.
By Mr. C. Harman Payne, F.R.H.S.

‘‘ Hssai sur la culture, la nomenclature et la classification des
Dahlia,” par MM. Jacquin fréres, marchands grainiers, fleuristes
et péepiniéristes, &c., &c., suivi du catalogue général des variétés
de Dahlia quw’ils cultivent dans leurs établissemens. (Paris,
1828.)

‘* Mémoire sur le Dahlia et sur sa culture,’ par M. le Cte.
Lelieur de Ville-sur-Arce, &c., &c. (Versailles, 1829.)

‘‘ Kssai sur la culture, la nomenclature et la classification des
Dahlia,” par MM. Jacquin fréres, marchands grainiers, fleuristes
et pépiniéristes, &c., &c., suivi du catalogue général des variétés
de Dahlia qu’ils cultivent dans leurs établissemens. Deuxiéme
édition. (Paris, 1830.)

“The Annual Dahlia Register’ for 1886; containing par-
ticulars of the introduction of the Dahlia into this country, mode of
cultivation and management, the properties of a good flower,
arrangement of stands for shows, show flowers, &c., &c. Upwards
of fifty highly coloured figures of dissimilar Dahlias, consisting
chiefly of very superior new flowers, with catalogues of growers ;
also specimens of several old flowers, with an alphabetical index
of 700 varieties of the Dahlia, and an account of exhibitions held
in England and Jersey in 1835, by an Amateur. (London, 1836.)

‘* A Practical Treatise on the Cultivation of the Dahlia,’
by Joseph Paxton, F.L.S., H.S., Editor of the ‘‘ Magazine of
Botany,” &c. (London, 1888.)

“ Traité pratique dela culture du Dahlia,” par Joseph Paxton,
&c. Traduit de l’anglais, précédé de lettres sur le méme sujet
par M. A. de Humboldt et M. A. de Jussieu, membre de
l’Académie des Sciences. (Paris, 1839.)

THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE DAHLIA. o7

‘ Bibliothéque du Jardinier: Dahlia,’’ par Pirolle. (Paris,
N.D., 1840.)

“Traité spécial et didactique du Dahlia, sous tous les
rapports qui peuvent intéresser les cultivateurs, les amateurs,
les connaisseurs et les curieux de ce beau genre,’ par Pirolle,
cultivateur-amateur, &e., &c. (Paris, 1840.)

‘‘ Revue des Dahlias en 1840, ou supplément au Traité des
Dahlias,”’ par Pirolle, cultivateur-amateur, &c., &c. (Paris, 1841.)

‘Le Dahlia: histoire et culture détaillées d’aprés les avis et
procédés des meilleurs cultivateurs,” par Augustin Legrand, &c.
(Paris, 1843.)

‘“‘ Tyas’ Popular Flowers. The Dahlia: its propagation, culti-
vation, and general treatment in all seasons,”’ to which is added
a select list of varieties. With a coloured frontispiece. (London,
1844.)

“Manuel du cultivateur de Dahlias,’ par A. Legrand.
Seconde édition, revue et corrigée par Pépin, &c. (Paris, 1848.)

“The Dahha: its history and cultivation, with descriptions
of all the best Show flowers,” by Robert Hogg. With coloured
plates, from original drawings by James Andrews. (London,
1853.)

‘Garden Favourites. The Dahlia: its history, properties,
cultivation, propagation, and general management in all
seasons,’ by Shirley Hibberd. (London, 1857.)

CULTIVATION OF THE SHOW DAHLIA.
Communicated by Mr. J. T. Wzst.

Let it be at once understood that I do not attempt to tell the
trade growers anything but what they are fully conversant with
already. The purpose of this paper is to throw out a few prac-
tical suggestions that may be of use to some of my brother
amateur growers, and perhaps incite others to take up the cul-
ture of the Dahlia. Ido not propose touching upon the propa-
gation of the Dahlia, as probably most amateur cultivators
depend upon the trade grower to supply plants in the spring. I
will further add that I only give my own experience in growing
for exhibition, which, of course, is of a very limited character.

98 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

In the cultivation of the Show Dahlia, the first thing is to
make up one’s mind not to be baffled by the many obstacles
that stand in the way ere success is attained. Probably no
florist’s flower has more enemies than the Dahlia, nor requires
more constant attention. Let none think that Dahlia-growing
is merely a hobby, that can be attended to by just a casual glance
round at them. It means real hard work and worry day and
night, and unless this is done no success will be achieved, and
the flower will be given up in disgust.

On the other hand, no flower pays more liberally for proper
attention and care than the flower which is the subject of discus-
sion to-day. Inthe first place, let those who propose growing the
Show Dahlia in the future make up their minds as to the number
they are likely to grow, so that they can prepare the ground
during the winter months by deep trenching, and digging in
plenty of manure. Let the soil be laid up in a rough state, so
that the frosts, rains, and snows may pulverise and fertilise it and
help to keep the vermin down. This I consider far better than
to begin in April or May, as if suddenly remembering there is
such a flower as the Dahlia, and commencing then to dig and
manure to a great extent. Really, in my opinion, this is court-
ing failure. Though the Dahlia is a great feeder, I do not con-
sider it wise to give it a lot of manure to come into contact with,
as that has a great tendency to make the plant grow rank, and
throw coarse and rough blooms, thus spoiling all chance of
success.

The plan I follow is, after the autumn digging, and some
time before planting, to dig out holes for each plant, and put in
say half a peck of good old rotted manure, thoroughly mixed with
the soil. This I find sufficient to give the plant a good start,
and to support it until it commences to flower. Ifa grower does
not grow his own plants it is best to give his orders in to the
trade as early as possible, so as to ensure sufficient of the sorts
required, for many sorts are shy workers, consequently the stock
of many of the best varieties is soon sold out.

Karly in May the plants will be despatched to their various
destinations ; probably little sturdy stuff in thumb-pots. When
received, put them into a warm frame or house for a few days, until
they are nicely rooted round the pots. Then pot into 5-inch or
7-inch pots in good loam and dung, witha little sharp sand. Place

CULTIVATION OF THE SHOW DAHLIA. 29

them back in the frame or house until they show they are at
work; then give plenty of air to keep the plants sturdy and
strong, and to prevent their being drawn up, which is very un-
desirable at any time. By the end of May the lights can be
drawn off all day, and put on again at night, with air at the
back, until two or three days before planting out, when the lights
can be removed entirely.

The first week in June is a good time to put the plants out
in the ground, or in the holes prepared for them, taking care that
the ground is not too wet, or it is likely to give the plants a check
and to cake round the roots. A good distance, where one has
plenty of room, is six feet from row to row, and five feet from
plant to plant in the rows. Of course, all are not so favoured as
to have so much room, but it pays in the long run, for the
plants grow stronger and more robust; and besides, it is more
convenient to get amongst them, especially when the weather is
wet, for if they are planted thickly one gets wet round the knees
in gathering the flowers or otherwise looking after them. But
we cannot draw a hard-and-fast line in planting, but must plant
to some extent according to the space at our disposal.

When the Dahlias are planted, plant some Lettuces between
them; these will act as a decoy for slugs, which will eat the
Lettuces instead of the Dahlias. What are left will come in for
the table, as they are sure to be crisp and good, owing to the
goodness of the ground the Dahlias are planted in. It is also
advisable to put a little lime or soot round each plant, as preven-
tion is better than cure; the ground vermin have fastidious
palates, and will in one night often spoil the most valuable
varieties by eating round the bark of the plant, thus weakening
it, and rendering the blooms too late for exhibiting. In
a few days they will commence to grow and will want their
stakes, which should be as strong and neat as possible, taking
care to give long stakes to the tall growers, and wee versd.
As the staking proceeds, have some raffia fibre ready to tie the
plants to the stakes as you go along; also a basket filled with
small pots, with a little moss or hay inside, so that they can be
put upon the top of the stakes as a trap for earwigs, whieh will
soon commence to devour the plants unless kept down by constant
care. The pots should be taken off every morning or evening,
to see if there are any earwigs lurking inside the moss. Have a

80 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

piece of stick in the hand, and kill all intruders. This is the
quickest and most effective way; better, I think, than shaking
them out into hot water, as many escape by that method.

The course above recommended has its disadvantages, for the
earwigs smell very unpleasant; but still the Dahlia-grower is not
as a rule very fastidious so long as his plants are doing well.

While I am speaking of insect plagues, I might as well mention
that if the weather is very dry the black-fly often makes its
appearance at the end of June or early in July. This is a sad
scourge, and taxes our patience as much as anything. Syringing
of an evening with tobacco water, or quassia, is a very good plan,
also to dust the affected plants over with snuff or tobacco a
either will certainly act as a check upon them.

By the middle of July it will be necessary to thin out some
of the branches, as too much growth prevents the production of
fine flowers. This operation must be regulated by the nature of
each variety. Some sorts are apt to become large and coarse ;
from such we must cut away very little, or perhaps not any.
The smaller varieties must be cut somewhat severely. When
this is done, put side stakes to the plants, one to each branch, to
prevent the wind breaking them. Four side stakes and one central
one are generally sufficient. A good mulching of dung, straw, or
anything that will prevent the evaporation of the moisture that
is now necessary to the Dahlia, must be given before the plants
get too large. This plan is also useful for another reason: you
can walk upon the ground better, as it will not pick up so, or
cling to the feet and convey loose soil on to the paths, which
would otherwise be the case after a heavy rain or watering, for
now the plants will want plenty of water; hard-eyed flowers, such
as George Rawlings and Prince Bismarck, will want an extra dose.

Many varieties will now begin to show their buds ; these must
be picked off, unless wanted for very early shows. These early
blooms weaken the plants and are mostly poor, even if left on.
Karly Dahlia blooms are really not wanted in the garden, for
they are badly shaped and with nothing special in colour to
recommend them. This remark refers to Show varieties only,
not to Cactus or Pompon Dahlias. If the centre buds are picked
off, the side branches will soon begin to show buds. ‘These can
be left, and as soon as they grow as large as a pea can be thinned
to one on a branch, or rather sub-branch, for the plants by

CULTIVATION OF THE SHOW DAHLIA. 81

this time will have broken into perhaps ten or twelve branches,
and you may leave one bud to each.

In many varieties, perhaps, the plant had better be thinned out
to six or eight branches to get the blooms fit for the exhibition
table. Such varieties‘as Bendigo and King of the Purples may
be cited in illustration; while varieties like T. J. Saltmarsh, John
Standish, or Mrs. Langtry may be allowed to carry twelve or more.
Many amateurs find a difficulty to know what buds to leave
in thinning, but I have found from the time the bud first shows
itself to the time it is ready for cutting a month is just sufficient.
I find sprinkling with a rose-can overhead very helpful after a
hot, drying day, as it assists the plants to recover the loss they
have sustained during the day.

When the petals of the buds are beginning to show, then the
earwig begins his depredations in earnest. What is more trying
than to find promising young buds completely spoilt by being
gnawed all round the edges by these pests? A piece of wadding
tied loosely round the stalk of the buds will be a great check, also
liquid india-rubber put on the stalks of the buds. This is made
by holding a piece of pure rubber on a wire, letting the liquid
fall into a small jar or tin vessel. The rubber is soon ignited
by lighting a match and applying it. This, however, is rather
dangerous if used too freely, for the sun sometimes heats
the rubber and burns through part of the stalk, making it
fall over spoilt. But then any remedy must be tried. Many
bag their buds with bags made of muslin, but I do not particularly
like them, as they often cause the petals to hug one another
when they are fully out. The best flowers are those which have
come out in the natural way with the softening influence of the
dews, and no check to interfere with nature’s plan of perfecting
beauty. The grower must make up his mind to lose many buds
under any circumstances.

About twelve or fourteen days before the show it will be
advisable to pot up a few buds—that is, place an inverted
32-size pot over them ; this is done by having a stake put in the
ground and a piece of wood a little larger than the pot, with a
slit in it for the stalk of the bud, the wood to be lifted up to the
height of the bud, and then made secure to the stake. The pot
will get warm by the sun’s rays, and will be a little forcing
house for the bud. Take care to stop up all the crevices, as the

82 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

earwigs will otherwise think the pots are put there for their
benefit. |

Should the buds look as though they will be too forward
after four or five days, take the next forward buds, and do as in
the former case; but be very careful over those that have been
taken out of the pots, as with care many will be very useful.
Put some wadding round them, and shade or otherwise try and
keep them. In selecting the buds, choose always those with
little pin-holes in them, as they always make the best blooms.
There is one thing putting buds under pots will do—that is, it
will make light flowers purer in colour, also tips more distinct ;
for instance, Mrs. Gladstone will come nearly white, and such
as Mrs. Saunders clear and cleanly tipped.

As the flowers begin to come out, it will be often necessary
to cover with shades, worked on the same system as the boards
for potting the buds. This will retard the flowers, and also
protect them from damage by sun and drying winds. ‘Take care
the flowers are made secure, otherwise they will chafe. By no
means let the plant suffer for water, as now it will want plenty ;
perhaps a weak stimulant will be required for some sorts. But
if the plants have been well looked after in their earlier stages,
they will do without it. Stimulants at this period often excite
the plants, and cause them to throw out unshapely petals,
or perhaps even to cast them all. There will not be much
peace for the grower, as the blooms will require constant
attention by night and day, or caterpillars and other insects will
soon ravage the lot. Take a lantern out at night and there will
be seen earwigs and other marauders busily engaged in their
destructive work.

The morning before the show it will be wise to go over the
blooms, and if there are any doubtful ones not likely to stand
the full time, cut them and put in a cool and dark place
without water. By this process many valuable blooms will be
saved. Never cut when the blooms are soft, as they shrink up
when the sun is out. Cut early in the morning, or late at night,
when they are stiff and fresh. It is surprising how they will
open after a little shower or heavy dew.

When cutting have tubes, corks, and boxes all ready, that
the flowers can be put right away without much handling, as
they do not improve by being pulled about. But it is needless for

CULTIVATION OF THE SHOW DAHLIA.

35

me to go any further, as the grower is quite conversant with the
cutting and staging of his blooms.

I have given briefly my experiences in these few remarks,
trusting they may benefit some and interest them to grow the
noble Queen of Autumn, which we must be ever grateful to Lady
Bute for introducing a hundred years ago.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE DAHLIAS SHOWN AT THE
CONFERENCE.

By Epwarp Mawrey, F.R.H.S., Chairman of Committee,
National Dahlia Society.

List 1.
Show Dahlias.

Position in
analysis

Oo www wee

Name

Mrs. Gladstone ...
Colonist ...

Harry Keith
James Cocker

J. T. West

Miss Cannell

R. T. Rawlings ...
William Rawlings
Mrs. G. Rawlings

Queen of the Belgians -

Prince Bismarck
Goldfinder

Henry Walton ...
James Stephen ...
John Standish ...
Mr. Glasscock ...
Constancy
Crimson King
Ethel Britton ;
Lord Chelmsford
Mrs. Langtry
Prince of Denmark
T. S. Ware

Clara

Countess ae Bavenaworth

Gloire de Lyon ..
Harrison Weir ...

Hon. Mrs. P. Wyndham

James Vick

Number of

fot fa
He HS

_
bo

12

times shown

AABDAOONINNNANNNABAAOAAAOADS

Position in
analysis

Name

——_

| Number of
| times shown

John Henshaw ...
Mr. G. Harris
Mrs. G. R. Jefferd
Mrs. W. Slack ...
Nellie Cramond
Shirley Hibberd
Willie Garratt ...
Diadem ...
Glowworm

Hope

Imperial...

Maud Fellowes .
Mrs. F. Foreman
Richard Dean

T. J. Saltmarsh
William Jackson
William Keith ...
Agnes.
Buttercup fs
Crimson Globe ...
Flag of Truce

H. W. Ward
Joseph Ashby
Julia Wyatt
Sunrise ...
Thomas Hobbs ..
Burgundy

Mrs. Shirley Hibberd .

PPP PEPPER PE PRPOOOANATNIANAATANMMARBARRAAAS

$4 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

There are several excellent sorts which (owing to the late
date at which the Conference was held, or other causes) do not,
unfortunately, find places in the above list. Among these may
be mentioned Mrs. Harris, Vice-President, Purple Prince, Mrs.
Dodds, J. N. Keynes, and G. Rawlings.

Some idea of the representative character of the Conference
Exhibition may be formed when it is stated that no fewer than
130 different varieties were staged in this section alone.

List 2.
The best Show Dahlias, arranged according to colour.

White and Blush.—Mrs. Gladstone, Flag of Truce, Queen
of the Belgians, Mrs. J. Laing.

Yellow and Orange.—Goldfinder, R. T. Rawlings, Vice-
President, Harrison Weir, John N. Keynes, Mrs. G. R. Jefferd,
James Stephen.

Crimson and Scarlet.—Shirley Hibberd, Willie Garratt,
Joseph Ashby, Mr. Harris, Crimson King, W. H. Williams.

Purple and Maroon.—Harry Keith, James Cocker, William
Rawlings, Prince of Denmark, Prince Bismarck, James Vick,
Purple Prince, Burgundy, Imperial, George Rawlings.

Tipped or Shaded.—Hon. Mrs. P. Wyndham, Henry Walton,
Ethel Britton, Mrs. W. Slack, Mrs. Harris, Mrs. Langtry, J. T.
West, T. J. Saltmarsh, Mrs. Dodds, Miss Cannell, Mrs. S.
Hibberd, J. Bennett.

Other colours not represented above.—Colonist, Clara, Hope,
Mrs. F. Foreman, Earl of Ravensworth, Thomas Hobbs.

This table will no doubt prove a more useful one to non-
exhibitors than the first one. In it an endeavour has been
made to place the different varieties in the order of their
reliability.

List 3.
The Show Dahlias mentioned in List 2, arranged in the order
of ther dates of introduction.

1868. Flag of Truce, Vice-President.

1871. James Cocker, John N. Keynes.

1873. Henry Walton, Mrs. Harris.

1875. John Bennett.

1877. Burgundy, Mrs. S. Hibberd.

1879. Clara, Joseph Ashby, Prince Bismarck.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE DAHLIAS SHOWN AT THE CONFERENCE, 85

1880.
1881.

1882.
1883.
1884.
1885.
1886.
1887.

1888.

Kthel Britton.

Goldfinder, Hon. Mrs. P. Wyndham, James Vick, Miss
Cannell, Mr. Harris, Mrs. Dodds, Prince of Denmark,
Shirley Hibberd, W. H. Williams, William Rawlings.

George Rawlings, James Stephen.

Karl of Ravensworth, Harrison Weir, Hope, Imperial.
Mrs. J. Laing.

Mrs. F. Foreman, Mrs. Gladstone, Mrs. G. R. Jefferd.

Mrs. Langtry, T. J. Saltmarsh.

Harry Keith, Mrs. W. Slack, R. T. Rawlings, Thomas
Hobbs.

Colonist, Crimson King, J. T. West, Queen of the
Belgians, Willie Garratt.

Purple Prince.

This list is one of much interest, as it clearly indicates

what

rapid advances have been made in this section in recent

years. Out of the 45 choice varieties named above, no fewer

than

33, or about four-fifths, have made their appearance

during the last ten years, while about half of these are only
six or less years old.

Position in
analysis

AYVNVNV OTHE Ee

List 4.
Fancy Dahlias.
SES. Se
5/22 z2
Name 3 2 a Name | ce
Gaiety oe 11 || 15 | Edmund Boston 4
Mrs. J. Downie ... 11 || 15 | Flora Wyatt 4
Mrs. Saunders ... 11 || 15-| Hugh Austin . 4
Rev. J. B. M. Camm 11 || 15 | Matthew Campbell 4
Pelican ... se ... | 9 || 15 | Prince Henry 4
Frank Pearce ... .. | 8 || 15 | T. W. Girdlestone 4
Duchess of Albany ... | 7 |; 21 | Charles Turner... 3
Henry Eckford ... | 7 || 21 | John Forbes ‘ 3
Henry Glasscock | 7 || 21 | Lotty Eckford ... 3
Mrs. N. Halls | 7 || 21 | Peacock ... 3
George Barnes ... | 6 || 21 | Plutarch... be 3
Madame Soubeyre | 6 | 21 | Professor Fawcett 3
Buffalo Bill 5 | 21 | Sailor Prince 3
Grand Sultan 5 |) |

Chorister, Fanny Sturt, Rebecca, and General Gordon, not
tabulated above, are also among the best Fancies. There were

57 Fancy varieties shown in all.

DE

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The Show and Fancy Dahlias arranged together.

Position in
analysis

TANNIN WwW wWwwePe

PP RRR REE

=a
eeo

Name

Mrs. Gladstone ...
Colonist ...

Harry Keith

James Cocker

J. T. West

Miss Cannell

Gaiety (F.) 5e0

Mrs. J. Downie (F.)

Mrs. Saunders (F.)_...
Rev. J. B. M. Camm (F.)
R. T. Rawlings ...
William Rawlings
Mrs. G. Rawlings a
Queen of the Belgians ...
Pelican (F.) : 55
Prince Bismarck

Frank Pearce (F.)
Goldfinder :
Henry Walton ...
James Stephen ...

| John Standish ...

My. Glasscock ...
Constancy

Crimson King ... a
Duchess of Albany (F.)
Kthel Britton ... BER
Henry Kckford (F.) on
Henry Glasscock (F.) ...
Lord Chelmsford

Mrs. Langtry

!

Name

Mrs. N. Halls (F.)
Prince of Denmark

T. S. Ware

Clara ‘

Countess of Ravedewurth
George Barnes oe )
Gloire de Lyon ..
Harrison Weir ...

Hon. Mrs, PB Wyndham
James Vick aa

John Henshaw ... sets
Madame Soubeyre (F.)...
Mr. G. Harris ms
Mrs. G. R. Jefferd

Mrs. W. Slack ...
Nellie Cramond

Shirley Hibberd

Willie Garratt ...
Buffalo Bill (F.)

Diadem ... aes
Glowworm ers
Grand Sultan (F.)

Hope 2%
Imperial .. Bol
Maud Fellowes .

Mrs. F. Noeman
Richard Dean

T. J. Saltmarsh
William Jackson
William Keith ...

Pompon Dahlias,

Leila Ss pane
Little Duchess ...
Whisper...
Darkness

E. F. Junker
Kurydice

Grace

Isabel

Lady Blanche
Admiration ane
Dora ee ae
Gem 4c cia

List 5.
ea eel
B2|| 82
ESIES
mA
14 || 23
14 || 23
2 Allieae
12 || 34
12 || 34
12 || 34
11 || 34
iit |i st
11 || 34
11 || 34
iE |i) sy
11 || 34
10 || 34
10 || 34
9 || 34
9 || 34
8 || 34
8 || 34
8 || 49
8 || 49
8 || 49
8 || 49
7 || 49
7 || 49
q || 49
7 || 49
qT || 49
7 || 49
7 || 49
7 || 49
List 6.
6 || 10
6 14
6 14
5 14
5 14
5 || 14
5 | 14
Sy et
6 id
4 | 14
4 || 14
4

Rosalie ...
Cupid
Favourite
Fairy Tales
Golden Gem
Janet ae
Karl of Goldenberg
Mabel

Red Indian
Sunshine
The Khedive

SHDARAMAADACAONNSA |

OV OF Ot Ot Ot Ot OF Ot OT OF OF OU OD SS? SD

Number of
times shown

Qo Go Go GO GO OO OO OR

AN ANALYSIS OF THE DAHLIAS SHOWN AT THE CONFERENCE. 87

White Aster, also known as Guiding Star, is likewise deserv-
ing of a place in any select list. Highty different varieties of
Pompons were to be seen at the Conference Exhibition.

List 7.

Cactus and Decoratwe Dahlias.

En SE | Ea SE
n I ha “i
Ba Name 2% \Ba Name ae
EE £9) 35 z 8
a Ad || & Aa
1 | Panthea ... on .» | 13 || 12 | William Rayner 5
2 Mrs. Hawkins ... .. | LL || 15 | Asia ro nae i 4
3 | Amphion ay: ... | 10 || 15 | Beauty of Brentwood ... | 4
4 | Empress of India it 9 || 15 | Charming Bride t
5 | Professor Baldwin 8 || 15 | General Gordon 4
6 | Honoria ... 7 | 15 | Marchioness of Bute 4
6 | Juarezii ... ccs 7 || 15 | Zulu aan ee 4
8 | Henry Patrick ... ... | 6 || 21 | Annie Harvey 3
8 | King of Cactus ... s- | 6 | 21 | Centenary 3
8 | Lady Marsham ... ad 6 | 21 | Mr. Douglas 3
8 | Sidney Hollings 6 | 21 | Mrs. G. Reid 3
12 | Cochineal 5 | 21 | William Darvill 3
12 | Mrs. Tait 5 ||

Constance, Lady Kerrison, and Prince of Wales are also good
varieties. As many as 67 different sorts were altogether
exhibited. Judging by the number of novelties sent out during
the last few years, and how well they were represented at the
Conference, this section promises to become an increasingly
popular one.

hist 8:
Single Dahlas.

There were a large number of Single Dahlias set up at the
Conference Exhibition, but, unfortunately, no record was taken of
the varieties shown. This is much to be regretted, as it would
have been interesting to see what types of flower found most
favour with the leading growers. The list appended to Mr.
Girdlestone’s paper on Cactus and Single Dahlias (page 18) will,
however, indicate the kinds most deserving of general cultivation.

lysis

|

OodI dar wWbdore

88 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

List 9.

This list, and the following one of Fancy Dahlias, were
compiled for the Journal of Horticulture from returns spreading
over seven years; and afterwards appeared in the Centenary
Report of the National Dahlia Society. It is thought useful to
append them to the Conference lists, as they will emphasise
those lists in all points of agreement, and may serve to indicate
possible errors wherein they differ materially from them.

Show Dahlias.

Average | |
number |Number

ae nes ohtimes Date of | Raiser’s or

. Name intro- | introducer’s Colour
the seven| in 1889 duction| name
years
Bama ee a ee ee ee eee 24 =

42°8 45 | Mrs. Gladstone......... 1884 | Hurst ... | pale blush
26:0 Bo. |. Hlarny Keith .-ccar...s 1886 | Keynes ..| rosy purple
22°4 22 | James Cocker ......... 1871 | Keynes..| purple
21:7 28 | William Rawlings ... | 1881 | Rawlings | crimson-purple
21:0 10 | Hon.Mrs.P.Wyndham | 1881 | Keynes..| pale yellow and rose
19:6 11 | Henry Walton ......... 1873 | Keynes..| pale yellow and scarlet
17°5 22 | Hthel Britton ......... 1880 | Keynes..| white and purple
17°5 he \Goldfinder +. 225. .dsere 1881 | Fellowes. | yellow and red
17°3 te. | Mirse Wie Slack 2..25s25. 1886 | Keynes..| blush-white and purpl
17°3 28 | BR. . Rawlings... ..4. 1886 | Rawlings | clear yellow
17:0 Le wie COLOMISU eee. cctenn eters 1887 | Keynes..| chocolate and fawn
16°4 16 | Prince of Denmark ... | 1881 | Fellowes. | dark maroon
16:2 Siro) Wirsh Harris. teense 1873 | Harris... | white and lilac
15°6 18 Prince Bismarck ...... 1879 | Fellowes. | puce
15°6 25 | Shirley Hibberd ...... 1881 | Rawlings | dark crimson
15°3 14. | Mrs. Langtry....s00.<. 1885 | Keynes..| cream and crimson
15:0 Be, he WieSieites secteasere 1887 | Rawlings | yellow and purple
15:0 8 | Td. Saltmarsh .. 5.x 1885 | Rawlings | yellow and chestnut
13°5 16.."| Willie:Garratt 2.22.00. 1887 | Garratt.. | bright cardinal
13°4 4 | Joseph Ashby .......... 1879 | Turner... | shaded orange
13°3 5 James Vick Sse..csentes 1881 | Keynes..| purplish maroon
12:0 64) Pilagvol Mrueate..-c... 1868 | Wheeler. | white and lilac
12°0 2 | Vice-President ......... 1868 | Keynes..| orange
Lis PB Clara: o anacee seneacees 1879 | Rawlings | rosy peach
11:8 1% | Harrison Weir: <....2.0. 1883 | Rawlings | yellow
11:0 dd VRurple Primes, ....ss00s 1888 | Turner... | rosy purple
10°9 Oi Mars, Odds. ccs uccnes 1881 | Keynes..| blush and lilac
10°8 11 | John N. Keynes ...... 1871 | Keynes..| yellow
10°6 6 ih BURP UAGY Js 000. sbsnaeee 1877 | Turner... | dark puce
10:0 12) imperial... sacs Wrualices 1883 | Keynes..| purple, shaded lilac

\

AN ANALYSIS OF THE DAHLIAS SHOWN AT THE CONFERENCE, 39

List 10.
Fancy Dahlas.

Pos;- | Average

ion | Member |Number Date of | Raiser’s or
‘on pe er Name ine Sateediear’s Colour
8DA-| the seven| in 1889 duction name
lysis yean
1 18:0 | 22 | Mrs. Saunders ......... 1872 | Turner... | yellow and white
2 16:5 WO WIROTALOLY 7 'sendesestacetst cee 1879 | Keynes ..]| yellow, red, and white
3 | 15°6 16 | Rev. J. B.M. Camm... | 1873 | Keynes..| yellow and red
A aed eM OCMOPAUOES cans euhaae ds 1881 | Keynes... | fawn and crimson
Bae} 20 16 | Henry Kckford......... 1886 | Rawlings | yellow and red
6 |. 206 16 | Duchess of Albany ... | 1884 | Turner... | orange and crimson
(i 10°5 te) Hora Wyatt 35: c..cves 1871 | Keynes.. | orange and red
8 10:0 Wu irda Nec EL aig rs chet 1881 | Rawlings | scarlet and white
9 9°9 m-\) Gugh) Austin: .....0.2.. 1881 | Keynes ..| orange and red
10 9°6 1) | George Barnes ......... 1878 | Keynes.. | lilac and crimson
10 9-6 Weyl CACUCe ie .e baweaicwes 1877 | Turner... | maroon and white
12 9°3 «| Fanny Sturt ...2...3...: 1868 | Pope ...| red and white
13 9-2 € | Professor Faweett...... 1881 | Keynes..| lilac and brown
14 8:5 Aird ODT, FOTDES |.0.sees'ceees 1882 | Keynes..| maroon
15 8:3 5 | Henry Glasscock ...... 1875 | Keynes..| buff and crimson
16 7'8 G BirRebeceas ss <.2.aisecsassaas 1883 | Keynes.. | lilac and crimson
1 of el ae 0 3 | General Gordon ...... 1885 | Keynes..| yellow and scarlet
18 y ia! 6, | James O’Brien ......... 1881 | Keynes..| yellow and crimson
LOR par8 fe Ve Dorothy...) ¢ sacs bidddece 1888 | Keynes .. | fawn and maroon
207). G4 3 | Egyptian Prince ...... 1873 | Keynes..| orange and red
21 6°6 1 |) Miss. Browning ........: 1880 | Keynes..| yellow and white
22 6°3 0 | Miss Lily Large ...... 1876 | Keynes..| yellow and crimson
23 6:0 9 Edmund Boston ...... 1887 | Keynes..| orange and crimson
23 6:0 1D BEFCECHICS ...asiescescs sas 1877 | Keynes..| yellow and crimson

4() JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

GRAPE CONFERENCE,
SEPTEMBER 24, 1890.

A CONFERENCE on Grapes was held at the Chiswick Gardens on
Wednesday, September 24.

The chair was taken by Dr. Hoaa, F.L.S., F.R.H.S., President
of the Conference, who, in opening the proceedings, said / This
is one of aseries of Conferences in which we are interested The
object of these Conferences is to get as many subjects as possible
together, in order that we may be able to compare ther merits
one with another. I think we have had about seven o7 eight of
these Conferences, all of which have been remarkably siccessful,
and the results of some of them have been embodied in hose very
valuable works on British Apples and Pears, Orchids, ind others
in the Society’s Journal. I am rather disappointed vw have not
a larger collection of Grapes here to-day. On forme) occasions
we have had a larger number of varieties, but to-day ve are con-
fined more to the commercial aspect. Instead of having a
number of the smaller dessert Grapes, we seem to aound more
in those which are valuable from a commercial pant of view.
One reason of this may be the tendency to grow larje instead of
small Grapes. Formerly we used to see Frontignms—Grizzly
Frontignans, Black Frontignans, and White rnin they
were largely grown, and it is impossible to have mire delicious
Grapes. Why they are not now more grown I cannit tell, unless
it is because of their size, and I must say it is a piy that horti-
culture should tend in the direction of slavery b mere size.
However, I shall not take up your time any longe, as we have
some able readers of papers here.

FRONTIGNAN GRAPES.
By My. T. Francis Rivers, F.R.H.

Tur Hérault department, which has lately been visited by very
disastrous and deplorable inundations, once forned part of the
ancient province of Languedoc, and has always bjen famous for

FRONTIGNAN GRAPES.

41

Tur Great VINERY AT CHISWICK, IN WHICH THE GRAPE CONFERENCE WAS HELD,

49, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

the sweet and rich wines made from the Grapes of which some
very excellent specimens are shown here to-day. The principal
wines of the department are Beziers, Lunel, and Frontignan or
Muscat—sweet and luscious wines, which in hot seasons are
almost liqueurs ; consequently they have never been popular as
ordinary beverages, and in the department do not appear to
have been considered as a profitable industry. In a list of these
wines published in 1863 seven varieties are named; these are
Bassan, Beziers, Cazouls, Frontignan, Maraussan, Pommerols,
and Sauvian—a proof that the demand for the produce of these
delicious Grapes is not large enough to tempt the owners of
vineyards to incur the expense of cultivating them to any great
extent. In fact, according to a recent writer, the old vineyards
have been replanted with the ordinary and popular sorts, princi-
pally the Gamais, from which a common red wine is made fit
for everyday consumption. Although the Grapes are too luscious
for wine, they are very popular for the table, and are much and
justly appreciated for their fine flavour throughout France.
They will ripen in the open air from Paris to the Mediterranean,
the time of maturity varying with the degrees of latitude, and
they can be grown on trellises as easily as we grow Currants.
Neither the bunches nor the berries of the Frontignans are
large, and no sort of culture appears to increase the size of the
berries. They possess, however, a delicate and refined flavour
which is singularly grateful, and which does not exist in any other
class of Grape, the so-called Muscat or Frontignan flavour pre-
dominating. The skin is tender, the juice abundant and sugary,
and the flesh crisp. The varieties which I have grown and found
to succeed wellin cool houses are the Muscat Précoce de Saumur,
a very early sort, ripening in September ; the Muscat Précoce de
Smyrne, or Isaker Daiko or Daioiko ; the Muscat Précoce d’Au-
vergne; the Muscat Bifére (Karly Silver Frontignan); the Muscat
Primavis ; the Muscat Tokai, said to be identical with Chasselas
Musqué, the variety which I have under this name differing very
considerably, as it will ripen in a cool house. These sorts are
all white, and with good culture attain the size of the Royal
Muscadine. The Muscat Citronelle and the Ascot Frontignan
are very early, but very small. The Muscat Trouveren is large
and late, with a strong Frontignan flavour; but the berries are
rusty, and it will not ripen without strong heat. The Chasselas

FRONTIGNAN GRAPES. 43

Musqué (fig. 1), a very old Grape, possessing a string of synonyms
like all good fruits, cannot be successfully grown without the
temperature required for the Muscat of Alexandria (fig. 3), and the
same remark applies to the White Frontignan and Dr. Hogg.

. 1.—Cuassetas Musqun.

Fic. 2.—Buack FRONTIGNAN

The Black Frontignan Grapes are similar in flavour to the
white and amber-coloured, and some will ripen under the same
conditions. The Muscat Noir (Black Frontignan) (fig. 2), the
Muscat de Sarbelle, the Muscat Lierval, the Muscat Noir d’ Angers,
the Muscat d’Aott, the Muscat de Jura, the Muscat Caillaba, small,
but early, will ripen in a cool vinery, but are too small in bunch
and berry to command a place in an important vinery. They are,
however, easily cultivated in pots, and will then repay the trouble

Figs. 1, 2, 3 are from Mr. Barron’s work on the Vine.

44 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

taken with them. The Purple Constantia is a decided improve-
ment in size. The bunches are well-shaped, and the berries a fair
size. To succeed with it the temperature required for the Muscat
of Alexandria is absolutely necessary. The Constantia vineyards
at the Cape of Good Hope were at one time very celebrated for
the wine made from this Grape. It has been a long time grown in
England, but does not appear ever to have become very popular
in our vineries.

The Grizzly or Red Frontignan is a very delicious Grape,
having a strongly marked Frontignan flavour ; it requires a warm
vinery to bring it to perfection. The bunches are loose and
irregular, and the colour of the berries is not well defined. I
have named enough sorts to give an amateur a good succession
of these Grapes from August to October. They are, however,
the Grapes of an amateur only, and, unless the public taste alters
very much, it is quite out of the question to recommend them for
the market. They have been known for many years in England,
and evidently some good reason exists for the dislike of Grape-
growers to cultivate them for profit. I have invariably heard
the remark ‘‘ What delicious Grapes!’”’ from all who taste
them, and for my own part I admire them above all. As they
are not exacting, and can be grown in cool houses (with some
exceptions), a small house might, with advantage, be devoted to
their culture. If not large enough for the dessert of a formal
dinner, they would be heartily welcomed at breakfast or at
luncheon, and received with rejoicing at the dinner-table of the
children.

THE ENEMIES OF THE VINE.
By Mr. R. D. Buackmorz, F.R.H.S.

THOSE who understand my subject a great deal better than I do
will probably be inclined to laugh at some of these sad experi-
ences. If they do so, I grudge them not, but am glad to produce
some merriment out of lugubrious matter. Over and over again
I have had the fortune, or misfortune, to lay before the learned a
fine sample of my woes, and receive the benefit of their sympathy,

——

Fic. 3.—Muscat or ALEXANDRIA.

46 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

>

and upon some occasions sound advice to try remedies long
ago tried in vain.

More frequently it has been my lot to be assured that such
things are impossible under proper cultivation. To this there
can be no reply; and yet the course of time has answered it.
The proper cultivator has reappeared, before growing visibly
older, infected with his own impossibility. But these remarks
are beside the mark, and are only offered in proof of my sense
that for the present honour I am indebted to no kind of merit,
but rather to every kind of misfortune. With the one exception
of Phylloxera, my Vines have been visited by every evil which the
flesh of Grape is heir to; and thus the subject has forced itself
on the penitent but patient cultivator.

With the general treatment of the Vine—the planting, pruning,
training, watering, giving of air, and such like—this little paper
has no concern. We suppose the fair subject to have fair play,
so far as mankind can ensure it; and then when it tries to be
good and grateful, it falls among alien enemies. Everyone knows
the fair beauty of the Vine—the kindest, most elegant, clinging,
and trustful of all the good creatures that adorn our life, and
therewith one of the most useful. And when tribulation falls upon
it, the gardener, who loves it as his own child, is afflicted as with
a home-sorrow. But he must not fold his hands and weep, nor
even run for a fashionable doctor. Without loss of a moment he
must fall to, find the mischief, and try the remedy.

This is more easily said than done. The mischiefis manifold ;
the cause mysterious, at least in some of the cases now considered.
Science—the knowledge of cause, and therefore of effect—is
coming to our aid, slowly but surely, as its character requires.
In a few more years we (or our successors) shall have finer in-
struction than the light of nature, trimmed by the longest
experience, can afford. But science, to most of us, as yet means
little but experiment versws experience.

Treading in the ancient ways, and under feeble rule of thumb,
we may divide the foes aroused by the popularity of the Grape
mainly into two bad classes—those which are of vegetable order,
chiefly fungoid, and those of animal existence, insects, devouring
insects ; while enemies that cannot be referred to either class may
frankly be called muscellaneous.

I. Regarding the question broadly thus, without keener

THE ENEMIES OF THE VINE. 47

attempt at precision—for the division does not hold good through-
out—we find the enemies of fungoid race manifold, and hard to
be defined, even by the skilled mycologist. We, the ordinary
gardeners, know that they are a Protean multitude ; and, knowing
little more than that, we treat them, according to their choice of
ageression, as mildew—of the roots, of the shoots and foliage, or
of the bunch and berry. Of fungoid inroad on the roots of the
Vine I have had very little experience, having only discovered it
once or twice, and then it was not extensive. It appeared to
exist in places only, where the roots had missed their proper
share of moisture, and upon this point—unless I am mistaken—
theory accords with practice.

But upon mildew of the foliage and berry, pages have been
written, and to better purpose than can be presented here. It
is plain that there are many forms of mildew, nicely discerned by
the microscopist, and requiring to be dealt with according to their
sort. But with one and all, the great rule is—have at them at
once, and be as quick as they are. In nine cases out of ten the
evil is caused by want of genial warmth—that is to say a soft
slow of moisture, that seems to suckle the lambent growth, and
crisp it with the sparkling gems of health.

Perhaps there has been a little creeping draught} or a sudden
fall of temperature, or something in the air that seems to send a
shiver through the foliage, and stroke it against the grain, as
when a hat is brushed against the nap—horridus is the Latin
word for this condition, I believe—and then the sad grower, in
the early morning, espies the first symptom of mildew. It is
but a little grey breath, perhaps, on the under side of some young
leaf, or a dull curl at the very top of the shoot; but it means to
the eye of experience the vanguard of an army as pestilence. In
vegetable, even more than in animal existence, ‘“‘ Hit him while
he’s down ’’ is the ignominious law. The unnumbered idle spores
that are for ever wandering in the ambient air have found a weak
spot to fasten on, and suck, and grow, and propagate. Cold-
blooded creatures as they are, let them have a hot reception. At
once raise the temperature of the house, stop every crevice of
draught, and, if there be no young grapes to forbid it, fill the air
with a moist exhalation of sulphur and quick-lime painted on the
pipes. Also the leaves where the inroad has begun should be
dipped in a slush of sulphur, and the border where the Vines are

48 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

srowing syringed with what one of my men used to call a ‘‘ weak
delusion ’’ of soft-soap and sulphur. But if the sensitive berries
are set, these strong measures must be modified, and the treat-
ment prolonged in a milder form, lest haply our Grapes should
colour prematurely.

And this leads me to suggest (with great diffidence, as becomes
a mere empiric) that the Oidium which fastens on the foliage is
a fungusnot only distinct, but also fostered by different conditions
from those which assault the stalk and berry. The attack upon
the berry is even more pestilent and hard to deal with; but I
have never yet seen it proceed directly from the affection of the
foliage. I do not mean to say that if the latter is neglected it
may not extend to the other—indeed it would be pretty sure to
do so; but, so far as my own observation goes, the assaults are
not simultaneous. Mildew on the foliage is bad enough, but
mildew on the berry is far worse, being so much less accessible.
Sulphuring the bunch, and then dipping it when ripe in a bucket
of clean water—a course which has been even lately recom-
mended—is a very poor proceeding, and the Grapes are not fit
to be looked at. The proper course is to remove every berry
that shows the fatal pearliness, or the whole bunch, if it can be
spared ; take it out of the house, and burn it. Then change the
conditions which have bred the evil, soak the soil with water
almost hot, close every ventilator, fill the house with warmth,
and syringe the floor with soft-soap and sulphur mixed, if you
fear to paint the pipes with it.

Every gardener knows all this; but some young gardeners
seem not to know the very great danger of “ giving bottom-
air ’’—as the expression goes—too soon. Iam sure that, in the
main, these sudden attacks of mildew arise from chill, from
ungenial currents of air, which check the rapid growth and
prepare the surface for receiving the hovering enemy. Every
grower of Grapes has his own crotchet, or, as he would rather
have it called, his own enlightened theory ; and in these delights
I join him. Grapes are grown well, as many of us have
observed, under different and sometimes diametrically opposite
systems; but, in spite of all that, there comes a time when
principles reassert themselves, and the innovator scratches a
too fertile head.

Why is it almost impossible now to ripen a crop of comely

THE ENEMIES OF THE VINE. 49

Grapes in the open air of England, although in good summers
it used to be done, even in the time of Clement Hoare, and more
freely in the ancient days? Nearly forty years ago, without
the doubtful blessing of experience, I could grow very fine
bunches of Black Hamburgh against an unprotected wall—not,
of course, such Grapes as we see here, but far above any that
I ever see now as products of the open. There is no failing in
the average summer heat, as any meteorologist will prove to us;
the cause of the failure is mainly, I believe, to be found in that
pestilence—mildew. This has discouraged folk even from trying ;
for, aS sure as eggs are eggs, open-air Grapes are now attacked
with Oidium. And that stopped my further attempts in that line.

Before quitting this branch of ‘my subject—with which I
fear to be sadly wearisome—I am bound to refer to a special
evil, to which (as out of every evil cometh good) I chiefly owe
the honour of being here. A certain malady, comparatively
new, or at any rate not yet investigated duly and scientifically,
has visited my Vines for some years now, and proved fatal to not
a few of them. Mr. Barron, in his admirable work upon the
Vine, has kindly inserted a few remarks which I ventured to
offer about it. Others, no doubt, are acquainted with this pest ;
but the doubtful honour belongs to me of being the first in the
country to sing out about it. It is not unknown at Chiswick
now, though I have not seen the instances. There is a violent
and virulent disease of fungoid nature described in the first
edition of Mr. Barron’s book, and there entitled Anthracnose ;
elsewhere, I think, called Melamtis. That great mycologist,
Mr. Berkeley, believed it to be identical with the ‘‘ Black-spot ”’
of Australia and the ‘‘ Black-rot’’ of America. My tormenter
resembles this more nearly than any other I can find described ;
yet the symptoms are not identical. In the cases I am familiar
with no blackness is apparent until the last stage of the
disease is reached. The tip of the shoot is first attacked, and
the crinkle of the unexpanded leaf, which becomes of a dirty
wash-leather colour and loses its pellucidity. Then the leaves
that are expanded further down the shoot become cupped and
concave on the lower side, convex on the upper, and lose their
grailing. All the shoot becomes dull, and its crispness is gone;
and, if pinched, it indents without breaking. The disease—
unless checked at the outset—descends the stem very quickly,
runs into the older wood, and destroys the Vine.

E

50 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

When first I wrote upon this subject the disease had
attacked my young Vines only, especially those that were grown
in pots; but within the last two years I have found it suddenly
invade established Vines, in the prime of their strength and
luxuriance ; but as yet it has confined its sphere of operations to
Vines with thick and tomentose foliage, such as Gros Colmar,
Black Alicante, and Gros Maroc. I have never yet seen it on
Black Hamburgh, Chasselas Musqué, or Black or White Muscat.

To me it appears to be akin to the disorder which often
attacks the young shoots of certain Pears, notably Louise Bonne
and Beurré Superfin ; these are struck with it in July or August,
even in warm weather, and the tip of the shoot is the first to be
touched. The young leaves are edged with a deepening line of
black, then the disease descends the shoot, which becomes
opaque and black and fluted.

‘‘ Search the roots”’ is the gardener’s law in the usual post-
mortem; and ‘‘ Something the matter with the roots,’ instead
of ‘“‘ Death from natural causes,’ is generally the verdict. Over
and over again I have searched the roots and found them
healthy, the side-shoots also, and lower foliage in full vigour,
till the plague descends. Sulphur in every form I have tried,
quassia, tobacco-water, and the like. Until the last year or two
I believed that the only course was to cut well below the evil on
its first appearance. But seeing by chance a can of strong liquid
(brought from the manure-yard to be diluted), I plunged an in-
fected shoot in that, on the principle of “lull or cure.””’ To my
surprise there was no kill, neither any sudden cure, but a speedy
arrest of the evil, and, after two or three dippings, a renewal of
sound growth. This year I have stopped the plague by dipping
every shoot that showed it in stuff even blacker than it meant
to be.

II. Passing other fungoid torments, I come to those even
viler creatures which have life enough to know better. Who
shall tell their names without requiring a muzzle for the sake of
his friends, or to save the fissure of his own jaws? For this,
however, there is no help. And to the general gardener, even in
this “‘ highly cultured” age, it is more important to be able to
punish than to pronounce them. With the pile of good books
now within his reach the fault is his own if he cannot do that ;
and possibly he finds yet quicker ways by dint of his own obser-
vation. These live enemies pass into three divisions according

THE ENEMIES OF THE VINE. 51

to their ‘‘ sphere of influence,’’ though some of them operate in
all three districts.

(a) The enemies of root or stem. First and most fatal the
Phylloxera, of which I have no knowledge. Then the larve of
the cockchafer, the Elater or wireworm, and the Daddy-long-legs,
also of the Cetonia and other beetles, especially those of the
weevil race, which have persecuted me beyond reason. ‘The
cockchafer grub, though most destructive, has not to my know-
ledge done much havoc of late, because he has not mustered in
sufficient force. But we read of frightful ravages by him in old
time, and he may yet renew them. Nothing is sacred from
the wireworm, and in early days he teased me much, but by
pegging at him constantly we quenched him, as well as the
genial Daddy (or Tipula oleracea). The Cetonia aurea is compa-
ratively scarce with us, and has never done much harm, though
the beautiful beetle is a great gourmand.

But of the weevil (Curculio vitis, alias Otiorhynchus vastator,
prcipes, or sulcatus), could I only speak as he deserves, our
language would again be vigorous. Little did I think, five-and-
twenty years ago, when first I saw a scolloped leaf, very early in
the morning, what a monstrous cantel would be cut out of all the
joys of the vintage. I found him then, and admired his incisors,
and treated him also to some incision. The partner of his joys
was not far off, and we made her the partner of his sorrows. In
those days this Curculio was apparently a monogamist, perhaps
by force of circumstance, and when we found one we always
hunted for his bride ; but now they have lost even that good trait.

The first year we killed about six pairs, and felt a kindly
interest in them, as a boy does in acockchafer. But the following
year they increased apace, and forfeited all our sympathies. But
as yet their attacks upon the roots had not become perceptible,
and, being no entomologist, I paid little heed to their babyhood.

But this I had to do with a vengeance by-and-by; for
although we knew well that they were dangerous, and hunted
them by day, and by night as well, in the fashion most accredited,
the miscreants grew apace upon us, and made their way into the
adjoining house, then devoted to pot Vines. And here the more
serious plague began; for although they had injured the esta-
blished Vines, by scolloping the leaves, and sometimes nipping
a young shoot off, they had done no perceptible damage to the

E2

52, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

roots, albeit in the larva form they must have lived upon them.
But the pot-Vines having no such spread of fibre, and being
much smaller in their strand of root, could not hold out against
these rodent larve. One after another they ceased to grow, the
foliage turned yellow, and the young bunch flagged, and there was
no hope left for that poor Vine. Upon turning up the pots we
found sometimes the plant reduced to a tripod, just able to stand
on its stumps, and feebly trying to tiller again from them. The
ball would be thoroughly honeycombed, and the cells filled with
fat curled larve, of a bluish white in the younger stage, of a
yellowish tint when fully grown, and turning in the pupa state
to a dirty red. How long they stay in the larva condition I
know not, but a few days suffice for the status pupillaris, and
I doubt whether entomologists are right in allowing them three
years underground, for I have found them in the pupa stage
when repotting Vines in February, which had been raised from
the eye the previous year. Before leaving this maggot (as the
gardeners call him) I may mention that I have taken more than
seventy from a single 16-pot, and that the eggs—if I have iden-
tified them—are laid in a cluster in the earth, and are very large
in proportion to the insect.

Now for the cure. This is very difficult, and only to be
compassed by much patience. Prevention is the proper remedy ;
that I was partly aware of, and yet failed to ensure it. Last
year we collected in the weevil form a good-sized pickle-bottle
full; this year, by removing the top soil of the vinery, which we
always do on that account every winter, and by perpetual perse-
cution, we are certainly getting ahead of them. But perhaps we
owe the reduction mainly to the clearing out of all pot-Vines, in
which they seem to wax most fat, as well as to the constant
searching of some hundred pots of Adiantum, placed as a
treacherous home for them. Every morning we could shake out
six or seven from the niches of old Adiantum crowns and trans-
fer them to our bottles. These, of course, were in the imago
form, and many in that stage were also taken in decayed Potatoes,
Carrots, Apples, &c. The great difficulty with this creature
is the resemblance of his colour to that of the soil; also the fact
that he is very cunning, and not to be trapped with dainties, like
the slug, or even wood-louse. I think that he lives on green food
only during his weevil career, and goes to the Carrots and
Potatoes rather for lodging than for board, and therefore would

THE ENEMIES OF THE VINE. 53

just as lief sleep in a clod.’ Formerly I advised that Ferns and
such-like shelter should not be allowed in the vinery; but since
then I have employed them as traps, and found them very use-
ful; only the strict search every morning, and the inversion of the
pot over a newspaper, must never be neglected, if anyone is un-
lucky enough to suffer as I have suffered. I have never found
them nip the fronds of the Fern as they scollop the Vine-leaf,
and even gash the tender shoot; but the eggs are laid also

; Fig. 4.—(1) Nest of
Red-spider reduced ; (2)
Insect magnified, show-
ing pair of two-jointed
feelers (c), and pair of
legs (d) developed after
change of skin; (3) a
smaller form; (4) Ros-
trum with two lateral
valves (a), enclosing two
fine bristles (0).

Fic. 4.—REp-sPIpeR. (From the
Gardeners’ Chronicle.)

among the Fern, and the larve thrive there as well as on the
Vine; of course they do great injury there, but I have never
known a Fern destroyed by them, though dozens of Cyclamens
have been reduced to a dead skin by a grub suspiciously like my
Curculio, but smaller. The time of activity is from the first
awakening of the Vine to the maturity of the leaf. I have
never seen the weevil in late summer, though I dare say he
might be found somewhere ; but human nature may hardly
suffice for one perennial weevil-hunt.

(o) Concerning the enemies of the shoot and foliage I have
nothing to say that every gardener does not know, and mention
them chiefly to complete my list, though none of them has failed
to visit me. Worst of them probably is the red-spider, Acarus,
or, as he now seems to be called, Tetranychus telarius (fig. 4).

54 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Virgil speaks of the puwtris tela (the mouldering web), and this is
what he weaves. He produces a short dry staple out of the juiciest
and most buxom leaf before we have time to cry ‘‘ duck him.”
Not many things at the present time amaze a ripe Grape-grower ;
but hoariness falls upon him less unwitting than on the growth
he sees not in the looking-glass. The residue of his hair stands
up at the mischief done since last he shaved, and he uses a
shorter ejaculation than Tetranychus telarius. ‘This remedy,
applied with perseverance, will be sure to destroy it,” says Mr.
Barron, and he never speaks in vain.

The thrip—Thrips minutissima (fig. 5), also called, if I re-
member rightly, Phlg@othrips coriacea, a member of the Thysano-
ptera—is a very striking but rarer plague. He certainly arises
less directly from the will of the Almighty, and more from the
degeneracy of Adam, who brings into the vinery trees forbid-
den—Azaleas, Abutilons, and the like. When once set up, he is
even swifter in circulation than red-spider, and he seems to dwell
in a mackintosh, for no syringing disturbs him. Sponge, soft-
soap, tobacco-water—every hand must be in use at once, if thy
desire is to see thy Vine leaves ripen properly.

Again, there is the mealy-bug—Coccus adomdum (fig. 6)
he was called, now Dactylopius adonidum—a frightful pest, if he
once gets in, and always eager for admission. The emmets may
be seen in early spring, fingering something daintily, perhaps on
the stem of the Vine, perhaps in the tangle of set berries. A
closer gaze will show what they are about; they have brought a
little soft white atom, and they are establishing a baby-farm.
Their object, however, is impurely selfish. They hope to suck
fatness by-and-by from the exudations and secretions of this un-
welcome little stranger. With a pointed stick, and perhaps an
eyeglass—if he has seen too much of the world already—the lover
of the Grape must fetch out every one of these woolly molecules,
for if once they flourish in the bunch he will have a mealy mass
of filth, instead of goodly berries ; and then let him search every
cranny of the Vine for the rest of the loathsome family.

Of the Vine-scale, another of the Coccus race, I have not had
much experience. A tooth-brush, dripping with strong insecticide,
will give them their meed, if applied at once. But I fear to have
trespassed too far already on the province of the entomologist.

(c) My catalogue should have exhausted already the many
bitter enemies of our innocent, lovely, and grateful friend ; but

THE ENEMIES OF THE VINE. 55

unhappily, there still remains a host of miscellaneous evils, such ag
scorching, sunstroke, spot upon the berries, cracking, rust, and,
worst of all, shanking. But time would fail me to enlarge on
these, and they form quite a separate subject. Shanking
especially (which some believe to be a local disease of the footstalk,
while others refer it to failure of the supply of nourishment in
the final effort) is a malady not as yet understood, or at any rate
not yet thoroughly explained, by the most accomplished vinitor.
I speak in the presence of many far better entitled to speak than
Tam, but I think they will all agree with me that it seldom or
never attacks the produce of a young luxuriant Vine, well treated
and wisely restricted in its generous endeavours.

Fra. 5.—THRIes.

1. Head in profile—antenne (a), compound
eye (e), beak (7) ; one of four feelers (p) ;
2 and 3, Thrips magnified.

Fig. 5. From the Gardeners’ Chronicle.
Fig. 6. From Mr. Barron’s work on the Vine, Fic. 6.—MzEany-Buc.
Finally, lest I shank myself, I beg to be taken within my
limit, and as offering only my own crude fruit ; for I write from
recollection only, without opening a book, except Mr. Barron’s.
And if I have added to no man’s knowledge, I may have suggested
to more than one to put into better and larger form the results
of his deeper experience.

DISCUSSION.

Dr. Masters said that Mr. Blackmore had painted the enemies
of the Grape-vine in a most able manner, and he was sure that
all had listened with the greatest pleasure while he had done so
in his humorous way. As to these pests, he said that gardeners
were able to continually watch the Vine, and thus learn every-
thing about them, but beyond this very little information was

56 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

obtainable from anyone else. Scientists had very little oppor-
tunity of tracing the origin of the diseases of the Vine, and to
do so it would be necessary for them to grow the plants and
keep a constant look-out. If this were done they would be in
a position to treat the enemy in a proper manner. One remedy
Dr. Masters recommended to kill Vine-disease, namely, sulphate
of copper. He said sulphur by itself was of little use, but
sulphate of copper in solution would at once check the ravages
of the disease. It was tried in many parts of France, and has also
been tried in the gardens at Chiswick successfully.

SOILS AND MANURES FOR GRAPES.
By Mr. W. THomson.

THE subject assigned to me for the paper I am now about to read
before you is, as you are aware, ‘‘ Soils and Manures”’ suitable
for the cultivation of the Grape-vine, and I know I shall consult
your convenience if J make my paper as brief as the nature of
my subject will admit.

For the substance of what I mean to bring before your notice
I will draw entirely on my own experience—I am sorry to say
not a short one now. In the first place I will treat of soils, and
in the second of manures. The soil in which the Vine grows
with the greatest vigour, produces the best crops, and maintains
its fruitfulness the longest—other treatment being judicious—
is old turf, cut from a calcareous soil not more than four inches
deep. Where there is any suspicion that wireworm is present,
I have found it an advantage to cut the turf and throw it grass-
side down, and leave it so till it gets a sharp touch of frost; this
drives the wireworm to take shelter in the deeper soil, and the
frost has a beneficial influence on the soil itself. Where it can
be got, I would give the preference to soil from off the old red sand-
stone, next from limestone; at the same time there is an excellent.
soil for Grape cultivation to be had both in Middlesex and Hert-
fordshire, froma subsoil of clay, or clay and gravel mixed. Such
soil should consist of about 65 per cent. of sand, 30 per cent.
of clay, and 5 per cent. of chalk. The ingredients that should

SOILS AND MANURES FOR GRAPES. 57

be added toit will depend on whether clay or sand predominates.
If clay is in excess, add to the soil one cartload in ten of old
lime and brick rubbish, or burned clay ; charcoal is an excellent
addition to a soil where clay is in excess, but it is costly. When
it is not convenient to procure any soil except that in which sand
is greatly in excess, I would, if possible, procure a portion of pure
clay, and let it get frosted, after which I would mix it with the
sandy soil, to bring it up to the standard I have given.

The handling of soil for a Vine-border should always take
place in dry weather, for if it is put together wet the results will
not be satisfactory. It wasat one time a common practice to mix
large quantities of farmyard manure with soil for Vine-borders;
but feeling convinced that it was a mistake to do so, when it was
desired that the vines should continue for many years to produce
good Grapes, I have discontinued the practice for a dozen years,
and am every day more and more convinced of the wisdom of
doing so. There is only about 3 per cent. of plant food in such
manure, and even that does not become readily available when
it is buried deep in the soil, as a large portion of it must be in a
Vine-border ; and a wide distinction must be made between the
effects of farmyard manure applied to garden crops in the open
quarters of the garden, where the soil can be turned up annually
and get exposed to the ameliorating influences of air and frost,
and that buried in the depths of a Vine-border, where, if it gets
dry, it may breed fungus, and where if it does not it will act as a
sponge and retain an excess of moisture, becoming, in fact, a sort
of sour, inert matter ike humus, and in every sense an evil. A
case. of this description gets aggravated by pouring quantities of
muddy liquid manure on the border; the whole mass then becomes
what gardeners call sour and impervious to the beneficial action
of the air. The only remedy I know, short of clearing out the
entire soil and replacing it by new—and it is but a partial one—
is to fork a good dressing of hot lime, newly slaked, into the
surface of the border.

Having said all that seems to fall to my province under the
head of ‘‘ Soil for Vines,’’ I now proceed to consider the second
branch of the subject assigned to me, namely, Manures. I
have found in my own experience that phosphatic manures are
most essential, if the Vine is to be kept in permanent health
and fruitfulness. ‘These should be in various stages of solubility,

58 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

and I give the preference to those from the best quality of
bones over those from dissolved coprolites. Care is necessary in
using either in a dissolved state, for at times the acid solvent is
in excess of what is safe; and seeing that bones are more costly
than the acid, this is very likely to take place, and when it does,
injury to the roots is very certain.

Potash is an element without which the Vine cannot bear
fruit. It is present to some extent in most soils, but to make
sure of its presence in the border a percentage should be added
to all Vine manures, either of nitrate or muriate of potash.

Sulphate of ammonia should be represented, but not neces-
sarily in large proportion, as the Vine is not so dependent on
ammonia as many other plants.

Sulphate of lime should be represented, as it has not only a
directly beneficial action, but a reflex one, making some of the
other ingredients more active than they would be without it.

These are the four elements most essential in the composition
of a good safe manure, and I have found it of great importance
that especially the phosphates should be in forms that will
come into action one after the other, and go on doing so for
years. Suchis the composition of the manure we have used with
good results for a dozen years, and our Vines are more fruitful
now than they were at any date during the last twenty
years.

If I had to make up a new border I would add half a
hundredweight of such manure as I have indicated to the
cartload of soil, and follow that up by forking a portion of it
into the surface of the border annually, so as to keep the roots
near the surface, where they can be easily fed, and where they
will be in wholesome, well-aerated soil, instead of diving down to
the bottom of the border, as we but too frequently find them
doing, with very bad results to the fruit.

I know of no treatment likely to do Vines greater harm than
pouring quantities of muddy liquid manure on the borders, and
especially if soot is mixed with it, as I have sometimes seen
recommended. This seals up the pores of the surface of the
border, and prevents the salutary influence of the air on the
soil. At the same time, liquid manure from cow-sheds and
stables may be used with very great advantage, if necessary
precautions are adopted. It should be mixed with an equivalent

SOILS AND MANURES FOR GRAPES. : 59

of water, and stand ina tank for at least a week before it is
used, and be filtered through sand, burned clay, or charcoal.
During the week a process of decomposition will take place,
the result being that the liquid will contain ammonia, phos-
phates, and potash in proportions that may vary with the food
the cattle are fed on, that from the stables being by far the
richest in ammonia.

I cannot too strongly condemn the practice of placing large
quantities of rank dung on Vine-borders where the Vines are
to be forced early, either for the purpose of enriching the border
or warming it. It most effectually sours the border, and does
much harm in a manner which time will not allow me to
explain.

Where Vines are to be forced early, and the roots are in an
outside border, I advise that dry leaves be first laid on the surface
of the border and then thatched with reeds or straw. This
retains the heat the border got from the autumn sun, and does
the soil no harm.

During hot, dry weather, and where the soil of the Vine-
border is on the side of being light, I advise that a couple of
inches in depth of well-prepared farmyard manure be laid on
the surface of the soil. It will prevent the over-rapid evapora-
tion of moisture, while it will not prevent the beneficial action
of the air on the soil.

I have now dealt with the subjects you have assigned to me,
as fully as the portion of your time I feel warranted in occupy-
ing will admit.

I have endeavoured to avoid all technical and _ purely
scientific terms as far as possible, believing that the primary
object of such papers is to popularise the subjects of which
they treat.

PACKING GRAPES.
By Mr. W. Coutemay, F.R.H.S.

THe packing of Grapes for transit by rail, often to a considerable
distance, is a matter which requires a greater amount of atten-
tion than is frequently given to it. Many cultivators produce

60 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

excellent fruit, but very often damage or completely spoil it
through not knowing how to pack it. The great art of packing,
not only Grapes, but all sorts of tender fruit, either for market or
private use, is more than half attained when the young beginner
gets over the fear of packing too tightly; for if once allowed to
move or change their position, after the boxes are handed over to
the tender mercies of a railway company, the contents suffer to
an extent that greatly depreciates their value. Some growers use
baskets that will hold from eighteen to twenty pounds each,
and four of these, when packed in a case of suitable size with
handles at each end, make up a weight that protects them from
being turned over by the railway porters. For private growers,
boxes of uniform size that will hold from eighteen to twenty
pounds each are best; indeed, boxes that will just hold the
quantity required are preferable to baskets, as they do not so
readily give way to pressure. ‘These should be made of half-inch
deal, twenty-four inches long, fourteen inches wide, and six
inches deep. The best material for general packing is soft, dry
moss, of which a large supply should be obtained when the
weather is fine, thoroughly dried, and beaten with sticks to
destroy the harshness and free it from dust. Having the boxes
and moss at hand, proceed by placing a layer an inch or more
thick evenly over the bottom of the box, the sides, ends, and
botto»m of which should be lined with a double thickness of cap-
paper and a single thickness of silver paper, allowing one half of
the sheets to hang over the sides for turning over when the
packing isfinished. Weigh the box, carry it to the vinery, placing
it in a slanting position by raising one end to an angle of 45°.
Commence packing by placing good bunches in each of the
lower corners, keeping the shoulders well up to the level
of the sides; select a third bunch that will fit in tightly .
between the other two. Proceed in this way until the box
is half full, then raise the box toa sharper angle, and press
the bunches still closer together. Finish cutting, reserving
three short clumpy bunches for the last row. Return to the
Grape-room, take the gross weight, deduct the weight of the
box, and write the net weight on a card. Place the box flat
upon the table; get a supply of moss near the right hand, and
commence wedging the Grapes away from the sides by the intro-
duction of small quantities of moss into the cavities formed by

PACKING GRAPES. 61

drawing the three thicknesses of paper inwards; gradually work
round, constantly drawing the paperinwards until the berries begin
to show signs of rising out of the box. Strain a sheet of paper over
the top; secure the card containing the weight with a tack. Turn
up the paper from the outside, andsecure the lid. Some gardeners
place moss or wadding over the paper, and thus take all the
bloom off the shoulders. Nothing more than a sheet of paper
should be placed between the Grapes and the lid ; the pressure of
the elastic moss keeps every berry in its place, prevents the loss
of bloom by friction, and the stalks which stand upwards prevent
the shoulders from touching the hd.

The preceding directions apply to Hamburghs; Muscats,
being more tender, require greater care, and the less they are
handled the better, as any undue pressure or friction causes them
to change colour when opened and exposed to the air. They
must, however, have sufficient packing to prevent them from
moving in transit. If the bunches are very large it may be
necessary to use wider boxes, but they need not be deeper.
Having prepared the box by laying two inches of moss at the
bottom, line the sides and ends with strips of wadding folded in
silver paper, and proceed as before by tilting the box to a sharp
angle. Place a double sheet of silver paper in the lower angle,
allowing two-thirds to run along the bottom. Cut the first
bunch, lay it lengthwise across the box, turn up the ends of the
paper, and draw them with both hands over the bunch towards
the lower end. Then take a strip of wadding, four inches by
twelve, and place it against the bunch to form a division; lay in
another double sheet of paper, and proceed by Jaying the next
bunch with the shoulders in the opposite direction. Turn up the
ends of the paper as before, and draw the second bunch close to
the first. Add another strip of wadding, and repeat until the
box is full, when by raising it to a sharper angle, the weight of
- the fruit, aided by very slight pressure with the fingers, will —
make room for another bunch. [Fill all vacancies round the
sides by forcing moss between the wood and the lining ; fold the
upstanding ends of the paper evenly over the fruit, and secure the
lid with two small nails. Enclose the record of the weight, and
cord each box singly or two together. Wadding must be used
with great care, and on no account be put in contact with the
Grapes. f

62 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Lady Downes, Alicantes (fig. 7), and other kinds having long
tapering bunches may be treated as Muscats, placing them
transversely across the box; but it is not necessary to place

anything between them, as they are less susceptible to bruising.
Indeed, the tighter and closer these kinds are pressed together the
better they travel. Lady Downes (fig. 8), unless very fine indeed,

PACKING GRAPES. 68

do not require a six-inch box; but it simplifies the matter of
packing if all the boxes are of uniform size, and the unnecessary
depth may be reduced by increasing the thickness of the layer

yy /~

Wy
.

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jd
Si iininasiia ini y

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me iisudsssuuuylasnunanbeid

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Fic. 8.—Lapy Downres Grape. (From Mr. Barron’s work on the Vine.)

of moss at the bottom. The bunches of the kinds that are
laid transversely across the box should not, however, touch the
paper, which should be drawn tightly over the top of the box
and retain its position by being nailed down with the lid.

64 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The keystone of success in adopting the foregoing system
lies in the use of dry, soft moss, the cheapest and best material
for general packing, and this should be forced down between
the sides of the box and the paper until it begins to form an
arch near the lid, when the boxes may be turned upside down
without injury to the Grapes.

PACKING PEACHES AND FIGS8.
By Mr. W. Couemany, F.R.H.S.

Here, as in the packing of Grapes, the secret of success consists
in the use of a soft, elastic material, which will keep each fruit
in its place until it reaches its destination. Various materials
have been recommended, such, for instance, as bran, wood-wool,
wadding, and moss, all of which I have used extensively in my
time, but for many years past I have confined myself to soft,
dry moss—the best and cheapest of all packing materials. If
properly beaten and prepared, it is soft and elastic, and never
heats in the boxes. Be careful in the use of bran—an excellent
thing if pressed very tight; but having a tendency to sink in
bulk when shaken on the journey, the Peaches become loose,
separate from the packing, and arrive in a bruised and worthless
condition. Never use wadding—the worst of all packing materials
for soft, perishable fruit—as it absorbs moisture, becomes very
hard, and heats on the journey. Avoid using large boxes ;
94 x 14 x 4} inches is a suitable size for twenty to twenty-
four fine fruits. Always have the lds in one piece, and cord
two or more boxes together. Place the direction-label and one
marked ‘‘Fruit with care, this side up,” on the top, to be met at
the terminus. Always gather in close at the end of the week,
and never send away later than Friday morning. Although
Peaches may be sufficiently advanced for sending away, their
hold is too firm to admit of their being plucked from the tree
without injury by the pressure of the fingers; but if a piece
of wadding be taken in the left hand, with which the Peach
is firmly grasped, and a pair of finely pointed scissors are used
with the right, it may be detached without being bruised.
It should then be placed on a piece of tissue-paper nine

PACKING PEACHES AND FIGS. 65

inches square, and laid in a shallow basket containing a
good bed of moss. When gathering, which should always
be performed in the morning, is finished, prepare the boxes
by lining the sides and ends with paper, allowing the half of
each sheet to hang over the sides for turning over the top
when all is finished. Then place a good layer of moss evenly
over the bottom, slightly elevate one end, and commence by
folding the fruit in the sheets of paper on which they are
resting. Shake a little moss along the lower end of the box,
- and place the first Peach in the left-hand corner, keeping it in its
place with the left hand; follow with more moss and fruit, never
removing the hand until the first row of four fruits is finished ;
form a division with more packing, and proceed until the box is
full. Hach Peach will then be resting in a soft bed of moss, an
inch from the bottom, and the same distance from the adjoining
fruits. Continue the introduction of packing until every fruit is
quite firm in its place ; spread a layer of moss over the top, turn up
the half sheets, and puton the lid. A little judgment is needed in
putting on the last layer of moss, as safety in transit depends upon
the tightness secured in putting on the lid. If moss cannot be
obtained, and bran is used, the boxes should be well lined with
plenty of paper to turn over the top, to prevent it from working
out. Make a good bed, as fruit is often spoiled by being placed
too near the bottom ; place all the Peaches on this bed, keeping
them half an inch from the sides and an inch apart; fill up with
bran and shake it down, but do not trust to shaking only, as
shaking on the railway soon reduces the bulk, and in nine cases
out of ten, where bran is used, the Peaches work up to the top
or one end, and the bran going in another direction, they arrive
in a bruised condition. An abundance of bran should be worked
into the corners and between the fruit, and well pressed down
with the fingers until every part is firm, and a little higher than
the sides of the box; then turn over the paper and nail down the
lid. When packing for market, always make ‘firsts’? and
** seconds,’’ and place record of quantity on the lid.

When large ripe Peaches have to be packed for immediate
use, they should be gathered a day or two before they are wanted,
and placed upon squares of paper on hair sieves. Great care
must be observed in moving them, with pads of wadding in the
hands, and an extra quantity of moss should be placed under

F

66 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

them in the boxes. The folding of these and all tender fruit is
best performed on a sheet of wadding spread upon the table, and
they should be packed with the points upwards. Nectarines
can be packed in shallower boxes ; in other respects they should
be the same size, as a number of boxes can then be corded
together.

Packine Fias.

The packing of ripe Figs for transit to a distance requires
great care, particularly when they are quite ripe. For market
purposes they should be gathered as soon as they are well
coloured and show a tendency to open at the apex, when they
can be packed without injury, and will keep for a few days after
they are received. If the house is keptthoroughly dry and well
ventilated, the fruit can be gathered in much better condition
than when it is charged with moisture.

For private purposes they should be gathered and despatched
on the day they are required for use, care being taken that each
fruit is wrapped in or two soft, dry vine-leaves, to prevent the
adhesion of the tissue-paper. With this additional precaution,
they are packed in precisely the same way as Peaches, but the
boxes for Figs need not be quite so deep, neither should they be
so large, at least without having divisions placed across them. A
box 4 inches deep, 24 inches long, and divided into three com-
partments by two transverse divisions, is a good size where large
quantities are grown. When large extra-ripe Figs are packed
for immediate use, some growers use boxes divided into squares
just large enough for a single fruit. In every other respect the
modus operandi is precisely the same as that already described.
The secret of success in packing all kinds of tender fruit consists
in keeping it free from bruise or taint, and in using non-odorous
elastic materials that will prevent the slightest movement in
transit.

Wood-wool, recently introduced, isa good substitute for moss;
but, non-odorous materials being absolutely necessary to the
preservation of delicate flavour, its manufacture from resinous
timber should at once be discontinued. If the introducer could
see his way to the conversion of lime-tree, willow, or poplar into
wood-wool, it might be used by all who cannot obtain good moss

for packing purposes.

67

CRINUMS.

By Sir Coarztes W. StTRIcKLAND, Bart., F.R.H.S.
[Read October 14, 1890.]

In the remarks that I am going to make upon the plants of the
genus Crinwm with which I am acquainted I do not intend to
deal in any way with the naming of them. Many of those that
I know have had two or more different names given to them,
and a large number of the names that I know have been applied
to two or more different plants. All that I propose to do is to
try and arrange in some kind of order those plants which I have
had in cultivation ; but as this includes only a part of those
described by Mr. Baker and others, it must be understocd that a
fuller acquaintance with all the recorded species might materially
alter this arrangement. I divide the genus into two large
groups, which are very distinct from one another both in their
habit of growth and in the form of the flowers. The first has
columnar, leafy bulbs like a Leek, evergreen leaves, for the most
part erect and spreading, and perfectly even, symmetrical, star-
shaped flowers on the top of straight, upright tubes, and with
upright, spreading, usually straight stamens. This group includes
Mr. Baker’s sub-genera of Stenaster and Platyaster, between
which I cannot see any sufficiently marked line of distinction.
A large part of this group comes from Asia, Australia, and the
South Sea Islands, especially those with very narrow petals.
A few very beautiful forms with wider petals come from tropical
America. The other group is the same as Mr. Baker’s sub-
genus Codonocrinum. These are very different in character from
the first group. They have round bulbs lke an Onion, many of
them are deciduous, and others which are not quite deciduous
grow in a similar manner to the deciduous ones. The tube of
the flowers is curved, and the flowers are nodding, bell-shaped,
and more or less ringent, and with broad petals. The stamens
are curved, often lying close together. There appear to be a few
species which are more or less intermediate between the two
great groups. There are only two or three of these which I
have any acquaintance with, but I think that most of the species
which I have not seen, which are figured, may be arranged in
one of the two groups.
F2

68 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Of the plants with very narrow petals, I have examples bought
under various names, ¢.g., asiaticum, latifolium, pedunculatum,
procerum, pedunculatum from Lord Howe’s Island, species from
South Sea Islands, species from Japan, swmatranwm, bracteatum.
&e., all of them large plants with thick, columnar, leafy bulbs, large,
upright, spreading leaves, and with heads of rather insignificant
flowers with purple style and stamens, and all equally with short
peduncles, which vary in length in the same head of flowers. Some
of these are very near to one another, the plants especially being
undistinguishable. The plant from Japan differs from the rest
in having very short, broad leaves, and short, blunt petals. The
plant I have under the name of procerwmis figured in the Botanical
Magazine, 2231, as C. declinatum; it is a very tall plant with
broad, wavy leaves and very small flowers. C. swmatranwm (Bot.
Reg. 1049) has longer and wider (not upright) petals, and is easily
known by the dull, darkish green of its broad, stiff leaves. C.
bracteatum (Bot. Reg. 179) is a similar plant with leaves of a
brighter green and more shining; a short scape and large head
of flowers, with much broader, more upright, pure white petals.
In C. amabile the bulb becomes conical and less leafy, resem-
bling rather more a tall bulb than a column of leaves. So also
in C. erubescens the column approaches a short conical bulb.
In form and habit, and in being stoloniferous, this approaches
C. americanum, and like that species comes from tropical
America. It is easily known by its very dark green foliage, and
the scape being mottled like Snakewood. I have three or four
varieties of C. americanum under various names—americanum,
Carolinianum, pratense from Florida, and Careyanwm, the last
being a large form and Caroluuanuwm a somewhat smaller
one, all equally beautiful. A plant from the sea-shore, Jamaica,
resembles these, but with a very long coloured tube, and buds
which are upright before expanding. Im this respect it rather
resembles the small plant from Fernando Po, C. purpurascens,
which has flower-tubes longer than the scape. These are the
principal of the star-shaped Crinums with which I am
acquainted.

There are two very distinct species which are intermediate
in habit and form of flowers between the star-shaped and
campanulate Crinums which I have in cultivation. One named
crassipes by Mr. Baker, from a plant of mine, has a thick,

CRINUMS. — 69

conical bulb, very thick, broad, upright leaves, ending in
a long point, a short scape, and a few upright flowers, not
Opening wide, and slightly ringent. It differs much both in
habit and form of flowers from any of the species which are
described and figured. Unfortunately I cannot say whence it
comes. I bought it many years ago at Henderson’s, where it
was growing in a very cold house, and I grow it with the
deciduous Crinums from the Cape, which are nearly hardy. Then,
C. pratense has a distinct bulb, round at the base, with a tapering
neck, very long, narrow-pointed, deeply channelled leaves, grow-
ing straight upright, and a head of few upright flowers, more
campanulate than star-shaped, on a short scape. Some of the
Australian Crinums seem to be allied to this, as far as I can
judge from figures.

Of the second great group with round bulbs and cam-
panulate flowers, C. gigantewm and its allies approach most
nearly in habit to the former group. They have evergreen
lanceolate leaves. In C. gigantewm and the plant sold by Mr.
Bull as C. nobile, which appears to be a highly coloured variety
of gigantewm, the leaves are spreading immediately above the
bulb, very wavy, and the plant altogether hardly distinguishable
from that of C. zeylanicwm, figured in the Botanical Magazine,
2466, as C. Careyanum; but there is another form of C. gigan-
tewm, with upright, petiolate leaves, with a stout midrib and
thin blades, varying very much in width. C. podophyllum has
the appearance of a starved variety of this form.

Allied to these in habit comes the finest of the whole genus,
well known as C. Moore, figured and described also under the
name of C. Macowam. It is quite distinct from all others in
having a long, narrow neck above its large round bulb, crowned
with thin, broad, lanceolate leaves, with a thick midrib, springing,
not in a line with the neck, but at a very obtuse angle. It
has very large campanulate flowers, with broad petals, varying
from pink to nearly white. The Glasnevin plant (Botanical
Magazine, 6113) has the flowers darker pink than I have ever
seen them, arising possibly from being grown out of doors.

We now come to the deciduous Crinums and those allied to
them. These make three or four fresh leaves every year, which
last for three years, dying down more or less completely in the
winter, so that the three or four middle leaves are the middle

70 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

part of last year’s leaves, and the three or four bottom leaves
are the base of the leaves of the year before. They all have cam-
panulate nodding flowers, with the ends of the petals more or
less rolled back, and with a more or less bright red stripe down
the middle of each petal. I believe that all of these very
beautiful plants are African. From C. Kirki of Zanzibar to
C. longifolium at the Cape and C. yucceflorwm of the West
Coast a series of intermediate forms are found. One rather
extreme form is Mr. Baker’s C. pauciflorwm, with two flowers with
very long tubes, which I have from Lake Nyassa. I have two
or three forms from the Upper Zambesi, varying in the colour
and width of the leaves and the length of the tube; and as the
interior of Africa becomes better known, no doubt we shall
obtain from thence a great variety of forms of this beautiful
plant, which may be called varieties of one species, or a dozen
or more different species, according to the fancy of the botanist
who describes and names them. They all have nodding cam-
panulate flowers, with the ends of the petals more or less rolled
back, and with a more or less distinct purplish red stripe along
the middle of each petal. Towards the West Coast of Africa
are some forms with somewhat narrower petals, less rolled back,
and with a very bright stripe. C. scabrwm, from Brazil, and a
plant that seems to be common in Jamaica, resemble these
closely. I suppose that they have been brought from Africa by
slave ships.

In the largest of the deciduous Crinums that I have—coming
I believe, from Natal or thereabouts—the bulb is five or six
inches in diameter, the leaves four or five inches wide in the
second year, more in the third year; a large head of nearly
white, bell-shaped, nodding flowers, with the tips of the petals
rolled back. I have had it under the name of campanulatum,
which well describes it; and as the plant generally known
as canypanulatum is figured in the Botanical Magazine, 2352, as
C. aquaticum, which describes it far better than C. campanu-
latwm does, it might perhaps be as well to keep this name for
the large kind.

Another similar large bulb has shorter flowers, with much
more colour. Mr. Baker thought the flower the same as that of
C. Forbes, but it is not the same as the plant at Kew of that
name.

CRINUMS. vg |

Another extreme form of the deciduous Crinums is C. cam-
panulatum, or aquaticum, a swamp plant, with cylindrical, very
deeply channelled leaves, and flowers very like those of the
flowering Rush (Butomus wmbellatus). I will now only notice
two interesting species with which I am only very imperfectly
acquainted: C. brachynema, with small, beautiful, creamy
white flowers, with round petals and very short stamens—
the flowers are symmetrical, and it comes from India, so I
suppose that its affinities are with the columnar, star-shaped
group, although it has a round bulb—and C. Balfowri, which
has around bulb and flaccid, shining, strap-shaped leaves, so that
no doubt its relations are African ; but it has pure white flowers,
and seems to differ rather widely from them.

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS.

By Dr. Maxwett T. Mastsrs, F.RB.S.
[Read October 28, 1890.]

In introducing this subject the speaker briefly adverted to
the necessity for securing open spaces in our large towns, and to
the importance of planting from a sanitary as well as from an
esthetic point of view. A thousand houses per month, it is
roughly estimated, are added to this overgrown metropolis of
London, every one of the five million inhabitants of which is con-
tinually polluting its atmosphere, to say nothing of the defile-
ment arising from factories and chimneys. The necessity of secur-
ing open spaces, and of planting them appropriately, is, therefore,
a matter of urgency. But these considerations, vast as their
importance is, were only incidentally adverted to, as they are for
the most part beyond the control of the gardener. The speaker
desired to confine his remarks almost entirely to matters in
which gardeners are directly concerned, and in. which they can,
if permitted, render good service.

The conditions unfavourable to the growth of trees and
shrubs in large towns, such as over-drained and otherwise
unsuitable soil, the relative absence of light, the mechanical
impurities of the atmosphere, which obstruct and cripple healthy
action, or chemical contaminations, such as acid vapours, which,

79, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

by actually destroying the tissues, render leaf-action impossible,
were likewise merely mentioned incidentally, as they also are, for
the most part, beyond the power of the gardener, as such, to
prevent or improve.

Nor was it considered necessary on this occasion to allude
to the decoration of streets, squares, or parks by means of
plants in tubs or pots, or by the aid of shrubs removed when
rendered unsightly, to be replaced by others in the following
spring.

Turning to the kind of assistance which gardeners are able to
render in the purification and adornment of our crowded cities
and thoroughfares, the speaker first of all alluded to the question
of soil. In most cases, when streets were originally planned
and buildings erected, no provision at all was made for the
planting of trees and shrubs in their immediate vicinity, and,
even now, in the formation of streets and gardens attached to
houses in suburban districts, the first care of the builder is to
remove the good soil, if there be any, to sell it, if possible, and
to supply the deficiency by brickbats, mortar-rubbish, broken
bottles, tin cans, and similar refuse, by means of which the
levels can be raised to the desired height, without a thought of
the nurseries for disease-germs which are thus established. In
streets of older date the conditions are even worse, from the
infiltration of gas, the scanty provision for the access of air and
water to the roots, or even the positive exclusion of those neces-
sary compounds by asphalte or other impermeable road-coverings.
The first thing, therefore, for the street-planter to do, when once
the area at his disposal is decided on, is to ascertain the nature
of the soil, and, in case of need, to remove that which is
unsuitable, and replace it with that which is fit for the growth
of plants. So far as circumstances will allow, he will also take
measures to avoid or to remedy the other evils alluded to.

It is but rarely, in street-planting in old towns, that any
special provision for drainage is necessary, one of the com-
monest evils in such instances arising from over-drainage. In
the case of squares and gardens formed in areas not previously
built over, of course the first thing the planter will do will be to
secure adequate drainage by the ordinary methods. In street-
planting a hole not less than five or six feet across, and three or
four feet in depth, should be dug, the unsuitable soil removed

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. 73

and replaced by good loam, with which sand or road-scrapings
may be incorporated in quantity proportionate to the density of
the loam. A small quantity of leaf-mould may also be added,
but, as a rule, the most experienced planters deprecate the
employment of manure, at least in the first instance. Discon-
nected pits or holes are commonly the only possible means, but
in laying out new streets it would be far better, wherever
possible, to form a continuous trench, removing the bad soil and
supplying its place with good.

The distance to be secured between tree and tree is dependent
upon the size the tree is likely to attain. Generally from thirty
to forty feet is allowed in street planting. The necessity of taking
precautions that the roots are not injured by gas leakage is obvious.
This may be effected by interposing slabs of slate between the tree
and the pipes. The fact that trees will grow if they have a chance
is too often overlooked, and we find, as on the Thames Embank-
ment, forest trees of large dimensions planted much too closely,
as if the ultimate object were to obtain scaffold-poles or ships’
masts. There are various ways of obviating or overcoming the
evils of overcrowding (which, by the way, is even more frequent
in shrubberies), as, for instance, by the Hibernian method of
avoiding them altogether, by the selection of low-growing trees
and shrubs that if planted sufficiently far apart will never
encroach upon and weaken each other; by timely thinning—a
process usually quite neglected in towns; and lastly, and least
scientifically, by periodically pruning and reducing the dimen-
sions of the tree. This last is ‘the plan followed on the Thames
Embankment, with the result that the trees are made to re-
semble those toy-trees with which we were familiar in our
childhood, but which can scarcely be held up as models for
imitation except by those who prefer conventional to natural
forms.

In planting in towns the same precautions are required as in
ordinary cases elsewhere. The trees should have been previously
transplanted in the nursery, so as to secure the formation of a
good ‘‘ ball’ of fibrous roots, which will not only facilitate trans-
plantation, but also increase the feeding capacity of the tree, and
if the soil be good there will be no temptation for the roots to
wander in search of food.

Some practitioners recommend that the trees should be

74 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

selected from some nursery where the conditions of life, at least
as far as exposure and temperature are concerned, are less
favourable than they are in the locality to which they are to be
transplanted. Certainly the converse is true, as no one would,
on principle, willingly expose to the hurtful agencies of the
streets plants taken from more sheltered and wholesome situa-
tions.

Nevertheless, in practice, it is not always possible to avoid
this, and such is the accommodating nature of plants, that,
eranted an ordinary amount of judgment in the selection,
adequate care in preparing the soil for their reception, and due
provision for their welfare after planting, a difference of a few
degrees of latitude or of a few hundreds of feet of altitude will
practically make no difference.

In planting care should be exercised in spreading the roots,
so that they may not become entangled one with another, but
may grow evenly on all sides, and thus be enabled to avail
themselves of food in every direction.

The error of too deep planting should also be avoided.* The
tree should be firmly planted, and supplied with a stake to pre-
vent rocking and displacement until the roots have grown into
the soil, and are enabled to “hold on.’’ The stake should be
high enough to prevent the head of the tree from being snapped
off by a gust of wind—a circumstance very likely to happen if
the stake be too short in proportion to the trunk.

In attaching the tree to the stake, the tie, of whatever nature
it be, should be elastic or loosely applied, so as to ‘‘ give” a
little under pressure and allow of a little swaying motion. In-
attention to these matters is very likely to result in the breaking
away of the head from the trunk of the tree. The woodcuts,
borrowed from the pages of the Gardeners’ Chronicle, will illus-

* In the neighbourhood of London several instances are familiar to the
speaker which seem to show that deep planting and the exclusion of air are
not so injurious as generally supposed. In one case the trunk of a Labur-
num is, and has been for thirty years, buried in a bank of earth nearly to
the point where the first branches are given off. In another case a Maple
(Acer monspessulanum), formerly growing in a garden, now finds itself in
the footpaths of a street with the flag-stones close to its base. A Pear-tree
is in like case, but neither seems the worse. The explanation probably is
that the feeding root-fibres are far away beyond the obstruction, and where
access of air and water is not precluded.

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. 76

trate these matters. In fig. 9 the stake is too short and too
tightly affixed to the trunk; in fig. 10 it is also too short, but
as it is looser there is less risk of the head snapping off. Fig. 11
shows a young tree on the Thames Embankment too much
restricted.

A very suitable description of tie is one that the lecturer first
saw in use in the gardens of Mr. Warren, of Handcross Park,
Sussex. It was made of straw, and its construction can readily be
understood from the annexed woodcuts (figs. 12 and 18). Another
method of affixing a tree loosely but securely is shown in fig. 14.

se igi
MA Spe

(we Wile RMR
Fia. 10.

Where circumstances permit of its being carried out, a better
plan than staking is to drive into the ground in an oblique direc-
tion, pointing outwards, three stakes at equal distances from the
base of the tree, so as to form a triangle. The tree itself, at a
height of four or five feet, is encircled by a ring of felt or

76 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

matting, round which a hoop of galvanised wire is placed, the
stakes being connected with the hoop by wires. Or the plan
recommended by Mr. Mills, of Enys Gardens, and shown at
figs. 15 and 16, may be adopted where space permits. If a proper

iT

fa

il

uy

en R
Se \ea

| aq ie

Fira. 13.

}

WS

tree-guard be used, however, no staking at all is required. In
the Royal Gardens, Kew, a tree-guard of iron rods is made use of.
At the upper and inner part of the cylinder so formed a ring of
old indiarubber hose-pipe is attached, which forms a circular

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. a7

cushion around, but at some distance from the trunk. A mulch-
ing around the roots, kept in place by the grating, in that situa-
tion is of great benefit to the tree by retaining the moisture of
the soil, and may be renewed from time to time.

Supposing the tree to have been suitably planted and pro-
tected, it still demands occasional attention. Town gardeners
too often ignore the circumstance that occasional inspection is
necessary, and that a timely application of the hose to the roots
in time of drought, or the frequent use of the spray to the
leaves to ensure their periodical cleansing, are of the greatest
possible benefit to the trees and shrubs condemned to grow
within the limits of wind-swept or dirt-polluted towns. The
injury that may be inflicted by the steam-roller should not be
overlooked, the speaker instancing a street in Chelsea, and an-
other in Southwark, where the roots of the tree had been
massacred by this instrument, and where the trees in conse-
quence had well-nigh perished, and would probably soon do so
utterly.

These and other practical details are well understood by
trained gardeners, and it is a misfortune when the management
of town trees and of town gardens is confided to persons destitute
of the necessary knowledge and experience. At the same time
even trained gardeners are too apt to allow themselves to be
trammelled by long-established, but unintelligent, routine, and to
pay scant attention to the mode of growth, habits, and require-
ments of individual plants. The thoughtless treatment of
shrubberies and shrubbery borders, the ruthless disturbance of
the roots, the mutilation and massacre of the branches and
trunks that go on under the name of pruning and “ tree-cutting,”’
may be seen in every suburban road. The hideous deformities
into which trees are converted by the knife and saw are mostly
the outcome of previous neglect and inattention. For want of
occasional attention and regulation of growth, by means of dis-
budding or the removal of young shoots, trees are allowed to
overgrow their limits, or to become misshapen and unsymmetrical.
When this happens the trees become, as was once observed to
the speaker by a gardener, ‘“‘ hugly things!’’ As a matter of
fact not a few town dwellers never have an opportunity of seeing
the noble grandeur of an unmutilated tree, nor of studying the
manifold ways in which trees, each according to its kind, adapt

718 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

themselves to circumstances, and yet examples are not wanting in
the parks, and even in the squares of London. The gardener to
whom allusion has been made was adding to the ugliness of the
trees by the mutilation he was practising. Happily nature does
much in a few short months to conceal the deformity, and
although the original beauty and individuality of form may be
destroyed beyond power of recovery, yet after a time the de-
formity becomes concealed and the degree of ugliness abated.
If trees of the right kind and dimensions, trees of form appro-
priate to the surroundings, be made use of and properly planted,
and if their subsequent welfare be attended to, this rude
surgery will be found, for the most part, unnecessary. The
kind of surgery employed should be that known to the faculty
as ‘‘ preventive ’’ and ‘‘ conservative,’’ and should comprise the
occasional suppression of buds or the removal of misplaced,
diseased, or over-luxuriant shoots, as recommended by one
William Shakespeare in the following terms :—
Cut off the heads of too fast-growing sprays,
. . superfluous branches lop away.

These measures, if carefully carried out in accordance with
the natural shape and mode of growth of the tree, will eventually
secure a well-grown specimen, and will obviate the necessity for
those barbarous practices which in most of our suburbs do really
render trees in the winter season objects of aversion rather than
of gratification.

Of course, pruning and training of trees into unnatural
shapes are necessitated for special purposes. Those who have
sought refuge from the autumn sun and dust under the avenues
and pergolas of an Italian ‘or Swiss town will be disposed
to thank the pruner for the welcome roof of foliage he has
provided, rather than blame him for the contortions and
deformities of the branches he has been the means of deve-
loping. These, moreover, do not obtrude themselves till the
winter season, when the traveller is no longer there to see
them.

But even in such cases the desired effect could be secured
without mutilation and distortion, by the simple means of
employing broad-leaved creepers like the Vine, Aristolochia Supho,
and other plants of like habit.

In too many cases the selection of subjects for town gardens

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. 79

is entrusted to some person unacquainted with trees and shrubs,
or a contract is given to a nurseryman by which he binds
himself to furnish a certain number of trees, or to plant a
certain area at the lowest remunerative cost. The consequence is
that little or no care is exercised in selecting appropriate plants
properly prepared for removal. The nurseryman—vyery pro-

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Steg DOS rn

perly from his point of view—avails himself of the oppor-
tunity to clear off his refuse and surplus stock. The fault here
rests with the ignorance and false economy of the purchaser.

In selecting suitable subjects for planting, the circumstances
of each case must first of all be taken into consideration, such
as the climate and general atmospheric and terrestrial conditions ;
the nature of the locality in which the planting is to be carried

80 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

out—whether in a street, in the form of avenues, in immediate
association with architectural objects, and if so of what style, or
in town squares of large dimensions, in narrow courts, as
specimen trees on lawns, or as groups in plantations or
shrubberies. These are obvious truisms, but how often do we
see them ignored in practice! In ordinary street-planting it is
desirable to employ trees whose form will associate fitly with
the architectural features, and it is not desirable to select trees
that will attain the largest dimensions. The object, indepen-
dently of the purification of the atmosphere, is to secure shade

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WAPGEE
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and an agreeable outlook for the inhabitants and passers-by,
not to exclude the light and air from the upper stories of the
houses, nor to render them damp. The general use of the Plane
is to be deprecated for this reason. Where there is abundance of
space at command no nobler or more suitable tree can be found ;
notice, for instance, the
Brotherhood of venerable trees

to be seen in Berkeley Square—a magnificent group in the centre
of the town. But trees of such dimensions and of spreading habit
lining the sides of a street would be highly inconvenient. If
planted at all in such situations, constant pruning and regulating
are necessitated, with the result of producing an artificial
and constrained appearance.’

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. 81

On the other hand, there are plenty of trees of moderate
dimensions and of habit of growth suitable for association with
architectural features of whatever style, harmonising or contrast-
ing with them as may be desired. The difficulty in many cases
arises from the circumstance that, owing to the small demand for
them, nurserymen do not grow them in sufficient quantities.
But if a demand were to spring up, commercial instincts may be
trusted to supply the requirements with very little loss of time.
Another difficulty, perhaps even more prevalent, but one, fortu-
nately, capable of more ready solution, is the general ignorance
of the extent and variety of our resources. How many town
gardeners and professional planters visit the arboretum at the
Royal Gardens at Kew with the object of gaining information
on these points? Not many, it is to be feared. They will
flock to see an excruciatingly glaring bit of bedding-out, they
will admire a blaze of Rhododendrons in flower, they will
gloat over Standard Roses, rave over Dahlias, and manifest
symptoms of hallucination in regard to Cattleyas or Chrysan-
themums, but they will ignore the existence of fine trees
and flowering shrubs. No one of sense will disparage any
one of these beautiful things; it is the indiscriminate and dis-
proportionate attachment to some of them that is objection-
able, as leading to the neglect of others equally entitled to
admiration. The recommendation to visit a well-stocked arbore-
tum like that at Kew, or a nursery where trees and shrubs are
made special objects of attention, is one, therefore, that should
commend itself to town gardeners desirous of making the best of
their opportunities and resources. While the arboretum and the
nursery should be visited for the purpose of selecting subjects
suitable by their dimensions, habit, and form for the purpose
intended, other visits should be paid to the parks, squares, and
streets of our large towns, especially those which have been
planted for some years, with a view of ascertaining what trees
and shrubs do best in such situations.

In visiting old-established gardens, like that at Fulham
Palace for instance, which is famed for its interesting trees
planted by Bishop Compton about 1685, it must be remem-
bered that at the time when those trees were planted the condi-
tions were much more propitious to healthy growth than they are
at present. Trees of the same kind planted in that locality now are

G

82, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

not likely to attain such dimensions or live to such an age as the
venerable relics still tobe seen at Fulham. It is useless lament-
ing over spilt milk, but the loss of the arboretum and shrubbery-
walk at Chiswick, once so rich in the very class of plants we are
now considering, will revert to mind, and, as the French say,
donne a penser.

There are happily many towns still left where any tree or
shrub that is capable of living in the immediately surrounding
neighbourhood is capable of living in the town also. From this
point of view the ‘‘ Sylva,” if such term may be permitted, of
Canterbury or Oxford is not necessarily different from that of the
country adjoining. But it is widely different in the case of cities
like Glasgow, Newcastle, Sheffield, or Manchester, and more
especiallyin the case of towns where the airisnot only mechanically
defiled by the presence of smoke and dirt, but rendered actively
poisonous by the existence of sulphurous and other acid vapours
from chemical works. Of the latter class of towns, and of the trees
and shrubs that will exist in their vicinity, the lecturer had little
personal experience ; but that circumstance does not depreciate
the value of the recommendation that intending planters in such
towns should, before commencing operations, make a careful
inspection of such trees and shrubs as exist there already. The
consideration of this part of the subject led the lecturer to
advocate the formation of town experimental gardens, and of the
propriety of setting apart portions of the existing parks and
gardens for the express purpose of ascertaining by experiment
what trees, &c., are likely to do best (or least badly) in the
locality. For this purpose it would, of course, be necessary not
only to get together the ordinary Elms, Planes, Limes, &c., that
form the staple of our existing town-Sylva, but also to procure
other less known examples.

Experiments and observations of this kind demand time.
The town planter seeks immediate effect. He is not on that
account left stranded, or compelled to wait an indefinite period.
He can, as has been seen, make visits of inspection to arboreta.
and to town gardens, but over and above this the structure and
ways of life of the trees themselves may afford him many a
valuable suggestion. Deciduous trees, for instance, which come
into leaf in late spring are less lable to injury from late frosts
than are those which expand their foliage early. Moreover, they

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. 838

have to contend with a smaller dose of smoke than those which
unfold their leaves earlier in the spring. Trees, again, which
retain their foliage late are preferable to those in which the
leaves fall early. The comparison in this respect between
the Plane and the Lime is wholly in favour of the Plane.
Trees with thin, flaccid leaves, like those of the Lime, are
obviously at a disadvantage as compared with others in which
the leaves are firmer and more resistent. The former shrivel
with heat and drought much sooner than the latter. Trees
like the Lime, again, from the leaves of which exudes a gummy
or saccharine fluid, are unsuitable, inasmuch as the dust
adheres to them and is not readily dislodged by rain, while
the sweet juices are as nectar to undesirable insects, On the
other hand, leaves of firm texture with glossy skins, which are
soon cleansed, such as those of the Tulip-tree, the Cucumber-
tree (Magnolia acuminata), the Naples Alder (Alnus cordata),
some of the Poplars, many Maples, and the Copper Beech, are
well suited for towns. The Maidenhair-tree (Ginkgo biloba) is ex-
cellently adapted for planting in towns, though rarely seen.
In Brentford, in close vicinity to the gasworks of that noisome
town, in the Botanic Garden at Chelsea, and in the Bow Road,
fine trees of this species—isolated examples of course—may still
be seen. A superficial examination of the leaves of this species,
and of their mode of attachment, direction, and disposition, will
show how well adapted they are to resist the injurious effects of
a polluted atmosphere. Microscopical examination of these
leaves (as also those of the Iris, Carnation, and Auricula among
herbaceous plants, and which are all good town plants) will con-
firm the results of superficial examination by revealing a tough
and relatively thick epidermis, abundance of breathing pores, and
a relatively large amount of leaf-green or ‘chlorophyll.’ An
adequate supply of this latter substance is to the plant what a
corresponding supply of healthy blood is to the animal. Plants
richly endowed with it have naturally greater powers of resist-
ance than those less well provided. The thing is obvious to
truism.

Evergreens are called on to exert an even greater power of
resistance than are deciduous shrubs, but their glossy leaf-
surface, the thick texture of their leaves, and their accumulations
of deep green chlorophyll enable them to maintain themselves

G2

84 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

in the struggle to a degree that our predecessors hardly
appreciated. Those, for instance, who remember the squares
of London a quarter of a century or more ago will call to mind
the deplorable appearance they presented in winter from the
absence of evergreens and from the general prevalence of mud-
besmirched, leafless Privets and Lilacs. At that time there
reigned an impression that evergreens would not live in London.
In point of fact, Hollies, Aucubas, Skimmia japonica (the S. oblata
of gardens), and Osmanthus are among the very best and hardiest
trees and shrubs for town gardens. Rhododendrons, in the
speaker’s experience, form an exception to the rule; but as they
are reported to do well in and about Manchester, it is probably
the soil rather than the air which is unfavourable in London.
Conifers, as a rule, are useless in town-gardens, probably from
their resinous exudations serving to retain and fix the deposits
of soot on the leaves, and thus impeding transpiration and
respiration by blocking up the breathing pores.

A remarkable exception was mentioned by the speaker in the
case of Pinus excelsa, which grows fairly well in a London
garden where other Conifers (and many have been tried) have
failed. The slender drooping leaves, which allow the water that
falls on them to wash them ere it falls to the ground, may partly
account for this, though it will not do so in the case of the black
Austrian Pine (Pinus Laricio var. austriaca), which has also
been mentioned as doing well in towns, but of this the speaker
has no personal knowledge.

The Maidenhair-tree (Ginkgo biloba), though a Conifer, is
deciduous, and so exceptional in all ways as not to invalidate
the above statement. It is,as before said, by reason probably of
‘the conformation of its leaves, an excellent town tree.

In presenting the following lists the lecturer has confined him-
self for the most part to the enumeration of such trees, &c., as he
knows from personal experience and observation to do relatively
well ina smoky locality in a densely crowded part in the east
of London, and which, of course, may be seen under more
favourable conditions in the parks and nearer suburbs of the
metropolis. So far as the outlying suburbs and country towns
are concerned, the speaker’s observations have been made
only in places where the conditions of life, as regards atmo-
spheric impurity, are not very materially worse than in the

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. 85

open country, and where, in consequence, almost anything that
can be grown in the surrounding district can also be grown—
though, of course, not so well—within the limits of the town.
To have enumerated the trees, &c., which might be planted in
such situations would have swollen the lists to an inordinate
length. Nor have plants been included of which the speaker
has no personal knowledge. Some of these were mentioned by
those who took part in the discussion which followed, notes of
which are also appended.

I.—Decipuous TREES oF LARGE SIZE.

Maenolia glauca.

Magnolia acuminata (Cucumber-tree).

Magnolia obovata.

Maenolia conspicua.

Liriodendron Tulipifera (Tulip-tree).

Tilias (Limes). Only in country towns.

Acer macrophyllum.

Acer pseudo-Platanus (Sycamore), and many varieties, including
the purple-leaved variety.

Acer Volxemii. Should be tried.

Acer platanoides (Norway Maple), many varieties.

AXsculus Hippocastanum (Horse Chestnut). Has the objection that
its spiny capsules and shining seeds offer temptations to
stone-throwing boys that cannot be resisted. The double-
flowered variety would not be open to this drawback.

Ailanthus glandulosa (Tree of Heaven). An excellent and majestic
town tree, thriving even in the worst situations. It would
make a fine avenue tree but for its habit of producing
suckers; and its large compound leaves, disarticulating at
every joint when they fall, might be objected to by some on
the ground of the trouble of sweeping them up!

Sophora japonica.

Fraxinus Ornus (Manna Ash).

Fraxinus excelsa (Common Ash), and its varieties. This is said
to do well in Manchester.

Quercus Cerris (the Turkey Oak), and the Lucombe and Fulham
varieties with sub-evergreen foliage.

Quercus conferta (the Hungarian Oak). (See Gardeners’ Chronicle,
N.S. vol. v. p. 86; figs 18.)

86 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Quercus pedunculata (Common Oak), and its varieties.

Quercus glandulifera. Kew. Worth a trial. (See Gardeners’
Chronicle, December 4, 1880, p. 714.)

Quercus coccinea (Scarlet Oak).

Castanea vulgaris (Sweet Chestnut).

Fagus sylvatica (Beech), especially the variety cuprea (or Copper
Beech), of which a very fine specimen still exists in a garden
near the Bow Road.

Juglans regia (Walnut).

Juglans nigra (Black Walnut). A noble town tree.

Juglans mandshurica. Should be tried, as it is said to be
hardier than the Common Walnut. (See Gardeners’
Chronicle, October 6, 1884, p. 384.)

Pterocarya fraxinifolia. Good specimen in the Chelsea Botanic
Garden.

Platanus orientalis var. acerifolia. The best form of Plane for
London. The Occidental Plane and many forms of the Ori-
ental are spring-tender, and therefore unsuitable. Seedlings
from the same batch show great differences in this respect.

Betula alba (Birch).

Populus alba (White Poplar).

Populus nigra (Black Poplar). |

Populus canadensis (Ontario Poplar) and the fast-growing
variety known as var. nova.

Populus balsamifera (Balsam Poplar). Fine specimens of Poplars
may be seen in St. James’s Park.

Salix alba (White Willow) and other species.

Ulmus campestris (Common Elm). Not recommended except in
country towns, as the leaves shrivel early and are readily
attacked by red-spider and various insects.

Ulmus montana (Scotch or Wych Elm).

Planera Richardi. Fulham.

Celtis australis. Fulham.

Il.—Drcipvous TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEDIUM
on Low STATURE.
Deciduous Berberis.
Acer eriocarpum. Excellent.
Acer rubrum.
Acer creticum. Chelsea Botanic Gardens.

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. 87

Acer tataricum.

Acer monspessulanum.

Negundo fraxinifolium. Green form, excellent.
if Es Variegated form, in open places.

AXsculus carnea (Scarlet Horse Chestnut).

Pavia flava (Yellow Horse Chestnut).

Keelreuteria paniculata. Foliage curious; yellow flowers very
conspicuous.

Ptelea trifoliata. A large bush of this grew for many years in
the yard bounded by the printing-oftice of the Times, and has
only recently been removed. The golden tint of its foliage
and its curious winged fruits used to attract much attention.

Hypericum calycinum. In open situations.

Staphylea pinnata (Bladder Nut).

Rhamunus hybridus (Buckthorn).

Rhamnus Frangula (Buckthorn).

Rhamnus catharticus (Buckthorn).

Colletia spinosa.

Colletia cruciata. Will not bear severe winters.

Rhus typhina (Sumach). Does very well in towns.

Rhus Cotinus (Wig-plant).

Rhus glabra laciniata. Ornamental foliage.

Cladrastis tinctoria.

Cytisus (Laburnum) and varieties, of which Waterer’s is one of
the best, but the leaves of all are apt to be disfigured by
insects.

Robinia pseudacacia and varieties.

Cercis siliquastrum (the Judas-tree). Always attracts attention
when in flower.

Gleditschia triacanthos (the Honey Locust).

Amygdalus communis (the Almond). A favourite tree in London
suburbs for its flower in early spring, but is otherwise not to
be recommended.

Prunus spinosa (Sloe).

Prunus mahaleb.

Prunus cerasifera var. Pissardi (Purple-leaved Plum). Retains its

colour in London.

Prunus virginiana. Chelsea Botanic Garden.

Cerasus pseudo-Cerasus Watereris A very handsome double-
flowered variety.

88 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Cerasus avium (the Bird Cherry). Flowers conspicuous.

Mespilus germanica (Medlar).

Crategus (Thorns). Not recommended in any but country
towns, large parks, and open suburbs. The leaves are apt
to shrivel, and are greatly affected by insects.

Cotoneaster frigida. Red berries.

Cotoneaster affinis.

Pyrus Aria (Whitebeam).

Pyrus lanata. Handsome tree (a thriving specimen may be seen
in Southwick Crescent).

Sorbus aucuparia (Mountain Ash). Yor berries and foliage.

Pyrus domestica (Service-tree).

Pyrus torminalis (wild Service-tree).

Pyrus (Malus) spectabilis. For flowers.

Pyrus salicifolia.

Amelanchier vulgaris. White flowers in spring.

Ribes alpinum. Dwarf shrub (Thames Embankment).

Aralia chinensis. ,

Cornus sanguinea (Dogwood).

Cornus sibirica (Red-stemmed Dogwood).

Cornus Mas. Yellow flowers in early spring.

Sambucus nigra (Elder) and varieties. The Golden Elder does
not retain its colour except in open localities.

Syringa Emodi (Himalayan Lilac).

Syringa vulgaris (Common Lilac).

Syringa persica (Persian Lilac).

Ligustrum vulgare (Privet).

Ligustrum ovalifolium (Privet). Nearly evergreen.

Diospyros Lotus.

Diospyros virginiana. Chelsea Botanic Garden.

Catalpa bignonioides. An excellent town tree.

Paulownia imperialis. Somewhat tender, but does well if cut
back, and thus forms a fine plant for lawns.

Hippophae rhamnoides. Bush.

Corylus Avellana (Hazel) var. purpurea.

Corylus Colurna.

Carpinus Betulus (Hornbeam).

Liquidambar styraciflua.

Ulmus Dampieri.

Ulmus plumosa.

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. 89

Ulmus cornubiensis.

Ulmus Berardi.

Celtis australis.

Celtis occidentalis.

Broussonetia papyrifera. Chelsea Botanic Garden.

Alnus cordifolia (Naples Alder).

Alnus imperialis (Imperial Alder).

Populus tremula (Aspen).

Salix vitellina (Osier Willow).

Salix caprea (Goat Willow).

Salix rosmarinifolia (Rosemary-leaved Willow).

Morus nigra (Mulberry). Good town tree.

Ginkgo biloba (Maidenhair-tree).

Ficus Carica. Excellent town plant (for foliage). For an account
of the Fig-trees at Lambeth Palace, alleged to have been
introduced by Cardinal Pole in the reign of Henry VIII.,
see Gardeners’ Chronicle, October 26, 1886, p. 528.

Ostrya vulgaris (Hop-Hornbeam). Chelsea Botanic Garden.

ITJ.—EVERGREEN T'REES.

Quercus glabra and Q. cuspidata, Japanese species, should be
tried. They are hardy at Kew and Wimbledon, but have
not been tried within town limits.

Quercus Ilex (Evergreen Oak). A good town tree.

Cedrus Deodara. Fairly well in open places.

Cedrus Libani. Not recommended in close situations.

Pinus excelsa (the Bhotan Pine).

Pinus austriaca (the Black Austrian Pine). Is said to do well
near Manchester.

IV.—TREES WITH PENDULOUS BRANCHES.

Robinia inermis pendula.
Sophora japonica pendula.
Crategus oxyacantha pendula.
Pendulous Holly. Evergreen.
Populus tremula var. pendula.
Fagus sylvatica pendula.
Salix babylonica.

Salix Caprea pendula.

90 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Ulmus montana pendula.
Ulmus viminalis pendula.
Ulmus microphylla pendula.
Betula alba pendula, &c., &c.
Platanus acerifolia var. pendula (Rivers).
Many of these require to be worked} as standards, so that
their use would be necessarily restricted.

V.—FASTIGIATE OR PYRAMIDAL TREES AND SHRUBS.

Crategus oxyacantha fastigiata.

Carpinus Betulus var. fastigiata.

Quercus pedunculata var. fastigiata.

Populus nigra var. pyramidalis (Lombardy Poplar).

Populus alba var. Bolleana.

Ulmus montana fastigiata.

Ulmus Dampieri (fastigiate form).

Ulmus plumosa.

Cephalotaxus pedunculata var. fastigiata, alias} Koraiana.
Pyramidal evergreen shrub for open spaces.

VI.—Mopr-HEADED TREES AND SHRUBS.

Robinia pseudacacia var. Bessoniana. Deciduous.
Cerasus lusitanica. Standard evergreen.
Aucuba japonica. Standard evergreen.
Ilex Aquifolium. Standard Hollies.
Numerous suitable plants might be grown as standards, but
their use would, of course, be restricted for special situations.

VII.—EVERGREEN SHRUBS.
Berberis Darwinil.
Berberis x stenophylla.
Mahonia (evergreen Berberis). Not recommended in very close
localities.
Kuonymus japonicus and varieties.
Kuonymus radicans. Creeping habit.
Ilex cornuta.
Ilex microphylla.
Ilex dipyrena.

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. 91

Ilex crenata.
Tex Aquifolium (Common Holly).

Green, broad-leaved varieties do best, though variegated
ones often do well. There are some good specimens in the
Victoria Park and in neighbouring gardens.

Rhamnus Alaternus.

Skimmia japonica (oblata and fragrans of gardens).

Skimmia Fortunei (japonica of gardens).

Cerasus lusitanica. The common Laurel-Cherry is mostly
unsuitable.

Cotoneaster microphylla.

Cotoneaster Simoni.

Cotoneaster congesta, for rockeries.

Aucuba japonica. Many varieties ; excellent shrub for towns.

Griselinia, littoralis.

Arbutus Unedo (Strawberry-tree).

Arbutus Andrachne.

Garrya elliptica.

Pernettya mucronata. Has been known to ripen fruit out of doors
in a densely smoky locality, and to retain it for two seasons.

Rhododendrons. Said to do well about Manchester ; do not do
well in Kast London unless constantly renewed.

Osmanthus Aquifolium.

Phillyrea latifolia.

_ Phillyrea angustifolia.

Phillyrea Vilmoriniana.

Ligustrum coriaceum.

Daphne pontica.

Daphne Laureola (Spurge Laurel).

Eleagnus hortensis.

Hlezagnus pungens.

Buxus. Not to be recommended unless in open situations, as
the lower branches speedily die and become unsightly. Box-
edging is impracticable in confined localities.

Ruscus aculeatus (Butchers’ Broom).

Ruscus hypophyllum. Low growing.

Ruscus hypoglossum. Low growing.

Yucea gloriosa, recurva, &c. Splendid plants even for the most
confined spots. Other species should be tried.

92 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Arundinaria japonica (the Bambusa Metake of gardens). It does
well in smoky localities and is perfectly hardy.

Vinea major and V. minor (Periwinkle). Trailing undershrubs of
small dimensions, with evergreen foliage; do well under trees
even in London.

VIII.—F Lowering SHRUBS.

Hibiscus syriacus and varieties (Althea frutex of gardens).

Ceanothus azureus and varieties.

Pavia macrostachya.

Ulex europeus. Double-flowered variety.

Spartium junceum.

Sarothamnus scoparius (Broom).

Caragana, species. :

Halimodendron argenteum (Salt-bush).

Colutea arborescens (Bladder Senna). The passenger by the
North London Railway, near Dalston and Hackney, may
observe the luxuriant bushes of this curious and beautiful
shrub on the railway embankment under very exacting
circumstances.

Coronilla Emerus.

Amyedalus nana (Dwarf Almond).

Spirea Lindleyana. Very striking in shrubberies.

Spireea salicifolia.

Spirea Douglasi.

Spirea callosa.

Spireea Fortunei.

Spirea Bumalda. Dwarf.

Spirea opulifolia, &c.

Potentilla fruticosa.

Kerria japonica.

Rosa rugosa.

Calycanthus floridus.

Calycanthus occidentalis.

Chimonanthus fragrans. Winter-flowering.

Philadelphus coronarius, &e.

Deutzia scabra.

Deutzia crenata.

Ribes sanguineum. Double-flowering variety. .

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. 93

Ribes aureum.

Diervilla (Weigela) rosea.

Lonicera tartarica.

Lonicera fragrantissima.

Lonicera Standishii. The two last-mentioned are specially
valuable for their fragrant white flowers, produced in winter,

Lonicera Ledebourii.

Leycesteria formosa.

Symphoricarpus racemosus (Snowberry).

Santolina Chamecyparissus (Ground Cypress).

Olearia Haastii. Very free-flowering.

Syringa persica.

Syringa vulgaris (Lilac).

Ligustrum lucidum.

Buddleia globosa. Injured in very severe winters.

Veronica Traversil.

Phlomis fruticosa.

Daphne Mezereum.

TX.—CREEPERS OR AGAINST WALLS.

Magnolia grandiflora. Against a wall, evergreen.

Clematis Flammula.

Clematis Jackmanni.

Ampelopsis hederacea (Virginian Creeper).

Ampelopsis Veitchii.

Ampelopsis cordata.

Vitis vinifera. Good town creeper.

Ceanothus azureus and varieties.

Wistaria chinensis.

Pyrus japonica.

Pyrus Maulei.

Rubus cesius.

Rubus fruticosus (Bramble). Cut-leaved and double-flowering
kinds very valuable in towns.

Rubus australis. Curious rock plant.

Pyracantha coccinea var. Lalandeii. Against a wall, or isolated
as a bush.

Passiflora coerulea. Bears fruit on walls near London.

Euonymus radicans. Lvergreen.

94 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Garrya elliptica. Evergreen.

Hedera Helix (Ivy). Evergreen, very numerous varieties, almost
all of which do well in London, but some are tender.

Lonicera Periclymenum (Honeysuckle).

Lonicera chinensis.

Forsythia viridissima.

Jasminum officinale.

Jasminum nudiflorum.

Periploca greca.

Lycium Barbarum. As a cover for sheds, &c.

Solanum Dulcamara.

Aristolochia Sipho. Good for covering walls, sheds, arches.

Ficus Carica (Fig). Excellent in towns.

Smilax aspera.

In the discussion which followed—

Mr. Grorcr Paun expressed his concurrence with most of
what Dr. Masters had advanced, and urged the necessity of greater
attention on the part of public bodies to the proper planting of
trees, &c., and of permitting an outlay sufficient for the due
preparation of the soil and the subsequent care of the trees.
He recommended the study of Dr. Masters’ lists in order that
more variety might be secured than had hitherto been thought
possible. Dr. Masters’ unfavourable experience with regard to
Rhododendrons was, Mr. Paul continued, rather due to unsuit-
able soil than to polluted atmosphere, as at Pendleton and other
suburbs of Manchester they succeeded admirably. Retinospora
plumosa was recommended as a desirable plant for the suburbs
where the old Arbor Vite failed. The curious fact that so
many of the plants manifesting resistance to unhealthy town-
conditions were of Japanese extraction was noted, Skimmias,
Aucubas, Osmanthus, &c., being cited in illustration. All these
have glazed skins and thick leaves.

Mr. GEoraE NicHonson did not quite accept Dr. Masters’
estimate of the Lime. It is true there are Limes and Limes:
the common one is objectionable enough in many ways, as it
becomes infested with insects, and red-spider causes it to drop
its leaves very early in hot seasons. Mr. Nicholson had seen
whole streets planted with common Lime where scarcely a tree
had any foliage left on it, and that before the end of August. The.
small-leaved Lime (Z%lia cordata), under the same conditions,

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. 95

in the same town (Metz), had green leaves in abundance, and
was evidently better suited for town conditions than the common
Limes—T. platyphylla and T. vulgaris. The Silver Lime (7’.
argentea) makes an excellent street tree, and retains its leaves
long after those of the two last-mentioned species have fallen.
The remarks on ZY. argentea equally apply to 7. petiolaris
(figured in a recent volume of the Botanical Magazine), perhaps
much better known under the name of 7. americana pendula.
The two white-leaved species of Lime and the common ones are
erowing under the same conditions at Limoges. 1’. euchlora—
with its smooth glossy leaves, of a bright dark green—also makes
an excellent street tree.

Mr. GeorGE WyrHeEs said that having lived for some
few years in Manchester, he had had the means of studying
which trees and shrubs did best. As is well known, the fogs
in Manchester are most destructive to plant life, and the fumes
from the many chemical and other works are more injurious
than London fogs. Rhododendrons, which Dr. Masters did not
advise to be planted, are the best plants in that district,
making a good growth yearly. The ground in many cases is a
disused brickfield, and they like the clayey damp soil to a certain
extent. Before being planted, much of the ground had some of
the clay burnt and remixed with the soil, and the ground drained.
Tt must also be remembered in planting trees in towns that kinds
with a soft or woolly folage cannot resist and throw off accumu-
lations of soot and dirt in the same way as the smoother-leaved
kinds, and many of the trees recommended by Dr. Masters had
smooth thick leaves. Many failures take place through neglect at
planting time, such as by placing the roots in badly prepared soil,
want of attention after planting, absence of moisture during dry
weather, &c.

Mr. JAMES Hupson wished particularly to emphasise the
advice given by Dr. Masters not to plant the Lime as an
avenue tree, and to avoid that frequent and foolish mistake of
overcrowding the trees. The greatest harm done to trees—and
especially to Conifers—in large towns was by fog ; but the ques-
tion of soil had also to be considered. Poor soil should be
renovated with fresh loam and manure, labour spent in the rough
preparation amply repaying itself. Trees and shrubs for towns
should be selected from well-exposed nursery grounds of high
altitudes in preference to those from sheltered and low-lying

96 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

districts, in order to secure plants of hardy constitution. In
suburban gardens the builders, in the first place, commit a serious
error in selling off the land the turf and best of the soil, thus
not giving the future garden a fair chance. Inaddition te Pinus
excelsa, mentioned by Dr. Masters, Mr. Hudson had proved that
both P. austriaca and P. Cembra, with its dwarf form, were quite
reliable near London, so also, except in the worst of positions, is
the Deodar; but the Cedar of Lebanon does not thrive so well.
Rhododendrons do not thrive well, the best being R. ponticum
and R. Hverestianum. Of the former, Mr. Hudson preferred
seedlings to any others, so as to gain extra vigour. Hedera
dentata igs worthy of more notice than it receives. Rhododen-
drons should always be carefully planted in and about towns in
such a way that they can be well supplied with water. When
on mounds, this cannot be done.

Mr. W. Rovrrett, having had some experience in plant-
ing trees*in London, said he would venture to make a few -
remarks on the subject. In selecting trees it is necessary
to consider how far prevailing winds carry the smoke in
certain directions, as it is found that in the smoky districts
trees do not flourish so well as in non-smoky localities. If he
were forming a list of trees, &c., to be planted in towns he
would strike out the names of those that did not succeed, which
would be a less task than giving a list of those plants that
would grow, and he ventured to say the greater number would
grow in towns. In the disused burial-ground in Lambeth, and
also in Kennington Park, there are many trees which exist and
are in fine condition. In the east end of London there is a
garden attached to St. Philip’s Vicarage, which was interest-
ing enough to deserve a visit from anyone studying this sub-
ject. It would be seen that although much depended on situa-
tion and soil, still a great deal was due to the care bestowed on
the plants. Trees do much better if washed occasionally, and
the foliage should therefore always be kept clean, if possible, by
this means. He agreed with Mr. Wythes that woolly-leaved
trees should be avoided because they were hard to clean. The
Tulip-tree (Liriodendron Tulipifera) and Catalpas did perfectly
well within five miles of Charing Cross. Most Rhododendrons
will thrive in a suitable soil, the lack of which much more than
smoke was the cause of their failure. If the soil is good there

TREES AND SHRUBS FOR LARGE TOWNS. 97

is no reason why Rhododendron ponticum and others should not
be cultivated.

Sir CHARLES STRICKLAND, referring to the mention made by
Dr. Masters of the Council of the R.H.S. taking up the subject
of planting hardy trees and shrubs, said that in Scotland there
is a Society which has been doing good work in this particular,
and he thought it was quite open to the Royal Horticultural
Society to take up the work in a systematic way. As to the
trees and shrubs in London, he said the Plane-tree was the one
tree which thrives there better than any other, and he wished it
would also thrive in Yorkshire.

Mr. H. Cannieuu said he was not at all surprised that
plants would not grow in London, simply because there was
no good soil for them to grow in. ‘They had to be content
with something like ash-heaps, from which lhttle good could
be expected. As to the Local Boards planting trees, all they
cared about was that the trees should look pretty when planted,
or as long as the contractor had the work on hand; after
that it mattered little what became of them. ‘Trees should
not be planted anywhere near gas-pipes, as no matter how
tightly fixed the latter were, there was sure to be an escape of
gas for some distance round, and this would soon kill the roots.
of any plant.

Dr. MAstErs, rising to reply, thanked the audience for their
attention to his lecture, and also the gentlemen who had taken
part in the discussion. He was especially grateful to Messrs. W.
Paul & Son, of Waltham Cross, for their cut specimens of trees.
and shrubs which they had kindly sent to illustrate his remarks,.
and he also thanked Messrs. Cutbush & Son for their exhibition
of Pernettyas. Supplementing his remarks on trees for large
towns, Dr. Masters said that Magnolia acuminata was a very
fine town tree, and came next to the Tulip-tree, and, with the
Plane, should be planted in London. He could not agree with
Mr. Geo. Paul in eulogising Retinospora plumosa, which gathered
dirt too quickly in smoky districts, although in such places as
cemeteries it might do very well. He considered the Arbor Vite
(Thuja orientalis) an excellent test-shrub as showing in what
parts of a large town trees would flourish, and where they
would not. He had observed it for many years, and noticed .
that the nearer it was to the centre of the town, the more

H

98 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,

deplorable was its condition.

So nicely graduated is this that

when riding about London or the suburbs one could guess the
distance from the central district by the condition of the Thuja,
which in some places, e.g. in the Waterloo Road, hardly came
up to the respectability of an ordinary birch-broom.

In illustration of the subject Messrs. William Paul & Son, of

Waltham Cross, exhibited the following plants.

The list is of

interest as showing what in the opinion of those highly competent
gentlemen is suitable for the purpose.

Evergreen.

Cotoneaster Hookeri.

33 affinis.

a Simonsi.

Fe buxifolia.
Phillyrea media.

es Vilmoriniana.

Fontanesia phillyreoides.
Aucubas in variety.
Azara microphylla.
Hollies in variety.
Berberis in variety.

Buxus in variety.
Skimmia, two sorts.
Kuonymus in variety.
Arbutus in variety.
Tree Ivy.
Garrya elliptica.
Ligustrum japonicum.
“ ovalifolium.
s Ibota.
Rhamnus Alaternus.
Pernettya of sorts.

Osmanthus ilicifolius. Rhododendrons.
3 rotundifolius.
Deciduous.
Acer Negundo. Acacia in variety.
Almond. Gueldres Rose.
Cherry, double-blossomed. Syringa of sorts.
Laburnum. Deutzia scabra.

Planes in variety.
Euonymus europeus (Spindle-tree).
Judas-tree (Cercis).
Hippophae rhamnoides (Sea Buck-
thorn).
Pyrus japonica.
Quince.
Alder, cut-leaved.
Pear of sorts.
Viburnum Lentago.
Hypericum patulum.
i oblongifolium.
9 calycinum.

Prunus Pissardi.
Kuonymus atropurpurea.
Poplars of sorts.
Maples of sorts.
Berberis of sorts.
Crategus Carrierei.
Spirea of sorts.
Rhus Cotinus.

», typhina.
Gleditschia.

Prunus of sorts.
Leycesteria formosa.
Privet, common.
Forsythia viridissima.
Elder of sorts.
Rhamnus Alaternus.
Rhodotypus kerioides.
Pterostyrax hispidum.
Cornus sanguinea.
Salix rosmarinifolia.
Cut-leaved Hazel.
Lonicera Ledebouril.
Snowberry.

Lilacs of sorts.

* Ailantus.

*Mespilus.

*Birch.

*Beech.

*Virginian Creeper a
*Jasmine. ; ;
*Ivy of sorts. fe BET
*Passion-flower.

The eight sorts marked thus * were not shown, but have been added to
the list because considered suitable by Messrs. Wm. Paul & Son.

99

CHINESE PRIMULAS.

By Mr. A. W. Surton, F.L.8., F.R.H.S.
[Read Noy. 11, 1890. ]

THE subject which I have been asked to introduce this afternoon
cannot be said to be unpopular, and my task is therefore the
more agreeable, although, on account of its very popularity, so
much has been written and said about the Chinese Primula that
little which is new or of sufficient importance to bring to the
notice of the Royal Horticultural Society remains for me to
Say.

It is, however, a very wide subject, for had I been limited to
any one aspect alone, such as the history of the species, its
introduction into Europe, the most popular varieties, the best
‘methods of cultivation, cross-fertilisation, &c., &c., enough might
have been said to form a lengthy paper, if dealt with at all
fully.

As it is, I propose to say a few words under each of these
heads, and if in any degree it serves to create increased interest
in the Chinese Primrose I shall be more than satisfied.

THe History OF THE CHINESE PRIMULA.

This may naturally be considered first, and at the outset it
strikes one as a remarkable fact that a plant which, next to the
Geranium, is perhaps the most popular for conservatory and
window decoration, has only been known in England for the brief
space of seventy years; or, in other words, that there are many
Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society now living during
whose early childhood the Chinese Primula had neither been
seen nor heard of in this country, or indeed in Europe.

The genus Primula, representative of the widely distributed
family Primulacee, contains at least 150 species, which number
is being constantly added to by newly discovered species and
interesting forms, and crosses resulting from the work of our
hybridists.

NAME AND SYNONYMY.

The name ‘‘ sinensis,’’ by which the species is familiarly

known, was given to the plant by Sabine in 1821, who was a few
H 2

100 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

years afterwards Secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society (cf.
Lindley’s ‘‘Collectanea Botanica,” t. 7). Several other names
have been proposed and published :—

‘‘P, prenitens”’ by Ker, in the Botanical Register for May
1821, t. 539.

“P, sertulosa’’ by Kickx, in De Candolle’s ‘‘ Prodromus,’’
vol. vill. p. 86.

“PP, mandorina’’ by Hoffsmannseg, in Otto Dietrich’s
Allgemeine Gartnerer Zeitung, 1835, p. 195.

“P, semperflorens ’’ by Loiseleur.

The names “sinensis ’’ (Sabine) and ‘‘ preenitens”’ (Ker) were
published in the same year, and the latter probably earlier in the
year than the former; for Ker gives as a reason for not adopting
Sabine’s unpublished name, the fact that a Spanish botanist,
Loureioro (in ‘‘ Flora Cochin-chine,’’ p. 105) had already published
a ‘“ P, sinensis,’’ which might or might not belong to the genus.
This plant still remains obscure, and Sabine’s name, “ sinensis,”’
has been universally adopted.

HABITAT OF SPECIES.

In Dr. Masters’ able article on the ‘‘ Chinese Primrose,’’
which appeared in the Gardeners’ Chronicle for January 26,
1889, we read: ‘‘ Within the last few years we have for the first
time gained a knowledge of the wild plant, which was found on
dry calcareous rocks, exposed to full sun, inthe gorges of Y-Chang,
in the province of Ho Pé, Central China, by the Abbé Delavay,
and also by our countryman, Dr. Henry. Good specimens from
the latter gentleman are preserved in the Kew Herbarium, and
they show that the plant has a creeping and branched rootstock
about the thickness of a swan-quill, with small, stalked leaves,
most of which are rounded and lobed, while others are elongated
as in the Fern-leaved section. The flowers are small, have a
distended five-lobed calyx, varying a little in form, destitute of
cresting, a light pink corolla, with a yellow eye, each petal
notched, but not fimbriate. The outlines (fig. 17) show suffi-
ciently for our purpose the leaf (a, B), petal (c), and calyx (D, 5, F)
of the wild Chinese plant, while fig. 18 shows a flower of a culti-
vated plant which has so nearly reverted to the original condition
that we may take it as an illustration.”

CHINESE PRIMULAS. 101

{ have copied the figures referred to, as I think they will
enable my hearers to better appreciate the interesting details
given by Dr. Masters in his article.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES.

The distribution of the species is evidently very restricted, for
Y-Chang alone is mentioned as a “habitat’’ by Delavay, Henry,
Watters, and Hance in Forbes and Hemsley’s ‘‘ Enumeration of all
the Plants from China Proper,’ now in the course of publication
in the Journal of the Linnean Society.

With reference to its being a native of China, I find in the
report of the Primula Conference, in the Royal Horticultwral

re. Up.

(From the Gardeners’ Chronicle.)

Society’s Journal, vol. vii. p. 190, it is stated as follows: ‘‘ We
have also received an interesting note from the director of the
Hong Kong Botanical Garden, a record of the culture of this
same P. sinensis in China. He says, ‘ We manage to grow the
cultivated varieties of P. sinensis in Hong Kong during the cold
season, but they invariably damp off when hot weather sets in;
they have not even time to mature their seeds. We have there-
fore to get a fresh supply from England every autumn.’ ”’

INTRODUCTION OF THE CHINESE PRIMULA INTO EUROPE.

The earliest date named in connection with the culture of the
Chinese Primula (according to an article which appeared in the
Gardening World, December 17, 1887) is the year 1819. The

102 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

writer states that “‘ the first evidence of its existence wasin 1819.
John Reeves, Esq., then a resident in China, sent home drawings
of it, which excited much attention. At the request of the Royal
Horticultural Society he sent home seeds and a plant, both of
which failed. Soon after this Captain Rawes succeeded in bring-
ing home a live plant, which he presented to a relative of his,
Mr. Thomas Palmer, of Bromley, Kent, who managed to flower
it. According to Lindley this was in 1821.”

Turning again to Dr. Masters’ article of January 26, 1889,
we read: ‘‘ The Chinese Primrose was introduced to this country
about 1820 from Chinese gardens. The original introduction
was from two sources, and different in character, one set having
relatively small flowers and smooth-edged petals, while the other
set had indications of the crenated edge and wavy margin that
characterises so many of the best varieties of the present day.”

These quotations which I have given are, as you will have
noticed, from recently published articles, but an extract from
Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, vol. liu. t. 2564, bearing the
date 1825, will be of still further interest, more particularly as
it was accompanied by a very beautiful water-colour drawing
made in 1825, and representing the plant as it was then known,
some.five years after its introduction.

In the description accompanying the plate, which depicts a
red-flowered plant (no mention being made of variation in colour
of the flowers), the corolla is said to be “‘ saucer-shaped, tube half
an inch long, limb plain, five-cleft; lacinize-obcordate, generally
with quite entire margins, but sometimes on the same plant, from
luxuriance, variously incised, oblique with regard to the tube.

“The first plant that flowered in this country had so generally
more than five teeth to the calyx, and a corolla so variously
jagged, as to lead to a doubt whether it really belonged to the
genus Primula, and Dr. Hooker has considered the species as
consisting of two distinct varieties, but to us it appears most
probably that whenever the number of teeth of the calyx exceed
five, and the margin of the corolla is not entire, this deviation is
the effect of cultivation, and arises from luxuriance only.

“This beautiful acquisition to our greenhouses was received
from China, and first cultivated with success in this country by
Thomas C. Palmer, Esq., of Bromley, Kent, who kindly com-
municated recent specimens in its different stages of growth.

CHINESE PRIMULAS. 103

This gentleman observes ‘that it is generally considered as very
shy of producing seed, but that he always has sufficient, and
remarks that impregnation is assisted by blowing into the flower.
He treats it as a very hardy greenhouse plant, says it thrives
best in rich loam with a large proportion of sand, and requires to
be well watered, but not over the plant, as it is apt to rot at the
crown. It is rarely out of bloom, but is in its greatest beauty in
the winter and spring months.’

“In the present month (March 1825), at the Royal Horticul-
tural Society’s establishment at Chiswick, we were delighted
with seeing a large collection of these plants under glass, in the
front of one of the houses. When viewed in this manner,
assembled many together, they are seen to much greater advan-
tage than in detached individuals.”’

It cannot fail to be a great satisfaction to many to see how at
this early date the Royal Horticultural Society was doing an
excellent work in testing and acclimatising new plants from
foreign sources.

Another very interesting reference to the Chinese Primula is
found in the first volume of the Gardener’s Magazine, part 1,
1826, where, amongst ‘‘ Foreign Notes,’’ is the following, taken
from the ‘‘ Annals of the Linnean Society of Paris,’’ March
1825 :—

“ P. sinensis.—This plant is greatly prized in France and
the Netherlands, where, under glass, without fire heat, it flowers
abundantly the whole year.”’

Again in the same volume, under the still familiar title of
“Calls at Nurseries,’ we find the following: “Lee’s Nursery,
Feb. 16, 1825.—In the heath-house a great number of species
are under cultivation and in flower; but in this nursery, as
everywhere else, the most conspicuous plant in flower is P.
simensis.’”’ This notice is also accompanied by an engraving of
the plant as then growing in Mr. Lee’s nursery.

Then, again, in the Horticultural Register for 1833, I find
the following note by Mr. Thomas Upton, from Alton Gardens,
February 22: ‘‘This plant, the Chinese Primula, was intro-
duced into this country in 1820, and from its free-blooming
habits and splendid appearance in the winter months, when
under good cultivation, is deserving of the interest of every lover
of plants ;’’ and then follow some cultural notes.

104 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Thinking that the leading growers of Primulas in France and
Germany might be in a position to give me some useful notes
about the introduction of the Chinese Frimula on the Continent,
I communicated with my friend M. Henri L. de Vilmorin, of |
Paris, so well known to Fellows of the Royal Horticultural
Society; with Messrs. Stuart & Co., of Nice; and with Mr.
Fritz Benary, of Kirfurt, all of whom were most ready to give
me any information in their power.

M. de Vilmorin endorses what I have already mentioned as
the introduction of the plant in 1820 from Chinese gardens, and
the recent discovery of the wild plant by the Abbé Delavay. He
also describes the first plant introduced as having ‘“‘a pale pink
corolla, almost flesh colour,” and states that ‘‘ the white variety
was the first sport obtained. The petals of the pink variety were
rounded, cleft in the middle, and heart-shaped if taken singly.
The trusses bore three, and even four, whorls of pale small flowers,
the leaves were palmate, and not fern-leaved.’’ He also gives
the dates when the varieties of the plant now so well known
were grown by his house.

Messrs. Stuart agree generally with M. de Vilmorin, but
name the spring of 1821 as the date when introduced into
England. They say ‘“‘the original plant came from Canton,
where it had been cultivated for some time previously. The
colour was red,”’ but they state that ‘‘ the edges of the petals were
jagged or dentate, the foliage palmate, green on the surface, and
of a reddish tinge beneath.”’

Mr. Fritz Benary, of Erfyrt, whom I have known intimately
for many years, sends me a most interesting communication,
which, as it contains a report from a Primula grower, who him-
self sketched the plant in the Botanical Gardens at Hamburg
so long ago as 1887, I will quote somewhat fully.

Mr. Benary says: “A small florist of Hisenach, named
Schwabe, was regarded as the raiser of L. fimbriata alba, and I
thought I could not do better than apply to him for some in-
formation on the point. He is aman of much experience, and
a good botanist. He has very kindly given me, as far as his
knowledge goes, the history of the Primula sinensis, and I tran-
scribe hereafter the salient points of his communication. Mr.
Schwabe writes: ‘ Primula prenitens, Kar-Gawler, was intro-
duced from China into Europe, probably into England, in 1820.

CHINESE PRIMULAS. 105

Lindley named and described it in his ‘‘ Nomenclator Botanicus,”’
which appeared in 1821, but it does not even figure in the second
edition of Loudon’s ‘“ Encyclopedia of Gardening,’ issued in
1824; it may therefore be concluded that even in England the
dissemination of the Primula proceeded but very slowly. The
Deutsche Garten-Magazin contained a plate and description in
1824. Sprengel’s “Systema Vegitabilium’’ mentions P. pre-
mitens, with synonym, as early as 1825; and in Bosse’s “ Hand-
buch der Blumengarinerer’”’? were comprehended already nine
varieties, viz. alba, densiflora alba, densiflora rubra, fimbriata
rubra, finbriata alba, alba flore-pleno, monstrosa, striata, and
viridiflora.

““« When the plant came to Germany I cannot say, but
probably before 1830. I myself got to know it in the spring of
1837 in Hamburg, where I sketched one of the few specimens
then growing in the Botanic Garden of that city. The advance
in the culture of this Primula, and the raising of the nine varieties
(including the fimbriata alba) named by Bosse, took place between
the years 1837 and 1842. From this it follows that, as my
becoming a florist dates from 1847 only, I cannot have been the
raiser of the fimbriata alba. On the other hand, as far as my
knowledge goes, I was the first to considerably improve this
originally poor and inconstant variety, and this I did between
the years 1847 and 1852, saving a certain quantity of seed,
which was disposed of to the principal seed firms of Germany.
Primula fimbriata rubra and P. filictfolia I saw first of all in
Mr. Ernst Benary’s establishment, and have always considered
him to be the raiser of the last-named.’ (This supposition of
Mr. Schwabe’s is, Mr. Benary says, quite correct.)

““¢ About 1854 a few plants having long crispate leaves made
their appearance with me too, but, not finding the form particu-
larly remarkable, I discontinued growing it. I also raised a
white un-fimbriated Primula, with dark foliage, and called it
rubicaulis flore albo, but a few years later the somewhat similar
but much more beautiful fimbriata striata was raised by Mr.
Ernst Benary. My rubicawlis was rapidly superseded thereby,
and soon sank into oblivion.’ ”’

Having thus traced the early history of the plant until the
moment of its ‘‘improvement”’ by hybridists, I think we may
best connect its early history with modern practice by a table,

106 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

showing as nearly as possible the dates when various modi-
fications of the original type were fixed and offered in trade
catalogues. For this purpose it may be sufficient if I quote
from the three sources above named as representing France and
Germany, and from our own catalogues for this country. At
the same time I would not have it supposed for a moment that
I lost sight of the great advance made by other English florists,
but the number of growers in England who have devoted time
and attention to Chinese Primulas is so large that it would be
impossible within the limits of this paper to mention even briefly
the results of their labours.

TABLE.

1887-1842. First advance made in raising distinct varieties, nine
of which are named by Bosse. Seeds of these were dis-
tributed to German houses.

1840. Messrs. Vilmorin, of Paris, were cultivating fringed

varieties.

1847-1852. Benary was cultivating P. sinensis, ‘‘red” and
‘* white.”

1850. Messrs. Stuart were cultivating some varieties of P.
simensis.

1852. I find that my own house was distributing seed of P.
jimbriata at 1s. per packet.

1858. The same at 6d. per packet, also P. sinensis in mixed
colours at 8d. per packet. I mention these prices, as they
are somewhat significant, for, however popular Primula
sinensis was at that time amongst nurserymen, the fall
in price from 1s. to 6d. and 38d. in one year would seem to
indicate that no general demand had set in.

1858. Messrs. Vilmorin offered seed of Double Pink and Double
White.

1854-1856. Benary was offering a variety called alba rubro-
striata, and he also offered the following varieties :—

1856. Cupreata.

1857. Fimbriata striata.

1859. Kermesina splendens.

1861. Hrecta superba.

Up to this date all the varieties known had foliage of the
palmate form; but in

1864.

1864.

1864.

1867.
1868.

1868.

1869.
1870.

1870.

1871.

CHINESE PRIMULAS. 107

Benary first offered filicifolia rubra, or Red Fern-leaved ;
and the following year slicifolia alba.

Messrs. Stuart mention that they were cultivating fern-
leaved varieties this year.

My house was offering a strain known as Dobson’s Choice
Auricula-flowered, and in

We were offering ‘Finest Double P. sinensis.”

Benary offered Double White Primula, Double Red, and
Double Carmine.

My house were distributing a strain raised by Myr.
Williams, and we offered in

Hrecta alba violacea ; also in

A fine variety named Magnum Bonum, which has since
been too much lost sight of.

My house were distributing seed of fern-leaved varieties,
and M. Vilmorin was cultivating the fern-leaved sorts,
and in

He offered these, but mentions that fern-leaved plants had
been shown at exhibitions as far back as 1868.

My house next offered the following :—

1873.

1874.
1875.

1875.

1876.

1879.

Varieties named Florence, Marginata (this latter was a
lilac variety with very pale edges), also carminea alba
punctata.

Village Maid.

M. Vilmorin mentions that the ‘‘ Lapipe’’ Primula was
offered this year, which he describes as the first deep-
coloured variety with rounded petals.

The fringed varieties of the same Primula were grown by
M.de Vilmorin, and described as “ purple-red”’ and ‘‘ blood-
red,” from which he states, or parallel with which, the
whole of the Chiswick Red and similar varieties were
developed. ‘This, I think, is very likely to have been the
case, as florists who grew Continental strains at this
time found many sports greatly resembling the Chiswick
Red. In

Double Prince Arthur, a pale carmine variety, was offered
by my house, and in

Ruby King (first-class Certificate Royal Horticultural
Society).

108 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The following year we introduced :—

1880, Pearl.

1881. Reading Pink, Rosy Queen, fern-leaved, Double Lilac.
The next year we offered

1882. Williams’s alba magnifica, remarkable for the perfect
frimbriation of the petals, but not grown so much as it
would otherwise be, because the calyx is of an abnormal
size, and of such vigorous growth that the corolla falls
from the plant somewhat prematurely. After this we
sent out

1884. Princess Beatrice, Reading Scarlet, Reading Blue, Snow-
drift, fern-leaved.

1885. Gipsy Queen, a white fern-leaved variety, with leaf-
stalks almost black.

1886. Giant Lilac, Double Scarlet (first-class Certificate, R.H.S.),
Double Rose (First-class Certificate, R.H.S.).

1887. Moss-curled, ‘‘ white’ and “lilac.’’ These varieties showed
a very distinct break in the form of the foliage.

1888. Blue, fern-leaved; Double Blue (First-class Certificate,
LHS.) ; Double Carmine ; Double White, fern-leaved ;
Double Blue, fern-leaved (First-class Certificate, R.H.S.) ;
Single Blue, fern-leaved.

1889. Giant White, Giant Crimson, Double Crimson.

As I mentioned before, while we have been raising and
introducing the varieties above named, other florists have like-
wise introduced many valuable varieties, some remarkable for
their brilliant colours, and others for extraordinary vigour and
robust growth, combined with massive flowers.

CULTIVATION.

Although a true perennial, it is generally admitted that the
best results can be obtained by treating the Chinese Primula as an
annual or biennial. The best season of the year for sowing is from
March to May, and, under favourable conditions of atmosphere
and temperature, the earlier varieties will begin to show masses
of bloom about the end of September or beginning of October ;
and by a judicious selection of sorts the blooming period may be
extended till late in the spring.

It will be found, asa rule, that the more robust types, bearing

CHINESE PRIMULAS. 109

very large and massive flowers, are the latest to bloom, and they
seldom produce so many flowers to a plant as the earlier varieties.

So much has been said from time to time as to the details
connected with the cultivation of the Chinese Primula that I
think it would be superfluous for me to add anything here,
although it may be interesting to quote the cultivation adopted
by Mr. Thos. Upton, of Alton Gardens, in 1838, from which we
shall see what changes have taken place in culture alone.

Mr. Upton says: ‘The following is the method of culture
we pursue: In the month of October we make cuttings of all
our old plants, taking them off a little above the surface of the
soil. We then fill with a rich prepared compost various-sized pots,
according to the size of the cuttings; in each pot we plant one
cutting, and put a little white sand around it; then, with a fine
perforated rose, we give them a little water in order to settle the
mould. Afterwards we remove them to a close frame, and
plunge them in a little bottom heat, admitting no air until they
begin to grow. As soon as they show flower we remove them to
the greenhouse, where they are greatly admired. The old root
may also be plunged in a little heat, which will sometimes make
it shoot vigorously and produce abundance of cuttings. Under
this treatment we have a plant of the white-flowering species
(which is by no means very common) that produced 97 fine
flowers from seven flower-stems. They also produce abundance
of seed, by which they are easily raised.”

From this quotation we see that the custom of growers has
entirely changed, and whereas Mr. Upton grew almost exclusively
from cuttings, now it is found so very much easier and less ex-
pensive to grow from seed that cuttings are seldom made.

Cross-F'ERTILISATION.

A great deal might be said under this head, but I have already
exceeded the time usually allotted to readers of papers, and I
must confine myself to a few general remarks.

In the first place, hybridists do not all work with the same
object in view, and consequently their methods are different.

If the aim be to produce a race with moss-curled foliage,
parents would be naturally chosen with leaves showing some
tendency in this direction.

110 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

If, as it sometimes happens, a race of Primulas has been
obtained in which all the strength of the plant seems to have
been concentrated in the foliage, and the flowers show unmis-
takable signs of reverting to the original forms, the hybridist
would seek to correct this tendency by introducing blood from
another race, conspicuous for the perfect form of the flowers.

Then again, in the fern-leaved section, for many years after
its introduction, the leaf-stalks were of such a length that the
plant could not generally be used for table decoration, and it has
been the aim in our own case, and doubtless with others, to alter
this by cross-fertilisation and selection, so as to secure a race of
fern-leaved Primulas as compact in form as any of the varieties
with palmate leaves.

Perhaps the most constant aim of the hybridist is to produce
some novelty or improvement in colour (which may apply either
to the flower or the foliage), and in order to secure this very
many years of patient labour are needed.

It may be interesting to note, as showing the increased
attention given of late years to cross-fertilisation as compared
with selection only, that whereas in the year 1875 we ourselves
made two crosses, the number has recently risen to as many as
sixty-four separate crosses in one season, all made with a
definite object in view; the object being to produce some
distinct advance in colour, form, habit of growth, or size of
flower, &c.

The more divergent the types chosen for crossing, the more
numerous, of course, will be the variations in the seedlings. This
is shown by the following figures. Whereas in 1875 (the year
in which only two crosses were made) we grew 18 varieties,
that number had by the year 1888 been increased to 255;
although out of this number only 29 were considered of suffi-
cient merit to find a place in our catalogue, with the exception,
of course, of a certain number of seedlings giving promise for the
future.

As an illustration of the amount of detailed work often
required in raising a distinct race of Primulas, I may give the
history of our Reading moss-curled types. In 1882 we had a
batch of double white Primulas, in which there was one plant
in such an unhealthy condition that it never received a shift
from a 72-pot; we called it a cripple, because of the deformed

CHINESE PRIMULAS. 111

leaves, which were notched and twisted, and in growth it
resembled the variety called alba magnifica. When it flowered
the petals were green; on examination of the organs they
proved to be fertile, and were fertilised with their own pollen.
In 1883 the seedlings were all white and very weak, and in
this year we made the first cross, 1*83, with bright coloured
flowers of a Chiswick type known as P. rubra violacea. This
opposite blending was to impart strength and colour to the
seed-bearing parent. From this opposite crossing we obtained
plants with dark stems having lilac flowers. In 1884 we
crossed Reading Scarlet on the produce of No.1*83. During the
same year another cross was made, No. 86,4, using the pollen of
12; on the original, and we continued to do so for three con-
secutive years. In 1885 we crossed Double Lilac on 125. This
cross produced the fern-leaved section of our moss-curled race.
In 1886 we obtained a double lilac mottled flower, deeply fringed,
curled foliage with bronze edges. This feature only lasted two
years and then disappeared. Wealso selected from the seedlings
this year one with a peculiar crisped form of fern-leaf foliage.

The next year (1887) we made five selections, one of which
was white, but showing a distinct moss-curled foliage.

The same again in 1888, and in 1889 the number was

reduced to four types.
So curious and various have the forms of the leaves been

that they have sometimes been designated moss-curled, some-
times parsley-leaved, sometimes crispifolia, and even kale-leaved,
and eventually illustrated and offered in our ‘‘ Amateur’s Guide”’
for 1887 as “‘ Moss-curled White ’’ and ‘‘ Moss-curled Lilac.”’

In the Gardeners’ Chronicle, January 26, 1889, Dr. Masters
gives an engraving of this Primula as seen growing by him in
our houses, and which he describes as “anew type of foliage,
oblong, but crested.” (See fig. 19 on next page.)

THE CurieFr USES OF THE CHINESE PRIMULA.

Under this heading I need say little, for everyone knows the
chief uses to which the plants are put ; amongst which may be
noted, first of all, greenhouse and conservatory decoration,
window decoration, table decoration, and as cut flowers. For
this latter purpose the double varieties are preferable, because
they remain in good condition the longest.

12, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

For table decoration and as cut flowers discretion will be,

of course, necessary, according as the flowers are required for

use by day or under artificial light, In the latter case certain

_

TENE INES

CTT

gf :
Aw,

Fic. 19.—Lear or Curnese Primvuna. (From the Gardeners’ Chronicle.)

varieties, especially those of the carmine and scarlet types, are

infinitely more showy.
The uses, moreover, to which the Chinese Primula may be

put depend greatly upon the climate. In our own country it

CHINESE PRIMULAS. 118

is seldom, if ever, found safe to expose them out of doors,
whereas in the South of France at Christmas time I have seen
in the Public Gardens at Nice Chinese Primulas used as bedding
plants without the slightest protection, just as we might use
Lobelias or shrubby Calceolarias in summer.

In conclusion, I would only say that while endeavouring to
make my remarks interesting, I am more than conscious of the
fact that very much has been omitted which ought to have been
included in any paper on the Chinese Primula read before the
Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society.

DISCUSSION.

Dr. Mastsrs said that a great contrast was observable be-
tween the Chinese Primula and the Chrysanthemum in the kind
and degree of variation presented by them respectively. There
was much less variation in the Primula than in the Chrysanthe-
mum, and he thought this might be attributed to the fact that
the Chinese Primula was pure-bred, the offspring of one species
only, and that it had been relatively but a short time in cultiva-
tion, at least in this country. The Chrysanthemum, on the
other hand, was probably the descendant of two or more species,
the varieties of which had been selected and intercrossed for
ages, either purposely or by insect agency, by the Chinese and
Japanese.

The Chinese Primrose was first introduced to the notice of the
Society by Mr. Reeves in 1819, and, in the following year, a living
plant was brought over by Captain Rawes. Other importations
followed, and the plant soon became popular. But all these were
cultivated forms, or derived from the gardens of Chinese ports
and towns, It was not till a few years ago that anything definite
was known as to the wild plant. At the Primula Conference
held in 1886, however, a communication was read from M.
Franchet (Report of Primula Conference, Journal of the Royal
Horticultural Society, vol. vii. (1886), p. 189), in which the
discovery by the Abbé Delavay of the wild plant on calcareous
rocks in the gorges of Y-Chang was announced. Since that
time it has been ascertained that the plant was originally dis-
covered in the same locality at an even earlier period, viz., in
1879, by M. Watters. About the same time that the Abbé

I

114 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Delavay sent home specimens, or shortly after, Dr. Henry also
met with the plant on hot, dry limestone rocks with little
moisture. (See Gardeners’ Chronicle, January 26, 1888, p. 114.)

On visiting the gardens at Appley Towers, near Ryde, in the
autumn, Mr. Myles, the gardener, had shown Dr. Masters some
young plants raised from seed from Y-Chang by Mr. Pratt, and
which Dr. Masters immediately recognised as being the wild
form collected by Dr. Henry. The plants were, however, not in
flower. These plants, the leaves of which have a slight fra-
grance, he was very glad to see that day exhibited by Messrs.
Sutton, as in their hands the doubtful points would be cleared up
and new varieties obtained. He trusted also that Messrs. Sutton
would endeavour to cross the Chinese Primrose with the com-
mon Primrose, or with some of the other hardy species, and thus
confer a great boon on the cultivators of hardy plants. Hitherto,
he understood that Mr. Martin, the expert who hybridised and
cultivated Messrs. Sutton’s Primrases, had been unsuccessful in
this direction, a fact which, in the case of Messrs. Sutton, only
showed the necessity for further effort.

ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE MYCELIUM OF
USTILAGO VIOLACEA (PERS.) ON ITS HOST PLANTS.

by Mr./ Cr Bb. PrownienT, FolS., ERIS:

On Lychnis.—lt has been asserted that the presence of the
mycelium of U. violacea (U. antherarum, Fr.) in a plant of
Lychnis vespertina will change the sexuality of the host-plant,
simply by its action upon the stamens of the plant. But it has
very naturally been objected that there is no evidence to show
what the sex of the Lychnis plant originally was. Having
during the past three or four years cultivated in my garden
various individuals of LZ. diwrna and vespertina affected with
the parasite in question, the results of my observations may not
prove uninteresting. In studying the life-history of these
parasitic fungi nothing is so valuable as cultivating the host-
plants in a garden and continually watching their growth and
development. In the first place, it has always been taken for

hy tf
THE INFLUENCE OF THE MYCELIUM OF USTILAGO VIOLACEA. 115

granted that when a parasite attacks all the reproductive organs
produced by a given plant, as when all the ears of a Wheat plant
are affected with bunt or smut, that the parasite has gained
admission into the host-plant at some early period of its exist-
ence ; with the above-named parasites this is perfectly true, and
it is most likely to be the case with the majority of other plants
all of whose shoots produce infected flowers.
In the summer of 1888 I transplanted into my garden a
healthy female plant of Lychnis vespertina. The object I had
in view was to see if I could discover how and when Ustilago
violacea effected its entrance into the Lychnis, and also to
learn whether the U. violacea on L. diwrna and on L. vespertina
were the same species. My idea was that the spores from the
diseased anthers were carried with the pollen, either by insects
or otherwise, to the stigmata of healthy plants, and that the
resultant seeds would produce plants infected with the Ustilago.
For the purpose, then, of obtaining artificially infected seeds, the
healthy female plant of L. vespertina was placed near a number
of diseased plants of L.diurna. After due time the ZL. vespertina
became established and produced healthy flowers, the long-
pointed stigmata of which projected well beyond the tube of the
corolla. Being sizeable objects and white in colour, it was very
easy to apply the Ustilago sporesto them. In due time the seeds
ripened, and with much care and ceremony were duly planted.
The seedlings which came were, however, very few in number
and perfectly healthy! The parent plant was not removed, but,
to my great astonishment, when it flowered this spring (1889) it
had changed its sex; not a single female flower has it produced
this year, but e¥ery blossom has contained anthers only, every
one of which has been affected with U. violacea. It would be
unwise to attach too much importance to a single case, but the
probability of error in this case is very small. It was the only
plant of L. vespertina in my garden, and its sex had been made
the subject of special and frequent observation. We have here,
therefore, an illustration that the presence of the mycelium of
U. violacea can change a female into a male plant, and further,
that the fungus can sometimes at least effect an entrance into
an adult plant. The mode by which this has been accomplished
is unknown to me, and I have no intention of theorising upon it.
In the same garden have been grown six plants of L. dwrna,
12

116 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

all of which were infected with the Ustilago violacea. Of these
five were male plants and did not produce a single seed-vessel.
The other has produced female flowers only, but their sexuality
has not been equally marked. When it first began to produce
flowers it was evident from their external shape that they each
contained an ovary. Upon closer examination, however, anthers
were found in each flower filled with the Ustilago spores. The
stigmata of these flowers were, if not absent, at least reduced
to mere points a millimetre or two at most in length on the top
of the ovaries. After a time flowers were found with smutted
anthers, but longer and better developed stigmata. Towards
autumn some few of the flowers were found without stamens,
but with well-developed stigmata, and eventually ripe capsules
were developed with perfect seeds. From previous experiment
I have found that seeds thus produced by an affected plant,
although they are few in number, yet when sown gave rise
to infected plants. It would thus appear. that the fungus has
a very potent influence upon the reproductive organs of the
host-plant, and although it is spore-producing, hyphe are con-
fined to the anthers, yet it does influence the development of the
stigmata and the production of seed.

Barley Smut.—Herewith are sent two specimens of Barley
Smut (Ustilago segetwm). From the observations of Mr. J. L.
Jensen, which he communicated to me last year, he informed me
that he had reason to believe on biological grounds that there were
at least two distinct species of Ustilago affecting Barley—speci-
mens of which he was kind enough to send me. The commoner he
calls U. nuda, because the spores are almost naked, and they are
soon dispersed by the wind and weather, leaving only the bare
rachis of the Barley. The other, much less common, U. tecta, has
its spores enclosed in a membranous capsule. They form, more-
over, much more compact masses and resist the disintegrating
influences of the weather for a much longer period (see Plowright,
Brit. Ured. and Ustilag. p. 274). The two species also differ in
size and colour and their spores.

The same observer has arrived at the conclusion, on biological
grounds, that the smuts of Wheat, of Barley, and of Oats are
distinct species and incapable of infecting other than their
proper host-plants—that is to say, the smut of Oats will not
affect Barley or Wheat, and vice versd. The biology of the smuts

THE INFLUENCE OF THE MYCELIUM OF USTILAGO VIOLACEA. 117

affecting our cereals, excepting bunt (7 %Jletia tritict), is not by any
means absolutely known even yet. From the remarkable dis-
coveries of Brefeld, that they can exist for long periods outside
living plants, it seemed as if the problem had been definitely solved.
There are, however, still remaining certain points to be cleared
up. For instance, Brefeld found that when the spores of Ustilago
segetum were placed in a sterilised decoction of herbivorous
excreta, they formed yeast-colonies, and continued to reproduce
themselves by budding like yeast cells until the nutrient fluid
was exhausted. He therefore concluded that it was from the farm-
yard manure that the cereal crops became infected. At the time
his observations were first published, being much interested in
the subject, I made careful inquiries amongst the farmers of West
Norfolk as to whether their crops were not much more injured by
smut when they were fertilised with farmyard manure than when
artificial manure was employed. I also examined a number of
fields myself with this point in view. But as far as I could see,
and as far as I could learn, there was as much smut after artificial
as after farmyard manure.

Then, again, the exact contour of a large manure-heap in a
field can be readily enough made out by the luxuriance of the
erowing crop as compared with the rest of the field; but, con.
trary to what one would have anticipated from Brefeld’s observa-
tions, smutted ears are not more common on the site of the
manure-heap than elsewhere in the field. Perhaps some member
of the Scientific Committee better conversant with Brefeld’s more
recent writings than [am may be able to clear up these points. I
have elsewhere stated in detail my non-success of infecting cereals
with smut (Uvred. and Ust. p. 101).

NOTES ON HOAR FROST.
By Mr. C. B.;Prowrigut, F.R:H:S., F.L.S.

Injuries to Trees by Hoar Frost.—The remarkable hoar-
frosts, which excited so much admiration on the part of all those
who were fortunate enough to see them, in the early part of
January 1889, have produced results in this district such as the
present generation has not before witnessed.

118 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The grandest sight was on Monday, January 7, 1889.
During the morning the fog, which had enshrouded everything
more or less for the two previous days, lifted, and the sun
illumined a perfect fairyland of hoar-frost. In the town of
King’s Lynn the overhead telephone-wires were broken down in
all directions by the sheer weight of the rime. In the country
the trees and hedges almost baffled description. One striking
feature was that the icy crystals were deposited in almost every
instance unilaterally—on one side of the twigs only. To such
an extent did this occur that instead of being round they appeared
flat. Imeasured the depth of this hoar-frost fringe on several trees
at Wolferton, and found it varied from one and a half to two
inches. The fringes all pointed in the same direction—southward.
A galvanised wire netting, not usually an attractive object from
an esthetic point of view, was transformed intoa gigantic honey-
comb of hoar-frost crystals, the cells of which were an inch or
more deep. The Fir-trees were pyramids of ice, and the telegraph-
wires became flat ribbons of icy crystals. On the 8th came the
thaw, and on the 9th one was able to observe accurately what
mischief had been done to the trees.

The first tree to attract my attention wasthe Birch. One
small individual near Wolferton Station had a branch amounting
to nearly one-third of the tree broken quite off and lying on the
ground. More generally, however, it was the smaller branches
at the top of trees which suffered. These were in most cases
split off, but still remaining attached to the tree. On South
Wootton Heath almost all the isolated trees suffered more or less.
The branches on the south side of the trees suffered most. A
clump of Birches at Wolferton looked as if a mischievous boy had
climbed up and twisted off a number of the upper branches.

But the tree which suffered most of all with us was the Elm.
It is the most abundant hedgerow tree. Branches of all sizes were
broken off; the smaller ones, as a rule, remained attached to
the trees, but in many instances large arms were broken off.
On the morning of the 8th some of the early travellers—notably
the carriers’ carts—coming to Lynn market were so impeded by
the fallen branches that they had to dismount and clear the road
before the carts could pass.

Amongst the finest—if not the finest—EHlms in West
Norfolk are a row of seven opposite Middleton Hall. These lost
many limbs and branches. The Hon. Miss Milles measured one

NOTES ON HOAR FROST. 119

of these broken-off limbs and found it to be 5 feet 6 inches in
circumference and 1 foot 10 inches in diameter,

Fia. 20.— Oax-TREE, Brancu Suowun OFF BY Hoar Frost,

The Oaks were also ver
round King’s Lynn.
attached to the trees,

y much injured in many districts
As a rule the broken branches remained
(See fig. 20, from the Gardeners’ Chronicle.)

120 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Many Willows and Black Poplars lost large limbs ; but the Ash
—although many of them were loaded with samari, which one
would have thought would have afforded a much larger attach-
ment surface for the hoar-frost than the bare twigs of the Elms
and Oaks—almost universally escaped injury. The same is true
of the Scotch Fir, I have only observed two or three injured
Firs anywhere near Lynn.

The Hoar Frost of January 1889.—A short time since
I sent to the Scientific Committee some specimens of Elm -
twigs and branches broken by the rime of January 8, 1889,
and with them a series of photographs of Elm, Birch, Willow,
and Oak trees taken by Mr. Herbert Tilson from various trees
near King’s Lynn, showing the rime-injuries to them in situ.
So unusual a phenomenon naturally excited the interest of
the Committee, who through their secretary requested further
evidence to show that the injuries in question were really caused
by rime and not by the action of wind upon branches loaded with
snow. The most difficult fact to believe is that such large arms as
shown by the photographs were really broken off by this cause.
Of course the amount of rime was phenomenal. No one that I
have met, and I have inquired of most of my friends as well as of
others, ever saw such a one in this district. The influence of
snow is quite out of the question, because there was no snow
at all. It can readily be understood that snow, melted and
then frozen upon the branches, might, if a strong breeze had
arisen, have caused somewhat similar injuries. But from
Friday, the 6th, to Monday, the 9th, we had no wind—the weather
was as calm as it could be. Of more value, however, than these
dogmatic assertions is the subjoined evidence obtained from
actual observers.

The large branch which broke off the Elm at Middleton Hall
fell down at about 5.20 on the evening of Saturday, January 7.
Mr. Lewis Milles passed under the tree about 5 p.m., and he
informs me that it was perfectly still at the time; there was no
wind whatever when the arm fell, and there had been no snow.

On Sunday morning, January 8, Mr. Charles Bristow was
walking along the Castle Rising Road about 11 a.m.; he both
heard and saw a bough break off a Birch-tree. The morning was
perfectly still, and there had been no snow during the night.
Photographs of Birch-trees from this place were sent to the

NOTES ON HOAR FROST. 191

Scientific Committee last month. Mr. §. N. Marshall, of The
Elms, West Lynn, informed me that branches were breaking off
the trees in and around his garden all Sunday. The trees which
suffered most with him were Black Poplars; to such an extent
did this occur that nearly a waggon-load of branches had to be
cleared up on Monday. The branches were bent down so that
they almost touched the ground, and gave way from time to time
during Sunday up to3 p.m. So remarkable was the sight that
he and the members of his family watched the trees break during
the morning, and remarked “ There goes another branch ’’ as each
successive bough gave way under the weight of the hoar-frost.

Mr. Herbert G. Ward observed on Sunday morning the
remarkable manner in which the Poplar arms were bowed down
by the weight of the rime and the numerous arms which were
broken off by it.

I would only add—the manner in which the branches broke
off, but remained attached to the trees, seems to be a distinctive
feature of rime-injuries. This does not apply to the Willows and
Poplars, the vast majority of whose branches fell to the ground,
but to the smaller branches of the Elms, Birches, and especially
of the Oaks. It was a remarkable sight to observe the broken
but still pendent branches of the Oak-trees upon the Hillington
Road.* For about a mile the trees on both sides of the road had
one or more broken branches hanging on them for some weeks
after the rime. These branches were not large ones, but they
were all on the south side of the trees, the direction in which, it
will be remembered, the hoar-frost crystals pointed.

To see an Oak-tree with two or three small boughs broken
but still attached is presumptive evidence that the injury has
resulted from rime, for it is a rare thing for wind to break off the
smaller branches at all, and if it is done the branch is generally
blown quite off.

* Many of the broken branches still remain attached to these Oak-trees
on the Hillington Road, January 1891.—C. B. P.

122 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

ON FIGS AND THEIR CULTURE AT CHISWICK.
By Mr. A. F. Barron, Superintendent of the Gardens.

Tue collection of Figs in the Society’s Gardens at Chiswick is
probably the largest and finest that is to be found in the country.
They were for the most part collected by Dr. Hogg in the South
of France, and for many years a considerable amount of attention
has been given to their cultivation—especially in pots —and
careful observations made as to their distinctive merits, &e.,
the Fig-house at Chiswick forming, during several months of the
year, a special feature of attraction to the Gardens.

The home of the cultivated Fig would seem to be Syria and
along the shores of the Mediterranean through Northern Italy
and Southern France and Spain. In this country, excepting
along the South Coast and in sheltered situations near the sea,
Figs do not ripen their fruit without protection. At Tarring,
Arundel, &c., on the coast of Sussex many trees are grown in
the orchards as standards and annually bear immense quantities
of fruit, and on the walls in similar localities an abundance
of large and fine fruit is obtained. In the Channel Islands
Figs do well and the trees attain a large size, and, being trained
in many cases as arbours, afford delightful shade and have quite
a picturesque appearance. In the neighbourhood of London, Figs
seldom ripen out of doors. The plant is, however, quite at home
and makes a capital shrub in many parts of the City itself. The
original trees introduced into this country may still be seen
growing in the Bishop of London’s garden at Fulham. Naturally
the Fig grows as a low bush or tree similar to a sturdy Apple,
but where supported or grown against a wall the branches are
more slender and dependent.

Mode of Fig-growing in France.—In the neighbourhood of
Paris Figs are grown in the open ground in a very unique
manner. The winters being too severe for the plants, shallow
pits, four or five feet in diameter and eighteen or twenty inches
deep, are formed in some warm situation, in which the trees are
planted. The first year they are cut down pretty closely, so
that they may produce a number of strong shoots, which are
allowed to grow freely during the summer. When the leaves

P }
ON FIGS AND THEIR CULTURE AT CHISWICK. 123

have fallen in autumn, four trenches, radiating from the root
or stool in the form of a Maltese cross, are dug out, into which
the shoots or branches, divided into four equal bundles, are bent
- down and covered with ten or twelve inches of soil, a similar
covering being placed over the crown. Here they remain until
the danger of frost is past, when they are released from their
winter’s burial. In this way they are treated year after year,
the shoots or branches being thinned where necessary, and they
bear enormous quantities of fruit.

Fruiting of the Fig.—Differing from the majority of fruit-
trees, the Fig will bear two, and sometimes, under very favour-
able circumstances, even three crops in one season. There is
the ‘‘ first crop,” which is borne on the shoots of the previous
year; the little round buds may easily be observed before the
leaf-growth commences. The ‘‘second crop’’ is borne on the
growing shoots of the current season. Some people are under
the impression that the half-grown fruits which remain on the
trees after the fall of the leaf are intended to form the next
year’s ‘‘first crop.’’ But it is not so; they are simply late
“second crop”’ fruit that failed to come to maturity through
want of heat, &e. In the Fig-growing countries there are the
recognised ‘first crop’’ and the ‘‘second crop’’ Figs, some
varieties being suited for the one purpose, some for the other.
In this country it is only the ‘‘ first crop” varieties which come
to maturity in the open air, the season of summer warmth being
too short todo more; but under glass excellent crops both of the
‘first’ and “ second crop”’ Figs may be obtained where suitable
varieties are grown. A singular point to be noticed is the
markedly different shape of the fruits of the “‘ first ’’ and ‘‘ second
crops ’’ off the same trees—the fruits of the ‘‘ first crop”’ being
long, nearly twice as long as those of the ‘‘second,” which are
frequently almost oblate.

The Setting of the Fruit.—The fruit, or edible portion, of
the Fig is very curious, being the common receptacle of a con-
geries of flowers, which consist of numerous small florets lining
the internal walls or surface of the embryo fruit, so that they
are not visible without cutting the fruit open. Some of these
florets are male, some female. With regard to the manner in
which the hidden flowers or florets are set, we know little or
nothing.

124 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Casting of the Fruit.—The casting of the fruit without ripen-
ing, which is of very common occurrence, is attributed to the
non-setting of the flowers. That it is so may easily be seen by
cutting open the fallen fruits and examining them, when it will be
observed that the flowers are undeveloped. Many reasons have
been assigned as to the cause of this defect. Some ascribe it to
a sudden check, to coldness, to dryness at the root, or to the
reverse—of too much moisture, &c., &c.—all or any of which
conditions may be injurious to the plant, and may tend towards
the evil, but are certainly not the true or prima facie cause. It
may be noted that some varieties are more lable to cast their
fruit than others, and that under all sorts of treatinent, whilst
others, receiving exactly the same treatment, do not doso. Itis
generally with plants that seem to be in the best possible health,
and it is almost always with the ‘first crop,’ and not the
‘‘second,”’ that failure occurs in this manner.

Caprification.—In many parts of Italy, Spain, &c., in order to
prevent this ‘‘non-setting ”’ feature, recourse is had to what is
termed ‘‘caprification,” which is firmly believed in by those who
practise it, but condemned by most modern scientific writers who
have studied the subject as an absolutely useless waste of time.
The process is simply this: young Figs of the Caprifig (a wild
species which is planted in almost every collection) are taken
and placed on the shoots of the Fig-trees it is desired to set, and
in these Caprifigs a certain insect is said to be generated which,
it is alleged, enters the eye of the unripe, and as yet unset, fruit
of the cultivated species, thus facilitating the entrance of light
and fertilisimg vapour, thereby enabling the fruit to set and
ripen. In some parts of the South of France it is said to be a
common practice for men who are termed caprifiguers to prick
the eye of the fruit with a straw or quill dipped in olive oil.
Brandy also is applied by dropping a‘little in at the eye or
through a puncture in the skin, which is, moreover, believed to
hasten the maturity of the fruit and to improve its flavour.

Trauung and Formation of the Plant.—The training and
formation of the plant is a very simple matter. The prettiest
and most natural form for Figs in pots is that of dwarf standards.
These should have a clear stem of from eight to twelve inches, and
should on no account be allowed to produce suckers or to become
many-stemmed, as such plants do not fruit so well. During the

ON FIGS AND THEIR CULTURE AT CHISWICK. . 125

first season the plant may be allowed to grow with a clear stem
to the required height, when it should have the point pinched
out—an operation, if the season is not too far gone, which will
have the effect of causing three or more of the top buds to break,
and when these have grown three or four inches they should be
again stopped in the same manner, and in the second and follow-
ing years (if they have grown sufficiently) the same process of
pinching out the points of the young shoots when three or four
inches long should be pursued. The plant thus formed should
at the end of the third year have all the shoots pruned back to
about half their length, and ought the following season to. become
a fruiting plant. A great deal, of course, depends upon the culti-
vation and condition of the plants, &c. General principles only
can be stated.

Pinching the Shoots.—Plants which have attained a suffi-
ciently large size should have their shoots regularly pinched when
about three or four inches long, which will induce the production
of fruit in abundance at the axils of the leaves. Shoots not so
pinched, but allowed to ramble, do not fruit so freely, the inces-
sant pinching to which they are subjected seeming to encourage
the production of fruit.

Pruning.—Of pruning little is required with plants grown in
pots and well pinched. There is an old saying that ‘a pruned
Fig-tree never bears,’’ which is scarcely true, as the Fig will
bear any amount of pruning. It is true that if we cut off all the
shoots in winter we can expect none of the “first crop’’ fruit, but
hope for the ‘‘second.” In pruning the Fig it is well to
bear this in mind. Young plants, as already stated, require to
be pruned or cut back to bring them into form, and with fruiting
plants it is only necessary to prune back the straggling shoots,
so as to bring the plants back into form again. In some cases it
may be desirable to cut the plant quite hard back and commence
to form a new head entirely.

Pot Cultwre.—The Fig is exceedingly well adapted to pot-
culture—no plant more so perhaps—and it can be cultivated to
more advantage in pots than in any other way. One recom-
mendation of this method is the great variety of sorts that may
be grown in a given space. By a proper selection of varie-
ties—early, mid-season, and late—a continual supply for several
months may be maintained. At Chiswick the crop begins

126 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

to ripen in July, and continues until the end of November.
Properly managed Fig-trees in pots produce fruit in greater
abundance and of better quality than do those which are
planted out. When planted out they always, whilst young, grow
so vigorously that little fruit is produced; and although the re-
medy for this is restriction of the root-space, it is found in practice
difficult to regulate. When grown in pots the plants are per-
fectly under the control of the cultivator, and may receive what-
ever treatment may be required.

The Fig is easy of propagation by cuttings, taken off when
the plants are at rest, any time during the winter, and placed in
a little heat in early spring. Suckers are also freely produced ;
these taken off and potted soon form plants, and may be potted
on as required, and grown freely. Whilst growing and forming
plants the Fig delights in a warm and moist atmosphere, with
full exposure to the direct rays of the sun. No greater mistake
could be made than that of placing Figs in the shade; no plant
is benefited more by full sun-exposure. In potting the young
plants, the first shift may be into 5-inch pots, and, as they grow,
into larger as may be required, always giving an abundance of
drainage, which, being kept sweet and pure, tends much to the
success of the pot cultivation of all kinds of plants. Whilst
young, some may require shifting twice a year, but larger plants
will only require to be potted once, the object being to produce
short, stocky, fruitful shoots, and not gross ones, which would be
the case if an excess of pot room were supplied. Early in the
autumn, or as soon as the fruit may be gathered, the whole of
the plants should be thoroughly examined, and repotted where
required. For some it will be sufficient to turn them out of the
pots, shaking away a portion of the old soil and reducing the ball
by trimming off the stronger roots, and then replacing them in
the same-sized pots; whilst others, which have attained the
maximum size, may simply have a great portion of the top soil,
roots and all, taken away, and be filled up afresh with new soil.
Figs may be fruited in any-sized pot, from a 48, or 5-inch pot,
to 18 or 20 inches. The most convenient size is 12 inches in
diameter, and they never need exceed 15 inches.

Soil.—In regard to soil the Fig is not very particular; it
will grow in any kind almost. That in which the best results

ON FIGS AND THEIR CULTURE AT CHISWICK. 1o7

have been obtained is a sort of calcareous loam on a chalky
subsoil. For pot cultivation a somewhat richer soil is required,
so as to produce large and fine fruit. We have found the
following to answer well: two-thirds fresh yellow loam and one-
third lime-rubbish, so as to give it porosity, with an admixture
of burnt ashes, a few half-inch ground bones, and some well-rotted
stable manure. During the growing season the plants should
be frequently and liberally top-dressed, and this should be
of a considerably richer character. Thomson’s vine manure
answers remarkably well, or indeed any mixture containing
ground bones, horn shavings, &¢., mixed with the soil.

Watering.—Watering is an important matter with Figs.
Whilst young and growing, if properly potted, and the drainage
in proper action, in a high temperature too much water can
scarcely be supplied. They may be, and should be, syringed
overhead two or three times a day, and the atmosphere kept
continually moist. When the fruit is ripening water must be
applied more sparingly to the roots, and a much drier atmosphere
maintained. An excess of moisture at this time is apt to cause
many of the fruits to split open, especially the larger varieties,
and also spoils the flavour. A bracing, warm atmosphere and
comparative dryness are essential to secure well-flavoured fruit.
The fruit of the Fig ripening successionally makes this somewhat
difficult, as the treatment required by those in one stage is exactly
the reverse of what is required by the other.

Atmosphere, Temperature, dc.—The Fig whilst growing
delights in a close, humid atmosphere and a high temperature
—the hotter the better, so long as it is copiously charged with
moisture. For ycung plants this high temperature is not of so
much importance, but for fruiting plants it is so in the highest
degree. During the summer months not so much fire-heat is
required, as by judicious attention to ventilation, &c., a suffi-
ciently high temperature may be maintained from sun-heat
alone. A temperature of from 80° to 90°F. may safely be allowed
in the morning before giving air, and by shutting up early in
the afternoon, and ‘ bottling up the sun’s rays,’’ the temperature
may rise to 120° or more, which will ensure plenty of warmth
until the following day—a low temperature at night being
preferable to a high one. On cold days a litile fire-heat may be

128 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

applied, but the temperature from this source need never exceed _
65°, and a similar temperature may be maintained when the
fruit is ripening.

Enemies and Ailments.—These are not so numerous or so
formidable as in the case of most other fruits. Of enemies red-
spider and thrips are the chief; and as these are encouraged by
dryness and adry atmosphere, they may be subdued by plenty of
moisture and a free use of the syringe, which is at the same time
very agreeable to the plants. Mealy-bug is sometimes very
troublesome, but may be destroyed by the timely application with
a brush of a little diluted paraffin. A more insidious scourge we
have suffered from at Chiswick is a species of scale received on
some Figs from France, which spread so rapidly over the plants
a few years ago as nearly to destroy the whole collection. Many
varieties were lost in consequence of the repeated scrubbings and
dressings required to cleanse them from the pest, which com-
pletely covered the young shoots and leaves. On submitting
specimens to the Scientific Committee, it was found to ‘be a
species of scale new to Great Britain, rejoicing under the name
of Mytilaspis ficus. One inscrutable malady of the Fig is the
dying of the shoots and branches—a sort of cankering—some-
times to such an extent as to almost destroy the entire plant,
sometimes only a few small twigs, or it may be only a partial
injury which is subsequently healed over. This has been
attributed to the action of frost, but cannot be so, as the injury
is most pronounced on the trees in pots which are not exposed,
and is seldom noticed on out-door trees.

When and how to enjoy Figs.—Figs thoroughly ripened are
amongstthe richest and most luscious of fruits, but there is great
variety. ‘There are good Figs, and Figs which are not so good.
Very few people relish them quite on the first acquaintance ; they
are what are termed sickly. The taste is no doubt an acquired
one, like that for Olives or raw Tomatos, but the taste grows upon
one till one acquires a decided relish for them. Figs to be eatable
must be ripe; unripe Figs are simply nauseous and intolerable.
If the white, milky juice is seen at the end of the stalk after
being gathered, that fruit should not have been gathered. A Fig
that is ripe and fit to eat may be noted to droop a little, and to
have a large “ teardrop’’ at the eye; the skin cracked a little, with
the juice exuding and standing on the surface like drops of dew ;

ON FIGS AND THEIR CULTURE AT CHISWICK. 129

and, beyond this, in fine dry sunny weather they sometimes dry
up and increase in richness.

Selection of Varieties—There is abundance of variety
amongst Figs to please all tastes and fancies, so that the follow-
ing selections may prove useful to intending growers.

1. Size.—For large sorts the following may be named:
Brunswick, an old, well-known sort; Nebian, or Grosse Verte, as
it is sometimes called ; and a new variety, named the Large Black
Douro, lately received from Spain.

For small-fruited sorts White Ischia is one of the best, with
De Lipari, Black Provence, and Reculver.

2. Fruitfulness.—As a rule, the smaller-fruited sorts bear
the most profusely, such as the White Ischia, iil de Perdrix,
and Black Provence. Some of those, however, which bear
both first and second crops make a large return. Of these
White Marseilles, Brown Turkey, and Negro Largo are good
examples.

3. Season of Ripening.—The earliest of all is Trifer, closely
followed by De la Madeleine and White Marseilles. For the main
crop we would select varieties possessed of good quality, such as
Brown Turkey, Bourjassote grise, Violette de Bordeaux, Grise
Savantine bifére, Gouraud noir, Poulette, and, for the latest,
Col de Signora Bianco, Nebian, and d’Agen, which is the latest
of all.

4, Flavour or Quality.—For high quality and constancy
there is none to surpass Bourjassote grise ; even the half-ripened
fruits of this variety are excellent. Col de Signora Bianco,
Nebian, Grise Savantine bifére, and Poulette are all varieties of
great excellence. ;

5. Colowr.—This is not a material point, except in a matter
of classification. They are readily divisible into three classes—
(1) green, white, or yellow ; (2) tawny ; and (8) black, or dark. As
examples of the first class we may take De la Madeleine, White
Marseilles, D’Orée, and Nebian; and of the second, Brown
Turkey, Bourjassote grise, and De l’Archipel; and of the third,
Violette de Bordeaux, Black Ischia, Negro Largo, and Gouraud
noir.

6. Varieties which bear both First and Second Crops.—This
is a very important quality. White Marseilles, De la Madeleine,
Trifer, Brown Turkey, and Brunswick. }

K

130 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

VARIETIES OF Fics.

1. Adam.—Fruit medium size, pyriform; skin dull brown,
tawny ; flesh dull red, second quality. Good cropper.

2. Angélique noire.—Fruit below medium size, roundish or
oblate ; skin dark; flesh bright red, rich. Strong grower and
moderate cropper.

3. Arbal.

4. Agen.—Fruit medium size, roundish ; skin bright green,
cracking longitudinally when becoming ripe, thereby showing
very prominent white bands; flesh deep red, very rich. The
latest of all Figs, requiring heat. Great cropper.

5. Barnisotte grise—Fruit below medium, roundish or
oblate ; skin dull brown or tawny ; flesh red, juicy, and rich.

6. Biberaeo.—Fruit medium size, oblong ; skin dark purple ;
flesh dull red, moderate quality. A free cropper.

7. Bifere de la Malmaison._Fruit below medium size,
roundish ; skin light brown and purple streaked, with a light
bloom ; flesh red, very rich.

8. Black Douro.—A new variety from Spain.

9. Black Ischia.—Fruit medium size, pyriform; skin dark
purple; flesh red, second quality.

10. Blact Provence.—Fruit small, pyriform; skin dark
purple; flesh red, second quality. Very prolific.

11. A Bows yaspé.—F ruit medium size, ovate; skin bright
mahogany, netted ; flesh bright red, medium quality.

Boughton.—Same as Brunswick.

12. Bourjassote blanche.—Fruit small, round or turbinate ;
skin dull green, inclining to tawny; flesh pale rose, sweet and
rich.

18. Bourjassote grise.—Fruit medium size, roundish and
flattened, almost oblate; skin dull brown or tawny, with patches
of purple; flesh deep red, very rich and luscious. The most
constantly good Fig we have grown, and a good cropper.

14. Boutana.—Fruit medium size, pyriform; skin pale
ereenish yellow, with russet; flesh dull rose, sweet, but not rich-

15. Bourjassote novre.—Fruit medium size, roundish,
ribbed; skin purple; flesh deep red, rather solid, and not rich.

16. Brown Turkey.—Fruit medium size, pyriform; skin

ON FIGS AND THEIR CULTURE AT CHISWICK. z 131

dull brown and tawny ; flesh dull red, medium quality. A free
cropper and reliable sort. The Fig most generally cultivated.

17. Brunswick.—Fruit very large, long, pyriform ; skin dull
tawny brown; flesh dull red, second quality. A great cropper,
and a variety largely grown.

18. Castle Kennedy.—Fruit very large, long, pyriform ; skin
pale green and dingy brown, resembling the Brunswick. Second
quality. A shy cropper.

Clave (Hogg).—Same as Brunswick.

19. Col de Signora Bianco.—Fruit medium size, pyriform,
with a rather long distinctly ribbed neck; skin green, changing
to yellow; flesh deep red, very rich and luscious. A strong
grower ; late.

20. Col de Signora Bianco panachée.—A variety of Col de
Signora Bianco ; very prettily striped with broad bands of pale
yellow.

21. Cowrcourelle brune.—Fruit below medium size,. roundish
oblate; skin dark purple, much cracked, and covered with a
thick bloom; flesh very dark red, very rich and excellent.

22. Courcourelle gavotte.—Fruit small, round; skin dark
brown, with prominent lines, much cracked ; flesh dark red, rich
and excellent.

Crave (Rivers).—Resembles Violette de Bordeaux.

23. Datie—Fruit medium size, pyriform, with a long,
tapering neck; skin greenish yellow and dingy brown, which
cracks as it ripens; flesh dull red, juicy, but not rich.

24, De Lipari.—Fruit small, roundish, with a very short
stalk and neck; skin pale yellow; flesh pale rose, not very
juicy or rich. A great cropper.

25. De l’Archipel.—Fruit above medium size, obovate ;
skin light tawny; flesh very pale, juicy, rich, and excellent.
A great cropper.

26. Dorée nobis.—Fruit small, pyriform; skin deep yellow ;
flesh pale, very sweet and good. Distinct.

27. Dorée.—Fruit above medium size, pyriform; flesh dull
red, very rich and good.

28. D’or bifére.—Fruit below medium size, long, ovate ; skin
dull brown and greenish yellow; flesh blood red, very rich and
juicy.

Douro Vebra.—Same as Biberaeo.
K2

132 * JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

29. Drap d’Or.—Fruit below medium size, almost round, no
neck; skin pale greenish yellow, shaded with brown; Heel
delicate amber, thick, juicy, and well-flavoured.

30, Du Fov.—Fruit small, roundish, pale yellow.

Figue d’Or.—Same as Brunswick.

31. Ligue de Dalmatia (Paul).—Fruit very large, long,
pyriform; skin pale green, covered with a soft pubescence ;
flesh dull red, moderate quality.

82. Gouraud now.—Fruit medium size, oblong; skin dark
purple ; flesh red, sweet and rich.

33. Gouraud vrouge.—Fruit medium size, pyriform; skin
reddish brown ; flesh dull red, moderate quality,

84. Grassale.—Fruit small, pyriform; skin pale green;
flesh dull red, moderate quality.

35. Grise Savantine bifére.—Fruit below medium, short,
pyriform; skin dull brown, ribbed, with a thick grey bloom ;
flesh dull-red, thick, syrupy, and luscious.

86. Grosse Marseilles——Fruit medium size, long, pyriform ;
skin greenish yellow, shaded brown; flesh dull red, second
quality.

37. Grosse Monstrueuse de Iipart.—Fruit large, turbinate,
much flattened at the apex; skin dull brown or tawny, shaded
with purple; flesh dull red, thick, second quality. A certain
first-crop Fig.

Grosse Verte.—Same as Nebian.

Grosse Violette de Bordeaux.—See Violette de Bourdeaux
Hardy Prolific.—Same as Brunswick.

Lee’s Perpetual.—Same as Brown Turkey.

Maris No. 2.—Same as Gouraud noir.
Martinique.—Same as Angélique.

88. Lampa (Tait).—New variety from Spain.

39. Large Wild Fig (Tait).—Variety used in Spain for capri- —
fication.

40. Large Black Dowro.—Fruit large, long pyriform ; skin
dark purple, somewhat cracked; flesh dark red, very juicy, not:
rich.

41. Hirta du Japon (Rivers).—Fruit medium-size, roundish,
with long stalks; skin very dark; flesh pale opaline; foliage
almost entire. Very distinct.

ON FIGS AND THEIR CULTURE AT CHISWICK. 13%

42. Nigra.—Fruit small, pyriform; skin dull yellow, shaded
with purple ; flesh bright red, juicy, not rich. )

43. Monaco Bianco.—Fruit above medium size, roundish,
oblate ; skin green; flesh dark red, juicy, and exceedingly rich.
Free cropper.

44, Negro d’Espagne.—Fruit large, oblong, broad at the
/ apex; skin dark purple, and covered with a thick bloom; flesh
deep red, thick, not rich. Very commonly grown in the South
of France.

45. Negro Largo.—Fruit large, pyriform ; skin dark purple ;
flesh dull red, juicy, but not particularly rich. A very free
bearer and strong grower.

Negronne.—Same as Violette de Bourdeaux.

46. Nebian.—Fruit very large, obovate; skin deep green ;
flesh bright red, very rich and luscious, somewhat apt to split
open. Free bearing ; late.

47. Gil de Perdrix.—Fruit small, round, the stalk a little
on one side; skin dark chestnut, almost black; eye very large
and prominent ; flesh thick, dark rose, second quality.

Osborn’s Prolific.—Same as Brown Turkey.

48. Pastiliére.

49, Peau Dure.—Fruit above medium size, pyriform, a little
one-sided ; stalk long and slender; skin greenish yellow, very
thick and hard ; flesh bright rose, thick and fleshy, not rich.

50. Pied de Beuf.—F ruit large, long, obovate, much ribbed ;
skin dark brown, or reddish purple; fiesh very pale, second
quality.

51. Poulette.—Fruit above medium size, roundish ; skin deep
green, streaked and mixed with purple; eye bright red; flesh
deep red, very juicy and rich.

52. Quarteria (Tait)—Fruit medium size; skin pale green,
netted ; flesh deep red, firm and juicy.

53. Recousse nov.

54, Reculver.—Fruit small, roundish, like the Black Provence;
skin black; flesh red, thick, not rich.

55. Ronde rouge.—Fruit medium size; skin dull tawny red ;
flesh shell-red, second quality.

56. Royal Vineyard.—Fruit above medium, pyriform; skin
reddish brown; flesh dull red, thick, not rich. A pretty Fig.

57. Small Black.

134 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

58. Small Wild (Tait)—From Spain. Fruit very small, pale

yellow. Variety used in Spain for caprification.
Toulousienne.— Same as Grise Savantine bifere.

59. Trifer.—Fruit medium size, pyriform; skin pale green ;
flesh pale, thin, and watery, not rich. Very early, and a sure
cropper.

60. Tvrois-récoltes.—Fruit small, ovate; skin dark tawny or
copper-coloured ; flesh dull red, with but little flavour. LHarly
and a free bearer.

61. Verdal de Valence.—Fruit below medium, roundish, tur-
binate, slightly ribbed; skin dull tawny red, with a fine bloom;
flesh thick, dull red, second quality. Very prolific.

62. Versaclles.x—Fruit small, pyriform, with along stalk; skin
dull green, slightly russeted ; flesh pale red, juicy, not rich.

63. Vigasotte Bianco (Tait).

64. Violette de Bordeaux.—Fruit small, long, pyriform; skin
rugose, dark purple; flesh dull red, thick, but not rich. A very
prolific Fig, and not liable to rot.

65. White Ischia.—Fruit small, round; skin greenish yellow
with russet; flesh pale, occasionally tinged with red, juicy and
rich. A very prolific variety.

66. White Marseilles.—Fruit medium size, pyriform; skin
pale green; flesh pale, very juicy, but rather watery. A very
hardy and prolific sort, and early.

REPORT ON RED AND WHITE CURRANTS AT
CHISWICK.

By Mr. A. F. Barron, Superintendent of the Gardens.

AutTHouGH denoted one of the small fruits, Currants are yet of
great importance and value in the garden, and form one of the
most useful of fruits. Much confusion has been found to exist
with regard to their distinctive characters and superabundant
nomenclature. With a view to remedy this state of things, and
to discover some system of classification, the Royal Horticultural
Society has collected from the various nurseries in this country
and in France plants of nearly every variety bearing a distinct
name that could be found. These, grown under similar conditions,

REPORT ON RED AND WHITE CURRANTS AT CHISWICK. 135

have been carefully noted for several years, and were examined
during the past year (1890) by the Fruit Committee.

It was found impossible from the fruits alone to adopt any
classification ; for although varying considerably in the size of
the bunches and the berries, and in their colour, &c., these are
so much influenced by cultivation, situation, &c., that nothing
definite could be arrived at. The following classification is
therefore based chiefly on the general appearance of the plants,
their foliage, habit of growth, &c. This is generally very decided,
and easily to be recognised. The typical names adopted, under
which the others are grouped as synonyms, may not in all cases
be the oldest or the most appropriate, but in many cases we had
no means of determining which were the original names. Of Red
Currants sixteen distinct classes or varieties have been recognised
out of the forty-five named sorts which appear in various cata-
logues, and of White Currants six distinct varieties out of nime-
teen named sorts.

RED CURRANTS.

Belle de Fontenay.—See La Versaillaise.

Cerise.—See Champagne.

1. CHAMPAGNE (syns. Cerise, Cowlewr de Chair, Red Cham-
pagne, Ombrée).—Plant moderately robust, compact; leaves
small bright green, resembling the Red Dutch ; bunch of medium
size; berries small, of a pale cerise or pink colour, and as sweet
and pleasant as the white varieties. A profuse cropper. Distinct.
Useful for dessert.

Chenonceaux.—See Red Cherry.

2. Cuiswick Rep (syn. ad Fewilles bordées).—Large, sweet
Red. Plant of dwarf, compact growth. Leaves small, flat, of a
pale glaucous green; a portion, especially those in the shade,
having a narrow margin of yellow; very distinct in appearance.
Bunch short, borne in dense clusters. Berries small, of a pale-
red colour, somewhat acid. A most profuse cropper.

Coulewr de Charr.—See Champagne.

3. CUT-LEAVED (syn. d Fewilles laciniées).—Plant of some-
what slender growth, spreading. Leaves small, much cut and
lobed, and of various sizes; very distinct in appearance. Bunches
of medium size. Berries medium size, bright red, brisk acid.
A very free-cropping variety.

136 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, |

Defiance.—See Red Cherry; also Gondouin Rouge.

De Caucase.—See Red Cherry.

Fay’s Prolific (anew American variety).—See Red Cherry.

Fertile d’Angers.—See Red Cherry.

Fertile de Palluau.—See Red Cherry.

A Fewilles bordées.—See Chiswick Red.

A Feuilles laciniées.—See Cut-leaved.

A Feuilles dorées.—See Yellow-leaved.

A Fewilles panachées,—See Variegated.

frauendorf.—See La Versaillaise.

4, GLOIRE DE SABLoNS (syn. Striped).—Plant of strong,
robust growth, resembling the Red Dutch; leaves bright green ;
bunches long; berries small, red or striped white. A poor
cropper, but distinct and pretty.

5. Gonpovuin Rovar.—Plant of strong, robust, compact
growth ; shoots reddish ; leaves pale green ; bunches and berries
of medium size, bright red, very acid. Late. A shy cropper.

Hdtive de Bertin.—See Red Cherry.

6. Houcuton Caste (syn. Houghton Seedling).—Plant of
very compact, sturdy growth; leaves rather small, of a dark
green colour ; bunches of medium size, borne in dense clusters ;
berries of medium size, dark red, briskly acid. The vigorous,
free growth of this variety, with its free-cropping qualities,
render it one of the best Currants for exposed situations, &c.

Kiught’s Large Red.—See Red Dutch.

Large Sweet Red.—See Chiswick Red.

7. La VERSAILLAISE (syns. Belle de Fontenay, Frauendorf;).—
Plant of a somewhat strong growth, the young shoots being very
gross, and very lable to break off at the axis, so that many
plants are entirely spoiled; in other cases the buds do not
break, and so the plants are reduced to a few shoots from the
base, and little or no fruit is borne. This is a very serious
defect, rendering the variety scarcely worthy of cultivation.
Leaves large, broad, flat, deep green, with frequently a deep
bronzy metallic shade, in this respect resembling the Red
Cherry ; bunches of medium size, irregular; berries very large
and extremely handsome, of a deep red colour and fine acid
flavour. <A very poor cropper. |

8. MaLLow-LEAVED (syns. May’s Victoria, Raby Castle).—
Plant of very strong, vigorous growth, attaining a large size, the

‘REPORT ON RED AND WHITE CURRANTS AT CHISWICK. 137

strongest growing of all Currants. Shoots pale; leaves pale
glaucous green, soft, something resembling the leaf of a Mallow;
bunches very long ; berries of medium size, pale red, very acid.
Late in ripening. A moderatecropper. Excellent for standards
or walls.

May’s Victoria.—See Mallow-leaved.

Old Dutch.—See Old Red.

9. Oup Rep (syn. Old Dutch).—A small-fruited and inferior
variety of the Red Dutch. :

Pitmaston Red.—See Red Dutch.

Raby Castle.—See Mallow-leaved.

Red Champagne.—See Champagne.

10. Rep CHERRY (syns. Chenonceaux, Fay’s~Prolific, De
Caucase, Defiance, Fertile d’ Angers, Fertile de Palluau, Hative
de Bertin, La Hiative, Rouge de Boulogne).—Plant of dwarf,
bushy habit ; shoots rather gross, breaking off somewhat in the
same manner as La Versaillaise, but not to so great an extent ;
leaves large, flat, deep green, with a bronzy metallic hue, like
La Versaillaise ; bunches of medium size; berries very large,
full, juicy, deep shining red, extremely pretty, of a brisk acid
flavour. A very free cropper, and one of the best for garden
culture.

11. Rep Durtcsu (syns. Knight’s Large Red, Pitmaston Red,
fied Foxley, Wilmot’s Large Red, Rouge de Hollande).—Plant of
strong, vigorous, erect growth, forming compact bushes ; leaves
rather small, bright green; bunches of medium size, borne in
dense clusters ; berries of medium size, bright red, briskly acid.
A free and abundant cropper, and having a fine constitution.
This is the variety most commonly in cultivation.

Red Foxley.—See Red Dutch.

12. Rep Grapx (syn. Reime Victoria).—Plant of free, spread-
ing growth; shoots somewhat slender and reddish ; leaves large,
deeply lobed, pale green with reddish venations; bunches very
long and loose; berries of medium size, pale red and rather
acid. Late. A fine free-cropping variety.

Reine Victoria—See Red Grape.

fiouge de Boulogne.—See Red Cherry.

_ Striped.—See Gloire de Sablons.
_ Ombrée.—See Red Champagne.

138 - JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. -

13. VARIEGATED.—A variety of the Old Red, having the leaves
variegated with white.

14. VeRRIERS RoucEe.—Plant of sturdy, vigorous, compact
growth ; shoots reddish ; leaves irregular, with red venations.
Resembles Gondouin Rouge.

15. WALLACE’s SEEDLING.—A very fine selection of the Red
Dutch. Berries as large as Red Cherry.

Wilmot’s Large Red.—See Red Dutch.

16, YELLOW-LEAVED, OR GOLDEN.—Plant of vigorous, compact
erowth ; shoots rather gross; leaves large, splashed with pale
yellow, and often with a narrow yellow margin, very distinct ;
bunches and berries small. A poor cropper.

WHITE CURRANTS.

Blanche d’ Angleterre.—See White Dutch. |

Blanche de Boulogyne.—See White Imperial.

Blanche ad’ Hollande.—See White Dutch.

Blanche Commune.—See Common White.

Blanche Transparente.-—See Common White.

1, Common WuHitTE (syns. Blanche Commune, Blanche
Transparente).—Plants of spreading habit, slender but free;
leaves small, much lobed, pale green; bunches short; berries
rather small, with a fine clear skin, sweet. Good cropper.

2. CUT-LEAVED WHITE (syns. d Fewilles laciniées, Wilmot’s
Large White, Shilling’s Queen).—Plants of free but rather
slender growth ; shoots small ; leaves small, much cut and lobed,
bright green ; bunches and berries of medium size, very bright
and clear-skinned, sweet and pleasant. A profuse bearer.

A Feuilles bordées.—See Macrocarpa.

A Feuilles laciniées.—See Cut-leaved White.

3. GROSSE BLANCHE (syn. Kiught’s Large White).—Plant of
moderate growth, somewhat spreading; leaves large; bunches
medium size; berries large; skin clear. Free cropping.

Knight's Large White-—See Grosse Blanche.

Blanche Impériale.—See White Imperial.

4, Macrocarpa (syn. d Fewilles bordées).—Plant of strong,
robust, erect growth; leaves large, flat, splashed and veined
with pale yellow, and having a distinct yellow margin, which is
very pronounced in the early summer ; bunches medium ; berries

ON THE EFFECTS OF URBAN FOG UPON CULTIVATED PLANTS. 189

large and full, of a dull cloudy-white, rather acid. A profuse
cropper. A very distinct variety.

Shilling’s Queen.—See Cut-leaved White.

Transparent White-—See Common White.

5. Wuite Dutcu (syns. Blanche d’Hollande, Blanche
d’ Angleterre).—Plant of moderate vigour, compact; leaves large,
flat, deep green, with a narrow yellow margin; bunch medium
size ; berries large, clear white, sweetly flavoured. Free cropper
and an excellent sort.

6. WuirE Inperiau (syn. Blanche de Boulogne, Blanche
Invpériale).—Plant moderately robust; bunches long; berries
medium.

White Transparent.—See Common White.

Wilmot’s Large White.—See Cut-leaved White.

ON THE EFFECTS OF URBAN FOG UPON
CULTIVATED PLANTS.

Preliminary Report by Professor F. W. Outver, D.Sc., F.L.S.,
presented to the Scientific Committee of the Royal
Horticultural Society, March 24th, 1891.

THE investigation, as to which I am now drawing up an interim
report, has been undertaken by the Royal Horticultural Society’s
Scientific Committee, supported by a grant from the Royal
Society to meet the cost of apparatus, &c. The question of the
effects of urban fog on plant life has come prominently before
our town and suburban cultivators, and the ‘damage from this
cause, which may formerly have been regarded as exceptional, is
now admitted to be chronic and constitutes an ever-increasing
source of dismay to all interested in horticulture. The action of
the Scientific Committee in taking up this question is but the
reflection of a general feeling amongst cultivators that something
ought to be done. A winter never passes now without one or
more prolonged spells of fog, contaminated with the products of
coal combustion. For weeks at a time, during the winter, the
London suburbs are enshrouded in semi-darkness, whilst the air
is tainted with foreign and offensive matter. Coincidently, there
occurs a dropping of buds, a destruction of flowers, and, what is

140 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

more serious, a wholesale annihilation of the foliage of most
tender, soft-wooded stove-plants. The leaves of certain genera
of Orchids and of hard-wooded plants turn yellow when these
visitations are prolonged.

It seemed to the Scientific Committee desirable that steps
should be taken to ascertain to what constituents of fogs the
various classes of injury enumerated above are due; what part
is played by the various acids present ; whether the tarry products
exert any specific action; and how far the conditions of semi-
darkness participate in the destruction.

It was also considered desirable to make special investigation
into the exact nature and amount of the impurities present in
urban fog, and to observe the varying effects on vegetation of
fogs differing in quality. The Committee, though hardly sanguine
that any knowledge that might be obtained by such an investiga-
tion would lead to any effective abolition of the evil, was of the
opinion that such an inquiry was desirable in view of the great
interest of the question. In any case, such knowledge was
necessary before special cultural precautions could be recom-
mended as likely to mitigate the evil to an appreciable extent.
A full understanding of the disease must precede any steps for
its amelioration. Whilst the Scientific Committee was arranging
for the carrying out of a systematic inquiry in the London area,
the Manchester Field Naturalists’ Society was taking steps in a
similar direction. The Manchester Committee proposed to make
systematic analyses of fogs at many stations and at various
elevations, with a view to finding out everything appertaining to
the genesis and composition of their city fogs, with special
reference to their injurious effects on animal and vegetable
organisms. Further reference will be found in the body of this
report to the Manchester investigation.

Since October last the London inquiry has been in active
operation. Circumstances have led the Committee to look tc me
for the execution of this research hitherto, and I now summarize
shortly the general lines along which the inquiry has pro-
ceeded. Throughout, I have had the constant advice and help
of my colleagues on the Committee, and my task, without their
many suggestions, would have been a more difficult one than it
actually has been. It is not proposed to enter here into the
accumulations of facts bearing on the question that I have been

ON THE EFFECTS OF URBAN FOG UPON CULTIVATED PLANTS. 141

able to collect by observation, correspondence, and experiment,
but to indicate only the lines of inquiry, in the hope of obtaining
criticisms likely to be of value in the further prosecution of the
work. It will not be possible or desirable to prepare any detailed
report till another year has elapsed.

My observations so far deal almost entirely with plants
cultivated under glass.

It will be convenient, for the purposes of this report, to take
the several lines of inquiry, and to deal with them in successive
paragraphs. :

I. Urban Fog and Country Mist.—In an inquiry into the
action of so complex a product as urban fog, it was of the greatest
importance to obtain reliable data as to the effect on vegetation,
if any, of pure country mists, uncontaminated by smoke. It was
impossible for me personally to make the observations needful to
establish the injurious or other action of mist upon plants; but,
by the courtesy of correspondents in country districts, quite away
from areas of smoke genesis, it would appear, so far as observa-
tions are as yet to hand, that little or no injury to stove or
conservatory plants arises from this cause. Indeed, pure mists
would seem to be beneficial to certain classes of cultivated plants.
In those instances in which any injury obtained, it was, in most
cases, referable to some other cause. The establishing of this
point is of great importance, since foggy weather is so frequently
attendant upon spells of frost, and it has been frequently
suggested that the increased stove heat needful to maintain the
requisite temperature would have a harmful action. Indeed, I
was quite prepared to find this to be the case at the outset of the
inquiry. My own observations during cold weather in London
without fog, and the evidence to hand from a distance, as to frost.
with and without mists, point to the fact that, with proper pre-
cautions, no appreciable damage is done to plants.

In general, the same remarks apply to small towns away from
manufacturing areas. With the increase in size of the towns,
the conditions more nearly approximate to those of London.
The fog leaves the well-known deposit of filth on glass-houses,
and evergreen foliage; and if such districts escape the more
serious effects observable in or near the larger smoke-producing
areas, it is due to the relatively small concentration of the im-
purities in those fogs. It seems to me desirable to obtain

142, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

accurate analyses of fogs from some country town of say 50,000
inhabitants, in which manufacturies are not carried on, for
comparison with similar analyses from the metropolis.

Il, Hatent of the London Fog Area.—I have been at great
pains to ascertain how far the London fog-cloud extends around
the metropolis. In this I have had the most cordial co-operation
of our nurserymen and cultivators, who have supplied me with
detailed information as to the times of occurrence of fogs, and as
to the nature and extent of the injuries sustained. In many
eases I have availed myself of the opportunity to visit their
collections, and form an estimate of the damage done, valuable
for purposes of comparison. The extent of the fogs is greatest
in a westerly and south-westerly direction, and has been traced
as far as 35 miles away westward, and 25 miles south-west,
under special atmospheric conditions. Exceptionally the
London fogs are met with at even 50 miles distance on this
side. Withthe wind in an easterly or north-easterly direction,
these outlying districts receive visitations of fog with the
accompaniments of sooty deposits and sulphurous smell. No
doubt the concentration is not so considerable, nor the duration
so long, as nearer London, but it is sufficient to at once affect
the buds and flowers of such sensitive Orchids as Lelia anceps,
Cattleya Triane, Calanthe, &c. The effect of the fog on foliage
at these distances is, fortunately, small, though in certain in-
stances itis sufficient to’ destroy the seedlings of Cucurbitas,
Tomatoes, &c., which are extremely sensitive. As one follows
the effects of fog down the Thames Valley, from the most out-
lying stations affected, to London, the observed effects increase
in severity, till they are indistinguishable from those noted at
stations actually within the metropolis. At Kew, for instance,
the destruction has been most disheartening, it having come to
flowers, flower-buds, and foliage alike. Effects of similar nature,
but less in total magnitude, are reported from spots five miles
further west. Southwards, the North Downs afford a valuable
barrier, which in many cases would seem to filter off the more
deleterious constituents of the fog. Indeed, the configuration
of the country and the nature of the sub-soil have an important
influence in determining the immunity of a given locality
from damage. Eastwards I have information as to damage
from so great a distance as Maidstone, over 80 miles. Since,

ON THE EFFECTS OF URBAN FOG UPON CULTIVATED PLANTS. 148

however, intermediate stations in this quarter, at a distance of
12 to 16 miles, are relatively free from the worst forms of fog,
the local industries of the Medway Valley are not improbably
answerable for the severe results reported from this town. All
my correspondents emphasize the non-hurtful nature of the sea-
fogs prevalent in this quarter. To the north and north-east
the fog-effects do not extend to such extreme distances, and the
conditions for winter cultivation are consequently more favour-
able on that side of the metropolis. Mr. E. Mawley, of
Berkhampstead, has furnished me with some _ interesting
meteorological details regarding fogs extending to this locality
(26 miles N.W.)

The tabulation of the information bearing on the subject of
this paragraph will form a valuable appendix to my detailed
report. |

Ill. The Fogs of the Winter 1890-91.—It is needless to
say that the past winter has been one singularly favourable for
the purposes of an investigation of this character. The season
opened with a severe fog of short duration during the second
week of October, which left its traces on vegetation in the
London area. This was the only serious instance of a fog on
which observations of hardy plants could be made, as the con-
ditions were not complicated by the presence of frost. I am
indebted to Mr. C. T. Druery for an interesting account of its
effects, unprecedented in his experience, upon his collection of
hardy Ferns at Forest Gate. Though there were minor fogs
during November, it was during the long periods before and after
Christmas, and again in February, that all the worst effects were
exhibited by vegetation under glass. These two spells differed
considerably in their nature. The Christmas fogs were accom-
panied by exceptionally severe frosts, were on the whole much
darker overhead, and contained a larger amount of noxious
matter. In addition to this, the duration of daylight was con-
siderably shorter than in February. On the other hand, though
in February the fogs were exceedingly opaque, the general
average of light reduction was not so great as at Christmas. The
vertical extent of the fogs in February was such that on many
occasions the sun was able to partially disperse them for a short
period at noon.

Both fogs had a marked effect on flowers, but on the whole

144 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

at Christmas, to instance only one genus of plants, Cypripedium,
the effects were much more marked. Cypripedium is perhaps
as little affected by fogs as any genus of Orchids I have met with.
Yet, in a large collection, continuously under my observation, it
was patent that the damage done was markedly less in February
than at Christmas. In the collections of plants under observa-
tion, the damage to foliage was also greater during the Christmas
fogs; this both as regards the dropping of leaves, which I have
reason to believe to be greatly brought about by the reduction of
light for a lengthened period, and also in the formation of actual
corrosions of portions of the leaf-surface.

It must be remembered, in estimating the relative damage
caused by these two fogs, that the earlier one destroyed a greater
part of the foliage of very many soft-wooded plants, so that there
was less surface exposed for attack on the second occasion. Never-
theless, so favourable were the circumstances during the latter
part of January and the first week in February that rapid
srowth had in many cases taken place. If we narrow the com-
parison to the damage (corrosions) sustained by young and
relatively unprotected leaves during the two periods, without
doubt that at Christmas was immeasurably greater than in
February. These remarks are based on observations on collec-
tions continuously under my eye, and situate in the worst
districts. Full details are not yet to hand from correspondents
at outlying stations, so that it is possible I may have to modify
these observations when I come to take a general survey. (Thus
at Kew, the ill effects noted after the February fogs were quite
as bad as at Christmas, whilst further east the reverse was the
case. Other considerations: confirm the view that in February
the fog-nucleus was several miles further west than at Christ-
mas.) I have in my notes full details of the damage obtaining
from these fogs from many sources, but with these horticultural-
ists are, in general, only too familiar, and they may well be
reserved for the report on the whole question.

IV. Constitution of Fog.—On a purely chemical question,
such as that of the constitution of fog, I am scarcely entitled
to speak. However, since at the outset of this inquiry it was
deemed advisable to obtain as much information on the
matter as possible, with especial reference to those components
deleterious to vegetation, I will state briefly what has been done.

ON THE EFFECTS OF URBAN FOG UPON CULTIVATED PLANTS. 145

The Meteorological Council very readily put at our disposal
the pump and apparatus originally constructed for Dr. W. J.
Russell’s investigation. The whole apparatus was thoroughly
revised and set up under the direction of Dr. Russell. Since
the middle of December frequent washings of fog have been
obtained with it. Those are now undergoing analysis. In
addition, samples of many fogs have been aspirated through a
solution of permanganate of potash—the volume of fog necessary
to decolourise the pink solution being registered by a meter
constructed on the wet system.

The permanganate is extremely susceptible to sulphurous
acid, probably the chief agent of damage present in the London
atmosphere. A comparison of the volumes of air necessary to
completely bleach a known amount of permanganate in foggy
and in fine weather is striking. Whilst during a severe fog
as little as 1 or 2 cubic feet is sufficient, in fine clear weather 30 or
40 cubic feet may be aspirated without causing an appreciable
decolouration. Even a rough method such as this would
become an instrument of some precision in the hands of a
. chemist, and would furnish results of the greatest value
in comparing the damage to vegetation inflicted by separate
fogs.

During the winter, collections of snow from equal areas were
made at frequent intervals, and the amount of matter precipi-

tated upon it from day to day estimated.

| At the close of the February fogs the opportunity was taken
to make scrapings from 20 square yards of the glass roofs of
plant houses at Kew and at Chelsea. The glass at both
localities had been washed just before the commencement of
the spell of fog. Each yielded an almost identical amount
of deposit—7.e., 31 grains per square yard or 6 tons per square
mile.

Dr. G. H. Bailey, of the Owens College, Manchester, was
good enough to analyse the samples and furnishes the following
as the result of a preliminary examination of that from Chelsea :
‘Tt consisted of about 40 per cent. of mineral matter, 36 per
cent. of carbon, and 15 per cent. of hydro-carbons. It was
interesting to note that there was present also 2 to 3 per cent.
of metallic iron in minute particles. The sulphuric acid present
amounted to nearly 5 per cent., and the hydrochloric acid to

L

146 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

14 per cent. The presence of such large quantities of volatile
oils explained the oleaginous character of the deposits which
formed from London smoke, and it had been noticed that,
especially in the districts of Manchester where dwelling-houses
were much crowded together (e.g., Hulme), the deposit has a
similar character.”’

The deposits on both out-door and greenhouse foliage have
been from time to time collected, as well as the daily accumula-
tion on a single pane of glass during foggy weather. The
examination of these deposits is not yet concluded. It is
interesting to note the presence of a considerable amount of iron
oxide in these deposits. This fact may help to elucidate the
results of analyses of injured organs.

The work this winter on this portion of the inquiry can only
be regarded as preliminary in its nature. I will state here
briefly what lines might be followed m future. Continuous
observations from day to day, and sometimes from hour to hour,
during dull weather, recording the fluctuating amounts of the
hurtful components present in the atmosphere, are much required.
- These should be obtained simultaneously at a number of selected
stations—for the purposes of this investigation situate, preferably
near establishments where plants are under cultivation. A know-
ledge of the varying amounts of these components would be of
the greatest value in making a comparison between the nature
of the damage incurred by vegetation in different localities and
at different times.

It is obvious that had we possessed, this winter, stations for
fog analysis at, for example, Kew, Chiswick, and South Kensing-
ton we should be in a better position to explain the differing
effects of the Christmas and February fogs, respectively, at
the last named and their very similar action at the first named.

Dr. G. H. Bailey, of the Owens College, has been devoting
himself to a chemical investigation of this character in Man-
chester. He has now perfected apparatus by means of which
systematic records of the kind indicated can be obtained. The
apparatus in question is being fitted up at numerous stations in
Manchester, and fully justifies his anticipations as a simple
method which does not require manual labour, as is the case with
the Meteorological Council’s pump. My proposal is that the
balance of our grant be used in establishing a number of stations,

ON THE EFFECTS OF URBAN FOG UPON CULTIVATED PLANTS. 147

in London and its suburbs, on precisely the same lines as those
being employed in Manchester—the two inquiries, so far as the
chemical investigation of fog is concerned, running pari pass.
Dr. Bailey, with whom I have been in constant intercourse, is
willing to co-operate in this undertaking, the experiments and
analyses in question being made under his direction and control.
This joint scheme has, I think, the additional recommendation
of being likely te produce total results of greater value, and at
a less expenditure of energy, than if the investigations at Man-
chester and London be conducted independently. Dr. Bailey
and his colleagues have just issued a preliminary report on the
atmosphere of Manchester. I would call special attention to
this, as indicating the method and scope of the undertaking.
The report in question is now appearing, 7 extenso, in the
Northern Gardener.

V. Physiological and Microscopie Work.—The opportunity
has been taken to have careful drawings prepared, exhibiting
typical cases of damage attributable to fog. I have now a con-
siderable collection of examples from the Royal Gardens, Kew,
and elsewhere.

Large supplies of injured plant organs have been forthcoming
and have been submitted to chemical analysis. These include
the leaves of soft- and hard-wooded plants and of Orchids; also
the leaves of Cattleyas and Dendrobwms, and the flowers of
Cattleya Triane. The results of these analyses will be valuable
for publication when similar analyses of the uninjured parts have
been obtained... Incidentally, the presence of quantities of iron
salts in the ash may be noted. I cannot at present say what
may be the physiological bearing of this result. It is possible
that a finely divided film of iron oxide on the surfaces of the
leaves might promote injurious action in the subjacent tissues.
The chief damage [ attribute to. the sulphurous acid, quantities
of which are actually absorbed by the foliage.

The histological characters of injured tissues, as exhibited by
the microscope, have been carefully studied, and drawings and
notes made: Many of the facts thus obtained are still obscure,
and require experimental elucidation. In the case especially of
Orchid flowers the distribution of the stomates would seem to
have a definite bearing’on the distribution of the fog-injuries.
In both Phalenopsis Schilleriana and Cattleya Triane, for

148 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

example, the sepals are much sooner and more easily injured
than the upper petals and labellum. Microscopic examination
shows that whilst stomates are frequent on the sepals of both
plants, the petals have relatively few, comparing equal areas of
surface. The labellum of Cattleya in many cases was found to
be destitute of stomates. This part is usually the last to show
actual injury. The action of the stomates here is probably to
afford increased access of sulphurous acid to the part, which then
directly attacks the soft, unprotected cells within.

The effects of a slow current of fog, and of sulphurous acid
of various dilutions, upon living protoplasm have been very
carefully followed under the microscope. The procedure in both
cases was identical. A slow current was drawn by aspiration
through a specially devised chamber on the stage of the micro-
scope. The transparent root-hairs of Limnobiwm with their
actively rotating protoplasm, and portions of the leaf of Vallis-
nerva, were chiefly used. The effect of dense fog resembles that
of dilute sulphurous acid. ‘The rotating protoplasm is found
eradually to swell up and invade the vacuole, its defined margin
becoming less and less distinct. Finally, the protoplasm becoming
eranular, breaks down entirely ; the rotation during the process
eradually slowing, ultimately ceasing. The whole process with
fog occupies several hours. This line of research, to which I
attach importance, will be continued during the summer with
sulphurous acid and other substances.

A considerable series of experiments has been made in the
closed chamber, which was constructed for this, as also to serve
as a fog-proof chamber for cultural purposes. As a fog-proof
chamber it has not been used so far. At an early period I
found that certain defects which could not be remedied forthwith
disqualified it for this purpose. Since then it has served as a
closed experimental case, in which plants were exposed to
sulphurous acid gas of varying strength. It was possible also
to draw off a current of the special atmosphere, to which the
plants in it were exposed, and study its action upon living pro-
toplasm under the microscope. A comparison could thus be
effected between the macroscopic and microscopic phenomena
simultaneously. The amount of sulphurous acid present was
under control, and frequent estimates of its amount were made
by aspirating air from the chamber through permanganate, the

ON THE EFFECTS OF URBAN FOG UPON CULTIVATED PLANTS. 149

volume required to decolourise being recorded. These experi-
ments are not yet concluded, but it can be definitely said that
increase of temperature, other things being equal, aggravates the
poisonous action of the sulphurous acid, a difference of a few
degrees of temperature being apparent.

During the summer these experiments will be continued.
An attempt will also be made to estimate the influence of
varying amounts of sulphurous acid gas, and other poisons,
upon the plant functions: transpiration, assimilation, and
respiration.

VI. Possible Remedial Measwres.—lt is too soon to speak
of these with confidence, until a more complete knowledge of all
the conditions of damage to vegetation from this source have
been obtained. Many of the results obtained in the physiological
inquiry are still obscure, and it will be necessary to carry out a
series of experiments before some of these are elucidated. Since
October I have had opportunity of inspecting many collections
of stove and greenhouse plants, and growers have most freely
communicated to me any methods which they employ to combat
the fog. The placing of canvas, &c., over the plant-houses in
foggy weather has in some instances mitigated the damage, the
fog being in this way to some extent filtered. The regulation of
the temperature has an important bearing. Some cultivators
keep the temperature during a fog as low as can be done, having
regard to the safety of the collections in the houses. Others raise
the temperature in the hope of, to some extent, excluding the
fog. There can be no doubt that a high temperature augments
the damage, whilst a lower one, to some extent, hinders it.

Sulphurous acid acts more violently and immediately in a hot
than in a cool atmosphere. Again, in a long, dark fog heat un-
necessarily stimulates the plants when (from the prevailing
darkness) their transpiring capacity is limited. Everything should
be done to tax the vegetative organs of a plant to the least
possible extent when any of the vital functions are interfered
with, as in dull, foggy weather. In this connection it is im-
portant to supply water to the roots with a sparing hand. Heat
and moisture at the roots stimulate absorption whilst the leaves
are unable to throw off an excess of moisture, as they can in
suuny weather. I know that in many establishments these pre-
cautions are taken, and, I believe, with relatively beneficial results.

150 JOURNAL OF THE RVUYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The evidence on which this opinion is founded is derived (1)
from observation of the behaviour of plants under different
conditions of cultivation during foggy weather, (2) from actual
experiments in which the special conditions were under control.

The action of a continuous drip of moisture on foliage in a
closed experimental chamber, in which the confined atmosphere
contains small quantities of sulphurous acid gas, is to mitigate
the immediate damage so far as the leaves, thus continuously
moistened, are concerned.

The degree of humidity in a house, Hoe sulphurous acid is
present, is a matter well worthy of attention, and one which I
have under observation. The problem is a complex one, and I
hope to be able to communicate my results later.

In a dry atmosphere the sulphurous acid, for the most part,
acts as such directly on the living protoplasm. In a humid one
it is more rapidly oxidised into sulphuric acid, which has an
entirely different action, I apprehend, on vegetation, histologically
distinct from the first mentioned. It would, however, be im-
proper for me to draw any general conclusions from observations
as yet incomplete.

Another measure, which may be ultimately shown to be
practicable, is that of absorbing the most poisonous substances
in the fog by using some substance as an absorbent, itself
innocuous to vegetation.

A more practical method is to keep the fog out of the plant-
house, rather than to try and neutralise its action after it has
entered. So long as cultivators grow plants, susceptible to the
impurities of fog, in houses with open glazings in winter time,
of course this is impossible. It is to be hoped some metropolitan
grower will pluckily face the situation and construct a range for
winter use, which can be made at will absolutely fog-proof,
with close glazing, triple doors, and padded ventilators. The
horticultural engineer could easily manage this. Filtered air
could be supplied, as it is to the House of Commons, by pumping
through several inches of cotton wool or by some other method ;
whilst the illumination could be supplemented by a judicious
use of the electric light. Hervé-Mangin showed, so long ago as
1861, that a plant could manufacture organic matter by the aid
of artificial light, and the results of Siemens’ more recent eX
periments are familiar. .

ON THE EFFECTS OF URBAN FOG UPON CULTIVATED PLANTS 151

An ingenious person has suggested to me am alternative
method for excluding fog without interfering with ventilation, by
an arrangement of tricklers, such as one sees on ice factories in
summer for cooling. In this way a greenhouse might be com-
pletely enveloped in a thin mantle of dilute hydrogen peroxide,
permanganate of potash, or other absorbent, which could be
collected in gutters and pumped up again and again. A con-
siderable objection to this plan would be the liability of the
absorbent to freeze in cold weather, fog and frost being very
frequently concomitant.

In conelusion, I have to thank my colleagues on the one
mittee for their constant help and sympathy. To my assistant,
Mr. F. E. Weiss, B.Se., I am indebted for his continuous
devotion to the research ; without his aid the investigation
could not have progressed as it has. For the making of the
chemical analyses of injured tissues, &c., as well as for advice
on many questions of a chemical nature, I must thank my
former pupil, Mr. J. T. Leon, B.Sc., now Lecturer in Chemistry
at St. Mary’s Hospital.

viel
irs a won ay
Se ahi "pail

JOURNAL

OF THE

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Vou. XIII. 1891.
Part II.

PERSIAN CYCLAMEN.
By Mr. W. Warren, F.R.H.S.
[Read January 13, 1891.]

I HAvE been honoured by receiving an invitation to read a
paper on the cultivation of the Persian Cyclamen, and, with the
simple preface that the name ‘‘ Cyclamen” is derived from the
Greek xcuxcAoc, meaning “ circular,’’ in allusion either to the form
of the leaves, the corm, or the flowers, I will at once proceed to
describe the method of cultivation as pursued at Worton Gardens,
Isleworth, without for a moment assuming that it is necessarily
the best or the only desirable method.

First, let me say that the old bulbs left from the previous
season are not considered worth the trouble of further cultivation,

but are sold for the purpose of extracting the cyclamine they
contain.

With regard to the plants reserved for seed, of course the best
are selected, viz., those that combine the qualities of large, good-
shaped, five-petalled flowers, bold foliage and dwarf growth.

The flowers of the selected plants are daily hybridised (when
there is any pollen) with the finger, and the plants, potted in 48’s,
are not allowed to bear more than six seed-pods, or the seed and
its offspring would be weak. We cannot always be sure of obtain-
ing six pods, as occasionally some of them decay unexpectedly.
The seed ripens about the middle of May, when it is collected
and placed in the sun, so that it may be well matured, otherwise
it germinates slowly.

The first week in June the seed is sown in pans a foot square
(as these are found to afford more available space), with plenty

B

154 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

of crocks for drainage. The most suitable soil is a mixture of
two-thirds Hampshire yellow fibrous loam, one-sixth decayed
leaves (not leaf-mould) rubbed through a half-inch sieve, and one-
sixth coarse Thames sand; the decayed leaves, or the coarse siftings
of the loam, being placed over the crocks. The seeds are carefully
sown, so that two are not close together, otherwise the seedlings
weaken each other as they develop. The pansare then placed ina
one-pipe pit, which is covered with mats to keep it dark, and kept
at a temperature of about 75° Fahr. The pans are daily looked
over to see that the soil does not become dry, as is often the case
at the sides of the pans. In about six weeks the young plants
appear ; the pans are then taken to a greenhouse and placed as near
the glass as possible, damped morning and evening, and shaded
from the sun. One hundred pans are generally sown, so as to
give an abundant supply, and enable us to reject the weakest
plants, although it is found that the most precocious plants
produce the worst blooms.

About the end of September the seedlings are pricked out in
the same sized pans, three dozen in each, with the same soil and
treatment as before. Towards the end of November they are
transplanted into thumb-pots, no change being made either in
soil or treatment.

The plants in these two stages are kept at a temperature of
60° Fahr., and the thermometer may without injury be allowed to
register as much as 70°. When the external conditions are
favourable, air may be freely admitted to them.

At the beginning of March they are repotted into 60’s, or
4-inch pots, using the same soil as before, and still continuing
the same treatment, with the exception of potting them a little
firmer. By the end of Apri] last year as many as 750 dozen
plants had been potted off in this manner.

About the end of May they are transferred to 48’s, in which
pots they are to bloom, but some few dozen are placed in 32’s,
or they bloom before they are required for market purposes.

It is necessary to keep the plants well up in the pots, but the
corm should nevertheless be covered with the soil. At the last
potting the soil is changed, being composed of five-sixths loam,
one-twelfth Thames sand, and one-twelfth decayed leaves. The
plants are then potted as firmly as possible without pressing the
corms, whilst in all the former stages (except when they are

PERSIAN CYCLAMEN. 155

placed in 4-inch pots) they are transplanted and potted as lightly
as possible.

It is surprising what a quantity of water Cyclamen will take
with advantage during the summer months; hence itis necessary
that the drainage for both pots and pans should be as perfect as
possible.

The plants are not left too long in the pans and various
sized pots before they are repotted, otherwise they are found to
be slow at starting again after transplanting.

As the sun’s power decreases, it is essential that great care
be taken with the watering. Overhead damping is discontinued
for fear of fog, and only those plants are watered which are seen
to be dry.

Some of the plants at this time (the beginning of October)
have a good show of bloom ; they are then staked with Currant
prunings, on account of their neutral colours, and are tied round
with dark carpet-thread, after which they are despatched to
Covent Garden Market.

It is of the utmost importance that the plants be kept in every
stage of their growth free from aphis or green-fly, caterpillars,
(which latter vary in size, colour, and number according to the
heat of the weather), and thrip.

Incessant care is required to keep these pests in subjection,
as without it the plants may soon be spoiled, in which case all
previous effort and expense are lost. Mice, too, as the autumn
approaches, are very mischievous; but they may be trapped
before they have time to make any noticeable depredations.

Most of the greenhouses at Worton Gardens contain about
8,000 cubic feet. Upon an average the Cyclamen plants are
placed about 18 inches from the glass upon beds of damp ashes,
as it is found that they thrive so much better in such a position
during the summer than when placed on dry shelves. In Sep-
tember, however, as the plants become larger and the weather
cooler, they are placed on shelves; the floor of the greenhouses
is kept wet, and effort is made, by shading, to prevent the plants
becoming limp.

The plants are kept in a temperature of about 50° Fahr., and
plenty of air given to them, even at night, ifthe external tempera-
ture will then admit of ventilation.

To keep the plants perfectly free from insect pests in the
B 2

156 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

tirst three stages of growth, Clibran & Sons’ fumigating rolls
are used, for the plants are so lightly potted that if dipped in
any solution the soil would fall away. In the last two stages
George’s tobacco juice is used, and the solution is made in the
proportion of four parts of soft water to one of tobacco juice.

HARDY CYCLAMEN.
By the Rev. W. Wiuxs, M.A.
[Read January 13, 1891.]

Let me preface the few remarks which I am going to make
by disclaiming any intention, or indeed ability, to add anything
to the knowledge and experience of those who already grow
Hardy Cyclamen. I speak rather to those of our Fellows who,
though lovers of hardy gardening, have for one reason or another
not yet turned their attention to these most captivating and easily
cultivated little plants.

Hardy Cyclamen.—And first let me assure you that there
are several varieties of perfectly hardy Cyclamen. I do not, of —
course, mean that you can grow the ordinary greenhouse Cycla-
men, C. persicum, out of doors, though, perhaps, even that may
be accomplished in favoured spots in Devonshire and Wales.
But C. persicum has several unassuming little country cousins
which will well stand the rigours of even such a truly arctic
winter as that through which we are now passing—less showy
these little country cousins may be than their magnificent
relative, but not one whit less beautiful, and, from their more
natural outdoor cultivation, obviously far more interesting.

Name.—With the great and happy revival which is now
taking place amongst us of hardy gardening, there is expressed on
all sides a desire for English names to plants, and many sweet
old-fashioned ones have been reclaimed from the diaries and
jottings of our grandparents of those much bepraised days of good
Queen Anne. I yield to none in my love of a sweet-sounding
and descriptive English name, but I venture to think we may go
too far in this resuscitation, this digging up of old names, for
some of them were by no means sweet or savoury, and some few
of the modern ones, albeit Latinised or Hellenised, are better.

HARDY CYCLAMEN. 157

Our subject to-day is, Ithink, a case in point. There is something
graceful, to my ear at least, and suited to my little favourites,
in the name of Cyclamen (a short y if you please), which is
altogether wanting in dear old Queen Anne’s “ Sow-bread.’’ No
doubt whatever ‘‘ Sow-bread”’ is descriptive—of the corms or
tubers, for pigs are said to delight in rooting them up and
devouring them, but they really are too good for pigs, and so
I refuse to resuscitate ‘‘Sow-bread.’’ (I really did not mean it
fora pun.) As Cyclamen I first knew them, and as such will I
hand them on.

Cultuwre-—As to cultivation, they appear to present no real
difficulties whatsoever. They luxuriate in a light, open, porous,
sandy, peaty soil with limestone, or (which serves the same purpose)
a few handsful of fine mortar rubbish shaken in amongst them
every spring. They seem to prefer a slightly shaded and raised
place, for both in my own garden and at Messrs. Paul’s nursery
at Cheshunt, where they grow so magnificently, they are planted
on a sloping bank at the foot of thin deciduous trees. This,
indeed, is the nearest approach we can give them to the natural
habitat of the majority of the varieties. I have found them
growing abundantly on the northern slopes of the hills in North
Italy in nothing but hmestone rubble and leaf-mould. I have
also met with them in thin woods overhanging some of the Swiss
lakes, and almost carpetting the ground on the lower slopes of
the Uri Rothstock, so one would naturally conclude that they
are impatient of stagnant moisture, delight in semi-shade and
the roots of trees to carry off all surplus wet, but yet rejoice in
one or two good spring soakings, which would roughly correspond
to the melting of the Alpine snows.

They are very easily raised from seed if the seeds be sown as
soon as ripe, but, as in the case of Hellebores, I have found dry
seeds very difficult, almost impossible, to germinate, The tubers
also are very easy to transplant, even when not at rest ; but when
received in a dry state, without foliage or rootlets, the beginner
should be careful to plant them the right way upwards—the only
indication, generally speaking, consisting in a shallow depression
in the upper side of the tuber, with an inconspicuous eye, or
sometimes a very small slightly protruding neck in the centre
of the corm, from which the leaves and flowers will spring.
Once planted they require little attention beyond the annual

158 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

sprinkle of mortar rubbish and spring soaking, and they will
attain a good old age, some of the tubers at Cheshunt having been
collected over thirty years ago.

Flowers and Leaves.—The flowers are very similar in appear-
ance and in colour to those of their so widely known Eastern
relative C. persicum, but smaller in every part, though, as I
said, none the less beautiful for that. The leaves of most are
charmingly marbled, zoned, and veined with white, the under-
surfaces being generally of a purplish crimson. Indeed, the late
Mr. Atkins used to say that he grew them as much for orna-
mental foliage plants as for their flowers.

Hybridisation.—The mention of Mr. Atkins’ name leads me
to say how much I wish some amateur gardener in want of em-
ployment would take up and continue the work of hybridisation
which the late Mr. Atkins so well began. There is a wonderful
opening, I am confident, for anyone to immortalise his name in
gardening annals in this direction. For whether C. Atkinsz be
simply a seed variation of C. cbericwm, or a hybrid, as some sup-
pose, between C. zbericwm and C. persicum, it is in either case
such a manifest improvement on its hardy parent that it appears
to me to hold out to the patient cultivator as distinct a promise
of success and of improvement in size and colour in these hardy
varieties as has already been attained by florists with the green-
house persicum. And let me here say that, in almost all branches
of hardy gardening at least, it is the amateurs—the men of leisure
—who should undertake these things, because the nurserymen have
first of all so little time for it; and, secondly, one great point in
hardy gardening being the comparative cheapness of our favourite
plants, the nurseryman, however much he would rejoice in such
experiments, cannot afford to give up the time for them. Great
as his success might be, it would not sufficiently remunerate him
for the time abstracted from the other duties of his profession. It
may possibly pay a nurseryman to hybridise and grow seedling
Orchids, in which success may enable him to realise fifty or a
hundred guineas for some grand new break ; but when, as with
the hybridiser of hardy Cyclamen, he could at the outside only
look for fifty or a hundred pence, it is certainly not worth the
speculation, so that it is to amateurs (or to nurserymen working
as amateurs in this particular) that I think we ought to look for a
new race of larger flowering and more diversely coloured hardy

HARDY CYCLAMEN, 159

Cyclamen. And Iventure to suggest that not only should varieties
be raised from seed, but that distinct and repeated attempts should
be made to effect hybridisation between all varieties of persicwm
as the pollen-bearer, and zbericwm, Cowm, and ewropewm as the
seed-bearing parents, and I am confident, if this were done
patiently and systematically, that we should soon have a hardy
race rivalling, and perhaps equalling, persicum.

History.—There is not very much of interest to be said under
the head of History. The original habitat of the genus Cycla-
men was probably some place in the Kastern Mediterranean
region. It is found only, as far as we know at present, in the
North of Africa, but stretches away to Syria in the east and as far
as Belgium* and Mid-Germany in the north, producing different
species or varieties in Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, and the Mediter-
ranean islands. I have not been able to learn whether it occurs
wild in Spain and Portugal, though the name pyrenaicum, used
as a synonym for C. neapolitanwm, seems to imply that it does.
The ‘‘wild’’ British specimens are almost certainly escapes by
seed from gardens, which have naturalised themselves in woods.
Gerarde, in his ‘‘ Herball,”’ 1597, says, ‘‘ It is reported that Cycla-
men or Sowbreade groweth on the mountains of Wales, the hills of
Lincolnshire, and in Somersetshire .... near a town called
Hardington’’; but, however it may have been in his time, the
only authentic “wild’’ habitat in England now is, I believe, a
certain wood in the Weald of Kent, whence I have myself pro-
cured seeds, but which, for fear of the ardour of collecting
botanists, I will leave unnamed.

Properties.—Gerarde is certainly very interesting when he
turns to the medicinal properties and virtues of the Cyclamen.
“The roote of Sowbreade, dried into powder and taken inwardly,
in the quantity ofa dram and a half, with meade and honied
water, purgeth downwarde tough and grosse flegme and other
sharpe humours. The same, taken in wine as aforesaid, is very
profitable against all poison and the bitings of venomous beasts,
and to be outwardly applied to the hurt places; taken as afore-
said, cureth the jaundies and stoppings of the liver, taketh away
the yellow colour of the body, &c., &c.’’; and then he adds,
and I would ask your particular attention to this property of

* « Sowbred groweth plentifully about Artois and Vermandois in France,
and in the Forest of Arden in Brabant.’’—Gerrarpz, Herball, 1597, p. 694.

160 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

hardy Cyclamen, ‘“ Being beaten and made up into trochisches
or little flat cakes, it is reported to be a good medicine to make
one in love.”’

Species.—Coming now to the different species and varieties,
one is astounded at the fearful confusion of the names. Gerarde
in 1597 says, ‘‘ There be divers sorts or kinds of Sowbreade,
differing very notably as well in forme or figure as in their time
of flowering, flourishing, fading, and appropriate vertues,’’ and he
describes three sorts, to which in 1686 he adds two more.
Philip Miller in 1737 enumerates seven kinds; and in a paper
read before our Society in 1878, Mr. Samuel Jennings, F.L.S.,
after ably discussing the difficulty of finding any wholly satisfac-
tory basis on which the differentiation of the species can be safely
founded, concludes with these words, ‘‘ For all practical purposes
the number of species may be reduced to six, viz.: (1) Cowm;
(2) cbericum (including Atkinsz); (8) vernwm (syn. repandum) ;
(4) europeum; (5) hederefoliwm (with its geographical forms
africanum or macrophyllum, and grecuwm or latifoliwm) ;
(6) persicum. Mr. Nicholson, in his ‘ Dietionary of Gardening,”’
gives nine; and that prince of modern botanists, Mr. J. G.
Baker, F.R.S., now admits ten species. But what strikes an in-
quirer most of all is how strangely, from first to last, the diffe-
rent names have been engaged in what I suppose we all of us as
children rejoiced in—I mean the game of “‘ General Post ’’—for
no sooner do you find a name attributed to one species or variety
than it eludes your grasp by deftly slipping off to another ;
follow it, and perhaps you think you have it, but no, off he flies
and settles on a third ; follow again, and at last you feel sure you
must have tracked him down to earth, but not a bit ofit, off he is
again, back to one of the two he had previously deserted ; then
off again to a fourth, backwards and forwards, ‘‘ and so ad i-
jfiutum.” In fact, every species seems to have passed under as
many different aliases as the most notorious thief in London. I
do, however, trust that Mr. Baker’s latest classification, which I
humbly follow as my guide, has stopped for good and all these
playful antics of the names.

Description.—I will now proceed to give a short description
of each of the species acknowledged by Mr. Baker, following the
order of his classification, and endeavouring at the same time to
note the most prominent points of difference between them, in

HARDY CYCLAMEN, 161

order to simplify as far as possible the identification of any given
plant.

The points most deserving of notice, in attempting to identify
any of the species, are, I think, the following :—

1. The tuber, its shape and colour ; and especially its mode of
emitting rootlets, whether only from the centre, or from all parts
of the base, or from all over the whole tuber.

Coum, tbericum, repandum, cilicicum, and grecum emit
roots from the centre of the base only.

EHuropeum and persicum from all parts of the base.

Neapolitanum, africanum, and cyprinwm from all parts
of the tuber.

2. Season of flowering.
Spring: January to May—Cowm, ibericum, repandum,
persicum.
Summer: June to October—Huropeum.
Autumn: September to December—Neapolitanum,
grecum, africanum, cilicicum, cyprinum.

3. The shape and marbling of the leaves.
4. Whether the leaves appear before or after the flowers.

5. The existence or not of scent.

No one of the above points is sufficient by itself to fix
identity, but each must be considered with reference to all
the others. But

6. A stoloniferous rhizome, or a short gouty neck proceeding
from the centre of the upper surface of the tuber, at once marks
out ewropeum or (?) cilicicwm.

7. Little earlike appendages at the base of each petal or
calyx segment, forming a little diadem round the mouth of the
flower, at once strictly limit us to gracum, neapolitanum,
africanum, or cyprinum.

8. Flowers appearing before the leaves limit us to africanum,
grecum, and neapolitanum. (The flowers of neapolitanwm will
often continue on with the leaves, but always begin before.)

9. The absence of any whitish marking on the upper surface
of the leaf almost certainly indicates Cowm, or, very rarely,
varieties of neapolitanum.

162 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

I.—C. Coum.

(The “common round-leafed sowe-bread ’’ of Parkinson.
Confused by Reichenbach with C. ewropeum.)

Blooms, in January, February, and March; small; deep
rosy red.

Scent, none.

Leaves, contemp. with flowers ; always nearly round ; smooth ;
dark green above ; neither variegated, toothed, nor lobed ; decided
purple below.

Tubers, round, compressed, smooth; roots proceeding from
the centre of the base.

Habitat. It is very widely distributed, being found in
Germany, Italy, Greece, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, and the
Caucasus.

This species is very hardy, thrusting its bright little head up
through the snow. It is easily recognised from its small plain
round dark leaf and short-stalked flower, which is the smallest
of all the species.

There is a white variety called C. C. album; and a garden
variety called Cowm zonale, in which the leaf has a distinct
white zone. This may possibly be a hybrid between Cowm and
repandum.

C. orbiculatwm of Miller, Bot: Mag. t. 4, is considered only
a variety of Cowm.

Il.—C. IBERICUM.

(Has borne the specific names of cawcasicum, Coum, Coum-
ibericum, Coun vernum, vernum (Sweet), vernale, elegans,
and euwropeum.)

Blooms, in February and March; bright red in the type,
with a purple spot at the base ; very variable.

Scent, none.

Leaves, contemp. with flowers; slightly heart-shaped; often
slightly undulated at the edge; always zoned with white above.

Tuber and roots, similar to Cowm, to which indeed it is a very
near relation; but the whole plant, in all its parts, is slightly
bolder in habit, and the leaf difference can hardly be mistaken.

Habitat, the Caucasus.

HARDY CYCLAMEN, 163

As hardy as Cowm, and of close, compact growth.
There is a beautiful white variety called Atkins: after its
raiser, the late Mr. Atkins, of Painswick, Gloucestershire.

III.—C. PERSICUM.

(Has borne the specific names of indicum, pyrolefolium, and
latifoliwm.)

Blooms (naturally) in March and April; white in the type,
with a bright red-purple blotch at the base, but very variable
under cultivation.

Scent, none in the type, but a form is found in Palestine
which is very fragrant.

Leaves, contemp. with flowers; rather oval in shape; the
edge slightly toothed ; distinctly marked with white above.

Tuber, emits roots from all parts of its under-surface.

Habitét, Greece, the Greek islands, and the whole of Syria.

The flower is the largest (in cultivation by far the largest) of
all the species of Cyclamen; it has also one distinguishing
peculiarity that, whereas in all the others the seed-pod as soon
as formed begins to wind itself up corkscrew-wise in the length
of its flower-stalk until it assumes a spiral tightly curled up
close to the parent tuber, in pyersicwm the flower-stalk generally
throws itself down flat upon the surface of the ground.

This well-known greenhouse plant eannot rightly be
accounted hardy, although the late Hon. and Rev. J. T.
Boscawen, writing to Mr. Jennings in 1878, says: ‘I have had
C. persicum in the open air for five years or longer—some
under slight shade, others exposed on a north bank. When in
a north aspect they are evergreen, but do not blossom so well.
The frost does not seem to injure them, though there has been
skating within a few yards of where they are growing. They
stood ten degrees of frost last week.’’ This testimony may well
encourage those who live in the warmer and more sheltered
corners of our county to try persicum outdoors, but I fear it is
hopeless for the mass of us. Specimens which have been sent
to me, collected on the hills of Nablis, the old Samaria, and
which I take to be persicum, have invariably succumbed, even to
a mild winter.

164 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

IV.—C. REPANDUM.

(Has borne the specific names of hederefoliwm, vernuwm (Lobel),
ficarufolium, romanum, and is still very generally known
in nurseries and gardens as vernwm.)

Blooms, in March and April; in the type rosy red, with a
deeper spot at the base, but individuals occasionally vary through
all shades of rose to white ; larger than Cowm.

Scent, variable.

Leaves, comtemp. with flowers; rather long oval heart-
shaped; toothed round the edge; distinctly zoned with white
above, purplish beneath.

Tuber, smooth; dark yellow; roots proceeding from the
centre of the under-sides.

Habitat, Majorca, South of France, Italy, and Greece. On
the mountains of the Peloponnese it grows at a height of four to
six thousand feet.

It is one of the most beautiful, but requires a somewhat
warmer spot than Cowm.

C. balearicum is a variety of repandwm with smaller flowers.

V.—C. EUROPZUM.

(Has borne the specific names of purpurascens (Miller),
odoratum, @stwwm (Parkinson), Cowm (Reichenbach),
officinale, Clusu, littorale, and retroflexwm.)

Blooms, January to October; deep carmine to pale pink;
much larger than Cowm.

Scent, very fragrant.

Leaves, contemp. with flowers, and almost evergreen ; deeply
heart-shaped at the base ; very slightly notched round the margin ;
marbled with white above, purple below.

Tubers, very irregular in shape, sometimes quite elongated ;
dark yellowish colour; compressed in the centre; frequently
erow to a great size; roots emitted all over the surface. It
possesses the peculiarity of forming short neck-like stems, some-
times several from one tuber, with gouty knobs, from which the
leaves and flowers proceed ; it also ‘“‘ often throws out rhizomes of
considerable length . . . . which if broken into pieces will grow,
thus forming the C. anemonoides of tle Dutch ’’ (Atkins).

HARDY CYCLAMEN. 165

It “varies much in northern and southern habitats, the
southern forms receding from the northern type so as to more
resemble persicum. lLagger’s C. Lodoneum is our typical
europeum, and his europewm covers the southern forms”
(Atkins).

Habitat, Southern and Central Hurope—France, Italy,
Austria, and Greece.

C. Peakianuwm (Floral Mag. t. 262) is a fine Italian variety
of europeum. There is also a white variety.

VIL.—C. cILicicum.

Blooms, October and November; pure white or pale rose,

with a bright purple spot at base; calyx-segments sharply
pointed.

Scent, unrecorded.

Leaves, contemp. with flowers, nearly round; edge not
toothed ; close basal lobes.

Tuber, large, depressed ; roots proceeding from the centre of
the base.

Habitat, Cilicia.

This is a very near relative of ewropewm, but Mr. Atkins
considered it distinct on the ground of its sharply pointed
petals (calyx-segments), and the roots proceeding from the
centre only, and not, as in ewropewm, from all parts of the base.

VII.—C. cracum.

(Has borne the specific names of persicwm (Smith, “ Prodrom.
Fl. Gree.) and latefoliwm.)

Blooms, September and October ; pale red to pure white with
purple spot at base; with little ear-like protruberances at the
base of each petal (calyx-segment).

Scent, often fragrant.

Leaves, after the flowers; small, thick, heart-shaped, slightly
toothed ; zoned with white above; purple beneath.

Tuber, large, red, emitting roots from the centre of base.

Habitat, the mountains of Greece at an attitude of 2,500 ft.
and up to snow-level.

A near relative of neapolitanwm, but differing in leaves and
tuber.

166 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

VIII.—C. NEAPOLITANUM.

(Has borne the specific names of subhastatwn, autwmnale,
pyrenaicum, ewropeum, ficarufolium, and hederefoliwm,
under which last name it is still most generally known in
nurseries and gardens.)

Blooms, September and November ; all shades between deep
crimson and pure white, the two extremes being the least
common; very distinct ear-like protruberances at the base of
each petal.

Scent, none.

Leaves, after flowers; oval heart-shaped, or shield-shaped,
but very irregular and variable; distinct angular projections
from the margin, with often a very small toothing all round the
edge as well; seldom dark green, or free from marbling, but
generally with most beautiful bright silvery bands and markings ;
the leaves die down in early summer.

Tuber, very large, rough, dark brown, scaly when old ; some-
times reported as much as a foot in diameter; roots proceeding
from all parts of the tuber, but chiefly from the rim on the
upper surface.

Habitat, Central and Southern Europe ; very abundant about
Corfu and in the Ionian Islands.

Perfectly hardy, and the most beautiful of all.

C. lineartfolium (De Candolle), Bot. Reg. xxiv. 49; Garden,
August 19, 1875, is a monstrous variety of this species.

IX.—C. AFRICANUM.

(Has borne the specific names of macrophyllum, neapoliianum,
robustum, and algeriense.)

Blooms, September and October.

Leaves, very broad, with foot-stalks sometimes eight to twelve
inches high, and not fully developed till December.

In all other respects similar to a very large coarse-growing
neapolitanum, to which it is a very close relation.

Habitat, the mountains of Algiers.

There is said to be a variety of this which has the under-
surface of the leaves green, and another with the leaves lilac
beneath, and the flowers fragrant.

HARDY CYCLAMEN. 167

X.—C. CYPRINUM.

Blooms, October; white with bright purple spot at base ;
long narrow petals with ear-like protruberances at base.

Scent, unrecorded.

Leaves, contemp. with flowers; broad ; marbled with white
above; red-purple beneath; edge irregularly toothed, but not
lobed.

Tuber, roots all round the sides.

Habitat, the Island of Cyprus.

A very near relative of neapolitanum, differing chiefly in the
unlobed leaves and long narrow petals or calyx-segments.

In conclusion, I will only add that in preparing this paper I
have been greatly indebted to Mr. J. G. Baker, Mr. Samuel
Jennings, Mr. George Paul, and my assistant secretary, Mr.
Weathers ; what merits it may possess are theirs, but for the
mistakes, and they are doubtless many, I can at least claim the
entire copyright myself. I only hope I may have succeeded in
interesting some of our ‘‘ Hardy” enthusiasts in the genus
Cyclamen, and that they will in future bestow upon it the atten-
tion and the love which it so well deserves, and which it will, I
am sure, so amply and generously repay.

DISCUSSION.

Mr. JAMES WALKER, of Ham Common, said he did not at
first intend to make any remarks on the papers which had been
read, as he was what might be called a broken-down Cyclamen-
grower. At one time he thought he could grow a few of these
plants, but now he knew he could not. He had had no
experience whatever in the cultivation of the hardy species, and
therefore could not say anything about them. As to Mr. Warren’s
advice that the seed, after being gathered, should be exposed to
the air for a considerable length of time, he had, on the contrary,
always found that the sooner the seed was sown after being ripe,
the better and stronger were the seedlings. It would, of course,
he said, be quite possible to keep the seed in an atmosphere the
conditions of which would be such that the seed would germinate
freely after some length of time, but it should not be exposed to
the sun. That was his experience. As to keeping the seeds in
a temperature of 70° Fahr. after being sown, that he had

168 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

not found to be beneficial to the seedlings. The best Cyclamen
he had grown had been raised in a somewhat cooler atmosphere,
If the seed were sown, say, in August, and kept cool and shaded, -
it no doubt took longer to germinate, but the stronger the
seedlings would grow. When young, Cyclamen persicum cannot
have too much moisture ; a dry heat is fatal to them when they
are babies, but they like a somewhat drier condition when the
corms are fully matured.

Mr. GeorcE Pau said he was a great lover of hardy
Cyclamen, and had been fortunate enough to obtain the famous
collection of the late Mr. Atkins. That gentleman was known to
many lovers of plants as one who devoted many years of his life
to the study of hardy plants, but particularly to Cyclamen.
With his collection came a note-book in which were recorded the
dates and places where many of his specimens were collected,
some of the plants having been in his garden for five-and-twenty
years, a fact which testified most fully to the great longevity of
the corms. Mr. Wilks having alluded to the fact that hardy
Cyclamen thrive at the base of thin trees, Mr. Paul said his
plants were at the foot of a large Elm, the roots of which absorbed
the moisture from the soil, leaving it comparatively dry for
the Cyclamen. Limestone situations are favourite spots for
Cyclamen, and if they are grown in rubble they will thrive.
C. neapolitanum does very well in it, and all those kinds which
grow along the Mediterranean shores. Cyclamen, he said, had
a peculiar habit of burying their seed-pods underground, and
the result often was, when they had not been gathered, that
numerous seedlings were found coming up the next season. The
sooner the seeds were sown after the pods had burst the better,
in regard to hardy Cyclamen, as the seedlings would then
certainly be stronger. This fact explained why people who
bought Cyclamen seed from shops did not obtain good results—
because the seed had lost much of its vitality by keeping.
Hardy Cyclamen were a very beautiful race of plants, and should
be more generally cultivated. Some of them (e.g. neapolitanwm)
did not object to a fall of snow even, but will push their flowers
up through it.

Mr. Martin, who had been much interested in the papers
read and the remarks which followed, said that the Cyclamen
was everyone’s plant when grown, but it was not everyone’s plant

HARDY CYCLAMEN. 169

to grow, by which he meant that there were plenty of people to
be found who would go into raptures over a well-grown specimen,
but very few who would take the trouble to grow such a specimen.
He agreed in the main with the remarks of Mr. Walker, and
believed a great deal in the spiral form of the seed-vessels, and
the way in which nature had provided for the plants taking care
of themselves so as not to become too dry. As to hybridising
C. persicum with C. Cowm, he believed this was as far off as
ever, owing perhaps to just a slight difference in the size of
pollen grains, for which we cannot account. As to humidity, the
plants liked it at one period of their existence, namely, when they
are young, but not at another—when they are old. A tempera-
ture of 70° Fahr. had been recommended as suitable; but
Mr. Martin preferred a cooler one of 50°, so as to allow the seeds
to germinate more slowly, and thus have sufficient time to absorb
the nourishment required for a later stage in their growth. As
to the length of time seed could be kept without any deterioration,
Mr. Martin said he had kept some Cyclamen seed for ten or
twelve years, and he found that it germinated as freely as seed
that was fresh. He had seen many people trying to grow
Cyclamen, but the number who were successful might be counted
on the fingers of one hand. Cyclamen are the first plants a man
will attempt to grow, and they are also the first he will leave off
growing. When Mr. Paul said they were lime-loving plants, he
“hit the right nail on the head.’ To be successful with
Cyclamen, lime must in some form or other be introduced into
the soil.

THE GERMINATION OF CYCLAMEN.

Dr. Maxwect T. Masters, F.R.S., has kindly drawn our atten-
tion to the following interesting remarks from his pen which
appeared in the Gardeners’ Chromcle in November 1887, p. 596:
The ordinary mode of germination in Cyclamens differs from
that of Dicotyledons in general, and has, moreover, been
differently interpreted by different observers. Gaertner and his
son,* as well as Treviranus,f describe the germination as taking
place thus:—-The radicle is first of all protruded, its upper
portion (or more properly speaking the caulicle) becoming dilated

* Gaertn. Fruct., 3, 25, t. 183 k. t Symbol. Phytol., 86.

Cc

170 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

to form the tuber. The whole of the solitary cotyledon, except
a short stalk attaching it to the tuber, remains within the seed
and decays with it. The short stalk or petiole of the cotyledon
remains attached to the tuber for some time in the form of a
minute hooked stalk-like process, which ultimately withers and
disappears. The first leaf is produced at the top of the tuber,
by the side of the hook-like remnant of the cotyledon, and
resembles the perfect leaves of the plant in everything except its
smaller size. The subsequent leaves are produced in succession
one after the other. Mirbel* gives a different account of the
process of germination in this genus, and considers what has
just been mentioned as the first leaf to be really the cotyledon.

My own observations of a great number of seeds and seed-
lings lead me to consider the view taken by Gaertner and
Treviranus as correct, and to say with the last-named observer
that the greater part of the cotyledon remains constantly within
the seed, and that the first leaf is a subsequent production, of
which not a trace exists in the seed itself. The hook-like
remnant of the cotyledon Mirbel seems to have mistaken for the
rudiment of the second leaf.

The primary radicle speedily disappears; to supply its place
a number of adventitious root fibrils spring from the base of the
tuber.

On the first glance the vestige of the cotyledon is very likely
to be entirely overlooked, or, indeed, it may have disappeared
during the growth of the little plant; in either case, the first
leaf is very likely to be mistaken for the cotyledon—an error
which can only be detected by close observation of the seed
before and during germination.

Again, when the first leaf is injured during its growth—as
was the case in several specimens that came under my notice—
another error may readily be made, viz., that of considering the
second leaf as a cotyledon opposite to the first, the difference in
size and degree of development being accounted for by the injury
or disease that has befallen the supposed fellow-cotyledon. This
error; like the former one, is readily corrected by examining a
large number of seeds and seedlings in all stages of their
development.

One of the specimens here illustrated (No. 6) has precisely

* Ann, du Mus., xvi. 454, t. vi. (xxi.), f. 1.

Fic. 21.—GrrMInaTION or CycramMen: 1-5, Norman; 6—9, SHOWING ADHESION
oF LEAF-STALKS.

c 2

172 ‘SOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

the appearance as if two cotyledons of equal size were present,
each stalked, the stalks originating from the top of a slender
tigellum or caulicle, whose base is dilated into the tuber; this
appearance is rendered the more deceptive as the hook-like
rudiment of the cotyledon has entirely disappeared.

The specimen in question may be explained in consonance
with what has been before described as the mode of development
of the seedling, by supposing a fusion of the leaf-stalks of the
two first leaves for some distance. It must, however, be re-
membered that two cotyledons have been found in this genus.
Gaertner fil. figures one such instance out of hundreds examined
by his father and himself. Other specimens (Fig. 21, Nos.6,7, 8, 9)
presented a similar fusion of the first four leaf-stalks in varying
degrees. That there has been a fusion or lack of separation of
the stalks, and not a division or branching of one into others, is
shown by the existence of minute furrows proceeding upwards
from the tuber to the point of separation of the little leaves, such
furrows being more obvious on a cross-section.

SNOWDROPS.
By Mr. James Auten, F’.R.H.5.
[Read March 10, 1891.]

As I know nothing of botany, I must ask you to bear with ine
in the use of unscientific terms when speaking of the various
Snowdrops. I cannot give you any information as to how many
species of Snowdrops have been described and allowed by the
best authorities, neither can I tell you the points that constitute
a species, or that separate one species from another. What I
propose to do is to attempt to describe, in homely language, the
various Snowdrops that, with but few exceptions, have come
under my own observation.

Less than twenty years ago there was, practically, but one
kind of Snowdrop grown in England, G. nivalis, in its single
and double forms. G. plicatws was introduced soon after the
Crimean war, but it was not often seen unless in botanical
gardens. arly in the ’70’s G. Hlwesw was introduced, and
in 1875 Mr. Barr offered, under the name of G. Imperatz, a very

SNOWDROPS. 173

fine form which the late Mr. James Atkins, of Painswick,
procured “ from somewhere in the Kingdom of Naples.” This is
much finer than the G. Imperati offered by Messrs. Backhouse
and others some two or three years later, and now generally
grown under that name. I propose that the earlier form be
called G. ». Atkinst. Then the wonderful G. latifolius (first
offered as G. Fedoutet), a Snowdrop with the leaves of a Scilla,
followed later on by G. cawcasicus, and finally by G. Fosteri.

At the present time we have all these heads of the family in
cultivation, and in addition there is just opening up to us the
results of intermarriages between the various branches.

We have also discovered that a few forms of G. nivalis, whose
lot it is to grow on some of the classic mountains of Greece,
hurry into flower in September or October instead of January,
and some of their little cousins in Corfu try to do the same, but
cannot get their wardrobes ready until a few weeks later.

In speaking of Snowdrops we must not forget that, besides
the scientific division into species and sub-species, we have the
amateurs’ arrangements into classes, according to colours and
other peculiarities. Consequently we hear of white Snowdrops
and yellow Snowdrops, and also green Snowdrops. From more
than one quarter a rumour reaches me that there actually exists
a really pink Snowdrop. I shall have something more to say on
each of these classes.

G. mvalis and Inwperati.—I do not think it is necessary for me
to say much about G. nivalis, as it is so well known and is such
a favourite everywhere. For massing or growing on grass there
is no variety equal to it, or that yields such a quantity of
flowers.

G. Imperati (of Backhouse) seems to be nothing more than
mivalis enlarged and improved, by growing for untold genera-
tions under more favourable climatic conditions. I think no
botanist would be able to say where nivalis ended and Imperati
commenced.

In this section there are some most lovely Snowdrops, amongst
which I would mention first Mr. Melville’s Dunrobin form, now
known as G. Melvillei major. For several years after Mr. Melville
sent me this it did not seem at all happy, but since it became
thoroughly established it has done well, and I consider it a very
fine variety, and I think the purest in colour of all Snowdrops,
scarcely excepting G. poculiformis.

174 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

G.n. Atkinsi is second to none in size, form, quality, and
freedom of growth. All my correspondents speak most highly
of this; it is the plant known to some as Jmperati of Atkins, or
true Imperati.

One of my first seedlings, which I named Charmer, is quite
in the front rank, being very large, of great breadth and sub-
stance of petal, and of perfect form and quality. It is of dwarf
habit, and the foliage is of great substance and very broad.
The whole plant is most distinct.

Another of my seedlings I call Galatea. This, too, is one of
the giants of the family as to size of flower, but not in stature.
I have never been able to decide whether this or Charmer is the
more perfect flower.

A recent seedling named Cupid is a great favourite of mine.
This is not a giant, but is large, if classed under nivalis, and I
think it the most perfect of that section, having such breadth
and substance of petal and beauty of form.

G. n. “ Valentine’’ is also one of my newer seedlings, and quite
distinct. Itis of the ordinary size, but of fine expanded form,
showing off the unusually large dark green markings on the inner
petals.

A small seedling of perfect form I have named Tomtit.
This is quite different from the usual small forms of nivalis.

Another of my seedlings flowers after most of the other
Snowdrops are over, being even later than a selected form which
I called G. Giismust. My seedling I call Lazybones.

A year or two since I selected from some imported roots of
G. Imperati a lovely dwarf, very late flowering form, which I
named Afterglow. This is the most beautiful of the late
class.

G. nwalis fl. pl. (Allen).—One of my earliest seedlings was
a double form, quite distinct from the old one so common in
gardens. The seedling is of dwarfer growth and gives smaller
flowers, but the doubling is almost as regular as that of a
Ranunculus, and there are no extra outer petals to destroy the
symmetry of the flower, which is as perfect as the single ones.

G. n. plenissimus is another double seedling which has just
given its first flower. The centre is very full and the formation
very regular; the green-marked petals are not so perfect as in
the other seedling, and I do not think it will be so handsome a

SNOWDROPS. 175

flower. As the parent was a large form it is probable this will
have a large flower.

Besides these I have a large number of fine seedlings
belonging to this section, which are full of beauty and interest to
me, but to mention them would be weariness to you.

G. plicatus is very distinct in its character, and its best
forms possess great beauty, both of flower and of leaf. The
foremost place in this section belongs to G. p. maximus, found a
few years since in a garden at Chapel, in Berwickshire, by Mr.
W. B. Boyd, of Melrose. This wonderful variety, under favour-
able conditions, gives flowers the petals of which are fully two
inches long; the width is, perhaps, not quite equal to this great
length, but it is without exception the grandest of all Snowdrops.
It hag the additional recommendations of being a very late
bloomer and a good grower.

In the same garden Mr. Boyd found another good variety,
which he named G. ». Chapeli. This is not nearly so large, but
it has very broad petals, and is of fine form, and ranks with the
best.

Some years ago I selected a fine fcrm, which I named G. p.
elegans. I have sent this to a great many correspondents, and
they place it in the frontrank. Iregret to say that for several
years it hag done badly with me, and I have almost lost it.
About the same time I selected a variety which had the broadest
and handsomest leaves I have ever seen. For several years it
srew well; then got sickly and died out after struggling for two
or three seasons.

G. plicatus usually flowers late, but I have a selected form,
G. p. precox, which flowers with the early varieties of G. nivalis.
This is very distinct. Another selected form, G. p. ‘“‘ Omega,”
flowers with the very latest.

G. Elwes is one of the most distinct species of Snowdrop we
have, and the best varieties of it are very large and handsome,
but still it is not a universal favourite. It wants the most
sheltered spots in the garden, otherwise the wind is too much
for the top-heavy flowers, and their purity and beauty are soon
gone. Iam trying to get a race of finely shaped flowers, with .
short, sturdy stems, to enable them to carry their heads erect in
the battle of life. Many find G. Hlwesw difficult to manage, but
with me it grows very freely, especially in one bed of very hight
soil, where the seedlings are almost a nuisance.

176 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Last autumn I planted in the grass and odd places some
collected bulbs of G. Elwesw. These are now giving some very
weakly flowers, and amongst them I have noticed great variety
and novelty of form; and I have found half-a-dozen with the
inner petals almost entirely green, which is very unusual in G.
Elwesit. I imagine these must have been from a new habitat.
I have selected one bulb and named it G. Hlwesw ‘‘ Balloon,” from
the extraordinary shape of the petals, which are hollowed out
like an old-fashioned caddy-spoon. I have never seen any at all
like it before.

G. latifolius.—I well remember when my first roots of this
species pushed through the soil, Ithought Dr. Wallace had made
a mistake and sent me Scillas instead of Snowdrops, and the
uncertainty was prolonged as I had no flowers for several years,
a peculiarity of this species being that it will not bloom until
thoroughly established. This is the most distinct of all the
Snowdrops, with its broad grass-green foliage and small pure
white flowers, and it has a delicate beauty all its own, more
especially just before the bud expands, when the two leaves curve
so lovingly round the flower-stem. I have obtained roots of this
species from many quarters, but there seems to be little or no
variation in the size, shape, or markings of the flowers. Had
they been raised from one original plant they could not well be
more uniform. I am anxious to get some varieties of this species,
and shall be very thankful for any assistance that way.

G. caucasicus was first offered by Mr. Ware in 1888. The
dozen bulbs I had that autumn, and also the six which I bought
the following spring, have not done well, and at the present time
I have but four roots left alive, half of these being too weak to
flower. The two strongest roots are growing in gritty loam, and
the others in very sandy soil. The heavier soil seems to suit
this species best, although Mr. Ware tells me that he grows it in
nearly pure sea-sand. This species has broad, pointed, very
glaucous leaves, and rather small flowers, very much of the
nivalis type. It has not been in cultivation sufficiently long to
develop its true character.

G. Fostert was introduced from Amasia in Asia Minor by
Professor Foster, of Cambridge, and was named out of compli-
ment to him by Mr. Baker, of Kew, to. whom specimens were
sent in 1889. Mr. Max Leichtlin has since procured a large

SNOWDROPS. blr

number of bulbs, so that it will soon become wellknown. Iam
indebted to both gentlemen for a supply of roots. It bloomed
with me first last season, and I must confess that it did not come
up to my expectations; but I think it is scarcely fair to pass
_ Judgment on it before it has been grown in our gardens for some
four or five years so as to develop its true character. The collected
bulbs, which were planted in January 1890, had almost lost their
vitality, and will require several years to recover their strength.
T understand that in the favoured spots of their native habitat
the bulbs of G. Fosteri are as large as those of a good-sized
Narcissus. This seems to be the most sportive of all the
Galanthi as to size, form, and marking of the flowers. From the
comparatively few bulbs I have already bloomed, I have had
flowers with petals of every imaginable shape, some showing
points of great beauty, and others quite the reverse. We must
be patient and weed out unsparingly, and then in a few years we
shall be proud of G. Fosterz. The markings on the inner petals
are very similar to those of G. Hlwesi, but the foliage is quite
different, being broad and somewhat blunt, and in shape and
colour much like the leaves of Sczlla sibirica. Mr. Max
Leichtlin thinks very highly of G. Fosteri, and considers it to be
the ‘‘King of Snowdrops.” The hard frosts of February or
March 1890 scorched the leaves of my plants and puckered the
petals of the flowers, thus indicating that a sheltered spot should
be selected for it. The sportive character of the flowers of
G. Fosteri, and the shapelessness of its leaves, lead me to think
that it must be a hybrid between G. Hlwesis and G. latifolius,
although Iam told that G. Hlwesi is not found in the same
district.

In 1888 I ordered some roots of G. latifolius from Gusmus,
an Austrian nurseryman. Amongst these was a bulb which
showed altogether a different character from the type. In 1889
and 1890 I sent a flower and leaf to Mr. Baker, of Kew, but he
was unable to trace its history. Recently I sent him the com-
plete plant in flower, and he reported it to be distinct from any
Snowdrop hitherto described, and quite worthy to be named,
and he proposes to call it G. Alleni, out of compliment to
myself. Mr. Baker thinks it is probably a hybrid between
G. latifolius and G. caucasicus, as it has some of the features
of each species. The flower is of much the same character as
that of G. latifolius, but nearly twice as large, and the foliage

178 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. |

eC

corresponds in size with the blossom; but it is somewhat
glaucous, and of a much darker green than that of G. latifolius,
but of exactly the same elegant form. G. Alleni is very hardy,

of robust growth, and also free-flowering. It is a handsome
plant, and is much admired by the two or three friends to whom
I have been able to send a bulb (fig. 22).

SNOWDROPS,. 179

AUTUMNAL-FLOWERING SNOWDROPS.

In Greece and the adjacent countries several Snowdrops have
been found which flower in the autumn or early winter. They
seem to belong to the nivalis section. One peculiarity I have
noticed in them is that they have a glaucous line running down
the centre of each leaf, and by this they can be at once distin-
guished from the spring-flowering forms of nivalis. So far as
I can learn, all these Snowdrops grow on high ground, mostly
on mountains, and it seems to me that their early flowering may
be Nature’s instinct hurrying them into bloom before the snow
comes. I understand that the Snowdrops on the lower grounds
do not flower until early in the year.

G. Olge.—This autumnal-flowering Snowdrop was found on
Mount Taygetus by Orphanides, the Greek botanist. Mr. Max
Leichtlin tried to purchase the stock from the lucky discoverer,
but the exorbitant price demanded prevented his doing so. A
year or two since Mr. Max Leichtlin informed me that
Orphanides was confined in a madhouse, and that the
Snowdrop cannot be found in his garden, or traced in any
way. From the descriptions given of it, G. Olge must have
been a fine variety, and it is very unfortunate that itis lost to
cultivation. M. Tanka, the Hungarian botanist, asserts that
this and G. octobrensis are identical, but I do not think so, and
the difference between G. octobrensis and G. Rachele confirms
my opinion.

G. octobrensis—lLord Walsingham, when travelling in
Albania about the year 1875, collected some bulbs on one of the
mountains and sent them to the late Rev. H. Harpur-Crewe.
Amongst these was a bulb which proved to be a Snowdrop
flowering in the autumn, usually in October. The first bulb
Mr. Harpur-Crewe had to spare he very kindly sent to me,
and it has always been true to its autumnal habit. I am sorry
to say that it is somewhat delicate and apt to disappear ; it also
increases very slowly with me. In Mr. Boyd’s garden at
Melrose it seems quite at home, a single bulb having given five
blooming roots the first year after planting. Mr. Boyd recom-
mends that the Snowdrops belonging to this section should be
lifted directly the foliage dies down, and not replanted for two
or three months.

180 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

G. Rachele.—When travelling in Greece in 1886, Professor
Mahaffy collected a quantity of bulbs and tubers on Mount
Hymettus, which he sent home to Mr. F. W. Burbidge, so well
known to everyone who takes an interest in choice flowers.
One of these roots proved to be a Snowdrop flowering in
October and November. Hearing of this from a mutual friend,
I wrote to Mr. Burbidge for information about it, and his reply
was accompanied by the original bulb, leaving him an offset
only which it had formed. This great kindness to a perfect
stranger was quite unexpected, and I take this opportunity of
expressing my gratitude to Mr. Burbidge for it, and also for
the many genial letters so full of valuable hints and sketches
with which he has favoured me from time to time.

G. Rachele is of the same type as G. octobrensis, but the
flower is a little larger, and the leaves are quite a third broader,
and it seems to have a stronger constitution than that variety.
It also differs in being a week or ten days later in flowering. Is
this the G. Olge of Orphanides ?

G. corcyrensis or precox.—This usually flowers from the
middle to the end of December, according to the mildness of the
season. It .is evidently a form of G. nivalis, small in size and
delicate in constitution. Being the connecting link between the
autumn and spring flowering kinds it is valuable, and well worth
the extra care required in its cultivation. The late Mr. Harpur-
Crewe received it from the English Chaplain at Corfu.

Mr. Max Leichtlin informs me that he has raised some
seedlings from G. corcyrensis which bloom a month earlier than
their parent, and in some of these the form of the flower is quite
changed, the petals being very narrow, and one and a-quarter
inches long. ‘This they have maintained for two seasons.

In October 1889, a gentleman residing in Corfu kindly sent
me, by sample post, some bulbs, then in flower, of a rare early
Snowdrop which grew in one spot only on the island. The
rootlets of the bulbs got dried up in transit and the flowers were
much withered, but I could distinguish considerable variation in
the size and markings of them, and in the character of the
foliage. A large proportion of these bulbs died, but more than
a dozen have given flowers this spring, but they have not bloomed
early, which I attribute to their trials, as they virtually made a
second growth last season. I think these will be quite a dif-

SNOWDROPS, 181

ferent strain from G. corcyrensis, in which I have found no
variation. My kind correspondent informed me that the ordinary
Snowdrop of the island of Corfu blooms in January.

G. Hlse.—Amongst some roots collected by Dr. Mahaffy on
Mount Athos in Greece in April 1889 (?) were a few bulbs of a
Snowdrop which pushed through the soil in October of that
year. Mr. Burbidge noticed these, and kindly sent one of them
to me. This opened its flower on the 17th December. It is a
dwarf variety with small flowers of good form, but I fear it is not
very robust or hardy, as the frosts of last season injured the
leaves, and it has not flowered this spring.

THE YELLOW SNOWDROPS

form but a small class, two varieties only being known at pre-
sent. It must not be supposed that the petals of the flower are
yellow; the name is given because of the rich yellow colour of
the ovary, and the markings on the inner petals are also of that
colour, instead of the usual green, and even the flower-stalks are
more yellow than green.

G. lutescens was found some fifteen years ago by Mr. Sanders,
of Cambridge, in an old-fashioned garden in Northumberland.
When Mr. Harpur-Crewe first saw it he thought it was the “‘long-
looked-for G. reflexus,’ but further observation convinced him
that it was not. This is a very beautiful and unique variety of
small size and of delicate constitution, but the reward of success
amply repays a little loving care and trouble.

G. flavescens was discovered quite recently by Mr. W. B.
Boyd, of Melrose, in a cottage garden, also in Northumberland,
but in quite a different part of the county. This variety is rather
larger than G. lutescens, and all the yellow points are brighter in
colour with the exception of the flower-stem, which in my two
plants seems rather paler. G. flavescens is a very beautiful
variety, and will be a great favourite when it becomes known.
It also has the recommendation of growing and increasing
freely.

THe WuHitE SNOWDROPS

also consist, at present, of two varieties only.
G. poculifornis was first brought into notice by Mr. D.
Melville, who found it in the grounds at Dunrobin Castle. It has

182 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

since been found in Wales by Mr. A. D. Webster, and I have also
received bulbs of a very similar form from a lady near Ayr, in
whose garden it grew with several other peculiar forms. When
in character the inner petals are almost the same length as
the outer ones, and the green markings are entirely absent,
thus giving the flower an elegance and purity not found in
any other Snowdrop. Unfortunately, a good many of. the
flowers come with some of the inner petals reverting more or
less to the normal form, and in this state they are not
beautiful.

G. n. albus is smaller than most of this section, and is
very distinct from Snowdrops in general; its peculiar feature
being that the usual green markings on the inner petals are
replaced by small dots, which are scarcely observable at a
short distance. The floweris generally of perfect shape, and
is then very delicate and pretty. An occasional flower sports
in the way of poculiformis. It grows freely, but increases
slowly. I found this in my garden several years ago, but whether
a seedling or not I cannot say.

This season (1891) G. 7. albus seems to be inclined to run
into G. poculifornis.

THE GREEN-FLOWERED SNOWDROPS

form quite a large class, but of course none of the blossoms are
entirely, or even mostly, green in colour. They come into this
class in consequence of having more or less green on the outer
petals, somewhat in the style of the Leucojum.

G. Scharlokw was so named in 1868 by Professor Caspary
in honour of its discoverer, Herr Julius Scharlok, who found it
in the valley of the Nahe, a tributary of the Rhine. This variety,
in addition to large pale green spots towards the tips of the
outer petals, has the peculiarity of a twin or divided spathe,
which curves down on the two sides much like a pair of wings.
This variety grows and increases very freely.

G. virescens is a very singular-looking Snowdrop, reminding
one somewhat of an Ornithogalum. The outer petals are pale
ereen, shading off to pure white at the edges, and especially at
the tips; the inner petals are entirely green. At first I did not
care much for this variety, but it has a quiet beauty which grows

— =~ -

SNOWDROPS. 1838

on one, and I should not now like to lose it. It is very late in
flowering, coming in quite at the end of the season. I do not
know its history, but I believe Mr. Max Leichtlin had his bulbs
from the Vienna Botanic Gardens.

G. Warei has green spots on the outer petals like G. Schar-
loki, but has not the divided spathe, and the markings on the
interior petals are larger. Mr. Boyd, of Melrose, kindly sent me
my root of this variety, and he obtained it from Mr. Ware under
the name of G. Scharlokw, and I imagine it must be a seedling
from that kind. Mr. Ware is unable to account for the variation
from the type. It is a strong-growing, handsome plant.

G. Fosteri “ Leopard ”’ is a great curiosity, having flowers of
quite unusual shape, and at the tip of each outer petal a large
dark green spot, in the style of Leucojwm vernum. Mr. Max
Leichtlin kindly sent me ten collected bulbs of G. Fosterz in
January 1890, and one of these flowered as described, and has
kept true this season.

G. Foster ‘‘ Spot ’’ is quite distinct from ‘‘Leopard.’’ It has
long outer petals, somewhat pear-shaped, and at the tip of each
isa small pale green spot. The spots are not sufficiently pro-
minent to give a decided character to the flower, butit is valuable
as @ variety.

To the green-flowered Snowdrops already mentioned may be
added three of my seedlings. Two of these were raised from
G. Scharlokiw, the first having the green spots but not the
divided spathe. I think this will be very similar to G. Warei.
The second is from G. virescens,’ and is very much like that
variety, but the green markings are paler in colour. The third
is another seedling from G. Scharloki, and seems to be almost
a reproduction of that curious plant, having not only the green
spots, but the divided spathe also. Another seedling from
G. Scharloki had the divided spathe, but the outer petals were
entirely white.

Pink (2) Snowdrops.—Writing to me in July 1888, my valued
friend Mr. Max Leichtlin says: ‘‘ There exists a pink Snowdrop !
So I was assured by my late friend Mr. Threlfall, who unfortu-
nately died in Armenia. He told me so last November, and said
he was promised a bulb this summer. Alas! he does not want
it.’ Some gentleman present may, perhaps, have known Mr.
Threlfall or his family, and be able to follow up the clue given.

184 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Mr. A. D. Webster tells me that the spring before he left
Llandegai he found in the Penrhyn woods a pink-flowered Snow-
drop, which he transferred to his garden. When he left his
residence, shortly after, the bulbs passed into the hands of a
Church dignitary, from whom he can get no information about
them. Mr. Webster says ‘‘the colour was like deep pink seen
through muslin,’ and he has every confidence that it would be
permanent.

In the spring of 1887.a note appeared in the Garden describ-
ing a pink Snowdrop which had appeared in a garden near
Norwich. A friend took very much trouble in making inquiries
about this forme. It was found that the young ladies of the
house had played a joke on the gardener by watering a clump of
Snowdrops with a strong solution of cochineal, which was partly
absorbed by the plant and resulted in the blossoms having a pink
tint. I have never tried this experiment.*

In 1856 Lord Clarina brought home with him from the Crimea
some Snowdrop bulbs which he had collected whilst there. These
roots were planted in the garden at Straffan House, Co. Kildare,
where they have been growing since that time. Such is the
history that comes to me with the Straffan Snowdrop. One
would naturally expect this to be a variety of G. plicatus, but
it appears to be an unusually fine form of G. Imperati. Can our
botanical friends clear up the mystery? Is G. Imperati a native
of the Crimea as well as G. plicatus ?

About ten years since I had a Snowdrop from M. Van Houtte
under the name of G. Redouter. It was not Dr. Regel’s plant,
but a very fine form of G. mivalis, and very distinct, from its tall
habit and large flower. I believe there is a G. nivalis major
(Redouter), and probably this is it.

G. umbricus appears to be nothing more than G. Imperati
collected from anew district. It varies very much in quality of
flower, and some good things may probably be selected from it,
but I do not think that it is going to give us a December-flower-
ing Snowdrop as promised by Messrs. Dammann.

G. n. Cathcartié is a small form of not very robust constitution.

* From information received since this paper was written I feel convinced
that the Pink Snowdrop referred to by the late Mr. Threlfall was the one
that had been “ doctored ’’ with cochineal in the neighbourhood of Norwich
in the spring of 1887.—J. A.

SNOWDROPS. 185

The flowers are of perfect shape, with very pale green markings
on the inner petals, which give them a very delicate appearance.
Many of the spathes are partially split, and a good number entirely
divided, as in G. Scharloku. Miss Cathcart, of Auchendrane,
found this in her grounds, and kindly sent me roots ofitin 1886.
Miss Cathcart also sent mea form very similar to G. poculiformis,
but not equal to the Dunrobin variety.

Several years ago Mr. Murray, the gardener at West Ashby,
Horncastle, sent me roots of a white-spathed Snowdrop which
grew in the grounds there. It is not at all beautiful, neither is
it always constant to this character, but when seen at its best it
is very remarkable, there being two or three short white spathes
in addition to the usual green one.

In 1880 I had sent me from two sources some very dried up
bulbs under the name of G. reflexus. Most of these roots perished,
and neither lot has increased much. They were not quite alike,
but both were forms of G. nivalis, with small narrow-petalled
flowers, and very weakly in growth.

Once or twice I have received so-called G. montanus, but
only to find that I had my old friend G. nivalis with a fresh
name. Probably the bulbs had been collected in a new district.

I have a race of seedling Snowdrops which I believe to be
hybrids of G. Hlwesu and G. plicatus, as they seem to be inter-
mediate between the two species. Most of these have large, hand-
some flowers of great substance and fine form, and the inner
petals are generally entirely green. They are of strong growth,
and have broad glaucous leaves which, with very few exceptions,
have the edges slightly turned or folded. The flowers are carried
erect on very stout, tall stems. Amongst the best of these I may
mention G. hyb. “‘ Majestic,” a very fine variety, quite equalled by
G. h. “ Titania,” which has a grand flower and most distinct and
striking foliage. Merlin, Robin Hood, Raphael, and Creole may
also be mentioned as good varieties of this section.

In raising seedlings of Snowdrops one meets with many disap-
pointments. This season I have bloomed about thirty seedlings
from G. Scharlokw, and only three of these have been different
from ordinary G. nivalis. Also about a dozen new seedlings from
G. virescens, every one of which has reverted to the common Snow-
drop. The same has happened with three seedlings from G.
lutescens.

D

186 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

RaIsiInc SEEDLINGS.

The raising of seedling Snowdrops is not at all difficult. After
gathering the seed it should be kept in an airy place for a week
or two, to thoroughly ripen, and then it should be sown as soon
as possible. I have not met with much success from sowings
in the open ground, so I now always use boxes, and I find
that brandy-cases are very suitable for the purpose, as they are
strongly made of good wood, and are not so deep as most boxes
of the size. I bore twenty-five ?-inch holes in the bottom, and
then nail a 2-inch square strip of red deal about 3 inches from
each end. This keeps the boxes off the ground, makes them
handy to move, and prevents stagnation. I use ample drainage
and a free soil with plenty of grit in it to keep it sweet. The seed
is sown in drills about + inch deep, the drills filled up with silver
sand, and then + inch of sifted soil put over the whole. Hach box
is numbered at the end or right side, and in my reference book
I enter the particulars of the seed sown in each row. These
boxes are placed about two feet from a low north wall, and are
never protected in any way. ‘They require but little attention ;
of course, the weeds must be kept down, and a little fresh soil
added after the second year. The Marchantia and Spergula are
the greatest pests in this work. I usually let the seedlings remain
in the boxes until some of them begin to flower, which generally
occurs the fourth season. Galanthus seed comes up very irre-
cularly, and when seedlings are removed from the boxes they
will be found to vary from the size of a wheat-corn to that of
blooming bulbs. Seed of G. lutescens does not germinate for
several years asa rule. Last spring, in the same box, and from
seed sown at the same time, I had G. Imperat: in flower and
G. lutescens making its first appearance. If Snowdrop seed is
kept till the spring, it will not germinate until the following
spring. The true quality and size of seedlings cannot be ascer-
tained until the thirdfor fourth year of flowering.

With me G. nivalis grows freely in all soils and situations.
G. plicatus is not very particular, but still some of its varieties
require extra care, as they have an unpleasant way of disappear-
ing. G. Hlwesi doesgnot do well in close, retentive soil. G.
latifolius and G. caucasicus I believe prefer gritty loam, and
I should say that G. Fostert would also like it. Myr. A. D.

SNOWDROPS. 187

Webster tells me that peat has quite a magical effect on Snow-
drops, but I have not tried it. My ideal soil for Snowdrops in
general would be half good sweet yellow loam and almost half
unsifted river-grit, and a little leaf-mould. The situation I should
choose would be a gently sloping bank, more or less shaded by
trees whose roots were allowed to wander freely among the Snow-
drops. I believe that all bulbs are healthier when planted amongst
active roots than in ordinary beds. When the bulbs are at rest
it is very essential that the soil should be kept sweet by the
activity of other roots. We too often lose sight of this fact. I
think the autumnal-flowering Snowdrops should be treated as
alpines. All my best Snowdrops are grown under trees, the soil
being quite full of their roots. I donot use manure for them. In
this same situation the white Daffodils do well, and even Nar.
pallidus »recox seems happy, and the delicate little N. cycla-
mineus is sending up its buds for the third or fourth time. Here,
too, the Irises of the reticulata group—sophenensis, histriordes,
Kolpakowskiana, and Krelagei—grow freely. The wonderful
Tris Rosenbachiana, planted in 1888, has again just opened its
beautiful flowers. J. Histrio I cannot manage. The only draw-
back to my situation for these spring gems is the soiling of the
flowers from the droppings of the trees. I should mention that
the climate is so trying that I cannot grow such hardy plants as
Primroses, Pinks, Daisies, &c. All these disappear after a season
or two.

I move most of my Snowdrops when in full flower, and do not
find they are injured by it in any way. This is also the best time
for moving Leucojwm vernun.

I have noticed that the more green colour there is in any
Snowdrop the more freely it grows and the more rapidly it in-
creases, whilst the absence of green, or the substitution of yellow
for the green, makes the plant delicate and slow of increase. G.
Scharloku, G. poculiformis, and G. lutescens illustrate this point.

In very frosty weather, when the young growth of Snowdrops
appears to be shrivelled and dried up, I have an idea that the
yital juices of the plant are instinctively drawn into the bulb,
which acts as a reservoir. If the juices were left in the young
leaves, would they not become frozen, and so destroy the tissues
of the plant ?

When lifting Snowdrops which are in full flower, I have often

D2

188 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

noticed that the bulbs are very soft and spongy, as though they
had exhausted all their substance in perfecting the flowers.

In 1889 the Snowdrop fungus appeared in my garden ; last
season it visited me again, and this year it is working destruction
amongst some of my choicest varieties. The feeling of utter
helplessness is very depressing. I can hear of no remedy or
preventive. Still I do not intend to give up in despair, but intend
to work on and hope for ‘‘a good time coming”’ when the terrible
fungus shall be a thing of the past. A faint heart never made
a good gardener, and with that sentiment I will conclude my
rambling remarks on Snowdrops.

SNOWDROPS.
By Mr. D. MEtvitxez.
[Read March 10, 1891. ]

A DISCUSSION on Snowdrops, under the auspices of the Royal
Horticultural Society, will afford a valuable opportunity of com-
paring the various forms of Galanthus, and of putting on record
what progress has been made in the improvement of the flower
in recent years.

Other spring flowers, notably the Daffodil, have been
materially helped forward in improvement, and in classification,
by discussion or conference, and no doubt the present discussion
will encourage those who take an interest in our earliest of sprmg
flowers to further effort.

Although the Snowdrop has always been a popular favourite,
and the hardy pioneer of the floral beauty of the year, yet the
improvement of the flower has not, until recent years, attracted
the attention its merits deserve.

Collections of the known varieties have been gathered to-
gether by lovers of hardy plants, but improvement by selection,
or hybridisation, has been slow.

Galanthus mvalis is the best known Snowdrop, and is found
wild throughout Europe and the greater part of Asia Minor.
Where G. nivalis grows freely, and has been increased naturally
by seeding, there are usually many variations which, to the close
observer, are very interesting.

SNOWDROPS. 189

Some vary in size, shape, and substance of flower ; some in
size and form of cup; others in habit, or time of flowering.
Some flowers when fully open have a tendency to reflex, some
vary in the intensity of the green markings, while all are
beautiful.

There are two very distinct types of nivalis, one with a deep
narrow cup well marked with green lines, long and rather narrow
outer petals, with G.n. Imperati as the largest form. Many
of the continental flowers are of this type.

The other form, which appears to be mostly grown in the
British Isles, has a wider and shallower cup, with fainter mark-
ings, broader petals, of oblong ovate form, with G. 7. Melville: as
the largest form of the type.

It may not be out of place to note a few of the forms of —
nivalis which -have originated here; viz.: Galanthus nivalis
Melvillet, a variety which has proved remarkably constant after
nearly a dozen years’ cultivation, here and elsewhere. This
variety received a first class certificate in March 1879. Itis
larger in all its parts than nivalis, the bulbs being sometimes
nearly double the size, leaves stouter and longer, flower-stalk
from two to three inches longer, flowers larger and of better
substance, of a creamy white, retaining in a marked degree a
more globular form.

Galanthus nivalis serotinus, so named by the late Rev. H,
Harpur-Crewe, as being ‘‘ quite a little gem in its way,”’ is the
opposite of the giant form, being dwarfer than the ordinary
type, bulbs and flowers being smaller, and its time of blooming
later. The flowers, when fully expanded, sometimes reflex in
sunshine.

G. nivalis poculifornis, another variety which originated
here, is very pretty but rather scarce. There is no cup in this
variety, the cup petals and outer segments being all of the same
length; usually pure white, without the green marking, or at
least with very faint indications of green.

A variety named G. 7”. precox showed a marked tendency
to blossom earlier than nivalis, usually coming into bloom from
a fortnight to three weeks before the others. This form was
noted in bloom at Chiswick on New Year’s Day, 1881. There is
no special peculiarity about this form except its early blooming
tendency.

190 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

There is a very pretty late variety doing well here, and just
coming into bloom—G. nivalis estivum, kindly sent me some
time ago by Mr. Smith, of Newry. It is a free, robust grower,
distinctly later than nivalis, and the green markings are of a
deeper colour than usual.

I need not enumerate here all the known varieties, but may
take this opportunity of asking if the rare G. Regine Olg@ has
been found, or does it still only exist in name ?

Cultwre.-—The Snowdrop is very accommodating in itsrequire-
ments, and will grow in most friable, well-drained soils. A light
black loamy soil with a fair mixture of sand perhaps suits it best
of all, while a wet clay soil is about the worst for its culture.
Where it is cultivated in beds or borders, the addition of leaf-
mould, or sand, will sometimes help ground not naturally suited
to its requirements. It is, however, when planted in grass
or lawns, in quantity, that the value of the Snowdrop for
spring gardening is most apparent. When once planted and
established in grass in suitable soil, the Snowdrop yields its
floral tribute each returning spring, without further labour or
trouble; all it requires is that its foliage be allowed to ripen
naturally before the scythe or mower is put over the grass. The
foliage is usually ripe by May, so that little inconvenience is
experienced in the mowing of the turf. When a large space
is to be planted, the best way is to lift the turf thinly about
September, or early in October, sow the bulbs over the ground,
lightly fork in two or three inches, level and roll the ground,
relay the turf, finishing off with the roller.

If the bulbs do well in four to six years they should yield a
crop if required for planting elsewhere, or extending the area,
leaving enough in the ground to keep up the stock.

Another method of stocking a piece of grass, where clumps of
Snowdrops can be had on the ground, is to divide the clumps
after flowering, making notches with a spade a foot or two apart
all over the ground, dropping a few bulbs into each. After a
few years the turf may be lifted, the ground lghtly forked over,
relaying the turf as before after breaking up the clumps, and
distributing the bulbs all over the ground.

Diseases.—The only disease I have found Snowdrops subject
to is a species of rot or mould which attacks the young growths
as they show above ground. The disease does not appear to

SNOWDROPS. 191

be infectious, as infected bulbs may die off close to healthy bulbs
without injury to the latter, if the mould or decay is not actually
in contact with the healthy growth.

Fertilisation.—Bees are seldom abroad at the period of
Snowdrops flowering, and even if weather permit do not seem to
visit the flower. Fertilisation appears, by a provision of nature,
to be assisted by a small fly which frequents the flower for shelter
and to feed on the pollen. During the mild weather of the
month of February, 1891, the maximum temperature here ranged
between 50 deg. and 60 deg. on eleven days. Bees were busy
carrying in pollen from early patches of Gorse, Leuwcojwn
vernum, or Jasminum nudiflorum, but it was a rare occurrence
to observe a bee among the Snowdrops, although there was about
an acre of them within a hundred yards of the hives.

Time of Flowering.—Although some of the early forms make
their appearance early in January, it is usually in February that
the bulk are in blossom. This year the bloom was at its best the
second and third weeks of February. Some discussion has
taken place in the gardening papers from time to time as to
whether Snowdrops flower earlier in Scotland than they do south
of the border. I think they are usually earlier most seasons
in Scotland. There is from what;I hear no doubt of it this
season, as Snowdrops here are practically over, except in shaded
places, or behind a north wall, while I believe in England
Snowdrops will be about their best by March 10th, making a
difference of from a fortnight to three; weeks between the north
and south of the British Islands.

SNOWDROPS.
By Mr. F. W. Bursipas, M.A., F.L.S.
[Read March 10, 1891.]

THE Snowdrop is one of the earliest and most exquisite of all
our hardy bulbous flowers, and it has been mentioned by nearly
all the modern English poets for its modest purity and simplicity.
It is almost more interesting, however, to know that amongst
those who have nor alluded to the flower we may name
Shakespeare and the so-called garden-poet Cowper, although
both must often have seen and admired the flower itself.

192 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The generic name of the Snowdrop is Galanthus, or literally
the “ milk-flower.’”” Old Jonn Evelyn called it ‘‘ snow-flower ”’
in his ‘‘ Kalendarium Hortense,” just as the French people calt
it ‘‘ Snow Piercer’”’ (Perce Neige) to-day.

One of the earliest portraits of the common Snowdrop (G.
nivalis) is that of L’Obel, who gave a characteristic wood
engraving in his “ Stirpium Historia,” published at Antwerp in
1576. Our own Gerarde, in 1597, uses this figure of L’Obel’s,
and also an engraving of a larger species, which may have been
G. Imperati, or possibly G. plicatus. Then Clusius, in his
noble ‘‘ Historia’’ of 1601, also uses these two figures, and
tells us that the larger Snowdrop came to Europe by way of
Constantinople, or Byzantium as it was then called.

It is extremely doubtful whether we can claim the common
Snowdrop as a true native of England; my own impression is
that itis mainly found growing where, as Goldsmith tells us,
‘‘once a garden smiled.’’ Hooker, in the ‘‘ Students’ Flora,’
tells us that the Snowdrop is “ frequently naturalised in England
and Scotland, hardly in Ireland,” and adds that ‘it is possibly
wild in Hertford and Denbigh.”’

The plant seems more truly at home on the Continent, where
it grows all through ‘Southern and Central Europe from the
Pyrenees to the Caucasus.”’

The best account of the species generally is by Mr. J. G.
Baker in his “ Amaryllidacez,’’ where six species are described,
and the seventh, viz., G. F'osteri, has since been described in the
Gardeners’ Chronicle.

Mr. J.G. BAKER’S SPECIES OF GALANTHUS.
(In “ Amaryllidacee,”’ pp. 16-18, and in Gard. Chron. April 1889, p. 458.)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
bath G. grecus G. Eluwesti G. latifolius, | | «& plicatus, G. Fosteri,
G. nivalis, L. Orph, ; Hook. fils Ruprecht G. Olge, Orph. MB: Baker
Pyrenees to |Isle of Chios, |Asia-Minor, (Caucasus, alt. Greece, on |Crimea, and |Amasia, in the:
the Caucasus.| on Mount | nearSmyrna, | 6,000 to 8,000 | Mount Tay- | Mountains of | Province of
Sub-species: | Pellinos, alt. | alt. 3,700 feet | feet. getus. Dobruscha. Sirwas, N,
G. Imperati, | 3,000 to4,000 | on the Ma- — — — Central Asia-
G. caucasicus. | feet. nissa range. May October | Mar. and Apr. | Minor.
Feb. and Mar. April May April

The above is a tabulated view of the species described by Mr. Baker.

SNOWDROPS. 198

In studying Snowdrops we find (as is usually the case) that
the leaves and the flowers afford the best means of distinguishing
the species one from ancther; but before passing to these we
may glance at the bulb characters also.

THE BuLtB CHARACTERS.

The bulbs of Snowdrops may be referred to three typical,
shapes, viz. the ovoidal or egg-shaped, as in G. nivalis; the
rhomboidal or short spindle-shaped, as in G. plicatus ; and the
rounded or even oblate spheroidal, as in G. Hlwesiw. In size:
Snowdrop bulbs will vary within narrow limits, according to
their luxuriance; but those of G. nivalis
vary from half to three-quarters of an inch
in diameter, being indeed about the size of
hazel-nuts. The double variety has stouter-
looking bulbs, while those of G. plicatus and
G. Imperati are often an inch or more in
diameter, being similar in size and shape to
pigeons’ eges.

As seen in bulk, the bulbs of all the true
species are recognisable by their different
shapes and sizes, and by the lighter or
darker hue of their hazel-nutlike brown
bulb-coatings, as grown on any one kind of
soul.

If you make a cross-section of a bulb of
any Snowdrop, you find it composed of the
swollen bases or petioles of two, three, or
more of its former leaves, arranged eccen-
trically around the new growth. The inner
faces of two of these bulb-scales, as they are
called, are fluted or channelled in a very
pretty way, and covered with a delicate
satin-like membrane. The eccentric arrange-
ment as shown in the woodcut (fig, 23 0) of
two of the bulb-scales is very peculiar, and
I know of no other instance except in bulbs of Galanthus.
Fig. 23 a shows the vertical section of a Snowdrop bulb.

194 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

THE Lear CHARACTERS.

When we examine the leaves of all the so-called species of
Snowdrops we find them clearly referable to three types, viz. :
1, the strap-shaped glaucous leaf of the common Snowdrop and
its anes 2, the much broader plicate or enfolded leaf of

| i Pees
|
— 1 ()
|) nivalis. + | nivalis G.plicatus | G. tatifolius
Fic, 24.

3.

G. plicatus, readily known by its re-duplicate marginal area.
Then 3, we have the broadly lorate shining green leaves, such
as those of G. latifolius and G. Fosteri (fig. 24).

When once these types of leafage are recognised and under-
stood the specific identification of any known Snowdrop becomes
an easy matter. As thus tabulated one may see at a glance
how important the leaf characters are in the study of Snowdrops.

1 2 3
Narrow glaucous leaf Broad plaited glaucescent leaf Broad lorate green leaf
G. nivalis | G. plicatus G. latifolius
45 » Imperati G. Fosteri
“ » caucasicus
G. Elwesii
*G. grecus(?)
*G. Olgze(?)

* These are doubtful species not in cultivation (2).

Guided in some measure by the leaf characters, which are far

SNOWDROPS. 195

less variable than those of the flowers, I am led to believe that
the three species heading the columns of the above table really
form the backbone of the genus Galanthus, and I should not feel
at all surprised to find that all the other kinds of Snowdrops
known to us could be obtained as hybrids or seedlings of these
three main types. G. Fosterv is, as I believe, merely a natural
hybrid between G. latifoliws and G. Hlwesw, andI am at present
cross-fertilising G. latifolius and G. plicatus ‘‘ Kmerald,”’ in the
hope of producing G. Fosteri as a synthetic proof of what I
believe to be true; and I trust Mr. Allen and other Snowdrop
growers will also try this union.

That G. nivalis and G. plicatus will hybridise with each
other we know, since Mr. Allen has a plant which sprang up in
his garden, where these two species were growing alongside each
other. It has been alluded to in my list as G. mvalo-plicatus
‘ Valentine.”

Before considering the floral characters of the Snowdrops, we
may, in passing, allude to the scape or flower-stem, which varies
in thickness, being nearly twice as thick in the case of
G. plicatus, G. Imperati, and G. caucasicus than it is in
G. nwalis. The scape is solid, elliptical in section, and fluted in
Snowdrops, as in Snowflakes (Leucojum and Hrinosma), and not
hollow as in Narcissi and in Daffodils.

The scape is topped by two spathe-valves, which are green,
and more or less connected by a translucent satin-like membrane.
In the case of the species this membrane is burst open on one
side only by the erect and swollen flower-bud, so that the green
valves are connected, and at first sight appear to be one only ;
but in such varieties as G. Scharloki, G. Cathcartie, and
G. Ware the spathe-valves are larger and more leaf-like in
texture, and in the two first named the valves often tear them-
selves apart, and so these phases have obtained the name of
twin-spathed Snowdrops. I have had from Lincolnshire a variety
with two sets of spathe-valves, the lower set being green and the
extra upper set being white like the sepals.

In G. Warez the spathe-valves are leafy, but remain united
along one edge by a membrane, as in Snowdrops generally.

All the Snowdrops in the early up-shooting bud stage form a
beautiful study.

In the earlier stages of its existence the flower-bud of a

196 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,

Snowdrop is as erect on its stalk as a spear-head on its shaft, and
it is tipped and sheathed, or buckram’d at the sides by the green
spathe-valves, and enfolded elsewhere by a tough but thin and
translucent and elastic membrane. As thus erect and sheathed,
the tender and pure white bud boldly pierces the cold and wet
enclodded earth without injury. When nearly fully grown the
bud bursts out of the sheath, generally on the sunny side, the
slender stalk or pedicel elongates, and the bud becomes pendant
and expands when elevated beyond all risk of harm. In the
whole world of flowers I know of no prettier or more suggestive
sight than this of a little Snowflower being born, fresh and
beautiful, into a cold and wintry world. No wonder some wise
old Frenchman bestowed on the flower-buds of Galanthus the
name of ‘‘Perce Neige’’; no wonder that some English poet
crystallised the purity of the flower by calling them “ Fair Maids
of February ”’ ; for Snowdrops, simple and abundant though they
be, have, like the fairest of human flowers, a divine instinct for
keeping themselves pure and unspotted from the world.

THE FLOWER CHARACTERS.

If we examine a Snowdrop flower we find that it consists of
scape, spathe, pedicel, ovary or seed-vessel, and then the white
segments popularly known as the flower. The outer series of
three white segments we speak of as sepals. The inner series,
which are generally marked more or less with green, we call
petals. Then comes a cluster of six orange-yellow pollen-bags
or anthers, opening by seams or slits near their apices, so as to
let out the life-giving dust on to the stigma, which is like a pin
in the very centre of the flower.

The accompanying engraving (fig. 25) represents the various
portions of a Snowdrop flower.

The flowers of Snowdrops generally vary in size and in the
colour or shape of the spots and markings on the sepals and
petals. Taking G. nivalis as an example of size, we find it varies
from its smallest stage, having sepals not more than half an inch
long, to the great Caucasian and Italian forms, such as grandis
or Imperati, which often have sepals one inch to one and a third
of aninch in length. G. plicatus, G. latifolius, G. Hlwesu, and
G. Fosteri again are very variable in size.

SNOWDROPS. 197

Apart from size, however, the arrangements of the petals
varies somewhat in different species. In G. nivalis the inner
seements are broadly obcordate and spreading, the three divisions
forming a cup-like or bell-shaped protection to the anthers and
style in the centre of the blossom. In G. plicatus the inner
segments are more cylindrically arranged, the edges of the
segments being imbricated in a convolute manner, one within or
without the other.

Again, in G. Hlwesw the inner segments are valvate, forming
what appears to be a tube, so cylindrical is the arrangement of

anther enlarged

section of flower

petals, outside; inside

leaf

anthers, front and side

Fre. 25.

the petals, and in a less marked degree the same is true of
G. Fostert.

’ When we come to the green markings on the sepals and petals,
we find that two forms of G. mivalis have their sepals striped or
marked with clouded lines of green. These are G. virescens
(basal) and G. Scharloki (apical). The sepals of some forms
of G. Fosteri are also blotched or spotted with green near their
apices.

The petal markings are more definite, and in some species
and varieties form good distinguishing characters. G. Hlwesiiis
readily known by the bold oblong basal .blotch on each of its
inner petals, and by the two delte one on either side the sinus, or

198 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

cleft at its apex. G. Fostert also has a basal blotch on its
petals, but the spots on either side the apical sinus are confluent,
thus forming a kidney or saddle-shaped blotch.

In G. plicatus we generally find a bold saddle-shaped apical
blotch, but in one variety at least, G. plicatus ‘‘Hmerald,” the
green blotch extends nearly the whole length of the petal, as it
does also in the case of G. virescens, leaving only a narrow white
margin. The way in which the green colour, concentrated
outside the petals of Snowdrops into kidney or saddle-shaped
blotches, is diffused in lines inside, is peculiar and interesting.

THE CULTIVATION OF SNOWDROPS.

Speaking of the culture of these flowers, onemay almost venture
to say the less they are cultivated the better! By this I really
mean to imply that on suitable soiis the Snowdrop will grow any-
where, in hedges and orchards, and in woods and the fields, as
wellas in gardens. The fact of their not requiring special culture,
if other things are in their favour, is proven by the luxuriant way
in which the Snowdrop has become naturalised throughout
England and Wales, as also in Scotland, and in a lesser degree
perhaps in Ireland.

When I wrote to Mr. Peter Barr to ask the names and ad-
dresses of the trade ‘‘ growers’ of Snowdrops for trade purposes,
he said there were none in the same sense that there are culti-
vators of Tulip, Hyacinth, Crocus, and Daffodil bulbs, but that
the Snowdrop dealers drive about and purchase any batches
of Snowdrops they can find growing in orchards, hedge banks,
cottage gardens, &c., or here and there in the fields as natural-
ised on old farms and manse lands. In Lincolnshire, where the
Snowdrop may be considered a speciality, patches, varying from
one or two square yards toa perch or two, are grown by cottagers ;
but the upshot of this is, that after a few years the roots rot, so
that it is a precarious industry, sometimes succeeding and some-
times failing. The cottagers lift the roots every other year,
selling the larger and re-planting the smaller ones. Within the
last few years, however, at least one farmer has devoted an acre
or two of black moorland soil to the culture of these bulbs by the
million.

The fact appears to be that the Snowdrop is as shy of long-

SNOWDROPS. 199

continued or permanent culture as it isof a hothouse or forcing-
pit temperature, and once planted in suitable soil it enjoys being
left alone to grow at its own pace. It is also clearly established
that double and single (G. nivalis) varieties do not always suc-
ceed alike on all soils. Wherever the singles luxuriate, there the
doubles generally thrive also, but the reverse of this is not always
true, since double Snowdrops often thrive where the singles die
off, either by reason of the fungoid disease peculiar to them, or
from some other unknown cause, and possibly lack of moisture.
The reason why and wherefore, however, is really a puzzle not as
yet found out! Some will even go the length of telling you that
in such gardens ‘the single Snowdrops all turn to ‘ double’
ones’?! The fact, however, is that the ‘ doubles”’ often grow and
increase, while the singles die out. Now and then, however, the
reverse is true. At Dunrobin Castle, N.B., for example, where
there are two or three acres of Snowdrops in the grass under
trees, the singles thrive and increase far better than the double
ones do.

Wherever Snowdrops really luxuriate in grass, or in beds and
in borders, they also seed freely, and I have known Snowdrops
to become well established from fresh-gathered seeds sown on
soils where bulbs were formerly tried but had died away. Seed
should be sown as soon as ripe; it germinates the succeeding
winter and spring, and seedlings flower in from three to five
years.

Snowdrops look better, their flowers last longer clean and
pure in colour, and they frequently thrive far better in the solid
erass-covered ground than on bare cultivated ground. Only the
other day I read in one of the gardening journals of twenty
pounds per annum having been made of the Snowdrop flowers
erowing in the grass around the boles of apple-trees in a country
orchard. In county Wicklow I have seen Snowdrops twelve to
sixteen inches high in the lush grass of an unmown lawn, and at
Straffan, county Kildare, the masses of G. nivalis, G. plicatus,
and G. nivalis grandis, under the spreading lime-trees, are re-
markable features in February.

Snowdrop bulbs are so cheap, and on most soils give so little
trouble after they are once well planted on grass near trees, that the
wonder is they are not more generally grown. The best Snow-
drop of all for naturalisation is G. nivalis, and its double and

200 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

single variations ; G. plicatus, the “ Crimean Snowdrop,”’ also
does well. G. Hlwesi is a noble kind as seen at its best, but is
very capricious, and dies off on some soils. G. grecus and G. Olge
appear to be extremely rare, even in herbaria, and we have not
as yet had time to test G. fosteri fairly, but when established it
promises to become one of the best of the garden kinds. G. latt-
folius forms good, bold clumps, and is very distinct in leafage,
but it also takes time to establish, after which it flowers very
freely. One of the most fatal of all diseases to which the Snow-
drop is liable is the Snowdrop fungus (Polyactis galanthina,
Berkeley and Broome, Gard. Chron., March 2, 1889, p. 275, with
figure). This fungus appears quite suddenly, often after a fall of
snow, and affects leaves, scapes, and bulbs also, the latter becom-
ing soft and pulpy. It is an ally of the Lily and Tulip fungus,
and so far no preventive or remedy has been discovered. Iron
sulphate applied as a top dressing, mixed with sifted earth, might
possibly prove beneficial, as it certainly has been in the case of
the Potato disease. Practically, however, we know nothing of an
efficient remedy for this Polyactis, which has proved a great bane
to successful Snowdrop culture in England and Scotland. Pos-
sibly Mr. Allen, or the Rev. C. Wolley-Dod, may enlighten us on
this matter.

ALPHABETICAL List OF THE SPECIES AND VARIETIES OF
SNOWDROPS.

1. G. estwalis.—A late-flowering form of the common Snow-
drop—often a month later than G. nivalis.

2. G. Boydw.—tThis is a very fine form of G. Imperati, and
generally known in gardens where it is grown as G. Imperati
Boyd. .

3. G. caspicus, Ruprecht.—A form of G. caucasicus.

4. G. Cathcartia, Hort. Allen.—A twin-spathed Snowdrop,
somewhat similar to G. Scharloki, but having no green markings
on the sepals. It is, in fact, a small G. nivalis, but having a leafy
twin spathe.

This was found in Scotland, I believe, by Miss Cathcart, and
it was sent to me by Mr. Allen.

5. G. caucasicus, Baker in Gard. Chron. 1887, p. 812.—A |
large, late-blooming form of G. nwalis from the Caucasus. Mr.

SNOWDROPS. 901

Baker says it includes G. nivalis, vars. Redoutei, major, and
caspicus of Ruprecht. Edge of the leaf not recurved as in G.
plicatus, with which G. cawcasicus has been often confounded.

6. G. Clusit, Fisch.—This is G. Imperati, Bertol. Clusius is
said to have received bulbs of this from Byzantium in 1582, and
it is supposed to be the larger form figured by Clusius in his
“Plant. Hist.’”’ 1601,,p..169.

7. G. corcyrensis.—A form of G. nivalis from Corfu, blooming
in December and January. It is G. precox of some gardens.

8. G. Hlse.—An early-flowering form of G. mwvalis, brought

Kia. 26.—G. ELwesii.

from Mount Athos by Dr. Mahaffy to the College Gardens, Dublin.
December and January. Habit of G. Imperati, but with smaller
flowers.

9. G. Hlwesu, Hook. f., Bot. Mag., t. 6166.—First discovered
by M. Balansa in 1854, but introduced to gardens by Mr. H. J.
HKlwes in 1874 from mountains near Smyrna. Inner petals
arranged in a narrow tube-lke or cylindrical manner, bilobed at
their apices (fig. 26). G. H. “‘ Novelty,’’ ‘‘ Winner,’ ‘‘ Gem,”
‘Distinction,’ and others are seedlings of Mr. Allen’s. G.

E

202, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Elwesw globosus, Wilks (fig. 27), and G. Elwesti major, Bur-
bidge, are large and similar forms. I once bloomed a bulb of
the latter with four flowers on a scape.

G. Elwes “ Gem.’—A rather small and dumpty or globose
flower, the sepals three-quarters of an inch long and very broad.
The petals are closely connivent, forming what appears to be a

1
(i
! 7
if
N I
i

Ik
i i

\ | Hi -
\\ Hi .
\ \) Hil

|

wwe
i \ f

tubular cup. There is a dark green basal blotch extending half
their length, and two deltz, one on either side, the notched apex
outside. Inside, each of the six lobes is marked with two or three
lines, the sinus being unmarked with green.

10. G. flavescens.—A yellowish form of common Snowdrop,
ovary and petals yellowish instead of green. ‘This seems to be a
stronger grower than G. lutescens, which it resembles in
colour, &c.

SNOWDROPS, 203

11. G. Fosteri, Baker.—A very variable plant, possibly* a
hybrid between G. latifoliws and G. Elwesit. Leaves broad and
ereen. Some varieties of this have green blotched or spotted
sepals (fig. 28). The green petal markings are similar to those
of G. Elwesti, but paler in hue, and the apical green spots are
confluent in G. Fosteri and separate in G. Hlwesit.

12. G. globosus, Wilks in Garden, 1887, i. 393.—A very
robust and two-flowered globose form of G. Hlwesvi (fig. 27).

Fie. 28.—G. Fosteri.

18. G. grecus, Orph.—Said by Mr. Baker to be near G.
Elwesu.

14. G. grandis.—A very fine form of G. nivalis of the cauca-
sicus type, having flowers nearly as fine as Atkins’ variety of G.
Imperati. This form came to the gardens at Straffan, co. Kildare,
along with G. plicatus, being brought by Lord Clarina on his |
return from the Crimea. It is one of the finest of all the
Snowdrops.

15. G. Imperati, Bert.—Is a native of Italy (Naples, &c.), and

* Both Mr. Jas. Allen and Mr. Smith, of Newry, have surmised this
hybrid origin of G. Fostert.
E2

204. JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

it may be considered as the southern or giant form of the more
northern G. mwalis. G. Imperati, Bert., is the G. plicatus of
Tenore, but not of M. Bieberstein.

G. Imperatt, Atkins’ var.—This is quite a different plant to
the G. Imperati sent out by Backhouse of York in 1877. Mr.
Allen calls it G. nwalis Atkinsit. Barr sent it out at 2s. 6d.
per bulb in 1875, and the late Mr. Wheeler, of Warminster, was
the only trade customer who ordered bulbs. It died out with Mr.
Barr at Tooting, but grew very finely at Warminster. It bears

Fig. 29.—G. ImPEratI. Fic. 30.—G. LATIFOLIUS.

very bold and shapely flowers, whereas Backhouse’s variety,
although very large, often bore misshapen blooms.

G. Imperatt, Boyd’s var.—This is one of the finest of all the
Snowdrops, aflower from Mr. Smith, of Newry, sent to me in
February of this year, having sepals one inch and a half long
and very broad, with a fluted outer surface (fig. 29).

16. G. latifolius, Ruprecht (non Salisbury).—A distinct plant,
with broad shining green leaves and small pure white sepalled
flowers, often miscalled G. Redoute: in gardens (fig. 80). It is
easily recognised even when not in flower. Mr. Allen’s variety,

SNOWDROPS. 205

G. latifolius major, is a fine form with sub-glaucous squill-like
leaves and larger flowers.

17. G. latifolius, Salisbury.—This is the G. plicatus, M. B.,
“Fil, Taur. Cauc.” i. 255, not to be confounded with G.
Zatifolius of Ruprecht, ‘‘ Gartenflora,’’ 1868, 180, t. 578, fig. 1.

G. latifolius major.—This fine variety was sent to Mr.
Jas. Allen from Herr Gusmus, an Austrian nurseryman, in 18838,
along with typical G. latifolwws. Myr. Baker saw. it, and sup-
posed it to be a fine form of G. caucasicus.

18. G. luwtescens, Hort.—A very delicate form of G. nwalis,
having a yellow ovary and yellowish markings on inner petals.

Fic. 31.—G. MELviI1r1.

Wound by Mr. Sanders, of Cambridge, in an old farmhouse garden
in Northumberland, by whom it was sent to Mr. J. Allen. Mr.
Boyd has distributed this yellowish form. It is a stronger
grower than G. flavescens, having a yellow ovary and yellow
markings on the petals.

19. G. major, Ruprecht.—This is a large-flowered form of
G. nwalis.

20. G. Melvillei, Hort.—A seedling form of G. nivalis, raised
at Dunrobin Castle by Mr. Melville. It is dwarf, with a large
and spreading flower (fig. 81).

206 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

21. G. “ Merlin.” —A very fine seedling of the cawcasicus or
plicatus group, of hybrid origin, raised by Mr. Allen. The inner
segments are nearly wholly dark green, with a narrow white wire
edge or border. A bold and distinct thing.

22. G. montanus (?)=G. latifolius.

23. G. nivalis, L.—The common Snowdrop, very variable.
There are many single and two or three double forms. There is
a monstrous variety having duplicated spathes, the lower one
green and the upper one white like the sepals. It originated in
Lincolnshire, and first obtained notice in 1884.

A “pink” or ‘ rosy-lined ’’ Snowdrop was sent to the
Garden in February 1887 by Mr. E. Pitcher, of Cringleford,
near Norwich. The flowers were striped with pink inside, the
lines being fainter on the outside, with a tendency to flush the
whole flower with pink or rose colour.

Mr. Barr made inquiries about this through Mr. Octavius
Corder, of Norwich. It is supposed the bulbs had been watered
with Judson’s magenta dye, in solution, or with cochineal.

24. G. nivalis *‘ Charmer.’’—A very bold and beautiful seed-
ling raised by Mr. Jas. Allen. It is of the G. cawcasicus group,
and a robust variety.

25. G. nivalo-plicatus “ Valentine.’—A hybrid raised by
Mr. Allen, who sent me a specimen in February 1890. It has
narrow plicate foliage, but well-marked flowers, not unlike those
of the common Snowdrop.

26. G. octobrensis, Hort.—An autumnal-flowering variety of
G. nwalis.

27. G. Olge, Orphan.—This is said to be a pure white
flowered species from Mount Taygetus, flowering in October.
Sometimes known as G. Regine Olge@ in gardens. If Mr.
Baker’s description is correct, it has its petals wholly white, a fact
that distinguishes it from G. octobrensis, which last has been
thought by some to be identical with G. Olga.

28. G. pallidus, Smith.—A very pale yellowish green-marked
form of G. nivalis, flowering earlier than the type.

A peculiar white-spathed variety was announced in March
1884 by Mr. G. Murray, West Ashby House, Horncastle. The
flowers themselves were quite normal, but the spathe-valveg,
instead of being green, are as white as the sepals. Several
clumps were mentioned as possessing this peculiarity, so that it

SNOWDROPS. GOT

would seem to be an established form. This year I have just
noted that one bulb is bearing a flower from a white sheath or
spathe, and several other flowers have extra sepals, and are more
or less monstrous. Flowers of this variety sent by the same
gentleman in February 1891 had a normal greenish spathe and
a prolonged pedicel bearing two or more bracts of a white colour.
Some of the flowers are semi-double, having long and slender
sepals, and others have four to five sepals. The petals also vary
in number and shape, some being pure white, as in G. poculi-
forms and other intermediate varieties.

29. G. plicatus, M. B., Bot. Mag., t. 2162, is a native of the
Crimea and the Caucasus, and is readily known, even when not
in bloom, by its plaited leaves.

G. plicatus of Tenore is G. Imperati.

G. plicatus majus is @ larger-flowered form.

30. G. plicatus ‘‘Romeo”’ is a fine seedling variety raised
by Mr. Allen; so also are “elegans,” ‘“‘Hmerald,” and several
others.

G. plicatus *‘ Chapel var.” is a distinct form foundby Mr. Boyd

G. plicatus maximus is a discovery made by Mr. Boyd, and is
a very robust, large-flowered variety.

31. G. poculiformis, Hort.—This is a pure white or albino
Snowdrop raised by Mr. D. Melville, of Dunrobin Castle, N.B.
It is a form of G. mvalis. Mr. A. D. Webster also found this
form among the Snowdrops at Penrhyn. ‘The petals, like the
sepals, are unmarked with green. The inner perianth seements
are nearly as long as the outer, and are closed inwards in a
peculiar manner.

32. G. precox.—A garden name for G. corcyrensis.

33. G. Rachele.—An autumnal-blooming variety of G. nivalis
from Mount Hymettus, flowering in October. Introduced by Dr.
J.P. Mahaffy in 1884. Habit of G. nivalis, but with smaller
leaves, which succeed the flowers.

34. G. Redouter.—A large Caucasian form of G. nivalis, so
named by Ruprecht. Not to be confounded with G. latifolius,
which is often grown in error as G. Redowter in gardens. The
true G. Redouter is supposed to agree with the Snowdrop figured
in “ Les Liliacées”’ of that artist.

35. G. Regine Olga.—This is a garden name often used for
G. Olg@ of Orphanides.

208 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

36. G. reflecus, Herbert.—A form of G. nivalis from Mount
Gargarus, with very small flowers, the inner segments reflexed
at their apices.

387. G. Scharloki, Caspary.—A very distinct variety of G.
nivalis, having large twin spathes of leafy texture, and small
flowers marked with greenish lines near the apices of the sepals.

Fic. 32.—G. ScHARLOKI.

It is easily recognised by the large and leafy twin-spathe, and by
its outer sepals being marked with three to five green suffused
lines near their apices, the inner petals having a bold green delta
with a pyramidal point over the sinus (fig. 82). No two spathes
are quite alike ; sometimes they split to the base and recurve,
others are wholly, or in part, united along one of their edges.

SNOWDROPS. 209

This was named by Professor Caspary, of Koenigsberg, in
compliment to M. Scharlok, of Grandenz (an acute explorer of
the botany of Prussia), who discovered this twin-spathed or
leafy-spathed form growing wild in some copses of Western
Prussia, where it may still be found.

38. G.serotinus, Hort., Dunrobin.—A seedling reared by Mr. D.
Melville, and flowering later than the type-like G. n. estiwalis.

39. G. wmbrensis, Hort., Dammann.—An Italian Snowdrop
near G. Imperati, earlier than G. nivalis, but a delicate grower.

Fic. 33.—G. VIRESCENS.

40. G. Van, Houttei.—This is a very fine and bold form of
G. nivalis of the G. caucasicus type. A good grower, and one of
the best of Snowdrops flowering with the type.

41. G. virescens.—A very late blooming and oS green
tinted form of G. nivalis. The sepals are striped with green at
the base, and the inner petals are nearly all green except their
white margins (fig. 33).

910 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Professor Fenzl, the late director of the Vienna Botanical
Garden, grew this greenish form of G. nivalis, and from him
Herr Max Leitchlin obtained two bulbs, and thereafter sent a
bulb to the Rev. Harpur Crewe, and another to Mr. Allen, whence
dates its culture in English gardens.

42. G. Warei.—This is a form or phase of G. Scharloki, but |

the spathe lobes are coherent.

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY BULBS AND PLANTS.
By Herr Max Leicututn of Baden-Baden.
[Read March 24, 1891.]

UnpDER due consideration of circumstances, to imitate, as far
as practicable, the natural growth-conditions of hardy plants is
the first principle leading to success.

We have now-a-days collected in our gardens a vast number
of plants, from the most varied climates, and we are wanting
them to adapt their peculiarities at once to our climate; if
seemingly they do so, we call them “ quite easy and quite
hardy.”

We cannot acclimatise plants, but the primeval power has
endowed certain species with the power of resisting a far greater
amount of cold or heat than they ever have to endure in their own
native land; the law of evolution seems to be to-day as much in
force as in bygone millenaries. Calandrinia wmbellata, a tiny
succulent Portulacca-like herb, from the Chilian Andes, and
Papaver aculeatum, a botanical curiosity, both plants never in
their home seeing more than slight frosts at night, have under-
gone here bare frost of 7° F.; but a succeeding changeable
winter, with higher temperatures, killed the Calandrinia, whilst
I am unable to get rid of the Papaver, with its delicate, beautiful
foliage; even in this dreadful winter, it shows its frog-green
rosette of foliage as if it would laugh at the uncomfortable
existence of its introducer.

Permit me to state this in order to draw your attention to the
fact that the grower, to have success, must study the wants, not

—

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY BULBS AND PLANTS. 911

only of a whole genus, but often the wants of a particular
species.

If practicable it would be best to sow all seeds of hardy
plants at once when ripe ; we only delay sowing for the sake of
convenience, because we should in the case of autumnal sowings
be obliged to house a very large number of pans and boxes of
young plants too small to pass the winter outside. Hard-shelled
seeds must be sown at once, also all seeds of bulbs suitable for
out-of-door cultivation. If seed of Colchicum, ¢.g., is kept only
a few days exposed to the air there will be not more than from
1 to 5 per cent. come up after a year, the rest taking up to five
years before germinating. However, if they are sown at once,
when the seed-pod splits, the number of seedlings may be
25 to 80 per cent. the first year, the rest taking only one or two
years more to show life.

Delay sowing seeds of Liliwm, Pritillaria, Tulipa, &e., until
spring, and you may be sure that 20 to 80 per cent. will refuse to
move.

Campanulas readily germinate, and so does Ostrowskya
magnifica, but if sowing is deferred until spring the seeds may
lie dormant for an entire year or may be dead for ever.

It is the practice to cover seeds with soil to the depth of their
diameter or a little more, but with very few exceptions all seeds
of bulbs want to be covered with from half to one inch of soil.
To this rule the large family of Gladiolus is an exception,
wanting to be but slightly covered with some light soil or other
material.

The influence of rain and frost on germination is very
remarkable. Himalayan and other Primulas, sown in a pan
and kept as usual under glass, may take three weeks to
germinate slowly and unevenly; but if a second pan be kept
under the same treatment, with the difference that any time
after a week it be exposed to a gentle rain, the majority of the
seeds in this pan may be up within twenty-four hours. I have
even known very hard seeds, which had been sown a long
time, to come up suddenly after a heavy thunderstorm. Of
other seeds a percentage, or all, lose germinative power if
they once become dry during the time in which they le
dormant. Clematis, Anemone, Hepatica are of this class;
these should be plunged in coal ashes, fine-grained cinders, or

212, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

charcoal refuse. The surface of the soil should be covered by a
thin stratum of silver sand, and after this slightly more than up to
the rim should be covered by the same material in which they are
plunged. The beds must be slightly shaded, kept clean, and be
left alone. When the time of possible germination draws near,
the beds must be carefully looked over every day, and when
movement is perceptible the pans must be taken out, and
the covering material shaken off, which is very easy to do, as
the stratum of silver sand separates it well from the soil.

Frost in many cases acts even more powerfully than rain.
I am used to having many seeds frozen, so much so that the
pan and its contents become one solid block, and even seeds
of plants from warmer countries do well with such treatment.
Seeds of Kniphofia, of Zrop@olum tricolor and azurewm,
of Tecophylea cyanocrocus, &¢e., germinate more freely if
frosted than if not; pulpy or soft-shelled seeds must not be
thus treated.

It does not matter what kind of soil is used for sowing seeds of
hardy herbaceous plants or bulbs in, provided it be porous, light,
and free from fermenting matter. However, the whole family
of Ericacee is an exception to this rule, preferring a peaty
soil.

Bulbous plants may remain in the seed-pans to complete
their first season of growth. Some of the stronger growers lke
Tris, Lilium, Colchicum, &c., can, with advantage, be pricked out
in full vegetation.

Some herbaceous annuals or perennials will do well and grow
in any situation or soil, but many are particular in this respect,
and when pricking them out care must be taken to afford soil
and situation according to their wants.

All herbaceous plants having hairy or spiny leaves want a
sunny dry situation, especially those with glaucous or grey
foliage. If we can get some information as to the soil and situa-
tion in their native habitats we have a safe guide for their
cultivation ; if we cannot get it we must empirically find out
what to do.

We cannot cultivate well the Cypripedium or Trillium of the
North American forest if we give them a sunny open situation.
Peonia Wittmaniana, a native of Caucasian woods, refuses to
produce seeds if grown in an open dry place. A number of

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY BULBS AND PLANTS. 213

Primulas want cool and shady places, whilst many Himalayan
species want fullest sun and abundance of water. Hellebores want
full light in winter and shade in summer.

As to soil, a sandy loam best suits perennials as well as
bulbs; however, some perennials and certain bulbs cannot be
grown in sand for any length of time, and others, especially so-
called rock-plants, want their soil entirely free from manurial
matter.

Most gardeners are working under the false impression that
manure is always beneficial; we observe that vegetables, fruit
trees, some weedy herbaceous plants, and some plants in pots
are apparently improving by application of liquid or solid manure,
and such observation is the cause of the belief that all plants
ought to like manure. I do not know whether plants can be
srown well in sand without the addition of leaf mould or de-
composed manure, but loamy or heavier soils do not want it for
many years; if they are often and deeply worked, and nowand then
some sand or mineral matter added, just to keep the soil porous
and open, herbaceous plants and bulbs can be grown on the very
same spot for a very long time. The majority of bulbs will grow
in light or heavy soils equally well; Crocus and Tulips,
Erythronium and Muscari may even do better in sand, but
Colchicum and Lilium refuse to do so. The great-grandmother
of Hyacinthus orventalis grows in Asia Minor in hard ferrugineous
clay, and its descendants have adapted themselves to grow
in the highly manured sands of Haarlem. I grow all my im-
ported bulbs in soil entirely devoid of manure, and most of my
herbaceous borders have not seen any for at least ten years. I
have no experience whether the use of compost leaf-mould or
manure can be dispensed with in pure sandy soil, but the
constant addition of such stimulants causes the bulbs to become
liable to disease, and especially so if they come into immediate
contact with the manure. The vigour of the splendid specimens
of Coniferee in the public garden at Meran (Tyrol) is due to
repeated heavy dressings with night soil, whilst I have seen a
plantation of Liliwm candidum ruined within a few days by the
application of liquid manure. Lilies and Fritillarias, when
found wild, always grow in places where the ground is covered
by other herbs or grass, keeping the ground cool, and where
they enjoy besides the protection of trees, keeping off sun and

914 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,

wind. Beautiful specimens of Liliwm Martagon dalmaticum I
have seen in Montenegro, growing under cushions of moss on the
sides of crater-like depressions in the chalky rocks, and in posi-
tions where the sun could scarcely, and no wind at all, reach
them. The capital success of Mr. George F. Wilson in the
cultivation of Lilies in his Wisley garden is mostly due to his
ingenious methods to supply the best possible natural conditions
under which to cultivate them. Individually Lilies and Fritillarias,
after having attained to flowering size, are comparatively short-
lived plants; nature has, on the other hand, provided for their
further existence by abundant production of seed or brood-bulbs.
By hindrance or suppression of seed production, we can prolong
the existence of the individual for several years, and analogously,
we can force such plants as Fritillaria macrophylla and
F’. Hookeri to flower prematurely by cutting off the numerous
brood-bulbs, when in an early state of formation.

Fritillarias belong to the large group of lime-loving plants,
and in Asia Minor they are mostly found upon or next to rocks
of rapidly decaying gypsum; whether lime, chalk, or gypsum
acts chemically or mechanically I have no means of knowing,
but I must say that here at Baden-Baden I grow Fritillarias tole-
rably well in soil entirely free from lime. The American species,
as well as the Himalayan, seem to do best in a somewhat shady
position.

It is a most important point in the cultivation of bulbs to
protect the leaves, because these are the manufacturers of the
newly-forming bulb.

Early Irises, producing their foliage during a warm winter,
must have protection, when a sharp frost suddenly set in, by mats
or shading material, and should be kept covered day and night
until warmth comes on again; if the sun is allowed to brightly
shine upon the leaves of a hard frozen bulb there is always
damage done, more or less; in some cases the leaves may suffer
to destruction; this weakens new-formation and often causes
disease.

If bulbs get diseased by manure, fungus, or by insects, it is
easy to restore perfect health by taking them up when ripe,
cleaning and washing them, and when dried off for a short time
replanting them in fresh virgin soil.

What little I have been able to state in this article is neither

THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY BULBS AND PLANTS. 915

theory nor invention, it is simply my experience ; and I shall feel
well rewarded if anyhow I have thus been able to contribute to
the general knowledge of plant cultivation.

DISCUSSION.

Mr. JAMES Dovuautas said it was very important that seeds
should be sown when ripe. Sometimes, however, it was very
difficult to save them. He had found it a good plan to put some
fine soil round the base of the plants, and when the seeds dropped,
to cover them, after which the seedlings would come up naturally
all round the parent plant in due course. The seeds of the
Primula family should be sown directly they were ripe, otherwise
the vitality in them diminished, and the result was weakly seed-
lings. The Himalayan species of Primula must be raised every
year, because the old plants after flowering were in the habit of
dying. It was the same with Alpine Primulas. If seeds of these
latter are sown at once it will be found that they will remain
in the soil for three, four, or even six months, and occasion-
ally twelve months, before they germinate.

My. E. H. Jenxrys, in regard to the sowing of seeds, said he
could not quite agree either with Mr. Max Leichtlin or with Mr.
Douglas as to sowing seeds as soon as they were ripe, except in
the case of bulbous plants. The seeds of other plants he had
kept for two or three years before sowing them, and he found
after such a length of time that they germinated freely. In
regard to Primulas, he remembered keeping seeds for seven years,
after which he sowed them, and within three weeks obtained as
many as 400 seedlings, but many of these were destroyed by damp.
The seeds of Himalayan Primulas, however, should be sown
as soon as they are ripe. There was one important point omitted
from Mr. Max Leichtlin’s paper, namely, covering the seeds with
soil. When sown they should be put in a dark spot and stood
in a pan of water until they germinate. He preferred this
method of procedure, as it was then unnecessary to disturb the
seeds by watering them witha rose pot. He also fully endorsed
the lecturer’s remarks as to planting the seeds of bulbous plants
deeply. Instead, however, of sowing them in open beds, so
that birds, cats, or other animals might be able to destroy them,
he was in favour of sowing them in pans, and covering them

916 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

with pieces of slate or board. This not only prevents birds or
animals from doing any harm, but also serves to retain the mois-
ture for a longer time. The seeds of Primulas and bulbous
plants will also germinate much more freely when treated in
this way, as will also those of Hepaticas and Hellebores.

Mr. GreorGE Bunyarp endorsed the views expressed by Mr.
Jenkins as to standing seeds of Primulas when sown in water.
He had found Primula rosea to germinate freely in this way.
Hucharis sanguinea also, which until recently was a very rare
plant, he succeeded in raising by accident in this way. A cold
frame, in which the seeds had been sown, became saturated with
water, and the seeds came up like mustard and cress.

LACHENALIAS.
By Mr. F. W. Moors, F.R.H.S.
[Read April 14, 1891.]

To possess a fondness for certain classes of plants, and to have
means, facilities, and sufficient independence to gratify this love,
constitutes one of the pleasing episodes in life that gardeners can
always reflect on with pleasure. I speak advisedly when I say
“‘ to have sufficient independence,”’ for assuredly it is very difficult
to remain constant to your ‘‘ hobby” for a lengthened period in
the cultivation of flowers. Fashion, always a powerful factor, no
matter how it may be sneered at, may be against your ‘‘ hobby.”
Your candid friend is almost certain to favour you with advice
contrary to your inclinations. Should you bea grower of suc-
culents, he will say, Why don’t you burn your succulents and
erow Ferns? ‘The lover of Ferns is told. It is a pity to occupy
so much valuable space with such rubbish, when it could so well
be utilised for Orchids. However, the most potent factor is the
seductive power of rival flowers. Their attractions are so varied,
the advantages which accrue from the cultivation of a mixed
collection of plants are so numerous, that it is indeed hard to
remain faithful to one hobby. Nothing can more fittingly illus-
trate the changes in fashion as regards plants, and the effect of
these changes, than a careful study of botanical and horticultural .

LACHENALIAS. TAT

publications, serials, and illustrated works, such as the invaluable
Botanical Magazine.

From these sources of information it becomes apparent that
bulbous plants were formerly much more cultivated than they
are at present. No doubt a very good reason for this is that
given by Mr. Hemsley, namely, that bulbous plants and succu-
lents were more tenacious of life than most other plants, and
therefore easier tointroduce. As means of transit became better
and more expeditious, and experience demonstrated the best
mode of treating fragile plants during long voyages, and the best
seasons at which to import them, the variety of plants increased
enormously, and bulbous plants were largely superseded in
gardens. The genus Lachenalia was one of those that suffered.
Over forty species have been described, and of these about thirty
have, at one time or another, been in cultivation; but in 1880
Mr. Baker estimated that not more than eight species were in
cultivation in England. A reference to-day to the lists of trades-
men and private growers proves that Lachenalias have regained
much of the favour they lost, as at least thirty well-marked
species and varieties are now in cultivation, and this number is
rapidly being added to. That the genus has much to recommend
it cannot be denied. Easily grown, with flowers of great beauty
and variety, and with no variation in treatment, lasting in flower
from early December to May, such are some of the good
qualities of Lachenalias. I do not mean to convey that any
individual species remains in flower for four or five months, but
that some of the various species are in flower during this time,
all the species receiving the same treatment. The first species
to come into flower is either Lachenalia pendula or L. quadri-
color maculata, better known in gardens as L. superba. These
are succeeded by some of the crosses between L. quadricolor and
L. tricolor, or L. Nelson; then comes L. reflexa, and L. awrea-
yeflexa ; then the tricolours, and L. Nelsont; then L. orchioides,
L. glaucina, L. Cami, and others; and lastly LZ. awrea, these
being about the best of those now in cultivation. Interspersed
amongst them are some of the less showy species. Not only is
the genus represented by species in flower during a lengthened
period, but some of them remain fully six to eight weeks
quite fresh, and the flowers last for a long time when cut.

Before treating of the cultivation of Lachenalias, it may be well

F

918 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

to say something about the botanical position of the genus.
Baker in his monograph of Liliacew, in the Journal of the
Linnean Society, places it in the tribe Hyacinthus, of the order
Lihacez, between the genera Dipcadi and Veltheimia—other allied
- genera, which may be more familiar to many, being Hyacinthus
and Musceari.

The chief distinguishing characters of the genus lie in the
perianth, in which there are two distinct rows more or less
united into a cup at the base. The outer row consists of a series
of three segments, smaller than the inner, of a firmer texture,
and, as a rule, each having a well-marked protuberance or beak
near the point. The inner row also consists of three segments,
which are generally brighter in colour than the outer (except in
the bud state, when the outer are often brightest), longer, and
different in shape, so that in most of the species there is a well-
marked difference between these two rows.

Lachenalia is further divided into four sections :

1. Hulachenalia.—This includes the species best worth grow-
ing. They are characterised by having a very symmetrical
perianth, tubular in shape, about four times as long as broad,
the mouth rather open, the stamens included, and the flowers
arranged in racemes.

2. Celanthus.—Having a ventricose perianth, and a spike
of erect, or partially erect, flowers, represented by L. reflexa, a
species which is also remarkable for its very large ovary.

3. Orchiops.—Distinguished by having the tubular perianth
shorter than in the preceding section, but the stamens remain
included or almost so. There is much more irregularity in the
formation of the perianth. The flowers are borne in dense
spikes and racemes, and are patent or erect.

4. Chloriza.—In this the perianth is almost as broad as long,
in shape campanulate, and the stamens are generally exserted.

In Bentham and Hooker’s “ Genera Plantarum ”’ the genus is
somewhat differently disposed of. It is placed in the tribe
Scillee ; in it is included the genus Brachyscypha of Baker, and
it is divided as follows:

1. Kulachenalia, similar to Baker’s.

2. Orchiops, which includes Orchiops and Chloriza of Baker
with the exception of L. orthopetala.

3. Brachyscypha.

LACHENALIAS. 919

4, Ceelanthus, similar to Baker’s.

All Lachenalias are natives of the Cape of Good Hope. It is
not easy to say when the first species was introduced into Great
Britain, but it is certain that LZ. orchioides was cultivated and
had flowered in this country previous to 1752. This is the first
species recorded. From 1752 onwards, new species appeared at
irregular intervals, a large addition to the number being made
by Masson in 1774. JL. tricolor appeared in 1790, and as
recently as 1884 three new species were introduced by Ware,
and named by Baker L. fistulosa, L. lilacina, and L. odora-
tissima, all belonging to his fourth group, Chloriza. The first
authenticated garden seedling was L. Nelsont, which was raised
by the late Rev. John Nelson, and flowered in 1880. Nothing has
since appeared to surpass it, or even to equal it. Lachenalias
have all moderately sized tunicated bulbs, the strongest being
about as large as that ofa good Scilla siberica, the weaker-growing
species having bulbs not larger than that of a Snowdrop. The
leaves appear first; they are generally well developed before the
flowers appear, but to this there is one exception. I am informed
by Mrs. Tait, of Oporto (to whom I am indebted for much
information), that in the case of Lachenalia rubida the leaves
and scapes appear simultaneously, or almost so, and that the
leaves continue to grow, and only attain their full development
after the flowers have withered. This has occurred each year,
and is constant. In wild specimens the number of leaves is, in
the case of Lachenalia wnifolia, one, and in other species two or
rarely three; but in strong cultivated specimens three, four, and
even five leaves are found. ‘The flowers are borne on stout scapes
which are either green or beautifully mottled with reddish purple,
and sometimes covered with a glaucous bloom. Frequently
these scapes at the apex pass into bright red. This is more
marked in some of the seedling forms, and is in them a most
attractive feature. The flowers are arranged in racemes, or in
more or less dense spikes. At the top of the inflorescence they
pass into imperfectly developed and sterile buds, these sterile
buds sometimes, as in the case of the upper portion of the scapes,
being bright red, and not the least handsome part of the in-
florescence.

It is amusing to note the varied cultural directions given by
different writers, and certainly some of the directions if followed

F 2

220 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

will not lead to very satisfactory results. Andrews says, ‘“‘ They
are of so hardy a nature as to require no further protection than
shelter from severe frosts.’’ Another writer states, ‘‘ They should
not be put in a dry place or in a situation exposed to fire heat.’
I think both are somewhat astray, although with this treatment
they are said to have produced leaves 18 inches long. How-
ever, the time given for flowering, September, seems suspicious,
as I have never known any species to flower at that time of
year. To have satisfactory results it is necessary to secure
sound well-matured bulbs, and it will be found that home-grown
ones are far superior to imported bulbs, not only for one
year, but for an indefinite period. In proof of this I can assert
that for at least twenty years L. tricolor has been grown at
Glasnevin, that no fresh bulbs of this species have been pur-
chased during that period ; and that never have the flowers been
better than in February 1891, some of the scapes carrying as
many as twenty-four flowers. In fact newly imported bulbs
require careful cultivation for some years before the best results
are attained.

Time of Potting.—Here again the advice and directions
given vary much: Pot as soon as the leaves die down; pot —
before the new roots appear; pot when the new roots have some-
what grown. I cannot imagine any thinking practical grower
seriously giving such advice as to pot when the roots had begun
to grow. The young roots are very delicate, white in colour,
unbranched, and easily broken. When once injured they die
back to the base, and do not branch above the injured part.
This I proved by potting some bulbs which had already made
roots, and turning them out after some time. The old roots
were all dead, and new roots were growing from the necks of the
bulbs. I find the middle of August to be the best time to pot,
and my plants are invariably potted between August 10 and 20,
the latter date being rather too late. However, I find that the
time of flowering is not altered by potting in June, July, or
August, the after-treatment in each case being the same.

Potting Material—The material in which Lachenalias are
erown must be rich. The compost I have used with most
success is two parts of loam, one part of leaf-mould, one half-
part of decayed manure, to which I add some fertiliser such as
fish-potash guano, the effect of which I think is to intensify

LACHENALIAS. 991

the colour of the flowers. The material is prepared in the
spring, and well turned over three or four times before it is
used. I use 7-inch pots for the strong-growing sorts, and put
from eight to fifteen bulbs in each pot—eight of Z. pendula and
fifteen of ZL. tricolor. It is necessary to sort the bulbs well,
keeping the stronger bulbs to themselves, and weaker bulbs to
themselves, as when mixed they sometimes flower irregularly.
The strong bulbs flower earlier than the weaker. Basket cul-
ture may also be resorted to with advantage. In fact they grow
rather better in baskets than in pots; the foliage is stronger,
and so are the flower-spikes. The effect produced by a basket of
Lachenalias with forty to fifty flower-spikes all open together ig
very fine, and such an effect can be secured without much
trouble. The finest Lachenalia Nelson I ever saw was sent to
me by the Rey. Theodore Marsh from a basket. He informed
me that when carefully tended these baskets need not be dis-
turbed for three or four years; but I have always remade them
each year. The same soil does for baskets as for pots. The
paskets should, however, be lined with Sphagnum before putting
the soil into them.

General Treatment.—When the bulbs have been potted they
are well watered, and the pots are put in a light airy house on a
shelf near the light. The glass is not muffed, or in any way
shaded. The ventilators are kept open day and night until the
middle of September, when they are closed on cold nights. As
the soil gets dry the pots are again watered, and so treated until
the leaves appear in the course of a few weeks, after which the
soil should never be allowed to get quite dry. Watering must be
carefully attended to, as the roots decay if the soil be too wet,
such species as LZ. glaucina and L. orchioides being much more
sensitive than ZL. tricolor or L. Nelsoni. The temperature in
the house should not be allowed to fall below 45 deg. Fahrenheit,
and plenty of air should at all times be given. Should the day
be dull or cold a little heat is turned on when the ventilators are
opened, as a cold draft is less injurious than a damp stagnant
atmosphere. So treated they will commence to flower early in
December, and at present several species are still in flower. As
the plants come into flower they are fed with liquid manure
once weekly, and this is continued until the leaves die down.
Much of next year’s success depends {on this being carefully

222, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

attended to. When the plants have finished flowering they are
replaced on the shelf, and about May they are placed in a frame
with southern exposure, and carefully attended to until they go
to rest. The decayed leaves are then removed, the ashes in the
bottom of the frame and around the pots weli damped; the
sashes are shut down, and remain so until potting time in
August. I have tried various other methods, such as growing
Lachenalias in unheated houses, in frames, or in brick pits, but
I find the system I have now detailed to be by far the best. I
was led to it by observing how much better plants in baskets
grow, which had perforce to be so treated, than plants in pots
which were differently treated, and since adopting this plan they
have never failed. JI do not wish to imply that all flower
equally well. Such is not the case. L. pendula, L. tricolor, L.
quadricolor, L. Nelsom, L. orchioides, L. Canui, and L. glaucina
can always be relied on. On the other hand LZ. rubida, L.
pustulata, L. wufolia, and L. awrea are very uncertain, and
sometimes refuse to flower. However, L. rubida, L. wiuifolia,
and JL. stolonifera, whatever this may be, have incurred much
ill favour, which they do not altogether deserve. Peculiar
irregular tortuous tubers, similar to those of Milla biflora, or to
the swellings on the roots of some Bomareas, have been widely
distributed for the bulbs of the three species named. The late
Rev. John Nelson, haying failed to flower these tubers, handed
some of them over to the Rev. T. Marsh, who, also failing to
flower them with ordinary treatment, planted them out in deep
soil in front of a greenhouse, and covered them with a light.
Here they eventually flowered. ‘The flowers were sent to Mr.
Baker, who identified them as belonging to an early form of
Scilla canvypanulata. These impostors are still extensively cul-
tivated for Lachenalias.

Raising from Seed.—Almost all the species and varieties of
the group Eulachenalia intercross freely with each other, the
exception being L. pendula, and only twice have I succeeded in
crossing it, once with L. quadricolor, and once with a seedling
form. Lachenalia flowers are strongly proterandrous, the
anthers dehiscing before the flowers are fully open. It is there-
fore necessary to open the buds to remove the anthers before
they dehisce. The stigma is not protruded beyond the mouth
of the perianth for about a week after the flowers have opened,

LACHENALIAS. 223

and in some cases it is not protruded at all. It can easily be
reached by taking off a stamen with the filament, a method
which I always adopt in preference to a brush. The seeds take
from ten to twelve weeks to ripen, and should be sown as soon
as ripe. They are small, black, and shining, and generally
round, but those of L. pendula are gourd-shaped. They may
be sown as soon as ripe, and will be found to germinate much
more freely if placed in a temperature of 55 to 60 deg. Fahrenheit,
in which temperature they may remain until about the end of
February, which will be eight months from the time of sowing.
They should then be brought to the house in which the old
plants are grown, to finish off their growth and go to rest.
Next season they behave exactly as do the old bulbs, and they
should be treated like them. The third season they will flower,
that is in two and a half years from the time of sowing. It
would serve no useful purpose to give a list of all the species of
Lachenalia which have been described, more especially as I have
never seen many of them. My object has been to treat the
genus from a practical point, giving my own experience of it,
and stating what I was certain about, in furtherance of which
plan I now give a list with descriptions of all the species best
worth growing, of which I have seen fresh flowers.

Before doing so I wish, however, to thank Mr. Baker very
sincerely for the great trouble he has taken in replying to my
letters, and in correcting the nomenclature of some species which
Isent to him. Mr. Baker has done much to earn the gratitude
of all those who take an interest in plants, and the kind and
unostentatious manner in which he places his vast accumulation
of knowledge at the disposal of inquirers, evokes towards
him generally feelings of respect and esteem.

Lachenalia pendula, Aiton.—One of the best and most
distinct of all the species, and generally the first to flower; the
flowers opening in December or January. It is one of those
introduced by Masson in 1774. It grows easily, and increases
freely. Its bulbs are larger than those of any other Lachenalia,
and in all its parts it is strong and fleshy. The two leaves are
broad, deep green, and brittle; the upper leaf being smaller than
the lower leaf. Their edges are closely adpressed, forming an
erect cup, from the centre of which comes the scape. The scape
is quite 4 inch in diameter, green, passing into bright red at

DIA JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

the top. The pedicels are short and rigid, the flowers, when
young, being borne in a horizontal position. Flowers six
to ten, the outer segments nearly as long as the inner, colour
bright red, the tips of the perianth segments are purple and
green. There is a well-marked gibbous swelling at the base
of the flower. It is well figured in the Botanical Magazine,
table 590.

Lachenalia pendula, var. gigantea.—A fine form of Lache-
nalia pendula, but not larger than the type. The flowers are
somewhat larger, pendulous instead of horizontal, the top of the
inflorescence gracefully arched, instead of being straight. It is
frequently stated that the difference between Lachenalia pen-
dula and L. pendula gigantea is due to cultivation, but this is
certainly not the case. The former increases freely, the latter
very slowly, besides which the type flowers earlier, and there is
a marked difference in habit.

Lachenaha rubida, Jacq.—This is rather an unsatisfactory
species for British gardens, as it cannot be relied on to flower
regularly, and at no time does it flower freely. However, it is
well worth growing, as the colour of the flowers is so bright and
distinct, almost a uniform bright red, paler near the ends of the
flowers, with purple and green edgings to the perianth seg-
ments. As already stated, this species differs from most other
species of Lachenalia, by producing its leaves and flowers almost
simultaneously. It is a dwarf species. The scapes are slender,
about 6 inches long, green at the base, passing into red 1
inch from the bulb, with large blotches of deeper colour.
Flowers six to ten, long and slender, about 14 inches long,
the inner segments about a quarter longer than the outer. The
flowers are oblique at the base, patent, on stout pedicels., Ii
wag introduced in 1808, and is figured in the Botamcal
Magazine, table 993.

Lachenalia rubida, var. tigrina, Gawl.—Similar to Lachenalia
rubida, but the outer segments paler in colour, and liberally
spotted with deep red. <A very nice variety.

I may here state that this is the only Lachenalia tigrina. It
is necessary to clear up this, as in numerous collections a form
of Lachenalia tricolor is cultivated under the name of L. tigrina,
which, however, has nothing to do with ZL. tugrina; all its
characters being those of tricolor, such as the relative length of

LACHENALIAS. 995

the perianth segments, the colour, shape, and direction of the
flowers, and the habit of the plant. I procured specimens, and
submitted them to Mr. Baker, who says: ‘ Tricolor, not far off
type.’ A plant called L. tigrina Warer should be L. tricolor
Warei. Flowers of this, from bulbs obtained from Mr. Ware,
have been submitted to Mr. Baker, who agrees in this opinion.
The following notes in the Garden (March 21, 1885) about
some Lachenalias prove this: ‘‘A series of varieties of these
pretty plants, from Mr. Ware, shows what a diversity of colour
there is now among them. Another interesting plant is L. tri-
color Warei, a variety which Mr. Baker, of Kew, recently
named. It reminds one of LD. quadricolor, and seems to be
intermediate between that kind and ¢ricolor.”’

L. tricolor.—F rom a gardening point of view, Z. tricolor and
its varieties form the backbone of the genus, and they alone are
sufficient to secure a firm footing for the genus in gardens.

Li. tricolor is a very variable species, widely variable, if
ZL. aurea is to be regarded as a variety, and about these varieties
there exists endless confusion. The following is a lst of the
well-marked varieties :—

. tricolor.

. tricolor, var. quadricolor.

. tricolor, var. quadricolor maculata (superba of gardens).
. tricolor, var. Waret.

. tricolor, var. luteola.

. L. tricolor, var. aurea.

1. LZ. tricolor.—In most gardens, LZ. quadricolor is grown
for LZ. tricolor. Baker takes for his type the plant figured in the
Botanical Magazine, table 82, and this should generally be
adopted. It will be noticed that in this plant the bases of the
flowers are red, passing into yellow and then into green, and
that there are no red or purple markings at the points of the
perianth segments.

Li. tricolor is a vigorous free-growing plant, the leaves
being about 12 inches long and 2 inches broad, glaucous green
above, obscurely blotched, paler beneath, and narrowing into a
point. Scapes stout, at first quite erect, afterwards becoming
sickle-shaped, blotched with long purple patches, and covered
with bloom. Flowers twelve to twenty-four, somewhat more than
an inch long, inner segments about twice as long as the outer.

Domo po
SESS SiSn sas

926 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Base of the flowers red, centre portion yellow, and apex green,
these colours merging into a pale yellow-green as the flowers
wither.

2. L. tricolor, var. quadricolor.—This is the plant figured in
the Botamcal Magazine, table 1097, and in Andrew’s Botanist’s
Repository, table 148. In habit it resembles Z. tricolor, the
leaves being similar and quite as large, and spotted. The flowers
are well shouldered out from the stem, and there is a considerable
amount of green in the outer perianth segments. The points of
the inner segments are also spread back considerably as in é77-
color, and pale red in colour. In growth it is somewhat dwarfer
than JZ. tricolor, and the habit is stiffer. It is rather a delicate
plant. |

3. L. tricolor, var. quadricolor maculata.—This is the Lache-
nalia superba of gardens, and L. tricolor, var. superba would bea
much preferable name to that now affixed to it; it would dis-
tinguish the plant from the preceding variety, and save much
confusion. It is a much more slender plant than ZL. tricolor or
LL. tricolor, var. quadricolor, and the flowers are more brilliantly
coloured, and longer and narrower, the mouth being more closed.
Leaves long and narrow, about 12 inches by #, of a glaucous grey
colour both above and beneath. The inflorescence is as long as
the leaves. Scape slender, unspotted. Flowers long, about 1?
inches, slender, hanging close to the scape, not shouldered out as
in the preceding variety. The ends of the inner segments are
rich purple, this colour extending as far on the interior face of
the seements as on the exterior. Itisalmost the first Lachenalia
to flower, in fact, sometimes it flowers before Lachenalia pendula.
It is figured in the Botanical Magazine, table 588.

4, Lachenalia tricolor, var. Warei.—This is said to be a seed-
ling raised by Mr. Ware. It is a pretty variety almost inter-
mediate between JL. tricolor and L. tricolor quadricolor, the
reddish purple colour on the ends of the inner segments being
confined to a narrow band. Its habit is that) of the variety
quadricolor.

5. L. tricolor, var. luteola.—Here again there is endless con-
fusion between JL. tricolor, L. tricolor luteola, and Li. tricolor
aurea. Typical LD. tricolor is called L. tricolor luteola, and L.
tricolor luteola passes for aurea. It differs only from L. tricolor
in having the fully opened flowers pure yellow, with slight red

LACHENALIAS. 227

shading in parts. The bases of the flowers are, however, not
red, and the green colour is not found on the points of the outer
segments. Baker takes for his type of this, the plant figured in
the Botanical Magazine, table 1704, and I think it is impossible
to separate from it the plant figured at table 5992.

6. L. tricolor awrea.—A cantankerous little plant, differing from
Z. tricolor in habit and in constitution. The leaves are short and
firm, 6 inches long, 1 inch broad, spotted with dull red: in the
older leaves the red becomes a continuous patch at the points.
Scape short and stout, 6 to 7 inches long, a few patches of red
near the base; the upper portion is of a uniform reddish colour,
and the apex bright orange-red. Flowers few, eight to ten, close
together at the top of the scape, far more spreading than in L.
tricolor; the ends of the outer segments are marked with green.
Plate 1020 of the Botamcal Magazine exactly represents this
plant, although it is there called LZ. tricolor, var. luteola.

Ii. Cami, Hort. Leichtlin.—This is said to be a species, and
it emanated from the rich collection of bulbs of Herr Max
Leichtlin, of Baden-Baden. Leaves stout, more erect than those
of L. Nelsoni or LL. tricolor, or tricolor aurea, 9 inches long,
bright and shining; on the upper surface mottled with dull
brown. Scapes very stout and erect, heavily blotched with brown
to half way, and uniform dull brown in the upper portion. Flowers
twelve to twenty, shorter than those of L. tricolor, # inch long,
orange-yellow, shaded with green on the outside. Bases of
young flowers, sterile buds, and top of the scape, bright red. A
very attractive, free flowering, and vigorous plant, not coming
into flower until March.

LL. reflexa.—Not a very attractivespecies. Dwarf; leaves three,
the bottom leaf reduced to a large sheathing scale extending
about 2 inches, upper two leaves forming a narrow tube, 8
inches long, which is red. Rest of leaf green, # inch broad, 6
inches long. Scape 6 inches long, four to six flowers. Flowers
long, yellow, swollen in the middle, closed almost completely at
the mouth. Ovary large, three times aslong as broad. Flowers
erect on very short pedicels.

L. glaucina, Jacq.—One of the most striking of all Lache-
nalias, and as variable as L. tricolor. From a gardening point of
view it is by far the most important species in all the groups
except EKulachenalia. The base of the flower is very globose.

228 JOURNAL OF THE RUYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Flowers short, narrowing in the middle, expanding again at the
mouth. Outer segments yellowish green, tipped with green, the
ends reflexed. Inner segments nearly twice as long as outer,
the anterior segment longer than the others. All become curled
backwards when the flower is fully open. Apex of scape, and
sterile buds, soft bluish green. I imagine this to be the plant
figured in the Botanical Magazine, table 1269.

L. glaucina viridis.—This is the best of all the glaucinas,
and is generally grown under the name Lachenalia viridis. It
is a bold flower, with very handsome foliage. Leaves about 12
inches long, 14 inches broad, very erect, and tapering to a point;
heavily spotted with purple brown, passing into a uniform patch
at the apex, and along the margins. Scape stout, erect, blotched
with reddish purple. Flowers twenty to twenty-five, 1 inch long.
Outer perianth segments bluish green, the posterior segment
having a large hump, tips green. Inner segments pale green or
almost white, the anterior segment longer and more slender than
the others, slightly reflexed. Buds reddish purple. Baker now
includes in L. glaucina the L. pallida described in his mono-
graph, species No. 8, and figured in plate 170 of Saunders’s
LRefugium Botancwm and in Botancal Legister, plate 13850,
and plate 1945.

LL. orchioides, Ait. Kew.—A pretty species, with small flowers
of varied colours, from almost white to deep blue. The flowers are
much smaller and narrower than those of L. glaucina, and the
inner segments are not so irregular. In strong specimens the
flower-stalks are curved over like a shepherd’s crook, with
flowers arranged in rather dense spikes. The leaves are long
and slender, faintly spotted. Scape 8 to 12 inches, erect, slender,
spotted. Flowers numerous, spreading horizontally. Flowers
not 4inch long, outer segments one-third shorter than the
inner, with green tips. It is well figured in Saunders’s Lefu-
giwm Botamcum, table 171. There is also a plate in Botanical
Magazine, table 854.

Lachenalia orthopetala, Jacq.—A species of very slender
growth, with pure white flowers, save that each of the perianth
segments is tipped with reddish purple. The leaves are
long and slender, four to five in number, 4 inch wide, spotted
with red along the midribs on the upper side, and tapering
to a long point. Scape slender, 6 to 8 inches long, dull red.

LACHENALIAS. 229

Flowers ten to fifteen, white, segments spreading, pointed, the
outer nearly as long the inner, stamens not longer than the
inner segments, anthers red.

Lachenalia pallida, Aiton.—The true Lachenalia pallida of
Aiton is a fine species abundantly distinct from Z. glaucina and
LL. orchioides, and not the plant figured as such in the plates
mentioned under the head of L.glaucina. In Baker’s monograph
he says it is scarcely more than a variety of LZ. glaucina, and not
the plant figured in Botanical Register, table 287. Mr. Baker
now says that the true L. pallida of Aiton is the plant figured
in the Botanical Register, table 287, and, therefore, it is far
removed from ZL. glaucina. It is also figured in the Botanical
Magazine, table 1372, as L. lucida, Gawl. Leaves fleshy, erect,
12 inches long, 14 inches wide, pale green on upper surface, dull
purple on under surface, unspotted. Scapes very stout green,
unspotted, 10 to 12 inches long. Flowers twenty-five to thirty,
urn-shaped, pale white, segments tipped with green. The
segments are fleshy. Flowers 4 inch long, tinch broad. Outer
segments nearly as long asinner, the latter with points reflexed ;
anthers as long asor slightly longer than the segments. Anthers
yellow. Ovary strongly three-lobed. The short white pedicel is
attached to the lower side of the flower, and not to the centre of
the base of the flower. This species is rare in gardens.

Lachenalia pustulata, Jacq.—A well-marked species which
pervades most collections under a variety of names. L. racemosa,
L. fragrans, and L. pwrpureo-cerulea generally prove to be this
species. It is a free grower and free flowerer, well worthy of a
place, although the flowers are not conspicuous. Leaves two,
flaccid, long, and slender, thickly marked on upper surface with
pustules and blisters, green. Scapes slender, long, 12 to 15 inches,
sreen. Flowers numerous, erect, on short green pedicels, more
bell-shaped than tubular, + inch long, green and white. Outer
segments shorter than the inner, green, or tipped with green.
Inner segments more obtuse than the outer, white or lilac, fading
pink. Stamens slightly longer than the inner segments. Botani-
cal Magazine, table 817, well represents it. Also Andrew’s
Botamst’s Repository, table 350.

Lachenalia versicolor, Baker.—A variable species, with
several pretty varieties. Itisa slender grower, with very long
scapes. On the leayes a few scattered pustules occur. The

230 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

flowers are very campanulate, about + inch long, outer segments
as long as inner, stamens twice as long as segments. Flowers
from pink to purple in colour.

Seedling Lachenalias.—The late Rev. John Nelson seems to
have been the first person to take up the raising of hybrid
Lachenalias. Two of his seedlings are well known, one of
which ig probably the very best Lachenalia in cultivation at the
present time, and very aptly it bears his name, LZ. Nelsoni. The
other is LZ. awreo-reflera. The first reference I can find to the
former is in the Garden for July 17, 1880, where there is a
coloured plate of this species and others. In the text pertaining
to that plate it is stated to be a variety of L. tricolor; but the
Rev. Mr. Nelson, in a note headed ‘ Seedling Lachenalias,” on
page 166 of the Garden for February 5,1881, says: “I send
for your inspection my seedling Lachenalia and its two parents.
My impression last year was correct about its distinctness from
aurea ; the Floral Committee pooh-poohed it as only aurea, and
I began to think my impression of the colour of awrea might pos-
sibly be a little indistinct, though I appreciate colours pretty well
and can generally keep them in my mind’s eye asarule. J
think you will agree with me that the two plants are quite
distinct ; I may be a little blinded in favour of my own bantling,
but in my estimation my plant is the more showy of the two, and
it is afar more vigorous grower, and will be as free as ite female
parent luteola, so that it will soon become common and every-
body’s plant.’ ‘This it certainly should be. It is a free, vigorous
crower, with bold, handsome foliage. The scapes are very stout,
and stand firmly upright without any support; as many as
eighteen blossoms have been open on one flower-stalk, all fresh
and good, their colour being bright golden yellow, with an occa-
sional splash of green, which serves to emphasise the body
colour. The sterile buds and the top of the scape are red, very
bright when well exposed to light. The Rev. 'T. Marsh says in a
letter to me: ‘‘ None, I think, are such free flowerers or so easily
managed as Nelson: and its crosses. ‘They never seem to fail.’’

An opinion which I thoroughly endorse. WL. awreo-reflexa °

(so named by Baker, and described in the Gardeners’ Chronicle,
April 30, 1887) seems undoubtedly to be the plant exhibited by
Barr & Son at the meeting of our Society on March 10, 1885,
under the name of “Aldborough Beauty,” and about which

LACHENALIAS. 931

there is the following note: ‘‘ One of the late Mr. Nelson’s seed-
lings, raised by him shortly before his death. Itis most distinct
from all the other kinds in gardens. The flowers are larger than
those of any other, and, instead of being pendulous, as in other
large-flowered kinds, they are sub-erect. The colour is a bright
golden yellow, similar to that of Z. Nelson. ‘The foliage is
broad and unspotted; in short, it is so different from any other
Lachenalia that it may prove to bea true species.”’

Some seedlings of very great merit have been raised by the
Rev. Theodore H. Marsh, of Cawston Rectory, Norwich, to
whom I am indebted for specimens, and for information con-
cerning them and other Lachenalias. These seedlings are
characterised by brightness and variety of colour not to be found
in any others which I have seen. Some have been raised be-
tween L. quadricolor maculata crossed with L. Nelsont, of which
‘* Garnet’? may be taken as a good type. They flower in Feb-
ruary, and have all the brilliant colouring of LZ. quadricolor
maculata, with the large flowersand fine constitution of LZ. Nelsoni.
Others, of which ‘‘ Cawston Gem ”’ may be taken as an example,
are crosses between L. quadricolor maculata and L. tricolor,
L. luteola and L. aurea. They flower later than ‘“ Garnet,’
and the specimens I have seen seem to be more robust and quite
as attractive. When bulbs of these get distributed a great im-
petus will be given to the cultivation of Lachenalias.

Seedlings have also been raised at Glasnevin, some of which
possess considerable merit, but they lack the brilliant colours of
the Cawston seedlings. To one of these only will I draw your
attention, L. awreo-reflexa crossed with L. Nelson. Although
three times removed from L. reflexa it indicates the large ovary
of that species, and the characters of the plant are almost exactly
intermediate between those of the two parent plants. The most
interesting point lies in the direction of the flowers, some of
which are sub-erect, as in L. awreo-reflexa, some pendulous as
in L. Nelsom, and some spread out horizontally.

232 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

CAPE BULBS.
By Mr. James O’Brien, F.R.H.S.
[Read April 21, 1891.]

In dealing with the subject set down for me to-day, viz.,
Cape Bulbs, I shall follow the text and speak on bulbs proper,
such as we find more especially among the showy but all too
little known Cape Amaryllids, passing by the Gladioli, Freesias,
and other Irids, as they have been lectured on here lately by
others who are far better able to do justice to them than I am.
I shall also confine myself to the cultural side of the question,
and to remarks calculated to bring about a better knowledge of
these bulbs as garden plants; and I hope to be able to make
an original statement or two with a view to that end.

First, then, to plunge into the subject at once, I will say that
with proper planting the;whole of the South African Crinums,
and many of the other strong-growing Cape bulbs, are perfectly
hardy in the open garden in any part of the British Isles, and
what noble garden plants they make is well exemplified by the
scores of stately flower-spikes on the Crinwm Powelli in the
raiser’s garden, as well as in the gardens of the President of
the Royal Horticultural Society at Burford Lodge, where, too,
a row of Crinwm Mooret (also known as C. Makoyanum, C.
Colensoi, and C. Macken) annually produce an abundance
of delicate pink flowers. Crinum longifolwm is an old plant
in our open gardens, and I have proved C. campanulatum,
C. scabrwm, and others to be equally hardy. I therefore
advise all who have spare bulbs of these plants in their green-
houses, or who can get fresh imported bulbs, to try some in
the open ground; but in order to succeed deep planting, and, if
possible, in places where the bulbs are not likely to be disturbed,
is necessary. When I say deep planting, I mean that short-
necked bulbs should be planted so that the top of the neck
is from 6 inches to 9 inches below the surface of the soil, and
C. Powellt and C. Mooret, of which the bulb and neck together
are from 2 feet to 8 feet in length, should have trenches
opened for them sufficiently deep to allow of the tops of the neck
being well below the surface. The object of deep planting is
evident, for by its means when hard frosts come it is longer

CAPE BULBS. 233

getting down to the bulbs, and what is of still greater importance,
when the thaw comes the return of warmth to the bulbs is
gradual. I would advise anyone who contemplates trying these
showy bulbs outdoors to set apart for them a narrow border at
the foot of a wall, or in front of a plant-house, and in such a
situation the Crinums and other bulbs may be planted close to
the wall, so that they need not interfere with other things
planted on the border, nor be disturbed themselves. So planted
and left alone these bulbs grow to a great size, and form huge
masses producing a wealth of bloom every year. From such a
situation the late Sigismund Rucker, of West Hill, Wandsworth,
essayed to get for me a bulb of each of two varieties of what is
now known as C. Mooret, but which at the time I speak of—
some twenty years ago—was growing in his open garden. The
bulbs were in a dense mass, and were so firmly rooted that the
root crowns were broken in lifting them, although every care was
taken.

EXPERIMENTS IN §§ PLANT PROTECTOR.”’’

_ Nearly four years ago I set up a range of “ Plant Protector,”
as this kind of span-roof cold frame with glass-slab sides is
called. No trouble was taken to make the different parts fit
well, and the bulbs stored in it winter and summer were
practically outdoors. Indeed, the effect in it of last winter,
resulting in the death of Amaryllis Belladonna (one of our
prettiest of hardy bulbs), Crinwm Moorei, and several others,
which passed the winter in perfect health in the open ground,
proves to me that the test was actually more severe than it
would have been had all the bulbs been planted out. But,
grown in pots, I had the advantage of having them always
under observation. It is well, perhaps, that I did not relate
my experience before the present severe and protracted winter
or I should undoubtedly have pronounced many things to
be perfectly hardy which the experience of the year just past
will not allow me to do, as the death-roll among those which had
hitherto escaped has been very heavy.

First, then, as to the Cyrtanthi, the species experimented on
being :
1. Anoiganthus (Cyrtanthus) breviflorus, yellow, Eastern
Provinces of the Cape, alt. 5,000 feet.
G

934 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

2. Cyrtanthus Huttoni, red and yellow, Eastern Provinces,
alt. 4,000-5,000 feet.

3. » Macowanit, dark scarlet, Kastern Paovitees alt.
4,000-5,000 feet.
4, 5 Luckw, yellow and blood red, Eastern Peat

alt. 4,000-5,000 feet.

is » Collinus, red.
6. » sprralis, red.
he », pallidus, pale red.
8. » angustrfolius, red to orange.
9, », Mackenu, white.
10. », lutescens, yellow.

The above are of the Monella type.

GASTRONEMA SECTION.

11. Cyrtanthus sanguineus, dark scarlet.
12. » helictus, white.
13; » uniflorus, white.

Of the first four, viz., Anorganthus breviflorus, Cyrtanthus
Huttom, C. Macowani, and C. Tuck, all from high elevations,
I can safely say that they are as hardy for the open garden as
any plant needs be, for, with me, they have the past winter been
frozen—to use a common expression— ‘as hard as a brick ”’ for
weeks together ; and not only were they uninjured, but by their
subsequent growth proved that such treatment was good for
them.

For example, Cyrtanthus Tuckw is in a vigorous condition,
which is all the more worthy of remark as the only other
bulb or two (beside the three which were wintered with it as
described, and which are in good health) in cultivation have
been grown in heat, and are in a very poor condition ; also bulbs
of Anoiganthus breviflorus and Nerine angustifolia, which were
not even potted, have done well. Of the remainder of the Monella
section of Cyrtanthus, Iam not so certain of their hardiness ;
that is to say, I believe most of them would live planted as recom-
mended outdoors, but whether they would thrive well enough to
flower I have not yet settled tomy own satisfaction, and therefore
recommend cautious experiments with them outdoors. The
hardiness of Cyrtanthus obliquus, too, is still an open question.

.

CAPE BULBS. 235

Of the Gastronema section the tale is short and sad. All of them
lived in my frame other winters, but all have died this year.

NERINE.

My experiments with a view to test the hardiness of the
genus Nerine have revealed some very interesting facts, although
at a lamentable loss on the stock generally. Some two hundred
and fifty plants in pots were experimented on, comprising most
of the known species and a great many of my own hybrids, in
quantities of from six to twenty of each. The result has been
directly opposed to what I should have thought-would have been
the case—that is to say, all the soft pale or bright green shiny-
leaved species, viz., N. flecuosa, N. undulata, N. angustifolia,
N. humilis, and all the hybrids in which either of them had
made one of the parents, passed the winter, frozen hard for
weeks together, in perfect health, while the larger-bulbed N.
curvifolia, and indeed all the others, although they survived
the first and longest run of severe weather, succumbed to the
second cold period.

In bringing about this result, I find again that the question
of altitude in the native habitat gives us the key to the relative
hardiness of these bulbs in the same manner as with the
Cyrtanthi. Nerine flexuosa is from 4,000 to 5,000 feet, N. an-
gustifolia from a still greater height, and all the others mentioned
as passing the winter well, are upland plants. Of the hardiest
is my beautiful winter-flowering N. Mansellt, which has broad
bright green leaves like an Agapanthus, and, when strong, a
3 foot scape of rose-pink or light crimson flowers. It was
obtained by intercrossing N. flexuosa and a fine form of N. curvi-
folia, and on both occasions of my raising it I only succeeded in
getting some four or five to grow. N. erubescens x flexuosa and
undulata, N.excellens x flexuosa and humilis major, and crosses
between N. flexuosa and N. pudica also came through the
winter well; not one variety in which N. flecwosa was one of the
parents died. But it must be understood that I merely set
down the result of my experiments, and make the suggestions I
have made as to the fitness of some Cape bulbs for outdoor
culture rather as a basis on which others may work, and an
inducement for them to continue carefully experiments in the

open ground, than to advise the indiscriminate planting of these
G2

236 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

beautiful bulbs; a proceeding which might result in loss and
disappointment. I think, however, there may be many who
have surplus stock who would like to make a trial of this
method of Cape bulb culture, and again, there may be some—
indeed I know there are some who are now doing it—who
would like to grow them in the open ground, if possible,
but who either cannot, or do not care to give them space under
glass.

But for the general culture of Cape bulbs in a manner in
which they may all be grown together with certainty, the cold
greenhouse is the best; and as they prefer a dry rather than a
moist air in the house they occupy, there is no class of plants
better adapted for growing in conservatories, either in town or
country; indeed, so grown, they thrive far better than they do in
the warm plant-houses, in which too many of them meet their ©
end.

Generally speaking, the Nerines and many other Cape bulbs
grow through the winter, and careful observation of their foliage
will give the grower a good guide as to his procedure in the
matter of giving water. As soon as the leaves turn yellow
(generally in May) water should be withheld from the deciduous
kinds, and not a drop given until the flower-spikes appear in the
end of the summer, or until, by the advancing growth of the
leaves, it is seen that water must be given. During the resting
season, if the atmosphere of the house in which the Nerines and
other deciduous Cape bulbs are grown cannot be kept dry and
airy, or if a shelf in a well-ventilated place cannot be found for
them, they had better be placed in a cold frame, with the lights
tilted back and front (but still left over them to keep rains off),
for abundance of air they must have, or degeneration and in-
ability to flower results. These remarks apply especially to
N. curvifolia and others grouped with it. N. flexuosa and its
hybrids’, N. angustifolia, N. pulchella, and their hybrids, par-
take more of an evergreen character, and require a shorter dry
period than the others. As requiring the same treatment as the
Nerines, should be mentioned the Hemanthus, Brunsvigia,
Buphane, Hessea, and the Gastronema section of Cyrtanthus,
which appears to me to differ mainly from the Monella section
in the treatment they require by their being deciduous, and
consequently wanting a distinct dry season of rest.

CAPE BULBS. OST

VALLOTA PURPUREA

Ts a fine old greenhouse plant probably well known to you all.
It affords a familiar example of another section of Amaryllis,
which, being of a more nearly evergreen character, does not
require the severe and protracted dry season of the Nerines.
In these days, when most handsome plants are attempted to be
grown in quantity for the purpose of cut flowers or for indoor
decoration, this fine bulb has come in for attention in that direc-
tion. Lately I have been told that in some places where it has been
largely grown the stock has completely died out, and when asked
the reason, I have said it was probably due to the plants being
kept too warm, and in a too moist atmosphere; to their being
over-potted, or too frequently repotted, which is one of the most
fruitful causes of decay in Cape bulbs. Wishing to get to the
root of the matter, | addressed questions on the subject to an
old friend in South Africa, and his reply fully bears out my
conjectures. His remarks are brief and to the point, and I give
them in his own words: “ Vallota purpureas always die here if
planted in the open ground. The only way that we can keep
them alive is to keep their roots compressed into a small space,
either in small pots or among rocks or stones. They will thrive
by keeping them in pots until the roots burst the pots, and they
will flower profusely.”’ These remarks give the key of success
to the culture of all Cape bulbs. Nothing is more fatal to them
than the annual repotting which gardeners are so fond of giving
to all plants alike. The same correspondent informs me that
the ‘‘white form of Vallota purpurea”’ recorded in some botani-
cal works must refer to Cyrianthus (Gastronema) uniflorus,
which he remembers being sent to Dutch gardens many years
ago, where it was named Vallota Brehmi, and his suggestion, is
doubtless correct and consequently worth recording.

That there is a close affinity between the Gastronema section
of Cyrtanthus and Vallota purpurea may be seen by careful
examination, but the question has been definitely settled by the
production of a cross between the two, viz., Cyrtanthus inter-
medvus.

CLIVEAS, OR IMANTOPHYLLUMS,

Are familiar Cape plants which are usually included among
bulbs, their root-stocks being imperfectly developed bulbs.

938 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The finest, and indeed the only one in general cultivation is
Clivea miniata, and it, by the gardener’s art, has been improved
until now we have a fine series of distinct named varieties raised
from seeds in Europe, which are one and all better than the
imported type. The variety ‘‘ Marie Reimers” is a good
example, and there are numerous other kinds equally attractive,
but different in some respect. Some have flowers approach-
ing to the blood-red tint, others have a white eye, and one
which I saw exhibited in this hall at the last meeting may
be said to have a creamy-white flower, the segments broadly
edged with orange.

All the bulbs hitherto mentioned do well in a cold green-
house or conservatory all the year round, subject to the remarks
before made as to summer treatment in a cold frame. But if
more convenient, in a frame from which the frost is ex-
cluded in winter will do, or if needs be, and no better accom-
modation can be given, in an unheated frame if the pots are
plunged in dry leaves, and three or four inches of dry leaves such
as are swept up in parks and gardens be placed lightly over them
at the beginning of winter, and kept over them while the frosts
last. Ifthe last mode of culture is attempted care should be
taken that the winter finds the plants dry in the pots.

The proper method of culture where it can be compassed, —
and the one which will give the best results as regards flower, is
to winter these things on a cool greenhouse shelf—for it is through
that season that Nerines and many other Cape bulbs grow—and
to keep them for the summer months in a cold frame, the
deciduous ones being kept at one end, for at that season they
require no water, and the Cyrtanthi of the evergreen section,
which require water more or legs all the year, at the other. IfI
may be allowed to travel from the subject too, and to touch on
other than Cape bulbs, I should like to say that the Zephyranthes
Coburgias, Stenomessons, and other South American bulbs should
be grown with those touched on in this paper, and treated like
them. The fine Zephyranthes carinata also comes into the list
of those bulbs of whose hardiness I have no doubt.

Soin, &c.

My experience of all the bulbs we are here dealing with is
that as a potting material nothing suits them better than a good

CAPE BULBS. 939

turfy yellow loam, broken up by hand, and not sifted, and with-
out admixture of sand or any other material. The practice of
sifting soil is far too common in gardens, and I am sure it is
a bad practice, especially for bulbs. Potted in sifted soil, if a
bulb does not root very quickly it perishes, but in the more
porous, or open material carefully broken up and not sifted,
such is not the case. In the matter of repotting, all these things
do best, are safest, and flower most profusely when allowed to
get pot-bound, many of them not requiring to be repotted for
two, three, or even four years. When repotting takes place,
succession should be looked after by potting up the offsets, or
small bulbs, separately to grow on to take the place of the old
ones which mishap or decay may carry off, and also with the
same view seedlings of each of the more delicate should be
raised, for this is a sure way of keeping the stock up, as home-
raised seedlings generally grow with greater vigour than the old
or imported plants. In potting the old bulbs it is best to leave
half of the larger bulbs above the soil, and the small ones just
beneath it.

WATERING.

In conclusion, dealing with the question of watering generally,
it will be sufficient to say that if the leaf growth is watched and
the watering regulated according to the condition of the foliage,
the grower can have no better guide. Thus when the leaves of
the deciduous kinds turn yellow, and until growth commences
again, no water is required, but when growth commences water
is as it were asked for. And with the more or less evergreen
kinds there comes a time when active growth is not going on
and less water is required ; and at other times when the leaves
indicate active growth it is easy to understand that water to
assist in its development is required. In fact in all our deal-
ings with plants, if we are observant, we can get from them by
careful observation a safe and certain guide in many particulars
as to the treatment they require.

940 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS.
By the Rey. Prof.G. Henstow, M.A., F.L.S., &c.
[Read May 12, 1891.]

INTRODUCTION.

In giving some account of the hybrids and crosses raised by
Messrs. Veitch & Sons between species of Hast Indian Rhodo-
dendrons, the following observations refer almost entirely to the
effects produced in the formsand colours of the flowers, as well
as in the shapes of the leaf-blades. Other observers and experi-
menters on hybrids have paid great attention to the question
of the relative degrees of sterility and fertility amongst true
hybrids and crosses of subsequent generations. As the Rhodo-
dendrons in question are raised for commercial purposes, the
methods of multiplication and propagation adopted, besides having
the advantage of keeping the different sorts true, are entirely by
cutting and grafting, as affording a more rapid means of increas-
ing the stock. Hence the sole object of crossing is to raise new
varieties in which form and colour are the only points attended
to, apart from a more compact habit of growth than that which
some of them are liable to affect. Such being the case, no
statistics of importance are retained upon which generalisations
can be framed in reference to relative degrees of sterility or fer-
tility. Such observations as Mr. Veitch has made I have sup-
plied. Still, from the point of view above stated, the results
will not, I think, be found devoid of interest.

General Effects of Crossings on Flowers and Foliage.—lt has
been often asserted that a hybrid resembles the male parent in
the flowers, and the female parent in foliage. One chief result,
however, observed in studying the comparative effects of the male
and female parents in the present case is to modify considerably,
if not to render nugatory, this supposed rule; for itis by no means
absolute. It would be more correct to say that the offspring
may resemble either parent in either way and in various
degrees, according to some unexplainable prepotencies in them re-
spectively. Moreover, characters observable in the grandparents
or higher ancestry may reappear, having been more or less in
abeyance in the parents; or, again, a trace of colour of an

EE

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 241

ancestor, retained either in the corolla as a delicate tint, such as
of pink, or in the anthers alone, may suddenly become very
pronounced.

With regard to flowers, prepotency in the transmission
colour is usually, and I may say generally, recognised by florists
as being correlated with its intensity: so that, if they wish to
‘‘improve”’ a flower, they select the best coloured as the male
parent ; but as far as the Kast Indian Rhododendrons herein
described are concerned, it sometimes happens that a paler tint,
such as a primrose-yellow or a shade of pink, is retained in the
offspring, notwithstanding the fact of one of the parents being of
an intense golden yellow or crimson, respectively.

With regard to colours, it may be remarked here that they
are all reducible to two, yellow and rose-red. The former is pro-
duced by the presence of yellow granules scattered within the
cells of the epidermis or underlying tissue; while the reds are
due to various degrees of concentration of a coloured fluid both in
individual cells as well as by superposition of cells containing
the rose-coloured fluid. The buffs or orange-colours are due to
combinations of the pink fluid with yellow granules, either in
the same cell, as occurs in some epidermides, or in adjacent cells,
as occurs in orange-coloured anthers examined. Ifthere bea pink
throat with a yellow or orange border to the corolla, this is due
to the epidermal cells containing a more concentrated solution
of the pink fluid.

Another point worth noticing, especially from a practical
point of view, is that better results as to the production of colours
occurred by using true species as the male parent, rather than a
cross. Hence it will be observed that in the following cases of
crosses a true species was much more often employed than a cross
as the staminate parent. The same rule, however, holds good
when a true species is used as the seed-bearing plant and a
cross as the male, rather than when both parents are crosses.
Nevertheless, some excellent results were obtained when both
parents were crosses.

With regard to the forms of the corolla of the hybrid or cross,
this is by no means necessarily correlated to the size and shape
of that of either one parent rather than the other ; but it depends
upon some inherent prepotency in the plant. Thus the small-
flowered Ff. multicolor, and its variety Curtisi, invariably brings

242, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL_HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

down the size of the corolla of the larger-flowered species with
which it may be crossed, whether it be used as the male or
female parent, to some approximation to its own in the offspring.
Mr. Veitch has thus obtained a series called the ‘‘ Multicolor
section,”’ with corollas intermediate in size beween the larger and
smaller species.

In several crosses described it will be seen how even the tube
and the limb may each have its own particular influence respec-
tively on the offspring. Again, if two forms, having about equal-
sized corollas, be crossed, the result may be a flower in every
way larger than that of either parent. In a few cases the number
of lobes seems to be permanently increased (see p. 271).

Hence from the results obtained from the Rhododendrons in
question, it would appear that no precise rules as to the trans-
mission of floral characters can belaid down. Special influences
may, however, be discovered by experiment, and certain pecu-
liarities of any particular species of form ascertained ; so that
the florist can’then readily see whether it is worth while proceed-
ing along certain special lines. ,

With regard to foliage the same uncertainty prevails. The
leaf of the offspring of a hybrid or a cross may resemble either
parent entirely, mainly, or in part only, or not atall.* The four
points to be noticed are length, breadth, apex, and base of the
blade. Hach of these may affect the offspring together, or
independently of one another. Again, an ancestral character
may reappear, as e.g. the truncated base of the leaf of the species
R. jasminiflorum reappears in certain offspring, both of whose
parents may have had blades attenuated at the base. Lastly, of
two plants raised from seeds out of the same pod, one may
resemble one parent, the other the other parent.

The general dimensions of the leaf may be reduced or not.
All one can say is that such or such features are prepotent or
not, as the case may be; but it does not appear possible to say
why they are so.

FERTILISATION.

With regard to the question of degrees of sterility or fertility

* Of about twenty crosses taken at random, about half appeared to bear
a stronger resemblance to either parent respectively.

+ As the margin is “entire ”’ in all the species, no incisions of any kind
occurred.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 243

amongst true hybrids and crosses, it is now well known that they
range from zero to infinity in both cases; but that hybrids, as
a rule, are more sterile than subsequent crosses. In the case of
the East Indian Rhododendrons, Mr. Veitch detected no differ-
ences in the fertility of the seedlings he raised, whether of first
hybrids or of subsequent combinations—the average number of
seeds in any pod being roughly estimated at 500, no accurate
measurements haying been taken.

It has been asserted that seedlings of true hybrids, which
resemble one parent very much, are usually very sterile; but
Mr. Veitch did not find it to be so in the present instance. His
results, however, conformed to the rule that there was greater
uniformity in first hybrids than in subsequent crosses. Similarly
his reciprocal hybrids were, as is usually the case, very like one
another ; there appears to be no difference in their fertility.

As Mr. Veitch found great difficulties in crossing species of
Cypripedium from the two hemispheres, so likewise attempted
crosses between the E. I. Rhododendrons and Sikkim or American
species have met with little success, though the seven species
utilised cross amongst themselves with great facility.

As an illustration, Princess Royal (fig. 35) (=R. yasmini-
florum x BR. jgavanicum) x ft. Aucklandw from Silkim (fig. 34)
gave rise to a small white-flowered cross called “Pearl.” It
closely resembles Princess Alexandra (fig. 37). In fact, the
white male parent simply eliminated the pink from Princess
Royal, scarcely affecting the size of the corolla at all.

M. Naudin found that colours were sometimes associated with
sterility and affinity, but nothing of the sort obtains amongst
these species of Rhododendron.

On examining the pollens I found that several of the grains
from the true hybrids were shrivelled, or else refused to swell
with water. On the other hand, the pollen grains of the first
and subsequent crosses were all good, and swelled up vigorously
in water. H.g. ‘‘ Hippolyta,’’ which contains five species in its
constitution, is one with composite grains, and all good.

SUMMARY OF THE EFFECTS OF COLOURS ON CROSSING.

1. The Combination of Colowrs.—Reds and yellows form
orange, ranging from yellow-orange to scarlet-crimson.

=

a
1 i
Hl Y Fea
| [ | x ~
N ty eH Mil ee i

i | ) Uy Voy a w
\i yi Yf Lif 4, Z

( ()
NAN

Sats
S X88 \
SSS
= SSX ( A
== Sw5“r \\ ANY
S A

<a

}
Fic. 34.—R. AuckLanput (Hy¥B.).*

* The Society is indebted to the courtesy of Messrs. Veitch & Sons,
and the Editors of the Journal of Horticulture and of the Garden for the
use of the engravings inserted in the text of this paper.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 245

2. The Reductionof Colowrs.—White and crimson may produce
pink. Pink and crimson may produce pink or rose. Light
yellow and golden yellow may produce a primrose-yellow.

8. The Separation and partial Elimination of one of the
Colowrs.—White and orange may produce pink or yellow. Pink
and orange may produce yellow.

4, The total Elimination of all Colowr.—White, orange, or
yellow, crossed with pink, may produce white.

5. The Dissociation of Colowrs.—A crimson or yellow crossed
with orange may produce reddish lobes and a yellow tube, or
yellow lobes with roseate throat.

6. The Prepotency of Colowrs—Crimson or yellow may
completely overpower yellows and orange, one or other being
alone transmitted.

7. The Restoration of Colowrs.—Reds and yellows can be
restored without a fresh infusion, if the tint be ‘in the blood ”’
from some previous generation, whether in the corolla or
in the anthers and filaments only.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE EFFECT OF CROSSING ON COLOURS.

1. The Combination of Colours.—-The whole colours of the
present species of Rhododendron are crimson (f. Lobbu and L.
multicolor, var. Curtis), cerise (. malayanum), golden-yellow
(Rh. Teysmanni), straw-colour (&. Brookeanwm, var. gracile),
lemon-colour (R&. multicolor), buff-orange (R. javanicum), and
white (£. jasminiflorum).

When red and yellow are united, one, and the more usual,
effect is their combination, giving rise to various shades of orange
or scarlet, ranging from a golden-orange to scarlet-crimson.
When two orange-coloured forms are crossed, the offspring, as
might be expected, are mostly characterised by various shades of
orange.

As examples of the above combinations are R. Lobbii (crim-
son) x R&R. Brookeanuwm, var. gracile (straw-coloured) = Queen
Victoria (yellow-orange) and Prince Leopold (red-orange).

Crown Princess of Germany (pinky-orange) x L. javanicum
(orange) = Souvenir de J. H. Mangles (chrome-orange).

R. javanicum (orange) x KR. multicolor, var. Curtisit
(crimson) = Nos. 37, 406 (scarlet-crimson).

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 247

R. multicolor, var. Curtis (crimson) x Princess Christian
(yellow) = No. 394 (scarlet).

R. Lobbii (crimson) x &. Brookeanum, var. gracile (straw)
= Duchess of Edinburgh (scarlet-crimson).

2. Reduction of Colowrs.—As instances of the colour of the
offspring being paler than that of the parents, Princess Alex-
andra (white) x Duchess of Edinburgh (scarlet-crimson) =
Pink Perfection and Princess Beatrice (cream and pink).

Princess Royal (pink) x &. Lobbw (crimson) = Princess
Helena (pink).

Princess Alexandra (white) x &. Teysmannw (golden yellow)
= No. 464 (primrose).

R. Teysmannu (golden yellow) x Taylor: (pink) = offspring
of different shades of primrose-yellow, as Portia, Juliet, and Purity,
in which the pink of the male parent is scarcely perceptible.

3. Separation, with Hlinunation of one of the Colours.—
Instances occurred where yellow or red was more or less com-
pletely eliminated, especially when white characterised one or
other of thé parents.

The first hybrid raised was Princess Royal (fig 35), by crossing
R. jasnumiflorum (white) with f. avanicum (orange). In the
offspring the yellow of the male parent disappears, while the
pink or rose-colour of the same parent is left. A sister hybrid,
Jasminiflorum carminatum, of the same parentage, resembles
Princess Royal in form, but approaches a crimson in colour
(fig. 86). A very similar result occurred in several of the
offspring of Princess Alexandra (white), crossed by AR.
javanicum (orange). Most of them are more or less decidedly
pink, such as Queen of Roses, Rose Perfection, &¢. In
others the yellow is present, but with a tendency to dissocia-
tion from the red, as is implied, eg., in the name ‘ luteo-
roseum.’’ In one case, however, Minerva, the corolla is a rich
yellow, the red of the orange having in this case disappeared,
the anthers alone being crimson. A similar result occurred in
crossing Princess Alexandra (white) with the scarlet-crimson
Duchess of HKdinburgh, the offspring of which, Monarch, is a
yellow-orange, while Virgil is a pure yellow; so that the white.
of Princess Alexandra has nearly eliminated all the crimson from
the male parent. It is remarkable, however, that in a sister
offspring, Pink Perfection, the opposite and more usual result

248 JOURNAL OF THB ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

occurs, in that now the white has eliminated all trace of yellow
(derived from the grandparent R. Brookeanum, and at the same
time reduced the crimson (derived from &. Lobbii) to a pure
pink.

Very similar results had been previously noticed to occur in
crossing the orange-coloured Begonia cinnabarina with the
white B. Dreger; a pink offspring, B. Weltoniensis, was obtained.

Fié. 36.—RHODODENDRON JASMINIFLORUM CARMINATUM.

Again, no varieties of colours were obtained from the old bronze-
red Abutilon Darwiniw until crossed by the white Boule de Neige.

4, Total Elimination of Colour.—On recrossing Princess
Royal (pink) with R. jasminiflorum (white), Princess Alexandra
(white) was obtained (fig. 37).

In some cases red and yellow eliminate each other, though in
others, as stated, and perhaps more generally, they combine to
produce orange and scarlet. Thus Purity (French white) is
derived from. Teysmannii (golden yellow) x Zaylori (pink).

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. : 949

RR. multicolor (lemon) x Princess Beatrice (cream and pink)
produced white varieties. Princess Royal (pink) x R. Teys-
mannii (golden yellow) = No. 392, which has a pale pink limb
and a nearly white tube; the anthers alone are orange, containing,
therefore, the union of the two colours. Lastly, Princess Royal
(pink) x R&R. javanicum (orange) = Thalia (white).

SSK NE
S

Ly 6 \\"

Fic. 37.— Princess ALEXANDRA.

5. Dissociation of Colours.—In other genera of plants this
may give rise to a striped, flamed, or blotched appearance, as for
example in Calceolarias and in varieties of the Snapdragon ; but
such has not occurred in these Rhododendrons. Sometimes,

I

950 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

however, a flower would have the interior of the tube or throat
of a more strongly tinged hue than the lobes, or vice versd.

Thus, &. multicolor (lemon) x Lord Wolseley (red-orange)
= No. 403, which has light crimson lobes and a yellow tube.

BR. Teysmannu (golden yellow) x f. multicolor, var. Curtisw
(crimson), as well as the reciprocal hybrid, has a rose-coloured
throat with a yellow-orange limb.

FR. multicolor (lemon) x Aurora (yellow-orange) = No. 460.
This has a yellow tube with red-orange lobe. The reciprocal
cross is the same. Princess Frederica (yellow) x F. multicolor
(lemon) = No. 339, has a pink* throat and a yellow limb.

The stigma and anthers are very often quite different from
the corolla, frequently retaining an ancestral colour, which ig
lost or inconspicuous in the corolla. Thuse.g. Princess Frederica,
has orange anthers, the corolla being yellow; while in Queen of
the Yellows the anthers are crimson.

6. Prepotency of Colowrs.—It not infrequently happens that
the colour of one parent will be almost or entirely prepotent
over that of the other, and be transmitted to the offspring.

Lord Wolseley (red-orange) x A. Teysmanmi (golden-yellow)
= Yellow Perfection. On the other hand, R. muiticolor, var.
Curtisw (crimson) x A. Teysmanmii (yellow-golden) = No. 474
(crimson). The former species very frequently transmits its
crimson colour unaffected by the other parent.

R. Lobbu (crimson) x Ff. Brookeanum, var. gracile (straw)
= Duchess of Edinburgh and Duchess of Connaught (bright
scarlet-crimson).

Monarch (yellow-orange) x Lf. malayanum (cerise) =
Little Beauty (cerise).

7. Restoration of Colowrs.—In some cases a particular colour
is, so to say, in the blood, and, though eliminated more or less
entirely in one generation, may reappear in the next without any
fresh infusion ; or, if there be a trace of it, as e.g. in the anthers
alone, it appears capable of redevelopment till it becomes pro-
nounced in the next generation. Thus, Monarch (orange) is the
offspring of Princess Alexandra (white) x Duchess of Edinburgh
(scarlet-crimson) ; but this latter is a hybrid resulting from cross-
ing R. Lobbii (crimson) with Rk. Brookeanum, var. gracile (yellow).

* The pink is traceable to the grandparent Princess Royal.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 251

Hence the source of the yellow colour in the orange in Monarch
was this last-named grandparent.

Princess Alexandra (white) x R. Brookeanum, var. gracile
(straw) = Taylort (pink); but Princess Alexandra is the off-
spring of Princess Royal (pink). }

Princess Frederica (yellow with orange anthers) x R. multi-
color (lemon) = No. 339 (yellow border, but pink throat). The
pink here is derived from the grandparent Princess Royal.

ft. multicolor (lemon) x Princess Beatrice (cream and pink
tinge) = No. 835 (dark rose). In this case not only has the
yellow disappeared, but the red derived from R. Lobbii, through
Duchess of Edinburgh (the male parent of Princess Beatrice),
has reappeared and become pronounced.

EFFEctTs oF Form IN CROSSING.

Form of the Original Species (large-flowered).—Cor. border
large and tube short, lobes reflexed—R. Teysmanmi (fig. 43, f).
Cor. border large and tube short, lobes straight—R. Brookeanum
(fig. 48, a) and R. yavanicum (fig. 48, e). Cor. border small and
tube long—F. jasminiflorwm (figs. 88 and 43, c), and &. Lobbw
(fig. 43 d).

Small-flowered Species.—Cor. border broad, tube funnel-
shaped—f. multicolor (fig. 48,d). Cor. border small, tube straight
—&R. malayanum (fig. 43, 9).

The long straight tube of RB. yasminiflorwm is traceable through
most of the progeny of Princess Royal and Princess Alexandra, when
crossed with R. Brookeanwm, but when crossed with the short-
tubed R. javanicum, it approximates that of the latter species.
A similar result follows when they are crossed with R. multicolor.
The short-tubed FL. javanicwm similarly reduces the larger one
of Princess Frederica, asin Princess Christian.

On the other hand, R. javanicum (short-tubed) (fig. 48, e) x
Duchess of Edinburgh (long-tubed) (fig. 44,7) = Militare (long-
tubed). The long tube is derived from FR. Lobbw (fig. 48, db),
which is strongly curved and ascending. A slight curvature is
retained in the hybrids, but disappears in the second and subse-
quent generations.

With regard to the form of the small-flowered R. multicolor,

whenever this species is crossed with any other or a descendant
H 2

952. JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

of them, it universally reduces the size so that the offspring,
while being intermediate, are nearer to that of 2. multicolor than
the other. The short funnel-shaped tube is more or less traceable
in all its offspring in the multicolor section.

THE EFFECTS OF THE LEAF IN CROSSING.

Forms of the Leaves of the Original Species (fig. 42).—Ellip-
tical, apex very obtuse, base truncate, length 2 to 3 inches—R. jas-
miniflorwm. LHlliptical, apex acute, base truncate, length 5 inches

4/7} fire
IM 4
g YY A

h\ YP (f
\ La

Fic. 38.—R. JASMINIFLORUM.

—h. Teysmanni. Lanceolate, apex acute to acuminate, base
tapering, length 5 inches—R. javanicum. Lanceolate, apex acute
to acuminate, base tapering, length 2 to 8 inches (the under
surface is covered with russet-brown scales)—R. malayanum.
Lanceolate, apex acute to acuminate, base tapering, length
25 inches—f. Lobbii. Oblanceolate, apex acute to acuminate,
base very tapering, length 8 inches—R. Brookeanwm. Oblan-

- HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 253

ceolate, apex acute to acuminate, base very tapering, length
2 to 8 inches—R. multicolor.

R. jasminiflorwum.—the elliptical form with truncated base
is traceable in immediate descendants, as in the hybrid Jasmini-
florum carminatum=R. jasnuniflorwm x EK. yavanicum, but it is
soon lost when again crossed with other species or descendants ;
as when it is crossed with FR. multicolor, except in Nos. 452 and
453, which retain much of the form of the leaf of R. jasmini-
florum, or again in Ruby=R. jasminiflorwm x R. multicolor, var.
Curtis, this latter species having acute and tapering leaves.

R. Teysmanni.—The broadly elliptical form is lost when this
species is crossed with £. multicolor, but somewhat retained when
crossed with Maiden’s Blush=No. 897. Similarly in No. 450=
Lord Wolseley x Teysmanni, and in Nos. 58a, 458, &c.= Princess
Frederica x Rk. Teysmanni, as also in No. 405=f. multicolor,
var. UurtisixRh. Teysmannu. It will be observed that &.
Teysmannii is prepotent in these cases while being the male parent.

R. javanicum.—The broad lanceolate leaf with tapering ends
is retained in Diadem, Militare, and Ne plus ultra=L. javani-
cum x Duchess of Edinburgh. Similarly in Brunette=Princess
Frederica xR. javanicum and No. 158, in which cases the
species is the male parent.

R. Brookeanum, var. gracile-—The very remarkable leaf of
this species, which is 8 inches long, obovate, and with very atte-
nuat@éd base, is never reproduced; the barest trace only being
observable in Crown Princess of Germany= Princess Royal x ft.
Brookeanum.*

R. multicolor.—This small and tapering leaf is readily
transmitted, as in No. 426, &c. = Queen of the Yellows
xf. multicolor, var. Curtis. The general effect of this
species, whether used as the male or female parent, is to reduce
the size of the leaf of the other parent, and impart its tapering
ends, narrowing the blade at the same time.

RR. malayanum.—This species was crossed, as the male paket
with Monarch (derived from Princess Alexandra), both parents
having tapering leaves, but those of the latter being large. This
form is retained in the offspring, Little Beauty and No. 29, which
have the same russet-brown scales of the male.

* This well illustrates the fact that a large-sized leaf is by no means
always correlated to prepotency. The same feature is true also for the corolla.

254 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

EFrrects oF Mutntirontp CRossina.

Mr. Veitch has raised several crosses of the fourth generation,
combining four or five species in the results. The following are
a selection to illustrate the fact that the species first used
frequently retain no visible trace of their existence in the latest
offspring, which is much more conformable to the form and
colour of the species last introduced into the cross.

Hippolyta (fig.44, k) = Queen of the Yellows x FR. multicolor,
var. Curtis. This contains jas., 2 yav., Brook., and mult., var.
Curtisti. The form is nearly identical with that of R. mult.
(fig. 48, d), but larger ; the increased size being probably due to
the effect of R. yavanicum. The leaf is an enlarged form of that of
Ff. nulticolor. This cross also illustrates the strong propotency
of this species, for there is no appreciable difference of any
importance in form or colour between Hippolyta and the second
generations, Nos. 32 and 801=Pr. Royal x Lf. mult. var. Curt.,
which contains jas., jav., and mult. only.

Yellow Perfection=Lord Wolseley (fig. 44, 1m) x &. Teys-
mann (fig 48,7). This contains jas., 2 yav., Brook., and Teys.
It is intermediate between &. Brookeanum and R. Teysmannii,
with the leaf more nearly that of the latter species.

Primrose and No. 456 = Maiden’s Blush x &. Teysmanni.
This contains jas., 2 jav., Brook., and Teys. In Primrose,
RK. Teysmannw overpowers everything; but in No. 456 &.
Brookeanwm is more apparent in colour and form.

Inttle Beauty and No. 3818 (fig. 44, 2) =Monarch x Ff. malay-
anum (fig. 48,g). This contains five species, and one of them
twice—viz., jas., 2 yav., Lobb., Brook., malay.; yet the result
is almost purely &. malayanwm, the leaf only being larger, yet
even that has the russet scales of this species.

Artemis=Ophelia x Ff. Teysmanni. This contains jas.,
83 jav., and Teys. The large lobes may be attributed to fA.
jyavanicum; but the size and colour are nearer to A. Teys-
mann.

Aspasia = R. Teysmanni x Maiden’s Blush. This contains
2 jas., jav., Brook., and Teys. KR. Brookeanwm is seen in the
slender tube, R. Teysmannw in the general form and colour, as
well as in the leaf. ,

Juliet, Portia, Imogene, and Purity=R. Teysmanni x

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 255

Taylori. These contain 2 jas., jav., Brook., and Teys. In these
R. Brookeanum predominates in the slender tube and palenesg
of the colour.

In not a single instance is the original form R. jasmini-
florum traceable either in the corolla or the foliage.

PRAcTICAL RESULTS.

From the preceding observations a few practical results
may be noticed.

1. It has often been observed that when a plant with coloured
flowers succeeds in throwing up a seedling with white flowers,
the second generation from the latter may be remarkable for a
great variation of tints. This, however, does not apply in the
present instance, as the only white form is a true species (Lf.
gasminiflorum). (Fig. 88.)

2. When a flower with a composite colour, as orange, is
crossed by white, then the next generation may have the colours
separated, shades of red or of yellow being the result. This is
true, either when crossed by a true species (Lf. yasmuniflorum) or
a cross (Princess Alexandra). (Fig. 39.)

3. Ifrose or pale red, and pale or dark yellow be united,
delicate pinky-cream coloured, as well as primrose-yellow tints,
are produced. |

4. It is generally preferable to employ the pollen of a tru
species when a crossed offspring is fertilised.

5. If it be required to enrich a colour, the plant with the
richer tint should be used as the male parent.

6. Reciprocal hybrids are practically identical.

7. Pollen from short stamens tends to dwarf the size of
the offspring in Rhododendrons. This was discovered by
Mr. McNab, but is scarcely applicable to the present species,
as there is little or no difference in the lengths of the
stamens.

8. From the history of the Balsameflorum section (p. 256),
one may gather the usefulness of self-fertilisation in fixing, but,
of course, not in creating, double forms. Conversely, the
offspring of a semi-double flower crossed by any single one
was invariably single, the latter being prepotent over the semi-
double form.

956 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

THE BALSAMHFLORUM SECTION OF RHODODENDRON
CROSSES.

The group of semi-double and double forms of Rhododendrons
called Balsameflorum (figs. 89 and 40), from their resemblance
to the double flowers of some Balsams, is a curious result of self-
fertilisation. Mr. Heal, Mr. Veitch’s assistant, who has raised
all these hybrids and crosses, observed a single flower in a certain
truss on a plant of the second generation to have one anther only,
slightly petaloid. He impregnated the pistil of the flower with

Fic. 39.— RHoDODENDRON BaLSAMHFLORUM CARNEUM.

pollen from the other anthers of the same flower; this process
being thus strict self-fertilisation. About twenty seedlings were
raised, which now constitute the Balsamefloruwm section.

It would, I think, be incorrect to say that self-fertilisation in
this case was a cause of doubling, but that it enabled and en-
couraged the tendency to petalody to be intensified. For, on the
contrary, whenever a member of this group has been crossed
with a true species, or one of the crosses raised from the sever
species, the results were always normal (e.g. Nos. 207 and 428),

‘ . HYBRID RHODODENDRONS, 257

thereby showing that this tendency to petalody was destroyed or
overcome by the natural vigour of the true species or cross with
which it was united.

With reference to petalody, differences range from a very
slight condition in the filaments to a completely double state. In
one seedling raised the stem was forked, each branch ter-
minating in a truss; and while the flowers on one truss had alk
their stamens more or less petaloid, those in the other had but
some only.

Fic. 40.—RHopoDENDRLN BaLsaM#FLORUM ALBUM.

With regard to the form of the corollas, some have elongated
tubes with a comparatively small limb, and consequently par-
taking much of the shape of Princess Royal. Others have a
short tube, and broader limb, thereby approximating the form of
Ei. javanicum.

With regard to colours - the offspring show great variety.
They range from white and pink to dark red or crimson, as well
as pure yellow, to various shades of orange.

The name of the original plant is not known, but this dis-

258 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,

sociation of form and colour reveals the parentages, in that

Princess Royal and R. javanicum and R. jasminiflorwm are.
clearly present. As pure yellow forms occur, such would probably

point to &. Brookeanum, var. gracile. Consequently, as it

was known to be a second generation, it was most probably one

of the three following, Princess Frederica, Crown Princess of
Germany, or Duchess of Teck.

The foliage is very variable, with a frequent want of symmetry
in the two halves of the blade.

BIGENER, INDICO-JAVANICUM (FIG. 41).

This is a bigeneric cross between Rhododendron Lord
Wolseley (fig. 44,m) and Azalea indica stella.

The female parent is of thethird generation, the descent being
as follows :—L. jasminiflorum (white) x R. javanicum (orange)=
Princess Royal (pink); Princess Royal x &. Brookeanum, var.
gracile (yellow)=Duchess of Teck (reddish orange) ; Duchess of
Teck x BR. gavanicum (orange) = Lord Wolseley (red-orange).

The male parent has a dark rose-coloured corolla, with crimson
spots over the upper petals.

The corolla of the cross is smaller than that of either parent,
having a broadish, nearly straight tube, slightly bulging above ;
the lobes of the limb are much shorter than is the case with
either parent.

The colour is a rather redder orange than that of the female
parent ; the anthers are crimson, as well as in both parents.

With regard to the foliage of the cross, though smaller in
size the leaf agrees both in form and anatomical details with
that of the Rhododendron or female parent in every detail of
importance. The leaf of Azalea is markedly different, being
obovate instead of lanceolate ; toothed, and not entire; covered
with fibrous hairs instead of being glabrous above, with minute
peltate scales below ; the cell-walls of the epidermis being sinuate
instead of straight; and the proportion of stomata being less
than in the Rhododendron as well as the cross. The hairs of the -
Azalea are very peculiar in structure. They grow on the branches,
petioles, midrib, and veins below, and are generally scattered over
the upper surface of the leaf. They are composed of numerous.
fibres resembling short liber-fibres, graduated in length, so that

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 259

the longest form the point of the hair, like a fine camel’s-hair
brush.

With regard to a dwarf sister-plant,* the anatomical details
exhibited a very considerable amount of arrest of structure, the
number of cells being nearly twice that of the Rhododendron in
the same area, in consequence of their minute size, with fewer
stomata. It also agreed in most other respects both with the

Fic. 41.—R. Inpico-JavaNIcUM.

sister-cross as well as with the Rhododendron, except that the
shape was more elliptical, and possessed glandular hairs instead
of peltate scales.

It is observable that this case followed the supposed rule in
so far as that the female parent imparted its likeness to the
foliage. Of the numerous hybrids and crosses raised by Mr.

* This plant is now seven years old, but does not exceed five inches in
height. It has never flowered.

2960 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Veitch amongst these seven East Indian species, the above rule
was found to fail very generally, in that each parent would
impart certain peculiarities either to the flowers or leaves,
according to its own prepotency, but the cause of such power is
unknown.

DISCUSSION.

Sir JoHN LLEWELYN said it was not more than twenty years
when nothing but R. ponticum, catawbiense, and maximum were
cultivated in this country, and these possessed but a poor variety
of colour, the prevailing tints being a dull or rosy purple. By
crossing these with the scarlet arborewm from Nepal, a strain
was obtained having scarlet flowers, but retaining the tender
habit of their Indian parent. This progeny was again crossed
with hardy kinds, and so up to the present day when our collec-
tions present us with every intermediate shade of colour between
intense scarlet, rich purple, and down to a pure white produced
in plants in every respect hardy. Amongst the many names of
those who have been successful raisers of hybrid Rhododendrons
are Mr. Burn, of Tottenham Park, Wilts, and Mr. Carton, late of
Highclere, Hants. Mr. Carton was warmly supported by Mr.
J. R. Gowen, Messrs. John and Hosea Waterer, of Bagshot and
Knap Hill ; Messrs. Lee, of Hammersmith; Messrs. Standish &
Noble, Bagshot ; Mr. Baker, and many others. Several hybrid
Azaleas and Rhododendrons had been raised at Highclere, the
seat of the Earl of Carnarvon, but it was not until 1831 that a
very remarkabie and lovely hybrid was obtained. It was duly
figured in the Botanical Register, table 1414, under the name of
Rhododendron Alta-clerense,* and is described in the words of
Dr. Lindley as having flowers of a “clear transparent crimson
colour, rendered still more bright by a few distinct spots of a
darker hue.” This hybrid was raised by Mr. J. R. Gowen, who
gave the following particulars concerning it in the Botanical
Register :—“ They (the flowers) are intermediate between
Lt. arboreum of Nepal and a seedling Rhododendron from
R. catawbiense, which had been fertilised with pollen from
R. ponticum. From the period of the introduction of RL. arborewn
into the Highclere garden by my friend Dr. Wallich, and more

* Alta-Clera is the name of Highclere in Domesday Book, and in ancient.
writings.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. ; 261

particularly since its inability to withstand the rigour of this
climate had been ascertained, Lord Carnarvon became desirous
of producing a cross breed between it and the hardy species. The
pollen from Ff. arborewm was used early in the spring of 1826
in fertilising the flowers of this hardy species, which by previous
concert had been brought into contemporaneous bloom. The
result was the production of a number of capsules containing
good seed, from which were raised above 1,800 plants, which
have been extensively distributed to nurseries and private gardens
both in England and Scotland. The plants retained by Lord
Carnarvon showed flower-buds in small quantity late last autumn.
Some of the most perfect were removed into pots early in the
present season from the shrubberies, and, being placed under
glass in a cool conservatory, have flowered. The plants are
quite hardy, having never been damaged in the slightest degree
by the winters of this climate ; but they are very excitable, shoot
very early, and will therefore in early springs be lable to be
injured by late frosts. They make extremely vigorous growth,
and, judging from the analogy which I have ooserved to prevail
in hybrid production, I am inclined to believe they will attain to
the height of 20 feet and upwards. Their foliage is very orna-
mental.’’ It was probably about 1854 to 1864 the species of
Himalayan Rhododendron were attracting attention, for in
those days Hooker, in the Botanical Magazine, figures some forty
species.

EAST INDIAN SPECIES OF RHODODENDRON.

The following species, of which the majority have been in-
troduced by Messrs. Veitch & Sons, are the origins of the hybrids
and crosses described in this paper.

1. f. Brookeanwm* (Low) var. gracile——A lax shrub,
epiphytal, or growing on mossy limestone. Leaves, form
oblanceolate, 8 inches long; apex acute; base very tapering.
Corolla large ; tube somewhat funnel-shaped, about 14 inches
long; limb 24 inches diameter ; lobes revolute; colour straw.
There are tWo principal varieties, yellow and a rich red, said to
resemble Azalea indica lateritia, but richer. It is not used in

* Journ. Hort. Soc. iii. p. 83, 1848.

962 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

these crossings. The present variety of the yellow form has
been unfortunately lost to cultivation. Being somewhat more
slender than the typical specific form it received the cognomen
gracile. My. Veitch’s variety was introduced by Lobb from
Borneo in 1855. (Figs. 42 and 48, a.)

2. F. gasmiuflorum* (Hook.).—A small shrub, about 14 feet
high, of compact habit. Leaves, form obovato-oblong or ellipti-
cal, 2 to 24 inches long, 1 to 14 inches broad ; apex very obtuse ;
base truncate. Corolla large; tube 2 inches long, straight;
limb small, 1 inch diam.; lobes small, obovate ; colour white.
Anthers pink. A native of Mount Ophir, Malacca, 5,000 feet.
Introduced by Mr. Veitch, sen., 1849. (Fig 38; from Jowrn. of
Hort., Vol. IL., New Ser., p. 181. Figs. 42 and 43, c.)

3. BR. gavanicumy (Blume ?).—A shrub of lax habit, with long
internodes, sometimes epiphytal. Leaves, form lanceolate, 3
to 44 inches long, 15 inches broad; apex acute to acuminate ;
base tapering. Corolla large; tube about 2 inch long; limb
24 inches diameter. Colour yellow orange. Anthers crimsons
Several varieties in colour occur wild, e.g., a citron and a red-
orange or Rolleson’s variety. A native of Java, 4,000-8,000 feet,
on a volcanic range. Introduced by Mr. Rolleson. (Figs. 42
and 48, e.)

4. R. Lobbut (Veitch), RK. longiflorwm (Lindl.).—A shrub
8 feet high, with lax branches. Leaves, form lanceolate, with
revolute margins, about 8 inches long and 1 inch broad; apex
and base tapering. Corolla large; tube curved and ascending,
24 to 85 inches long; limb 1 inch diameter. Colour bright
glossy crimson. A native of Sarawak jungles, Borneo. Intro-
duced by Mr. Veitch. (Figs. 42 and 43, 0.)

5. RL. malayanum (Veitch).—A small shrub with a compact
habit. Leaves small, 14 to 24 inches long, 4 inch to 1 inch
broad ; form oblanceolate; apex acute to acuminate, base very
tapering ; covered with russet-brown peltate scales on the under-
side. Corolla very small; tube straight, about 4 inch long;
limb 1 inch diameter. Colour cerise-crimson. A native of
Sumatra. Introduced by Mr. Veitch. (Figs. 42 and 43, g.)

* Bot. Mag. 76 t. 4,524; Lem. Jard. Fl. 41.

+ Bot. Maq. 73 t. 4,336; Fl. de Ser. 3, 293; var. aurantiaca, Fl. de
Sor. 6, 576; Rolleson’s var., Beck’s FU. 1852, p. 65.

t Florist and Pomologist, 1870, p. 233.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 2638

6. R. multicolor (Oliver)—A small shrub with a compact
habit. Leaves small, form suboblanceolate, 15 to 2 inches
long, + to 4 inch broad; apex acute; base very tapering.
Corolla small ; tube funnel-shaped, 4} inch long ; limb 1} inches.
Colour lemon. Var. Curtisii: this only differs in having a rich
crimson corolla. Natives of Sumatra. Introduced by Mr.
Veitch. (Figs. 42 and 43, d.)

7. R. Teysmanni (?)——A lax shrub. Leaves large; form
elliptical, 44 inches long, 2 inches broad; apex acute; base
abruptly tapering. Corolla large; tube ? inch long; limb
21 inches diameter; lobes reflexed. Colour golden yellow.
Anthers yellow. A native of Sumatra. Introduced by Mr.
Veitch. (Figs. 42 and 43, f.)

GENEALOGIES.
First GENERATIONS.—TRUE HYBRIDS. -

I. Rhododendron Brookeanum, var. gracile. (No hybrids
raised.)

II. i. R. gasminiflorum* x BR. gavanicum = Princess Royal and
Jasminiflorum carminatum.

i. RB. jasminiflorum x R. multicolor, var. Curtiss = Nos.
35, 329 (PI. IIL, fig. 2), 452, 453.

Ill. R. javanicum x BR. multicolor, var. Curtisii = Nos. 37,
406, 455, 506.

IV. &. Lobbu x BR. Brookeanum, var. gracile = Duchess of
Edinburgh (PI.III., fig. 7), Duchess of Connaught, Prince Leopold,
Queen Victoria.

V. &. malayanum. (No hybrids raised.)

VI. &. multicolor. (No hybrids raised.)
VIL. &.multicolor, var. Curtisu x L. Teysmanniit= Nos. 405,
444, 474,

VIII, 1. &. Teysmannu x F. multicolor, var. Curtisut= Nos.
31a, 81B, 300, 457.

u. L. Teysmannu x BR. javanicum = No. 518.

* The first named is always the female parent.
¢ Reciprocal hybrids.

264 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

SECOND GENERATIONS.—TRUE HYBRIDS CROSSED BY A
TRUE SPECIES.

Il. Through Princess Royal (R. jas. x R.jav.).
i. Pr. Royal x R. Breokeanum, var. * gracile = Princess
Frederica, Crown Princess of Germany, Duchess of Teck.
ii. Pr. Royal x R. jasminiflorwm= Princess Alexandra (fig. 87 ;
from Journ. of Hort., Vol. IIL, New Ser., p. 477).
ili. Pr. Royal x R. yavanicum = Baroness Schroeder, Excel-
sior, Thalia, No. 170.
iv. Pr. Royal x &. Lobbu=Princess Helena.
v. Pr. Royal x LR. multicolor, var. Curtisiu=Nos. 32a, 320)
32B, 301.
vi. Pr. Royal x Rk. Teysmannii=Czarina, Duchess of Fife,
Nos. 55, 392, 508.
vil. Pr. Royal x &. Aucklandu (fig. 34)*= Pearl.
Through Jasminiflorum carninatum (Lf. yas. x BR. jav.).
Jas. carm. xf. multicolor, var. Curtisu=Ruby, Nos. 33,
Uy Cs oe
IV. Through Duchess of Edinburgh (&. Lob. x R. Brook.).
Duch. Edinburgh x &. gavanicun=Brilliant, Scarlet Crown,
Triumphans.t
Through Duchess of Connaught (f. Lob. x R. Brook.).

i, Duch. Con. x R. javanicwum=Conqueror, No. 63.
li. Duch. Con. x BR. multicolor, var. Curtistu=Nos. 317, 442.

TruE SPECIES CrossED By A TRUE Hyprip.
R. gavanicum x Duchess of Edinburgh=Cardinale, Diadem,
Militare, Ne plus ultra.t
R. multicolor x Duchess of Connaught=No. 473.

TruE—E Hysprip CRossED By A TRUE HyYBRD.

IV. Through Duchess of Edinburgh (&. Lob. x R. Brook.).

Duch. Edinburgh x Jasminiflorum carminatum (Rf. jas. x
Ti. jav.)=No.005,

*R. Aucklandii is the only species which is not E. Indian, and not used
on anv other occasion. Itis a native of Sikkim-Himalaya. (See fig. 34;
from Journ. of Hort., Vol. VIII., New Ser., p. 229).

t Reciprocal crosses.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS, 265

THIRD GENERATIONS.—SECOND GENERATIONS CROSSED WITH
A TRUE SPECIES.

Through Princess Frederica (Pr. Roy. x R. Brook.).
i. Pr. Frederica x BR. gavanicwm = Queen of the Yellows,
Princess Christian, Thetis, Brunette, No. 158.
il. Pr. Frederica x &. multicolor=Nos. 889, 419, 428.
lil. Pr. Frederica x &. multicolor, var. Curtisii = Nos. 418,
507 (?).
iv. Pr. Frederica x &. Teysmanni=Nos. 58a, 538B, 449,
458, 459.

Through Crown Princess of Germany (Pr. Roy. x f. Brook.).
Cr. Pr. Germany x &. javanicum=Star of India, Aurora,
Apollo, Empress, President, Gloria Mundi, Indian Yellow, Sou-
venir de J. H. Mangles, Dante, Ajax.

Through Duchess of Teck (Pr. Roy. x R. Brook.).

Duch. Teck x f. gavamicum=Lord Wolseley (fig. 44, m),
No. 56.

Through Princess Alexandra (Pr. Roy. x fi. jas.).

i, Pr. Alexandrax R. Brookeanwm, var. gracile=Maiden’s
Blush, Taylori.

ii. Pr. Alexandra xf. javanicum=Rose Perfection, Queen
of Roses, Ambient, Ophelia, Favourite, Luteo-roseum, Aphrodite,
Amabile, Minerva.

iii, Pr. Alexandra xf. multicolor, var. Curtisti=Nos. 42a,
42B, 328, 353, 398.

iy. Pr. Alexandra x R. Teysmannu=No. 464.

SECOND GENERATIONS CROSSED WITH A TRUE HYBRID.

Pr. Alexandra x Duchess of Edinburgh (2. Lobbu x FR. Brook.)
=<Acis, Monarch (fig. 44, h), Princess Beatrice, Pink Perfec-
tion, Virgil.

FourtH GENERATIONS.—THIRD GENERATIONS CROSSED BY A
TRUE SPECIES.
Through Queen of the Yellows (Pr. Fred. x Rf. jav.).

Qn. of Yellows x f&. multicolor, var. Curtisii = Hippolyta
(fig. 44, k), Nos. 881, 426, 487, 490.
I

266 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Through Princess Christian (Pr. Fred. x BR. jav.).
Pr. Christian x R. multicolor, var. Curtisii*=No. 39, 448, 489.
Through Star of India (Cr. Pr. Germ. x fi. jav.).

i. Star of India x R. multicolor, var. Curtisti =Nos. 34, 822,
417.

ii. Star of India x Jasminiflorum carminatum=No. 511.
Through Aurora (Cr. Pr. Germ. x fi. gav.).
Aurora x R. multicolor=Nos. 387, 402, 451.

Through Lord Wolseley (Duch. Teck x fi. jav.).
i. Lord Wolseley x &. multicolor, var. Curtisi=No. 395.
ii. Lord Wolseley x FR. Teysmannu=Yellow Perfection,
Boule d’Or, No. 450, 519.
ui. Lord Wolseley x Azalea indica stella=Indico-javanicum
(fig. 41, and p. 258 ; from Journ. of Hort., Vol. XIX., New Ser.,
p. 873). :
Through Acis (Pr. Alex. x Duch. Edin.).
Acis x &. Brook.=No. 5038.
Through Amabile (Pr. Alex. x R. jav.).
Amabile x &. Teysmannii=Acidalia, The Queen, No. 79.
Through Ophelia (Pr. Alex. x fi. jav.).
Ophelia x R&R. Teysmannu=Artemis, Nos. 484, 510.
Through Maiden’s Blush (Pr. Alex. x R. Brook.).
i. Maiden’s Blush x R&. multicolor, var. Curtisu=Nos. 331,
346.

il. Maiden’s Blush x &. Teysmannu*=Primrose, Nos. 320,
327, 456.

Through Monarch (Pr. Alex. x Duch. Edi.).
Monarch x &. malayanum = Little Beauty, Nos. 29, 318
(fig. 44, 7).
Through Princess Beatrice (Pr. Alex. x Duch. Hdin.).
Pr. Beatrice x F. multicolor=No. 50.

TRUE SPECIES CROSSED BY A THIRD GENERATION.

1. &. multicolor x Aurora* (Cr. Pr. Germ. x &. jav.)=Nos.
388, 441, 460.

* Reciprocal crosses raised with these.

{ This “‘bigener’’ did not flower until it was six years old. A sister
cross is now seyen years old, and only about 5 inches in height. It has
never flowered.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 267

ii. R. multicolor x Pr. Beatrice (Pr. Alex. x Duch. Edin.)=
Nos. 835, 386.

ili. R. multicolor x Lord Woe (Duch. Teck x Fi. yav.)=
Nos. 403, 466.

i. R. multicolor, var. Curtisii x Pr. Christian* (Pr. Fred. x
i. jav.)=Nos. 394, 424, 429, 488.

ii. R. multicolor, var. Curtisii x semi-double “ Balsame-
florum ’’=No. 423.

i. R. Teysmanni x Maiden’s Blush* (Pr. Alex. x JL.
Brook.)=Aspasia, No. 397.

ii. R. Teysmannua x Taylori (Pr. Alex. x R. Brook.)=
Juliet, Portia, Imogene, Purity.

THIRD GENERATION CROSSED BY A TRUE HYBRID.

Through Star of India (Cr. Pr. of Germ. x RR. jav.).
Star of India x Jasminiflorum carminatum=No. 511.

Through Ld. Wolseley (Duch. Teck. x R. jav.).

Lord Wolseley x Jasminiflorum carminatum (&. jas. x
fi. jav.)=Nos. 78, 509.

‘TRuE Hysprip CROSSED BY A THIRD GENERATION.

Through Pr. Leopold (f. Lobb. x R. Brook.).

Prince Leopold x Maiden’s Blush (Pr. Alex. x R. Brag) —
Incarnatum floribundum.

EFFECTS OF PARENTAGE.—F IRST GENERATIONS.—I'RUE HYBRIDS.

ILi. R. yasmimflorum (white) x &. yavanicwm (orange)=
Princess Royal (pink), Jasminiflorum carminatum (crimson).

Male.—Cor., colour pink or crimson; form, broad limb.
Leaf larger,t acute apex, tapering base.

Female.—Cor., colour (eliminates yellow from orange of the
male); form, long tube.

* Reciprocal crosses raised with these.
+ Comparative terms always refer to the same feature in the opposite sex.

12

268 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

IL. ii. RB. yasminiflorum (white) x R. multicolor, var. Curtisi«
(crimson)=Nos. 35, 329, 452, 453 (crimson).

Male.—Cor., colour crimson; form, broad limb. Leaf
lanceolate, acute (No. 35).

Female.—-Cor., form, slightly longer tube. Leaf nearly
elliptical, obtuse (Nos. 452, 458).

Ill. R. javanicum (orange) x L. multicolor, var. Curtisit
(crimson)=Nos. 37, 406, 455, 506 (crimson-scarlet).

Male.—Cor., colour crimson-scarlet. Leaf, reduced in size.

Female.—Cor., form same, reduced in size. Leaf,
lanceolate, acute.

IV. R. Lobbw (crimson) x &. Brookeanum, var. gracile
(straw) = Duchess of Edinburgh, Duchess of Connaught, Prince
Leopold, Queen Victoria.

Male.—Cor., colour, yellow in combination, producing
scarlet-crimson (Duch. JHdinburgh, Duch. Connaught), red-
orange (Prince Leopold), primrose-yellow to pale salmon (Queen
Victoria).

Female.—Cor., colour red in combination; form, curved
tube. Leaf, form and size.

VII. &. multicolor, var. Curtis (dark crimson) x R. Teys-
mannw (golden yellow) = No. 405 (yellow orange), 444 (red
orange), 474 (crimson).*

Male.—Cor., colour, yellow has entered most in No. 405
(yellow orange); less in No. 444 (red-orange), and is wanting in
No. 474 (crimson). Form, lobes reflexed in No. 444.

Female.—Cor., colour three shades of red. Form, size, and
shape, but enlarged.

Leaf, form, lanceolate as in female, but much larger, espe-
cially in No. 474 (4 inches), No. 405 (54 inches) in length.

VIII. i. &. Teysmanni (golden yellow) x &. multicolor, var.
Curtisw (crimson) = Nos. 81a, 81B, 300, 457.*

N.B. These hybrids being reciprocal with VII. are practi-
cally identical with No. 405, slight variations occurring in the
depths of the tints and in the size of the leaves.

ii. RK. Teysmannu x &. gavanicum (orange)=No. 518
(golden yellow).

Male.—Cor., broader tube ; anthers pink.

Female.—Cor., reflexed lobes. Leaf, form.

* Reciprocal hybrids.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 269

SECOND GENERATIONS.—TRUE Hysrips CrossED By A TRUE
SPECIES.
Il.—Through Princess Royal (R. jas. x R. jav.).

i. Pr. Royal (pink) x R. Brookeanum, var. gracile (straw) =
Princess Frederica, Crown Princess of Germany, Duchess of
Teck (all yeliow).

Male.—Cor., colour yellow.

Female.—Cor., colour, occasional pink tinge; anthers.
orange ; form same, with slight differences in size; leaf much
the same.

ii. Pr. Royal (pink) x £&. gasminiflorum (white) = Princess
Alexandra (white).

Male.—Cor., colour white; form, long tube.

Female.—Cor., colour, occasional pink tinge; form nearly
same; anthers orange; leaf, form and size.

ili. Pr. Royal (pink) x R&R. yavanicum (orange) = Baroness
Schroeder, Excelsior, Thalia, No. 170.

Male.—Cor., colour yellowish white (Thalia) ; French white
(Bar. Schr.); form, broader limb but shorter tube; leaf
same (Thalia).

Female.—Cor., colour rose (No. 170); leaf elliptical, with
truncate base of R. jasminiflorum (Bar. Schr.).

iv. Pr. Royal (pink) x &. Lobbi (crimson) = Princess Helena
(pink).

Male.—Cor., form, long curved tube and small limb;
anthers crimson.

Female.—Cor., colour pink; leaf, form nearly same.

y. Pr. Royal (pink) x A. multicolor, var. Curtisi (crimson) =
Nos. 82a, 32, 832B, 301 (shades of crimson).

Male.—Cor., colour crimson, form same enlarged ; leaf same,
but larger.

Female.—Cor., form, large limb.

vi. Pr. Royal (pink) x R. Teysmannii (golden yellow) =
Czarina, Duchess of Fife, Nos. 55, 392, 508 (pale pinky-yellow to
orange).

Male.—Cor., colour, imparted shades of yellow ; form, broad
limb, shorter tube (Nos. 55, 508) ; leaf, large size and breadth.

Female.—Cor., colour, pink tinge, e.g. No. 508 (in which the
colours are dissociated), red in orange (No. 55); form, slightly
longer tube (No. 392, Czarina) ; anthers orange.

270 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

vil. Pr. Royal (pink) (fig. 85) x R. Aucklandw (white) (fig. 34)
= Pearl (white).

Male.—Cor., colour white.

Female.—Cor., form same; leaf, 2 inches long, obovate,
obtuse apex, tapering at base, unlike parentage.

Through Jasmiuuflorum carminatum.
Jas. carm. (crimson) x Ff. multicolor, var. Curtisii (crimson)
= Ruby, Nos. 33, 418, 425.
Male.—Cor., colour crimson; form, enlarged, with a more
funnel-shaped, shorter tube.
Female.—Cor., form, larger limb; leaf same; sometimes
elliptical as in Ff. jas.

IV. Through Duchess of Edinburgh (f. Lobb. x R. Brook.).
Duch. Edinburgh (scarlet-crimson) x R. javanicum (orange
= Brilliant, Scarlet Crown, Triumphans (all scarlet-crimson).
Male.—Cor., colour, yellow in crimson and scarlet or
orange; leaf same, varying in size.
Female.—Cor., form same (with curved tube of R. Lobbiz) ;
leaf same, varying in size.

IV. Through Duchess of Connaught (R. Lobb. x R. Brook.).

i. Duch. Connaught (crimson) x Ff. javanicuwm (orange) =
Conqueror (scarlet), No. 63 (scarlet-crimson).

Male.—Cor., colour scarlet; form, enlarged limb and
shorter tube; leaf broader.

Female.—Cor., colour, introduction of yellow forming scarlet
or scarlet-crimson.

ii. Duch. Connaught (crimson) x R. multicolor, var. Curtisi
(crimson)=Nos. 317, 442 (crimson).

Male.—Cor., form same, but larger. Leaf same, but
larger.

Female.—Cor., form, longer tube.

True Species CrosseD BY A TRUE HyBRID.
R. javanicum (orange) x Duch. Edinburgh (scarlet-crimson) =
Cardinale, Diadem, Militare, Ne plus ultra (scarlet-crimson).
N.B. These being reciprocal hybrids with Brilliant, Scarlet
Crown, and Triumphans, there is no difference of importance
between them, beyond slight shades of colour.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 271

R. multicolor (lemon) x Duch. Connaught (scarlet-crimson)=
No. 478 (scarlet-crimson).
~ Male.—Cor., colour cimson (yellow of male eliminated).
Leaf broader and longer.
Female.—Cor., form nearly same, slightly larger. Leaf
enlarged.

TrRuE Hysprip CrossEp By TRUE HyprRID.

Through Duchess of Edinburgh (R. Lobb. x R. Brook.).

Duch. Edinb. (scarlet-crimson) x Jasminiflorum carminatum
(dark crimson)=No. 505 (dark crimson).

Male.—Cor., colour deep crimson, eliminated yellow from
the scarlet tint. Leaf, same size.

female.—Cor., form, slight curvature of tube and large limb.
Leaf, acute apex.

THIRD GENERATIONS.—SECOND GENERATIONS CROSSED WITH
A TRUE SPECIES.

Through Princess Frederica (Pr. Roy. x R. Brook.).

i, Pr. Frederica (pinky-yellow) xR. javanicum (orange)=
Queen of the Yellows, Princess Christian, Thetis, Brunette,
No. 158 (yellow to yellow-orange).

Male.—Cor., colour slightly intensifies the orange tint in No.
158 and Brunette. Antherscrimson. N.B. Six lobes appear to be
constant in these two. Form, sometimes broadens the tube.

Female.—Cor., colour same in first three. Form same.
Leaf same.

li. Pr. Frederica (pinky-yellow) xR. multicolor (lemon)=
Nos. 839 (yellow limb, rose throat), 419 (pinky-lemon), 428
(lemon).

Male.—Cor., colour prevails in No. 419 (pinky-lemon) and
428 (fine lemon-yellow). Form same, but slightly larger.
Anthers yellow-orange. Leaf intermediate.

Female.—Cor., colour, No. 839 (lobes salmon, throat rose).
Anthers red-orange. N.B. This form is scarcely distinguishable
from Nos. 457=f. Teysmanni x RB. multicolor, var. Curtisu.

iil. Pr. Frederica (pinky-yellow) x R. multicolor, var. Curtisit
'(crimson)=No. 418, 507 (?)

yt JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Male.—Cor., colour crimson. Form, same size. Leaf inter-
mediate.

Female.—Cor., form, straight and longer tube.

iv. Pr. Frederica (pinky-yellow) xR. Teysmanni (golden
yellow)=Nos. 58a, 53B, 449, 458, 459 (primrose-yellow to golden
yellow).

Male.—Cor., colour, when yellow is intensified. Form,
slightly shorter tube. Leaf, broadening, with truncate base.

Female.—Cor., colour, when paler yellow. Form same,
when slender tube.

Through Crown Princess of Germany (Pr. Roy. x R. Brook.).

Cr. Pr. Germany (yellow) x R. yavanicum (orange)=Star of
India, Aurora, Apollo, Empress, President, Gloria Mundi, Indian
Yellow, Souvenir de J. H. Mangles, Dante, Ajax (yellow to red-
orange).

Male.—Cor., colour, imparted orange tint, even intensified,
in last two. Form, enlarged limb and shorter tube. Leaf, same
when tapering at base, and more acuminate.

Female.—Cor., colour, when yellow prevails. Leaf, when
not attenuated at base; it is a reversion to R. yasminiflorum, for
the female parent is attenuated.

Through Duchess of Teck (Pr. Roy. x R. Brook.).

Duch. Teck (yellow) x RB. javanicum (orange)=Lord Wolseley
(red-orange), No. 56 (yellow-orange).

N.B. These, being of same parentage as the last, are not
distinguishable except in shades of colour.

Through Princess Alexandra (Pr. Roy. x BR. jas.).

i, Pr. Alexandra (white)xR. Brookeanum, var. gracile
(straw) =Maiden’s Blush (pinky-yellow), Taylori (pink).

Male.—Cor., colour, imparted yellow. Form, enlarged size.

Female.—Cor., colour, imparted pink, intensified in Taylori,
from the grandparent Pr. Royal. Form, long tube. Anthers
orange. Leaf, form and size.

ii, Pr. Alexandra (white) x R. yavanicwm (orange)=Amabile,
Rose Perfection, Queen of Roses, Ambient, Ophelia, Favourite,
Aphrodite, Luteo-roseum, Minerva, Light Pink, Rose, through
pinky-yellow salmon to golden yellow (Minerva).

Male.—Cor., colour, shades of pink, derived from orange by

HYBRID’ RHODODENDRONS. 278

elimination of yellow. Form, larger size. Leaf, size, and when
tapering and acuminate.

Female.—Cor., colour, dissociation or elimination of yellow
from orange in some, and red from orange in Minerva; form,
longer tube ; leaf, when truncate, due to R. jasminiflorum.

iii. Pr. Alexandra (white) x R. multicolor, var. Curtisi (erim-
son)=Nos. 42a, 42B, 828, 858, 398 (crimson).

Male.—Cor., colour crimson; form, reduced size; leaf,
form.

Female.—Form, longer tube; leaf longer and larger.

iv. Pr. Alexandra (white) x &. Teysmanniw (golden yellow)=
No. 464 (primrose).

Male.—Cor., colour yellow.

Female.—Cor., colour paler tint; form nearly same; leaf
intermediate.

SECOND GENERATION CROSSED WITH A TRUE HyBRID.

Through Princess Alexandra (Pr. Roy xR. jas.).

Pr. Alexandra (white) x Duchess of Edinburgh (scarlet-crim-
son)= Virgil (primrose), Acis (salmon), Monarch (yellow-orange),
Princess Beatrice (cream), Pink Perfection (pink).

Male.—Cor., colour various; form greatly enlarged; anthers
deep crimson.

Female.—Cor., colour. The effect of the white female parent
is to dissociate the yellow from the red in the scarlet-crimson of
the male parent. This is completely effected in Virgil (primrose),
which has pink anthers. The yellow is a restcration from the
grandparent, f. Brookeanum. On the other hand the yellow
is totally eliminated in Pink Perfection.

FourtH GENERATIONS.—THIRD GENERATIONS CROSSED
BY A TRUE SPECIEs.

Through Queen of the Yellows (Pr. Fred. x fi. jav.).
Queen of the Yellows (slightly orange-yellow) x f. multicolor,
var. Curtisii (crimson)=Hippolyta (fig. 44, k), Nos. 381, 426,
487, 490 (scarlets).
Male.—Cor., colour scarlet by combination of crimson; form
same, but enlarged ; leaf tapering and narrower.

274 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Female.—Cor., colour scarlet by combination of yellow; form,
larger limb; leaf, size.

Through Princess Christian (Pr. Fred. x R. jav.).
Pr. Christian (yellow) x &. multicolor, var. Curtisw (crimson)
=Nos. 89, 443 (crimson), 489 (pinky-scarlet).*
Male.—Cor., colour crimson; form same, but larger; leaf
tapering and narrower.
Female.—Cor., form, large border; leaf larger.

Through Star of India (Cr. Pr. of Germ. x BR. yav.).
Star of India (pinky-orange) xR. multicolor, var. Curtisit
(crimson)=Nos. 34, 417, 822 (crimson to scarlet).
Male.—Cor., colour, imparted crimson; form same, but
reduced ; leaf tapering at both ends.
Female.—Cor., colour, slight infusion of yellow; form same,
but reduced ; leaf same length, but narrower.

Through Aurora (Cr. Pr. of Germ. x BR. jav.).

Aurora (pinky-orange) x R. multicolor (lemon)=Nos. 387*
(orange), 402 (pinky-salmon), 451 (rose-crimson).*

Male.—Cor., colour, imparted crimson tint; leaf tapering at
both ends in No. 887.

Female.—Cor., form same, but much reduced; leaf, same in
No. 451 but reduced, broader in No. 887.

N.B. Nos. 887 and 451 are practically similar to Nos. 34,
417, and 852 described above, of similar parentage.

Through Lord Wolseley (Duch. Teck x RB. jav.).

i. Lord Wolseley (red-orange) x R. multicolor, var. Curtisi
(crimson) =No. 395 (light crimson).

Male.—Cor., colour, imparted crimson; form, slightly
increased.

Female.—Cor., colour, reduced crimson; form, same tube,
but smaller ; leaf identical.

ii. Lord Wolseley (red-orange) xf. Teysmannu (golden
yellow)= Yellow Perfection, Boule d’Or, No. 450, 519.

Male.—Cor., colour golden yellow, red eliminated from
orange ; leaf larger, broader, more truncate.

Female.—Cor., form same, but larger; lobes not reflexed as
in male; anthers orange.

* For reciprocal crosses to these, see below, pp. 276, 277.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 275

iii. Lord Wolseley (red-orange) x Azalea indica stella (red-
orange)=Indico-javanicum. (For description and figure, see
p. 259, fig. 41.)

Through Acts (Pr. Alex. x Duch. Edin.).

Acis (salmon) xR. Brookeanum, var. gracile (yellow)= No.
503 (pale pinky-salmon).

Male.—Cor., colour more yellow and less orange; anthers
salmon (instead of crimson); leaf enlarged.

Female.—Cor., colour, retained pink from salmon.

Through Amabile (Pr. Alex. x R. jav.).

Amabile (pale pink) x &. Teysmanniz (golden yellow) =Acidalia
(very pale primrose), Queen (ditto), No. 79 (ditto).

Male.—Cor., colour, imparted yellow, but reduced in tint ;
eliminated pink ; form, reflexed lobes ; leaf, form and size of first
two.

Female.—Anthers pink ; leaf of No. 79.

Through Ophelia (Pr. Alex. x R. jav.).

Ophelia (rose)xf&. Teysmannu (golden yellow)=Artemis
(primrose-yellow), Nos. 484 and 510 (ditto).

Male.—Cor., colour, imparted yellow, but reduced in tint ;
form, reflexed lobes; leaf, form and size.

Female.—Anthers pink.

Through Maiden's Blush (Pr. Alex. xR. Brook.).

1. Maiden’s Blush (pinky-yellow) x R. multicolor, var. Cur-
tis (crimson)=Nos. 831, 346 (light scarlet-crimson).

Male.—Cor., colour, crimson hue; form nearly same, but
larger.

Female.—Col., colour, scarlet tinge due to yellow; form,
straighter tube; leaf same, variable in size.

li. Maiden’s Blush (pinky-yellow) x R. Teysmannii (golden
yellow)=Primrose, Nos. 820, 827, 369, and 456.

Male.—Cor., colour more golden in Primrose, eliminated
pink in all; form, short tube in Primrose; anthers golden;
leaf, ends tapering, truncate in Nos. 869 and 456.

Female.—Cor., colour paler yellow, and orange anthers in
456 ; leaf elliptical.

276 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Through Monarch (Pr. Alex. x Duch. Edin.).

Monarch (yellow-orange) x R. malayanwm (cerise-crimson)
=Little Beauty, Nos. 29 and 318 (scarlet-crimson) (fig. 44, 7).

Male.—Cor., colour same; form same, but slightly larger
in size; leaf, imparted russet scales.

Female.—Leaf, size. N.B. Both parents have a tapering
base, but it is more truncate in the offspring, traceable to R. jas-
miniflorum. It has the russet scales of the male parent. In No.
318 the base is very tapering.

Through Princess Beatrice (Pr. Alex. x Duch. Edin.).

Pr. Beatrice (cream, pink throat) x R. multicolor (lemon)=
No. 50, 486.

Male.—Cor., colour, pale primrose tube; form nearly same,
but enlarged.

Female.—Cor., colour, pink tinge in border and crimson
anthers. -

TRUE SPECIES CROSSED BY A THIRD GENERATION.

Through R. multicolor.

i. R. multicolor (lemon) x Aurora (yellow-orange)=Nos.
388, 441, 460.

N.B. These being reciprocal crosses with Aurora x &. multi-
color (p. 274), the offspring are identical, only varying in tints;
No. 441 closely agrees with No. 451; No. 888 with No. 387. In
No. 460, the red and yellow tend to be more dissociated, the
former on the edge, the latter in the throat.

ii. R. multicolor (lemon) x Princess Beatrice (cream, pink
throat)= Nos. 385 (dark rose), 386 (light orange to white).

Male.—Cor., colour, presence of pink; form, large border,
truncate tube. Leaf, larger size.

Female.—Cor., colour pale yellow to white, by. mutual
elimination ; form approximates, but is larger ; anthers yellow.

N.B.—This cross contains five different species, R. gasmint-
florum (no trace), f. Lobbi (no trace), R. Brookeanwm (no
trace), f. javanicum (orange tint and large border, and truncated
tube), R. multicolor (relatively small size). Leaf, form of FR.
gavanicum, but reduced size.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 277

iii. R. multicolor (lemon) x Lord Wolseley (red-orange),
(through Duch. Teck)=Nos. 403 (rose), 466 (orange).

Male.—Cor., colour, reddish tints. Leaf, breadth and size.

Female.—Cor., yellows mutually eliminated; form nearly
same, but larger.

Through &. multicolor var. Curtist.

i. R. multicolor, var. Curtisi (crimson) x Pr. Christian
(yellow-orange) (through Pr. Fred.)=Nos. 394, 424, 429 (red-
orange), 488 (light scarlet).

Male.—Cor., colour, introduced yellow; form, straight tube.
Leaf, large in No. 894.

Female.—Cor., colour, red in the orange; form, nearly same
size. Leaf, attenuated both ends.

il. Lt. multicolor, var. Curtis (crimson) x semi-double form of
‘* Balsameflorum”’ section (pinky-yellow) = Nos. 70, 423 (crimson).

Male.—Cor., form, broad limb, straight tube; size larger
than either parent.

Through Kk. Teysmannii.

i. LR. Teysmanni (golden yellow) x Maiden’s Blush (pinky-
yellow) (through Pr. Alex.)=Aspasia (golden yellow), No. 397
(lemon).

Male.—Cor., colour same or paler yellow; form, somewhat
longer tube (897), lobes not reflexed. Aspasia resembles
reciprocal form, ‘‘ Primrose.’

Female.—Cor., colour, absence of red tinge. Leaf, form and
large size. .

u. A. Teysmanni (golden yellow) x Taylori (pink) (through
Pr. Alex.) =Portia and Juliet (deeper yellow), Purity and Imogene
(paler yellow).

Male.—Cor., form same. Leaf attenuated at base and
apex.

Female.—Shades of yellow (pink of male eliminated). Leaf,
large size and broad.

THIRD GENERATION CROSSED BY A TRUE HYBRID.

Through Star of India (Cr. Pr. of Germ. x R. jav.).

Star of India (pinky-orange) x Jasmin. carminatum (light
crimson)=No. 511 (deep rose).

278 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Male.—Cor., colour, eliminated yellow ; form, same border,
but reduced. Leaf, same form.
Female.—Cor., form and length of tube.

Through Lord Wolseley (Duch. Teck x BR. jav.).
Ld. Wolseley (orange) x Jas. carm. (crimson)=Nos. 78, 509

(light scarlet).
Male.—Cor., form, same enlarged. Leaf, form of R. jas.,

but much enlarged.
Lemale.—Cor., lobes larger ; scarlet, by infusion of yellow.

TruE Hysrip CROSSED BY A THIRD GENERATION.

Through Prince Leopold (f. Lob. xf. Brook.).
Pr. Leopold (red-orange) x Maiden’s Blush (pinky-yellow)=
Incarnatum floribundum (rosy salmon).
Male.—Cor., form nearly same.
Female.—Cor., colour deeper red; nearly same. Leaf
same.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES.
Fig. 42.
Leaves of the Seven Species.

The four uppermost represent the general form and size of
the leaves (frum left to right) of R. Brookeanum, FR. multicolor,
fi. malayanum, and R. javanicum, respectively. The three
lower forms are those of &. Teysmannu, FB. jasminiflorum, and
of BR. Lobbir.

The figure of R. Brookeanum is one-half, and that of f. Teys-
mannw about two-thirds of the real length. The remainder
represent the average size and form. —

Fig. 43.
Flowers of the Seven Species.

a, Lt. Brookeanum (straw-coloured). 6, &. Lobbw (crimson).
ce, L. gasnuniflorum (white). d, R. multicolor (lemon) and fi.
mult., var. Curtisvi (crimson). e, R. yavanicum (orange). f, Lf.
Teysmanniu (golden yellow). g, R. malayanwm (cerise).

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS. 279

In no species is there any calyx, thus emphasizing the rule
that when flowers grow in corymbs, heads, umbels, &c., there
is a great tendency in many cases to arrest the calyx, as may
be illustrated by Caprifoliaces, Umbellifere, Rubiaceew, Com-
posite, &e.

The corolla is quite, or much more regular than in Rhododen-
drons of other countries, and the stamens are symmetrically
arranged, and not declinate.

Fig. 44.
Corollas of Hybrids and Crosses.

h, Monarch. Genealogy.—R.jas. x R.jav.=Princess Royal ;
Pr. Royal x #. jas.=Princess Alexandra; Pr. Alex. x Duchess
of Edinburgh (=f. Lobbu x Rk. Brook.)=Monarch.

This cross, therefore, contains Rh. Brook., RK. Lobbu, R. jas.
(twice), and LF. jav. (fig. 48, a, b,c, and e).

The form of the corolla closely approximates that of the last
species introduced (Duch. of Edin., fig. 48, J), but the tube is
slightly shorter and quite straight, the curvature of the former
(due to R. Lobb) being lost by the effect of the female parent
(Pr. Alex.).

The colour is a yellow-orange, the white of the female parent
having reduced the red of the scarlet male parent. The anthers
have now become a deep crimson.

_ 2, No. 829.—This hybrid, which is the result of crossing R.
jgasminiflorum (fig. 48, c) with &. multicolor, var. Curtisw
(fig., 48 d), shows how the flower (especially the tube) is
intermediate in size, while the male parent has imparted its
crimson colour to the flower. This is one of the multicolor
section.

k, Hippolyta. Genealogy.—R. jas. x R. jav.=Princess Royal ;
Pr. Royal x &. Brook.=Princess Frederica; Pr. Fred. x #. jav.
=Queen of the Yellows; Qn. of Yell. x &. mult., var. Curt.=
Hippolyta.

; _This cross therefore contains four species, and one of them
twice. :

The form is identically the same as that of the last male
parent, or £. mult., only larger. The colour is rather more scarlet
than crimson in consequence of the infusion of yellow by the
female parent.

280 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Hence both Monarch and Hippolyta show the preponderating
influence of the last species introduced in multifold crossings.

l, Duchess of Edinburgh. This hybrid is the offspring of
fi. Lobbu (crimson), (fig. 48, b) and R. Brookeanum (straw-
coloured), (fig. 43, a). Comparing the figures, it will be seen
how the latter form has greatly overpowered that of R. Lobbii,
the slight curvature of the tube alone being indicative of the male
parentage. The bright scarlet-crimson is due to the infusion of
yellow by. the the female parent into the bright crimson of that
of the male (Rf. Lobbi).

m, Lord Wolseley. Genealogy.—fh. jas. x R. jav.= Pr. Royal ;
Pr. Royal x &. Brook.=Duchess of Teck; Duch. Teck x &. zav.
=Lord Wolseley.

This cross therefore contains three species, and one of them
twice.

The female parent, Duchess of Teck, has much the same form
as Princess Royal, but is alittle smaller. The effect of the large-
flowered R. jav. (fig. 48, e), last introduced, is to greatly enlarge
the flower.

The colour of Duchess of Teck is almost a primrose with a
faint pink tinge, the anthers being orange. In Lord Wolseley
the corolla is a bright orange, and the anthers crimson.

n, No. 818. Genealogy.—R. jas.x R. jav.=Pr. Royal; Pr.
Royal x &. jas.=Princess Alexandra; Pr. Alexandra x Duchess
of Edinburgh (=f. Lobbw x. Brook.)=Monarch; Mon. x
Li. malayanum=No. 318.

This cross therefore contains five species, and one of them
(R. jas.) twice, (fig. 48, a, b, c, e, and g). The last intro-
duced (f. mal.), though the smallest-flowered species, has prac-
tically overpowered the other four, this and allied crosses being
slightly “ improved ”’ forms of £. malayanwm.

281

82 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

R. BRooKEANUM.

b, R. Losett.
e, R. savanicum. jf, R. Teysmannit. g, R. MALAYANUM.

c, R. JASMINIFLORUM d, R. MULTICOLOR

Fig. 43.

HYBRID RHODODENDRONS.

PONT EIT|
i Hp
MH

\i i Hf ‘ |

=e

m, LoRD WoLSsELEY. 1, No. 318.

Fic. 44.
K 2

283

h, Monarch. 7, No. 329. k, Hipponyta. J, DucHEss or EDINBURGH.

JOURNAL

OF THE

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Von. Li £690.
Part III.

THE CULTIVATION OF ALPINE PLANTS.

By the Rev. C. Wottry Don, M.A.
[Read June 9, 1891.]

Tue flora of the European Alps is the richest mountain flora
in the world; but the term ‘“‘alpine plants” is used to include
many which are not found on the Alps—some which are not
mountain plants at all. In this sense the word “alpine”’ is hard
to define; but I intend to speak generally to-day of the cultiva-
tion of ornamental hardy plants of low stature, such as may be
successfully grown amongst large stones, either facing a bank or
elevated above the level of the ground.

There are some favoured gardens where natural rockeries
exist, or where the conditions of the soil with regard to quality
or drainage are such that choice and delicate mountain plants
may be grown on the ground-level in ordinary borders. Such
gardens exist in several districts in England, and are common in
Scotland and Wales; few rules are necessary there, where plants
have only to be planted and kept clear of weeds in order
to thrive.

But most of us who wish to grow choice alpines in our
gardens have to make the best of conditions naturally unfavour-
able, and in doing this we can be helped by the experience of
those who have made it their special study.

We need not say much of climate and atmospheric conditions,
because they are beyond our control. It may be remarked,
however, that high elevation above the sea-level is a great
advantage in the neighbourhood of towns, because the im-

B

286 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

purities in the air are more readily dispersed, and do not collect
or settle as in lowland valleys. Good natural drainage is also a
great advantage, because although we can drain the spot in
which our alpines grow, and even our whole garden, still, if the
soil of the district is wet and retentive, the local damp seems to
affect mountain plants unfavourably. Local differences of
climate caused by soil and evaporation are no doubt important
factors in the growth of plants, but it would be waste of time to
dwell upon the endless particulars which make it impossible that
the conditions which prevail on the Alps can be imitated in the
valley of the Thames. I will therefore assume that the object
of the amateur cultivator of alpines is to bring together as many
ornamental and hardy dwarf plants as he can, and make them
flower and thrive in his garden. The degree of his success will
depend partly on circumstances which he cannot control, but in
a, great measure on his own skill and perseverance.

The first necessity for growing choice alpines is to secure
perfect drainage for the soil in which they grow. This may
seem strange to those who have seen them growing on the
mountains, often apparently in perpetual wet; but there the soil
is never waterlogged, or charged with stagnant moisture, but
the wet is always in rapid motion and changing. Supposing
that no part of a garden naturally gives the conditions in which
alpines will thrive, we must make these conditions by artificial
means. Those who wish to grow them on flat borders on
retentive wet soils, may do so on the ground-level by digging out
the soil to a depth of three feet, and draining the bottom of the
bed to the nearest outfall, and filling up to the surface with soil
mixed with two-thirds of broken stone, either in small or large
pieces. But in heavy soils, where large stones are easily
obtained, still better beds for alpines may be made by enclosing
the space with large blocks to a height of two or three feet, and
filling up as before directed. ‘The sides of these stone blocks can
be covered with many ornamental plants in addition to those
which are grown on the raised surface.

But the commonest way of cultivating alpines is upon what
are called rockeries, or loose rough stones laid together in
different forms and methods. Of these I will speak more
particularly, and then say something about the use of walls and
frames for the growth of mountain plants.

THE CULTIVATION OF ALPINE PLANTS. 287

The forms in which the rockery, usually so called, can be
constructed may be divided into three: (1) The barrow-shaped
rockery, (2) the facing rockery, and (8) the sunk rockery. The
first may be raised anywhere, the other two depend partly upon
the configuration of the ground. No wood or tree roots should
be used to supplement any of them; they must be all stone.
The kind of stone is seldom a matter of choice; everyone will
use what is most handy. The rougher and more unshapely the
blocks the better. The size should vary from forty or fifty
pounds to three or four hundredweight. No mortar or cement
for fixing them together must ever be employed; they must be
firmly wedged and interlocked and depend upon one another,
and not upon the soil between them, to keep them in their places.
This rule is of the utmost importance; if it is neglected a long
frost or an excessive rainfall may cause the whole structure to
collapse.

Kach successive part of the stone skeleton must be put
together before the soil is added. This applies to all rockeries.

The most convenient size for the barrow-shaped rockery is
about four feet high, and six or seven feet through at the base.
The length is immaterial. If the long sides face north-east and
south-west it will afford perhaps the best variety of aspect; but
the amount of sunshine each plant gets will depend on the arrange-
ment of each stone as much as upon the main structure. There
cannot be too many projections, and care must be taken to leave
no channels between the stones by which the soil can be washed
down to the base. Overhanging brows, beneath which plants
can be inserted, are very useful; large surfaces of stone may here
and there be left exposed, and irregularity of form is far better
than symmetry. A formal arrangement of flat pockets or nests
offends the eye without helping the cultivator, as the tastes of
alpines as regards slope of surface and moisture at their roots
are very various. As for the degree of slope from the base to
the summit of the barrow, it will not be uniform. In some
places there will be an irregular square yard of level on the top,
bounded by large cross keystones, for which the largest stones
should be reserved. In other parts the sides will slope evenly
to the ridge; or the upper half may be perpendicular, leaving
only wide crevices to suit the taste of certain plants. If the
blocks are very irregular in form, and their points of contact as

B2

288 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

few as possible, providing only for secure interlocking, there will
be plenty of room for soil to nourish the plants. Ever-changing
variety of stone surface, both above and below the soil, is the
object to be aimed at, and any sort of symmetry must be avoided.
The second form, or facing rockery, is dependent upon the natural
shape of ground-surface. Wherever there is a steep bank facing
south or east it may be utilised for the growth of alpines. The
stones, as before advised, should be large and unshapely, and
be buried to two-thirds of their bulk, and form a very uneven
surface, all being interlocked from top to bottom as described.
Rockeries of this form are less liable to suffer from drought ; if
the surface covered is large, access to all parts should be provided
by convenient stepping-stones, because, although every stone in
the structure ought to be capable of bearing the weight of a
heavy man without danger of displacement, it is better not to
have to tread upon the plants.

The sunk rockery is perhaps the best of all, but entails rather
more labour in construction. Where subsoil drainage is perfect,
a sunk walk may be made, not less than ten or twelve feet
wide, with sloping sides. The sides may be faced with stones,
as described in the second form of rockery, and all or part of
the excavated soil may be made into a raised mound, continuing
the slopes of the excavated banks above the ground-level, and
thus combining the facing rockery and the barrow rockery. If
the outer line of this portion above the ground be varied by small
bays, every possible aspect and slope may be provided to suit the
taste of every plant. However, unless drainage is perfect, a
sunk walk, rising to the ground-level at each end, would not be
feasible. But a broad walk, excavated into the side of a hill and
sloping all one way, could be adapted toa structure nearly
similar to that described, or the ground may be dug out in the
form of an amrhitheatre to suit the taste or circumstances.
But whatever the form of rockery adopted, let the situation
be away from the influence of trees, beyond suspicion of the
reach of their roots below, or their drip, or even their shade
above. ‘Trees which only shelter from high winds are so far
serviceable, and so are walls and high banks. There are few
alpines for which a storm-swept surface is good, but trees are
objectionable where they lessen the light, which is an important
element in the welfare of most mountain plants. The shade

THE CULTIVATION OF ALPINE PLANTS. 289

and shelter afforded by the stones and form of the structure itself
is the best kind of shade and shelter.

We now come to the subject of soil, which is very important,
though I attach less importance to it than others do who have
written on the subject. I hold that where atmospheric and
mechanical conditions are favourable, the chemical combination
of the soil is of secondary consideration. It is true that in
nature we find that the flora of a limestone mountain differs in
many particulars from that of a granite mountain, and on the
same mountain some plants will thrive in heavy retentive soil,
whilst others will be found exclusively in peat or sand. But for
one who is beginning to cultivate alpines to have to divide them
into lime-lovers and lime-haters, lovers of sand and lovers of
stiff soil, is an unnecessary aggravation of difficulties. So large
a proportion of ornamental plants are contented with the soil
which most cultivators provide for all alike—even though in
nature they seem to have predilections—that where an amateur
has only one rockery it would be too perplexing to study the
partiality of every plant, and to remember every spot where
lime-lovers or their opposites had been growing. While saying
this, I confess that I have some rockeries where both soil and
rock are adapted exclusively for lime plants ; others from which
lime is kept away, and where both soil and rock are granitic;
but the great majority of plants thrive equally well on both. I
know few better collections of alpine plants than one which I
recently saw at Guildford, growing on a bank of almost pure
chalk. I cannot say that I noticed any inveterate lme-haters
there ; but conditions of drainage and atmosphere were the chief
cause of success. With regard to soil, then, we must take care
that it does not retain stagnant moisture, and yet it must not
dry up too readily. Plants must be able to penetrate it easily
with their roots, the lengths of some of which must be seen to
be believed. Good loam, with a little humus in the form of leaf-
mould or peat, and half or three-quarters of the bulk composed
of stone riddlings from the nearest stone quarry, and varying in
size from that of rape-seed to that of horse-beans, make up a
soil with which most alpines are quite contented. The red
alluvial clay of Cheshire, burnt hard in a kiln, and broken up cr
riddled to the above size, is an excellent material mixed with a
little soil and a little hard stone. Where you are convinced that

290 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

lime is useful, it may be added as pure lime, not planting in it
till thoroughly slaked by mixture. with the soil. Rough surface-
dressing is a thing in which all alpines delight, as it keeps the
top of the soil sweet and moist, and prevents their leaves being
fouled. Use for this purpose the same riddled stone as described
above, which is better than gravel, as round pebbles are easily
washed off the slope by rain or in watering.

Having now constructed our rockeries, we must next furnish
them, and it must not be forgotten that they are to be furnished
with alpines. It is better not to be ina hurry to see the stones
covered. It would be easy to cover them with growth in a single
season, but it would be demoralising to the cultivator. We must
not degrade choice alpines by putting them to keep company with
Periwinkles, Woodruff, large St. John’s Wort, Dead Nettles, Creep-
ing Jenny, fast-running Sedums, and Saxifrages, which do duty
for alpines on raised structures of roots or stones in the shady,
neglected corners of many a garden. Some of these things are
very pretty, and desirable in their way; but growing these cannot
be called the cultivation of alpine plants, and such subjects as I
have mentioned must be carefully kept off the alpine rockery.
Indeed, there are some plants, of which Coronlla varia is one,
which, when once established amongst large stones, cannot be era-
dicated by any means short of pulling the whole structure to pieces.
Any plant which runs under a large stone and reappears on the
other side should be treated with caution. As a rule, nothing
should be planted which cannot be easily and entirely eradicated
in afew minutes. If a rockery is large, there is no reason for
limiting the area to be assigned to each plant, especially to such
as are ornamental when in flower, and not unsightly at other
seasons. If different rockeries, or separate parts of the same, can
be assigned to rapid growers and to dwarf compact plants, it will
be an advantage. There are many subjects which belong to the
class of alpines which require to be displayed in a broad and
high mass to do them full justice. Such things should make a
train from the top of the rockery quite to the ground; Aubrietias,
for example, and Veronica prostrata should look like purple or
blue cataracts; others should be unlimited in breadth, like the
dwarf, mossy Phloxes and the brilliantly coloured Helianthe-
mums. Such things do not like being cropped round to limit
their growth, and if there is not enough room for them they had

THE CULTIVATION OF ALPINE PLANTS. 991

better be omitted from the rockery, though in stiff and cold soils
they will not thrive in the mixed border. Whatever is grown,
the small and delicate gems of the collection must run no danger
of being smothered by overwhelming neighbours, and_ this
requires both careful arrangement and constant watching. When
first I began to cultivate alpines, I planted somewhat indis-
criminately together things which I thought would make an orna-
mental combination, but the weaker soon became overwhelmed
in the fight with the stronger, and there was nothing to be done
but to build a new rockery and plant it more carefully. In this
way I have now constructed at least a dozen rockeries, trying
each time to benefit by past experiences and to exclude weedy
plants. The first and second made still continue, and are still
flowery wildernesses in spring, but everything choice and delicate
upon them has either long ago perished or been transferred to
new quarters. _ But visitors to my garden in spring who are not
connoisseurs in alpines think these wild rockeries far more orna-
mental than the half bare stone-heaps where my choicest plants
are grown, and which they think will look very nice in a year or
two when they are as well covered as the others. I have men-
tioned this to show that those who can appreciate the beauty of
the smaller and more delicate alpines, and grow them for their
own sake, must be contented to see their favourites surrounded in
many instances by bare stones ; but the stones, especially if they
contain cracks, may often be clothed with plants without any
danger of overcrowding. I have said little about choice of stone
for rockeries, though I have tried many kinds, and of all J
have tried I prefer the carboniferous limestone, common in North
Wales, Derbyshire, and the North of Lancashire. The loose
blocks of this which lie about the land are full of cracks, and are
varied in shape. I carefully avoid the furrowed and smooth-
channelled surface slabs of this stone often sold in London for
rockwork, but most unsuitable for growing plants ; I do not speak
of these, but detached solid blocks, abounding in deep cracks and
crevices. These crevices are the very place for some of the
choicest alpines. Paronychia shows its true character in no other
spot. Potentilla mtida flowers when fixed in them, and there
only. They are excellent for Phytewma comosum. The Spider-
web Houseleeks delight in them, and so do some of the smaller
Saxifrages. These are only a few of a long list I might make,

292 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

and things which grow in such tight quarters never encroach
much. The little Arenaria balearica, which grows all over sand-
stone as close and in nearly as thin a coat as paint upon wood,
does not grow well upon limestone; but this plant does encroach,
spreading over the surface of small neighbours and smothering
them. There are many things, however, some herbaceous, some
shrubby and evergreen, which do well only on condition of rest-
ing upon stone with their leaves and branches. It is so with
Pentstemon Scouleri, and with that most charming dwarf shrub,
Genista pilosa, which rises hardly an inch off the stone, though
it may cover several square feet. There are many other such
plants, but a list of plant names is out of place here, and will be
given in an appendix.

I have said before that in planting aspect must be carefully
considered. The best aspect for alpines is east, and west is the
worst; but there is not a spot on any rockery which may not be
filled with a suitable tenant. Some of the most ornamental
flowers abhor, in the atmosphere of my garden, even a glimpse
of the sun. Ramondia pyrenaica is withered up by itin an hour ;
so is Cyananthus lobatus; and these must be shaded on every
side but north. As a general rule, I find all Himalayan alpines
impatient of sunshine ; they may endure it in their own home,
where they lve in an atmosphere always saturated with wet.
However, it is only the deep recesses of the rockery towards the
north which get no sun at all, and plenty of things are quite
contented on the north side of the slope.

It was said above that the rockery is intended for dwarf and
choice plants which will not thrive in other parts of the garden.
This, of course, includes some dwarf shrubs. For instance, I
must grow Lithospermum prostratum on stones or not at all.
The white Hrica carnea, and several such dwarfs, are included
in the same number. These details everyone must settle for
himself. Such things are included in my definition of alpines.
As for bulbs, they may be ornamental enough at times, but I
find they do as well or better elsewhere. Their leaves are untidy
just at the time when the rockery ought to be most gay and
neat; and watering in summer, which other plants require, is.
bad for them, so I have not included them in my list. While
speaking of watering, ] may say that rockeries such as I have
described could not dispense with it in dry weather ; it requires

THE CULTIVATION OF ALPINE PLANTS. 298

careful judgment, and I often prefer to water the soil holding
the can close to the ground at the highest point of the stones,
and letting the water run down the slope to get to the roots,
rather than wet the plants themselves. Wet foliage and flowers
often get burnt up by sunshine.

Weeding, carefully done, is a necessity on rockeries, for weeds
will come; but plants which seed about freely are to be avoided,
as they greatly multiply the labour of weeding, and some of
them are hard to eradicate from among the stones. The Hare-
bells and Alpine Poppies, pretty as they are, must be excluded
on this account; so must that weedy httle plant Sazifraga
Cymbalaria, which can be grown on any wall. The fewer weeds
there are, the more likely are seedlings of choice and rare plants
to assert themselves. For instance, Geraniwm argenteuwm grows
in crevices into which the seeds are shot when ripe, and where
plants could not be inserted, and keeps up the supply of this
elegant alpine.

A few words may be in place here about raising alpines from
seed ; for constant succession is necessary, the duration of their life
in cultivation being, for many obvious reasons, which need not
be discussed here, far shorter than in their native home. Re-
production from seed, where seed can be obtained, ensures the
healthiest and finest growth; and there is no better way of
getting seed than saving it yourself. In several cases the first
hint I have had that a plant has ripened fertile seed has been
the recognition of a seedling near the parent ; and this experience
has taught me always to look carefully for seed after the flower-
ing of rare specimens. I need not say, therefore, that I dis-
approve of the practice of cutting off flower-heads as soon as
they wither; in some cases the seed-head is nearly as orna-
mental as the flower; but I have before said that discretion
must be used even in this, as seedlings of some things are
troublesome from their number. When ripe seed is gathered
I recommend its being sown at once. It is then more likely to
come up quickly ; and as all such plants as we grow on rockeries
are better sown in pans, there is seldom difficulty in keeping
small seedlings through the winter. The greatest enemy we have
in the process is the growth of lichen, the worst being the
Marchantia or Liverwort fungus, which completely chokes tender
growth. A coating of finely sifted burnt earth on the surface,

994 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

and a piece of flat glass laid over the pan, especially if no water
is used for them unless it has been boiled, reduces this trouble
toa minimum. But sowings of choice and rare seed should be
carefully watched, and the fungus picked off at the first appear-
ance. Many alpines seem never to make seed in cultivation,
and must be reproduced by division or cuttings. The skill re-
quired to do this varies greatly with different subjects; where a
shoot can seldom be found more than half an inch long, as in
the case of two or three hybrid Alpine Pinks, the striking needs
delicate manipulation. Other things grow very slowly, though
not long-lived, and a constant succession from cuttings must be
ensured. Some of the terrestrial Orchids, such as Bee, and Fly,
and Spider, excellent subjects for rockery, we must be con-
tented to keep as long as they choose to live, as they seem never
to increase in cultivation at all, though they may flower well
year after year. But there are not a few plants which refuse to
be tamed, and from the time they are planted in our gardens
seem always to go from bad to worse, and are never presentable
in appearance for two seasons together. Of these I may instance
Gentiana bavarica and Hritrichiwm nanwm, which I believe no
skill has ever kept in cultivation without constant renewal, and
which perhaps are never likely to repay the trouble of trying to
keep them alive on an English rockery. In all alpine gardening
there will be, even where equal skill is exerted, different degrees
of success, according to the surrounding conditions; and it must
not be expected that the same soil and treatment which keeps a
hundred rare alpines in perfect health at Edinburgh will be
equally fortunate at Kew.

This paper would not be complete without saying something
about the use of frames in alpine gardening. Where the area
of rockery is considerable, a cold frame should be assigned
for keeping up the supply of plants for it—cuttings and seed-
lings—in pots. The best treatment of these plants in winter
has been much discussed in gardening journals. I may say that I
think all attempts to imitate natural conditions, such as snow and
long rest, by unnatural means are mistakes. During warm
winters mountain plants will grow, and must be allowed to grow,
and to keep them unnaturally dark or dry when growing is fatal
to their health. Even in severe frosts air must be given abun-
dantly in the daytime, and the frames must not be muffled up.

THE CULTIVATION OF ALPINE PLANTS. 995

Stagnant air, whether damp or dry, is their worst enemy ;
but if the weather is warm enough to set them growing, they
may easily die for want of moisture. I will not say more than
this, for experience is the best guide, and everyone thinks he can
manage his frames better than his neighbour, but of the use of
frames for flowering alpines in pots I must add a few words.
There are certain very early flowering alpines upon which a
mixture of admiration and lamentation is bestowed at the end of
every winter. Their flowers are often beautiful in a treacherous
fortnight at the beginning of February, and are suddenly de-
stroyed by a return of winter in its severest form. I may men-
tion, amongst others, Saxifraga Burseriana and sancta, and
their near relatives and hybrids, Primula marginata and inter-
media, Androsace carnea, Chamejasme, and Laggeri, several
dwarf species of Alyssum and Iberis, and there are a good many
more. Potsor pans containing these may be grouped together
in an open sunny spot, and plunged in sand or coal-ashes, in a
rough frame made for them, so that the lights may be not more
than three or four inches above the pots. These lights should
be removed in the daytime when the weather is fine, and air
should be admitted, according to the temperature, at night. Such
a sheet of elegant beauty, lasting, if well arranged, through
February, March, and April, may be obtained in this way that
I often wonder why amateurs attempt to flower early alpines in
any other fashion.

With me April is the earliest month in which I can expect
to have anything gay on the open rockery without disappoint-
ment. Iam obliged to disfigure the slopes with sheets of glass
and handlghts to preserve through winter at all Ompha-
lodes Lucilie, Onosma tauricum, Androsace sarmentosa, and
others which cannot endure winter wet, and the real plea-
sure of the rockery begins when the frame alpines are waning.
I recommend those masses of covered pots in early spring to all
cultivators of alpines.

I promised to speak of alpines on walls, and that shall end
my say. A few years ago I was driving through Dorking, and
I noticed a smooth and by no means ancient brick wall covered,
above the reach of boys’ hands, with Hrinus alpinus. Rough
stone walls I had often seen well clothed with alpines, but from
that time I became aware that there is hardly any garden wall, of

296 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

whatever material, of which the parts otherwise bare might not be
made ornamental with flowers. I do not suggest that such things
should supersede climbing Roses and wall-fruit, but how often we
see bare walls on which nothing is grown at all! The capabilities
of rough stone walls for growing mountain plants are very great.
Falls of Aubrietia and Iberis, groups of Saxifrage, and similar
subjects may make many a corner gay instead of bare. Some very
pretty things I grow on walls which have defied ail my attempts:
to cultivate them elsewhere. I may specify Lychiis Lagasce, a
fragile evergreen plant of shrubby growth, easily multiplied by
seed, which alternate snows and thaws generally crush up, but
in this way it continues to thrive, and is covered during early
summer with crimson flowers.

I have now come to the end of my subject, and only add
that I have made a careful selection of one hundred and fifty
or so alpine plants suited for English rockeries in a list given as
an appendix, from which all coarse growers are excluded.

Rocx PLANTS SUITABLE FOR ENGLISH GARDENS.

Acantholimon venustum. Arnebia echioides.
Achillea tomentosa. Aster alpinus.
e Clavenne. Aubrietia.
5 argentea. Anthyllis montana.
Fs umbellata. Bellis cxrulescens.
= rupestris. Calandrinia umbellata.
AMthionema grandiflorum, and others. | Campanula garganica.
Alyssum serpyllifolium. 55 Portenschlagiana.
A pyrenaicum. > Waldsteiniana.
Androsace carnea. es Raineri.
: Laggeri. - isophylla.
lactea. Cyananthus lobatus.
*s sarmentosa. Cyclamen.
i. villosa. Dianthus deltoides.
59 lanuginosa. - alpinus.
5 Vitaliana. i neglectus.
Anemone alpina. é ceesius.
‘ sulphurea, és sylvestris.
a narcissiflora. », viscidus.
A vernalis. + hybrids.
Anthemis Aizoon. ~ Draba.
Aphyllanthes. Dryas octopetala.
Aquilegia pyrenaica. » Drummondii.
Arenaria purpurascens. Edraianthus dalmaticus.
ip erandiflora. Epilobium obcordatum.
5s balearica. Erinus alpinus.
- tetraquetra. Erodium Reichardi.
Es laricifolia. ss petreum.
Arabis Androsace. < macrodenum.

» Halleri. Erythrea diffusa.

THE CULTIVATION OF ALPINE PLANTS. 297

Fritillaria (dwarf kinds).
Geranium argenteum.

Ws cinereum.

po subcaulescens.
Geum minutum.
Globularia nana.
Gypsophila cerastioides.

5 repens.
Haberlea rhodopensis.
Helianthemum.
Hippocrepis comosa.
Houstonia.
Hutchinsia alpina.
Hypericum Coris.

ae reptans.

i nummularium.

Iberis saxatilis.

» petrea.

0 rut.

» Tenoreana.

», rupestris, &c.
Leontopodium.
Linum alpinum.
Linaria alpina.

» anticaria.
» hepaticefolia.
Lithospermum Gastoni.
Ss petreum.

fruticosum.

Lychnis Lagasce.

i alpina.
Micromeria piperella.
Myosotis rupicola.
Omphalodes Luciliz.
Onosma tauricum.
Oxytropis Halleri, &c.

_ Paronychia serpyllifolia.
Phlox stellaria.

» amoena.

» setacea, &e.
Polygala Chamebuxus.
Potentilla nitida.

Pratia repens.
Primula Auricula.
* marginata.
. viscosa, &c., &c.

Ramondia.
Ranunculus montanus.
” hybridus.
” Thora.
” parnassifolius.
” pyreneaus.

Ranunculus amplexicaulis.

oe rutefolius.

is Seguieri.

"i anemonoides.
1d alpestris.

Rubus arcticus.

Samolus repens.

Saponaria ocymoides.

Saxifraga. These should be bought
by sight; varieties and hybrids are
endless and good.

Saxifraga Burseriana.

3 Cotyledon.
< diapensoides.
a arctioides.
PS cochlearis.
i longifolia.
te marginata.
i sancta.
% oppositifolia.
es retusa, &c., &c.
Scabiosa Parnassi.
Sedum. (See note under Saxifraga.)
» EHwersii.
» pulchellum.
» populifolium.
» arboreum, &c., &e.
Sempervivum (many sorts).
Spirea umbellata.
» erispifolia.

Thymus Serpyllum(inmanyvarieties),

- &e.

Tunica saxifraga.

Veronica (several dwarf shrubs from

New Zealand).

¥ reptans.

os saxatilis (in variety).
cf spicata (true).

Fe hybrida.

” aphylla, &C.

Additional Shrubs.

Cytisus Ardoini.

Erica carnea.

Genista pilosa.
Margyricarpus setosus.

Annuals.

Grammanthes gentianoides.
Ionopsidium acaule.
Leptosiphon hybridus.

DISCUSSION.

Mr. Henry SEvFE LEONARD, of Guildford, said there was one
important point to which he desired to call attention, viz.,

298 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

as to the reason why hardy plants should be grown in pots.
He had been doing away with the use of pots in his garden, and
was in favour of planting the specimens out in cold frames for
the winter. His objection to pot culture seemed to be that
there was not drainage enough for the plants and not
enough freedom for the roots, especially when they had been
in pots fora long time. He had attained much better results
by not growing his plants in pots, but simply covering them
with a cold frame in winter.

The Rey. C. Wottey Dop said the advantage of putting
plants together in pots was that a much better general collection
could be made. When gaps occurred, through death or
otherwise, in the open ground, then a fresh plant from a
pot could take its place. A certain number always failed when
planted out, and it was necessary to keep some of the same
species growing in pots, in order that the spaces as they occurred
might be filled. He quite agreed that some plants grew much
better when planted out in a frame, as there was more freedom
given to the roots. He, however, preferred to grow his plants
in pans about twelve inches square, as such pans packed so
closely, which was a great convenience. Mr. Wolley Dod re-
marked that the most wonderful collection of alpine plants
ever grown, years ago by Messrs. Loddiges, of Hackney, were
all grown entirely in pots, anda record of them was to be found
in the ‘‘ Botanical Cabinet,” published by the same firm.

Mr. R. MinnE-REDHEAD, Holden Clough, Clitheroe, said he
would like to ask the lecturer if he grew such choice plants as
Saxifraga Burseriana major. It blooms, he said, in the month
of January in Yorkshire, and is only protected by means of a
piece of glass. In this condition, even when the snow falls,
the plant is still able to obtain a supply of air, and the speaker
said that after six weeks of snow he found this pretty plant in
perfect health. Haberlea rhodopensis, which flowers in April,
he also hoped to grow as well by treating it in the same way
during the winter months.

Mr. Woxtuey Dop replied that he considered the practice of
putting glasses over alpine plants an excellent one. But in
windy localities it was necessary to have the pieces of glass
pegged down in such a way that they were not blown about and
broken, with the risk of spoiling many fine plants. There was

THE CULTIVATION OF ALPINE PLANTS. 299

no doubt that the access of air to plants was most necessary,
but his objection to covering the plants was that the appearance
of the rockery was more or less disfigured by doing so. He had
never found any difficulty in growing Haberlea rhodopensis, and
in fact he had about thirty bunches of it at that very time
in bloom in his garden.

In reference to some remarks from My. Milne-Redhead,
the lecturer said he did not desire to speak disparagingly of
the Saxifrages—at least not all of them. The best proof of
this would be given by seeing the number of them he cultivated in
his rockery. What he objected to growing, however, were such
‘‘moss’”’ Saxifrages as S. hypnoides, and S. cespitosa, and with
these he classed Sedwm acre, S. rupestre, and S. spwriwm, as
being of little use or ornament.

THA-SCENTED ROSES.
By Mr. T. W. Gravestone, M.A., F.L.S., F.R.H.S.
[Read June 23, 1891.]

THE Tea-scented Roses are in many ways the most wonderful of
all Roses, and it might have been thought that they would have
been grown by everyone, everywhere that Roses can be made to
thrive. Yet, as a matter of fact, their cultivation is nothing like
universal, and has only in quite recent years become even
general. Hardly more than ten, and certainly less than fifteen,
years ago very few “‘ Teas’’ were grown out-of-doors, and this
although Tea-scented Roses are no recent invention—several of
the most beautiful varieties having been distributed at an early
date; for instance, Niphetos (perhaps, with the exception of
Maréchal Niel, the best known of all Teas) was sent out by
Bougére in 1844, Souvenir d’un Ami by Belot-Defougére in 1846,
Madame Bravy by Guillot in 1848, and Souvenir d’Elise Vardon
(the Tea that so often wins the medal as the best in the show)
by Marest in 1854—a quartet of Teas all still ranking among
the twelve best varieties—not to mention Madame Willermoz
(Lacharme, 1845), Devoniensis (Foster, 1838), and, earliest of
all, the appropriately named Adam (Adam, 1833). It was not,
therefore, from any lack of varieties worth growing that the

800 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

general cultivation of Tea-scented Roses was so long delayed ;
nor was it from lack of admiration, for the clause in the National
Rose Society’s directions to judges, to the effect that in mixed
classes Teas and Noisettes are to have no especial favour shown
to them, must remind many exhibitors of the days (not very
long ago) when judges, almost as a matter of course, awarded
additional points to any bloom of a Tea Rose in a box, as though
the growing and showing of any Tea were something of a tour
de force.

The real reason why in so many Rose-gardens the Tea-
scented Roses have been so long in obtaining the recognition
they deserved is probably twofold.

In the first place, after the introduction of the Manetti as a
stock, all Roses were very soon worked on it, including, of course,
the Teas, which, however, refused permanently to thrive on it
out-of-doors. An explanation of this is not easy to find, as Teas
will grow on Manetti under glass, and it can hardly be that the
stock is too vigorous, since upon other even more vigorous stocks,
such as theso-called Polyantha (Rosa multiflora) or de la Grifferaie,
Tea Roses do well; but the fact remains that Teas on Manetti
stock were and are out-of-doors a complete failure. The fine
maiden-plants that can be obtained of almost any Rose upon
Manetti not unnaturally caused the stock to be universally
adopted, and the result was that people endeavoured to grow
plants of Tea Roses, which for no very obvious reason proceeded
shortly to die; so that the Teas got an undeserved reputation
for delicacy through being worked on an unsuitable stock.

In the next place, the Roses (other than Teas) that were in
general cultivation in early days were mostly so hardy and
vigorous that beside them the plants of Tea Roses must have
looked small enough probably—especiaily after a hard winter—
to give the impression that they needed special care or coddling.
No doubt, after pruning a series of plants of the vigour and
hardiness cf (say) Charles Lawson or Blairii No. 2, a grower
coming to a dwarf plant of Souvenir d’Elise Vardon, when after
a winter like the past it would probably need to be cut down
level with the ground, would be struck by the contrast; yet
although these vigorous old summer Roses are generally in bloom
before any of their modern successors, the Hybrid Perpetuals, the
Tea Roses will nevertheless be in flower earlier than either, even

TEA-SCENTED ROSES. 301

when after a hard winter they have to start their growth afresh
from the base of the plant.

No doubt the idea that the Teas are hopelessly tender has
been maintained by the fact that, owing to the habit ofthe plant
in always continuing to make fresh growth until brought to rest
by actual frost, the plants are often full of young sappy shoots
when the cold weather comes, and these, of course, are imme-
diately destroyed by a hard frost; their destruction involves no
damage to the ripened wood, but their appearance, all blackened,
on the plants at pruning-time in the spring certainly might con-
duce to the mistaken impression that very little frost has been
sufficient to half kill the tree.

Then, again, prior to the advent of the Manetti practically all
Roses were grown as standards—a form of stock which un-
doubtedly does not conduce to the safety of the Teas in winter.
If the heads are fine, they are very liable to be broken down by
snow, or twisted off by a gale of wind; if they are not fine, they
are not ornamental. And it is further to be noted that while, if
a dwarf Tea be killed to the ground-line, it will shoot up strongly
from the base in spring, and be a good plant again by midsummer ;
on the other hand, of a standard, if the part above ground be
killed, the plant is wholly destroyed. Itis true that some growers
have defended standard Teas, and have even maintained that
they withstand a hard winter better than dwarfs, but such has
not been my own experience. I had a nice collection of standard
Teas once, but I lost the whole of them one winter; and now I
hear of a friend in Norfolk who has lost nearly four hundred
during the past winter, so that I do not feel tempted to resume
the culture of standard Teas on a large scale. At the same time
it is only fair to say that standard Teas with large, well-grown
heads form very beautiful objects, and that they often produce
extremely fine flowers, which, from their position, are at any rate
secure from the fate (that sometimes overtakes blooms grown on
dwarf plants) of getting all splashed with mud after a heavy
shower.

Having endeavoured to indicate the causes that have led to
the prevailing impression that the Tea-scented Roses are excep-
tionally tender, it now remains to point out the conditions under
which they may be successfully cultivated out-of-doors. It is
simply a question of proper stocks. On suitable stocks it is con-

Cc

802 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

tended that Tea Roses are, in the South of England at any rate,
and in many parts of Scotland, practically hardy plants; not in
the sense that the wood is. not liable to injury from frost, but
that, even when in winter the whole wood of the plants is killed
to the ground-line, the plants will nevertheless in the spring
throw up shoots from the base with such vigour and rapidity
that they will still be in bloom before the Hybrid Perpetuals, and
make fine plants again before autumn. During the past winter
the whole of my collection of Tea Roses, numbering some thou-
sand plants, was left entirely unprotected beyond the mulching
of manure which all the Rose-beds get in November—no fern or
straw being placed among the branches of the plants; and though
nearly all the wood of the plants was killed to the ground-line,
less than a score of plants were killed outright, and the rest are
shooting strongly from the base and are already making good-
looking plants again.

I have alluded to the protection of the plants with fern in
hard weather ; but, as a matter of fact, I am not at all convinced
of the efficacy of bracken-fronds, as ordinarily employed, in pre-
serving Rose-shoots from severe frost. In the winter of 1886-7
T left a bed of several hundred of dwarf Teas, planted on somewhat
strong ground in an exposed situation, without artificial protection
of any kind, having neither bracken among their tops nor a
mulching upon the surface of the bed. Under these conditions
the plants passed through the whole winter, during which on
two successive nights the registered temperature four feet from
the ground was 7° Fahr., or 25 degrees of frost, but the only
variety of which some plants were killed was Madame Bravy ;
and at pruning time no appreciable difference could be found in
the state of these exposed plants and in that of the rest of the
collection which had been carefully protected with an abundance
of fern, of which therefore the utility seems rather doubtful; for
in a mild winter a wrapping of bracken-fronds is not only
unnecessary, but may be even harmful, while as a protection
from severe frost it does not appear efficacious.

The point, however, is not very material in view of the fact
that unprotected dwarf Teas, even after exposure to 30 degrees
of frost (or a temperature of 2° Fahr.) in an exceptional winter
like the past, to say nothing of that of 1886-7, are alive and
flourishing, and already (June 23) coming finely into flower.

TEA-SCENTED ROSES. 38038

The best stocks on which to grow Tea-scented Roses success-
fully are three in number—namely, briar-seedling, briar-cutting,
and Polyantha-cutting. I should perhaps specify that by briar I
mean the common Dog-Rose (Hosa canina) of our hedges, and by
Polyantha the rampant Japanese species, which, although gene-
rally known under this name, ought properly to be called Rosa
multiflora. Of the two forms of briar-stock, seedling and cutting,
if I were buying I should choose plants on the seedling, though
I might find it difficult to give very precise reasons for the
preference, as both forms of dwarf briar-stock are good, and on
either fine plants may be obtained; but if I were planting stocks
to bud myself I should be more disposed to plant briar-cuttings,
for there is no denying that the seedlings are not a little tedious
to bud, with their thin bark, and stems often crooked. The
chief difference between the seedling and cutting briars lies in
the form of the root-stock, which in the case of the seedling
consists mainly of a powerful central root that goes straight
downwards into the soil, whereas the roots of the cutting are
disposed more horizontally in a circle that has for its centre the
base of the cutting; so that in all probability the cutting would
prove the best stock to grow on a shallow soil, while on deep
land, whether heavy or light, the preferable stock of the two
would be the seedling-briar.

It is, however, a constant source of wonder to me that
nurserymen do not more largely cultivate the Polyantha-cuttings
for Tea Roses. This stock I have made use of for the past nine
years, with annually increasing satisfaction. I have plants on it
that were budded in 1882, both of Teas and Hybrids, including
Comtesse de Nadaillac, Etoile de Lyon, and Victor Verdier,
which are still among the best plants of the varieties that I
possess. Briar-seedlings are admittedly. somewhat troublesome
to bud; briar-cuttings are found by some people (though I own
this has never been my experience) difficult to propagate;
Polyantha-cuttings are neither. They root even more quickly
and certainly than Manetti, their stems are always straight and
smooth and easy to bud on, they grow luxuriantly on light or
on heavy soil, and, moreover, they do not get smothered with
mildew in the quarters, as do briar-seedlings (especially in the
- young state) and de la Grifferaie; the last-named, a stock of
great vigour, which it may perhaps be well to mention as one

C2

304 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

rather to be avoided, since the few Roses that will thrive on
it do no better than on dwarf briar or on Polyantha-stocks,
even if, as has been sometimes contended is the case with
the Dijon Teas, they do as well; and the stock itself is such
a mildew-trap as to be quite a nuisance in the budding-ground. —
I have many groups of plants of the leading varieties of Teas
on Polyantha-cutting stocks in various situations and of various
ages, all thriving admirably; while it is noticeable that one
can obtain larger plants of Teas on Polyantha-stocks in a
shorter time than on briars, especially on poor soil.

With a view to ascertaining their value as stocks, I have
lately been budding on seedling plants of numerous other
species of Roses in addition to Polyantha, including Ff. rugosa,
R. conspicua, R. rubrifolia, &c.; and while my experiments have
as yet been neither on a sufficiently extensive scale nor suf-
ficiently prolonged to enable me to speak at all definitely, I
may mention that I have some good plants’ of Teas on seed-
lings of R. rugosa and Lf. conspicua.

There is no necessity, however, to await the demonstration
of the value of additional stocks for the cultivation of Tea-
scented Roses. We have three that are admirably adapted to
their requirements, and whether on _briar-seedlings, briar-
cuttings, or Polyantha-stocks, Teas ought nowadays to be cul-
tivated without difficulty in every garden. For it is a fact that,
budded on these dwarf stocks, the Teas are {the easiest of all
Roses to grow; they require less attention, less knowledge, and
less consideration in the matter of soil than any other Roses.
They may be pruned anyhow—or even not at all; after a mild
winter, when the wood has been little harmed by frost, then the
plants, whether they are left unpruned or whether they are cut
hard back like Hybrid Perpetuals, will in either case afford a fine
crop of their beautiful flowers; and if the winter may have been
severe, it only remains, when the plants start into growth in
spring, to cut away with a secateur the dead sticks—an opera-
tion requiring no special skill! Then, again, in the case of
dwarf Teas grown in the open, there is never anything like the
trouble with grubs, or with greenfly, or even’ (except in the case
of Etoile de Lyon) with mildew, that is experienced with other
kinds of Roses. Moreover, the Teas, as-a class, are the earliest
of all Roses to begin flowering and the [last tofleave off, and

TEA-SCENTED ROSES. 805

withal they are the freest bloomers into the bargain ; their blooms
are the most graceful in form and the most delicate in colouring
of all Roses, and in the cut state they last three times as
long as the flowers of the Hybrid Perpetuals ; so that they
are the most valuable and deservedly the most highly esteemed
wherever Roses are required for vases, for bouquets, and for
button-holes, and that not only in summer, but all the year
round, for the Teas are also far the best as well as the
easiest Roses to force. Flowers may be had without difficulty
under glass until May, and by that time plants in sunny
situations on walls or fences out-of-doors will be coming into
bloom, while from June until cut off by autumn frosts the
plants in the open will keep up the supply. There is another
good point about the Tea-scented Roses, in that the flowers
produced upon plants that have been transplanted the previous
autumn are frequently as good as the blooms carried on established
plants ; in fact, plants of Tea Roses seem to feel removal much
_ less than Hybrid Ferpetuals—their recuperative power being
unquestionably greater; so that quite old plants of Tea Roses
may be transplanted with good results. This is the more
fortunate as it is rarely possible to obtain very large blooms
of Teas (such as are seen at exhibitions) except on plants
of a certain age; for unlike many of the Hybrid Perpetuals,
whose maiden bloom is so often the most beautiful they ever
produce, the maiden blooms of the Teas are hardly ever at ail
fine.

Admirers of these lovely Roses, however, who have not as yet
cultivated them very much, will not be likely to begin by troubling
about ‘‘ maidens”; and upon such intending cultivators I would
strongly urge the desirability of growing as many plants as may
be, but not too many varieties to begin with. Having decided
on the space to be devoted to Teas, and the number of plants
required to fill it, the next step is to divide that number by six
or twelve, to find the number of varieties needed. Even if the
available space were so limited that there were only room for
eighteen plants, it would be found that three plants of each of
$1x varieties would afford far greater satisfaction than a bed of
eighteen distinct varieties; and if there were room for more
plants, six, or even twelve, of each variety will give infinitely
more pleasure, and be far more generally useful, than a large

306 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

collection in which each variety is represented by a single plant.
To anyone who thought of making a start in the growing of Tea
Roses I would strongly recommend, in the order in which the
names occur, the following varieties, to be planted in groups of
from six to a dozen plants of each, to begin with :—1. Hon.
Edith Gifford, the best of all Teas for out-of-door culture; a very
beautiful creamy-white flower, produced in unending profusion.
2. Marie van Houtte, a vigorous plant with pale lemon flowers
margined peach colour. 3. Caroline Kuster, pale yellow, very
vigorous and free. 4. Madame Bravy, creamy white, always
perfect in form, and very free blooming. 5. Madame Lambard, ~
one of the hardiest of Roses, and a very charming one, and
always in flower; colour variable, but generally bright rose.
6. Souvenir d’un Ami, another hardy and reliable rose-coloured
variety. 7. Souvenir de S. A. Prince (syn. The Queen), the exact
counterpart of the preceding, from which it is a sport, except
that the flowers are pure white. 8. Anna Olivier, a very hand-
some creamy flower with a deep rose-coloured base. 9. Madame
Hoste, very similar to the preceding in form, habit, and freedom,
but with clear pale yellow flowers. 10. Catherine Mermet, the
most perfectly formed of all the Tea-scented Roses; colour pale
rose. 11. The Bride, a sport from the preceding, from which it
differs only in having white flowers of equal beauty. 12. Fran-
cisca Kriiger, a plant of great vigour and freedom, with tawny
yellow flowers, shaded orange at the base.

For climbers out-of-doors, Bouquet d’Or, the best by far of
the Dijon Teas, and William Allen Richardson, whose bright
orange flowers are so well known as to need no more than
mention, may be specially recommended. For under glass there
is, of course, Maréchal Niel, and a very beautiful pure white in
Lamarque.

Where Roses are wanted for button-holes, there should be
specially cultivated Ma Capucine, the loveliest of all Rose-buds
for the purpose, and Madame Chedane Guinoisseau, a beautiful
long bud of a clear rich yellow colour. Most Rose-buds are too
fat for button-holes, or, if small enough, do not show their
colour sufficiently ; but the two above-named varieties seem to
have been raised expressly for the purpose.

There is no question as to which is the loveliest of all the
Teas—Comtesse de Nadaillac is unsurpassed; and as it is well

TEA-SCENTED ROSES. 807

known that this Rose and Souvenir d’Elise Vardon have between
them been selected as the best bloom in the show more often
than all the other Teas put together, it may perhaps create
‘surprise that neither has been included in the selection that I
have just made. But it is unluckily the fact that neither
variety, beautiful as the flowers are when at their best, is among
the easiest to cultivate successfully. Comtesse de Nadaillac is
not tender in the sense of being specially susceptible to injury
from frost ; the growth is sturdy but short, so that it is difficult
to obtain large plants; and the same remarks apply, more or
less, to Souvenir d’Elise Vardon—so that neither of these rival
beauties is among the best for an inexperienced grower to begin
with. But anyone who started the cultivation of Tea-scented
Roses with the varieties and in the way I have suggested would
no doubt soon be growing all other good varieties, including
Comtesse de Nadaillac—beyond question of the most beautiful
Roses the most beautiful.

DISCUSSION.

The Rev. H. H. D’omprarn, Ashford, as an old Rose-grower
desired to express his thanks to the lecturer for the paper he had
read. ‘There were one or two points, however, in it with which
he was not in accordance. One of these referred to the Manetti
stock, it being stated that the cause of failure in many cases
was due to Roses being budded on this stock, which was somewhat
more tender than the British briar. The speaker said he had
been collecting information from all parts of the country regard-
ing the effects of the past winter of 1890-91 on Tea Roses, and
he was informed by several correspondents that the Roses on the
Manetti stock were in a better condition than those which had
been budded on the seedling briar. It had been said by a few
that the Manetti, being an Italian Rose, was the cause of some
failures, but he did not appreciate this view. He was under the
impression that Mr. Girdlestone said that Roses on the Manetti
did well when grown in pots, and this he thought was sufficient
proof of the value of the Manetti, although Roses in pots were apt
to suffer from having insufficient material for the roots to feed
upon. In reference to “earthing up” Roses, Mr. D’ombrain
said the idea originated many years ago with Mr. Radclyffe, and
when he himself began it he was laughed at for his pais. Most

308 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

people now, however, find that earthing up is an excellent prac-
tice, as it preserves the roots from frost.

As to Tea Roses, he did not think they were, as a rule, quite
so hardy as Hybrid Perpetuals, but there was no reason why they
should not be grown south of the Trent without being injured
by the winter; and certainly there was no class of Roses so
beautiful and worthy of cultivation. Besides, their flowers lasted
such a length of time. He had known a certain Tea Rose to
take a medal at a Rose show, and two days afterwards the very
same bloom was in the firstprize box at another show. Indeed,
after being cut the blooms of Tea Roses seemed positively to
improve in appearance, and he advised everyone interested in
these beautiful flowers to grow them extensively.

Mr. GEorGE BunyArD, Maidstone, said that among Tea Roses
Madame de Watteville and Louise Gigot were worthy of cultiva-
tion. Madame Berard, however, he had found impossible to grow
on account of the mildew which invariably attacks it. Mildew
was a terrible enemy of Roses, and a strong remedy was required
to cope with it. He asked if it were not the fact that Roses
erown on walls were more liable to mildew than others.

Mr. GIRDLESTONE said such was the case. He did not know
whether an explanation might not be found in the fact of plants
grown at the foot of a wall being in an abnormally dry state at
the roots. He thought it advisable for the stems of Roses to be
kept some distance away from the wall at the base, otherwise a
harbour was made for insect pests, difficult to dislodge. He had,
however, not found this plan prevent mildew, which could only
be checked by giving liberal supplies of water to the plants, as
it was notorious that soil at the foot of a wall had hardly any
moisture in it.

He did not quite agree with Mr. Bunyard in his choice of
Louise Gigot, and he should hesitate to reeommend everyone to
grow Madame de Watteville. The latter is a tender Rose, and
often produces oddly formed flowers.

CONFERENCE ON HARDY SUMMER-FLOWERING PERENNIALS. 809

CONFERENCE ON HARDY SUMMER-
FLOWERING PERENNTALS,
TUESDAY, Juty 7, 1891.

THE manifest interest taken in the cultivation of hardy plants
of late years was in itself sufficient reason to induce the Council
to hold this Conference in the Society’s Gardens at Chiswick.
By means of the papers read and printed below, and the subsequent
discussion, it was hoped that a greater amount of information
would be diffused concerning hardy plants and their peculiarities,
and thus both assist and stimulate those with small gardens to
persevere in the culture of hardy perennial plants.

The exhibition of hardy plants was of a very interesting
nature, and served to show the great variety of sorts cultivated.
With a view to assisting the cultivator in selecting useful hardy
plants, lists have been prepared and appended to the papers
read, showing the kinds most suitable for various purposes.

The Conference began at two o’clock, the chair being taken
by W. MarsuHatt, Esq., who opened the proceedings with the
following remarks :—

I presume the Council has arranged that the subject of this
Conference should be ‘‘Hardy Summer Perennial Plants.”
These constitute a class of flowers which have been, as a rule,
overlooked by gardeners, and have not received that attention to
which they are justly entitled. I should be the last to decry any
class of plants, but I think it will be admitted that such plants
as Orchids are luxuries, and are only grown by those who have a
large balance at their banker’s; in fact they are the plants of
thefew. On the other hand, the flowers which we have come to
see to-day and to discuss are the flowers of the many. For a
reasonable outlay a large collection can be got together, and, if
judiciously chosen, can be made to last nearly the whole year
round. They are, moreover, very good-tempered plants, and
will for the most part put up with a good deal of ill-treatment.
There are some, of course, which require careful management,
and it will not do to treat all alike. The proverb that ‘“‘ What is
one man’s meat is another man’s poison”’ applies with great force

810 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

to the cultivation of these plants. You cannot expect a plant from
a boggy situation, for instance, to growin a desert. Unless
common sense is used in cultivation the plants soon attain that
condition known to gardeners as ‘‘miffy.”’ This becomes dis-
couraging, and many despair of ever growing such plants at all.
However, this is the sort of plant I like to take up myself and
endeavour to find a means of growing it successfully. It must
grow somewhere, and a man who is afraid to try to grow it can
hardly be called a gardener. Of course, everyone is not in a
position to grow these difficult examples, and it is in order that
we may reap the wisdom of those who have successfully mastered
them that this Conference has been called. I am quite sure that
if all who attend this Conference, and the others which are to
follow, can at the end honestly say that they have learnt some-
thing, the Council will be more than repaid for the trouble they
have been put to in connection with these meetings.

I will now call on the Secretary to read Mr. Robinson’s
paper.

WILD GARDENING IN MEADOW GRASS.
By Mr. W. Rosrnsoy, F.L.S.

Havina during the past five years planted several hundred
thousand bulbs and roots in meadow grass, the results may,
perhaps, be suggestive to others. An advantage of this method is
the delightfully artistic arrangements of which it permits. It
is also a deliverance of flower-beds from the poor thing known
as spring bedding. This system of ‘‘ bedding,’ which began in
France, and is there still seen in all its bareness, spread to many
of our gardens—consisted of putting out in formal masses a few
biennial plants, such as the Wood Forget-me-not and Silene.
This necessitated a complete change in the contents of the beds
every year, or, rather, twice a year, and therefore prevented
their being given to the nobler kinds of flower gardening. It is
possible to have all the flower-beds proper devoted to noble and
enduring plants, such as Tea Roses, Carnations, and the various
plants that require time for development, by the adoption of
this system. Perhaps the result will be more clearly seen if we

WILD GARDENING IN MEADOW GRASS. $11

take one flower and see what is done with it. We begin with the
blue Apennine Anemone. Of this I planted several thousand roots
in grass. Not having any beds or borders near the house where
I wanted it, I put it in meadows around the house in light
broken groups and masses. It flowers and increases every year
without the slightest attention; and, being early in growth as
compared with grass, ripens and disappears before the meadow
grass has to be cut in summer. This is a most important
point, and typical of what may be done with many beautiful
spring flowers. One has the pleasure of seeing them year by
year flowering in their seasons, and giving delightful effects, as
these did this year, both in groups in the open sunny fields, and
also clustering thickly round the base of old Elm-trees on their
margin. Among the blue Anemone here and there stood groups
of Narcissus, and in cases where the Anemones and Daffodils
flowered together the effect was often very beautiful. This
Anemone is perfectly hardy, and always grows freely in grass,
and never deteriorates. In Greece this year I saw on the moun-
tains many acres of the blue Greek Anemone, and think it is
equally as hardy and as free as the Italian one, and quite as
useful for naturalisation in the grass. The simplicity of the
culture of plants like this, which thrive in meadow grass, and
the foliage of which withers before the grass need be mown for
hay, makes them a most important group, as so much meadow
grass comes near most country houses. A very great number
of the spring flowers of the northern world may be treated in
this manner, and give us beautiful spring gardens.

The most important group of all these early flowers is the
Narcissus. Five years ago I planted many thousands in the
grass, the most numerous group being the Star Narcissus in
great variety. I never doubted that I should succeed with them,
but I did not know I should succeed nearly so well. They have
thriven admirably, bloomed well and regularly, the flowers are
large and handsome, and, to my surprise, have not diminished
in size. In open, rich, heavy bottoms, along hedgerows, in quite
open loamy fields, in every position I have tried them. They
are delightful when seen near at hand, and also effective in the
picture. The leaves ripen, disappear before mowing time comes,
and do not in any way interfere with farming. The harrowing
and rolling of the fields in the spring are a little against the

S12, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOUIETY.

foliage, and probably a better result could be obtained with the
finer Narcissus by wood walks and open copses, which abound in
so many Knglish country places. With the great group of forms
of the common English, Irish, and Scotch Daffodils I have had
good results ; they thrive better and the flowers are handsomer
thanin the wild plant—not uncommon in Sussex. Thelittle Tenby
Daffodil is very sturdy and pretty, and never fails us. The only
one that has failed is the Bayonne Daffodil. A very delightful
feature of the Narcissus meadow gardening, is the way great
groups follow each other in the fields. When the Star Narcissi
begin to fade a little in their beauty the Poets follow, and as I
write this paper we have the most beautiful picture I have ever
seen in cultivation. Five years ago I cleared a little valley of
various fences, and so opened a pretty view. Through this field
runs a streamlet. Wegrouped the Poet’s Narcissus near it, andin a
little orchard that lay near, and through a grove of Oaks on one
side of the field. We have had some beauty every year since ;
but this year, the plants having become established, or very
happy for some other reason, the whole thing was a picture such
as one might see in an Alpine valley! The flowers were large
and beautiful when seen near at hand, and the effect in the dis-
tance was delightful. This may, perhaps, serve to show that this
kind of work will bring gardening into a line with art, and that
the artist need not be for the future divorced from the garden, as
he has been before, by geometrical patterns which cannot pos-
sibly interest anybody accustomed to drawing beautiful forms
and scenes. I need say no more to illustrate the capacities of
this magnificent group of plants for wild gardening, many places
having much greater advantages than mine in showing their
beauty in the rich stretches of grass by pleasure-ground walks.
Various kinds of places may be adorned by Narcissi in this way
—imeadows, woods, copses, wood walks, and drives through
ornamental woodland and pleasure grounds, where the grass
need not be mown until late in the summer.

Dog’s Tooth Violet.—This beautiful and delicate-looking
plant surprises me by the free way it grows in grass in several
places where I have planted it, varying a good deal, according
to the soil, in its size, but never failing to interest by its
beautiful leaves and flowers. It withers rather early, and is a
perfect plant for meadow culture.

WILD GARDENING IN MEADOW GRASS, 313

Last autumn I made a trial of the Grape Hyacinth (Muscarz),
and was delighted with the result this spring, with the pretty
clouds of blue, quite distinct and new in the grass.

Snowdrops in various forms are indispensable, and do fairly
well, though they vary very much on different soils. They look
much better in the grass than in bare earth.

Among the flowers in the meadow grass there is nothing
more beautiful than thevarieties of Snakeshead (f7vitillaria). It is
the very type of plant for this work, and the white and pretty
purple flowers are admired by all who see them in the early
erass.

The Crocus, from its early brilliancy, is indispensable, and
the hardier forms are able to take care of themselves. In all
this kind of work if we could get the wild types of plant it would
be all the better, because such beauty as they possess is certainly
never the result of cultivation. When we buy bulbs highly cul-
tivated we may expect some reduction in the size of the flower
when it assumes a semi-wild state; but nobody who cares for
the form and beauty of the flowers will mind this reduction.
Flowers from bulbs planted several years are somewhat smaller
than the newly planted kinds, but certainly no less beautiful.
While we have proof enough that Crocuses grow well in
meadow grass on a large scale, they seem particularly suitable
for growing under groves of trees, their growth coming before
the trees spread forth their leaves. In many country places
without the garden proper there are many spaces under trees
often possessed by Goutweed and other weeds which should be
given to the Crocus and like early flowers.

Tulips.—I have only tried one wild Tulip, the Wood Tulip.
(7. sylvestris), sent me from Touraine to the extent ofa thousand.
roots, and I do not think we have lost any; they bloom grace-
fully every year. The shortness of bloom which Tulips show
should lead one to try the wild kinds in grass. Their broad,
fragile leaves are apt to be injured by the harrow. They are.
better tried in copses or drives through woods, where they are
free from this injury.

Stars of Bethlehem (Ormithogalum).—The starry trusses of
the common old border kind are quite different in effect from
our other early flowers, and very pretty. In this genus there ig
much difference in habit, the greenish, drooping-flowered kinds,

314 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

like nutans, giving quite a different effect from that of the
common white border kind. There is no trouble in growing
these in the grass.

The Snowflakes (Leucojwm) do admirably, the early one
being a more precious flower than the Snowdrop, useful to
gather, and all brightly effective very early. The later ones
are also graceful things, free and handsome in rich grass.

Living in a world of Wood Hyacinths, there was less need
to try the Scillas than the strictly non-British flowers, which
give us new aspects of flower life; but so far the results have
been good with the Spanish Scilla and the new Scilla-like
plants (Chionodoxa), which are early and disappear early.

To this sort of flower-gardening, which extends so much thein-
terest in flower life, the trade might do great good by offering such
bulbs and roots as these at lowest possible rates by the thousand.
It would pay cultivators well to grow such roots in quantity for
the public, as it now pays Lincolnshire farmers to grow the
Snowdrop for the trade in that popular flower. The whole
success of wild gardening depends on arranging bold, natural
groups with a free hand, and it cannot be done without quantity.
It means an enormous addition to the bulb trade, and to a
healthy, and what ought to be a British industry, the growth in
quantity of the hardier bulbs, for which many parts of our
country are perfectly suited.

The scope of this paper, it will be seen, leaves out several
very important phases of wild gardening, in which the plants
do not die early in the year, but adorn it long after those men-
tioned have perished, if not with bloom, at least with foliage—
such as the tall Polygonums, too free for the flower-garden,
which do admirably with me in rough places outside the garden,
the stems being handsome even in winter. So also are the
Solomon’s Seal, Lily-of-the-Valley, Evening Primrose, Globe
Flower, Japan Anemone, and many other flowers of later bloom
and growth. Indeed, it mainly concerns that beautiful early
hardy flower life which blossoms before the grass of our fields
begins to grow freely.

SOME OF THE SUMMER FLOWERS OF MY GARDEN. 315

SOME OF THE SUMMER FLOWERS OF MY GARDEN.
By the Rev. H. Hwpank, M.A., F.R.H.S.

THERE is no flower during the whole circle of the year which
awakens sadder reflections in my mind than does Anemone
rivularts, and the reason is this: It for the most part says to
me that the spring flowers have all passed away, and that a
new succession has come.

Narcissus patellaris gave a warning note, but Anemone
rivularis is like a funeral knell. I cannot say that I care for
summer flowers so much as those of spring. Extreme delicacy
both of colour and form are characteristic of the latter, and
with some exceptions, such, for instance, as that of Omphalodes
Lucilig, we look in vain for them in the others.

But what we do find in summer flowers, I think, is vivid
colouring, stateliness of form, and a general lusciousness which
would have been altogether out of place if it had come earlier in
the year. In great measure insect fertilisation has play, and
insects affect blossoms of some very gaudy hue or some marked
design, or those from which a strong fragrance is emitted. Nor
is this general brightness inharmonious to ourselves. The
summer-time is that of restful quiet enjoyment, rather than
that of tender new-born hope, and we should, I think, say
that a more pronounced colouring is acceptable to us in
June than would have been the case in February or March.
A gardener has nothing to do when the year has come to its
zenith beyond keeping things as they are. He has no need
to look forward, he has no preparations to think about, and a
carpe diem sort of feeling best expresses the mood in which
he finds himself living. And his flowers answer to this. They
are productive of present enjoyment, rather than symbolical of
some future delights. In my own garden I never go in for
effects; there is not room for it, even if I had any wish of
the sort, and all I think about is to try to make individual
plants do well in my hands as best I can. In fact I am
quite contented with these, and at Midsummer I am glad if
I have a sufficient number of striking beauty and worth to
show to my friends. I shall confine myself (as I am told to
do) in the following remarks to hardy summer perennials, and

816 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

I suppose that covers the time when the last of spring flowors has
faded away till signs of autumn appear. Between the departure ~
of Scillas and Narcissi towards the end of May, and the com-
mencement of the long reign of Composite flowers in August, lies
the period of the year with which I am concerned.

All I can attempt to do is to give a few running notes, or
memoranda of what has occurred under my own eyes, for it is
utterly beyond my power to offer anything new to the members.
of the Royal Horticultural Society, and with which they are not
already familiar.

Of very striking plants, then, which blossom at Midsummer
or thereabouts, I should give high rank to Eremuri. I have
often wondered why they are so seldom seen in our gardens. In
my judgment they have only one fault which cannto be obviated.
They flower up the stalk, and one part of the spike is clothed
with the very highest possible beauty, while the other part of it
is in a dying-off state. Of course, this cannot be helped; but
take an EKremurus at its best—Hremurus Bungei for instance—
when it is sufficiently out, and before any part of it has begun to
fade away, and I doubt if anything more arresting to the eye can
be oftentimes met with. The clear bright yellow colour is so
very good, and it stands up so well in the border, and the foliage
befits it so nicely, that it would be difficult to say where a more
beautiful picture could be found in all of Flora’s domains.

I remember once returning home after the absence of a year,
and the first thing that caught my eye after I had passed through
the garden gate was the unlooked-for spectacle of Hremurus
robustus, which was more than twelve feet high. It quite took
away my breath for a moment, and I saw that till then I never
had the slightest idea of what an EKremurus could do. There
are, Of course, many species of it, and they come into flower one.
after the other in a most convenient way. A specimen which I
have, without a name, from the Sairem Sea usually leads the
van, and the rear is made up by Hremurus Olg@, which flowers
latest of all some weeks afterwards. Pink, yellow, a sort of
brickdust-red, white—these are the colours which the Eremuri
seem to affect. The yellow is of the very clearest sort, and the
white is white beyond all suspicion, and very pleasant to look
on. I suppose that Hremurus himalaicus, which is the white
sort to which I refer, would be considered one of the best of

SOME OF THE SUMMER FLOWERS OF MY GARDEN. Str

them. It certainly seems to be one of the strongest, but it
takes several years before it makes up its mind to blossom, and
a good deal of waiting is called for on this account. It has quite
lately flowered with me, and I have been very much pleased with
it. Max Leichtlin has a form which he calls Hremurus robustus
nobilis, or something of that sort, and I am told that it is
greatly superior to the plant which we are accustomed to meet
with. But when I use the word “accustomed,” I think it must
be done with some mental reservation. What surprises me most
of all is that these very splendid acquisitions of Central Asia,
Siberia, and the Caucasus are so very little grown. I cannot
imagine anything that would set-off the grounds of some lordly
mansion or humble vicarage garden more than these Eremuri
would do it. But for the most part they are conspicuous by
their absence, and one well-known garden near Cambridge is the
principal exception I can think of to the above remarks. What
then are the causes why this comparative failure obtains? I do
not profess to know; but the following considerations occur to
my mind. They are supposed to be much more difficult to
manage than is really the case, and this bars them at the outset,
Next, if they are occasionally tried, they are sometimes planted
in the midst of other things, and they do not succeed well in
that way; thirdly, they come up too soon in the year, and the
flowering spike is at once very seriously injured. I have suffered
from the latter inconvenience very often indeed. But, as‘a rule,
I find that an Eremurus will stand many degrees of frost before
it is injured; and I am told that if the plant is taken out of the
ground as soon as it has flowered, and kept dry for a few weeks.
its growth will be sufficiently retarded to free it from the danger
I have named. I have not yet tried this plan, but I am intending
to try it as soon as I can. I am sure that the Kremuri lke
a well-worked rather rich soil, and the roots should be able
to spread out in their starfish manner as much as they like.
Whenever I have gone against this and have planted an Eremurus
carelessly among shrubs, or anywhere else, I have found that it
very soon resents the inattention, and we are likely to part
company altogether. The best thing I can suggest for them
is that they should have sufficient space allotted to them by
themselves in a well-prepared border, and if the above pre-
cautions are followed I think they will do well.
D

818 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Of stately plants which blossom in the summer in my garden,
Centaurea babylonica, Ferula tingitana, and Acanthus latifolius
are as good examples as could be named, but they are known to
everybody. I like Campanula latifolia very much, and in
moister spots than any which I have it soon becomes very orna-
mental indeed. Melianthus major, from the Cape of Good Hope,
has very handsome and distinct pinnate leaves, but then it
cannot be called quite hardy in every locality. Irises are the
pride of my garden during the bright days of summer, and what
can be more beautiful, and even stately too, than Iris pallida,
Iris ochroleuca, Iris aurea, and several others that might be
named? But it is not of these that I would especially say a word
now. ‘They can be grown anywhere, and my especial delight is
in those which are much more difficult to manage, and even more
commendable. I refer to the members of the Oncocyclus group,
which form the ne plus ultra of gardening, and which should be
cultivated with the greatest possible care wheresoever there is a
chance of their doing well. These Oncocyclus Irises begin, of
course, to blossom in May; but they run on into June, and
sometimes even into July. I know that they have been specially
dealt with by such experts as Professor Foster and Herr Max
Leichtlin of Baden-Baden, to both of whom my deepest obliga-
tions are owed ; but in a review of my best summer flowers it is
impossible for me to make no allusion at all to their crown and
their glory. I may say at once that they cost me a great deal of
trouble and a great many mistakes, and some time and money,
before I could at last aver that I have these Irises in my hands,
and now nothing in my garden affords greater satisfaction to me
than they do. I have at last been able to pilot nearly thirty
specimens through a difficult autumn and a very horrible winter
indeed without a single loss, and I may therefore, I think, say
that I know how to grow them at last. My list includes the best
among the best, viz. I7is Susiana, I. Gatesw, I. paradoza,
I. Korolkowi, &c., &c., and I can now almost guarantee the life
of any member of this group that may be named. But this
measure of success has not been arrived at all at once. Dis-
appointment after disappointment had to be met and battled with
from time to time. In a much-esteemed gardening quarter the
word of direction ran thus: “The non-bulbous Irises like rich
soil full of decomposed vegetable matter,’ and similar advice has

SOME OF THE SUMMER FLOWERS OF MY GARDEN. 819

been given by writers in the gardening periodicals more than
once. This brought failure on my efforts for some three or four
years, and I do not know how long [ should have gone on with it if
Professor Foster had not paid me a visit one spring, and he told
me that they must be treated to no decomposed matter, either
animal or vegetable. I tried good loam and roadside grit the
very next autumn, and the difference has been immense. Of
course all my Irises of the Oncocyclus group are dried off for
seven or eight weeks in July and August. I put lights over
their heads so that no rain can come near them at all, and they
are literally baked. But there is one thing more which they
meet with in my hands, and which I suspect they do not find
anywhere else. It may seem to be a little thing, but on little
things great consequences often turn, either of weal or of woe.
It is sometimes the little rift within the lover’s lute by which
great mischief is done. When the bright days of summer are
over and the winter rains have begun I fix a small piece of glasg
securely over the rhizome of an Oncocyclus Ivis so as just to cover
it and not todo any more. ‘The influence of this is, I am sure,
beneficial in the extreme ; it does not interfere with growth, nor
does it prevent sufficient moisture being drawn in by capillary
attraction for the roots, but it just covers the plant itself. Ina
very useful and well-known book, “‘ The English Flower Garden,”
the following passage occurs: ‘‘ The rhizome of an Iris should be
kept comparatively dry, and is very impatient of moisture.” I
believe those words to be quite true, and this is accomplished
for the Irises in their native habitats by a deep covering of snow.
But as we cannot have snow at command, it struck me that a
small bit of glass might be a sort of apology for it, and this has
proved to be the case. Until lately, I never knew how it could
be secured over a plant; there is now no difficulty about this of
any kind, and it answers completely. lam sure that Iris paradoxa
and several others can seldom live through the winter if they
are quite unprotected by any covering at all, but in this manner
they seem to be satisfied, and they reward me handsomely for my
trouble. I need not say it would not do at all to use garden-
lights in the place of these glasses, nor to use these glasses when
the lights are desirable. Of course, as spring comes on the
leaves of some Irises, e.g. I. Korolkowi, are very much crumpled

up under a bit’ of glass; but they do not seem to mind that at all,
D2

320 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

and when the winter is over they straighten themselves at
once. For a very long time indeed Kempferi Irises have
mocked me, and they have laughed all my efforts to scorn.
Their wants may be summed up very briefly in this way:
They need both sunshine and moisture, and so do a great
many other things besides Kempferi Irises. The problem of
problems is how to accommodate them the best. If you can
supply them with one it does not follow that you can accommodate
them with the other, and that by itself will not do. I have had
buckets of water poured over their heads, and it all ran through
my porous soil and very soon disappeared. The border has been
very deeply mulched without any return for it, and Kempferi
Irises in my hot and avid garden have been a snare and a delusion.
But at last they are happy. They declare themselves to be so in
that unmistakable way in which plants say ‘‘All right.”

I have a bed of 30 feet by 7 feet, excavated to the depth of
3 feet, and the whole of the sides and bottom plastered over with
thick heavy clay about 6 inches deep. This has made all the
difference in the world. ‘The bed is now quite sufficiently
retentive of moisture to be of great use, and Venus and Othello
and Ida and Rutherford Alcock, &c., are growing as they have
never done before. It is a very simple way of adding moisture
to sunshine, but it makes the greatest possible difference. How
beautiful these Kempferi Irises are, and how seldom they are
seen! The colours range from the purest white to a sort of
violet-purple. They are sometimes beautifully veined and mottled
and picked out with yellow, and when all the six petals are of
nearly equal size (three not being suppressed as is sometimes the
case), and the flowers are 6 inches, or even 7 inches, in diameter,
they are objects worthy of the highest admiration as they lie
flatly open to the summer sun and drink in its blessed influence
on their lives.

Another plant which I would especially like to notice, as add-
ing great beauty to my garden during the summer months, is
that singular Californian Poppywort which is found on the borders
of streams near San Diego. In a rather recently published
and interesting American work by Ellwanger, to which Mr.
Wolley-Dod has given his imprimatur by writing the preface, the
following passage occurs: ‘‘ There is no flower that combines so
many good qualities—such fragrance, beauty, and general effect—

SOME OF THE SUMMER FLOWERS OF MY GARDEN. 821

as this plant does”; but then he very considerably detracts from
its usefulness by saying: ‘‘ Unfortunately it will not survive our
rigorous climate, and I believe it has failed to establish itself in
most gardens where it has been tried in England.” This is a
very formidable detraction indeed, and Mr. Ellwanger seems to
take away with one hand what has been given by the other;
but I cannot think there is any justification for such a sweeping
indictment. It is true I live in the Isle of Wight, and that is
supposed to be one of the most favoured spots in the kingdom;
but I can only say that Romneya Coulteri gives me no trouble at
all. It has grown to such a large size that Ido not attempt to
protect it, and last winter it stood in a little border in front of
my greenhouse and braved all the frosts of the hardest winter we
have known. Perhaps it only proves that, salubrious as California
is, the Isie of Wight is even more salubrious. There is, however,
one thing I always do for this plant, which I find to be of the
greatest use toit. JI cut it down to the ground every spring.
This seems to give it renewed energy at once, and it makes
wonderful shoots. It certainly deserves the encomium which
Mr. Ellwanger has givenit. The very large crumpled white
flowers appear at the end of the branches, and also the lateral
shoots, and they are set off by the very pretty glaucous foliage,
which is produced in abundance. Perhaps the only fault that
can be noted is that they come too intermittently. They do not
begin very early in the summer, and with me they go onina
Gesultory sort of way till late autumn has come to them. I can
sometimes increase it by taking off a side-shoot in the spring
with a bit of root to it; but this is not a certain operation at all,
and it is best propagated by seed. Wherever Lomneya Coulterr
can be made to succeed, there I am sure it should be tried.

AsI am not writing a book, but only a paper, which should
be of moderate length, I must confine myself to very short notes
in what remains for me to say. I cannot attempt to give an
exhaustive list of my summer plants, but I will make just a few
remarks on some of the best of them. Of very gorgeous flowers,
Papaver orientale and P. bracteatwm may be perhaps placed at
the head. Of flowers which are of the most brilliant red colour,
there is nothing which is superior to Tvop@olwm speciosum. I
cannot admit that there is any difficulty at all in growing this
splendid climber. It is quite as much at home in the southern

$22 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

counties of England as it is said to be in Scotland. Capparis
spinosa does very well in my rockery ; it loves a horizontal posi-
tion, and is quite as happy there as if it were growing on the
shore of the Lago di Como. The large white petals form a
beautiful cup, and this, with the parti-coloured stamens, com-
mands great admiration. The ovary is borne on a long
stalk, so as to be level with the purplish anthers. Cypripediwm
spectabile should never be forgotten ; it will grow either in sun
or in shade, but it takes the latter for choice. I imagine that
the secret of success with a great many Lilies is to give them a
border quite exposed to the south, and yet to prevent its being
ever dried up. Liliwm awratwm undoubtedly does better in such
a position than anywhere else, and it is a great advantage to it
if the bed in which it is planted has a concreted bottom (it keeps
in the moisture), and which is a little inclined, so as to prevent
any chance of stagnant water settling on it. One of the most
imposing plants at any time of the year is, after all, the old
familiar cottage garden Liluwm candidum, and it seems with me
to have no special requirements at all. Liliwm gigantewm must
be grown in the shade, and the great point is to keep it from
flowering too soon, if that can be managed. But Lilies are a
study by themselves, and there is no room for it here. My
midsummer garden is not quite innocent of Roses, though I only
have representatives of some few interesting species, and do not
grow hybrid perpetuals at all. I have been very much pleased
with the manner in which Fortune’s Yellow Rose got through the
ordeal of last winter in my hands. It is a very nice thing, but
in England it is, I fancy, for the most part kept in a greenhouse,
and can never attain to any large size. I believe it to be much
more hardy than it is generally supposed to be, and it is certainly
worth trying in other places beside the Isle of Wight. Rosa
rugosa, Lt. bracteata, h.rubrifolia, R.indica, and R. lucida are, of
course, great favourites with me. tosa berberidifolia was once
considered to be an intractable, impossible creature. Dr. Lindley
gave it a bad name, for which it has suffered a good deal. Mr.
Watson, however, manages it with conspicuous success in a
greenhouse at Kew, and I have had it for several years in my
garden. Unfortunately, it was only a grafted plant, and so after
a time it wore out. The only difficulty that I know about it is
to get hold of a specimen on its own roots, and then it is bound

SOME OF THE SUMMER FLOWERS OF MY GARDEN. 823

to succeed. This, however, has at last been promised to me, and
I set very great store on the promise. From some reason or
another, whenever suckers come up with this Rose—and also with
some other things—they are quite sure to be hardy. I believe it
can stand many degrees of frost, but I did not think so once.
The rest of my summer favourites must be little more than
mere names with me on this occasion. There is just one, however,
that I cannot altogether pass by, because, though I must confess it
cannot be called a hardy plant, is very closely connected in my
mind with an old friend who was to have spoken to you to-day if
he had not been called away from us, to our very great regret—I
allude to the late Mr. Rawson. Ihave had the most minute
directions from him as to the manner in which Clianthus
Dampteri must be grown. Suffice it to say, on the old lines one
must almost have lived for Clianthus Dampieri if it was to do
well at all. The game was not worth the candle, but now there
is no trouble with it at all. Grafted upon C. puniceus, this most
gorgeous of all Australian plants, and I suppose inferior in point
of splendour to very few things on the face of earth, will live
and grow and blossom to the astonishment of all beholders,
and be a sight to see which is not easily forgotten. It does
well either in greenhouse or in open ground during the summer
months, and is very much admired by those who have met
with it. Ranunculus Lyall I have in two or three places,
and it quite responds to my treatment of it, which is of
the simplest description. Ostrowskya magnifica, according to
Max Leichtlin, should be dried off in summer. I manage it in
that way. Peoma Wittmanmana should never be absent from
any garden, however small it may be, so very grand is its dis-
play. Mandevillea suaveolens and Poinciana Guilliesw are both
hardy here; but Iamsure I have now said enough, and more
than enough, about the summer flowers of my garden. I have
by no manner of means exhausted their number. I only fear
that I have exhausted your patience and time. The Peonies for
the most part, the Delphiniums altogether, the Dianthuses, the
Funkias, the Anthericums, the Ramondias, and I wot not what
else besides, must bear to be passed over by me in silence on the
present occasion. I would only add one short word in conclud-
ing. There are some plants which not infrequently obtain a
foothold among us which, in my judgment, should never have a

824 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

place at all in a good collection of flowers. I refer more than
anything else to Summer Chrysanthemums, which are now very
frequently grown where one would least have expected it.
Chrysanthemums are all very well in their way, and at their
own proper dark, dreary, season of the year. Then they do
serve to gladden us by the bright and varied colours which
they display; but why should we go ‘out of our way to make
the year go faster than it needs to go? A reminder of October
is no pleasure to me in the glorious sunshine of July and
August, and who can say that the flowers which properly
belong to those months have been used up so that something
else must be introduced? JI would sooner fall back again on
yellow Calceolarias and red Geraniums if I had to take my
choice between them and Summer Chrysanthemums; and
yet I know of a garden—a very delightful garden—in which
many good things are to be found, where this antedating of
autumn invariably takes place, and I expect that others resemble
it. The best and most interesting collection of plants which I
have ever seen in late summer is that of Mr. Wolley-Dod at Edge
Hall. There both variety and colour have indeed a full run, and
one could never be tired of looking at the multitudinous speci-
mens of fine herbaceous plants which abound on every side. Ina
garden such as that, and in many lke it, a bright glorious summer
day brings its own especial delights. If spring is the tender
harbinger of hope, summer speaks of fruition—which has really
come ; and when insect life is everywhere on the wing, and flowers
are throwing back their petals to the sun, one cannot but feel
that we live in a happy world after all. I defy anyone to be a
pessimist in such a scene and under such circumstances as these,
and I for my part subscribe ex anvmo to the well-known words of
the poet:

’Tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

THE PICTURESQUE USE OF HARDY SUMMER
PERENNIAL PLANTS.

By Miss Jexyuu, F.R.H.S.

A GREAT French artist has said ‘‘ Painting is an art of many
sacrifices.” Gardening, from the picturesque point of view, is

THE PICTURESQUE USE OF HARDY SUMMER PERENNIAL PLANTS. 825

- also an “ art of many sacrifices,’ for inasmuch as it is practically
the making of pictures with living flowers, so the artist-gardener
must make a restricted selection of just such material as will,
according to his taste and knowledge, give the most beautiful
ewect in the particular garden-picture he aims at producing.

The object of this paper is briefly to point out the desirability
of such a careful selection, and to give afew examples of pleasant
garden-pictures obtained by putting it in practice.

It is not suggested that those who love all beautiful flowers
should not grow them. On the contrary, let them be grown by
all means; but this should be in a separate place, a sort of
nursery or reserve, where they can be well grown and observed,
and enjoyed for the sake of their individual merits; then from
time to time, as their best use may be observed, suitable plants
from among them can be promoted to the ornamental garden.

Two qualifications on the part of the operator are absolutely
necessary for such gardening as we are now considering—first,
an intimate acquaintance with the plants themselves, and
sympathy with their wants and likings, and then such tasteful
discrimination as will place a plant to exactly the best advantage,
and where it will be perfectly at home. livery step in the
acquirement of these two branches of garden knowledge is
full of delightful and wholesome interest—an interest that never
flags, but steadily increases as years go by.

A garden that already possesses old walls, a matured shrubbery,
or that adjoins woodland, has advantages that greatly favour the
garden-artist; but so great is the wealth of material, and so
abundantly varying the conditions suited to different kinds of
vegetation, that there is scarcely a space of ground, under natural
conditions, that cannot in a few years be clothed with plant-
beauty.

An essential feature in a garden of hardy flowers is a well-
arranged mixed border. It is here that we can show the true
summer flowers at their best; but it is here, more than anywhere
else, that the ‘‘ art of many sacrifices’? must be put in practice.
For the main spaces plants should be chosen of bold and striking
beauty, but as a border of all large plants would have a kind of
monotony, certain spaces, chiefly towards the front, but also
running back in many parts among groups of taller things,
should be planted with those of lower growth. The chief plants

8326 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

for such a border are Oriental Poppies, Pzeonies, the boldest of
the Irises, Day Lilies, herbaceous Spireas, Ginotheras, a few of
the best Campanulas, Delphiniums, Lilies, three or four of the
best perennial Sunflowers, the tall blue Sea Holly, Tritomas,
Mulleins, Thalictrums, Dahhas, Hollyhocks, and a few others.
These are the plants that will form the great effects of the border.
The nearer parts and some spaces between the taller growths
should have groups of plants of lower stature, and yet of a
somewhat bold form of foliage. Of these the broad-leaved
Saxifrages and Funkias are among the best. Still dwarfer
plants, such as Pinks and Pansies, are suitable for the extreme
edge. Hach kind of plant in the mixed border should stand in
a bold group, and the groups, differmmg in size and shape
according to the aspect of the plant, should follow one another
in a carefully arranged sequence of colour; keeping plants of
a colour together, such as Mulleins with (notheras, and
Tritomas with Oriental Poppy. In the case of the last-named it
is convenient to actually intergroup the two kinds, for the foliage
of the Poppies dies away early, and the blank space it would
have left becomes covered by the later-growing leaves of the
autumn-blooming Tritoma.

Groups of red, orange, and strong yellow follow well, and
help each other by forming a rich colour-harmony. Flowers of
a strong blue colour, like Delphiniums, seem to ask for a contrast,
such as that of white Lilies, or the pale yellow of Gnothera
Lamarckiana and Verbascum phlomoides, the best of the
Mulleins. In practice it is perhaps best to exclude bulbous
plants from the mixed border (especially in light soils that need
frequent enrichment), as the disturbing of the ground occasioned
by division of the plants and manuring is perilous to the bulbs,
whose foliage has disappeared by autumn, and whose places are
probably forgotten unless marked by unsightly labels; but
exception should be made in favour of three common Lilies, the
white, the orange, and the Tiger. Labels must be absolutely
abolished in the ornamental garden.

Some families of plants, especially those whose beauty is in
infinite variety, may best be enjoyed in places almost by them-
selves, where the eye would be undisturbed by the consideration
of other kinds of flowers. A garden of Lilies may be made of
great beauty, the groups of Lilies appearing among dwarf and

THE PICTURESQUE USE OF HARDY SUMMER PERENNIAL PLANTS. 827

moderate-sized shrubs and hardy Ferns. The Peony family is
another example of a large range of summer flowers that deserves
such treatment, in addition to their use in other places. A whole
wealth of garden beauty exists in this one tribe alone, for, apart
from those best known—namely, the double varieties of the old
garden kind, the Chinese herbaceous, and the old Tree Preony—
there are many other kinds, both species and their cultivated
varieties, that are now happily available for garden use. Weowe
a great deal to the taste and labours of some of the Continental
-nurserymen, who have turned their attention to producing new
and beautiful forms of tree and herbaceous Ponies, while those
at home have put at our disposal many good species invaluable
for garden use. When they are better known, everyone who
cares for good hardy flowers will wish to grow the delicate pale
yellow Peonia Wittmannuana, the rosy-scarlet P. lobata,
P. hybrida with its delicate foliage and brilliant flowers, also
P. Broteri and P. triternata, two of the noblest as foliage plants.

Many a beautiful garden-picture may also be made by the
placing of quite a small number, or even a single example, of
some stately plant in a quiet place by itself, such as a group of
Lilium gigantewm with its noble flower-spikes and its broad
glistening leaves. A group of this grand Lily in partial shade,
and backed by trees or small shrubs, shows one of the stateliest
forms that can be seen of a flowering plant of one year’s growth.

Such another example is offered by the Californian Tree
Poppy (Romneya Coultert), which, when well established, will
erow in one season into a bush seven feet high, and as much
through. It is a remarkably beautiful plant, and to an eye trained
to harmenies of colour singularly pleasing in the relation of its
large milk-white flowers and pale blue-green leaves. It delights
in a sunny, well-sheltered place in a light soil.

The limits of this paper do not admit of more than just touch-
ing upon the many beauties to be derived from climbing and
trailing plants, and those suitable for special or difficult
conditions.

Old walls are easily made beautiful by sowing a few seeds of
Wallflowers, Snapdragons, Red Valerian, and Rock Pinks, and
even a heap of hungry sand will grow to perfection the hand-
some Lyme Grass and the beautiful native Sea Holly.

There is no end to the interest of this kind of gardening, and

828 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

the harder the problem the greater the triumph, when, for in-
stance, a difficult or ugly piece of ground has been compelled into
beauty, and what was before unsightly is made delightful to the
eye, and with such skill that the result looks not as if it had been
done, but as if it had happened.

It should be remembered that a beautiful garden is a place of
pleasant labour and of happy restfulness, and that the more it
can be filled with perfect pictures, the more it gives delight to
the eye and solace to the mind, and the nearer it approaches to
the making of an earthly paradise. |

DISCUSSION.

In reference to some remarks in Mr. Robinson’s paper, Miss
Brownina-Hatxi (Algiers) asked whether wireworms would
not eat the bulbs which were left in the ground year after
year.

The CHarrMAN replied that there could be no doubt that
they would do so; and Mr. CHarutes PrEarson said the best
remedy for these pests was to spread broken rapecake near the
roots, which the wireworms would eat in preference to the
plants.

Referring to Miss Jekyll’s statement that labels must be
absolutely abolished from the pleasure-garden, the Rev. W.
Wiuks remarked that Miss Jekyll must have a most wonderfu
head to remember all the varieties in her garden when a visitor
happened to say to her, “Oh, what is that? It is pretty!’
He knew every flower in his own garden, but he could not
name them at the moment, and if he were to abolish labels he
was atraid he should soon get into inextricable confusion.
Speaking entirely for himself, his experience was that gar-
deners, as a rule, were not educated in the best grammar
schools, and would, without the assistance of labels, give the
most extraordinary names to flowers to any visitors who might
call during the absence of the family. He strongly depre-
cated the removal of labels, which spoke for themselves, and
prevented the lover of flowers from getting a little bit mixed.

Dr. Masters said he should like to know the method
pursued by Mr. Ewbank in the great label question. For his
own part he had no difficulty at all in following Miss Jekyll’s

THE PICTURESQUE USE OF HARDY SUMMER PERENNIAL PLANTS. 829

injunctions, as the labels abolished themselves in his garden in
the most surprising manner.

The Rev. H. Ewsanx said he could not at all agree with
Miss Jekyll in this matter. He looked upon gardening with a
totally different object to that of Miss Jekyll, who regarded it
more from the esthetical point of view. In his own garden he
used zine labels and indelible ink, and he had found this the
best method.

Miss Brownine-Hauu spoke of a method of labelling in
which a piece of zine, six inches long and half an inch broad,
was employed; this was bent into a circle, and the name of
the plant was written on the inside, and there remained indelible
for years.

Mr. GrorcE Paut moved a hearty vote of thanks to the
writers of the various papers. He said he knew both Miss
Jekyll and Mr. Ewbank and their gardens, and he was quite
sure from his observations that they carried their precepts into
practice. All the writers were ardent cultivators of hardy
plants, and enjoyed immensely the difficult task of making a
plant grow when nobody else could. The climate of the Isle
of Wight was undoubtedly in Mr. Ewbank’s favour, as when
the same flowers were put into gardens nearer London they
disappeared, and Mr. Ewbank had to be asked for a fresh
supply. With reference to labels, it was a fact that many
people disliked them, as in numerous cases the labels were
more conspicuous than the flowers. On one occasion he over-
heard a certain noble lord remark to his gardener, ‘‘ Take away
those gravestones !”’

Mr. Parson (Chilwell) seconded the motion, which was
carried unanimously, and the first day’s Conference terminated.

HARDY SUMMER PERENNIALS.

In connection with the Conference on Hardy Perennials
held at Chiswick on Tuesday, July 7, 1891, a paper was sent
round to a large number of our foremost ‘‘ hardy’”’ gardeners,
both amateurs and nurserymen, asking their opinion of the best
_ varieties for various purposes. The answers have been tabulated
with the following results, the names of the varieties being given

330

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

in order of merit as the result of this tabulation, equality of votes
being indicated by equality of position in the lists. It must be
borne in mind that the plants named stand, in each case, only on
the authority of the individuals consulted, or some one or more of
them, and the Society as a whole is not thereby committed in
any way,¢.g., on the question of what are hardy herbaceous peren-
nials, or on the relative heights, &c., of the plants recommended.

The six most useful perennial herbaceous border plants, 4 feet high and

. Eremurus:—himalaicus, robustus

. Inula glandulosa
. Bocconia cordata

. Verbascum olympicum

. Centaurea :—babylonica, macro-
cephala

. Solidago speciosa

. Galega :—officinalis, 0. alba

. Echinops Ritro

3. Lythrum:—salicaria rosea, su-

perbum
. Anemone japonica alba
. Achillea mongolica
. Iris sibirica
. Asphodelus ramosus
. Mertensia sibirica
. Veratrum viride

. Gentiana lutea

. Pentstemon Torreyi

. Silphium laciniatum

List L;
upwards.

1. Delphinium :—cardinale, formo-{11
sum vars., Belladonna, hybri-|11

dum vars. 11

2. Rudbeckia :—laciniata, maxima,]18
nitida, purpurea 18

3. Kniphofia :—caulescens, nobilis,
Uvaria 20
3. Thalictrum: — aquilegifolium, | 20
glancum 20
3. Althzea rosea vars. (Hollyhocks) | 23
3. Aconitum :—album, autumnale,

Napellus 24
3. Pyrethrum uliginosum 24
3. Campanula :—lactiflora, latifolia | 2
var. eriocarpa, macrantha, py- | 24
ramidalis 24

3. Spirea Aruncus 29

3. Phlox decussata 3

il. Ferula tingitana 3
11. Papaver bracteatum 30
11. Doronicum plantagineum excel- | 30.

— a a!

00 66 Go O8 co Oy 9 Oo LOE

er us to 0 0

sum

. Pseonia vars.

Lathyrus:—latifolius, I. albus

. Crambe cordifolia

Lise. Lt.
The six next ditto, 4 feet high and upwards.

(The names already mentioned in List I. are omitted from this.)

Rudbeckia pinnata
Lathyrus rotundifolius
Digitalis purpurea grandiflora

. Helenium autumnale

Polygonum cuspidatum

. Echinops ruthenicus
. Verbascum Chaixi

Clematis coccinea

Inula Hookeri

Eryngium :—giganteum, ame-
thystinum, Beatsoni

Cimicifuga racemosa

Centaurea ruthenica

Solidago serotina

Lupinus polyphyllus

Scabiosa elata

Veratrum nigrum

. Buphthalmum grandiflorum
. Symphytum officinale fol. var.
. Silphium perfohatum

. Lychnis chalcedonica

. Phormium tenax

. Lactuca Plumieri

. Meconopsis Wallichi

. Dahlia vars.

. Malva Alcea

. Aconitum chinense

. Chrysanthemum latifolium
. Monarda fistulosa

. Rheum officinale var.

. Achillea Eupatorium

HARDY SUMMER PERENNIALS.

331

List, Tit.

The twelve most useful perennial herbaceous border plants,
24 to 4 feet high.

1. Campanula : — latifolia, persici-|21. Monarda didyma
folia, p. alba, pyramidalis,|21. Dictamnus :—Fraxinella, F. alba
urticifolia alba, celtidifolia 21. Dicentra spectabilis
2. Doronicum :—plantagineum_ ex-| 21. Orobus :—vernus, lathyroides
celsum, Clusii 21. Trollius :—americanus, giganteus
3. Spirzea :—palmata, venusta, Arun-/ 21. Gaillardia grandiflora
cus 21. Alstroemeria aurea
3. Papaver :—orientale, bracteatum | 21. Asphodelus ramosus
3. Anemone:—japonica alba, alpina | 32. Sidalcea malvzflora
3. Phlox decussata and vars. 32. Pentstemon vars.
3. Lychnis chalcedonica 32. Scabiosa caucasica
8. Hemerocallis :—flava, fulva 35. Echinops :—ruthenicus, sphzro-
9. Peeonia vars. cephalus
9. Aconitum :—japonicum, autumn-| 35. Inula glandulosa
ale, variegatum, Napellus bi-| 35. Astilbe rivularis
color 35. Gypsophila paniculata
9. Aquilegia :—chrysantha, coerulea) 35. Coreopsis lanceolata
vars. 40. Mertensia sibirica
12. Iris germanica:—pallida, p. dal-| 40. Kniphofia Uvaria
matica 40. Statice latifolia
12. Lilium:—bulbiferum, Szovitsia-| 40. Lythrum :—roseum, superbum
num, candidum 40. Cephalaria alpina
12. Galega:-—officinalis, 0. alba '40. Phygelus capensis
12. Pyrethrum roseum vars. 40. Helenium autumnale grandiflora
16. Eryngium :—Oliverianum (ame- 47. Ostrowskya magnifica
thystinum), giganteum, dicho-| 47. Geum atrosanguineum pl.
tomum 47. Erigeron grandiflorum
16. Thalictrum aquilegifolium 47. Fritillaria imperialis
16. Lupinus : — nootkatensis, ar- 47. Gillenia trifoliata
boreus, polyphyllus 47. Polygonatum multiflorum
16. Delphinium “ Belladonna ” 47. Verbascum Chaixi
16. Achillea: — Millefolium rosea,|47. Senecio palmatifida
| ptarmica pl., serrata pl. 47, Primula sikkimensis
21. Echinacea (Rudbeckia) purpurea 47. Ranunculus speciosus
21. Rudbeckia:—Newmani, subto-|47. Corydalis nobilis
mentosa 47. Veronica angustifolia
21. Geranium :—armenum, ibericum, | 47.-Lathyrus latifolius
Lambertianum 47. Rosa vars.
hist TV.

(ee) he He ee et et et

The twelve next ditto, 25 to 4 feet high.
(The names already mentioned in List III. are omitted from this.)

. Echinops Ritro
. Eryngium celestinum

Tris :-— tridentata, sibirica vars.
Buphthalmum salicifolium

. Asphodelus :—luteus, albus
. Campanula :—latifolia alba, ur-/| 8. Centaurea :—montana,

ticifolia pl., macrantha

glaucescens, caulescens

. Galega orientalis

8. Veronica longifolia subsessilis
8. Chrysanthemum maximum
8. Thalictrum :—rugosum, adiant-

oides, purpureum

8. Hrigeron speciosum

macro-
cephala

. Kniphofia :—Rooperi, Burchelli,! 8. Spirzea astilboides
8. Anthericum Liliastrum
8. Cimicifuga racemosa

17. Baptisia australis ol
17. Papaver pilosum 31
17. Trollius napellifolius 31
17. Thermopsis fabacea 31
17. Morina longifolia 31
17. Geranium armenum AI
17. Anchusa italica 31
17. Gentiana lutea 31
17. Lathyrus Sibthorpii 43
26. Potentilla, Vase d’Or 43
26. Pentstemon gentianoides vars. 43
26. Antirrhinum vars. 43
26. Gaillardia aristata 43
26. Rudbeckia speciosa 43
31. Lysimachia punctata 3
31. Lythrum :—Salicaria, alatum 43
31. Lychnis Haageana 43
31. Acanthus spinosus 43

A.

B lhrenisye

. Spireea:—palmata, filipendula pl.,

. Dicentra :—spectabilis,

3. Aquilegia :—ccerulea, Stuarti
. Anemone:— japonica alba, alpina
. Trollius:—europzeus, americanus,

. Pronia:—vars. of officinalis, chi-

. Coreopsis lanceolata
. Ranunculus :—amplexicaulis, aco-

. Heuchera sanguinea

». Funkia Sieboldi

>. Dictamnus Fraxinella

. Helleborus:—niger, n. maximus

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

. Lilium dalmaticum

. Montbretia Pottsi

. Doronicum austriacum

. Chelone obliqua

. Veratrum nigrum

. Verbascum pheenicium

. Bocconia cordata

. Polygonum Sieboldi

. Ranunculus lanuginosus
. Tradescantia virginica coerulea
. Agapanthus umbellatus

. Lindelofia spectabilis

. Pascalia glauca

. Sparaxis pulcherrima

. Sidalcea candida

3. Geranium Wallichianum
3. Chrysocoma Linosyris

. Epilobium angustifolium

List VY,

The twelve most useful perennial herbaceous border plants, 9 inches to
2% feet high.

Campanula:—Van Houttei, azu- |
rea, grandiflora alba, macrantha, |
Dahurica, persicifolia alba |

stylosa, germanica vars.,

Kempferi vars., barbatus vars. |

. Polemonium :—Ffergussoni, pilo-

sum album, Richardsoni, coeru- |
leum grandiflorum

astilboides
Geranium :—armenum, ibericum,
platypetalum, eriostemon
formosa,
eximea

asiaticus, napellifolius

nensis, edulis, albiflora

nitifolius
Geum coccineum pl.
(Enothera Youngi
Carnations, Picotees, Pinks

Papaver:—nudicaule, rupifragum |
var. atlanticum, orientale

. Anthericum :—Liliastrum, Liliago

Gypsophila paniculata

. Potentilla vars.

24.
24.
24.
24.

Arnebia echioides

Inula Oculus Christi

Adonis vernalis

Lychnis:—Viscaria splendens pl.,
dioica rubra pl.

4. Sidalcea:—malveeflora, candida

. Alstroemeria aurantiaca

. Gaillardia grandiflora

. Helenium pumilum

. Rudbeckia Newmani

. Monarda didyma

. Achillea:—ptarmicapl., millefolia

rosea

24. Pyrethrum roseum vars.

. Montbretia: — crocosmeflora,

Pottsi

24. Statice :—latifolia, incana

. Veronica :—spicata alba,

longi-
folia subsessilis

. Lobelia cardinalis

. Pentstemon vars.

. Centaurea montana rubra
. Codonopsis ovata

Linum provinciale

. Eryngium amethystinum
. Tiarella cordifolia

. Mertensia virginica

. Chrysobactron Hookeri

. Orchis foliosa

. Lilium candidum

. Corydalis nobilis

. Cypripedium spectabile

. Delphinium “ Belladonna”
. Dodecatheon Jeffreyanum
. Linum alpinum

HARDY SUMMER PERENNIALS.

55.
56.
56.
56.

Erigeron speciosum

Narcissus vars.

Belamcanda chinensis

Tulipa :—Gesneriana, acuminata
retroflexa

Calla zethiopica

Kniphofia nobilis

Cistus vars.

Verbascum phceniceum

Sisyrinchium grandiflorum

Hieracium villosum

56.
56.
56.
56.
56.
56.

338

5A.
56.

Gentiana asclepiadea
Orobus :—aurantiacus,
roseus

formosus

56. Hemerocallis flava
56, Tradescantia virginica alba
56. Chrysanthemum: — lacustre,

maximum
Aconitum japonicum
Armeria cephalotes rubra
Buphthalmum salicifolium
Senecio pulcher

56.
56.
56.
56.

List VI.
The twelve next ditto, 9 inches to 23 feet high.
(The names already mentioned in List V. are omitted from this.)

—_

. Campanula :—glomerata, Hender-
soni, turbinata, pallida

Scabiosa caucasica

. Geranium :—dahuricum, Endresi

. Saxifraga cordifolia vars.

. Funkia :—ovata, Fortunei

. Lupinus nootkatensis

oo bo

. Delphinium :—cashmirianum, nu-
dicaule

. Agrostemma :—Coronaria,
Jovis

. Doronicum : — Clusii,
neum

3. Hesperis :—matronalis, m. pl.

Primula japonica

. Cheiranthus :—Marshalli, alpinus

. Caltha palustris pl.

. Geum miniatum

Inula glandulosa

. Pulmonaria arvenense

. Trollius Fortunei

. Gnothera speciosa

. Sedum spectabile

. Epimedium pinnatum

. Helenium grandiflorum

. Linum flavum

Flos-

wo wo wwwwe

plantagi-

. Dianthus:—Atkinsii,Napoleon III.

24.
24.

Meconopsis nepalensis
Thermopsis caroliniana
24. Lythrum alatum

24. Iberis gibraltarica

. Erodium Manescavi

. Coronilla iberica

. Mertensia sibirica

. Aquilegia chrysantha
. Polemonium Richardsoni
. Lychnis vespertina pl.
. Papaver alpinum

. Gentiana Andrewsii

. Asphedelus albus

. Oxalis floribunda

. Kniphofia Macowani

. Senecio Doronicum

. Galega officinalis

. Gaillardia maxima
Ononis rotundifolia

. Gillenia trifoliata

. Lindelofia spectabilis
. Tufted Pansies

. Verbascum cupreum

. Hemerocallis rutilans
. Orobus aureus

. Centaurea purpurea

. Pentstemon EKatoni

List VII.

The twelve most useful perennial herbaceous border plants, under
9 inches high.

1. Campanula:—turbinata, isophylla,
i. alba, G. F. Wilson, pula,

muralis, garganica hirsuta,
pumila, p. alba, carpatica,
c. pallida, imbricata

2. Anemone :—Pulsatilla, palmata,

coronaria, fulgens, apennina,
blanda, nemorosa

3, Hepatica :—angulosa, triloba

4, Gentiana :—acaulis, verna

4. Dianthus :—alpinus, plumarius,
deltoides, annulatus, barbatus
magniticus

6. Primula :—rosea, nivalis, Sieboldi
vars., vulgaris vars.

6. Iberis :—superba, coriafolia, sem-

pervirens, Prosti, gibraltarica

. Aubrietia :—Hendersoni, Leicht-

lini, violacea

9, Cheiranthus:—alpinus, Marshalli

E

(op)

334

bo

. Saxifraga :— oppositifolia,

. Platycodon :

. Silene:—Schafta, acaulis aurea,

maritima
Cam-

posii,granulata pl., Wallacei

. Alyssum :—saxatile reptans, al-

pestre

. Iris pumila vars.
. Phlox :—subulata vars., amoena
. Ginothera:—eximia, taraxacifolia,

macrocarpa

. Coronilla iberica

. Geranium sanguineum

. Viola:—pedata, cornuta vars.

. Arnebia echioides

. Achillea :—aurea, Clavenz

. Potentilla nitida

. Heuchera sanguinea

. Trillium grandiflorum

. Pulmonaria:—officinalis, virginica,

azurea

. Armeria vulgaris vars.

. Veronica:—rupestris, gentianoides
. Papaver :—nudicaule, alpinum
. Lychnis Viscaria splendens pl.
. Fritillaria vars.

. Dodecatheon integrifolium

. Ranunculus amplexicaulis

. Tiarella cordifolia

. Geum montanum

. Lithospermum prostratum

. Pansies

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

. Adonis vernalis

. Auriculas

. Epimedium pinnatum

. Erigeron aurantiacum

. Onosma tauricum

. Helianthemum :—vulgare

vars.,
luteus

. Cistus florentinus

. Linaria borealis

. Hypericum reptans

. Arabis alpina

. Phyteuma orbiculare

. Myosotis alpestris

. Bellis perennis vars.

. Doronicum austriacum

. Helleborus niger

. Convallaria majalis

. Polemonium Brunonis

. Statice Limonium album
. Chrysogonum virginicum
. Valeriana pyrenaica

. Daphne rupestris

. Chionodoxa sardensis

. Oxytropis Halleri

. Funkia Sieboldi

. Saponaria ocymoides splendens
. Tropzolum polyphyllum
. Oxalis floribundus

. Mimulus vars.

. Sisyrinchium grandiflorum
. Genista sagittalis.

List Vilik.
The twelve next ditto, under 9 inches high.
(Those mentioned in List VII. are not repeated here.)

. Campanula : — Portenschlagiana

mollis, pelviformis, Rooperi

. Veronica :—saxzatilis, prostrata,
corymbosa

. Polygonum : — spherostachyum,
Brunonis

. Arenaria:—montana, grandiflora,

Laucheana

. Iberis :—jucunda, petrea
. Ourisia coccinea

Epilobium:—latifolium, obcorda-
tum

. Dianthus:—cinnabarina, pluma-

rius “‘ Mrs. Sinkins ”’

. Geranium :—Endresi, cinereum
. Achillea :—umbellata, argentea

Phlox :—divaricata, frondosa
grandiflorum,

—

Maresii

. Cortusa Matthioli
. Phyteuma comosum
. Dodecatheon Jeffreyanum

13.
13.
13.
. Aubrietia deltoides

. Cardamine pratensis pl.

. Silene alpestris

. Jeffersonia diphylla

. Dondia Epipactis

. Liatris spicata

. Polemonium reptans

. Thymus Serpyllum

. Armeria alpina

. Hieracium villosum

. Genista :—villosa, tinctoria pl.
. Dracocephalum grandiflorum

. Gentiana septemfida cordifolia
. Erigeron Roylei

. Hypericum Coris

. Hedysarum obscurum

. Galium rubrum

. Lithospermum canescens

. Ramondia pyrenaica

Sanguinaria canadensis
Cyclamen vars.
Caltha palustris pl.

ooo

bo

. Scilla :—campanulata,

. Chionodoxa :—Lucilia,

HARDY SUMMER PERENNIALS,

. Primula spectabilis
. Lamium maculatum aureum

Viola lutea

. Potentilla splendens

37.
37.
37.
37.

335

Trollius americanus
Myosotis elegantissimus
Geum coccineum
Soldanella alpina

List IX. (a).

The twelve most useful bulbous plants for borders in spring
(January to June).

. Narcissus:—Sir Watkin, Emperor,

Empress, Barri conspicuus,
nanus, minor, Horsfieldi,
poeticus pl., p. ornatus, Leedsi
sibirica,
bifolia, b. alba, taurica
altaica, Dutch vars.

sarden-
sis

. Galanthus :—nivalis, Elwesi, pli-

catus, Fosteri

. Iris:—reticulata, Xiphium, xiphi- |

oides

. Fritillaria:—imperialis, i. lutea, |

Meleagris, M. alba, armena.

. Leucojum :—vernum, estivum
. Anemone :—fulgens,

apennina,
sylvestris, amplexicaulis, nemo-
rosa

. Crocus :—Imperati, Dutch vars.

Eh.

12.
13.

14,
. Tulipa:—sylvestris,Greigi,persica, |
14.

114.
ai
ELE (C
19.

20.
20.
20.
20.
20.
20.
20.

Erythronium :—Dens Canis, D.C.
album, giganteum

Muscari:—botryoides, lingulatum

Hyacinthus : amethystinus,
Dutch vars.

Anthericum :—ramosum, Liliago,
Liliastrum

Ornithogalum :—nutans,
midale.

Camassia esculenta

Triteelia :—uniflora, u. lilacina

Lilium :—umbellatum, candidum

Sisyrinchium :—grandiflorum, g.
album :

Bulbocodium vernum

Eranthis hiemalis

Gladiolus Colvillei albus

Puschkinia libanotica

Colchicum vars.

Dodecatheon intecrifolium

Trichonema roseum

pyta-

List EX. (2).
The twelve best ditto in summer (June to September).
(Those named in List IX. (a) are omitted from this.)

. Lilium:—pardalinum, auratum,
croceum, Martagon, M. album,
M. dalmaticum, tigrinum
splendens Leopoldi, testaceum,
speciosum vars., Hansoni,
Szovitsianum, pomponium,
Fortunei, F. pl. Chaixii,
Krameri

. Montbretia: — crocosmeeflora,
Pottsii

. Gladiolus:—Lemoinei, ganda-

vensis vars., Saundersii

. Crinum :—capense, Powelli, P.
album
. Hyacinthus:—candicans, como-

sus.

. Schizostylis coccinea
. Colchicum :—autumnale, specio-

sum, s. rubrum, variegatum

. Milla :—laxa, biflora

ae
Wile
Le:
ile

erie

. Calochortus :—lilacinus,

Alstroemeria vars.
Sternbergia lutea

. Tigridia vars.

. Trillium grandiflorum
. Crocus speciosus

. Allium: — carinatum,

McNab-

janum

. Orchis foliosa

. Tropzolum speciosum

. Bravoa geminiflora

. Pancratium :—maritimum, illyri-

cum

splen-
dens, venustus

Oxalis lobata

Iris juncea

Sparaxis pendula

Calliprora lutea

Ornithogalum umbellatum

E 2

336

List X.

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

(a).

Desirable plants best suited for rockwork in exposed situations.

Aczna:—microphylla, nova zealan-
dica

Achillea tomentosa

Androsace :—carnea, lanuginosa

Anemone vernalis

Arabis alpina

Arenaria: — balearica, czspitosa,
grandiflora

Armeria :—Laucheana, maritima

Aster alpinus

Aubrietia :—Leichtlini, purpurea

Calystegia pubescens

Campanula :—abietina, alba, alpina,
muralis, nobilis, Portenschlagiana,
pulla, pumila, turbinata

Cerastium tomentosum

Cheiranthus alpinus

Cistus :—alyssoides, florentinus

Coronilla iberica

Crucianella stylosa

Daphne: — Blagayana, Cneorum,
rupestris
Dianthus :—-alpinus, Caryophyllus,

deltoides, neglectus
Draba aizoides
Edraianthus dalmaticus
Erinus alpinus
Erodium Manescavi
Genista :—tomentosa fl. pl., triquetra
Gentiana :—acaulis, verna
Geranium :—cinereum, lancastriense
Geum montanum
Globularia vulgaris
Gnaphalium Leontopodium
Gypsophila :—prostrata, repens
Helianthemum vars.
Hepaticas
Heuchera sanguinea
Hieracium aurantiaca
Hippocrepis comosa
Hutchinsia alpina

Iberis corifolia

Iris reticulata

Linaria :—alpina, Cymbalaria

Lithospermum: — petrzeum,
tratum, purpureo-cceruleum

Loiseleuria procumbens

Lysimachia Numularia

Morisia hypogea

Omphalodes Luciliz

Onosma tauricum

Papaver alpinum

Pentstemon ;—Menziesii, humile

Petrocallis pyrenaica

Phlox :—frondosa, Nelsoni (white),
Nelsoni hybrids, setacea, s. atro-
purpurea

Phyteuma: — comosum, orbiculare,
Schechuzeri

Polygonum vaccinifolium

Potentilla nitida

Primula: — marginata,
vulgaris

Ruta patavina

Salix lanata

Saponaria :—ocymoides, o. Loderi

Saxifraga: — aizoides aurantiaca,
ajugifolia, Andrewsii, aretioides,

pros-

minima,

Boydii, Burseriana ceratophylla,
Cotyledon, Geum, hypnoides,
McNabiana, nepalense, oppositi-

folia, retusa
Sedum :—acre, variegatum, Sieboldii
Sempervivum californicum

Silene: — maritima pl. pumila,
rupestris, Schafta
Thymus: — hirsutus, lanuginosus,

Serpyllum coccineus

Tropzolum polyphyllum

Veronica : — cupressoides, prostrata,
rupestris (Hort.)

Zauschneria californica

List X. (0).

Desirable plants for sheltered situations

(The names already mentioned in List X. are omitted from this.)

Acantholimon :—glumaceum, venus-
tum

Alsine Rosani

Alyssum alpestre

Andromeda fastigiata

Androsace: — foliosa. Laggeri,
mentosa, villosa, Vitalliana

Andryala lyrata

Sar-

Anemone :—apennina, blanda, fulgens,
Robinsoniana
Antennaria tomentosa
Arenaria czspitosa aurea
Arnebia echioides
Asperula odorata
Astragalus alpinus
Aubrietia Hendersoni

HARDY SUMMER PERENNIALS.

Bellium bellidioides

Campanula: — fragilis,
pulla, Waldensteiniana

Cyananthus lobatus

Cyclamen :—Atkinsii alba, repandum,
&c.

Cypripedium : — acaulis,
pubescens, spectabile

Dodecatheon Meadia

Edraianthus serpyllifolius

Epilobium obcordatum

Erigeron aurantiacum

Gentiana :—affinis, cruciata

Geranium vars.

Globularia bellidifolia

Glossocomia ovata

Haberlea rhodopensis

Hedysarum vars.

Hepatica angulosa

Hyoscyamus orientalis

Linnea borealis

Lunaria pallida

Linum flavum

Myosotis :—alpestris, rupicola

garganica,

Calceolus,

LIST

337

Opuntia Rafinesquiana

Phlox :—ovata, The Bride, Vivid
Plumbago Larpentze
Polemonium humile

| Polygala Chamzbuxus purpurea

Potentilla dubia

Primula :—ciliata, c. purpurea, villosa,
viscosa

Pyrola rotundifolia

Ramondia pyrenaica

Ranunculus :—alpinus, Lyalli

Saxifraga :—longifolia, mutata, oppo-
sitifolia major, pyramidalis

Sedum glaucum

Sempervivum :—arachnoideum, triste

Shortia galacifolia

Silene: — acaulis alba, a. rubra,
alpestris

Soldanella :—alpina, montana
Spergula aurea

Trifolium uniflorum
Tropzolum polyphy ta
Veronica saxatilis

XI.

Desirable border plants requiring slight shade.

Aconitum vars.
Anemone nemorosa
Aquilegia vars.
Asclepias vars.

Astilbe vars.

Auricula

Bocconia cordata
Caltha palustris pl.
Campanula vars.

_ Cardamine pratensis pl.
Centaurea montana
Clintonia Andrewsiana
Cyclamen vars.
Cynoglossum apenninum
Cypripedium vars.

Hypericum calycinum

Inula vars.

Iris Keempferi

Lilium :—testaceum, giganteum
Lupinus polyphylus

Meconopsis :—nepalensis, Wallichii
Mertensia vars.

Mimulus :—vars., cardinalis
Monarda vars.

Myosotis sylvatica

Orchis foliosa

Orobus vars.

Peeonia Browni

Podophyllum :—Emodi, peltatum
Polemonium humile album

Dentaria : — polyphylla, digitata, | Polyanthus

pinnata Primula : — japonica, cashmiriana,
Dicentra spectabilis vulgaris
Digitalis Sanguinaria canadensis
Doronicum caucasicum Saxifraga Fortunei
Gentiana septemfida Spireea vars.
Geranium pratense album Tradescantia vars.
Gillenia trifoliata Trillium :—gyrandiflorum, sessile var.
Helleborus vars. californicum
Helonias bullata Xerophyllum asphodeloides

List XII.
Desirable plants for deep shade. ’

Ajuga reptans
Asperula odorata

Astrantia major
Buphthalmum salicifolium

338

Convallaria majalis
Cortusa Matthioli
Dodecatheon vars.
Doronicum plantagineum
Epigeea repens
Epimedium :—pinnatum, niveum
Eranthis hiemalis
Funkia Sieboldi
Gentiana asclepiadea
Geranium pheum
Helleborus vars.

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Hypericum calycinum
Mimulus moschatus
Polygonatum
Ranunculus aconitifolius pl.
Salvia glutinosa
Senecio japonicus
Smilacina bifolia
Trillium grandiflorum
Tussilago fragrans
Uvularia grandiflora
Vinca vars.

List XIII.
Plants most useful for cutting purposes.

Achillea :—ptarmica pl., mongolica
Agrostemma Coronaria

Anemone japonica vars.

Aquilegia vars.

Arundo colorata

Asparagus tenuissimus

Astilbe japonica

Caltha palustris

Campanula :—persicifolia alba, p.a. pl.
Centaurea :—montana, m. rubra
Cephalaria alpina

Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum
Coreopsis lanceolata

Delphinium formosum vars.
Dianthus (Mule Pinks)

Doronicum plantagineum excelsum
Echinops vars.

Erica australis

Erigeron speciosum

Eryngium vars.

Gaillardia grandiflora

Galega :—officinalis, o. alba

Geum miniatum

Gypsophila paniculata

Helenium pumilum

Helleborus niger vars.

Iris :—germanica, barbata

Lathyrus latifolius albus

Lilium :—Harrisi, speciosum, candi-
dum

Lychnis : — Viscaria splendens pl.,
vespertina pl., dioica rubra

Matricaria inodora pl.

Montbretia :—crocosmeeflora, Pottsi

Myosotis :—rupicola, alpestris

Narcissus vars.

Olearia Gunniana

Peonia vars.

Papaver :—nudicaule, Rhceas, Shirley
vars., bracteatum

Phlox decussata vars.

Polemonium Richardsoni

Pyrethrum :—roseum vars.,uliginosum

Rosa rugosa

Rudbeckia :—Newmani, nitida

Scabiosa caucasica

Spirea Filipendula pl.

Thalictrum adiantifolium

Trollius europzeus

Tufted Pansies

List <1;
Plants with ornamental foliage, variegated or otherwise.

Acanthus :—latifolius, mollis, spino-
sissimus
Achillea zegyptica
Andryala lyrata
Artemisia tanacetifolia
Arundo conspicua
Astrantia variegata
Bambusa vars.
Bocconia cordata
Centaurea babylonica
Crambe cordifolia
Cynara Scolymus
Dicentra eximea
Diphylleia cymosa

Epimedium pinnatum

Eryngium maritimum

Eulalia japonica

Ferula :—campestris, conspicua

Foeniculum vulgare

Funkia :—ovata, Fortunei variegata,
Sieboldi

Gunnera :—scabra, manicata

Gynerium argenteum

Helleborus fcetidus

Iris foetidissima variegata

Lamium maculatum aureum

Lavatera arborea variegata

Ligularia macrocephala

HARDY SUMMER PERENNIALS.

Melianthus major

Meum athamanticum

Phalaris arundinacea
Podophyllum Emodi
Polygonum sachaliense
Rheum :—palmatum, officinale
Rodgersia podophylla

339

Saxifraga peltata
Senecillis carpatica
Spirza Aruncus
Stachys lanata
Thalictrum vars.
Veratrum vars.
Verbascum olympicum

List XV.
Desirable plants for groups on lawns, &c.

Aciphylla Colensoi
Anemone japonica
Arundo conspicua
Bambusa Metake
Bocconia cordata
Cordyline australis
Cynara Scolymus
Draczna indivisa
Echinops sphzrocephalus
Eremurus robustus
Eryngium pandanifolium
Erythrochiton palmatifidum
Ferula tingitana
Gunnera scabra

Gynerium argenteum

Helleborus angustifolius

Kniphofia :—caulescens, nobilis

Laserpitium crithmifolium

Meloposperma cicutaria

Onopordon Acanthium

Peeonia vars.

Phormium :—tenax, t. varjegata, re-
curva

Rheum vars.

Rodgersia podophylla

Veratrum viride

Yucca :—gloriosa, filamentosa

List XVI.
The best perennial climbing plants.

Akebia quinata

Ampelopsis Veitchi

Apios tuberosa

Aristolochia :—gigas, Sipho

Calystegia :—grandiflora, pubescens

l.

Clematis:—coccinea, coerulea, odorata,
Fortunei, Jackmani, lanuginosa,
montana

Codonopsis grandiflorus

Convolvulus :—dahuricus, mauritani-
cus, sepium pl.

Forsythia suspensa

Humulus Lupulus

Ipomeea pandurata

Lapageria rosea

Lathyrus :—Drummondi, grandiflorus,
latifolius splendens, 1. albus, mari-
timus, rotundifolia, Sibthorpi,
tuberosa

Linaria Cymbalaria

Mandevilla suaveolens

Mutisia decurrens

Passiflora coerulea

Periploca grzeca

Solanum crispum

Stauntonia latifolia

Tropzolum :—speciosum, tuberosum

Vicia sylvatica

Wistaria chinensis

List XVII.
Plants requiring particular soils.

Alpine Primroses (peat)
Andromeda fastigiata (peat)
Bryanthus erectus (peat)
Gentianas (lime rubbish)
Gnaphalium Leontopodium (chalk)

Menziesia empetriformis (peat)
Omphalodes Luciliz (chalk)
Ourisia coccinea (peat)
Philesia buxifolia (peat)
Saxifraga longifolia (chalk)

840 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

CONFERENCE ON SMALL FRUITS,
WEDNESDAY, Juty 8, 1891.

Tis Conference was convened for the purpose of dealing with
such small hardy fruits as Strawberries, Gooseberries, and
Raspberries. Lists of the best varieties in order of merit have
been carefully tabulated, and are given at the end of the papers.

The chair was taken by Mr. Gzo. Bunyarp, and in opening
the proceedings, at 2 p.m., he expressed the hope that the Con-
ference would be the means of spreading a large amount of
information about what were technically called “ small fruits.’
The importance of the Conference was perhaps greater than
appeared on the surface, because the whole of the subjects to be
discussed required only ordinary treatment, and needed no very
great horticultural skill, and the fruit supplied a vast amount of
jam, in which form it reached homes where it would not be
procurable in any other way.

STRAWBERRIES FOR PRIVATE GARDENS.
By Mr. W. Awan.

A DAILY supply of Strawberries during four to five months in
the year from the open garden was unthought of even a few
years back, as itis generally known that when the early and
late kinds are subjected to the same cultivation a period of three
or four weeks is the average duration of the crop.

By making the most of the various sites that our walled-in
gardens give us, either for forwarding the earliest or retarding
the latest varieties, a daily supply for the above period is not only
possible, but certain.

My system, which I have practised now for some years, has
never failed, and has become part of our annual rotation of crops.

Annual Planting.—The making of new Strawberry-beds,
or plantations, every season is now generally adopted in private
gardens, and is acknowledged to be the best method for the
production of extra fine fruit, the yearling plants always pro-
ducing the heaviest and finest specimens; but the greatest

STRAWBERRIES FOR PRIVATE GARDENS. 841

weight of fruit will be gathered when the plants are two years
old. For the making of new beds the best runners will also be
obtained from the young plantation.

Destroy the plants after the second crop is gathered. Two
seasons is long enough for them to be on the ground, which
may be planted with Broccoli, or any other winter crop, as soon
as cleared. This method, it will be seen, entails the making of
one bed and the destruction of another annually.

The preparation of the ground must be done thoroughly.
Bastard trenching I prefer, when necessary to trench at all, and
heavy manuring, as the land is required to produce three crops
from this one preparation. The winter season is the best in
which to undertake the work; the extra labour can best be
spared when other subjects are not so pressing.

It is not necessary to keep the ground fallow until the first
week in August (when the young Strawberry plants ought to be
ready for transplanting), but a crop, say of Onions or Carrots,
may be sown in rows sO inches apart, as that distance will
allow ample space for the young Strawberry plants to grow
without being shaded.

Varieties to Grow.—I will only name the highest flavoured
(out of some sixteen varieties that I must own I cultivate) in their
order of ripening, leaving the selection of the large, showy
varieties to the fancy or taste of the cultivator—La Grosse
Sucrée, Vicomtesse Héricart de Thury, Sir J. Paxton, President,
The Countess, Auguste Boisselot, British Queen, Dr. Hogg,
Loxford Hall, Elton Pine, and Waterloo.

If strong runners of La Grosse Sucrée are planted at the foot
of a south wall in August, and the border well mulched, they
will produce an excellent crop early in the following June. At
Gunton I can rely upon it being ready by the middle of the
month. In warmer districts it would be ready ten days or a
fortnight earlier. A succession of fruit may be obtained by
planting Vicomtesse Héricart de Thury on a south border, to
come on before the main crop is ready in the open garden.

For north borders, to prolong the supply after the bulk is
over, I plant Loxford Hall, Elton Pine, and Waterloo. The latter
is the most valuable of the late varieties, and may be planted
quite at the foot of the north wall, thus prolonging the crop. to
the end of August. Forced plants that were planted out in

342 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

April will be in full bearing by this time, maintaining a supply
through September and October.

Autumn-bearing Strawberries after forcing are limited. I
am only acquainted with two kinds—viz., Vicomtesse Héricart
de Thury and La Grosse Sucrée—that are amenable to this
treatment. ‘They may truly be termed all-round varieties, and
as such are greatly valued by gardeners in general.

STRAWBERRIES FOR FORCING.
By Mr. Grorce Normay, F.R.H.S.

Forcine Strawberries is an important section of gardening, sc
much so that, next to Grapes, Strawberries are grown under
glass in a greater number of gardens than any other kind of
fruit.

When the season commences for indoor Strawberries other
kinds of fruit are scarce, therefore they are of more importance
than the actual value. Most gardeners give a great deal of atten-
tion to them; Ido for one, and I am pleased to give my prac-
tical experience of them.

Strawberries may be had in all the months of the year, but
the forcing season is generally considered to be as early in the year
as the fruits can be had, until they are ripe out of doors. Straw-
berries are expected in many establishments in March. I think
about the first of that month isas early as they can be had profit-
ably; if attempted much before, a greater number of plants fail
to throw up flowers, thus entailing a loss of room and plants.

I have been kindly asked to name a few of the best kinds
for forcing. I have grown many kinds in pots; most seasons I
try two or three with which I am not acquainted by the sideof and
under the same conditions as those I have grown for many years.
The points that a variety should possess to be a good one are
flavour, size, colour, and with a constitution to set freely.

I will name the merits of the following kinds as I have found
them :—

Vicomtesse Héricart de Thury.—Good flavour, medium size,
good colour, and sets freely.

La Grosse Sucrée.—Good flavour, large, good colour ; does not
set quite so freely as the first-named kind.

STRAWBERRIES FOR FORCING. 848

Noble.—Second-rate flavour, large, good colour, and sets
freely.

Sir C. Napier.—Sharp flavour, large, good colour, and sets
freely.

President.—Good flavour, large, good colour, and sets freely.

Sir J. Paxton.—Good flavour, large, good colour, and sets
freely.

For early forcing I recommend the first three kinds, and the
last three for succession. Of the six kinds there are two which
I consider the best—Sir C. Napier and Vicomtesse Heéricart de
Thury. Take one season with another these two produce the
greatest weight of fruit.

In the past season I have given a limited trial to Auguste
Nicaise and Latest of All. Both have some good points; they
are large and set freely. I purpose trying them again next
season.

When the kinds are decided upon, the first thing is to pre-
pare a piece of ground, exposed to the sun, for runners, to produce
runners the following season. The ground should be well
trenched and manured some time before the runners are ready
to plant, to give it time tosettle. The runners should be planted
as early in the season as they can be procured, in rows a yard
apart and eighteen inches from plant to plant in the rows. The
following season take off all the flowers, so as to induce the growth
of strong early runners. About the 1st of July is the time the
runners are ready to place on pots. Strawberry plants require
a great deal of labour bestowed on them to prepare them for
forcing. Generally the best way pays the best in the end; it is
certainly so with Strawberry plants. Good plants do not take any
more room in the houses than second-rate ones,

Strawberries thrive best in rather heavy soil out of doors.
In pots a more porous soil suits them. Sandy, fibrous loam is
what they require. If the loam is heavy it may be made porous
with burnt earth, so that water passes through freely, which is
most essential while they are out of doors. In times of heavy
rains add to the soil 100th part of soot; itis a good manure, and
distasteful to worms.

There are different ideas about the sizes of flower-pots for
the plants. For forcing early I like 48’s (44-inch pots). Good
drainage is necessary. For this nothing answers better than

844 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

an inch of crocks. Place over these some kind of loose material,
such as a little moss or the most fibrous part of loam, to pre-
vent the soil going amongst the drainage, and on this shake
a little soot. This is a good preventive against worms entering
the pots. The soil should be in a medium state of moisture,
neither wet nor dry. It is better to err on the side of dryness.
It may be evenly rammed into the pots, as hard as one can fairly
do it with a potting-stick, to within one inch of the rim, so as
to leave space for water.

The runners may be placed on the pots and pegged down
with pegs made from old brooms or from the trimmings of pea-
sticks. In fine weather they may be slightly watered in the
afternoon, to encourage them to make roots; but on no account
should they be watered unless the soil is dry on the surface, as
there is great danger in soddening the soil with over-watering—
indeed, there is danger of the soil being over-watered with heavy
rains——before the runners are rooted. In four weeks the roots
will have reached the sides of the pots in sufficient numbers to
support them, when they may be cut from the parent plants and
placed in an open space, on a firm bottom, with sufficient space
between the plants to allow them to grow. From this time
until the growth is finished they must be examined on fine days
for water.

The runners of succession kinds I like to place on 60’s
(83-inch pots). As soon as the roots reach the sides they should
be potted into 82’s (6-inch pots) and placed in a similar position
as recommended for those laid on 48’s, and receive the same
attention as to watering. A good hard syringing on fine evenings
does them a great deal of good. If it is directed to the under-
side of the leaves it prevents and washes off mildew.

When the plants are growing freely the crowns multiply ;
one or two strong ones are better than more. To regulate this
the plants should be looked over every week, and the small
crowns and runners taken off.

By the 1st of November growth will be completed; the
crowns should be prominent and firm, and the pots filled with
roots containing stored-up sap, ready to support growth when
excited by heat. The plants having finished growth, they should
be placed in their winter quarters. I believe many failures occur
through Strawberry plants being kept too dry at the roots and

STRAWBERRIES FOR FORCING. 845

too warm in the winter season, when they should be at rest until
taken in for forcing.

Plunged in ashes in cold pits, with the lights on only in severe
weather and at the time of strong cutting winds, is no doubt
the correct treatment for them. But few gardeners have
sufficient protection of this kind for them. I for one have not.
About the date named I plunge my plants in ashes, on a well-
drained hard bottom. The situation is sheltered from the north.
All dead leaves are left on the plants; this is their natural
protection, which is all they have. Some pots are broken by
the frost—from 100 to 200. As I grow 5,500 annually, the
breakage is not very large; but I think they are more than com-
pensated for by the soil being thoroughly sweetened by nature.

Strawberry plants are not long intact in their winter quarters.
Before November is past the forcing season must commence, so as
to have ripe Strawberries early in March. [I like to give them as
long a rest as possible; the third week in the month is a good
time to take the first batch into the forcing-house. I mix half a
pound of sulphur in three gallons of water, and immerse every
plant before taking it indoors, to destroy and prevent mil-
dew. Where a Strawberry-house does not exist, other houses
will dofor them. They must have a place near the glass, where
a good circulation of air can be admitted when required. I
prefer placing them where they are to grow, rather than starting
them in bottom-heat, as the roots are liable to receive a check
after moving them to the shelves.

When they are in the house the details of their requirements
want thoroughly studying and carrying out. Watering is very
important. The soil should never be allowed to get dry. When
the plants are first put in, water when slightly moist; increase
the quantity of water as the growth becomes stronger. By the
time the fruit is “‘set’’ water may be given when the soil is not
very wet, until the fruit begins to colour, when it must be partially
withheld, to give flavour. In the last part of the forcing season
Strawberries frequently require watering twice a day, and some-
times three times.

Strawberry plants begin to grow out of doors when the
temperature is low, so it is necessary to commence forcing with
a low temperature—50° at night, 55° on dull days, and 60° by
sun-heat suits them. Slightly increase the temperature with the

346 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

growth, so that the mean temperature is about 58° to 60° when
the blooms begin to open, which is the same as when Strawberries
are in bloom outside. After the “‘setting”’ stage the mean tempera-
ture may be 65°, or the fruit may be forced hard, according to
the time it is required. After the fruit is formed everything
is easy, strict attention being paid to the ventilation. In forcing
Strawberries it should be borne in mind that they are hardy
plants, and dislike a close, stagnant atmosphere in all stages of
growth ; therefore at all times when the external temperature is
above 82° Fahrenheit air should be on the structure, with an
increased amount while they are in bloom, and a greater amount
of heat in the pipes at the same time, to keep up the required
temperature.

Except when in bloom, Strawberry plants are much benefited
by having the syringe freely used on fine days, up to the time the
fruit begins to colour ; it assists to check insects. The plants are
liable to be infested with green-fly. Fumigating is the best pre-
ventive; an extra fumigating should be given before the blooms
begin to open. If they are infested with fly while in blocm they
will not set, neither will the blooms bear fumigating.

Red-spider is another enemy, for which syringing is the best
remedy, and also assists to prevent mildew. This latter disease
is sometimes very troublesome, particularly if there is a continu-
ance of dull, damp weather. If it appears, the pipes should
be painted with sulphur, and extra heat got in them, which soon
destroys it.

The Strawberries are much improved in size by limiting the
number of fruits according to the size of the pots. Six are suffi-
cient for a 48, and eight to ten for a 82, according to the kinds.
By reducing them to the above numbers a greater weight of first
quality fruit will be the result. Thinning should be attended to
in good time. I thin mine as soon as the blooms begin to open,
so that the strength of the plant is not wasted on superfluous
blooms. As soon as the fruit is set the plants should be fed
with some kind of manure, of which there is a good choice in the
present day. From the time the fruit is set until it ripens is
but short, therefore a kind of manure that suits them and acts
quickly is what is required. It should contain phosphate,
ammonia, and lime, freely soluble. It should be used according
to the strength, spread on the surface of the soil, or a portion

STRAWBERRIES FOR FORCING. 847

put into the water occasionally. It may be discontinued when
the fruit commences to colour. A dry, airy atmosphere should be
maintained to finish them.

If the details are carried out as advised, the result will be
firm, well-finished forced Strawberries.

THE GOOSEBERRY.
By Mr. D. THomson.

THE Gooseberry is undoubtedly the most generally cultivated of
all our hardy fruits. In the humblest gardens of our poorest
peasantry, in the most remote and outlandish districts, a few
Gooseberry bushes are found where no other fruit is attempted
or cared for. Being indigenous in Britain, as well as in other
parts of Europe, it thrives and ripens in latitudes and at eleva-
tions where none other of our hardy fruits come to maturity.
It sueceeds in a latitude 16° north of London, but not in a
latitude so far south of it. Hence much finer Gooseberries are
grown in the cooler climate of Scotland, and in England north
of York, than in the hotter and drier parts of the South of
England. And owing to the cooler and moister climate of the
north, the season of ripe Gooseberries is much longer than it is
possible to make it in the south. This fact alone indicates the
desirableness of choosing as cool a situation as possible for the
culture of this fruit in the southern half of Britain. The use-
fulness and the refreshing deliciousness of the well-matured
Gooseberry, render it a most popular fruit among all classes,
from the humblest cottar to the peer; and in a green state it is
most important to our toiling thousands in towns, supplying
as it does a most wholesome and relishable ingredient for
tarts at a season when no other fruits are largely available for
the purpose. For this reason, if for no other, the Gooseberry
has long been the most popular of fruits in the densely
populated Midlands, the working classes of which parts have
long been famous for their interest in and devotion to the
culture and production of new varieties, especially large show
sorts—a result that has been amply attained, but, as in the case
of other fruits, it is to be feared at the expense of quality in

848 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

flavour. The Gooseberry competitions of Lancashire in particular
have long been famous, and in Scotland, during the Gooseberry
season, Gooseberry or Grozat fairs used to be common in the
small county towns, and are so in certain of them to this day.
Propagation.—Of course there are various ways of propa-
gating the Gooseberry—from seeds (a method only adopted when
new varieties are the object), from layers, suckers, and cuttings,
the latter being by far the most generally adopted, and also the
better method for the production of symmetrical and fruitful
bushes. The simplicity with which propagation by cuttings is
effected renders it unnecessary to dwell at any great length on
the minute details of it. There are some points of much im-
portance to the future well-doing of the bushes that must be
pointedly referred to. Any time after the wood is ripe and leafless,
onwards till the buds begin to burst into growth, may be termed
the season for putting in the cuttings. Stillit is better not to delay
after the end of November, for soon after the turn of the year
Gooseberries begin to move. Stout, well-matured growths, and
as straight as possible, of not less than 1 foot and not more than
14 inches long, should be selected. These are generally best got
from comparatively young and vigorous bushes. All the buds on
the lower half of the cutting should be carefully removed,
especially where there are clusters of small buds round the
base. If these are not effectually removed they become
troublesome in after years as sucker-producers, a growth that
should never be allowed. Three or four good buds should be
left at the top of the cuttings to form the first growths for a
foundation to the bush; and there should not be any buds left
between these and the base of the cutting, for it is most desirable
to have a clean stem of at least 6 or 8 inches above the
ground before any growths are allowed, because when the first
branches start at just the surface of the soil the bush is sure in
after years to get more or less soiled up, and the points from
which the first branches start become a nest of sucker growths
that are most troublesome and injurious, crowding the
centres of the bushes and robbing the primary fruit-bearing
portions. The cuttings root freely in any light, moderately rich,
loamy soil. An open situation should be chosen in preference to
one that is shaded with trees. The cuttings should be firmly fixed
in the soil, always bearing in mind the clean stem of at least

THE GOOSEBERRY. 349

6 inches between the soil and the first bud. The rows will be
wide enough apart at 14 inches, and the plants at 8 inches in the
rows.

Young Plants.—The cuttings should produce three or four
growths about a foot in length (according to the sorts) the first
year; these at pruning time to be cut back to three or four buds,
which will the following year produce sufficient growths to form
the main branches of the bush. In spring, before growth com-
mences, they should be run out into nursery lines, 2 feet by 2 feet
between the plants, it being undesirable to allow them to remain
crowded in the cutting lines to make attenuated and ill-
matured growths. The ground should be moderately manured
if the soil be heavy and cool, giving more in lighter and drier soils.
Keep them free from weeds, and apply some mulching material
in summer to prevent over-dryness, of which the Gooseberry ig
very impatient. If the plants have thriven well, the stronger-
growing sorts will be large enough the third year to be planted
in their permanent quarters. But, as a rule, it is the fourth
year before it is indispensable to move them, particularly if
ground is scarce, so that they may be allowed to make their third
year’s growth before being planted out permanently.

The second year’s growth should be carefully examined when
the plants have fairly started into growth, and assuming that
the cuttings the first year sent away three to four shoots for
foundations, as already referred to. And should these foundation
erowths be sending away more than three to four young growths
they should be reduced to that number, leaving the stoutest and
best placed. The young bushes will thus the second year pro-
duce twelve to sixteen growths, which are quite sufficient for the
framework of a sufficiently large bush. At the third year’s growth
these framework growths should not be cut too hard back—say
to about 1 foot each.

The Frwt-bearing Situation.—In selecting quarters for
making permanent plantations the locality and climate should
determine whether an open or a partially shaded situation should
be preferred. There can be no doubt that in the warmer and
drier parts of England, and especially on light soils, a partially
shaded situation is best. In the North, where the climate is
cooler and moister, I give preference for the main crop to an open
situation. In my own experience I have had Gooseberry crops

F

350 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

rendered quite useless in England in hot, dry, open quarters, the
bushes suffering severely and the fruit parboiled and nauseous.
The method frequently carried out by growers for market of
planting rows of Gooseberries betweens rows of standard Apple,
Pear, and Plum trees is as good a system as can be adopted
in such localities as are warm and dry. In private gardens a
border behind a north kitchen garden wall is a good situation.
In the North, again, I should always prefer an open quarter of
good loamy soil. In all cases a rather deep, cool soil is best.
And before making a new plantation it should be well manured
and trenched, for in after years the manure applied should at
most be only forked into or laid on the surface of the ground,
as it is injurious to dig or fork deeply amongst the roots of
fruit-bearing bushes. |

The fixing of the distances at which bushes should be planted
is also a point to be regulated by the locality, soil, and the
consequent vigour the plants usually attain. In England I
found 5 feet by 5 feet sufficient, while in Scotland, where the
bushes grow more robustly, 6 feet by 6 feet is not by any means
too much room to give them. In planting the bushes it is very
undesirable to plant deeper than they were in the nursery lines.
Deep planting is an evil, and has a tendency to produce suckers,
always to be avoided. For the formation of symmetrical bushes,
if labour can be afforded it is a good plan to fix a hoop to three
or four stakes round each bush, about 2 feet from the ground,
when they are planted, and to these hoops fix or tie the outer
shoots of the plants, so as to get them into equidistant positions.
Not more than three leaders should occupy the centre of the
bush. ?
The pruning of these bushes during the time of their fruit-
bearing existence is very simple. Supposing the bush when per-
manently planted to consist of twelve to fourteen leading growths
or branches shortened back to about 1 foot of the previous year’s
growth, at next pruning time there are to be dealt with a
leading growth and a number of laterals on each limb. The
leader should be shortened back a little, according to the vigour
of the variety, and the lateral growths spurred or cut back to two
or three buds. This process of pruning goes on yearly till the
leaders are the desired height—say 4 to 5 feet high—when they
algo are cut back closely the same as the laterals. In addition to

THE GOOSEBERRY. $51

this winter pruning, the bushes should be carefully gone over
about the beginning of June, if time can possibly be spared, and
the superfluous lateral growths disbudded or removed, so that the
bush does not become a thicket of young growths that do not,
in consequence of being so crowded, get properly ripened.
Strong growths that over-master others should be stopped
or removed altogether. As they get aged and the bushes past
their best, whole limbs often die back, and young shoots must be
encouraged to take their place. But when plantations show
unmistakable signs of giving way it is well to be ready with their
successors.

If the ground has been well manured before planting, and is
naturally good, little or no manure is needed till the bushes
get into heavy bearing, when rich farmyard manure should
be laid on as a summer mulching, and be forked in after the
bushes are pruned in winter. This is especially applicable to
England and warm, dry soils and climates.

The protection of the fruit from birds in almost all gardens
is indispensable, and my method of doing this is to drive stakes
into the ground 12 feet apart all over the quarter. The
stakes stand 5 feet out of the ground, and lght rails 12 feet
long are fixed on the tops of these stakes and nets drawn over
the whole quarter, and at such a height as completely clears the
bushes and admits of the fruit being gathered and the bushes
being otherwise cared for without removing the net. The stakes
and rails are permanent, and if of larch will last many years.

In wet localities such as my own (Dumfriesshire) the bushes
soon get covered with lichen unless it be kept down, which is
effectually and easily done by dusting the bushes with caustic
lime after pruning and when they are damp.

Caterpillars are very troublesome some seasons, and the
easiest and most effectual remedy I know of is to dust the bushes
when damp with Hellebore powder, and to syringe it off after it
has served its purpose. A very good practice is to remove in
winter a few inches of the soil for a radius of 2 feet round each
bush, and to replace the old with fresh loam. This removes the
larve and nourishes the bushes as well, for they root freely into
the fresh soil.

Nice fresh Gooseberries are always appreciated at dessert, or

more especially for breakfast and luncheon, and to prolong the
F 2

552 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

season is therefore desirable. This in the northern part of the
country can easily be accomplished, even to the end of Oetober.
It is quite usual to see fine fresh Gooseberries at Scotch shows
about the middle of September. These, as a rule, are gathered
from ordinary bushes that have perhaps been shaded with mats
or canvas after becoming ripe. The best way to lengthen
out the season of Gooseberries is to plant a portion of a
wall with a due north aspect with some Warringtons, and
train them on the multiple-cordon system, and keep the laterals
spurred in precisely the same as is adopted with Red Currants
on fences or walls, or in fact with Gooseberry bushes grown in
the ordinary way. The main shoots should not be closer than
10 inches. Ifa coping of wood be placed on the wall to throw
off wet, using a net to protect the fruit from birds, they can be
kept fresh till far into October, and. are then very useful and
acceptable.

As to the varieties of Gooseberries, their name is legion, and
I do not profess to be acquainted with such as are now grown
by some for prizes offered for mere size. Their flavour is, I
believe, in inverse ratio to their size, and, so far as I am aware,
the older varieties have never been superseded for flavour. These
are, among others:

Red. White.
Ironmonger. Bright Venus.
Keen’s Seedling. Hedgehog.

Red Champagne. Mayor of Oldham.
Red Warrington. Whitesmith.
Turkey Red.
Wilmot’s Early Red.

Green.

Yellow. Glenton Green.
Early Sulphur. Green Gascoigne.
Leader. Green Overall.
Perfection. Pitmaston Greengage.
Yellow Champagne. Model.

The twenty-nine degrees of frost we had here (Drumlanrig,
N.B.) on March 17 has so crippled our Gooseberries that I doubt
if they will ever recover. I never saw Gooseberries suffer from
cold before, but then they had grown considerably when this
unusually severe frost for the date occurred.

RASPBERRIES. 853

RASPBERRIES.
By Mr. Grorce Wytuess, F.R.H.S.

THERE are probably many Fellows of this Society who have had
more to do with the cultivation of market fruit than I have,
and my remarks apply chiefly to garden varieties, garden cul-
ture, and what I may term the most prolific or profitable kinds.
For market cultivation I do not presume to enter into details,
but merely sketch out the plan adopted, and hint at what it is
possible to adopt as the best means to secure a heavy crop. As
is usually known, the Raspberry is a native of these isles, and is
found in many other countries, and may be readily propagated
from seeds or suckers, and in the case of choice varieties from
cuttings. Indeed the greatest fault of this fruit is that it
produces itself too freely, and unless suckers are kept well down
they greatly impoverish the plants. In some parts of the
country I have seen large tracts of these fruitsin a wild state, and
when once they get a foothold on good soil it is a difficult matter
to eradicate them. Wherever fruit is extensively cultivated in this
country for the market or for preserving, in Kent for example,
Raspberries are largely grown, and the mode of culture is to
plant in the autumn in heavily manured land, or land that has
only recently been utilised for a shallow-rooting crop. This is
prepared for the canes, and in some instances as much as one
hundred loads of manure to the acre is used; and this is a great
point, as gardeners do not feed this plant nearly enough. I myself
must plead guilty to this, for the simple reason that the neces-
sary manure required for this and many other similar crops
cannot be procured.

When the ground has settled down, large growers plant their
canes early in October, or the beginning of November at latest,
either singly or in pairs, having been cut to about 2 feet above
the surface. I find that the lower a cane is cut the better and
stronger it shoots from the base, and I advise cutting hard
back to 9 or even to 6 inches, the only difficulty being that in
severe winters the cut-back stem usually dies some distance
lower down the stem, so that some protection in the way of
litter to the roots is advisable, and as in large plantations
this could not readily be given, the cutting back in them is
not so severe ; but in private gardens with a limited quantity I

354 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

would advise cutting hard back, thus getting stronger shoots
from the base, as if the canes are left long they break weakly
all up the old canes, and never grow away so freely. I also note
the large grower plants the rows 6 feet apart, the plants
being placed about 1 foot from each other, and I must say the
largest and best fruits I ever grew were at that distance, and
being very strong required little staking ; but in small gardens
I advise more room between the rows, say 12 feet, with other
low-growing crops planted between them. ‘This is more neces-
sary on poor land, or when at all shaded, as the fruit thus gets
more light and air, and the wood is better matured. Another
point often overlooked in private gardens is clearing away the
old canes as ‘soon as the fruit is gathered. If left they rob the
stools greatly and prevent the canes required for next season’s
fruit from growing as large and strong as possible, and getting
thoroughly ripened for the following season. I have seen the
old canes left for months after the fruit has been gathered.
This should not be, as it prevents the new canes from growing
and ripening. Ample room between the rows is necessary.
I prefer from 6 to 9 feet or more, and at least 18 inches to
2 feet from plant to plant in the rows, only leaving three to five
canes to a stool. With strong stools the smaller ‘quantity is
ample, restricting the suckers to this number at an early period,
viz., in the spring, and destroying all others (if stock is not
required) as soon as they appear. When Raspberries are newly
planted in the autumn they do not throw many shoots the next
season (usually one or two each), and if they have not been cut
back hard they sometimes shoot up the stem and not from the
base. Such side-shoots are no use, but the cultivator should
endeavour to get two or three strong shoots from the base of
the newly planted canes and discourage fruiting branchlets the
first season after planting, as the cane is not sufficiently strong
to bear fruit, and its whole energy should be directed to forming
two or three strong fruiting canes for the next season. Very
little more is required the first year beyond keeping the
ground clean and well mulched with manure. But as I intend
to give a few words to mulching later, I need only remark that
the newly planted canes should have their roots covered with
good manure as soon as the soil round them has settled, and
another mulching in the spring. This will carry the plants

- RASPBERRIES. 855

through the summer, and on no account should digging be
allowed near the roots—it is a bad practice ; and, if the ground is
cropped, care must be taken to keep clear of the roots. And here |
I may remark that the plan adopted in market gardens of only
planting 6 feet apart has great advantages, as it prevents over-
cropping and preserves the roots from getting injured, as at that
distance there is no room for a crop in between.

Soils, Pruning and Training.—Much diversity of opinion
exists as to the latter, and I do not attempt to give the
only best method, as much depends upon individual circum-
stances, space, streneth of canes, and aspect. The Raspberry
delights in an open, sunny position, and not too dry or light a
soil—a good loam of fair depth, and not on gravel; and though
eround may be prepared by making it suitable, deep cultivation
is essential to success. The Raspberry, if grown in poor soils
and situations, develops weak canes yearly, and the produce is
not satisfactory. Large fruit should be aimed at and secured
by timely attention to details, and by the introduction of improved
kinds to take the places of worn-out stocks. Of late years Rasp-
berries have received more attention, greater quantities being
required for preserving purposes, and I consider this a healthy
sion, as I feel sure home-grown fruit should find a ready market.
The foreign importer being unable to despatch these soft fruits
in aripe state, it gives the home-grower an advantage, and when
erowing on a large scale he will be careful to choose those
varieties most suitable for the purpose. I believe one of our
largest growers for market scarcely trains his Raspberries
at all, but merely ties a few canes together—a plan, which,
if adopted, readily enables one to gather the fruit when ripe.
Others arch their canes over, but very few large growers use
stakes or wires of any kind. No doubi in private gardens the
neatest way is to put a stout post at the end of each row and
strain a couple of wires to support the canes, or in country
places where young larches can ke obtained they last a long
time and are not heavy. Hurdles are also good when made of
light iron, and last many years if kept painted. A neat and in-
expensive method, if planted a good distance apart, is to place
three or four stakes along the row, with a single wire attached,
and to tie two canes together, forming a bow, tying them to the
wire to keep them in position. The fruit may be readily gathered

356 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

from the fruiting branches all up the canes if these are not too
long—3 feet to 4 feet being a fair length. Very little pruning is
required if the shoots are restricted, as previously advised, by
cutting away those not wanted, and shortening back the fruiting
canes either in the autumn or early spring to 8 or 4 feet long.
I advise two prunings—that is, first, to go over the canes in
the autumn and lighten them of heavy growth, but not to
shorten back as much as required, and then in the follow-
ing spring the heavy canes may be shortened to the required
length. By this plan the canes do not die back lower down
the stem, as is sometimes the case in severe winters, and
at the final pruning the necessary ties can be given and the
stakes or supports made good for the fruiting season. Whatever
system is adopted in training and pruning, the best method is
that which allows the fruit-bearing branchlets the most space
and the greatest amount of light and air, so that crowding should
be avoided. Much depends upon the vigour of the canes, and if
at all weak it is much the best plan to renew the plantation,
choosing new ground well prepared. This fruit may be had for
a considerable time if due attention is paid to varieties, position,
cropping, and pruning for late supplies. The early lot should be
thoroughly exposed on an open sunny border, another may be
planted under a wall on a north border, and these will last till
the latest or autumn-fruiting kinds, so that a long fruiting
season may be secured if desired; and these all require plenty
of feeding—a good dressing of decayed manure in the autumn and
one again in the spring, and when I say a good dressing I mean
several inches, as the plant pays well for good treatment ; and as
I have previously observed, no digging or forking near the roots,
only keeping free of weeds and not allowing the stools to remain
too many years in one position, if large fruit is desired.
Varieties.—I prefer Superlative of the newer introductions ; it
is a heavy cropper and a vigorous grower, with a large dark red
berry, of excellent flavour. Indeed, plants of this variety, in
good soil and position, need little support in the way of stakes ;
and another recommendation, it makes an excellent preserve.
Baumforth’s Seedling—an improved Northumberland Fillbasket
—is also good, bearing large fruit. Carter’s Prolific—a heavy
cropper of large size—is also excellent for garden cultivation.
Hornet and Yellow Antwerp are good, also Fastolf and Northum-

RASPBERRIES. S57

berland Fillbasket. For preserving purposes Semper Fidelis is
one of the best grown, being of a beautiful bright colour, a great

cropper, and later than other kinds, and possesses a more acid
- flavour, which is much liked by many people for preserving.
Red Antwerp is also a good sort; but when only a few kinds
are grown, I should prefer Superlative for dessert or table
purposes and Semper Fidelis for preserving. Of white or
yellow varieties the choice is more limited, and this is as it should
be, for the white kinds are not much used—chiefly for the table—
and not nearly as much now as in former years. When glass was
not extensively used, and our forefathers relied more on outdoor
fruits, the Raspberry found more favour, and white kinds were
largely grown. The best atthe present time are Magnum Bonum
and Yellow Antwerp, and these require similar treatment to red
sorts.

There are also other varieties of great merit; but it is a mis-
take to grow too many kinds. Those that do well and fruit the
longest are most suitable. For the latest supply, or autumn fruit,
Belle de Fontenay, Yellow Four Seasons or Large Monthly,
and the October Red and Yellow are good; but, as may be ex-
pected, their fruit does not equal the summer fruit—still it is
most useful in many ways. The canes require special attention
as to pruning in spring for autumn fruit, as they produce their
fruit on the shoots made during the summer. They also require

good cultivation, and should get abundant supplies of manure in
the spring, and the growth kept thin, as, if crowded too much,
they seldom produce a heavy crop. I feel sure that there is yet
room for improvement in the varieties of this fruit, and if we can
secure by patient hybridisation the larger fruits, like those sent
out of late years, with improved flavour, colour, and keeping
properties, we may hope for further improvement, as we have
already got much later sorts and a longer fruiting season. The
chief points of success are to feed the plants and to thin the shoots
well, to plant in good soil in open positions, and to renew the
plantation as soon as it shows signs of exhaustion from over-
cropping or poorness of soil, and to plant strong canes in new
eround well trenched. I would not allow the plants to remain
longer than six years in one place if the fruit did not come up
to the standard quality, but would follow the plan advised for
Strawberries, of often renewing to secure large fruit, with the

858 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

most suitable varieties, and in dry seasons to water freely and
mulch the surface of light soils. J am sure heavier crops can be
secured by not crowding the plants and paying due attention to
moisture and feeding, at the same time allowing abundance of
sun and air to get to the wood to prevent drawing and weakly
srowth.

DISCUSSION.

The CHAIRMAN invited questions and discussion. After waiting
a short time for any remarks, he said it appeared that the papers
were so excellent as to leave no loophole for anyone to begin a
discussion. He would, however, like to make a few remarks
himself. As to Gooseberries, he was of opinion that they ought
to try for more upright kinds, as many of the best Gooseberries
crept on the ground in a most unfortunate way, so that every
shower spoilt them just at the time they were ripe. Then,
again, large Gooseberries were deficient in flavour, and, like
Melons, had to be eaten at a particular time in order to get
the flavour at its highest point. They required more late
kinds and more early ones; and to show the value of getting
an early Gooseberry for market purposes, even if the quality was
not very good, he mentioned that a grower in Kent had found a
Gooseberry (which might possibly be identified at some future
time) which produced from ten days toa fortnight before any
other. The consequence was that he got £120 an acre for them
ina green state. As far as flavour went, he thought he might
mention Cheshire Lass, Green Gascoigne, White and Red
Champagne, Ironmonger, Warrington—these are the very best
for flavour. Then, as to size, there were Bobby and Antagonist
among the reds, Ringer and Drill among the yellows, and
Stockwell and Telegraph among the greens. That was a series
of Gooseberries from which a hybridizer should obtain good
results. Then there was not sufficient enterprise in getting
Gooseberries trained on walls, in which case the berries
matured a little before any others, and in gardening that was a
matter of great importance. He had built a Gooseberry-house
which had been much admired. It consisted of iron arch-
ways, covered with wire netting, which was found to be most
useful in keeping off birds. He also commended the culture of
the Gooseberry in the form of cordons. In that form the two

RASPBERRIES. 359

branches would take up very little room, and then would produce
some splendid fruit. With regard to manuring, he had found the
most successful plan to be to manure in the autumn, and prune
through the winter. After that, manure was again dug-in as
soon as the first crop of the green berries was taken off. The
trees being thus thinned out and manured were enabled to carry
a fine crop of ripe berries, and to go on bearing year by year
without losing their vitality.

In reference to Raspberries, he thought there was a field for
white varieties, and that it was possible, in the course of time,
to get a white Raspberry of a different race, and of a very
much larger size, than that which they had obtained at the
present moment. Autumn Raspberries were well worth growing.
The yellow one was at present the best flavoured.

As to Currants, they should strive for longer bunches and
larger berries, and to get longer bunches the present sorts might
be crossed with the Reine Victoria ; but in the way of Currants
they seemed to have reached almost the utmost limit—it was
only a matter of cultivation. In Black Currants a very important
thing was to get early leafage to protect the fruit, as on Whit-
Sunday last the frost was so severe as to annihilate the crop.

Speaking of Strawberries, he said they still wanted late
Strawberries of the British Queen flavour, and he entirely agreed
with Mr. Allan that for early fruit the plants ought to be culti-
vated on the one year’s system, which might save at least a week
or ten days. The Waterloo was avery good fruit, but it lacked
flavour, and if it could be got with the Queen flavour it would
be much moreappreciated. All Strawberries should have strong
foliage. Dr. Hogg was the best fruit of all, and President the
next best for general purposes, and in them they had very good
parents from which to work. Of course these desirable results
could not be brought about in a minute, and they could only
expect to go on step by step till they got what they required.

There were, he said, many other fruits which could be dis-
cussed, such as the Cranberry, the Mulberry, and the Bilberry,
which would make a welcome change, but these could be dealt
with on another occasion.

360 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

SMALL FRUITS FOR PRIVATE GARDENS.

In connection with the Conference on Strawberries, Goose-
berries, Raspberries, Currants, and other small fruits, held at
Chiswick on Wednesday, July 8, 1891, a paper was sent round
to a large number of the foremost practical gardeners, making
inquiry of what in their opinion were the best varieties of each
class of Small Fruits for growth in private gardens. The
answers to these inquiry papers have been carefully tabulated
with the following results, the names of the varieties being given
in order of merit as the result of tabulation, equality of votes
being indicated by equality of position in the list.
Liste. @):
The two best early Strawberries for light soil.

1. Vicomtesse Héricart de Thury 4, La Grosse Sucrée
1. Noble 6. Keen’s Seedling
3. King of the Earlies 6. Crescent
4, Pauline
erst 1. @);

The best early Strawberries for heavy soil.
1. Vicomtesse Héricart de Thury 4. Noble
2. Keen’s Seedling 6. President
2. King of the Earlies 7. Black Prince
4. La Grosse Sucrée

Note on List I. (a) and (b).—It is somewhat surprising to find
“Noble” ranking as equal first for light soil, and only as equal
fourth for heavy soil, there being no manner of doubt but that on
light soils Noble is often lacking in flavour, whereas on heavy
soils it is not so generally open to reproach on this head.

List II. (@).
The four best mid-season Strawberries for light soil.

1. Sir Joseph Paxton 7. Countess
2. President 7. Bicton Pine (a white Strawberry)
3. James Veitch 9. Eliza
4. Vicomtesse Héricart de Thury 10. August Boisslot
5. Sir Charles Napier 10. Marshal MacMahon.
5. Lucas 10. Georges Lesnir
Liisr Th 1@):

The four best mid-season Strawberries for heavy soil.
1. President 7. Vicomtesse Héricart de Thury
l Dr, Hors: 7. La Grosse Sucrée
1. Sir Joseph Paxton 7. A. F. Barron
4, Sir Charles Napier 10. La Constante
4, British Queen 10. Goliath (John Powell)
6. James Veitch 12. Lucas

Note on List IT. (a) and (b).—In perusing these lists, it must be
carefully borne in mind that Lists I. (a) and (b), have exercised a
somewhat disturbing influence on Lists II. (a) and (0), and had
there been no Lists I. (a) and (0) asked for, it is safe to prophesy
that in Lists II. (a) and (0) the relative positions of Sir Joseph
Paxton and Vicomtesse Héricart would have been reversed, but
some of those who had voted for the Vicomtesse in Lists I.
(a) and (b) evidently considered her Ladyship’s position already
secured, and refrained from mentioning her again in Lists II.

SMALL FRUITS FOR PRIVATE GARDENS.

(a) and (0).

1) SUS a A

Cobh eS

(Se) orl

bo WO Re

isn It. (a),
The two best late Strawberries for light soil.

. Waterloo 6. Jubilee

. Elton Pine 6. Mrs. Laxton
Héléne Gloede 8. Filbert Pine

. Countess 8. Enchantress

. Frogmore Late Pine

List III. (0).
The two best late Strawberries for heavy soil.

-.Ur, Hogs 5. Frogmore Late Pine
. British Queen 7. Hélene Gloede

. Elton Pine 8. Loxford Hall

. Eleanor 9. Cockscomb

. Waterloo 9. Mr. Radcliffe

List IV. (@).
The two best Strawberries for preserving, for light soil.

. Vicomtesse Héricart de Thury 3. Sir Joseph Paxton
. Grove End Scarlet 5. Eleanor
. Elton Pine

List IV. (0).
The two best Strawberries for preserving, for heavy soil.

. Vicomtesse Héricart de Thury 4. Newton Seedling
. Elton Late Pine 4. Keen’s Seedling
. Grove End Scarlet

isn ¥.
The two best Strawberries for forcing.
. La Grosse Sucrée 4, Sir Charles Napier
. President 4, Keen’s Seedling

. Vicomtesse Héricart de Thury

ns Var
The best Raspberries for general use.
. Carter’s Prolific 4, Fastolf
. Superlative 5. Northumberland Fillbasket

. Hornet

362 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

List VII.
The best Red Raspberry for dessert.
1. Superlative 4, Baumforth’s Seedling
1. Fastolf 5. Northumberland Fillbasket
3. Hornet 5. Carter’s Prolific
List VIII.
The best White Raspberry for dessert.
1. Yellow Antwerp 2. Magnum Bonum
List IX.
The best early Raspberry.
1. Red Antwerp 3. Hornet
1. Fastolf 4, Carter’s Prolific
List X.
The best late summer Raspberry.
1. Superlative 2. Semper Fidelis
2. Northumberland Fillbasket
List XI.
The best autumnal Raspberry.
1. October Red 3. Belle de Fontenay
2. Quatre Saissons (yellow)
List XII.
The two best Gooseberries for use in an unripe state.
1. Whinham’s Industry 5. Rifleman
2, Lancashire Lad 6. Green London
2. Crown Bob 6. Gipsy Queen
4. Whitesmith 6. Freedom
List XIII.
The two best early Gooseberries for dessert.
1. Early Sulphur 6. Greengage
1. Golden Drop 7. Yellow Champagne
3. Green Gascoigne 7. Early Red Hedgehog
3. Early Green Hedgehog 9. Stripling White
5. Broom Girl
bist XV.
The six best Gooseberries, mid-season, for dessert.
1. Ironmonger 7. Pitmaston Greengage
1. Whitesmith 11. Yellow Champagne
3. Greengage 11. Warrington Red
3. Crown Bob 11. Catherine
3. White Champagne 11. Lancashire Lad
3. Red Champagne 11. Rumbullion
7. Whinham’s Industry 16. White Hedgehog
7. Keen’s Seedling 16. Green Gascoigne
(

. Broom Girl

Note on List XIV.—This list is greatly influenced by Lists
XIII. and XY. (vide Note on List II.). Besides the above, the

SMALL FRUITS FOR PRIVATE GARDENS. 363

following are named once or twice: Lofty, Bright Venus, Merry
Monarch, Glenton Green, Pilot, Golden Lion, Orleans, Keepsake,
Walnut, Golden Ball, Cheshire Lass, Parkinson’s Laurel,
Nonpareil, Roaring Lion, Lord Scarborough, Careless, Jenny
Lind, Thumper.

EIST ORY:
The two best late Gooseberries for dessert.
1. Warrington 7. Bright Venus
2. Whitesmith 7. Parkinson’s Laurel
3. Pitmaston Greengage 9. Freedom
3. Rifleman 9. Oldaker’s Late Black
3. lronmonger 9. Helburn Prolific
3. Rumbullion 9. Husbandman
List XVI.
The two best Gooseberries for preserving when ripe.
1. Warrington 4. Keen’s Seedling
2. Ironmonger 4, Scotch Red
3. Old Rough Red
LIst XVII.
The six best Gooseberries for exhibition.
1. Leveller 8. Drill
1. Telegraph 8. Guido
3. Ringer 10. Marlboro’
3. Bobby 10. Speedwell
3. London 10. Mount Pleasant
6. Catherina 10. Lion’s Provider
6. Antagonist

Note on List X VII.—There appears to be little unanimity in
the returns for this list, different names being given by almost
every grower. The number of varieties named only once is so
great that we have been unable even to record them here.

HARLY PEACHES AND NECTARINES.
By Mr. T. Francois Rivers, F.R.H.S.
[Read July 21, 1891.]
THE catalogue of fruits of the Royal Horticultural Society,
published in 1842, was the most complete and comprehensive
catalogue published in Europe at that time. The fruit depart-

ment of the Society was presided over by the most accomplished
pomologist either in England or in Europe, and the Society,

364 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

recognising the value of the quality of fruit, and of accuracy in
the names of sorts, spared no pains or expense in determining
and publishing an account of the several kinds of fruit-trees
which the garden then possessed. Fruit enters into and forms
a serious condition in the daily life and enjoyment of most
people in these islands, and indeed over the whole world, and
the Society was an ultimate court of appeal to those who were
interested in fruit culture, and who were somewhat uncertain as
to the names and kinds which they were in the habit of placing
on their tables for daily consumption. If they were not
entirely satisfied with the quality, those who were in any way
connected with the Society, by themselves or their friends,
had an infalhble authority to refer to in the Royal Horticul-
tural Society and its leading pomologist, Mr. Robert Thomp-
son. Now, the Society still possesses the fruit garden and an
authority, and in this particular it differs very much from the
societies which have been lately formed for the extension of the
knowledge of fruit ; it has the gardens and the fruit-trees, and it
has added, and does add, to its collection of fruit-trees all those
sorts whic may in any way be of service to the fruit-grower of
the present day. It is hardly possible to suppose that the
catalogue of 1842, which is the last comprehensive fruit
catalogue printed by the Society, is quite in a line with the
development which has taken place since that time; but a
good fruit has such an exceedingly long life, that a very large
percentage of the fruits there described are still deservedly the
favourites of the dessert-table and the kitchen of the present day,
and I venture to hope that the Royal Horticultural Society will
be found ready and anxious to maintain the high position which
it has always held. In the matter which I have to speak about
to-day, the fruit catalogue of the Society contains interesting
information of altogether nearly 600 Peaches and Nectarines,
with their synonyms, the determination of the synonyms being
a very arduous work, and really meaning the cultivation of many
sorts absolutely useless except for this purpose. The early
Peaches named in this catalogue of 1842 are not many, and if by
early Peaches we are to understand those which ripen in July, only
two kinds are given, the Red and the White Nutmeg, the comment
of the catalogue being that these sorts have little merit except
that of being the earliest. In the beginning of August the Petite

EARLY PEACHES AND NECTARINES. 865

Mignonne comes, which is said to succeed the Red Nutmeg, and
to be larger. As the Red Nutmeg is about tho size of a Kentish
Filbert and the Petite Mignonne of an ordinary Walnut, there is
not much to be said in its favour. The next early Peach
is the Early Anne, which is said to be handsomer and tole-
rably well flavoured, but its earliness is its chief recommenda-
tion. It is a characteristic feature in these Hnglish-raised
Peaches that they endure the open-air climate better than the
American varieties. Passing from July into August, the
Horticultural Catalogue gives the names of the Acton Scott,
Yellow Alberge, Early Downton, Ford’s Seedling, Hemskirke,
White Incomparable, Madeleine de Courson, Malta, Grosse
Mignonne (end of August), Smith’s Newington, Noblesse (end of
August), Pourprée Hative (middle and end of August), Royal
George (end of August), Spring Grove (much like Acton Scott),
Sulhampstead (very like Noblesse), Sweet Water (end of August),
and Williams’s Early Purple (end of August). With the exception
of Madeleine de Courson, Malta, Grosse Mignonne, Noblesse,
Pourprée Hative, and Royal George, all these varieties are for-
gotten, and justly, for the catalogue does not commend them.
In place of these sorts we have a sufficient number of August
Peaches which appeared some years subsequent to the catalogue,
viz.: the Early York (American), good, but subject to mildew
(from this Peach were raised the Rivers’ Karly Victoria, which, one
of my friends in Yorkshire says, is one of the hardiest and best
Peaches he has); the Rivers’ Early York, which isone of the hardiest
and most useful Peaches grown; the Karly Silver, the Early Alfred;
the large Early Mignonne, which precedes the Early Grosse
Mignonne; the Condor, the Merlin, the Magdala, the Grosse
Mignonne ; the Dr. Hogg, which is sometimes grown to an extra-
ordinary size, but which must be picked before it ripens on the
tree ; and the Crimson Galande. All these Peaches will ripen in an
unheated orchard-house during August, and will give a constant.
succession of fruit to the skilful cultivator. If the culture on
walls out of doors could be depended upon, I believe that in fair
and good seasons all these sorts would ripen in August in the
south of England. Once I had a letter from the extreme north
of Scotland to say that the Rivers’ Early York had ripened in an
orchard-house, and that the owner of this variety had invited
several of his friends to celebrate the event, as a ripe Peach had
G

366 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

never been seen before in the Highlands. The Horticultural
Catalogue contains the names of only two Nectarines ripening
in the beginning of August, and therefore coming within the
range of early Nectarines; these are the Fairchild’s Early and
Hunt’s Tawny. The Fairchild’s is characterised as “ being
esteemed by some for its earliness,” which is very faint praise ;
the Hunt’s Tawny ‘as being a very distinct sort, worthy
of cultivation for its earliness.’”’ It seems, however, to have
disappeared from cultivation, as it is very seldom met with,
although I have no doubt it may still be found in some
gardens. These two early sorts are, however, superseded by
earlier and better kinds. I have been fortunate to raise from
seed the Advance, which ripens in July, and the Lord’ Napier,
which is, perhaps, not only the best early Nectarine, but the
best Nectarine known. With good cultivation it may be grown
to a very large size, and it ripens in a cool orchard-house during
the first week in August. I notice that at exhibitions of fruit the
first prize is generally accorded to this kind. The next sort which
may be called early is a yellow Nectarine, the Goldoni, which has a
singular origin. It was raised froma stone ofa white Nectarine,
which originated from a stone of the Bellegarde Peach. I was
careful to keep a note of the parentage. This Nectarine is
closely followed by the white Nectarine, which ripens towards
the end of August. The season of August Nectarines is closed
by the Stanwick Elruge, which ripens some days before the well-
known and ancient sort, the Klruge. Some day the season of
early Nectarines will be much extended. It is not, however,
a fruit much grown inthe United States, its smooth skin render-
ing it more liable to the attacks of the curculio, while does
not penetrate the rough skin of the Peach. As many of the
Peach orchards in the United States are raised from seed, the
varieties of seedling Peaches there are very numerous, and the
small number of seedling Nectarines may be accounted for by
the unwillingness of the owners of orchards to grow fruits which
will not be profitable.

I have only to add that in giving the descriptions of early
Peaches and Nectarines my examples are all taken from a cool
orchard-house. Fruit growing on walls is so precarious that
continusus observations are almost impossible; but from the
orchard-house system, founded in 1850, I have been able to

EARLY PEACHES AND NECTARINES. 867

record the experiences of forty years. During these years the
raising of seedlings has never ceased, and it’ is a proof of the
unwillineness of nature to deviate froth its fixed rules, that the
few varieties which I have been able to record, result’from the
work of many years, and have been selected, I may say, from
thousands of seedlings, most of which have not materially
departed from the ordinary varieties which have been known for
centuries.

Thus you will see that, as it ought to be, a very con-
siderable improvement has taken place in the production of
Peaches and Nectarines in the months of July and August.
Owing to the introduction of the orchard-house system, that
is of assembling a large number of sorts of Peaches and
Nectarines under one roof, it became possible to make experi-
ments in the way of raising seedlings by crossing the early
and small varieties with those of larger size and better flavour ;
and, in conjunction with my father, I paid a great deal of atten-
tion to this matter, with the result of producing sorts of fair
quality and size in the same house with the Harly Nutmeg and
Early Mignonne. These very early and worthless sorts ripened
in an unheated orchard-house on July 25th; but the seedlings,
with the same attention, the same climate, and the same con-
ditions, ripened, according to the notes made by my father in
1865: the Early Beatrice July 5th, the Karly Louise July 8th,
the Early Rivers July 18th, the Karly Leopold July 14th. = In
1868 the American Peach, Hale’s Early, came in. Of course,
seasons vary very much, and this year the July Peaches
are much later than usual, but they are still ripe in July; and
we are still at the time when no Peaches ripened according
to the Horticultural Society’s catalogue. The statement that
Peaches which ripened in July had been raised in an un-
heated house was received with much doubting and incredulity.
This was only to be expected; but out of England some indus-
trial use was made of them. Inan account of the Texan Peach
crop, published in the Garden of June 26th, 1875, the reporter
says: “The Texan Peach crop is said to be unusually fine this
year, but, owing to the backwardness of the spring, it is nearly a
fortnight later in ripening than usual. Rivers’ Peaches succeed
extremely well in Texas, and now (June 6th) cultivators are pick-
ing most beautiful samples of Early Beatrice, Early Louise and

G2

868 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Early Rivers, and that too before they have got a single fruit
from Hale’s Early or Plowden’s Harly. Rivers’ Early Victoria.
ranked amongst their finest Peaches last year.”” In 1874 I received
a shock to my feelings, for in that year I had a drawing sent to:
me from America of a beautiful crimson Peach, said to ripen
in June. Making allowance for the spirit of the artist who
coloured the fruit, I at once asked for plants, which I received,
and in the summer of 1878 I had the satisfaction of ripening
the Early Alexander Peach on June 28th, about ten days before
the Early Beatrice. At the same time I received the Karly
Amsden, ripening at the same time, but not so good. I am
rather of opinion that the names of these two Peaches have:
been transposed in France, because the French cultivators have:
adopted the Karly Amsden in preference to the Early Alex-
ander. Perhaps the Russian Emperor, from whom I understand
it was named, was not quite so popular in France then as he is
now. In any case I am certain that of the two varieties, which:
I received from the same house and at the same time, the:
‘“‘ Alexander ’’ was the best. These Peaches which I have named.
constitute a very fair proportion for July. The Early Rivers
Peach, which my father was very proud of, and to which he con-
sented to give his name, has disappointed some from a bad habit
of cracking at the stone; but the original tree did not produce.
cracked fruit, and this fault may proceed from the stock on which
it has been worked, or it may require greater heat than our
climate affords, for in a letter I received from a fruit farm at
Youngstown, N.Y., ten miles below the Niagara Falls, my corre-
spondent says: “ Allow me to say that the Early Rivers Peach in,
this section leads them all for size, flavour, fine appearance, and
as a healthy tree it has no equal.’”’ On walls out of doors these
Peaches will ripen in warm seasons from the 20th of July. Ihave
known Early Louise ripen very fine fruit on the open wall by
July 26th. In the Gardeners’ Magazine of September 15, 1888,
Mr. Clarke says: ‘‘ With regard to the early Peaches raised by
Mr. Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth, I have grown them and seen
them growing in different gardens, but I always thought Early
Rivers and Early Silver too small to meet with much favour.
Farly Alfred and Karly Beatrice have larger fruit, and have inva-
riably produced good crops in good seasons. LHarly Beatrice was
ripe ona south wall on August 12th, and Karly Alfred a week later,

EARLY PEACHES AND NECTARINES. 369

and the fruit was quite as large as I have seen it on any previous
occasion. I am fully aware that in favourable summers these
Peaches ripen much earlier, but I think, looking at the character
of the weather that prevailed at that time, a Peach that will
ripen as early as the second week in August is worthy of having
the fact recorded.”

DISCUSSION.

Mr. GrorGE Bunyarp, of Maidstone, referred in very com-
plimentary terms to the useful work which Mr. T. Francis Rivers
and his father had done for fruit culture, and then proceeded to
make some remarks as to the behaviour in his county of the
early Peaches named in Mr. Rivers’ paper. He stated that
Early Rivers and Early Louise were very tender and gene-
rally failed on open walls in Kent, as did also the fine (in-
door) Peach, Dr. Hoge. Early Beatrice was small, wanting in
flavour, and of a thin, wiry growth, which made it tender in a
spring frost; but the advent of the American Peaches, Amsden
June and Alexander, and the more recent Waterloo, made it
unnecessary to grow Beatrice. Mr. Bunyard considered Waterloo
the best of this trio, and it succeeds admirably on walls, in pots,
and as a forcing variety. It is six weeks before Royal George
in the same house. Amsden was not such a good cropper as
Alexander, but richer in flavour. These kinds were closely fol-
lowed by the American, Hale’s Early, which, with Rivers’ Early
York, Alfred, and Victoria, kept up a succession until Dagmar
came in, when the mid-season varieties were ripening. All these
do well in the open air. Mr. Bunyard remarked that although
these Peaches did not possess the exquisite flavour and texture
of the Royal George, they were quite indispensable, and under
good culture were admirable. He feared the fine examples of
Peaches which were presented from under glass had often led
planters to adopt them on open walls, with unfortunate results :
many of the late kinds being too late in ripening for our
climate. Mr. Bunyard considered that the Lord Napier
Nectarine raised by Mr. Rivers was the finest of all the seed-
ling fruits of this class, being hardy in all modes of culture..
Goldoni and Dryden were also stated to be very fine.

370 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

ORNAMENTAL STOVE AND GREENHOUSE PLANTS.

By Mr. JAmes Hupson, F.R.H.S.
[Read August 11, 1891.]

WHEN we give a backward glance over the past twenty-five
years in its relation to horticulture in general, we may well be
astonished at the progress which has been made in all departments.
If so many flowering plants have not been introduced into pro-
minent notice during that period from other and remote regions
of the globe, it cannot be said that there has been any lack of new
and distinct additions to those grown for the value attached to
them as plants of ornamental leafage. Not only by fresh importa-
tions has this been accomplished, but the efforts of the hybridist
have been most amply rewarded by the valuable and varied
contributions to many families of plants. Take, for instance, such
as the Nepenthes, the Sarracenias, the Caladiums, the Dracenas,
the Crotons, and also the Coleus. No one will, I think, deny
that there has been a distinct advance made in the new varieties
added to each of the genera just named, as well as to others.
This increase, both by importations of new plants and by the
raising of others, has led undoubtedly to a far more extended
system of culture for varied purposes. Plants are used now in
so many ways, and with decided advantage also, as compared
with a quarter of a century back. This demand has been fostered
and well met by our large and well-known trade-growers, who
supply plants for all purposes. It has, however, taxed the
resources of the gardener in many a private establishment to a
considerable extent in keeping up the requisite supply of what.
are usually termed ‘decorative plants,’ of which those with
ornamental foliage form a most considerable portion.
Embracing the period I have just named, I think that by far
the most important feature has been the vast increase in the
cultivation of Palms, which are now raised by tens of thousands
and employed in various ways. It requires no great effort of
the memory to revert to the time when in some establishments
Palms were rarely seen, with the exception of a few of specimen
size. They are peculiarly adapted to purposes of ornamenta-
tion, whether it be in the conservatory, the mansion, or the
open air. Nothing lends such a tropical appearance as Palms of
noble proportions, whilst for elegance of outline they are excelled

ORNAMENTAL STOVE AND GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 3871

by no other race of plants. Their utility in a small state is well
known, particularly so in the case of the lighter and more elegant
kinds; but there is room for extended use for those between
plants of small size and the specimens. They vary so much in
character of growth, thus affording abundant choice for all pur-
poses. The most important additions of late years to the Palms
are the Kentias, which, if not consisting of many varieties, em-
brace within the few those which are of well-known durability
and usefulness. Omission should not be made of the Cycads.
Probably, through being of slower growth, these are not seen in
such numbers. Many kinds will, however, when well cared for,
develop into useful plants in no unreasonable time. As conser-
vatory plants, or for plunging out of doors in sheltered spots
during the summer time, they rival the Palms, and are well suited
to a dry atmosphere. To these should also be added the Dasylirions,
which, when arrived at maturity, are fine objects. The Green-
house Yuccas can be utilised from a small state upwards, and,
although they grow slowly into specimen plants, when that point
has been reached they are fine ornaments and very distinct.
The varieties of the Rhopala are distinctly ornamental plants,
being of an enduring character also. They look best, I think, if
upon single stems, and are seen to better advantage when stand-
ing by themselves. The Lomatias and Grevilleas are also worthy
of more attention ; so also is Hrythrina marmorata. Cyanophyl-
lum magnificum is now seldom seen in collections. It can, how-
ever, be used whilst in a small state as a table-plant, and as it
increases in size is equally useful for vases, its massive foliage
being so distinct from plants usually employed for that purpose.

The merits of the Acalypha are now being better recognised,
and most deservedly so; they are plants which look well under
artificial ight. Another useful class of plants is the Phyllanthus ;
these are well suited to grouping. Hwrya latifolia variegata is
very useful for rough-and-ready work. The semi-hardy Phormiums
and Cordylines should be cultivated more extensively, both for
sub-tropical purposes during the summer months and also for
cool houses at all seasons. All plants with silvery variegated
foliage, as Pandanus Vettchu, Eulalia japonica variegata,
Anthericum argenteo-lineare, and Cyperus alternifolius variegata,
are exceedingly useful as vase plants or for grouping. ‘Tree Ferns
do not seem of late years to have met with that favour which

372 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

they did formerly. Give them, however, but a fair chance and
they will prove all that one can desire. Probably many of the
imported stems, of which such numbers were received into this
country some few years back, did not permanently establish
themselves, and have now succumbed or are barely existing.
When these are planted out in capacious houses no plants could
possibly present a finer appearance. Those, for instance, which
are to be seen in the Temperate House at Kew Gardens are
erand examples of luxuriant vegetation. As an instance of how
well they succeed in pots when carefully attended to and under |
favourable conditions, those at the Crystal Palace may be quoted ;
they are magnificent plants.

Amongst stove plants, during the past few years, the most
remarkable additions have been made to the Crotons, Caladiums,
Nepenthes, and Dracenas. Lach of these genera now possesses
such variations in form and colouring as to render plants of them
simply indispensable where much decoration has to be accom-
plished. The gain in Crotons has been immense. Time was when
all of the best could be counted on the finger-ends. Not so now,
with such an abundant choice both in habit, form, and colour.
There are those with broad and massive foliage, as Baron James
de Rothschild, C. Andreanum, and C. Mortit; those with narrow
leaves, of which C. angustzfoliwm is still one of the best of the
drooping kinds. Mrs. Dorman is, however, a good type, more
erect in habit. With extra long and narrow drooping leaves, C.
Warreni is an excellent example. Then there are those with
recurved foliage, as C. recurvifolium; of the trilobed kinds, C.
Disraeu is one of the best; whilst with foliage of medium width,
the type represented by Queen Victoria and Sunset should
be noted, these being of brilliant colour when well grown. Alto-
gether, Crotons are most valuable plants both in and out of the
stove. Dracenas also afford us a great variation, from the
narrow but highly coloured D. superba to the broad and noble
foliage of D. Thompson and D. Youngu. D. terminalis is not
beaten in its way, nor is D. stricta, which is a stronger grower.
D. Linden and D. Goldieana are both quite distinct varieties,
the former being the most showy and of more value as a
decorative plant; the latter, however, rivals it for use as a table-
plant. The comparatively new D. Doucettw bids fair to be a
valuable addition; this would, I think, succeed well in a cool

ORNAMENTAL STOVE AND GREENHOUSE PLANTS, 373

house. The Aralias now furnish us with greater variety, being
also of an enduring character.

With such a wealth of ornamental foliage plants as we now
possess there is hardly any place or purpose to which either one
or another may not be adapted. There is, I think, room yet
for a more extended use of foliage plants of small proportions.
Good examples of many useful plants can be had for various
purposes in thumb-pots even, but better in those of 3 or
4 inches diameter. These can be turned to a good account,
either in small vases or for dinner-table plants. A great deal
more use may be made of such plants for the latter purpose
than is generally done, and of considerably lesser size than the
stereotyped examples usually seen at flower shows. Many
dwarf-growing plants with ornamental foliage, and Ferns also,
can be thus employed in thumb-pots, but better still those in
shallow ones now used for Orchids. Strawberry pans, or a size
smaller, when well furnished with such dwarf-growing plants as
Fittonia argyroneura and FF’. Pearcet, Panicum variegatum, Cyrto-
deira metallica, and Selaginella cesia, could be effectively em-
ployed in various ways. On the other hand, plants for the dinner-
table could, I think, be used much taller than they generally
are, when they are of light and elegant growth; such, for in-
stance, as Cocos Weddelliana, Chamedorea glaucifolia, Huterpe
edulis, and others. Plants up to 3 feet in height may be
employed effectively upon large tables, yet they need not be in
pots exceeding 45 or 5 inches diameter. Shifted into a larger
pot, these same plants will afterwards be found of service for
larger vases in other positions where their height will add to
their effect. There is also room for considerable improvement in
the arrangement of plants in the houses in which they are
usually grown. Too often they are overcrowded, with damage to
the foliage, whilst the effect is lessened. In some cases plants
are attempted to be grown in houses which are not suited to
them, nor calculated to display them to advantage. The stages
and beds are oftentimes too high in both stoves and greenhouses.
The effect is far better when the plants can be looked down
upon, particularly in large houses where a greater variety
could be got together. Far more use should be made of creeping
and dwarf-growing plants for a finish to the front, just as one
sees done in a well-arranged and finished group at a flower

374 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

show. Many such,can be employed as an undergrowth to larger
plants, and frequently with very pretty effect. There is no
reason why pots should not in these ways be hidden to a great
extent. Ferns, such as the British Maidenhair, Nephrodiwm
molle, Pteris longifolia, and other kinds, can be advantageously
displayed to clothe damp and unsightly walls that are otherwise
an eyesore and stand in need of frequent cleansing. With a little
patience these and other Ferns will soon acclimatize themselves
(even without any soil in some instances) where the surface is
not of cement. When a litle soil can be used the ornamental
foliaged Begonias will soon become established. If any difficulty
arises with either of the foregoing it is possible to fall back upon
Ficus repens. ‘The appearance of our stoves, greenhouses, and
conservatories could frequently be improved by making more
use of climbers, a due proportion of which would not be any
detriment to other plants. Hence houses which could be
made to look well-furnished give an impression of bareness.
For the stove Cissus discolor, one of the most ornainental of
plants with fine foliage, and the varieties of Asparagus could be
usefully employed. Of plants deserving of far more notice there
are the Dipladenias, which, if not of ornamental foliage, are
truly ornamental plants. The best of the highly coloured
varieties of the Dipladenia are well known, but the merits of
D. boliviensis are not nearly so much appreciated as they should
be; it can be had in flower from April to November, being most
useful for cutting purposes. There are also Aristolochia elegans,
Passiflora Kermesina, and Gloriosa superba, neither of which are
seen too frequently. The varieties of the African Asparagus are
also suited to a cooler house. I have them planted out where the
temperature falls below 40° Fahr. in the winter, yet they thrive.
They can therefore be used for covering the walls, pillars, and
glass sides of conservatories; Lygodiwm scandens being also useful
for the same purpose, but it succeeds better in a temperate house.
Myrsiphyllum asparagoides should be allowed space, being so use-
ful for cutting. When it is not advisable to occupy all the roof
space next the glass with climbers, some may at least be trained
up the rafters, selection being made from those of moderate
growth. Fuchsias, for instance, are thus seen to decided ad-
vantage in acool house. For training thinly over the roof of a
conservatory the Tacsonias are well adapted, and the Passifloras,
with the smaller leaves.

ORNAMENTAL STOVE AND GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 375

Hanging baskets deserve far more notice than they receive
asarule. It matters not whether it be a stove or cool house,
there are plenty of selections to suit each case. The Nepenthes,
to which such splendid additions have been made of late years,
both by imported species and hybrids, should be grown more
extensively for suspending in the stove. They are quite unique
and singularly effective, always creating an interest when in
good condition. Particular mention should be made of N. Mas-
tersiana, Which is undoubtedly the finest hybrid yet raised.
Asparagus deflexus does not appear to be sufficiently known as a
basket plant. It is quite distinct from the kinds usually grown,
and equally ornamental. Several Ferns are excellent for the
same purpose. Notably so amongst the Maidenhairs is Adzantwm
amabile ; another good basket Fern is Gymnogramma schizophylla
gloriosa. Fora cool house in the summer some of the Davallias
are well suited. Chevlanthes elegans, although it cannot be con-
sidered as one of the best for the purpose, I have found to grow
better in a basket than a pot. Amongst flowering plants Hoya
bella is excellent in a warm house, so also are some of the varie-
ties of the Auschynanthus and Achimenes when well cared for.
In the greenhouse there is an abundant choice, but the merits
of Lobelia gracilis do not meet with that recognition which this
plant deserves. Basket plants do not at all times receive suffi-
cient water, hence they often present but a poor appearance. A
plant of singular effect for the stove when well grown is Thyrsa-
canthus rutilans. It is seen to the best advantage when trained
as a standard some 8 or 4 feet in height, and producing its
long pendulous racemes of scarlet flowers. [For the stove,
again, there are the Ixoras, which, although met with of
specimen size in exhibitions, are not by any means to be con-
sidered as being only fit for such purposes. They are, when well
cultivated, the finest of all our bush-growing stove plants, being
valuable as decorative plants whilst still in quite small pots, and
also of the greatest service in a cut state.

In the arrangement of large conservatories there should be
ample scope to make good use of ornamental foliage plants as
permanent objects of interest. For my own part, I prefer to see
the beds planted out, and on a level, or nearly so, with the floor,
having a marginal line of Selaginella denticulata, amongst which
small bulbs can be dotted for early flowering. When such beds

376 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

are planted so that each one has plenty of room and a little to
spare, smaller examples of flowering plants can be introduced
between them, the pots of course being plunged. Where this is
done it is a good plan to have empty pots sunk level with the
soil; into these the plants can be dropped. Some permanent
specimens, as Agaves and other succulents, would be found to
do better if retained in pots or tubs. Many plants which are of
ornamental character can be transferred from the stove to the
conservatory during the summer months—Crotons in variety,
Dracenas, such as D. terminalis, D. Baptistui, D. Youngu,
D. amabilis, and D. Shepherdi, with the hardier of the Stove
Palms, as Areca lutescens. Both the Crotons and Dracznas will
afford a pleasing change and lighten up the sombre appearance
of other foliage plants when there is a deficiency of flowering
examples. Clerodendron fallax, a plant of noble growth when of
specimen size, can also be kept in good condition in the con-
servatory for several weeks. Greater care is necessary in the
watering of stove plants so employed, less being required.
Rockwork, when well clothed with plants of ornamental foliage
of suitable character, is a splendid addition to conservatories,
particularly where a wall whichis unsightly has in a manner to
be hidden. ‘These places are most suitable for the foliage
Begonias, Ligularia Kempferi argentea, the variegated grasses
and Ferns. Of the latter, where it is possible to use them to
advantage, the larger forms of the Nephrolepis should not be
overlooked. Ferneries composed of either natural or artificial
rockwork, with the Ferns planted out, are most attractive features.
The hardier of our exotic Ferns may be thus grown without
any fire-heat at all, particularly several of the Filmy Ferns,
fine examples of which may be seen in the fernery at the
York nurseries of Messrs. Backhouse. This is sunk below the
ground-level, hence partially protected. With a fair command
of heat, many tender kinds can be successfully grown when
planted out. The adaptation of rockwork and Ferns to Orchid-
houses is, I think, an excellent idea, adding a charm even to
those popular and attractive plants. A capital example of this
description is that which can be seen at the Chelsea nurseries of
the Messrs. Veitch. A new and suggestive departure in the same
nurseries has recently been made in another Orchid-house, where
rockwork with Ferns surround a tank in which Aquatics are grow-

‘ORNAMENTAL STOVE AND GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 377

ing. Both Orchids, Ferns,and Aquatics are evidently quiteat home.
More use ought, I think, to be made of aquatic plants; many
of them are most ornamental. If the cultivation of such as the
Victoria regia cannot be carried out for want of a sufficiently
high temperature, it is not a difficult matter to select others suit-
able to a cooler house.

It must be a strange matter if the obstacles which present
themselves to the cultivator cannot in one way or another be over-
come and the houses rendered both attractive and ornamental by
the use of plants with fine foliage. Hach case in point should be
studied, and those things used in its ornamentation which by
previous observation have been found to succeed. In this way I
am fully persuaded that our plant-houses may be made more inte-
resting and attractive than they are to be seen at times. Plants
which have ceased to be in anywise ornamental by reason of
failing health should not be tolerated except for stock purposes.
It is an utter mistake to attempt to bring round into a healthy
state small or medium sized plants such as Crotons, Dracenas,
and others which are of quick growth, when young ones can
be raised in less time and with much better results. If not
wanted for propagating purposes, the rubbish-heap is the best
place for these, room being thus afforded for growing other and
more promising plants. The culture of the majority of orna-
mental stove and greenhouse plants cannot be considered a
difficult matter when the means at disposal are fairly good.
We who are gardeners have to contend against disadvantages
in one form or another; this is, I think, oftentimes to our profit.
These difficulties arise in the culture of the plants under con-
sideration as in other instances. The mealy-bug, where it exists,
is undoubtedly the greatest plant pest we have. When once clear
of it a great sense of relief is afforded, to say nothing of the saving
of labour in cleaning, which can hardly be effected without
injury if the case be a bad one, the plants at the same time
being weakened by the presence of the insects themselves,
Amongst Crotons I have, in common with some other growers,
been troubled with the leaves dropping from the points of the
shoots at times. ‘This, if not detected in time, goes on until the
points are completely denuded of any semblance of a leaf. This
is caused by a very minute species of spider, which can only be
seen with any distinctness through a powerful glass. I would

3878 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

term it the white spider to distinguish it from our old enemy the
red spider. When I was first troubled with this, I tried insecti-
cides without avail. Speaking about it one day to Mr. Thos.
Baines, I was advised by him to syringe frequently with water
strongly impregnated with soot. This I found most effectual.
Tobacco powder will answer the same purpose; but as Crotons
delight in plenty of moisture, I consider the other by far the
better remedy.

In the cultivation of ornamental plants (and others also)
I attach great importance to good and suitable soil for each
respective kind. Peat of fibrous character, with the best loam
obtainable, and leaf-soil from Oak or Beech leaves, form the
staple composts. Good soil is far better by itself than poor
soil with either artificial or natural manure added to it. The
latter may sustain a plant for a time, but must fail much
sooner than the former. It is better to pot into good soil, and
then to feed with manure when the pot is well filled with .
roots. The work of potting pays for being done carefully.
Rushing this work through in a hurry does not compensate
for the immediate gain in point of time. Firm potting for
all plants of permanent character is far preferable to a loose
state of the soil, the ultimate gain being less labour with
respect not only to watering, but also repotting sooner than
would otherwise be required.

The culture of plants for decorative use in small pots is
deserving of more recognition in respect to the foregoing
remarks than it would at first glance appear to be. When a
plant has fairly well filled its pot with roots, and it should per-
chance have the appearance of not being in the best possible
condition, it may be inferred that another shift will have a
sood effect. Thus the plant when in a larger pot is not so
well adapted to its uses, even if the remedial measure be bene-
ficial. Stove plants, which are used in various ways for house
decoration, will bear repotting better, and will suffer less from
exposure when in proportionately smaller pots. No plants should
be repotted until they have thoroughly well laid hold of the
soil of their last shift; otherwise the younger roots will suffer
through the soil remaining moist for too long a time, being
consequently cooler also. Ornamental foliage plants when in
good health will bear liberal treatment as regards watering.

ORNAMENTAL STOVE AND GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 379

Palms in particular thrive well when watered freely ; in fact
some might be termed semi-aquatics. More Palms are, I think,
brought into a sickly condition for want of water than from any
other cause. Crotons also are something like our common
Willow in this respect. .

In conclusion, I would draw attention to the effect produced
by a judicious use of plants of ornamental leafage in mixed
eroups, as seen now so frequently at our horticultural shows.
They are indeed the chief factors employed, for it is easier to
dispense with flowering plants altogether than it is to take the
opposite course and rely solely upon those in flower.

DISCUSSION.

Mr. JAMES Douauas remarked that Fuchsias were fine green-
house plants, and were well worthy of cultivation. There were
many other kinds of plants which could be easily grown if only
a love for the work was brought to bear on the matter. He
mentioned the case of a working man in the North of England
who began with growing greenhouse plants. Soon he grew
these well, and would not be satisfied until he tried to cultivate
more difficult plants requiring a warmer temperature. He built
himself a hothouse, and by diligent exertions managed at length
to produce an entirely new and beautiful plant. This was now
well known as Dipladema Brearleyana, and the raiser of it
succeeded in obtaining from a London nurseryman the sum of
£150 for it. To raise such a plant, accounts of which filled the
horticultural papers at the time, he considered a great credit to
a working man, and it served to show what could really be done if
people would only try.

Mr. GEorcE WytTuHEs said he could not but call attention to
a beautiful class of plants which, although not really coming
under the heading of ‘‘ Stove or Greenhouse Plants,’ at any
rate well repaid the additional trouble of being grown in a cool
greenhouse. He referred to that charming Canterbury Bell,
Campanula pyramidalis, of which a fine group was present at
the time, and attracted great attention.

880 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

THE GLADIOLUS.
By the Rev. H. H. D’ompratn, B.A., F.R.H.S.
[Read August 25, 1891.]

AuTHouGH there are many sections of this beautiful flower—the
early-flowering varieties of Colvillei, nanus, and ramosus, and the
more recently introduced so-called hardy ones of the Lemoinei and
nanceanus sections—I presume that it is of the gandavensis
section that I am particularly called upon to speak to-day. I
labour under some disadvantage in so doing, not arising from
inexperience, for I have been for thirty-four years growing it, but
because last year my friend Mr. Kelway gave a very exhaustive
lecture on them, and as that lecture has been published in the
Journal of the Society,* you can all refer to it, and think
perhaps that Iam trespassing on his preserve. In excuse for my-
self, I may say that there is a good deal of difference between the
experience of a cultivator of twenty-four acres, with its hundreds
of thousands of bulbs, and the amateur who grows only a few
hundred bulbs, and yet perhaps the experience of the latter may
be as useful to the great bulk of gardeners from the very small-
ness of his culture.

The late Mr. Rivers, in his ‘‘Amateurs’ Rose Guide,” says at the
commencement that writers too often take for granted that their
readers know more than they really do; and as I quite agree with
that, I shall at the outset state what a Gladiolus is, and how i
srows, for some people have the most delightfully vague notions
on this subject. Without, then, harassing you by technical terms,
I may safely say that it is a corm; it is not a bulb like a Lily,
nor a tuber like a Ranunculus. If you strip off the outer skin of
one of these corms you find that there are almost always two
eyes, and that from these the shoot is emitted. As the stem grows
so does the corm which is to form the plant for next year, and by
the time that the flower has reached maturity this corm for next
year is fully formed, the old corm perishing, after having supplied
nutriment to the new one. Around this, in various positions and
of different shapes and sizes, are to be found a number of small
ones, which we call spawn, the French bulbules, and it is from
these that the supply of corms is kept up. They differ much in

* Vol. XII., Part 3, p. 564.

THE GLADIOLUS. 381

‘size, and varieties differ much as to the quantity they produce.
Thus I have taken as many asa hundred of these little bulbs
from one root of Horace Vernet, while I have grown others for
years without obtaining a single one from it, and this to some
extent explains why some sorts rapidly fall in price, and others
retain theirs for years.

The cultivation of the Gladiolus has been written about a
good deal, and Mr. Kelway, in his exhaustive paper read last
year, detailed the method of culture adopted by a large grower—
for in truth he is a big grower who has 24 acres—and I do not
in the least intend to encroach on his preserves when I detail
the method of culture adopted by an amateur whose collection
does not comprise more than seven or eight hundred bulbs. I
will begin with the soil. There have been many opinions mooted
on this matter, and experience has considerably modified our
opinions. The French growers say that a good market-garden soil
is best suited for them; this would, I suppose, mean a good
friable loam, but I think that a good stiff loam, provided it be
well drained, is the most suitable. Like all bulbs, they very much
dislike stagnant water about their roots, and consequently it is
an absolute necessity that the drainage be good. This being
provided for, a soil that is well suited to Strawberries and Roses
is one which will do equally well for them. It ought to be open,
and not under the shade of trees. My planisin the autumn to put
a good quantity of old hotbed manure on the ground, and then
what is called bastard trench it. This places the manure about
nine inches below the surface, so that in planting none of it
touches the bulbs—an important point. During the winter, if
frosts occur it is well to turn the soil up roughly, so that it may
be sweetened in the process, and become in better condition for
planting when suitable weather occurs.

I generally plant during the first or second week in March,
according to the state of the ground. It is much better to defer
it than to plant when the ground is sodden—not, I think, that it
makes much difference as to their time of flowering, whether
you plant early or late. There are certain kinds which are sure
to come early whenever you plant, and other late-blooming kinds
refuse to bloom early—plant when you will. Now and then a
single root of these may come out of its ordinary course, but, as
a rule, they come true to time. Thus Shakespeare, even in this

H

882 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

late season, showed colouratthe endofJuly. After the beds have
been made somewhat smooth with a fork (I never use a rake if
it can be helped), the rows are drawn about five inches deep and
about one footapart. The bulbs are then prepared. The outer coat
is taken off, when it will be seen that there are generally two
eyes. I then, with a sharp knife, cut the bulb in two, leaving
an eye to each half. I place round each bulb some rough
powdered charcoal or charred vegetable refuse, planting them about
five inchesapart. Some growers allow more—a foot ; so probably
should I if I were not circumscribed astoroom. But as the roots
do not spread, but go down straight from the bulb, I do not
think this is a matter of much consequence, and I am convinced
that I have had as good flowers from those planted closely as
when planted a foot apart. When the bed is planted the rows
are then filled in, and the whole smoothed with a light fork.
They will now require but little attention for some weeks. The
beds must be kept clear of weeds, but in all other respects they
will take care of themselves. In the month of July they will
begin to show their flowering stems, and it will then be necessary
to see about the staking. When flowers are grown for exhibition
this is an absolute necessity, and where it can be done each one
should be staked separately, to keep the spike straight and to
prevent its being injured by the wind. When it is not required
to be so particular a couple of stakes may be placed at each end
of the row, and a wire or strong piece of cord stretched along, to
which the stems may be fastened, but to stake them singly is by
far the best plan.

Some growers mulch their beds. I have tried both plans,
and have come to the conclusion that, except in a very dry
season, it is unnecessary. Artificial manures and nitrate of
soda and muriate of potash have also been used, but the bene-
ficial results are not, I think, very perceptible.

Leaving the grower to enjoy his stately blooms, let me now
say something about harvesting the bulbs. After the flowering
season they begin to dry off, and towards the end of October or
beginning of November many of them will be fit to take up.
As I do not care to save the seed, I cut off the flower-stems as
soon as they have bloomed, take away the stakes, and then, as
they show symptoms of ripening, take them up. The best place
in which to dry them off is a cool vinery out of the sun, where

THE GLADIOLUS. 383

the process will be gradual. When they are dried the old bulb
should be taken off, the stem removed, and the bulbs housed.
I take off the outer rough skin, and then write the name on
each bulb. This ensures correctness, a point on which all
florists are very careful. Some put them away in bags, but I
place mine in an open lattice-work frame, with drawers similarly
made, and take them into the house, where they are free from
frost and yet get air.

_ JT have already alluded to the very exhaustive lecture given on
this subject last year by Mr. Kelway. There are, however, one
or two points on which I must beg to differ from him. He does
not admit that it is a desirable thing to cut the bulbs. Now
this is a point on which, to use a homely phrase, the proof of the
pudding is in the eating. You have seen the beautiful stands of
flowers exhibited by Mr. Fowler. Now all these are from cut
bulbs, as were those exhibited by Mr. Lindsell and myself at the
Aquarium and Crystal Palace last year, and I think we might
challenge comparison with any exhibited from bulbs which were
not so treated. Another of Mr. Kelway’s opinions was that the
French do not care for such closely set spikes as his own seedlings
manifest. Here again I appeal to facts, and not to opinions.
Compare some of the spikes shown to-day which are of French
- origin with English-raised flowers, and I do not think that the
objection can be maintained. There is another point on which
he and I have for many years differed. Gladioli are very apt to
die off, and the root when examined is found to be thoroughly bad.
Mr. Kelway says this is not a disease, but arises from exhaustion.
Yes, but what causes the exhaustion? During the progress of that
grievous malady, the influenza, many people died from exhaustion,
but it was the disease that caused it. So with the Gladiolus. We
lose our bulbs sometimes in very considerable numbers. There
seems to be no preventive, and certainly no cure, and we must only,
T suppose, ‘‘grin and bear it.”” Weare happily free from one plague
from which the French growers suffer—the devastating ‘‘ ver
blane,”’ the grub of the cockchafer. I remember that my dear old
friend M. Souchet once told me that he employed during the time
this fearful insect was abroad, sixty women and girls to pick them
up as they settled down on the earth to deposit their eggs, and that
bushels of them were every evening taken and destroyed. The
nearness to the Forest of Fontainebleau made them a perfect

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384 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

plague. There is sometimes to be found a caterpillar—I think
that of the gamma moth (Plusia gamma)—which gets into the
unexpanded blooms and disfigures them. They are sometimes, in
very dry seasons, affected by thrip, but this is of rare occurrence.

Where it is desired to keep up astock and to make up for losses
the spawn should be saved. When the bulbs are taken up the
spawn will befound round them in various positions and quantities.
They should be all rubbed off and kept in small bags or boxes very
dry during the winter; in March or April they should be sown
out of doors in drills in a place specially allotted to them, and they
will come up here like barley. Some, however, of them will
remain dormant till the second vear. As some of them will form
spikes, these should be nipped off in order to secure larger bulbs
and more strength. '‘l'hey ought to be lifted much earlier than the
flowering bulbs—in fact early in September—and there is no
necessity to wait for the foliage decaying. Some varieties come to
maturity sooner than others—the whites and yellows being the
longest. As I have not done much in this way myself, I have
obtained this information from Mr. Burrell, of Cambridge, and
from Mr. Kelway, of Langport.

I have said nothing on the subject of exhibiting them, as my
desire was rather to encourage the growth of this beautiful
autumn flower by showing that its culture is by no means so
difficult as many seem to imagine.

DISCUSSION.

Mr. W. Rovurett said, although he could not pretend to be
an expert in growing Gladioli, still he ventured to differ from Mr.
D’ombrain on a few points. He did not quite see the value of
cutting the bulbs in two, although it was evident that good results
were obtained by this method. If, however, performed by a clever
hand, doubtless there was no danger involved, but he thought
there was some fear of allowing the rough-and-ready hand of the
gardener to perform the operation. By cutting the bulbs they
were exposed to the attacks of insects. He was of opinion that
the disease of Gladioli did not appear in plants which were grown
in fresh and clean ground, but only where the soil had been
heavily manured, and had grown crops of Onions and other things.
His advice was to ayoid dirty soil and everything that tended to

THE GLADIOLUS. 385

promote insect life. He thought the Gladiolus disease began in
some way at the root first of all by a kind of nematoid worm,
and gradually worked itself into the corms.

Mr. D’ompratn, in reference to the danger of cutting the
bulbs in two, said there was no more danger attached to the ope-
ration than there was in cutting up Potatoes before planting.

The Rey. W. Wiuk«s, referring to Mr. Roupell’s reason for
the disease being that the bulbs were grown in old gardens or
manured soil, said that twenty-five years ago he grew Gladioli,
and, as he thought, very well. They were all grown in an old
garden, which had grown other crops for centuries previous, and
had also been well manured. Last year, being partly convinced
by Mr. Kelway’s lecture, he bought a few of the commonest sorts,
and planted them in a piece of land which had within a year or
so been a field, and had only been manured once since turned
up for cultivation. He planted thirty-six bulbs of Brenchley-
ensis in this new, fresh soil, and out of the whole there were only
four at that time which had not succumbed to the disease. He
could not, therefore, think that old or new soil had anything
whatever to do with producing the disease. He had examined
the corms, and in the centre he discovered a black mark, from
which he concluded that the disease was not acquired, but pecu-
larly inherent to Gladioli.

Mr. W. MarsHaut suggested that the cause of failure this
year was due to the great amount of wet.

Mr. D’ompBRAtrn, in reference to Mr. Marshall’s remark, said
he recollected sustaining his greatest loss during one very dry
season.

HARDY WATER AND BOG PLANTS.
By Mr. Groraz Paut, F.R.H.S.
[Read September 8, 1891.]
My paper was to have been on the subject of Hardy Bog Plants,
in the culture of which I have had some experience. The
Secretary has, I find, coupled them with Water Plants, of

which I know but little. My remarks, therefore, on these last
must be confined to giving my limited experience with them

386 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

an enumeration of the difficulties I have had in planting them
in somewhat difficult places and under exceptional circum-
stances, and to giving a description of a very pretty and successful,
if a comparatively small, water-garden which my friend Mr.
M. I’. Campbell has made at Hoddesdon. I will append a list
of plants which I have found to be useful. In the first place, I
was led to pay special attention to hardy bog-plants from
possessing a small patch of natural bog, which, as a haunt of
Rushes and Sphagnum, was an eyesore in an otherwise well-
cultivated garden. Such a patch is to be found in most large
gardens and pleasure-grounds situate on the hillsides of our
valleys—a springy patch developing into a tiny marsh, and
beautiful with masses of such flowers as the Yellow-rattle and
the Cuckoo-pint, or covered with big Docks, Rushes, or giant
Hemlock.

Then turning to many of the moisture-loving perennials, such
as the Spirzas, I was struck with their great beauty of develop-
ment when by chance they found a moist and favourable spot,
whereas when planted as usual in the mixed herbaceous borders
one never saw their full beauty ; with the setting in of dry weather
they failed to finish their growth or to produce their flowers
satisfactorily, and if subjected to two dry autumns consecutively
many of them died out altogether. Here there were two things—
a site wanting furnishing and plants seeking such a site, for there
are few more lovely plants in their full beauty than the Spireas,
to name only one family of plants. From the common Meadow-
sweet of our valley marshes all over England, through the
beautiful Japanese forms, such as S. palmata and its white
variety, up to the gigantic kamtschatica exhibited two years ago
in this hall, with spikes six to eight feet high of light feathery
flowers, all are plants of great beauty when fully developed, and
to attain this development a moist, boggy spot is essential.

There are several families of plants, which I will enumerate
later on, which lend themselves to a like cultivation. I have made
two bog-gardens, both devoted to the growth of bog and mud
plants. The first was a natural Sphagnum and Drosera-pro-
ducing bog on the Bagshot sand formation, which with some little
difficulty was brought into cultivation, so that I may perhaps
briefly describe the process.

It was a spongy piece of land about twelve yards square, about

HARDY WATER AND BOG PLANTS. 387

half-way down the slope of a hill, at the foot of a bed of gravel.
It was treacherous walking to reach the little bed of Sundew, and
the one difficulty in forming the garden was to make suitable
paths. This slight difficulty was overcome by firmly driving in
posts, and resting some long split treeson them ; the split branches
of the same trees were then nailed crosswise, thus forming what
the Americans call a ‘‘ corduroy”’ path. The top black soil was
cleared away until we reached the clay or watery sand (in which
was found an old Oak trunk fast passing into bog oak). The
whole was then arranged in terrace beds by means of clay banks,
on the top of which ran the corduroy paths. The water after
use in the top beds was led in pipes through these clay banks to
the next lower beds, and so onwards, varying the quantity of water
according to the amount of moisture required in each bed.

A small pond, in which the Cape Pondweed flourishes, was
made, and from it the water not required for the lower beds,
flowed into a narrow watercourse, along the sides of which,
with their roots in the water, Kempfer’s Iris blossoms well.
The highest bed is the wettest owing to the spongy water-spring,
and just at this point the variegated Jris psewdacorus luxuriated.
Other mud-planis used were some varieties of Caltha or Marsh
Marigold, which for nearly a month are sheets of yellow blossom ;
the variety in this family is more noticeable from the time of
blooming than from the shape and variation of the flowers. On
the sloping bank, above this bed, are naturalised masses of the
beautiful Fern Hypolepis nullefoliwm, while Lily-of-the-valley,
which had originally grown on the bank, is preserved im sztw ;
the Blood-root, the Musk and Creeping Jenny, both famous
London window-plants, the native Club-moss (Lycopodiwm
clavatum), two or three British kinds from Westmoreland, and
the Alpine Blackberry (Aubus arcticus), which fruits, it is said,
beneath the snow of the Arctic regions, were added.

Some curious instances of the travelling powers of plants
have also occurred. From the drier part of this bed the Iris
moved down into the water of the pond, whilst the Trollius, or
Globe Flower, and the American Fern, Onoclea sensibilis, have
gradually moved up on to the drier bank above.

The two next beds on a lower level were planted with the
North American Pitcher or Side-saddle Plants, Sarracenia pur-
purea, S. Drummondu, and S. flava. The purple variety soon

888 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

made itself at home, flowering and seeding and producing offsets:
abundantly. Drummond’s variety exists, while flava, a native.
of the more southern States, succumbed to the first hard winter.
On this level the beautiful Madeira Orchis, O. foliosa, produces.
spikes of flowers 18 inches high, whilst I learn that it is almost
extinct in Madeira from the effects of two or three dry seasons. The
double white and pink Ragged-robins are beautiful in this place ;
the tall yellow Meadow-rue, and its purple and other forms, grow
and flower freely, as do also the North American Liatrises, with
their noble spikes of dense purple flowers, and our English Bog-
bean, or Menyanthes. Borrowing a hint from Kew, we planted
the blue Himalayan Poppies (Meconopsis), which have not yet:
had time to flower, but evidently intend to do so next season.
The finer sorts of Iris Kempferw are here as well as on the
margins of the brooks.

On the sides of the pond are varieties of Osmunda regalis,
which have shed their spores in the interstices of the corderoy
path; the Alpine Willows, and the fine big-leaved Saxifrages
peltata and Hirculus.

The next lower beds soon became the liome of the Japanese:
Primula and the Himalayan P. rosea and denticulata, which,
once planted, seed freely after the manner of biennials. The:
alpine Primula viscosa and other water-loving kinds thrive here.

The lowest beds of all were made to hold the Spireas, of
which the most beautiful are S. Aruwncus, S. palmata, the
white Spir@a Ulmaria plena, and the newer S. astilboides,
with its better kind, S. floribunda. The other kinds I give in a
list at the end of this paper. The North American Lilies, such
as pardalinum and its varieties, also swperbum, give autumn
flowers, mingled with the Spireas in this bed. The double
Cardamine is a weed here carpeting the ground, and the Zebra
Reed (Hwlalia) is most effective.

Some very pretty variegated Sedges (Carex) do well in these
beds. I am getting Sphagnum established on the wet top bed, om
which no doubt the Sundew will also re-establish itself. I had
forgotten one plant which I owe to Mr. Wilson, of Wisley—
the large American Cranberry.

From these remarks I think it is evident that a bog-garden
may be made into a useful as well asa very bright and interesting
spot, as my High Beech garden has been for some years. Now

HARDY WATER AND BOG PLANTS. 88

as to the second garden made on an entirely different site and
strata, and in a different manner. I venture to think that such
a place may be made in any of the damp, springy spots such as
I spoke of as existing in most gardens, or indeed wherever
the clean waste from a pump, a tap, or from the house-top can.
be led. I wanted soil to raise what my friend Mr. D’ombrain
has facetiously styled “The Broxbourne Alps,’ and as I had
only a flat surface to deal with, I formed a square pond at the
foot of the line of one side of this projected hillock, using the
earth for the hillock. I kept to the terrace formation, making
about three levels, and into them I led the drains from the paths.
adjoining the nursery quarters, taking means also for artifi-
cially flooding them occasionally, in case of drought. After very
heavy rains the beds on all three levels are entirely covered with
water, which gradually sinks down into the pond-like hole in the
centre, in which Bulrushes, the giant Dock, and the Water Iris
flourish.

It will be noticed that the idea of the clay banks is preserved,
to retain the water a short time in the upper reaches of the
pond. This pond was carefully puddled, as the loam resting on
gravel is thoroughly porous. All the beds were then filled up
with black peat and leaf-soil, into which the plants were put.
Most of the kinds thriving at High Beech do well here, and have
the advantage of more space. The bolder foliage plants, such
as the Bamboos Metake, viridis, glaucescens, and the large
Polygonum sachaliense, attaining 8 to 10 feet in height; the
dwarfer varieties P. compactum and molle, with their Spirea-like
blooms, are useful at this time of year. Then two or three of
the American plants, such as the Andromeda pulverulenta and
the dwarf Ledums, are beautiful winter evergreens and love:
the moisture. Primula farinosa and involucrata or Munroit,
Asclepias tuberosa and its pink form, are at home, and the
Astrantias are almost too free. Claytonia sibirica becomes a weed.
Corydalis nobilis and lutea, in the higher beds, form beautiful
yellow patches, and the Trillium and Cypripedium do well in
peat on the banks just above the water-levels. Dielytra spec-
tabilis assumes quite another form to that usually seen, and
Dodecatheon Jeffreyanum is a foot anda half high. The Willow
Herbs have to be banished, from their determination to mono-
polise all the space. Euphorbia, Cyperus, and Stylophorum

390 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

japonicum make dwarf groups. Helonias bullata, a beautiful pink-
spiked plant, wants the moistest place ; and all the purple Helle-
bores, or Lenten Roses, thrive. J7ris aurea is beautiful in June or
July, and some of the Mertensias thrive well there. The Duck-
feet, or Podophyllums, are also at home. Senecio pulcher takes
wonderfully to the moist upper beds, and some few other plants
which I have named in my list of bog-plants. Iam inclined to
think that some such wet, peaty beds should surround all well-
constructed rock-gardens. There are so many of the Alpine
plants which love moisture at the root, with in some cases full
exposure to the sun, andin others enjoying shade. Some of the
Alpine Primulas would grow well in shaded bog. I have
Primula wmvolucrata, mvalis, and Wulfiana all doing well in
such positions, as well as the Dryas and several Campanulas,
which soon dry up on the higher shelves of the rock-garden ;
and with the many North American and Himalayan plants, such
as Meconopsis, which are likely to enrich our Alpine gardens,
this is the secret of culture. Where water can be retained, all
bog-gardens should have their central or through-running pond,
and here the cultureof water-plants can be judiciously and easily
joined with that of bog-plants. Such is Mr. Campbell’s garden,
which I will attempt to describe somewhat to you.

His water supply is the overflow from the house-roofs,
stored in two or three tanks of various kinds, to secure a con-
stant supply in case of need. It is on the sloping side of a hill,
and consists of a series of small basins, very artistically sur-
rounded with small rocky banks, on which many Alpine plants
succeed. Each part is devoted to one or two, or at most three,
kinds of Water Lilies in the deeper part, while the rather
shallower sides have some water-plants which do not require
any great depth of water. Thus the upper pool, three feet
deep, is devoted to yellow Nuphars of various sorts. In the
next is Nymphaea tuberosa odorata, with a red centre, and a very
fine form of the white Water Lily ; in the shallower water being
Arum virginicum, the flowering Rush (Butonus wmbellatus), and
the three forms of Bulrush (Typha latifolia, angustifolia, and
mvinor). The third pool is full of Aponogeton, or the Cape
Pondweed, the yellow Iris and a locally found white variety,
the I. Kempferu, I. fetidissima, and JI. pseudacorus, &
variegated form of Carex riparia, and the Zebra Rush (Juncus

HARDY WATER AND BOG PLANTS. 891

zebrina). On the rocks close down to the water, looking
north, Ferns seem to do exceedingly well. The Marsh Ferns,
North American Claytonia, and even the two Hymenophyllums
cover the rocks ; while the Spireeas and other bog-plants to which
I have alluded clothe’the banks. A little island of Sphagnum
rising out of the water on a clay hillock has Pinguiculas, or
Grass of Parnassus, and the mealy Primrose of the Scottish
moors. Altogether this picturesque little garden, filling what
would be otherwise a shady, damp corner, is, throughout the
spring and summer months, one of the most interesting parts of
the garden.

In Mr. Lynch’s water-garden at Cambridge there is a large
central pond with narrower beds on either side, and a much
more extensive collection of plants are there grown.

I understand he has all the newer and rarer of the hybrid-
ised Water Lilies, including, I believe, the pink one, which is
now beautifully in flower in several Hertfordshire gardens. The
Sagittarias, or Arrow-heads, with the beautiful double one,
thrive well in such a water-garden. The Marsh Plantain is a
distinct and bold-looking plant. The Water Mimulus (1. lwtews)
on the margin of the banks makes glorious masses of yellow.

During the past year I have had great difficulty in planting
pieces of water with suitable plants. One was a piece of water
where, the bottom being cemented, there was no roothold
for the plants. This difficulty was obviated by putting the
water-plants in paraffin tubs cut in half, and sinking them
to the required depths. The plants succeeded admirably,
and are easily kept free from weeds. The other was a swift-
running stream, about four feet deep, through the chalk. Some
large specially made drain-pipes, into which the plants had
been put, had the lower ends worked into the chalk bottom,
and some large burrs built up in a hollow manner round
groups of three or five prevented the plants and pipes being
washed away, and at the same time gave plenty of shelter to
the trout with which the stream abounded. A small island
formed in the same manner, and covered with Calthas and
Sarracenias, has been successful. I append a list of a few of the
most easily cultivated of the water-plants, with which any pond
can be easily planted and made interesting.

392

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,

LIST OF WATER-PLANTS, AS DISTINCT FROM BOG-PLANTS.
For DEEP WATER.

Alisma Plantago, the Water Plantain
Aponogeton distachyon, the Cape
Pondweed
Hippuris vulgaris, the Mare’s Tail
Nuphar advena, with red stamens
» lutea, the common yellow
Water Lily
53 minor, the small form, for
small ponds
*Nymphea alba
ie candida

Nymphea lutea (not very hardy)
a rosea
- tuberosa
Sagittaria montevidensis (this has
not proved hardy at.
Cambridge)
Pe sagittifolia
9 09 plena
Villarsia nympheoides, a
yellow Thames Lily

small

For SHALLOW WATER ABOUT EDGES.

Alisma Plantago

Butomus umbellatus, Flowering Rush

Caladium virginicum

Caltha palustris (from its bank home
it throws its shoots into the water)

Carex paniculatus, Sedge

| Cyperus longus

= vegetus
Menyanthes trifoliata, the Bog Bean
Rumex hydrolapathum, the large
Water Dock
Typha latifolia, Bulrush

LIST OF BOG-PLANTS SUITABLE FOR BOG-GARDENS.

Caltha intermedia
» monstrosaplena (the earliest)
» nana plena (the latest)
4 palustris plena
Claytonia sibirica
Dodecatheon Jeffreyanum (the finest)
; Meadia
% » alba
Drosera longifolia (on sphagnum)
» rotundifolia ai
Epilobium angustifolium and var.
album, white and red Willow
Herbs
Epipactis palustris, the Fen Orchid
Iris foetidissima
sa es variegata
» fulva (in Cambridge Botanic
Garden on mound in water)
» Kempferi or levigata
5, pseudacorus, Yellow Flag
Lilium canadensis
» carolinianum
» pardalinum and var. califor-
nicum
» superbum
Liatris pyenostachya
» spicata
Lobelia syphilitica
Lychnis Flos-cuculi alba plena

* Some of the newer hybrids are under trial at Cheshunt.

Lychnis Flos-cuculi flore pleno
Lythrum Salicaria splendens
Orchis conopsea
>» roliosa
», latifolia
Primula denticulata
te farinosa
‘is japonica
* Munroi
» Yosea
Sarracenia Drummondi (on mounds
rising from bog)
-s purpurea
Saxifraga Hirculus
as peltata
Spirea Aruncus
» astilboides
» astilboides floribunda
» elegans
» kamtschatica
», palmata

%9 » alba

» Ulmaria plena

» venusta
Thalictrum flavum glaucum

purpureum

Typha angustifolia

» Major

» _. Minor

We recently;

saw some in the North of England, which were planted in tubs and had

survived the winter.

HARDY WATER AND BOG PLANTS. 893

The following plants are also doing well, either at Cambridge or in my
bog-garden :—

Acorus gramineus Lysimachia clethroides
Arundo Donax ue Numularia
Arundinaria, sorts AP vulgaris
Asarum cordatum Monarda didyma
» Hartwegi Osmunda regalis and varieties
Bambusa, sorts Polygonum compactum
Carex acuta variegata - Sieboldii
Cyananthus lobatus Ranunculus Lingua
Eomecon chionantha Rodgersia podophylla
Equisetum, British forms Scrophularia nodosa variegata
Eulalia, sorts Senecio pulcher
Helonias bullata 3 retusa
Hottonia cordata Sium latifolium, Water Parsrip
Juncus zebrina Struthiopteris pennsylvanica,
se) Apinalig Symphytum bohemicum

Lastrea Thalictrum (from the Fens) | Trollius europzus (on the banks)

IN SHOTELVOROUS* PLANTS.
By Mr. R. Linpsay, F.R.H.S.
[Read September 22, 1891.]

InsEctTivorous plants are of two kinds—first, those in which
there is a true digestive process; and, second, those in which there
is merely decomposition and absorption of the liquid products. To
the first group belong Drosera, Drosophyllum, Dionza, Roridula,
Byblis, Aldrovanda, Pinguicula, Nepenthes, and Cephalotus ; and
to the second, Sarracenia, Darlingtonia, Heliamphora, and
Utricularia. These are all dicotyledonous plants, and consist of
several hundreds of species, which in one way or other capture
insects and use them as food. They are remarkable for the
adaptations of structure and function by which insects are secured,
and for their obvious approach to the animal mode of nutrition.
The distribution of insectivorous plants is somewhat remarkable,
many being restricted to very small areas, and one half of the
genera being monotypic. The large genus Drosera has an all
but world-wide distribution ; its congeners, however, are restricted
to well-defined and usually comparatively small areas. Thus
Drosophyllum occurs only in Portugal and Morocco, Byblis in
Tropical Australia, Roridula in South Africa; and although
Aldrovanda is found in Queensland, in Bengal, and in Europe—
a wide distribution explained by its aquatic habit—Dionxa is

394 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

restricted to a few localitiesin North and South Carolina, mainly
around Wilmington. Cephalotus occurs only near Albany in
Western Australia, Heliamphora on the Roraima Mountains in
Venezuela, and Darlingtonia on the Sierra Nevada of California.
The six or eight known species of Sarracenia are scattered over
the Eastern States of North America. The forty species of
Nepenthes are mostly natives of the hotter parts of the Indian
Archipelago, but a few range into Ceylon, Bengal, Cochin China,
and some even into Tropical Australia, on the one hand, and into
the Seychelles and Madagascar on the other. Pinguicula is
abundant in the North Temperate zone, and ranges down the
Andes as far as Patagonia. The 150 species of Utricularia are
mostly aquatic, and found in all save the Polar regions. Their
unimportant congeners, Genlisea and Polypompholix, occur in
Tropical America and in Western Australia respectively. It is
remarkable that all insectivorous plants agree in inhabiting damp
heaths, bogs, marshes, and similar situations where water is
abundant—a peculiarity perhaps due to their habit of copious
secretion, and consequent need of water. Although our know-
ledge of insectivorous plants dates from 1768, when Ellis sent to
Linnzeus a remarkable letter giving a description of the “ Fly-
trap’ and its habits, it was not till 1860, when Charles Darwin
began the thorough experimental study of insectivorous plants,
comparing their sensitiveness, mobility, and digestive powers
with those of animals, culminating in his classical work, that
their physiological import was rightly understood. Since then
the investigation of these plants has been kept steadily in view,
the analysis of their vital processes becoming with each year
more complete.

Beginning with Droseracee, and choosing the common Dro-
sera rotundifolia, we find that the leaves are beset with
numerous hair-like structures with glandular knobs, to which
Darwin has applied the term “ tentacles.”’ Hach tentacle con-
sists of a stalk, at the extremity of which is a glandular knob
surrounded by an extremely viscid fluid secretion, which, from its
glittering in the sun, has given the plant the name of ‘‘ Sundew.”
When a fly alights on a leaf it is immediately entangled amongst
the glands; these, on becoming excited, transmit a motor impulse
to all the surrounding tentacles, which immediately bend over
and soon kill it. The time during which the tentacles remain

INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS. 895

inflected depends on the age and vigour of the leaf, and Darwin
mentions that they so remain for a much longer time over soluble
nitrogenous substances than over those which yield no such
matter. When a fly or small piece of meat is placed on certain
glands of aleaf, the secretion from the other glands is increased
in quantity and becomes acid, and this takes place before they
come in contact with the object. At the same time a remark-
able movement of the protoplasm takes place, first within the
cells of the glands and then within those of the pedicels. This
movement Darwin calls “aggregation.” When this occurs the
cells present a different appearance. Instead of being filled
with a homogeneous purple fluid, they now contain variously
shaped masses of purple matter suspended in a colourless fluid.
The secretion appears to possess, like the gastric juice of the
higher animals, some antiseptic power. During warm weather
Darwin placed two equal-sized bits of raw meat, one on a leaf
and the other on wet moss. After forty-eight hours that on the
moss swarmed with infusoria, while that on the leaf was quite
free from them. Small cubes of albumen placed in similar cir-
cumstances showed that those placed on the moss became threaded
with mould, while those on the leaves remained clear, and were
changed into a transparent jelly. Although the leaves appear
at a glance to be of a reddish colour, they nevertheless contain
chlorophyll in their petioles, both surfaces of the blade, and
the pedicels of the tentacles, so that they are able to decompose
the carbonic acid of the air; but, owing to their feeble root-
development, the plants would not be able to obtain a sufficient
supply of nitrogen if they had not the power of obtaining that
important element from captured insects.

Regarding the other species of Drosera, of which there are fully
a hundred scattered over the globe, it is a matter for regret that so
few are as yet in cultivation. Many of the species are highly
ornamentaland exceedingly beautiful. Besides the British species,
there are only about a dozen in cultivation. Of these the most
amenable to culture are Drosera dichotoma, D. binata, D. capen-
sis, and D. spathulata. D. dichotoma is a handsome, strong-
srowing species; when well grown it has leaves a foot
high, each divided into four leaflets. It does not, how-
ever, capture insects so freely as some of the smaller-growing
kinds; probably, from its having such strong roots, it may

396 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

not depend so much on what it captures by the leaves.
D. binata, though considered by many as synonymous with
the last-mentioned, is a much more slender-growing plant,
having the leaves constantly binate; the glands are also redder
in colour, and it is altogether distinct, and even more graceful
than D. dichotoma. Both are natives of Australia. D. capen-
sis is also a strong-growing species, having long, undivided leaves,
thickly beset with glands that secrete copiously and capture large
numbers of insects. D. spathulata is a very elegant, round-
leaved species from Australia, one of the easiest of all to cultivate,
as it flowers and seeds very freely. Self-sown seedlings come up
in abundance on the surface of the pots where they are grown.
Other species in cuitivation are D. auriculata, D. Burkei,
D. cistiflora, D. capillaris, D. filiformis, D. madagascariensis,
and D. Whittakertv.

Drosophyllwm lusitanicum, the Portuguese ‘‘ Fly-catcher,”’
is a shrubby-growing plant closely allied to Drosera. It cap-
tures large numbers of small flies during the season, but is
not a long-lived plant in cultivation. It, however, seeds abun-
dantly, and is best when raised every second or third year. Its
large handsome yellow flowers render it peculiarly attractive.
The most gigantic member of the family is Roridula dentata, a
native of South Africa, where it attains to a height of six feet.
It is of a shrubby habit, and has long pinnatifid leaves which
are covered with an extremely viscid secretion. It captures
enormous quantities of flies, and even wasps, the leaves and
branches becoming literally covered with insects of various kinds.
A plant in the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, is now 5 feet
6 inches in height. At Stellenbosch, South Africa, where the
plant grows wild, the Boers utilise cut branches of it in their rooms
for the purpose of catching flies. These are hung up, and soon
become covered with flies. The branches are then dipped in water
to clean the insects off, and again hung up, when more secretion is
exuded by the leaves. This process may be repeated over and over
again with the same branch.

One of the best known examples of an insectivorous plant,
and also one of the earliest known, is Dionea muscipula,
or “ Venus’ Fly-trap.” It belongs to the Droseracee, and ‘is
a native of South Carolina. The leaf-blade of Dionwxa is
bilobed and the petiole foliaceous. The lobes of the blade

INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS. 397

stand at rather less than a right angle to each other, and the
edges are set round with bristle-like projections, which inter-
lace like the teeth of a rat-trap when the leaf closes. The upper
surface of each lobe towards the midrib is thickly covered with
minute red glands, which give it a rosy appearance, and the lobes
also bear three erect sensitive filaments arranged in a triangular
manner. The filaments are further provided with a joint or
hinge near the base, so that when the leaf closes they fold down,
and thus escape injury. These filaments or hairs are sensitive
over their whole surface, and respond so readily to a momentary
touch that an insect alighting on the leaf is almost certain
to cause it to close. When touched a motor impulse is con-
veyed from the excited hair through the cellular tissue of the
leaf-blade to the midrib, the result being that the lobes instantly
close. This closing, however, is not at first perfect, the teeth only
shghtly interlacing, so that if the insect is small it is allowed to
escape, but if it is large the glands are induced to secrete and
absorb the animal matter, which, according to Darwin, has the
effect of causing the lobes to press closely against the body of the
insect. The pressure is often so great that the outline of the
body of the insect can be seen on the outside of the leaf. When
the lobes are induced to close by mechanically touching the
sensitive hairs, they remain closed only for a short time ; but when
an insect is caught they remain closed for about eight days
generally. Darwin mentions a case where a leaf remained closed
for thirty-five days over a large Tipula. On an insect or other
animal substance being thus entrapped by a leaf, the peptic
glands on the upper surface of the lobes pour out an acid secre-
tion immediately the animal matter comes in contact with them.
Moist nitrogenous substances when placed on the glands of a
leaf, even although the sensitive hairs are untouched, not only
cause the glands to secrete, but the lobes slowly close. Hegard-
ing the capability of Dionea to feed on nitrogenous matter, a
very simple experiment will be sufficient to convince the most
sceptical on this point. Let a small cube of white of egg be
enclosed in a leaf of the plant, and one can actually watch the
process of digestion going on day by day. By carefully inserting
the blade of a penknife between the lobes of the leaf and eatch-
ing the marginal spines with the fingers, the lobes can then be
opened sufficiently wide to examine’the interior. A good deal of
I

898 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

force is necessary to do this. The first thing observable is that
the piece of egg is bathed with a secretion which colours litmus-
paper red when touched. In a day or two more the corners of
the cube will be found to be rounded, and this process goes on
until the piece of egg is dissolved. This may take a fortnight or
three weeks’ time to accomplish, according to the amount given.
The secretion is absorbed by glands in the interior of the leaf.
It does not pass down the leaf-stalk to the root, because litmus-
paper tied round the leaf-stalk shows no reaction.

The order Nepenthacee is limited to the single genus Ne-
penthes, or ‘‘ Pitcher-plant,’’ which consists of about forty
species and a large number of hybrid varieties. They are
shrubby, climbing, and diccious plants. The pitcher of
Nepenthes, which is its most striking feature, is an appendage
of the leaf, developed at its apex, and is furnished with a stalk,
often a very long one. This stalk, in the case of pitchers
formed high up on the stem, has the power of twisting like a
tendril round neighbouring objects, and thus the plant climbs
to a great height in the forests. In most species the pitchers
are of two forms—one appertaining to the young state of the
plant, when they are short and inflated; the other belonging to
the old state, when they are longer and more funnel-shaped.
The mouth of the pitcher is furnished with a thickened corru-
gated rim, which serves three purposes: first, it strengthens the
mouth, and keeps it distended; second, it secretes honey; and
third, it forms a row of teeth, which descend into the pitcher and
prevent the escape of insects. In some species this row of teeth
is strong enough to retain small birds, should they thrust their
body beyond a certain length in search of insects. The pitchers
are often highly coloured, and vary in size from an inch or two
to a foot or eighteen inches in length in the different species.
They invariably contain a fluid.

The minute structure of the interior of the pitcher is of a
very complicated nature. It presents three distinct surfaces.
The first is the ‘attractive ’’ surface, which occupies the inside
of the lid and the mouth of the pitcher. The inside of the lid is
studded over with honey-secreting glands, which are also
present round the corrugated rim. The glands consist of
masses of cells embedded in depressions of the cellular tissue
of the lid, and each is surrounded by a ring of guard-cells.

INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS. 399

This is the bait which is cunningly provided, so that the
victim may be led pleasantly on its way to destruction. One
species of Nepenthes has no honey-glands on the inside of the
lid—yiz., N. ampullaria. Sir Joseph Hooker has shown why
this species is thus exceptional. Unlike all the other species,
its lid is thrown horizontally back, and therefore honey
secretion on a lid so placed would tend to lure insects away
from the pitcher instead of into it. Next comes the “ conduc-
tive’’ surface, which occupies a variable portion of the upper
part of the interior of the pitcher. This surface is composed of
smooth, glassy cells, which afford no foothold to insects, and it is
generally studded over with minute reniform or crescentic ledges.
The remainder of the pitcher is occupied by the “secretive ’’
surface. This is thickly covered with glands resembling those
of the lid, but the depressions in which they are lodged have
their concavities directed downwards, resembling much in appear-
ance inverted waistcoat pockets. Hooker mentions that in N.
Laffiesiana three thousand of these glands occur in a square inch.
An acid fluid, which is secreted by these glands, is formed at the
bottom of the pitcher, and is present in considerable quantity
before the lid of the pitcher opens. This fluid has the same
digestive properties as that of Drosera, Dionza, and Pinguicula.
Animal matter put into the pitchers, such as small pieces of meat
or white of egg, becomes acted on in avery short time. It would
appear, however, that the digestive power of the secretion is not
due entirely to the fluid first secreted by the pitcher, but that a
substance resembling pepsine in its action is given off from its
inner wall, chiefly after the placing of animal matter in the fluid.
In support of this idea Hooker states that very little action took
place on any of the substances placed in the fluid drawn from
pitchers and deposited in a glass tube, although the disintegra-
tion of the substances was three times more rapid in the fluid
than in distilled water. On the other hand, substances placed
in the fluid in the living pitchers were acted on in a very rapid
manner: cubes of boiled egg had their edges dissolved in twenty-
four hours, and their surfaces gelatinised. Fragments of fibrine
weighing several grains were dissolved, and totally disappeared
in two or three days; while bits of cartilage weighing eight to
ten grains were greatly diminished and reduced to a transparent
jelly in three days.
12

400 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Sarraceniacee consists of eight species of Sarracenia and one
each of Darlingtonia and Heliamphora. Sarracenia, or the
American Pitcher-plant, has funnel-shaped leaves, which are
radical and collected into tufts. The leaves, or pitchers, are of
two forms—one having the lid standing erect, allowing rain
to enter freely, as in S. purpurea; the other having the lid pro-
jecting over the mouth of the pitcher, thus preventing rain from
falling into it,as in S. variolaris. Theinternal structure of the
pitchers, in most species, is like that of Nepenthes. The under-
surface of the lid and the mouth of the pitcher are studded over
with honey-secreting glands, forming the “ attractive’ surface.
Occupying the upper part of the inner surface of the pitcher
proper, and extending some distance down its cavity, is the
“conducting ’’ surface. In this each epidermal cell is prolonged
downwards into a short, glassy, sharp-pointed hair, which
is finely striated. These hairs overlap lke the tiles of a
house, and they thus afford no foothold to insects. The
whole of the cavity of the pitcher below the conducting
surface is occupied by the “ detentive’’ surface. In this many
of the epidermal cells are prolonged into enormously elongated
downward directed hairs, which increase in length towards the
bottom of the pitcher; and as the cavity diminishes in width
they meet in the centre, and thus completely prevent the escape
of any insect which may have been lured into it. Numerous
secreting glands are embedded in the detentive surface.
Insects are induced to visit the honey secretion of the lid and
mouth of the pitcher, and are thus led on to the conducting
surface. This affords no foothold, and they glide down till they
reach the detentive surface, when, once among the hairs of this
part of the pitcher, there is no possibility of returning, their
struggles only serving to wedge them deeper and more firmly.
The liquid contained in the pitchers is not distinctly acid, and
does not show digestive properties very markedly, but it wets an
insect much more rapidly than water, causing it to die of
asphyxia. The liquid product of decomposition is probably
taken up by the roots of the plant.

The flower of Sarracenia is very remarkable. In spring
the plant sends up long slender stalks, each of which bears a
solitary flower. The style terminates in an umbrella-like expan-
sion. This is five-lobed, the stigmatic surface being situated

INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS. 401

at the deflexed point of each lobe. The singular aspect of

the flower caused the first English settlers in their native place

to give it the name of “Side-saddle Flower.’ In Gerarde’ gc/atil
‘‘ Herbal ”’ (1597) there is a Characteristic figure of Sarracema / Pais
purpurea, Where it is called ‘ Hollow-leaved Sea-Lavender.”’
Darlingtoma californica is a notable member of this family.

The pitchers differ from those of Sarracenia in being twisted,

and in widening as they reach the apex, which forms a hood.

This appendage appears as if perforated at the upper part, and
terminates in two fish-tail-like prolongations, which give it a

most curious appearance.

The only remaining member of this family is Heliamphora
nutans, which was discovered on Mount Roraima some years ago-
Living plants were brought to this country, and it is now being
cultivated by the Messrs. Veitch at Chelsea. ‘It differs from all
the other members of the family in having several flowers on a
scape, which are destitute of a corolla.

The Utricularias, of which there are 150 species, are mostly
aquatic, but some exotic species are terrestrial or epiphytic. The
aquatic plants are entirely destitute of roots, and the submerged
stem and branches are clothed with leaves which are cut
up into slender filiform segments, and on these segments
numerous little bladders or ampulle aredeveloped. The leaves
are tipped with short, straight bristles. The plants float near
the surface of the water, above which they send their flowers,
supported on slender stalks. The bladders of Utricularia
possess a most ingenious trap-door mechanism which only
opens inwards, so that when a Cyclops or other animalcule
is once in, it must remain there. All over the interior of
the bladder small processes called ‘“‘ quadrifids’’ are placed,
which are supposed to be the active agents in the absorption of
the liquid products. As in Sarracenia, the insects captured
are not digested, but simply undergo decomposition. _ When
Darwin’s work first appeared numerous objections were made
as to accepting his conclusions, on the a priori ground that
digestion was too purely an animal function to be conceivable of
plants. So little is the matter now doubted by physiologists, how-
ever, that itis all but unanimously accepted by them as a modifica-
tion of the universal process of digestion alike in animals and
plants. The most serious objection, to my mind, was that raised

402 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

by cultivators, who pointed to some kinds of insectivorous plants
growing and flourishing apparently without any insect food, and
who doubted whether any advantage accrued to these plants
from the absorption of nitrogenous matter. This is the weak
point in Charles Darwin’s work—no attempt was made to prove
experimentally the amount of benefit accruing to the plants
by nitrogenous food. His son, Francis Darwin, however, has
proved conclusively, in the case of Drosera rotundifolia, that
insect-fed plants bear heavier and more numerous seeds than
unfed ones. ‘The experiments were conducted with great care,
all likely sources of fallacy having been avoided. He grew two
lots of plants under similar conditions; one lot he fed with roast
meat, one-fiftieth of a grain being placed on the secreting glands,
while from the other all such material was carefully excluded.
The results were most marked in the number and weight of the
seeds. The number of seeds produced by the fed plants was ag
240 to 100 of the unfed ones, while the total weight of the seeds
was as 880 to 100. The number and weight of the flower-stalks
and seed-capsules were also greatly in favour of the fed plants.
After the flower-stalks had been removed, the plants were
allowed to rest in a greenhouse during winter. On being
examined in spring, it was found that the fed plants had laid
up a much larger store of material than the unfed ones, for the
total weight of plants was in the proportion of 251 to 100 of the
unfed plants, and the average weight of each plant was as 213
to 100. While Darwin was performing these most interesting
experiments, Drs. Kellerman and Raumer were, all unknown to
him, prosecuting almost identical inquiries, and reaching almost
exactly similar conclusions.

My own experience in the culture of Dionza is, that when
two sets of plants are grown side by side under the same
conditions in every respect, except that insects are excluded from
the one and admitted to the other, the latter, or fed plants, are
found to be stronger and far superior to the former during the
following season. But we must never forget that the natural
conditions under which these plants are found are different from
what they are under cultivation. In their native habitats they
erow in very poor soil and make feeble roots, and under these
conditions may require to capture more insects by their leaves to
make up for their root deficiency. Under culture, however, fairly

INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS. 408

good roots for the size of plant are developed. Darwin mentions
that the roots of Dionwa are very small: those of a moderately
fine plant which he examined consisted of two branches, about
one inch in length, springing from a bulbous enlargement. I have
frequently found Dionza roots six inches in length; but they are
deciduous, and I can only conjecture that the roots mentioned by
Darwin were not fully grown at the time they were measured.
What is here stated of the natural habits of Dionwa applies
more or less to all insectivorous plants.

Such is a brief survey of a few of these most interesting
plants, whose habits, in some respects, as already said, are
curiously allied to those of members of the animal kingdom.
In conclusion, I should like to add a few words on their
cultivation. They all require pretty much the same descrip-
tion of soil and general treatment. Nepenthes alone demand
much heat, an average temperature of 70° suiting the
majority of them very well. The soil should consist of good
fibrous peat, with the earthy matter shaken well out. To this
should be added from a third to a half of chopped Sphagnum
moss, with a sprinkling of charcoal, potsherds, and silver sand,
all thoroughly well mixed. This will form a free, open compost.
Owing to the large amount of water required, good drainage
must also be given. In repotting Nepenthes, care should be
taken not to injure the delicate roots. It is better not to shake
the old soil out, unless it has become soured and unwholesome.
In that case the soil should be washed away, thus preserving
the roots. Very small pots or baskets should be used in com-
parison with the size of the plants. The best time for repotting
is about the middle of February. The plants should be placed
near the glass, and not shaded too heavily unless in very bright
sunshine. To have abundance of pitchers produced, the plants
should be frequently cut back, as when growing too freely they
fail to produce pitchers—and this is just what might be expected,
bearing in mind what has been said regarding their habits. So
long as the plant is deriving plenty of nourishment from its
roots it has the less need to develop pitchers, and hence also
the necessity for confining the roots in small pots. In the seed-
ling Nepenthes, the first leaves produced after the cotyledons
are small winged pitchers, and a succession of these is developed
before a lamina becomes apparent on the young leaves. With

404 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

few exceptions, Nepenthes are readily increased from cuttings,
the simplest way being to insert the cuttings through the bottom
of an inverted flower-pot without any soil, placing it in a heated
case—in fact, rooting the cutting in moist air, and afterwards
potting it in the usual way.

Sarracenias and Darlingtonia may be treated similarly to
Nepenthes, except that they require very little fire-heat: an
ordinary greenhouse suits them best. In repotting, a good deal
of the old soil should be shaken out. They should be placed
near the glass in full sunshine, with plenty of moisture, to
ensure which the pots should stand on Sphagnum moss. This
retains the moisture, and is better than standing the pots in flats
of water, as the soil is not so liable to become soured. All the
species are readily increased by division and from seed.

The various species of Drosera, including Dionw#a and Dro-
sophyilum, require nearly the same treatment as Sarracenia,
except that the soil used should be a little less rough. They are
easily raised in quantity from seed. Several of the stronger-
rooting kinds of Drosera, such as D. binata, D. dichotoma, and
D. capensis, grow readily from root-cuttings. Ifthe roots are cut
up into the smallest pieces about February, strewn over the
surface of a seed-pan, covering them slightly with sandy soil,
and put into a warm case for a few weeks, each little bit of root
will grow and develop into a fine plant. In this way an
unlimited quantity of these elegant plants may be raised in a
single season.

As arule, there is no great difficulty attending the cultivation
of insectivorous. plants, and I shall be glad if the foregoing
remarks help to make them better known and more frequently
grown.

DISCUSSION.

The Rev. Prof. Henstow observed that the digestion of nitro-
genous matters presented to insectivorous plants was not only
a well-recognised fact, but that it was merely a very highly
specialised instance of a much more general phenomenon in the
vegetable kingdom. He drew attention to the fact that in
germinating seeds the embryo is provided with food, upon which
it lives until it has developed roots and leaves. This food con-
sists of starch or oil and a nitrogenous substance called “aleurone.”

INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS. 405

In order to assimilate them, the embryo secretes ferments of
different kinds, one called ‘diastase ’’ converting two thousand
times its volume of starch into sugar; another changes the solid
aleurone into an assimilable peptone; while a third enables oil to
become emulsionised. In each case the process appears to be
identically the same as in our own digestive organs.

As instances of other leaves secreting digestive fluids than
those of insectivorous plants, may be mentioned the leaves of the
Papaw and Fig trees. Mr. Henslow mentioned that in some
tropical countries it was a common habit to wrap up tough meat
in the leaves of the former, which soon began to secrete a fluid
which, by bringing about incipient digestion, rendered the meat
tender. The principle called papaine had been extracted from
the juice of the fruit and utilised in the form of digestive pills.
It had also been found efficacious in dissolving the false fungoid
membrane in diphtheria.

Another example was to be seen in the formation of roots;
for, when new ones are formed, they take their rise from certain
spots ina special layer called the “ pericycle ’’ within the interior
of the mother-root. The young root has a so-called “ digestive
pocket ” at the apex, which dissolves and absorbs the cortical
tissue of the mother-root until it makes its exit at the surface.

Again, parasitical fungi which penetrate the tissues of stems,
leaves, tubers, and even solid wood, are enabled to do so by
secreting ferments which dissolve those tissues, however hard
they may be, and enable the slender tubes to penetrate and feed
upon them.

Lastly, it occasionally happens that underground stems of
grasses meet with tubers or bulbs in their course, and, instead of
passing round, they burrow through them. It has lately been
discovered that the presence of the organised body induces the
apex of the shoot to secrete a ferment, which dissolves the tissues,
and so enables the grass-stem to literally bore its way through
the tuber.

Mr. Henslow concluded his remarks by observing that these
few instances show how general is the process of ferment-action —
a vegetable rennet or cheese-forming ferment having even been
discovered—and that it would seem to be in no appreciable way
different from the kindred digestive processes in the animal
kingdom.

406 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,

Dr. Masters remarked that the process of assimilation or
digestion as carried out by insectivorous plants was similar to
what took place in human beings. Plants required suitable food
as wellas animals. The main fact with regard to them was
absolutely undisputed: namely, when they received suitable food,
in the shape of pieces of meat or insects, they digested it by
means of a ferment, as animals do. What was not quite so
certain, however, was the means by which this process of fer-
mentation was brought about. At one time it was thought that
the plants secreted the digesting fluid entirely by their own
organisation; but now many considered that bacteria had a great
deal to do with inducing fermentation. Some authorities, how-
ever, doubted whether the plants really gained any advantage
whatever from animal food. At any rate growers of Nepenthes,
Sarracenias, &c., did not seem to think so, as they generally
stopped the orifices of the “ pitchers”’ with a piece of cotton-
wool to prevent the insects gaining admission. If this means of
prevention were not adopted, the insects would enter much more
abundantly and quickly than the plant could digest them, and
after a time their decaying bodies would sadly spoil the outward
appearance of the beautiful pitchers. Dr. Masters, however, was
of opinion that the rotting of the insects and also of the pitchers
was for the benefit of the plants. If the carnivorous properties
of these plants were denied, it might be asked of what use were
these elaborate traps, such as were to be found in the Nepenthes,
Sarracenias, Dionzas, Droseras, Pinguiculas, &c. ?

INSECT-CATCHING PLANTS.
By Mr. Lewis Castuz, F.R.H.S.

Ir is not my intention in these few notes to review the whole of
the subjects grouped together under the rather misleading titles
of ‘‘insectivorous”’ or “‘carnivorous”’ plants, as this task has been
already so fully and clearly performed by Mr. R. Lindsay that I
shall prefer taking a different course, though it is difficult to say
anything fresh upon a matter which has been so exhaustively
treated in recent years.

INSECT-CATCHING PLANTS, 407

The opinion is now generally accepted that certain plants,
amongst which Dionea muscipula and the Droseras are con-
spicuous, are specially adapted for catching and retaining many
small insects, the decomposition of which is beneficial to the
plants in some way—perhaps by direct absorption; and this is
where so much misconception has arisen, for popular writers
have seized on the subject as one exactly suited to the fluent
pens and prolific imaginations of contributors to daily and
weekly papers. Exaggeration has creptin, and most extravagant
notions have been formed on the subject. People have come
to regard the so-called ‘‘ carnivorous plants’’ as vegetable mon-
sters, constantly lying in wait for their prey, which they seize
and devour with the ferocity of carnivorous animals in a smaller
degree. To such a length has this gone that when the shelves
in the porch of the Orchid-house at Kew were railed off, and the
poor plants were protected from the too attentive visitors
anxious to test the meat-consuming abilities of the Dionxas and
Droseras, a report was spread (and it was gravely repeated in a
widely circulating paper) that the railing was intended to
preserve the onlookers from any possible accidents which
might befall them if the plants were in an especially famished
condition.

Under such circumstances it is not surprising that many
reasonable people have gone to the other extreme and freely
expressed their disbelief in all that has been said about them.
A few days ago I was conversing with the manager of one of the
largest nurseries in Great Britain—an able cultivator, a most
experienced plantsman, well educated, and even accomplished in
some respects—and he summed up his views in these words: “I
do not believe that these plants are insectivorous or carnivorous
in any sense of the words. That they catch and kill flies and
other insects I know quite well, for I have had some hundreds of
the plants under my notice during many years; but I also know
that very often this fly-catching business is positively injurious to
them, for leaves and pitchers decay by scores when they become
partially filled with the decomposed mass, and I cannot perceive
what advantage the plants gain from this. Iam certain that in
a few years the whole theory will be exploded as ridiculous.”’
I have good reason for knowing that others still share this
opinion, or I should not have given it so much prominence,

408 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

but it is a proof that there is room to say a little more on the
matter.

Many seem to run away with the idea that there is something
very modern in the statements about the insect-eating plants, yet
with regard to some of them it is certainly not novel. For.
instance, in referring to the common Sundew (Drosera rotundi-
folia), Dr. Withering records this statement from a correspondent :
“In August 1780, examining the Drosera in company with Mr.
Whately, on his inspecting some of the concentrated leaves we
observed a small insect or fly very closely imprisoned therein.
On Mr. Whately centrically pressing with a pin other leaves yet
in their natural and expanded form, we observed a remarkable,
sudden, and elastic spring of the leaves, so as to become inverted
upwards, and, as if were, encircling the pin, which evidently
showed the method by which the fly came into its embarrassed
situation.”’

I have also a work on botany, published in America in 1804,
which gives an excellent plate of Dionea muscipula, and refers
at some length to its peculiarities in capturing flies.

Popular attention was drawn to the subject by Sir Joseph
Hooker in his address before the British Association in 1874, and
this was followed by Mr. Darwin’s work on insectivorous plants,
in which some most interesting experiments were recorded.
Thousands discovered for the first time that these plants con-
stituted some of the wonders of the vegetable kingdom, and began
to observe their peculiarities with the keenest interest.

Like many others, feeling only partially convinced by what I
had read on the subject, I determined to try a few simple
experiments myself on somewhat similar lines to those previously
adopted. Dionea muscipula was first taken in hand, and six
plants were placed in small pans of sphagnum and peat, in
exactly the same proportions and of the same character. They
were grown under identical conditions of heat, light, and
moisture, the only difference made being in the following points :
The framework of two square ‘‘ cages’’ or ‘“ covers’’ was made
of stout wire, and this was covered with a fine gauze, which, while
excluding all insects, interfered in scarcely a perceptible degree
with the access of light. The “cages” were each sufficiently
large to cover two pans, allowing ample room for the growth of
the plants, and four of the Dionzas were thus provided for, two

INSECT-CATCHING PLANTS. 409

under each, the remaining pair being placed near them without
any covering.

The treatment then pursued was directed to ascertain
the relative effects of artificial and insect stimulants and
“total abstinence.” Two of the plants under the cages were
supplied only with clear water ; the other two in the next cage
received a weekly supply of much-diluted liquid manure from an
ordinary stable-tank. The uncovered pair were supplied with
clear water like the first, but they were left to exercise their
insect-trapping propensities unchecked in any way; and
as the house occupied a low, rather damp situation, they
were fully engaged during a good portion of the season,
for flying insects of various kinds were that year unusually
abundant.

The plants were carefully watched, and the progress noted
with much interest for a considerable time, and, without giving
the minute details, the results can be summarised as follows:
All the plants grew well, and there was little difference in the
size of the leaves or the general strength. Those supplied with
diluted liquid manure were perhaps a shade darker in colour than
any of the others; but on the uncovered plants three leaves
which had been very actively engaged in the fly-catching
business began late in the season to assume a yellowish tint, and
ultimately decayed, two on one plant and one on the other. As
far as the vegetative organs were concerned this was all the
difference observed, but when the flower-spikes appeared the
case was altered. Only one of the ‘“‘ unfed”’ plants produced
flowers, and these were at once seen to be weaker in all points
than any of the others; the liquid-fed and the insect-fed plants
had flowers exactly alike in size and strength, but one of the
last named produced an imperfect spike, which did not develop
freely. Readily perceptible differences were noted as the
capsules swelled; those on the total-abstinent plant were the
smallest, and those on the other two were full-sized, well-
developed fruits. When the seed was gathered the difference
was still more marked in favour of the nitrogen-consuming
plants of the second and third series. Taking the same number
of seeds of each, the weight was found to be in the proportion of
nearly one to two; those from the two series of ‘‘ fed” plants
giving almost double the weight of the other, and they had

410 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

altogether a more promising appearance from a gardener’s or
seedsman’s point of view.

Unfortunately my experiments were stopped at this point, or
I had intended testing the germinating power of each set; but
I entrusted the seeds to a careful friend, and he subsequently
gave me the following results, which I am satisfied are quite
reliable. Of the seeds from the unfed plant, about sixty per cent.
germinated, of those from the others fully ninety per cent.
germinated ; in the former case twenty per cent. died before they
reached full size, and only five per cent. of the others were lost
in the same way.

Some time afterwards I tested Drosera rotundifolia in a
similar way, and with practically the same results, so that I felt
amply satisfied in having confirmed the results obtained by
several distinguished observers.

In the following year Dr. Regel published in the Gartenflora
a description of very similar experiments undertaken with four
pairs of Droseras, and the results were summarised in the
Gardeners’ Chronicle, as here quoted :—

‘“‘ Drosera longifolia.—The unfed plants bore exactly twice as
many seed-capsules as an equal number of fed plants, and these
forty-two capsules contained three times as many seeds as the
twenty-one capsules, or 3,720 seeds against 1,300 seeds. On
the other hand, 1,000 seeds of the unfed plants were somewhat
lighter than the same number from the fed plants, being as
twenty-five to twenty-seven.

‘“‘ Drosera rotundifolia.—tIn this experiment the fed and unfed
plants produced an equal number of seed-capsules, but the thirty-
four capsules of the unfed plants contained nearly three times as
many seeds as those of the fed plants. On the other hand, 1,000
seeds of the unfed plants weighed little more than half as much
as an equal number of the fed plants.”

Dr. Regel was opposed to the views which had been pre-
viously set forth on the subject, but the only respect in which
his experiments confirmed his opinions was in the number of
seeds produced, though this does not seem ‘to have been carried
out to the logical conclusion by testing the germinating power
and proportion of the various seeds.

Since that time I have observed the Sarracenias and
Nepenthes rather closely, and Iam convinced the plants derive an

INSECT-CATCHING PLANTS. 411

advantage in their seed production from manurial aids, whether
obtained from the decomposed insects which so often crowd
their pitchers, or from direct artificial applications to their roots,
or through the atmosphere ; in the case of the Nepenthes, it must
be remembered that under cultivation so many circumstances
are altered that it is often difficult to predict results likely to
follow certain causes. It is certain, however, that in all these
plants there is a manifest adaptation for enticing insects into the
modified leaves, and there retaining them until they are lifeless.
It is equally certain that whether any portion of the decomposed
substance is absorbed direct by the leaf, or aids in fertilising the
surrounding soil, or in imparting gases to the atmosphere, the
influence must be of a stimulating character, exactly as under cul-
tivation we endeavour to assist plant-growth by various artificial
means. Why so few plants should be thus strangely modified
when so many others have exactly similar requirements, it is
difficult perhaps to understand, but the student of nature is
always meeting with difficulties of this kind, that only serve to
humble him to a due sense of his own limited capacity and
knowledge.

FRUITS FOR COTTAGERS AND SMALL FARMERS.

ATTENTION having lately been directed to the advantages which
may be gained by a more general and more careful cultivation
of fruit, the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society have
requested their Fruit Committee (which consists of forty of the
leading experts in fruit culture in this country) to prepare a list,
for the information of cottagers and small farmers, of those
varieties which they would recommend as being most suitable
for the purpose.
In preparing the list the Committee were particularly
requested—
(i) To consider the matter entirely from a cottager’s or
small farmer’s point of view ;
(ii) To make it applicable, as far as possible, to the
whole of England ; *
(iii) To include in it none but varieties possessing the
* A revised edition has since been prepared for Scotland.

412 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

four most necessary characteristics of quality, fertility, good
growth, and hardiness; and
(iv) To attach such short notes as were thought desirable.

Copies of this paper for distribution may be obtained at the Society’s
office. Price, post free, single copy, 1d.; or per 25, 1s.;, 50, 1s. 6d. ;

100, 2s. 6d.
By order of Council, W. WILKS, Secretary.

VARIETIES OF FRUITS FOR ENGLAND.

Note.—(i) The lists are arranged in alphabetical order, and not in order
of merit.

(ii) Before deciding which variety to choose, read the whole list through
carefully with the notes which follow each sort.

(iii) The dates following the names indicate the season at which the
particular variety is in perfection for use. It may, of course, be used earlier
or may keep later; it will vary slightly with each varying year, and will be
somewhat later in the North of England than in the South and West.

APPLES FOR COOKING.

1. Blenheim Orange (November to February).—This has
been included in the list because it is an excellent all-round
Apple, but those who plant standards of it must be prepared to
wait some years for them to begin fruiting. It is not so long in
coming into bearing when grown as a bush tree. It is a very
fair dessert Apple as well.

2. Bramley’s Seedling (December to April).—A very fine
late-keeping variety and a good bearer. The best Apple for an
exposed situation.

3. Ecklinville (September and October).—The best of the
Codlins ; larger and better than No. 4.

4, Keswick Codlin (August to October).—A well-known early
Apple, and very hardy.

5. Lane’s Prince Albert (November to April).—One of the
finest keeping Apples; bearing so abundantly that the weight of
fruit often brings the branches down within the reach of cattle,
and is therefore best as a bush tree.

6. Lord Suffield (September and October).—A very fine
Codlin for a warm, light, stony soil.

7. Lord Grosvenor (October and November).—A Codlin; a
great bearer and more generally reliable than No. 6.

8. New Northern Greening (November to March). A most
valuable late Apple for the Midlands and North Country, where
it succeeds better than No. 5.

FRUITS FOR COTTAGERS AND SMALL FARMERS. 418

9. New Hawthornden (November and December).—A large
and first-rate variety.

10. Potts’ Seedling (August and September).—An invaluable
Apple; very large fruit; compact growth; succeeds better in
towns than any other.

11. Stirling Castle (October and November).—Very large
and fertile; best as a bush, as it bears too abundantly to support
itself as a standard.

12. Warner’s King (November and December).—Fruit of
enormous size; best in warm, light soils and as a half-standard
or spreading bush.

APPLES FOR EATING.

1, Braddick’s Nonpareil (October to December).—Best grown
as a bush tree.

2. Cox’s Orange Pippin (November to January).—The finest
eating Apple; best as a bush, and likes a warm place.

3. Duchess of Oldenburg (August and September).—Best as
a bush or half-standard ; does not keep long.

4. Irish Peach (August).—Best as a bush or half-standard ;
must be used quickly.

5. King of the Puppins (October to January).—Best as a
bush ; likes a warm place.

6. hed Quarrenden (August).—Best as a bush or half-
standard.

7. Sturmer Pippin (February to June).—Best as a bush, and
should be left on the tree as long as possible to thoroughly ripen,
when it is a very fine variety.

8. Worcester Pearmain (September).—May be grown as a
standard, but all eating Apples are better in the bush form of
tree.

Note.—In really good Apple soils all the above may be grown as
standards. ‘ Ribston Pippin’? has not been included because—(i) The
trees canker so quickly on many soils, and (ii) it is a poor bearer.

PEARS FOR EATING.

i. Beurré d’ Amanlis (September and October).—Large and
well-flavoured ; succeeds as a standard.
2. Durondeau (October and November).—Large and delicious ;
succeeds best as a bush or on wall or fence.
K

414 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

3. Doyenné du Comice (November).—The best of all Pears,
but should be grown on a wall or fence.

4. Jargonelle (August).—A good early Pear, but will not
keep. It succeeds well as a standard, and is suitable for training
up very tall buildings.

5. Lowise Bonne (October).—Excellent; of medium size;
succeeds in most places as a standard, but is worthy of bush or
wall culture.

6. Marie Lowse (October and November).—Succeeds best
on a wall or fence, and requires a sheltered spot. In some
places it does well as a bush tree.

7. Pitmaston Duchess (October and Norcanee —The largest
of all, and a very strong grower. Succeeds best as a bush, or
on fence or wall, though in good Pear districts it is sometimes
erown as a standard. It must by no means be confused with
Duchesse d’Angouléme, which, in Great Britain, is a very inferior
variety.

8. Williams’s Bon Chrétien (September).—Very widely
known; large and well-flavoured. Succeeds as a standard or
bush, and grows to a large size on wall or fence. Will not keep
long.

Note.—As a rule, Pears are not a very profitable class of fruit for
cottagers and small farmers to grow, but if they are required the above will
suit for their purpose.

All Pears require great judgment in gathering; for example, Nos. 4 and
5 should be gathered as soon as ever they will part easily from the tree,
while Nos. 3 and 6 should be allowed to hang as long as possible. Pears
require great care in handling and packing, so as not to allow them to
sustain the slightest bruise or injury, or otherwise they will rot.

If later keeping sorts than the above are required the two best would be
Josephine de Malines and Winter Nelis, both of which keep till Christmas;

in very favoured spots they will succeed in bush form, butcertainly deserve
a wall or fence.

PEARS FOR COOKING.

1. Beurré Clairgeaw (October and November).—A long,
handsome Pear, and good bearer; will sometimes sell as a
dessert Pear.

2. Catillac (December to March).—Very large, round, solid
fruit; the best stewing Pear. Should be allowed to hang on
the tree late. Best as a bush.

3. Uvedale’s St. Germain (January to April).—Very large,
and for that reason not suited for a standard. Also known as
‘“‘ Belle Angevine.”’

FRUITS FOR COTTAGERS AND SMALL FARMERS. 415

4, Verulam (December to March).—A large and very hardy
Pear; succeeds as a standard, the tree growing to a great
size.

Note.—Stewing Pears may often be grown with more profit by cottagers
and small farmers than dessert Pears, as they generally crop better and
always keep and travel better, being less sensitive to injury; care,
however, in picking and packing will be amply repaid by the increased value
of the fruit.

Piums FoR EATING.

1. Belgian Purple (late August).—Dark red; a great bearer ;
also cooks well.

2. Bryanstone Gage (mid-September).—Green ; fine flavour;
better on bush or wall, but succeeds as a standard in warm
soils.

3. Denniston’s Superb (late August).—Green ; of Greengage
flavour; a constant bearer.

4. Greengage (early September)—An old favourite, but
not a very free bearer. Should not be grown as a standard
except in very favoured spots.

5. Jefferson’s (September).—Green ; a large and magnificent
dessert Plum; the best “all-round ”’ table kind.

6. Rwers’ Harly Transparent (early September).—Green ;
the finest early dessert Plum; best on a bush or on wall or
fence. This must not be confused with “ Transparent” or with
** Late Transparent,” which are distinct varieties.

Prhums FOR COOKING.

1. Coz’s Emperor (early September)—Dark red; of the
Orleans type; a strong grower.

2. Gisborne’s (early September).—Yellow ; somewhat like
‘‘ Pershore’’; a great bearer.

3. Rwers’ Harly Prolific (early August).—Purple; the
most valuable early Plum; of superb flavour when cooked;
spreading in growth.

4, Rivers’ Czar (mid-August).—Dark red; a good bearer ;
of strong, upright growth.

5. Rwers’ Monarch (mid-September).—Black ; very large ;
the best late Plum.

6. Victoria (late August).—Pink ; an enormous bearer ; the
best for general purposes,

416 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

DAMSONS.

1. Bradley’s King (mid-season).—Medium size; excellent
flavour.

2. Farleigh Prolific (early).—Small; an enormous bearer ;
the best for exposed situations. It is sometimes called “ Crit-
tenden,’’ or ‘‘ Kent Cluster.”

3. Prune Damson (late)—Large; of Plum shape; of
spreading growth, and stouter than other Damsons. It is some-
times called the ‘‘ Cheshire ’’ and the “ Shropshire’? Damson, or
the ‘“‘Michaelmas Plum.” It must not be confused with the
‘‘Gloucester’’ or “ Hereford’? Prune, which is smaller in size
and of more upright growth.

CHERRIES FOR HATING.

A. Duxes: 1. Archduke (mid-season).-—Bright mulberry.

2. Mayduke (early).—Dark red.

B. YELLOW-FRUITED: 1. Elton (very early).—Good on heavy
soil.

2. Kent Bigarreau (early).—Large and fine. Hardy.

C. Buack-FrRuITED: 1. Black Hagle (mid-season).—Very
hardy ; rich flavour.

2. Harly Rivers’ (very early)—A magnificent Cherry in
every respect.

CHERRIES FOR COOKING.

1. Kentish (mid-season).—Bright red; very juicy; of the
finest flavour.

2. Morello (very late)—Good, but only fit for wall, fence,
or bush. The “ Wye Morello,’ a small sort, succeeds well as a
standard, but the fruit, though excellent, is very small.

Note.—Cherries are not, as a rule, very profitable fruit for cottagers to
srow. The above are the best for their purpose.

RASPBERRIES.
1. Carter’s Prolific.
2. Superlative-—Both are excellent red Raspberries.
8. White Antwerp.—A good white Raspberry.

CURRANTS.

1. Red Dutch (early red). | 8. White Dutch (white).
2, Laby Castle (late red), 4. Lee’s Prolific (black).

FRUITS FOR COTTAGERS AND SMALL FARMERS. 417

GOOSEBERRIES.
1. Crown Bob. 6. Red Champagne.
2. Harly Sulphur. 7. Warrington.
83. [ronmonger. 8. Whitesmith.
4, Lancashire Lad. 9. Whinham’s Industry.

5. Pitmaston Greengage.

Note.—Nos. 1, 4, and 9 are the best to gather green, and of these No. 9 has
the largest fruit. Nos. 5 and 8 are the best white dessert sorts. Nos. 1,
6, and 7 are the best red dessert sorts. No. 2 is the best yellow dessert sort.
Nos. 4 and 7 are the best for preserving in a ripe state. Nos. 3, 5, and 6
are the best small sorts for flavour. Other good varieties are Karly White
Hedgehog, Rumbullion, Golden Drop, Leader, and Broomgirl.

STRAWBERRIES.
1. President. 3. Vicomtesse Héricart de
2. Sur Joseph Paxton. Thury.

Note.—All three are thoroughly dependable Strawberries. No. 1 is
perhaps finest in flavour and equal in size and cropping with No. 2. No. 2
is firmest in flesh, and therefore travels best. No. 3 is the largest cropper,
and almost equal in flavour to No. 1; it is a grand Strawberry for
preserving.

Note oN PLANTING.

The best time for planting all fruits is October and November,
except for Strawberries, which should be planted in August or
early in September. Just digging a hole, cramming the roots in,
shovelling the soil over, stamping it down, and leaving it, is the
wrong way to plant, and can only result in failure.

The right way is :—

i, Break up all the earth to a depth of eighteen inches,
either in a square or circle of at least three feet across, but
without bringing the bottom spit to the top.

il. Ifthe roots are in any way jagged or torn, cut the
points cleanly off with a sharp knife, and shorten back all
straight downward roots.

ii. Place the tree in the hole at such a depth that when
the planting is finished it will be at the same depth as it was
in the nursery, which will be seen by the soil mark on the
stem. ‘The depth should be such that the highest up roots
will be about three or four inches below the surface when
finished.

iv. The roots will generally be found to be growing from
various parts of the stem. Spread out the lowest roots
carefully on the soil and scatter a little fine earth over

418 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

them ; then spread out the roots next above these, adding
more soil; then those above them, and so on, giving a little
shake now and then to let the soil run in between the fine
roots.

v. When all the roots are spread out and covered, give
the tree a good vigorous shake; add a little more soil, and
then tread it in firmly (not hard) and fill up the hole slightly
above the surrounding soil, as it will sink one or two inches.

vi. Put a strong stake to the tree, and be sure that the
way the two are fastened together is such as to make it
impossible for the stem of the tree to chafe itself against the
stake when the wind blows.

vii. Protect the trees from rabbits, cattle, and sheep.

It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of all the above
details of planting.

If the natural soil is very poor, a little better garden soil
may be brought for (iv) shaking in amongst the roots, just to give
the tree a good start, but no dung whatever should be used
under the ground, though a thin layer over the surface when
the planting is done will be helpful.

It is very important not to plant too deep (iii), especially in
wet or heavy land. In very wet land it is a good plan to plant
the trees almost on the surface, and to mound the earth up to
and over the roots.

It is very important to spread out all the roots, down to the
smallest fibres (iv), and none should be allowed to take a directly
downward direction, but every one duly spread out, slanting
very slightly downwards from the point at which they grow out
of the stem.

It is very important that the soil should not be left loose
about the stem and roots (v), but firm treading does not mean
hard ramming.

It is very important to fill up the hole two or three inches
above the level (v), and not leave a hollow for stagnant water to
fill.

It is very important to stake the tree (vi) firmly, so that the
roots are not strained by the wind; but better not stake at all
than so as to let the stake chafe through the bark.

It is better to lay the tree in, just lightly covering the roots

FRUITS FOR COTTAGERS AND SMALL FARMERS. 419

up with soil, for a week or so, than to plant in wet, sticky
weather. ©

No turf should be laid over the roots of newly planted trees,
but keep the ground clean from weeds and lightly stir it at
intervals for two years all over the surface two or three inches
deep, to let in sun and air.

Strawberries.—In planting, the collar or neck must be only
just below the ground, and the roots be well spread out on all
sides.

Raspberries—When planting, spread out the roots and
shorten back the canes to four or five eyes, in fact to a height of
six inches. You must not expect fruit the first season, but you
will have fine fruiting canes for the next.

Notre ON PRUNING.

Apples, Pears, Plums, Damsons, and Cherries.—Cottagers
will do well to ask some neighbouring gardener to prune their
trees the first and second years, if they require it. After the first .
year’s growth has been made, standards will only need the re-
moval of shoots that cross one another, and about nine inches cut
off the points of strong shoots. Bush trees should have the side-
shoots of the branches well shortened back to three or four eyes,
and the leading shoots to eight or ten eyes.

Strawberries.—When not wanted for fresh planting, the
‘‘yunners”’ should be cut off as they appear, so as to throw all
the strength into the plant. Do not cut the leaves off. Fresh
beds should be made every third or fourth year.

Raspberries.—Thin out the young growths in early summer
by pulling wp the superfluous ones, and cut out the old canes
altogether as soon as they have done fruiting. Manure should
be laid over the roots, but Raspberries should never be dug near
the canes.

Currants.—Red and White Currants should have the side-
shoots of the summer’s new growth shortened back to a couple of
eyes, and the main leading shoots to five or six eyes, more or less,
according as it is wished to let the bush increase in size or not.
The centre of the bushes should be kept quite free from growths.
Black Currants should be pruned on the exactly opposite plan,
cutting out the old wood and leaving the young summer growths

42.0 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

their full length, only removing shoots in the centre to let in the
sun and air. Red and White Currants bear chiefly on the old
wood ; Black Currants on the new (é.e., last year’s) growth.

Note on MANURING.

It is a mistake to give young trees heavy dressings of manure,
as the ordinary soil of gardens is rich enough. For the first
few years aim at laying the foundation of a good tree; keep the
boughs rather thin, 2.e., well apart, not crowded, but fully ex-
posed to sun and air, so as to ripen the wood, and thus form a
sturdy basis for future good crops. Some kinds will bear the
second year, and may then be assisted by manure laid on the
surface after the fruit is well set, or by waterings of liquid
manure, or soapy water, &c., in summer; but fruit trees, young
or old, if they are growing and healthy, should only have manure
applied when they are bearing a crop, so as to enable them to
bring this year’s fruit to perfection, and at the same time form
fresh blossom-buds for next year.

EXTRACTS FROM THE PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

GENERAL MEETING.
JANUARY 13, 1891.
Dr. MaxwEtu T. Masters, F.R.S., &c., in the Chair.

ELECTIONS.

Fellows, 20.—R. C. Appleton, J. J. Beale, Ashley Bird,
Oswald Bird, William Brass, Vice-Admiral R. B. Cator, Miss
Darbishire, Miss Dunlop, Fred. Frith, Edw. Hunt, C. C.
Hurst, W. J. James, Maurice Jewell, Frank Lees, Hugh Low,
Fred. 8. Moseley, P. F. Portway, 8S. W. Seagrave, Lady Selby
Smythe. C. Penny (Associate).

Society Affiliated.—Kastbourne Horticultural Society.

Mr. W. Warren, F.R.H.S., read a paper on “ Persian
Cyclamen’’; and the Rev. W. Wilks, M.A., read a paper on
‘Hardy Cyclamen.” (See pp. 153 and 156.)

FLORAL COMMITTEE.

W. MarsHatt, Ksq., in the Chair, and nineteen members present.

Award Recommended :—
Award of Merit.

To Begonia (hybrid) Winter Gem (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea.

A most useful winter-flowering plant. Its corymbs of rich
scarlet-crimson are thrown up well above the foliage, and re-
main in perfect condition for some weeks. This new hybrid is
the result of a cross effected between the winter-blooming B.
socotrana and a crimson-scarlet summer-flowering tuberous
variety, the former being the seed-parent.

ll PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Cultural Commendation.
To Mr. T. 8. Ware, Tottenham, for some well-flowered
plants of the Hoop Petticoat Narcissus—N. monophyllus.

Other Exhibit.

The Duke of Northumberland, Albury Park, Guildford (Mr.
W. C. Leach, gardener), sent flowers of several American
varieties of Chrysanthemums.

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

H. J. Verron, Esq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and thirteen members
present.
Awards Recommended :—
Silver Flora Medal.

To Messrs. B.S. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway, N., for a
group of Orchids effectively arranged with Ferns and Cliveas.
The principal plants in the group were Cypripedium vexillarium
x, C. Fitchianum x, with six flowers; C. Crossianum x, C.
insigne albo-marginatum, C. Dauthierli x and C. D. marmora-
tum x; C. Williamsianum x, C.Io grandis x, C. Leeanum
x, C. Sallieru x, and C. §. aureum x; C. Ashburtoniz x,
two fine plants of Lelia anceps Dawsoni, each with several spikes ;
Zygopetalum crinitum roseum, Hpidendrum Wallisu, Brassia
antherotes, Oncidium Phalenopsis, and several species of Odon-
toglossum, among them being a fine variety of O. blandum with
two spikes.

Award of Merit.

To Lelia anceps grandiflora, Chamberlain’s variety (votes,
unanimous), from the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, M.P.
(Orchid grower, Mr. H. A. Burberry), Highbury, Moor Green,
Birmingham. This is the best form of the type known as
‘‘orandiflora’’; its flowers are very richly coloured, and are
remarkable for the very broad and handsome labellum.

To Lelia anceps Ballantinei (votes, unanimous), from Messrs.
F. Sander & Co., St. Albans. A form closely approaching L. a.
Amesiana. The sepals and petals white, flushed with rose, and
the rather narrow front lobe of the lip rich purplish maroon.

Other Exhibits.

The Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, M.P. (Orchid grower,
Mr. H. A. Burberry), sent cut spikes of Lelia anceps Barkeriana,

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. lil

L. a. oculata, a variety with a conspicuous white area in the
centre of the labellum ; and typical L. anceps for comparison.

J. Charlton Parr, Esq., Grappenhall, Heyes, Warrington,
sent a plant of hybrid Cypripedium, the result of crossing C.
Haynaldianum with pollen of C. Spicerianum. The Committee
decided it was C. Carnusianum x.

A. 8. Smith, Esq., Silvermere, Cobham, Surrey (gardener,
Mr. James Quarterman), submitted a white-flowered Cattleya,
which was pronounced to be C. Triane alba.

Messrs. James Veitch & Son, King’s Road, Chelsea, staged
their new Dendrobium euosmum roseum (D. nobile x D.
endocharis). Its flowers have a striking resemblance to those of
D. Linawianum—white, tipped with rose pink. Messrs. Veitch
also sent Cypripedium Creon x (C. cnanthum superbum x
C. Harrisianum), which the Committee desired to see again ;
C. Niobe x (C. Fairieanum x C. Spicerianum); C. Calypso x
(C. Spicerianum x C. Boxalli), C. Lathamianum x (C. villosum
x C. Spicerianum), and Calanthe excellens (C. Regnieri x C.
vestita). The flowers of the last named are very much like those
of C. Williamsii—an imported plant and probably a natural
hybrid.

S. F. Ebner, Esq., Horton House, Beckenham (Orchid
grower, Mr. Franklin), sent Cypripedium Savageanum superbum
(C. Harrisianum var. x C. Spicerianum). The Committee
requested to see it again when more fully developed.

G. Burnham, Esq., Stoke Newington, staged a good speci-
men of Cypripedium insigne with many flowers.

Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, exhibited a new form
of Catasetum near to C. atratum; Cypripedium Kramerianum x
(C. cnanthum x C. villosum), Lelia anceps alba, and a spray of
Dendrobium Leechianum x.

Baron Schroder, The Dell, Egham (gardener, Mr. H.
Ballantine), exhibited very fine flowers of Cypripedium Harrisi-
anum superbum x and C. Galatea majus x.

Messrs. Pitcher and Manda, Hextable, Swanley, Kent, staged
Cypripedium Masereelianum x , which, although an undoubtedly
fine plant, the Committee regarded as a form of C. Leeanum x ;
C. Leeanum, Burford variety, and C. magniflorum x. No com-
munication respecting the origin of the latter was placed before
the Committee, who considered it to be C. longifolium.

a
lv PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

P. Crowzey, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair, and eighteen members
present.

Award Recommended :—
Silver Banksian Medal.

To Mr. J. Watkins, Pomona Farm, Withington, Hereford,
for a fine collection of culinary and dessert Apples (fifty varieties)
in wonderfully fresh condition and highly coloured, the most
noteworthy varieties being Beauty of Wilts, Stoke Edith Pippin,
Dumelow’s Seedling, Tyler’s Kernel, Gloria Mundi, Kirke’s Fame,
Golden Nobb, Warner’s King, Beauty of Kent, King of the
Pippins, Striped Beefing, Bedfordshire Foundling, Meére de
Menage, Court Pendu Plat, Royal Somerset, Old Winter Queen-
ing, and Reinette de Canada. Mr. Watkins also sent a most
interesting collection of Cider Apples.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE.

Dr. Maxwett T. Masters, F.R.S., &¢., in the Chair, and ten
members present.

Culture of Yeast.—Prof. Marshall Ward announced that he
had succeeded in confirming Hansen’s statement that yeast-cells
might be made to produce their endospores by cultivation on
dry gelatine at a temperature of 25° to 27° C. (say 80° F.).

Proliferous Oranges.—Two specimens, from Mr. Tharpe and
Dr. J. Harvey Gibson respectively, were shown, in which a second
smaller Orange provided with its rind was enclosed within
another. Dr. Bonavia, in commenting on these specimens, ex-
plained his views that the rind of the Orange is really the repre-
sentative of an outer abortive row of carpels, and that the
oil-cells of the rind are the modified equivalents of the pulp-
cells. ,

Dr. Scott pointed out that, according to De Bary, the oil-
glands of Citrus were ‘‘lysignetic,’’ or the result of the breaking
down of certain transitory cells; these cells are smaller than
those of the rest of the leaf-tissue and full of granular protoplasm,
which is soon replaced by minute drops of ethereal oil. As the
delicate partitions between these cells break down and disappear,
the small oil-globules coalesce, so as to form one large drop.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Vv

Dr. Masters’referred to Caruel’s explanation of the analogy
between the pulp-cells and epidermal hairs.

Dr. Bonavia ‘further referred in support of his views to the
dise or outgrowth from the axis which characterises the flowers

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A Sih Shak Win ae oe we
Ay UM tana = 0 bn, 0 atid

Fic. 45.—Trexs Sprir py Frost.—(From the Gardeners’ Chronicle.)

of the Orange and its allies, as also of the Moutan Peony and
other plants.

Professor Church commented on the development, in the
absence of light, of the colouring matter as well as of the oily
constituents as exemplified in these specimens.

Dr. Masters did not consider that the disc had anything to

al PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

do with the carpellary whorl, though it was true that A. P. de
Candolle had considered the rind of the Orange to arise from the
development of the disc. An examination of the flower in the
course of its development, and indeed, in the mature state, is
sufficient to show that this explanation is not correct. The speci-
mens on the table were instances of “‘ intra-carpellary prolifica-
tion,” and the formation of a second whorl of carpels above and
within the first. As thejinner carpels had as perfect rind as the
outer ones, it was clear that the rind was neither a development
of the disc, nor the representative of an outer and abortive row
of carpels.

Cracking of Trees from Frost—From Mr. ©. Noble came a
characteristic drawing, showing the effects of frost in splitting
the bark and the young wood of the Spanish Chestnut. The
fissure was longitudinal and of considerable length, and occurred
on the north side of the tree.

We append an illustration (fig. 45) of trees ruptured by frost,
with the following explanation as made by the late Dr.
Caspary :—

No. 1.—Oak with a frost cleft f under a knot a; w, border of over-growth.

No. 2..-Horse Chestnut with a frost clef f which crosses an injury in the
bark 7, whence the decay had penetrated into the wood the depth
of half an inch.

No. 3.—Ash. The frost cleft f—/f’ follows the direction of a cut previously
made in the bark, s—s’, except in the upper part, where it diverges
to the left. In another cut s’ there is a second frost cleft f’.

No. 4.—Plan of a Lime tree previously split by frost, but having an over-
growth. ae, cavity of old cleft; m’, old wood; H, young wood ;
rR, bark; n, place where it has overgrown.

No. 5.—Plan of same tree as No. 4, after being re-split in a subsequent
winter. R, H,H’,asin No. 4; f bg, line of rupture of the bark ;

ba,cd, lines of rupture of the young wood; ae, d e, concave
sides of cavity.

Plant Diseases.—A letter from Professor Sorauer was read
suggesting the desirability of co-operation on the part of the
Committee with an association lately inaugurated in Germany
for the purpose of studying the diseases of plants grown for agri-
cultural purposes, and of instituting conjoint action in the matter
of prevention or remedy. Professor Sorauer’s proposals received
the sympathy of the members present.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Vii

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
FEBRUARY 10, 1891.

Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P. (President), in the Chair.

The minutes of the last Annual General Meeting of February
11, 1890, were read and signed.

The following elections took place :—

Fellows, 47.—Robt. Appleby, Arthur Beale, Miss Blacker, G.
W. Boteler, Geo. Brycesson, T. J. R. Chalice, Hon. G. W.
Cotton, Septimus Croft, James Curtis, I’. Deacon, Marchioness of
Drogheda, W. Elliott, Welbore Ellis, Rev. J. W. Ewing, Chas.
R. L. Fletcher, F. W. Force, F. Baden Fuller, Rev. Francis H.
Gall, Gregory Harris, Thomas Hobbs, Fred Howcroft, Mrs. W.
F. Kirby, F. Knight, Robert Lake, Emile Lemoine, Edward
Luckhurst, Captain G. Spencer Meredith, Mrs. Milne-Redhead,
Harry Arthur Needs, Arthur Newall, Osmond G. Orpen, Mrs. N.
Page, Thomas James Phillips, Mrs. Raven, H. F. Rosoman, the
Very Rev. Dean of Rochester, Frank Rothera, M.D., Rt. Hon.
Lord Savile, G.C.B., George Thornton Skilbeck, John Pentland
Smith, M.A., Mrs. Charles Stewart, Mrs. R. F. St. Leger, W.
Troy, J. Vavasseur, I’. Krnest Weiss, F.L.8., Mrs. Williams, F.
S. Wrighton.

Societies Affiliated, 4.—Chelmsford and Essex Horticultural
Society ; Harrow Weald, &c., Horticultural Society; Hayward’s
Heath Horticultural Society; Royal Jersey Agricultural and
Horticultural Society.

Messrs. W. Marshall and J. Cheal were appointed scrutineers
of the ballot.

A hearty vote of thanks was unanimously accorded to the
retiring members of the Council, viz.: Sir Chas. W. Strickland,
Bart., T. Francis Rivers, Eisq.,and Colonel Beddome.

To fill the vacancies on the Council the following gentlemen
were proposed for election, viz.: Sir John T. D. Llewelyn, Bart.,
Mr. D. Morris, and Mr. George Bunyard.

The following gentlemen were proposed for re-election as
officers, viz.: President, Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P.;
Treasurer, Philip Crowley, Esq., F.L.8.; Secretary, Rev. W.
Wilks, M.A.; Auditors, Messrs. W. Richards (since deceased),
Harry Turner, Henry Williams, and A. H. Pearson.

Vill PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

After careful examination of the ballot papers, the Scrutineers
reported the above-named gentlemen to be all duly elected.

The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the Report, re-
viewed with satisfaction the work of the Society during the year
1850, and directed the attention of the meeting to the Schedule
of Arrangements for 1891, in which would be found a programme
of greater interest and extent than that of the past year, owing
to the larger amount of money which was offered in prizes to
amateurs.

Mr. Harry Veitch asked if the election of Mr. Philip Crowley
as Treasurer was strictly in accordance with the Bye Laws of the
Society. The Secretary read Bye Laws 68, 69, and 76, which
had governed the action of the Council in the matter.

Baron Schréder, in seconding the adoption of the Report,
called attention to the scheme for building a Central Hall of
Horticulture, and said that owing to the late unfortunate crisis
in financial affairs in the City of London, the scheme which had
received promises of support to more than half the sum required,
was temporarily in abeyance. He said that if £35,000 were
subscribed, he himself would be happy to subscribe the remain-
ing £5,000.

Mr. W. T. Thiselton Dyer, in moving a vote of thanks to the
Chairman, bore testimony to the excellent results produced by
the republication of the Society’s Jowrnal. He considered that
the money it cost was thoroughly well spent, and attributed to it
the number of Fellows residing at a distance from London
and who had lately joined the Society.

The Report for the year 1890, as below, was then unani-
mously adopted.

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR 1890-91.

Tur year 1890 has been one of steady work and progress
for our Society.

Five Conferences have been held at Chiswick, viz.: on
Daffodils, on Carnations, on Ferns, on Dahlias, and on Grapes,
and the attendance of Fellows and others at them, as also at the
Fortnightly Lectures at the Drill Hall, has been decidedly more
encouraging than in previous years. Fellows would greatly
assist the Council by making these Meetings and Lectures better

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. 1X

known among the general public. For this purpose, Fellows
may obtain at the office packets of tickets of admission for
distribution among their friends at the following rates: 12 one
shilling tickets, 10s. ; or 6 for ds.

Sixteen Fruit and Floral Meetings have been held at the
Drill Hall, besides those held at Chiswick, and Lectures have
been delivered at fourteen of them. The number of awards has
keen as follows: On the recommendation of the Floral Com-
mittee, 40 First Class Certificates against 54 in 1889, 117
Awards of Merit against 84, 2 Commendations against 3 last
year. On the recommendation of the Orchid Committee,
56 First Class Certificates against 27 last year, 45 Awards of
Merit against 7, 9 Botanical Certificates against 12. On the
recommendation of the Fruit and Vegetable Committee, 6 First
Class Certificates against 7, and 7 Awards of Merit against 3 last
year.

The Society’s great Show held (by the renewed kindness of
the Treasurer and Benchers) in the Inner Temple Gardens, and
opened by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, was a
greater success than ever, alike in the number of visitors, the
quantity and quality of the exhibits, the propitiousness of the
elements, and the consequent pecuniary result. The best thanks
of the Society are due to all who so kindly brought their plants for
exhibition or otherwise contributed to the success of this Show.

The Society’s general work of Scientific experiment and
investigation, and of the practical trial of various plants, has been
going on steadily at Chiswick, under the superintendence of
Mr. Barron. ‘Trial has been made of 104 varieties of Lettuce,
25 of Endive, 83 of Celery, 86 of Leeks, and 30 of Broad Beans.
Thirty-four new varieties of Potatoes, 23 new Peas, 30 new
Tomatos have been tested. In the Floral Department 415
varieties of Carnations and Picotees, 354 Dahlias, 58 Ivy-leafed
Pelargoniums, 70 Violas and Bedding Pansies, 112 different
strains of China Asters, and 82 of Stocks have been tried. A
very large collection of perennial Asters (Michaelmas Daisies)
and Sunflowers have been received in view of the projected
Conference upon them in October, which will prove of the
greatest possible interest, and will, it is hoped, serve to clear away
the great existing confusion in their nomenclature in different
parts of the country.

2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The experiment of opening the gardens on Sundays, which
was commenced in 1888 for the sole purpose of giving such
Fellows as are fully occupied during the week an opportunity of
visiting them for scientific or practical purposes, has again, as
it did the year before, proved unsuccessful in that particular
direction; it has therefore been decided to abandon it, as it
not only throws additional work on the officials on their one
rest day in the week, but also entails considerable expense on
the Society which can ill be spared from the general work of the
Gardens.

The Society’s Journal has been continued so as to enable
Fellows at a distance to enter more fully into and reap the
benefits of the study and work of those more actively engaged at
the centre. Three parts, forming Vol. XIT., 707 pages, with 42
Plates of new plants, &c., have been published during the twelve
months, and letters are constantly received from the most
distant and diverse sources, testifying to the Fellows’ appreciation
of this renewed branch of the Society’s work.

The Council wish to repeat verbatim one paragraph of their
last year’s report, which runs as follows:

‘* All these Conferences and Meetings, and especially the
work and maintenance of the Chiswick Gardens and the publi-
cation of the Journal, have involved the Society in a very large
outlay, and the Council take this opportunity of endeavouring to
impress upon Fellows the absolute necessity there is for them
all individually (as many as have the Society’s welfare at heart)
to endeavour to secure new Fellows to the Society if its work is
not only to be continued at its present standard, but still more
so if the ever-opening and extending opportunities of usefulness
are to be embraced and accepted. The adoption of £1. 1s. as
one rate of subscription was, no doubt, a popular movement, but
the Council desire to remind the Fellows that such a low rate
of Fellowship can only be self-supporting if it draws into the
Society a very large number (far larger than at present exists)
of additional Fellows. The Council, therefore, venture to express
the hope that every Fellow of the Society will make an endeavour
to obtain at least one new Fellow during this present year. A
statement of the privileges of Fellows and of the aims and
objects of the Society, together with a form of nomination to
Fellowship, is for this purpose enclosed with this Report.”

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Xl

The following Table will show the Society’s progress in
regard to numerical strength during the past year :—

Deatus in 1890. Frettows EvrEctep 1n 1890.

s. d. £ s. d.

Tite Peuawe ... °° GO "oars Gr gy | 2:Gumeas..2.2.160.; i 4° £6

4 Guineas ...... Ov ER: he Oiy.O- leo to | Sabie «cvs 105 22010 O

2 ae 84 waasene to-L6; 0 | 2 SoM Pana Many ite 309 324 9 O

1 ee worst 5 geaerepte tabs oo Of \Apsoolarves’ Wil... if O10 eG

z= —________ | Affiliated Societies 8 1010 0

19 £29 1 eee dase

— oma | New Fellows, &c.... 424 £560 3 6

Deduct loss ... 94 10. O

RESIGNATIONS. ee See

£ s. d.| Netincrease in income £465 13 6

4 Guineas ...... Be alos 1912) +O —
2 <a bed hee VO eee 29 18. 0
1 ee Oe alee 1 rae 19 19 0O

— BS Se New Bellows, woe oe. ol ceed 424

41 £72 9 O | Deductresignationsanddeaths 60

Total loss 60 £94 10 O | Increase in number of Fellows 364

The most notable feature in the past year’s work has been
the excellent commencement made for raising a fund for obtaining
for the Society more suitable and worthy premises, and for
building a Horticultural Hall to meet the requirements with
regard to light and space and position, not only of our own
Society, but also of the numerous kindred Associations of this
great Metropolis. A scheme for the purpose was put forth in
the Spring by which it was proposed to borrow, without interest,
from those willing to so lend it, a sum of £40,000, part of which
was to be expended on the buildings and part placed in the
hands of Trustees to safeguard the annual ground rent, the
principal being, it is hoped, gradually repaid to the lenders by
annual drawings out of the assets accruing from the rent paid
to the Trustees by the Society and by other kindred associations
using the building, and by occasional lettings. The trustees are
Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P.; Baron Henry Schréder (to
whom we are indebted for the scheme), and Everard A. Hambro,
Ksq. The response made to the scheme was at first very
promising, and half the amount required was promised during the
ensuing summer, but owing to circumstances connected with the
condition of financial matters generally it was thought advisable
in the autumn to allow the appeal to rest for at least six months,
but it is hoped to resume active operations again as soon as the
present Spring is advanced.

Xu PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

In conjunction with the Lindley Library Trustees, the
Society’s Library has received considerable attention. All serial
publications have been kept up to date, a large number of untidy
but valuable volumes have been bound, and the following books
amongst others added to the Library, viz.:—‘‘ Annales des
Sciences Naturelles,’’ 6 vols.; ‘‘ Nuovo Giornale Botanico
Italiano,’ 12 vols.; ‘ Revue Horticole;” ‘ Kohler, Medizinal

Pflanzen ;’ ‘‘ Nyman, Conspectus flore Europee ;’”’ “ Pflanzen-
Familien;”’ ‘“ Baillon, Dict. Bot.;’’ ‘‘ Archives Nouvelles du
Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle; ”’ ‘‘Icones Plantarum ;”’ ‘‘ Amaryl-
lidex,’’ &c.

The best thanks of the Society are due to all those who, either
at home or abroad, have so kindly and liberally presented books
to the Library or plants or seedsto the Gardens. Special thanks
are due to those who have so kindly contributed Perennial Asters
and Sunflowers in view of a much-needed Conference on them in
October.

The Council also wish to express, in their own name and
in that of all Fellows of the Society, their great indebtedness to
all who have so kindly contributed, either by the exhibition of
plants, fruits, flowers, or vegetables, or by the reading of
papers, to the success of the Conferences and fortnightly
Meetings.

The papers read at these Meetings, most of which have been
already published in the Jowrnal,* are as follows :—

January 14.—‘‘ A Method of Winter Gardening,’’ Rev. W.
Wilks, M.A.

March 11.—‘‘ Hippeastrums (Amaryllis), Mr. Harry Veitch,
F.L.S., and Mr. James Douglas.

March 25.—* Saladings,’”’ Mons. Henry de Vilmorin.

April 8.—‘‘ Spring Flower Gardening,’ Mr. W. Ingram.

April 16.—“ Daffodils,’’ Professor Michael Foster, Sec. R.S.,
Mr. C. R. Serase-Dickins, Mr. T. A. Dorrien-Smith, Rev. A.
Rawson, M.A., Herr Krelage, Mr. James Walker, Rev. G. H.
Engleheart, M.A., Mr. F. W. Burbidge, F.L.8., Rev. C. Wolley-
Dod, M.A., and Rev. W. Wilks, M.A.

April 22.—* On Primulas,” Rey. C. Wolley-Dod, M.A., and
Mr. Henwood.

* Most of the back numbers of the Jowrnal can be purchased at reduced
prices, but some are now out of print.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Xlil

May 18.—‘‘ Hardy Spring-flowering Shrubs and Trees,”’ Mr,
W. Goldring.

June 10.—‘‘ Herbaceous Peeonies,’’ Mr. Geo. Paul and Mr.
R. Irwin Lynch, A.L.S.

June 24.—‘* Hardy Herbaceous and Alpine Plants,’ Rey. C.
Wolley-Dod, M.A.

July 8.—“ Cultivated Lilies,” Mr. H. J. Elwes, F.L.S.

July 22.—*‘ Carnations,’ Mr. Martin Smith, Mr. M. Rowan,
Mr. H. Turner, Mr. R. Dean, and Mr. F. N. Williams.

July 23.—*< On Ferns,” Mr. C. T. Druery, Mr. J. Birkenhead,
Mr. E. J. Lowe, F.R.S., and Professor Bower, F.L.S.

August 12.—‘‘ On Fruit Evaporation,” Mr. EK. W. Badger.

August 26.—* Hollyhocks,” Mr. James Douglas.

September 9.— Gladiolus,’ Mons. V. Lemoine and Mr. J.
Kelway.

September 28.— On Dahlias,’’ Mr. T. W. Girdlestone, M.A.,
the late Mr. Shirley Hibberd, and Mr. Walter H. Williams.

September 24.—‘ On Grapes,” Mr. T.. F. Rivers, Mr. R. D.
Blackmore, and Mr. W. Thomson.

October 14.—“ On Crinums,”’ Sir Charles Strickland, Bart.

October 28.—“ Trees and Shrubs for Large Towns,” Dr.
Masters, F.R.S.

November 11.—‘‘ Chinese Primulas,”’ Mr. A. W. Sutton,
F.L.S.

The hearty thanks of the Society are due to the Chiswick
Board and to all the Members of the Standing Committees—viz.,
the Scientific, the Fruit and Vegetable, the Floral, the Orchid,
and the Narcissus Committees, for the most kind and patient
attention which they have severally given to their departments ;
also to the exhibitors who have contributed to so great an extent
to produce the magnificent results of the Daffodil, Carnation,
Fern, Dahlia, and Grape Conferences.

The Council have the sad duty of recording the death of
19 Fellows during the year, and amongst them they deeply regret
to find the names of Messrs. Wildsmith, MacIntosh, Haughton,
Williams, Holmes, Deal, and Shirley Hibberd, Miss North, and
Miss Owen. The loss the Society has sustained in this manner
has been unusually great, not in numbers, perhaps, but in the
relative importance of the gaps left in our ranks, Messrs. Wild-
smith, Deal, and Hibberd, and especiallv the last named, having

L

g mV PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

been most energetic and loyal supporters of the Society and
themselves active workers in all its undertakings.

During the past three years the Council have amongst other
matters been considering methods of interesting amateurs more
in the Society and its work and of rendering to them a greater
personal return for their subscriptions. To this end they have
already established the fortnightly Lectures, and the great Temple
Show ; have promoted various Conferences on interesting Horti-
cultural subjects; and have revived the publication of the Jowrnal.
They have now further decided to revive the Society’s ancient
custom of offering prizes to amateurs, a long Schedule of whica
has been already circulated in the “ Arrangements for 1891.”
The Council cannot afford, with the very limited funds at their
disposal, to embark on any very comprehensive scheme this year,
but if this new departure should meet with general approval they
hope that the Fellows themselves will, by subscriptions to the
‘‘ Prize Fund for 1892,” enable them next year to set forth a
much fuller Schedule.

Another revival during the past year has been the following
scheme of Affiliation with local societies, and the Council would
feel greatly obliged if Fellows who take an interest in the affairs
of any local Horticultural Societies would use their influence to
secure co-operation in this way.

Soueme or AFFILIATION OF Loca Horticunturat Societies
WITH THE R.H.S.

iF
Local Societies subscribing £1. 1s. per annum will be entitled to:

1. Two copies of the R. H. S. Journal for circulation amongst the local
Society’s members. °

29. To nominate one of their members to rank asa £1. 1s. Fellow of the
BR. H. 8. with all the privileges of a £1. 1s. Fellow, with the exception
of the R. H. S. Journal.

3. One Transferable Ticket admitting to all the R. H. S. Meetings and
Shows, which may be used by any member of the local Society.

4. To purchase at cost price one Silver and one Bronze Medal of the
R. H. 8.

TI.

Local Societies subscribing £2. 2s. per annunr will be entitled to:

1. Four copies of the R. H. 8. Journal for circulation amongst the local
Society’s members.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XV

» - -

2. To nominate two of their members, each to rank asa £1. 1s. Fellow of
the R. H. S., with all the privileges of £1. 1s. Fellows excepting the
Journal.

3. Three Transferable Tickets admitting to all the R. H. S. Meetings and
Shows, which may be used by any members of the local Society.

4. To purchase, at cost price, two Silver and two Bronze Medals of the
R. H: 8S.

N.B. Local Societies are invited to send interesting exhibits and speci-
mens of Plants, Plant Diseases, &c.,to the R. H.S.’s Fortnightly Meetings
of the Floral, Fruit, Orchid, and Scientific Committees, and to correspond
with the Secretary of the R. H. 8S. on any interesting Horticultural subjects
or events in their locality.

The Secretary of the R. H. S. willalso at any time be pleased to assist
the Secretary of any affiliated Society in introducing them to Horticulturists
or specialists, able and willing to deliver Lectures on interesting subjects
before Meetings of their local Societies, or to act as Judges at Shows, &c.

Price of Medals to Affiliated Societies.

3,
Silver Flora, 23 inches in diameter, in Morocco Case, complete ... 14
Bronze Flora, 23 inches in diameter, in Morocco Case, complete ... 5
Silver Banksian, 14 inches in diameter, in Morocco Case, complete 8
Bronze Banksian, 13 inches in diameter, in Morocco Case, complete 3

It has been decided to hold a Conference at Chiswick on
Conifers during October, which it ig hoped will prove unusually
interesting not only as drawing attention to the best of these Trees
and Shrubs from a garden or landscape point of view, but also
demonstrating the best varieties to plant for English-grown
timber as well as the different uses and suitabilities of the various
foreign-grown timbers. The unusually hard winter through
which we have just passed will prove a most practical commentary
on the hardiness of the different varieties. The co-operation
of landowners and others who may have planted these trees or
shrubs in years past, or who take a present interest in them, is
specially invited.

L2

ir. ANNUAL REVENUE ACCOUNT for the

Cash Paid. Debts Payable. Totals. . -
Set Be Eft Gol by Bt std, Coane ee
To ESTABLISHMENT EXPENSES—

Salaries and Wages ... 3) 000: 56,10 ee 305 8 10
Rent of Offices ae SRISEIEY vet dy) 30-15 95 22a Lone
Printing and Stationery ... 17416 2 10 0 2 18416 4
Publications—Journal, &c. ... 315 4 1 184 9 5 44913 6
Postage Mbp .. 64 4 4 2 64 4 4
Coal, Gas, ane Minter adie Terad2a? 1 0:45 “9 4 17:10
Miscellaneous.. di ide Moos QING feds Sy AAS AE
Library Sip se Ar header fel tae 7 10
el ee
» SHOWS, MEETINGS, and CON-
FERENCES—
Rentof DrillHalland Cleaning 65 5 O 32.17 0 98: E2ahg
Special Shows—Temple_ ... 438 14 7 a 438 14 7
rs Others ee Oe Lor so B10" “Os. ia ee
Advertising ... Ae ae Ae a Li 9 20° 8
Prizes and Medals - ... eT 0: D1 ion Ts 10-10
Floral Meetings and Con-
ferences—Printing, &c. ... 38 7 5 eas 38 f wo
Ditto ~ “Labour wav panto Oot Sone ce 90 ee
Superintendent of Flower
Shows aisle sis i POO Or ad) sa 50 0:90
—_—— §93 12 9
, CHISWICK GARDENS—
Rent, Rates, Taxes, and In- :
surance 568 wap “290, too 60 2 6 35310 38
Superintendent’s Salary 225 0: 5Q 225 0 0
Labour ss Ae OKO 8,10 a 676 8 10
Manure, Implements, &c. ... 59 7 9 4031 0 63 14 9
Coal and Coke 2p Fe LZ Oe ON Z SOM ls A eee
Repairs : aoe va LOO” Bs 2 Te 0" LEE ee
Water and Ga ahs reeiom MO4 a 016 1 14° 255
Miscellaneous ty Sita aya be 74 14 I1
——__+— 1699.2 %
,, HORTICULTURAL HALL— 66 16 10 a 66 16 10

» SUBSCRIPTIONS for 1889
unpaid written off .. ; i cy 356 ZL 0 0

Paid Creditors, Dec. 31, 1889 772 «64:11
Balance at Bank Dec. 31,1890 156 35 8
Petty Cash in hand .. 3 13 4
, BALANCE TO GENERAL
REVENUE ACCOUNT ... =ar abe Bae 147 2 A1

£4,518 18 10 34618 7 4,102057 5

YEAR ending 31st DECEMBER, 1890.

a a ET EST Tiel hl A SS AY SSS

Received.
Cash
£ gia £ #& d.
By BALANCE AT
BANK Jan.1 400 6 3
In hand Soken. S
areata 404 3 6
» ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS,
1890 “oe we wuagoot 1d @L
Do. do, 139) 8? 33:20
» SHOWS, TEMPLE—
Tickets... £474 7 O
Advertisements 84 19 O
Donations 38 17 0
———_— §40 16 0
» MEETINGS AND CON-
FERENCES sis ie pe Ow ler £0
» ADVERTISEMENTS... oe eS aie ae TS

» MISCELLANEOUS—

Sale of Journal and Reports,
SaCh Be ae as a ee

» DIVIDENDS—
Davis Bequest and Parry

Legacy <A ane aa OO
SELNEBRESE ON DEPOSIT ... 11
» PRIZES AND MEDALS ... 34
» CHISWICK GARDENS—

Produce Sold ee a2). D0
Admissions and Members’
Tickets Sa Soe wae 3
Miscellaneous ae re 8
Chiswick Horticul-
tural Society £36 0 0
Less Expenses Gries
aes 29
SE OLORING PLANTS .., Son ealites

, DONATIONS ACCOUNT—
Amount transferred against
HorticulturalHallExpenses 70

Received from Debtors Dec.
31, 1889 » 104

£4,518

3.4
18 10

Debts
Receivable.

See ae

Totals,

Las di

21.0 0 2,408 13 1

98

or
S)

UTES Oo

548 3 O

AG LA |

We have examined the above Accounts with the Books and Vouchers,

and we find the same correct.

(Signed)

January 13, 1891,

HARRY TURNER,
HENRY WILLIAMS,
A. H. PEARSON,

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EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. xix

FLORAL COMMITTEE.

W. Marsnatt, Esq., in the Chair, and twenty-two members
present.

Awards Recommended :—

Silver Gilt Flora Medal.
To Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, for a very fine
eroup of Primulas, plants well flowered, of excellent habit, and
in beautiful variety.

Silver Banksian Medal.
To Messrs. H. Low & Co., Clapton, for a large and beautiful
eroup of Cyclamen in flower, interspersed with Chorizema Lowii,
and other flowering and foliage plants.

First Class Certificate.

To Iris Danfordize (votes, 16 for), from Mr. T. S. Ware,
Hale Farm Nursery, Tottenham. This is an Armenian species,
which has a flowering stem only three or four inches high.
The leaves, which are about twice as tall, and are produced after
the flowers, are narrowly linear and quadrangular, and suddenly
contracted into an oblique cusp at the top. The flowers are
about an inch and a half in diameter, having the outer segments
orange yellow with brown or greenish spots, the petaloid stigmas
being lemon yellow. It is figured in the Botanical Magazine,
t. 7140. 7

To Hamamelis Zuccariniana (votes, 10 for, 8 against), from
Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. A pale-yellow flowered
species of Witch-Hazel sent with H. arborea for comparison.
The plants were grown in the open ground.

Award of Merit.

To Primula Kentish Purple (votes, 14 for), from Messrs.
H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley. A compact growing plant with
deep purple flowers.

To Primula Kentish Fire (votes, 15 for), from Messrs. H.
Cannell & Sons. Very bright red flowers of good form and
substance.

To Chorizema Lowii (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. H.
Low & Co. The “standard’’ and ‘‘ wings’”’ of the flower are
brilliant scarlet, and the keel rose-purple (fig 46).

XX. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

1c, 46.—Cuorizema Lowi1.—(From the Gardeners’ Magazine.)

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XXl

Other Exhibits.

Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill, sent a group of Cliveas
in fruit, the dull red berries giving the plants an ornamental
appearance.

The Duke of Northumberland, Albury Park, Guildford
(gardener, Mr. W. C. Leach), sent flowering specimens of
Andromeda cassinefolia, stated to be ‘‘ one of our finest flower-
ing shrubs, whether as seen growing outside or as a plant for
the conservatory, forces well, andin a cut state will last ten days
in water.”

Messrs. James Carter & Co., High Holborn, sent a pretty
Primula called Improved Holborn Blue.

The Right Hon. Lord Foley, Ruxley Lodge, Esher (gardener,
Mr. J. Miller), sent tut flowers of Kucharis amazonica.

Mr. C. Holden, Park Road, Ealing, sent a small group of
Primulas in flower.

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Harry J.VertcH, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair, and twelve members
present.

Awards Recommended :—

Silver Gilt Flora Medal.

To Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, Victoria and Paradise
Nurseries, Upper Holloway, N., for an extensive group of
Orchids effectively arranged, the species and varieties of
Cypripedium and white forms of Lelia anceps being
conspicuous.

To Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, for a group of rare
Orchids. The most prominent plants were a magnificently
flowered Odontoglossum Edwardii, Lelia Crawshayana
Oncidium Warscewiczii, O. Brunleesianum, Dendrobium. Leech-
ianum x, and two forms of Cattleya Trianz, with crimson-tipped
petals.

Silver Flora Medal.

To F. C. Jacomb, Esq., Cheam Park, Cheam (gardener,
Mr. W. May), for a collection of over thirty species and varieties
of Odontoglossum, comprising O. crispum fastuosum, and many
very large forms of O. crispum, O. Humeanum, O. Andersonianum,

Xxil PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

and O. triumphans. With these were arranged Dendrobium
Wardianum, D. Leechianum x; two plants of Saccolabium
bellinum, and other showy Orchids.

To Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, Hextable, Swanley, Kent, for a
collection of fifty species and hybrid varieties of Cypripediums.
Among them were three forms of C. callosum; three of Harris-
ianum x ; agood example of C. Laforcadei x ; C. pavoninum
x, C. Sallierli x, and C. §. Hyeanum x; the rare C.
Schomburgkianum; C. villosum albo-marginatum, C. God-
sefianum x,andC. Arthurianum superbum x, a very distinct
and handsome form, with the tip of the dorsal sepal pure white
with purple spots.

Bronze Banksian Medal.

To Walter Cobb, Esq., Silverdale, Sydenham, for Orchids
in flower, viz., Vanda Amesiana, Phalenopsis Stuartiana,
Cypripedium calurum Rougieri x, C. Boxalli superbum, C.
Amesianum x, C. politum x, and Saccolabium bellinum.

First Class Certificate.

To Cypripedium Creon x (C. ecnanthum superbum ¢ x C.
Harrisianum superbum ?). (Votes, 5 for, 3 against.) Raised
and exhibited by Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Son.

Award of Meritt.

To Cattleya Trianz-plumosa (votes, unanimous), from Thos.
Statter, Esq., Stand Hall, Whitefield, near Manchester (gardener,
Mr. Johnson). This is of the C. T. Backhousiana section,
with crimson tip and feather on the petals.

To Odontoglossum triumphans, Whiteley’s variety (votes,
unanimous), from Mr. Wm. Whiteley, Hillingdon, near
Uxbridge. A variety with large and handsome flowers, the lip
unusually large and flat, of a bright reddish brown, evenly edged
with white (fig 47).

Botanical Certificate.

To Masdevallia ephippium (M. trochilus) (votes, unanimous),

from Messrs. Pitcher & Manda.

Cultural Commendation.

To Malcolm §. Cooke, Esq., Kingston Hill (gardener, Mr. D.
Cullimore), for a specimen of Cattleya guttata Prinzii (C. ame-
thystoglossa) (votes, unanimous), which had for the third year
in succession borne about twenty-five flowers on a spike.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Xxili

Other Exhibits.

The Right Hon. Lord Foley, Ruxley Lodge, Esher (gardener,
Mr. J. Miller), exhibited a stand of cut spikes of Cologyne
cristata.

Malcolm 8. Cooke, Esq., exhibited Odontoglossum Iluteo-
purpureum var.

LY

Fic. 47.— ODoNTOGLOSSUM TRIUMPHANS, WHITELEY’S VARIETY.
(From the Gardeners’ Magazine.)

Norman C. Cookson, Esq., Wylam-on-Tyne, sent Cypripedium
Weidlichianum x (C. Schlimii g x C. Hartwegi ?).

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton Nurseries, staged a pair of
Saccolabium bellinum, which was certificated in February 1885.

Sir Wm. Marriott, The Down House, Blandford (gardener,
Mr. Denny), exhibited a well-flowered hybrid Dendrobium,
obtained by crossing D. heterocarpum and D. nobile pendulum.
The Committee decided that it did not differ from the well-known
D. Ainsworthii x.

XX1V PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

F. 8. Moseley, Esq., 24 Park Village Estate, Regent’s Park,
N.W., sent Celogyne cristata, Dendrobium Wardianum, and
Cypripedium villosum.

Thos. Statter, Esq., sent Cattleya Triane, Stand Hall variety.
It is of the Backhousiana type.

Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, staged a group of good forms
of Coelogyne cristata, and E. G. Wrigley, Esq., Victoria House,
Dukinfield, Cheshire (gardener, Mr. C. Harris), sent a flower
of Dendrobium nobile var. for the consideration of the Committee.

FRUIT COMMITTEE.
P. Crowxey, Hisq., F.L.S., in the Chair, and twenty members
present.
Awards Recommended :—
Silver Flora Medal.

To Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons, Crawley, for an excellent collection
of 80 varieties of Apples and Pears: the majority of the fruits were
fine and highly coloured. Of Apples, the most noteworthy sorts
were Lord Derby, Dumelow’s Seedling, Blenheim Orange,
King of the Pippins, Prince Albert, Kentish Fillbasket, and
Egremont Russet.

To Messrs. T. Rivers & Son, Sawbridgeworth, for an extensive
collection of fruit—including 75 varieties of Apples, 17 varieties
of Pears, and 14 varieties of Oranges and Lemons. Among the
Apples were very fine examples of Peck’s Pleasant, Reinette de
Canada, Lord Derby, Gloria Mundi, Buckingham, and Belle de
Pontoise. The Pears were very good, and the Oranges excellent
examples of home growth.

Silver Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. H. Lane & Son, Great Berkhampstead, for a very
- good collection of 40 varieties of Apples, Lane’s Prince Albert
being especially fine and highly coloured.

Other Exhibits.

The Right Hon. Lord Foley, Ruxley Lodge, Esher (gardener,
Mr. J. Miller), sent some dishes of fine Apples, which had been
well kept in American flour-barrels.

Rev. E. S. Lowndes, Comberton Rectory, Pershore, sent 13
varieties of Apples, accompanied by an interesting pens describing
the soil in which they were grown.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XXV

W. C. Wemyss, Esq., Westbury Court, Westbury-on-Trym,
sent a wooden tray as used for drying French Plums near
Bordeaux, and referred to in the Kew Bulletin for December
1890. |

P. Crowley, Esq., Waddon House, Croydon, sent samples of
Peach shoots, showing injury by frost where they had been
touched by the wires to which the trees had been trained.

Death oF Mr. C. Haycocx.—It was proposed by Mr. G.
Bamford, and seconded by Mr. R. D. Blackmore, that a letter of
condolence be sent to Mrs. Haycock on the death of her husband
—a valued member of the Committee.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE.

W. T. Tuoisevton Dyer, Esq., C.M.G., in the Chair, and ten
members present.

Action of Galvanised Wire on Peach Trees.—The Rev. W.
Wilks showed specimens of the injuries observed on shoots of
Peach trees which were in contact with galvanised wire during
the recent severe frost. The shoots at the point of contact with
the wire were apparently blackened and frozen through, so that
the distal part of the shoot, although for a short time it retains
its healthy appearance, shortly dies of starvation. Similar illus-
trations have been before the Committee on other occasions.

Effect of Fog on Plants.—Professor F. Oliver exhibited a
~ number of water-colour drawings showing the effect of fog on
the leaves and flowers of various plants; but reserved a full
statement of his observations till a future time.

The Aboriginal Chinese Prvmrose.—From Mr. Myles, Appley
Towers Gardens, Ryde, came plants of Primula sinensis, raised
from seed collected at Y-Chang by Mr. Pratt, under conditions
very unlike those under which the plant is cultivated in this
country. The history of the plant was alluded to at the Primula
Conference in 1886, and was also adverted to in Mr. Sutton’s

paper on the Chinese Primrose, which was published in the
Jowrnal of the Society, Vol. XIII., pt. I., 1891, p. 99.

Self-sown Seedlings of Chamerops Fortunei.—From the
same garden came seedling plants of this Palm, which is grow-
ing in the shrubberies at Appley Towers, and beneath whose
shade a large number of seedlings spring up.

XXV1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Species of Pinus.—From Mr. Rashleigh came cones of Pinus
El Doctor, which appeared to be very closely allied, if not
identical with Pinus patula. A cone of an undescribed species
collected by Captain J. Donnell-Smith, at a height of from
10,000 to 12,000 feet on the Vulcan de Agua, in Guatemala, was
also exhibited. Mr. Godman and other travellers make men-
tion of the forest composed of this tree, which forms a belt
round the mountain at the above elevation, but which does not
appear to have been described ; indeed, in the Loudon Herbaria
there are no specimens that correspond with it. It will be
described as Pinus aguensis.

Timber and Cones of *‘ Wellingtonia.’’-—From Mr. Leach,
gardener to the Duke of Northumberland, Albury Park, Guild-
ford, came a fine cluster of cones of Sequoia gigantea, and also
a transverse section of the trunk of a tree that had been planted
twenty years, and had grown with great regularity and rapidity,
as evidenced by thezrings.

Ivies and the Frost.--Various leaves of Ivies from plants
growing on the same wall were exhibited, showing the varying
effects of frost on the different varieties—some being completely
killed, whilst others were scarcely if at all injured. The Hima-
layan form, as pointed out by Mr. Dyer, was the most severely
injured of all.

The Rind of the Orange.—With reference to this subject,
Dr. Bonavia read a communication referring to the two speci-
mens shown atthe last meeting. ‘* One had of course an envelop-
ing peel. Within this was a whorl of pulp carpels. Within
this again was a second whorl without peel on its outside. So
that we can hardly consider the peel as the outer side of the pulp
carpels. The peel is evidently not an essential part of the pulp
carpels. It can be suppressed, while the pulp carpels remain,
as in this case of the inner Orange.

“But what is most interesting in this specimen is, that in
the centre of the inner Orange there were two strips of peel,
adherent to the placental margins of the inner carpels, each
strip having its oil-cell-coloured surface directed towards the
centre, and not, as is usual, towards the outside of the Orange.

‘‘To my mind, this would indicate that the peel is a distinct
whorl independent of the pulp carpels. In the doubling of this
Orange, we have (a) a peel whorl, (0) a pulp whorl, (c) another

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XXVll

pulp whorl, (d) a peel whorl represented by two strips only, and
with the coloured glandular surface twisted towards the central
axis of the Orange, showing that these peel strips are no other
than transformed stamens, or carpels, or leaves.

‘In my opinion, the relation of the coloured peel to the pulp
carpels is exactly that of the purple sheath of the Moutan Peony
to the green carpels it encloses. The peel is no more the outer
surface of the carpels than the calyx of Physalis Alkekengi is
the outer surface of its pulp carpels.

‘‘In the Tangerine Orange there is only slight adhesion
between the peel and the pulp-cells. Then take fig. n, pl. 125,
and fig. B, pl. 126, of ‘ Oranges and Lemons,’ and you will
find one-third of an inch of space between the peel whorl and
the pulp whorl; all degrees of adhesion and non-adhesion are to
be found. Some varieties of Citrus have the peel so closely
adhering to the pulp that it can only be detached with a knife,
while in others the pulp ball actually rattles within the peel
envelope.

‘‘ What is most convincing of all, however, is that in those
species of Citrus in which the peel is divided into segments, with
their edges covering, and thus forming a continuous envelope,
the segments of the peel do not tally with the segments of the
carpel ball. How can I, therefore, believe that each peel
segment is the outer surface of a carpel ?

«The second specimen you gave me was of common occur-
rence. The small inner orange was enveloped in its own peel.
That is, the doubling occurred—peel pulp, peel pulp. This is
exactly what occurs in the doubling of some kinds of Narcissus.
In these we have the doubling occurring in this fashion—calyx
corolla, calyx corolla, calyx corolla, and so on up to the centre
of the flower. In some cases the calyx retains its greenish
colour throughout the series.

“The interest of the second specimen was in the smallness of
the inner Orange. Its juice vesicles were so small and sessile,
that they were almost indistinguishable from the oil-cells of the
peel, the prominent difference being, that the former had an
acid taste.”

* The Cultivated Oranges and Lemons of India and Ceylon. Atlas of

Plates, with descriptive letter-press. By E. Bonavia, M.D. London:
W. Allen & Co. 1890.

XXVlil PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIRTY.

Yucca flaccida.—From Mr. Burbidge, Trinity College Garden,
Dublin, came leaves of this plant, bearing at or near the margin,
and sometimes from one surface, sometimes from the other,
short tubular, horn-like processes, the significance of which is
not apparent. Dr. Masters gave the details of the histological
structure of the leaf, the main points of interest being that, in
addition to the central row of vascular bundles, there are two
other series of smaller bundles, one between the central bundle
and the upper epiderm, the other between the centre and the
lower epiderm. In the central bundles the relation of the xylem
and phloem is normal, that is to say, the xylem is directed
towards the centre of the leaf, the phloem towards the lower
epiderm. In the lower or outer series of bundles the phloem is
external, the xylem central. In the upper or inner series the
phloem is also external, the xylem internal, so that the section
of the central bundles and of the uppermost ones taken together
resembles a section of a stem. In the horn-like portions, the
palisade cells are absent, and the cells are nearly uniform in size
and shape, the vascular bundles arranged in a ring, each bundle
having its bast towards the periphery, its wood towards the
centre. Thus, while the flat portion has the structure of a leaf
with indications of stem structure also, the horn-like portion
assumes completely the appearance of an axis.

GENERAL MEETING.
Marc 10, 1891.
Sir Joun T. D. LuEwetyn, Bart., in the Chair.

ELECTIONS.

Fellows, 834.—James Allen, J. R. Berry, W. Edward Berry,
W. B. Boyd, Rev. A. O’Brien Brandon, Arthur Bull, J. O. Carter,
Mrs. G. Crutcher, W. H. Crawford, James Fenning, E. P. Frost,
E. W. Grimwade, T. H. P. Hartley, A. C. Hayes, H. H. Hurnard,
H. A. Jones, Rey. EH. 8. Lowndes, George §. Manvell, A. S.
Mark, C. Matthews, James T. M‘Dougall, T. J. Mills, Charles
Murless, Mrs. Meredyth Richards, James F. Ridley, C. S.
Ritchie, John K. Rowe, J. Oldrid Scott, J. Leslie Sherrin,
Thomas W. Short, Mrs. Watson Smith, EH. T. Turner, R. G.
Webster, M.P., James Wilson, jun.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XX1x

Societies Affiliated, 5 Minster Horticultural Society, Shef-
field and District Chrysanthemum Society, Weston Horticultural
Society, Bradford Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Society,
Petersfield Horticultural Society.

Papers on “ Snowdrops,”’ communicated by Mr. James Allen,
of Shepton Mallet, Mr. D. Melville, of Dunrobin, and Mr. F. W.
Burbidge, of Dublin, were read by the Secretary. (See pp. 172,
188, 191.)

FLORAL COMMITTEE.

GEORGE Paut, Esq., in the Chair, and seventeen members
present.

Awards Recommended :—
Silver Gilt Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Upper Clapton, for a beautiful
sroup of stove and greenhouse plants in flower, noteworthy
being the Cytisuses, Pimelias, Boronias, Chorizemas, Acacias,
Hricas, and Cyclamen.

To Mr. G. Phippen, Reading, for an effectively arranged
collection of spring-flowering plants, consisting principally of
Hyacinths, Tulips, Crocuses, &c.

To Messrs. William Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, for a rich
series of Camellias (cut blooms), representing the best varieties
in cultivation.

Silver Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. Barr & Son, King Street, Covent ee for a
splendid collection of Daffodils and other hardy spring flowers.

To Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., Burford Lodge, Dorking
(gardener, Mr. W. Bain), for cut flowers of Anthuriums,-very
striking being A. Leodense, A. Laingii, A. carneum, and
several fine seedling varieties.

Award of Merit.

To Amaryllis J. R. Pitcher (votes, unanimous), from Messrs.
B.S. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway, a medium-sized, %well-
formed flower, of an intense crimson colour, with darker veins.

Other Exhibits.
Mr. F. W. Moore, Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, sent
a collection of Lachenalias (cut blooms), representing interesting
crosses between various types.
M

XXX PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Messrs. W. Paul & Son sent a new forcing and bedding Rose
named White Lady. The Committee expressed a desire to see it
again later in the season.

Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, N., sent flowers of Bulbo-
codium vernum, B. ruthenicus, and Iris Rosenbachiana.

Fic. 48.—Darropin Crom-a-Boo. (From the Gardeners’ Chronicle.)

Mr. W. E. Gumbleton, Belgrove, Queenstown, Ireland, sent
Daffodil Crom-a-boo (fig. 48), in which the “ cup’’ is curiously
frilled on the outside. It was requested to be seen again, as was
also a new single early Tulip, Queen of the Netherlands, from

the same exhibitor.
The Rev. W. Wilks, Shirley Vicarage, Croydon, and Mr.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XXX1

James Allen, Shepton Mallet, each sent interesting collections
of Snowdrops.

Mrs. Whitbourn, Great Gearies, Ilford (gardener, Mr. J.
Douglas), sent a clump of Galanthus latifolius, in flower.

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Harry J. Verrcu, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair, and five members
present.

Before commencing the ordinary business of the meeting,
the Chairman, in feeling terms, spoke of the loss the Committee
had sustained by the death of Mr. John Dominy, one of its
ablest and most respected members. As rendering the circum-
stance still more lamentable, Mr. Veitch stated that rapidly
following Mr. Dominy’s death came that of his wife and second
son. The Secretary was instructed to write a letter of condolence
to Mr. George Dominy, of Bank House, Southampton.

There was a fine display of Orchids at the meeting, but some
groups which had been entered were not brought on account of
the heavy snow-storm which had taken place the night before.

Awards Recommended :—
Silver Flora Medal.

To Messrs. B. 8. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway, N., for
an extensive group of Orchids, arranged with Palms, &c., and
containing some rare species and varieties, viz.: a good specimen
of Celogyne cristata alba, with fourteen flower spikes; C. lactea,
Dendrobium Farmeri aureum, a fine form of Odontoglossum
Ruckerianum ; O. crispum Cooksoni, O. ¢. roseum, O. priono-
petalum, Oncidium splendidum, a large Cymbidium Lowianum ;
C. eburneum, with twelve spikes of blooms, and a number of
species and varieties of Cypripediums.

Silver Banksian Medal.
To his Grace the Duke of Norfolk, Arundel Castle (gar-
dener, Mr. Burbury), for a magnificent specimen of Cymbidium
eburneum, with about fifty spikes of flowers.

Bronze Banksian Medal.
To Mr. William Whiteley, Hillingdon, for a group of good

varieties of Odontoglossum crispum, O. Andersonianum, O.
M 2

XXX PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

triumphans, &c., with Lelia harpophylla, Cattleya citrina, and
Dendrobiums.

To Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, for a group of cut
flowers of rare Orchids, comprising a quantity of spikes of
Ceelogyne cristata alba; some fine forms of Cattleya Triane,
both pure white and coloured; Dendrobium nobile Cooksoni,
Odontoglossum blandum; two distinct forms of Cattleya ame-
thystoglossa, and other species. Messrs. Sander also exhibited
the new hybrid Masdevallia Kimballiana, the result of a cross
between M. Veitchiana and M. Shuttleworthii.

First Class Certificate.

To Odontoglossum luteo-purpureum var. Amesianum (votes,
unanimous), from Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans. This
extraordinary variety has flowers wholly of a pale greenish
yellow, and without spotting of any kind.

To Dendrobium nobile, Hardy’s var. (votes, unanimous), from
George Hardy, Esq., Pickering Lodge, Timperley, Cheshire,
(gardener, Mr. William Holmes). The distinguishing features in
this variety are its large flowers, broad sepals and petals, and
bright colour.

To Cattleya Triane Hardyana (votes, unanimous), from Geo.
Hardy, Esq. (gardener, Mr. William Holmes). A variety with
finely shaped flowers, having very broad white petals; sepals
tinged with lilac; lip crimson in the front lobe, stained with
primrose yellow in the throat.

Other Exhibits.

Norman C. Cookson, Esq., Oakwood, Wylam-on-Tyne, sent
a plant of Dendrobium nobile Cooksoni, which had been obtained
from seeds of common D. nobile, crossed with pollen of D.n.
Cooksoni. The remainder of the seedlings which have as yet
flowered have proved typical D. nobile. Also a plant of
Phajus Cooksoni x.

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton, exhibited Saccolabium
bellinum, and also a form of it with a yellow ground colour
to the flowers.

F. A. Bevan, Esq., Ludgrove, New Barnet (gardener, Mr. B.
Phillips), sent cut flowers of two varieties of Cattleya Triane and
various other Orchids to be named. They were referred to the
Secretary of the Committee, who gave the required information.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XXXlil

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

P. Crowtey, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair, and fourteen members
present.

Awards Recommended :—

Award of Meritt.

To Apple Chelmsford Wonder from Messrs. Saltmarsh & Sons,
Chelmsford. Fruit large, flushed, and streaked with red—hand-
some. Flesh firm, acid, and of very good quality. A useful late
culinary Apple.

Other Exhibits.

The Baroness Burdett-Coutts, Holly Lodge, Highgate (gar-
dener, Mr. J. Willard), sent a box of the March Peach received
from the Cape of Good Hope. The fruits had evidently been
gathered before they were ripe, as the flesh was tough and
flavourless.

Dr. Wilks, Ashford, Kent (gardener Mr. Tabor), sent some
very fine fruits of Vanilla, which emitted a most fragrant odour.

From the Society’s Gardens were sent blanched samples of
the following varieties of Common Chicory, or Barbe des Capucins:
Witloef, Red-leavyed Lombardy, Brunswick, and Large-rooted
Magdeburg, together with similar blanched samples of Improved
Karly Dandelion.

A letter was received from Mr. James Lake, Sheriff Court,
Minster, inquiring as to the cause of canker in Apple trees.

Mr. Lake was referred to the Report of the Apple Conference
held at Chiswick in 1888, and published in Vol. X. of the
Society’s Journal.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE.

D. Morris, Esq., M.A., F.L.S., in the Chair, and eight members
present.

Branches Injured by Cold.—Dr. Masters showed branches of
Peach and Rose trees with injuries similar to those shown at the
last meeting. These had not been in contact with wire, showing
that that is not the only cause of the injuries. Professor Church
suggested that the appearance pointed to the rubbing of branches
on each other.

Fog Investigation.—Mr. Morris stated that he, as the re-

XXX1V PROCEEDING OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

cipient named in the Royal Society’s grant, had sent in a short
report, and had made formal application for a further grant of
£50. This course was agreed to. Dr. Oliver announced that
the interim report promised would be produced at the next
meeting of the Committee.

Growths on Yucca flaccida.—Dr. Scott said that he had
received very good material from Mr. Burbidge of Dublin, and
promised an investigation into them.

Mildew on Vines.—The Council referred to the Scientific
Committee a letter from Mr. Tait of Oporto, in which he states
that he has discovered a remedy for mildew on Vines, which has
been successfully used in Portugal, and which he is anxious to
have tried at Chiswick. He wished to know if the Scientific
Committee were prepared to appoint someone to conduct an
investigation.

The Committee were of opinion that the main constituents of
the remedy should be known first, so that no investigation should
take place unless they were new and not previously tried. Dr.
Masters said that that particular form of mildew did not occur
at Chiswick, but it could be tried on Tomatoes. Professor
Church pointed out that the composition being patented there
would be no difficulty in ascertaining its constituents, and the
Committee then resolved to communicate with Mr. Tait about
the composition, on the understanding that if new it would be
experimented with.

Death of Wellingtonia.—A letter was read from the Duke
of Wellington, asking for information as to the cause of death of
a Wellingtonia, roots of which were forwarded. There was no
obvious cause of death in these, and it was resolved to write for
further information as to the history of the tree, character of the
soil, &c.

Ethododendron Falconeri.—A plant was shown from Mr.
James Bateman of Worthing, described in a letter as “a dismal
specimen of Rhododendron Falconeri, which with many other
things perished miserably inthe late winter. The first to attract
attention was a fine specimen of the wild Olive tree, which had
been raised from a cutting taken from the one that marks the
site of the ghastly well of Cawnpore. It was nearly 20 feet high,
and had flowered last summer for the first time; moreover, it
retained its freshness after the winter was more than half over,

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XXXV

when my gardener accidentally discovered that it had lost allits bark
on the lower part of the stem, and was in fact a corpse. The next
to succumb was a New Zealand Olearia Haastii, which perished
in exactly the same manner. It was then the turn of a large
- Fuchsia, of which the bark under similar conditions was stripped
off the stem. After the Fuchsia a brigade of Sikkim and Bhotan
Rhododendrons was destroyed. And now as to the cause. Before
winter set in we had a delicious Indian summer in portions of
October and November, and to such an extent that our thrushes
and blackbirds took to singing, and, I believe, to nesting. The
exceptional warmth no doubt set the sap rising, and in this state
it was caught, asin a trap, by the sudden change of temperature.”
Dr. Miller said he had seen the same thing in plantations of
Rhododendrons near Bagshot. Mr. Wilks said the outer bark of
R. Falconeri scaled off normally asin a Plane tree. From exa-
mination he doubted if the plant were quite dead. He himself
had had a very large plant of Erica mediterranea which was
throwing its spikelets; on examination the stems were found
split open longitudinally, and appeared as if full of cotton wool.
This was due to frost. Dr. Masters, after examining the leaves
of the plant sent, concluded that the plant would not have lived
if left in the ground. The Committee decided that its condition
was probably due to the action of frost.

Egyptian Mealy Bug.—Mr. McLachlan showed twigs covered
with this insect, and in addition to statements made on previous
occasions (December 10, 1889, &c.), said that Mr. Douglas first
described it as Crossotosoma egyptiacum, but Professor Riley
had since concluded that it was probably no other than a true
Icerya. The Egyptian Government are taking steps to
introduce the Australian and New Zealand ladybirds, which
had been so successful in America. As the Egyptian species
is not the same as the Australian and American pest, and as
the climate is so different, the success of the experiment is
doubtful.

Peach Yeliows.—Dr. Masters produced twigs and leaves of
Peach trees from the Cape of Good Hope suffering from this
disease. It was common in America, and was supposed to be
bacterial. This had not been determined, and the specimens
were referred to Professor Marshall Ward.

Diseased Roots of Dracena.—A root of Dracena, probably

XXXVi PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

swarming with Tylenchus, was referred for examination to Dr.
Masters.

Snowdrop Mildew.—The Rev. C. Wolley-Dod sent decayed
bulbs of Snowdrop. He wrote: “These are Snowdrop bulbs of
which the leaves last year showed slight symptoms of the Snow-
drop mildew. Often there is no trace left of the bulb in the
following spring. I lose all my best Snowdrops from it, and
have as yet found noremedy. These were dressed with solution
of sulphate of copper last year when in leaf.’ Dr. Masters said
he had successfully prevented the disease by treating bulbs of
Iris reticulata with sulphate of copper before planting.

Liffect of Fog.—Dr. Masters showed panes of glass from glass
houses at Gunnersbury and Feltham with a dense black deposit
due to fog. Mr. Morris stated that 20 square yards of glass at
Kew produced, when scraped, 20 grammes of solid matter. This
could not be removed by mere drenching with water, and the
whole of the glass in the Royal Gardens would require scrubbing
to cleanse it. Dr. Oliver said that an analysis of the deposit
showed that 20 per cent. consisted of tarry and oily matters.
Dr. Masters also showed Rose leaves which had fallen off under
elass in consequence of the fog. No details had been sent.

Abnormal Mushroom.—A Mushroom with a very large gouty
stem wasshown. There was no history to it. The stem was
much split longitudinally.

Magnolia conspicua.—Dr. Masters showed a photograph taken
last year of an unusually fine plant in bloom at Gunnersbury
House.

GENERAL MEETING.
Marcy 24, 1891.
JAMES Dovatas, Esq., in the Chair.

ELECTIONS.

Fellows, 19.—Mrs. J. C. Arkwright, F. S. Balestra, W. Brown,
Rev. E. T. Clark, B.A., Ralph Darlington, James Flower, W. F.
Lawrence, M.P., Edw. Lester, Hon. Robt. T. Litton (Melbourne),
R. Mitchell, John Parsons, Rey. 8. M. Ranson, 8. H. Ridge,
B.A., W. Stevenson, Lieut.-Col. E. Thomas, W. W. Warde-
Aldam, Miss H. Watier, Richard Weller, H. N. Young.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XXXVli

Societies Affiliated, 4.—Wolverhampton Horticultural and
Floral Society, Stourport District Horticultural Society, Dundee
Horticultural Association, Chislet Horticultural Society.

A paper on “The Cultivation of Hardy Bulbs and Plants,”
by Herr Max Leichtlin, was read by the Secretary (sce p. 210).

FLORAL COMMITTEE.

W. MarsHatt, Esq., in the Chair, and eighteen members
present.

Awards Recommended :—

Silver Gilt Flora Medal.
To Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway, for a very
excellent collection of Hyacinths, Tulips, Clivias, Azaleas, &c.,
in flower.

Silver Banksian Medal.

- To Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, for a pretty group
of forced flowering Shrubs, noticeable being Spirea confusa, with
clusters of white flowers like Hawthorn; and several varieties of
Azalea mollis, two of which were certificated, and are described
below.

To Mr. H. B. May, Upper Edmonton, for a well-grown group
of Ferns and other foliage plants.

To Messrs. J. James & Son, Farnham Royal, for a beautiful
collection of Cinerarias, with large and finely-shaped flowers.

To Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, for a collection of
Daffodils and hardy spring flowers.

To Mr. 8. Ware, Tottenham, for a pretty collection of early
bulbous and other hardy spring plants in flower.

To Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, for an interesting collec-
tion of seedling Amaryllis in bloom, and masses of early spring
flowers.

First Class Certificate.
To Chionodoxa grandiflora (votes, 10 for, 3 against) from
Mr. T. S. Ware.
This fine species was introduced from Asia Minor about
1887, and is still known to many under the specific name
of ‘‘gigantea.”” For a Chionodoxa the flowers are very
large, and of an ultramarine blue, but without the white

XXXVlll PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

‘‘eye’’ in the centre, which is such a distinguishing mark
of its co-species, C. Lucilig. It has a free and vigorous
habit, and is easily grown in sandy loam.

To Camellia ‘‘ Beauty of Waltham ”’ (votes, 14 for, 1 against)
from Messrs. W. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross. Flowers, pale
pink, of fine shape.

To Bertolonia ‘Baron A. Rothschild’’ (votes, unanimous)
from Mons. J. Linden, Brussels. A beautiful variety, having
richly-coloured rosy-purple leaves, blotched with deep green.

To Bertolonia ‘‘ Madame Léon Say ”’ (votes, unanimous) from
Mons. J. Linden. Leaves large, veined with silver on a dark
ereen ground.

To Saxifraga Boydi (votes, unanimous) from Messrs. Paul &
Son. Flowers small, bright yellow, freely produced; an effective
rock plant.

To Arum palestinum (votes, 10 for, 1 against) from the Hon.
H. Dudley Ryder, High Ashurst, Dorking (gardener, Mr. Gold).

A remarkable Aroid, the spathe and spadix being of a
velvety blackish purple, and each about six inches long.
It was discovered by the late M. Boissier, near Jerusalem,
whence it was introduced to cultivation by Messrs. J.
Veitch & Sons, of Chelsea. Our illustration, for which
we are indebted to the Editor of the Jowrnal of Horti-
culture, gives a good idea of the general character of the
plant on a reduced scale.

Award of Merit.

To Rose (H.P.) ‘ Danmark” (votes, 6 for) from Messrs.
W. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross. Flowers of a rosy-pink
colour, well formed, and sweetly scented.

To Clivea “Prince of Orange”’ (votes, unanimous) from
Messrs. B. 8. Williams & Son. Fine trusses of rich orange-
coloured flowers.

To Amaryllis ‘‘ Olivia ’’ (votes, 8 for, 8 against) from Messrs.
James Veitch & Sons. Flowers white, veined with reddish-
crimson on the upper petals, good shape.

To Amaryllis “‘ Vandyke’’ (votes, 12 for, 1 against) from
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons. Flowers, rich scarlet, of fine form.

To Azalea mollis fi. pl. “ Norma” (votes, 5 for, 1 against)
from Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons. Flowers, rich orange, trusses
of good size, freely produced.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XXX1X

—sF

NSS

SSF

Fic. 49.—ARUM PALZSTINUM.

xl PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

To Azalea mollis fl. pl. “‘ Mecene”’ (votes, unanimous) from
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons. Flowers, creamy white, sweetly
scented, and borne in abundance. |

Other Exhibits.

Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, sent some splendid
trusses of Zonal Pelargoniums in good variety.

From the Royal Gardens, Kew, was sent a basket of hardy
plants that had been flowered under glass, consisting of
Puschkinia libanotica compacta, Chionodoxa Lucilie alba,
Primula denticulata, Saxifraga Burseriana, and Narcissus
nivalis.

O. T. Hodges, Esq., Lachine, Chislehurst, sent cut blooms
of Hellebores in variety.

Mr. R. Dean, Ealing, sent some well-flowered plants of
Primrose Blue Gem.

The Duke of Northumberland, Syon House, Brentford
(gardener, Mr. G. Wythes), sent a promising seedling Anthurium
somewhat resembling A. Scherzerianum, Ward’s var.

Prizes.

Prizes were awarded in the following classes for Ama-
teurs :—

Class 1.—Group of Spring Bulbs, comprising 12 Hyacinths,
8 pots of Tulips, 6 pots of Narcissi, 12 pots or pans of any other
Bulbs. First prize, Withheld. Second prize (£2. 10s.), M.
Hodgson, Esq., Shirley Cottage, Croydon (gardener, Mr. H.
Shoesmith).

Class 8.—9 Cinerarias. First prize (Bronze Flora Medal
and £1) to M. Hodgson, Esq.

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Dr. Maxweuut T. Masters, F.R.S., in the Chair, and eight
members present.

Awards Recommended :—
Award of Meritt.

To Dendrobium melanodiscus pallens x (votes, unanimous),
from Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., Burford Lodge, Dorking
(Orchid grower, Mr. White). The variety D. melanodiscus x,
obtained in the Burford collection by intercrossing D. Findlayanum

é

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. xli

and D. Ainsworthii x , is very variable, but beautiful in all its forms,
the variety ‘ pallens ”’(fig. 50) being one of the most attractive.
Its sepals and petals are white, tipped with pale pk; the lip
white, with a light primrose strain at the base, instead of the
orange-coloured blotch so conspicuous in other varieties.

WS SS S SS

Fic. 50.—DENDROBIUM MELANODISCUS PALLENS.
(From the Jowrnal of Horticulture.)

To D. melanodiscus ‘‘Rainbow’’ x (votes, 7 for), from Sir
Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P. The flowers of this? variety
resembled those of a good D. Ainsworthii x, but the broad lip
had brownish crimson radiating marks at the base, bordered with
rich yellow.

Botamcal Certificate.
To Cirrhopetalum Mastersianum (votes, unanimous), from

xii PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart.,M.P. This is a new species, with
showy coppery-yellow flowers. Figured in the Lindenia, Vol.
6, t. 255.

To Cirrhopetalum picturatum (votes, unanimous), from Sir
Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P. A curious species, with greenish
white flowers, spotted with purple. Introduced about fifty years
ago from Moulmein. It is figured in the Botanical Magazine,
t. 6802.

Cultural Commendation.

To T. Statter, Esq., Stand Hall, Whitefield, near Manchester
(gardener, Mr. Johnson), for a very fine and well-grown plant of
Lycaste Skinnerii alba, named gigantea.

To C. J. Lucas, Esq., Warnham Court, Horsham (gardener,
Mr. G. Duncan), for two fine plants of Dendrobium Brymerianum,
the flowers of which were remarkable for the well-developed
branched fimbriations of the lip.

To His Grace the Duke of Northumberland, Syon House,
Brentford (gardener, Mr. G. Wythes), for Dendrobium thyrsi-
florum, which bore nine pendulous clusters of flowers.

Other Exhibits.

Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., exhibited a number of
plants of his hybrid, Dendrobium melanodiscus and D. Chrysostele
x ; alsoaplant of a very beautiful hybrid Dendrobe, of unknown
parentage, named ‘‘ The Pearl’’; its flowers were white, with
purple lines at the base of the lip. It has some resemblance to
D. euosmum leucopterum. From the Burford Lodge collection
also came the extraordinary Bulbophyllum mandibulare, a large-
flowered Bornean species, with reddish brown sepals and petals,
longitudinally striped with purple. The lip is pale yellow,
covered with deep purple asperities on the upper surface.

Thos. Statter, Hsq., Stand Hall, Whitefield, near Manchester,
sent Dendrobium nobile Backhousianum, in which the backs of
the sepals and petals are tinged with rosy purple; also a plant of
the typical D. nobile, and D. n. Sanderianum, for comparison ;
and cut spikes of Lelia crispa superba, Odontoglossum Hume-
anum, and Bifrenaria Harrisonie.

F. Wigan, Esq., Clare Lawn, East Sheen (gardener,
Mr. Young), staged a neat little group of Orchids made up of
two good plants of Aéranthus Leonis, Dendrobium Farmeri,

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. xiii

Celogyne sparsa, Oncidium Phalenopsis, Dendrobium thyrsi-
florum, and some Cypripediums and Odontoglossum maculatum
and O. crispum.

Malcolm §. Cooke, Esq., Kingston Hill (gardener, Mr.
Cullimore), exhibited Cattleya Lawrenceana, Sophronitis
erandiflora, and cut spikes of Ansellia Africana var. lutea, and
varieties of Odontoglossum Rossii majus.

From L’Horticulture Internationale, Pare Leopold, Brussels
(M. Lucien Linden), came an extraordinary form of Odonto-
glossum luteo-purpureum, named ‘ Linden’s variety.”” It hada
very broad fringed white lip, with a brown blotch at the base.
Also Cypripedium Bragaianum x (C. hirsutissimum var. x C.
Boxalli atratum).

Fred G. Moseley, Esq., 24 Park Village Hast, N.W., sent a
pretty white-petalled D. nobile, nearest to D. n. intermedium, but
named ‘‘nivale.”’

R. N. Dale, Esq., Bromborough Hall, Bromboro’, Cheshire
(gardener, Mr. J. Gould), sent a fine spike of Odontoglossum
coronarium to know whether it was that species or O. brevifolium.
Jt was pronounced to be O. coronarium—O. brevifolium, Lindl.,
probably not being in cultivation.

Mr. J. B. Munro, High Street, Brierly Hili, Staffordshire,
sent a flower of a form of Cypripedium insigne, which was
thought to be the upland C. i. Sylhetense.

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

P. Crow ey, Eisq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and twenty members
present.
Messrs. Bourne & Son, Beckington, Somerset, sent examples
of a seedling dessert Apple.
Mr. W. Whiteley, Hillingdon, Uxbridge, sent some excellent
specimens of Mushrooms.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE.
W. T. Tuisenton Dyzr, Esq., C.M.G., in the Chair, and twelve
members present.
Lthododendrons, &c., Killed.—With reference to the opinion
expressed at the last meeting that R. Falconeri and other plants

xliv PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

described by Mr. T. Bateman of Worthing had been killed by
frost, he writes to say that he thinks it was more probably heat,
and not frost, which was the primary cause, though frost proved
to be ‘fan accessory after the fact.’’ The exceptionally high
temperature in November had apparently stimulated them into
growth, and so rendered them more susceptible to the subsequent
extreme cold. Mr. Bateman also mentions that he has been
compelled to abandon the out of doors culture of Himalayan
Rhododendrons, not because of the winter’s cold, but because
they pushed their buds too readily in March, only to be cut
back by late frosts. He adds that while other species were
severely injured, R. fulgens, R. Thompsoni, R. Campbelli,
R. lanatum, R. campylocarpum, R. Roylei, and R. album did not
suffer in the slightest degree. Lastly, he refers to Olearia Haasti,
described as killed, but having had one branch layered, this
remained perfectly unaffected. Mr. Wilks observed that this
could be readily accounted for by its having probably been covered
with snow.

Observations were made by Mr. Dyer upon the fact that
shrubs at Kew—e.g., species of Cistus, though apparently having
withstood the frost, and being perfectly healthy, yet suddenly
died. Mr. Wilks said he had no doubt that the stems would be
found to have been killed at the base, as the cold was always
more intense for a short distance above the surface of the ground
than higher up. The shrubs, therefore, had sufficient vitality
above to continue for a time to appear healthy, and even to break
into growth, but of course soon perished. .He remarked that
Holly bushes are often denuded of leaves to a height of two
or more feet from the ground.

Fog Report.—Dyr. Oliver presented a ‘‘ Preliminary Report
on the Effects of Urban Fog upon Cultivated Plants,” which is
printed in full in the Society’s Jowrnal, vol. xiii., pt.i.,p.139. Itwas
decided by the Committee to forward copies to the gardening and
leading daily papers with the hope that readers may be inclined
to communicate their experiences, so that as much information
as possible may be acquired. ‘The following are the chief lines
of inquiry :—(1) urban fog and country mist; (2) extent of the
London fog area; (3) the fogs of the winter, 1890-91 ; (4) con-
stitution of fogs; (5) physiological and microscopic work ; (6)
possible remedial measures. With reference to the statement

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. xlv

that “an increase of temperature, other things being equal,
ageravates the poisonous action of the sulphurous acid in the
air, a difference of a few degrees of temperature being apparent,”
Dr. Miller observed that one cause of this would be probably
due to the fact that sulphurous acid is converted into sulphuric
by an elevation of temperature. With reference to temperatures,
Mr. Dyer remarked on the importance of keeping the tempera-
ture of houses as low as possible at night compatible with the
limits of resistance peculiar to the plants themselves, allowing
for some kinds which are peculiarly sensitive ; asarule, gardeners
are apt to keep the temperature higher than is desirable. Mr.
Henslow observed that the late Dr. Lindley was continually
advocating the same procedure. The thanks of the Committee
were tendered to Dr. Oliver for the trouble he had undertaken in
preparing the report.

GENERAL MEETING.
Aprit 14, 1891.

Puinip Crow Ley, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair.
ELECTIONS.

Fellows, 17.—M. Balestra, G. W. Burrows, R. Clout, Mrs.
Davidson, Mr. Sheriff Farmer, Ed. F. Fitch, R. Gofton-Salmond,
Lady Grantham, Captain Hicks, J. H. A. Hicks, J. Lyons,
A. M. McKenzie, R. G. Muller, Miss Dorothy M. Newton, C. A.
Oliver, B. Shepheard, E. D. Shuttleworth.

_ Societies Affiliated, 2.—Cannington Horticultural Society ;
Sheffield Chrysanthemum Society.

A paper on ‘ Lachenalias”’ was read by Mr.*F. W. Moore

of the Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin (see p. 216).

FLORAL COMMITTEE.
W. MarsHatt, Esq., in the Chair, and nineteen members
present.
Awards Recommended :—
Silver Gilt Banksian Medal.
To Messrs. H. Low & Co., Upper Clapton, for an attractive

group of Cytisuses, Pimeleas, Azaleas, Boronias, Heaths, Erioste-
mons, &c., in flower.

N

xlvi PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Silver Flora Medal.

To Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, for an excellent
collection of Hardy Spring Flowers, consisting of Daffodils (in
variety), Anemone fulgens, Chionodoxas, and Primulas.

Silver Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. W. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, for a beautiful col-
lection of Spring-flowering Plants, the most noteworthy being a
very good strain of Mignonette Snowdrift.

To Messrs. B. §. Williams & Co., Upper Holloway, for a
well-srown collection of Amaryllis, Ericas, and Boronias in
flower.

Award of Merit.

To Primrose James Nimino (votes, unanimous), from G. F.
Wilson, Esq., F.R.S., Weybridge Heath. Large, well-shaped
dark-blue flowers.

To Begonia Triomphe de Nancy (votes, unanimous), from
Sir T. Lawrence, Bart., M.P., Burford Lodge, Dorking (gardener,
Mr. W. Bain). A dwarf variety, bearing a profusion of small
rosy-red flowers.

To Camellia The Duchess (votes, unanimous), from Messrs.
W. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross. Flowers rich pink, and of
fine form.

Cultural Commendation.
To EK. C. Smith, Esq., Silvermere, Cobham, for a dozen very
fine Guelder Roses (cut).

Other Exhibits.

Miss Jekyll, Munstead, Godalming, sent well-flowered plants
of Bedding Primrose—Munstead Early White.

My. J. T. Gilbert, Dyke, Bourne, Lincoln, sent cut flowers of
Primulas, Daffodils, and Fritillarias.

The Duke of Northumberland, Syon House, Brentford
(gardener, Mr. G. Wythes), sent a well-flowered group of Spirea
confusa.

Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, sent some well-flowered
Amaryllis.

Professor M. Foster, F.R.S., Shelford, Cambridge, sent Iris
Fosteriana, having yellowish standards and purple-black falls.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. xlvii

From the Royal Gardens, Kew, were sent some choice hardy
plants in flower, conspicuous being Shortia galacifolia.

Messrs. W. Paul & Son sent three Roses, viz., Duchess of
Albany, White Lady, and Corinna.

Prizes.

Prizes were awarded in the following classes for Amateurs :—

Class 1.—Collection of Daffodils (Tazettas excluded) grown in
the open, not more than three blooms of a sort. First Prize,
Silver Challenge Cup, to C. W. Cowan, Esq., Valleyfield, Penny-
cuick, Edinburgh.

Class 2.—Nine varieties of Daffodils (distinct), five blooms
of each. First Prize, Bronze Flora Medal and 15s., to C. W.
Cowan, Esq.

Class 3.—Six varieties of Daffodils (distinct), three blooms of
each. Furst Prize, Bronze Banksian Medal and 10s., to Rev.
W. Wilks, Shirley Vicarage, Croydon.

Class 6. Open.—Collection of Daffodils, Polyanthus ex-
cluded. Furst Prize, withheld. Second Prize, Small Silver
Medal (presented by Messrs. Barr & Son), to Miss B. F. Doyne,
Seafield House, Gorey, Ireland.

The Rev. W. Wilks, Shirley Vicarage, Surrey, exhibited two
seedling Daffodils, both of the Ajax or Trumpet section: Hilda,
a white, of good form and habit, in the way of Dr. Hogg, but of
a decidedly purer colour; and Cressida, a chance seedling from
Troilus, probably insect or wind fertilized with pollen from one
of the Spurius type. It is a very stout, robust, self-yellow Ajax,
with an enormously wide open trumpet very deeply frilled round
the mouth (fig. 51).

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Dr. Maxwett T. Masters, F.R.S., in the Chair, and eleven
members present,

Awards Recommended :—

~ Gold Flora Medal.

To Baron Schréder, The Dell, Egham (gardener, Mr. H.
Ballantine), for a magnificent group of rare Orchids, among
which were Cattleya Digbyana-Mossie x, with two flowers;
Odontoglossum crispum Veitchianum, O. c. Stevensi, O. ¢.

Wolstenholmiz, and other beautiful spotted Odontoglossums ;
Nn 2

xlvlil PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

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EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. xlix

O. Dellense x, a new hybrid with flowers suggesting a cross
between a spotted O. Pescatorei and O. prenitens; and a very
singular and beautiful form of O. maculatum with a spotted
labellum of the form of O. Rossii. Among the Cattleyas were a
finely-bloomed mass of ©. Lawrenceana, the pale C. L. concolor,
and the slate-blue C. L. Vinckii. Other noteworthy objects
were Cypripedium Morganiz, having four and five large flowers
on a scape. Some large specimens of Masdevallias, one of the
M. ignea having over 100 flowers; two varieties of Cymbidium
Deyonianum, the one with six spikes, each bearing from forty
to fifty flowers; C. eburneo-Lowianum x, Lelia Jongheana,
Dendrobium nobile nobilius, Hpidendrum Dellense x (E.
xanthinum x KE. radicans), and the white Dendrobium
superbum Dearei.
Silver Gilt Flora Medal.

To Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, for a good group
of Orchids in flower, the forms of Maxillaria grandiflora being
very interesting. A fine specimen of M. Sanderiana was shown,
and under the name M. Kimballiana the yellow, chocolate-
spotted species previously exhibited as M. tabularis. The group
also contained a fine show of Odontoglossums, species and
hybrids ; some hybrid Cypripediums, Dendrobium Brymerianum,
Lelia elegans Arnoldiana, various Masdevallias, Scuticaria
Hadwenii, and a new yellow Lycaste, provisionally named L.
Mastersiana.

Silver Flora Medal.

To Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P. (Orchid grower, Mr.
White), for a display of fine examples of Masdevallias, profusely
bloomed, and comprising* several varieties of M. Harryana, M.
Lindenii splendens, M. Shuttleworthi, M. xanthocorys, M.
Armini, several forms of M. ignea, the best being M.i. Mass-
angeana; and M. Fraseri, M. splendida, and M. triangularis.

To Mr. William Whiteley, Hillingdon, fora group of showy
Orchids, in which the forms of Dendrobium nobile and D.
Wardianum were prominent.

Silver Banksian Medal.

To F. C. Jacomb, Esq., Cheam Park (gardener, Mr. May),
for an effective arrangement of Orchids in flower, composed
chiefly of fine forms of Odontoglossum crispum, with some
good QO. citrosmum; Phalenopsis leucorrhoda, P. Sanderiana,

1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

P. amabilis, P. Schilleriana, Oncidium concolor, Platyclinis
glumacea, and Dendrobium Devonianum and other Dendrobes.
Bronze Banksian Medal.

To F. A. Bevan, Esq., Ludgrove, New Barnet (gardener, Mr.
Phillips), for a group in which were some fine specimens of
Dendrobium thyrsiflorum, Aérides Fieldingii, Eria stellata,
Odontoglossum Rossii majus, and Catasetum tridentatum.

To Malcolm 8. Cooke, Esq., Kingston Hill (gardener, Mr.
Cullimore), for small group, comprising Odontoglossum Ander-
sonianum, O. Cervantesii, Chysis bractescens, Oncidium sarcodes,
Dendrobium crepidatum.

Furst Class Certificate.

To Dendrobium x Venus (D. nobile x D. Falconeri) (votes,
unanimous), from Norman C. Cookson, Esq., Wylam-on-Tyne.
The flowers of this fine hybrid resemble in a great degree those
of D. Falconeri giganteum.

To Epidendrum Dellense x, from Baron Schréder. This is
from a cross between EK. xanthinum and E. radicans. The
flowers are of the form of EK. xanthinum, but larger, and of an
orange-scarlet colour.

To Odontoglossum Dellense x (? O. Pescatorei x O.
prenitens), from Baron Schréder. This resembles a heavily
spotted O. excellens, but differs materially in the crest and
column (fig. 52.)

Award of Merit.

To lLycaste Mastersiana (provisionally named), a distinct
species with bright yellow flowers freckled with orange on the
petals. From Messrs. F. Sander & Co.

Cultural Commendation.

To W. Bryant, Esq., Stoke Park, Slough (gardener, Mr.
David Kemp), for a finely grown plant of Cypripedium bella-
tulum.

To Arthur T. Playne, Esq., Longfords, Minchinhampton
(gardener, Mr. W. Driver), for a fine specimen of Celogyne
pandurata in flower.

Other Exhibits.

His Grace the Duke of Northumberland, Syon House, Brent-
ford (gardener, Mr. George Wythes), sent a very fine specimen of
Cymbidium Lowianum, bearing seven heavily flowered scapes.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. li

Messrs. James Veitch & Son, Chelsea, exhibited Miltonia
_Bleuiana splendens x; and H. M. Polleit, Esq., Fernside,
- Bickley, a spotted Odontoglossum named O. Parksianum.
Messrs. Charlesworth, Shuttleworth & Co. sent two botanical
Orchids, which were referred to Kew.

Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, Hextable, Swanley, Kent, sub-
mitted Cypripedium Rowellianum x (C. viJlosum x C. venus-
tum). It was a good example of its-class, but considering that

C. Amesianum x, C. Measuresianum x, and others were of the
same parentage, the Commitiee made no award to it.

Cut flowers of two very large forms of Dendrobium Wardi-
anum were sent by E. G. Wrigley, Esq., Howick House,
Preston (gardener, Mr. C. Harris).

G. O. Sloper, Esq., Westrop House, Highworth, submitted a
flower of a massive form of Cypripedium Curtisii ; and Messrs.
W. Heath & Son, Cheltenham, sent a plant of Dendrobium,
said to be D. lituiflorum x D. nobile, but which did not appear
to differ from a small D. nobile.

lii PROCKEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

P. Crowtey, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair, and twenty-two
members present.
Awards Recommended :—
Silver Banksian Medal.

To A. H. Smee, Esq., The Grange, Wallington, Surrey
(gardener, Mr. G. W. Cummins), for twenty-fine varieties of
Apples and Pears in excellent condition, the most noteworthy
varieties being—Apples: Bismarck, Cox’s Orange Pippin,
Wadhurst Pippin, Dumelow’s Seedling, Nonpareil, Claygate
Pearmain, and New Hawthornden; Pears: Uvedale’s St.
Germain and Catillac.

Cultural Commendation.

To Messrs. H. Lane & Son, Great Berkhampstead, for very
fine examples of Apple Lane’s Prince Albert.

To the Marquis of Exeter, Burghley House, Stamford
(gardener, Mr. R. Gilbert), for fine fruits (forced) of Strawberry
John Ruskin. The Committee requested to have samples from
the open air shown with Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury or
- other sorts.

To the Duke of Northumberland, Albury Park, Guildford
(gardener, Mr. W. C. Leach), for excellent examples of Lady-bird
and Ham Green Favourite Tomatoes.

Other Exhibits.

Lord Foley, Ruxley Lodge, Esher (gardener, Mr. J. Miller),
sent good examples of Mére de Menage and Blenheim Orange
Apples ; also Mushrooms from outdoors and indoors.

Messrs. R. H. Vertegans & Co., Birmingham, sent examples
of the ‘‘ Melon Pear ’’ (Solanwm guatemalense).

Mr. Bradshaw, Davenham Gardens, Malvern, sent a Seedling
Melon.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE.

R. McLacutuay, Esq., F.R.S., in the Chair, and seven members
present.

Bigener.—The Rev. W. Wilks exhibited a plant named
Chionoscilla, which was considered to be undoubtedly a bigener
between Chionodoxa and Scilla bifolia. It was received from Mr.
J. Allen, Park House, Shepton Mallet.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. liii

Blue Primroses.—Mr. Wilson exhibited several specimens
illustrative of different shades of purple and blue Primroses.
Lemon Malformed.—Dr. Bonavia exhibited a Lemon remark-
able for a ridge from top to bottom. Hesuggested that it might
be due to an adherent filament, and that the rind was an inde-
pendent structure. Mr. Henslow observed that an anatomical in-
vestigation into the distribution of the fibro-vascular cords of the
carpels of Oranges did not appear to support that view. He added,
that the well-known peculiarity of horn-like structures arising
from the surface of. Oranges was due to the adhesion of pistiloid
stamens, which are not at all uncommon in Orange flowers.
Theobroma Leaves Diseased.—Mr. McLachlan exhibited
leaves of the Cacao tree badly infested by Capnodium citri, which
forms a soot-like sheet over the surface, but does not penetrate
the tissues. It was received from Mr. Smith, the Curator of the
Botanic Gardens in Grenada, W.I. The leaves are attacked first
by two species of coccida, one stellate, the other linear in form.
The coccids produce a secretion by which the fungus is nourished
and thrives. Mr. Blandford observed that the same fungus
occurs upon Oranges in California, which have in consequence
to be washed. Mr. Riley, in his report of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture for 1886, speaks of the large masses of secretion
produced by coccids. In Florida, this fungus, known as black
blight, is a regular consequence of the presence of the coccide
in Oranges, and lives in the honeydew secreted by them. The
names of the coccide are Vinsonia stelliformis, Westwood, and
Ischnaspis filiformis, Douglas. The first or stellately-formed
species is found on a species of Saccolabium introduced from
Assam, on Mangos in Demerara, as well as on the Theobroma in
Grenada. With reference to remedies, Mr. Smith recommends
petroleum emulsion for the coccide, but for the fungus Dr. Miller
suggested polysulphides—e.g., sulphur boiled with caustic lime.
Injury to Plants at Kew.— With reference to the remarks made
by Mr. Dyer at the last meeting as to the effects of the
recent frosts on plants, it was stated that the object of keeping
the temperature as low as possible in glasshouses in the
winter was, because it was found to be practically impossi-
ble to retain a humid atmosphere with a high temperature,
in consequence of the low external temperature and _ noc-
turnal radiation. The subject will be found fully discussed in

liv PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Lindley’s Theory and Practice of Horticulture, p. 207. With
regard to exposed plants injured by frost in Kew Gardens, Mr.
Dyer added that, notwithstanding the long persistence of a
low temperature at Kew, the bulk of the shrubs and evergreen
trees did not at the close show the amount of injury which might
have been anticipated. As soon as the sun came out, and milder
weather followed the frost, the shrubs began to go off wholesale,
the green colour of the leaves disappeared, and they turned, not
brown, as in autumn, but pale and grey. His conviction was,
that they bore the low temperature with comparative immunity,
but that they could not bear the sudden transition from a low
temperature to a high one. Mr. Morris informed him that pre-
cisely similar phenomena are observed at high levels in the tro-

pics after frost. Mr. Wilks’s theory that the shrubs are killed at,

the base is not the explanation at Kew, though, from local cir-
cumstances, it may be true of his own garden; and certainly it
is not the case that any of the shrubs pushed forth buds before
their premature decease.

GENERAL MEETING.
Aprin 21. 16on.
Sir Coas. W. STRICKLAND, Bart., in the Chair.
ELECTIONS.

Fellows, 17.—F. Brewer, T. P. Caldicott, S. Castle, John E.
Cockett, W. F. Cooling, J. S. Cousens, W. Stewart Forster, T.
Gabriel, Montague Gluckstein, W. T. Hindmarsh, F.L.§8., P. L.
Hudden, Mrs. Hudden, Lieut. W. P. C. Lethbridge, F. W. Moore,
T. W. Platten, H. B. Rowan, and E. HK. M. Royds.

Society Affiliated, 1—Northamptonshire Horticultural So-
ciety.

A Paper on “ Cape Bulbs’’ was read by Mr. James O’Brien,
F'.R.H.S. (see p. 282).

FLORAL COMMITTEE.
W. MarsuHatt, Esq., in the Chair, and thirteen members
present.
Awards Recommended :—
Silver Flora Medal.
To Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, for a beautiful group
of Daffodils (in variety), Anemone fulgens, &c.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. lv

Silver Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. Ryder & Son, Sale, Manchester, for an excellent
and well-flowered collection of Primula Sieboldi, containing many
fine varieties.

Bronze Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, for a pretty collection of
hardy herbaceous and Alpine plants in flower.

To Mr. G. Phippen, Reading, for a collection of brightly
coloured Primroses, in rich variety.

Award of Merit.

To Azalea indica Pharailde Mathilde (votes, 8 for), from
Mr. C. Turner, Slough. Adouble flower, white spotted with rose.

To Azalea indica M. Labrousse (votes, unanimous), from
Mr. C. Turner. Single-flowered variety, having flowers of a rich
rosy-crimson colour.

To Azalea indica Princess Clementine (votes, unanimous),
from Mr. C. Turner. A beautiful semi-double white flower, of fine
form.

To Primrose Mary Erskine (votes, 10 for), from G. F.
Wilson, Esq., F.R.S., Weybridge. Lavender blue, small yellow
eye edged with pale red.

To Primrose Covenanter (votes, 9 for), from G. F. Wilson,
Eisq., F.R.S. Dark blue, golden eye.

Botameal Certificate.

To Rhododendron Champione (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. A species having long
wavy white petals, upper one being spotted with yellow. The
lanceolate leaves are dark green above, rusty-coloured beneath,
and fringed with bristly hairs. The plant was first discovered in
1849 by Captain and Mrs. Champion, growing abundantly among
rocks in a ravine at Fort Victoria, Hong Kong. It was figured
in the Botamcal Magazine, t. 4609 (1851), but the flowers as
there depicted are of a much more rosy than white colour.

Other Exhibits.

Mr. R. Dean, Ealing, sent a small but interesting group of
double-flowered Auriculas.

Mr. W. Melles, Sewardstone, sent well-flowered plants of Iris
fimbriata.

Sir J. T. D. Llewelyn, Bart., Penllergare, Swansea, sent a

lvi PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

collection of Rhododendron blooms, among them being several
fine varieties cut from plants grown in the openair. It was stated
that the plants were uninjured by the winter, but the flower-buds
had partly suffered from severe frosts ia March and April.

Prizes.
Prizes awarded in Class 3, the medals being presented by
Messrs. Barr & Son :—

Collection of Daffodils, Polyanthus excluded. First Prize,
Large Silver Medal, to H. J. Adams, Esq., Roseneath, Enfield
(gardener, Mr. C. May). Second Prize, Small Silver Medal, to
Rey. 8. E. Bourne, Dunstan Vicarage, Lincoln. Third Prize,
Large Bronze Medal, to Rev. G. P. Haydon, Hatfield Vicarage,
Doncaster. Fourth Prize, Small Bronze Medal, to Miss B. F.
Doyne, Seafield House, Gorey, Ireland.

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Dr. Maxwett T. Masrsrs, F.R.S., in the Chair, and seven
members present.
Awards Recommended :—

Silver Gilt Medal.

To Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, for a fine group of
Orchids in flower, among which were four specimens of Odonto-
glossum Eidwardi, several Trichopilia suavis, an interesting
selection of Masdevallias—M. Chestertoni, M. radiosa, &c.;
several Odontoglossum crispum, O. Pescatorei, O. Hall, O.
Ruckerianum, Lelia purpurata ; several good forms of Cattleya
Mendelii, C. citrina, Angreecum sesquipedale, A. Sanderianum,
and various Dendrobes, among which the white-petalled form of
D. densiflorum named D. Schréderi was conspicuous.

First Class Certificate.

To Odontoglossum Pescatorei ‘‘ Prince of Orange”’ (votes,
unanimous), from Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P. (Orchid
grower, Mr. White). This beautiful form has flowers of a bright
yellow, spotted with brown on the segments.

To Oncidium Larkinianum (votes, unanimous), from Mr.
Larkin, Delrow, near Watford. This fine variety had previously
received an Award of Merit. It appears to be intermediate
between O. Marshallianum and O. curtum.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. lvii

Other Exhibits.

Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P. (Orchid grower, Mr. White),
staged a small group of rare Orchids, among which were forms
of hybrid Odontoglossum Pescatorei, such as O. excellens, O.
Pescatorei Prince of Orange, and a variety resembling a small,
pale O. excellens. } Also a finely flowered Dendrobium Brymeri-
anum.

Fic. 53.—VaNnpDA TRICOLOR. (From the Gardeners’ Magazine.)

Messrs. J. Laing & Son, Forest Hill, exhibited Lelia
Schréderi. ;

Col. Trevor Clarke, Welton Place, Daventry, was accorded a
special vote of thanks for cut spikes of a very fine form of Cattleya
Lawrenceana.

Reginald Young, Esq., Fringilla, Linnet Lane, Sefton Park,
Liverpool (gardener, Mr. Poyntz), exhibited cut flowers of Lycaste
Skinnerii, Poyntz var.

Messrs. de Rothschild, Gunnersbury House, Gunnersbury
(gardener, Mr. J. Hudson), sent a spike of a variety of Vanda

lviil PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

tricolor, the terminal flower of which presented the peculiarity
of possessing two lips and two columns, the other segments being
normal, but somewhat reduced in size (fig. 58).

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

P. CRow Ey, Esq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and fifteen members
present.

Awards Recommended :—
Silver Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. J. Cheal & Son, Crawley, for a good collection of
Apples and Pears. Amengst Apples the most noteworthy sorts
were Prince Albert, Bramley’s Seedling, Wellington, Mére de
Ménage, Round Winter Nonsuch, Beauty of Kent, Royal Russet,
Brownlee’s Russet, Cockle’s Pippin, and Claygate Pearmain.

Cultural Commendation.

To the Marquis of Exeter, Burghley House, Stamford
(gardener, Mr. R. Gilbert), for excellent fruits of Tomatoes,
Selected Criterion and Wynne’s Karly Forcing.

To the Duke of Northumberland, Syon House, Brentford
(gardener, Mr. G. Wythes), for good examples of Black Ham-
burgh and Foster’s Seedling Grapes of the present year.

Other Exhibit. ;
The Duke of Northumberland sent a dish of Seedling Straw-
berries, raised from Keen’s Seedling ; plant very dwarf.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE.
D. Morris, Esq., M.A., in the Chair, and six members present.

Primroses.—Col. Clarke forwarded flowers of a cross, showing
the effect of a “blue” (female parent) witha very dark purple
(male). The colour was a bluish purple. He reports that it is
a first attempt to form a blue tint with a yellow eye. Mr. Wilson
also exhibited a number of flowers showing new shades of light
and dark blue, varying to purple. In some the red circle round
the yellow eye had quite disappeared.

Auricula Hybrid (?).—Rey. A. Rawson, of Fallbarrow, Winder-
mere, sent two umbels. One was of the typical yellow form, the
other being striped with crimson. The latter is a presumed
hybrid by intercrossing with a crimson Polyanthus. Upon divi-
sion of the plant in order to propagate it the stripe disappears,

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. lix

and the plant reverts to yellow. Noplant taken from the yellow
ever produces a striped flower.

Grapes Grown in the Dark.—Messrs. T. Rivers & Son sent
a portion of a Vine bearing a well-shaped and good-sized bunch
of white Grapes. They were very pale-coloured, and apparently
unable to ripen. The rod appeared to have formed no leaves,
the whole shoot having been developed in total darkness.

Foliage Injured by Sulphuric Acid.—Professor Church ex-
hibited leaves of various plants which were dried, shrivelled, and
blotched, or streaked with red. They were taken from plants in
1 hothouse, and also from a second, the door of which faced that
of the first. The injury resulted from the presence of free sul-
phuric acid, which, there was little doubt, arose from some small
leakage in the flue. The subject of injury by gases will be
found discussed by Herr L. Just and H. Heine (‘‘Landwirthsch.
Versuchsstat.’’ xxxvi. 1889). See also ‘‘ Bot. Centralbl. xl.
1689, p. 296). The authors consider sulphurous acid to be the
most injurious. When taken into the tissues it is oxidised into
sulphuric, which destroys the protoplasm, and ultimately causes
the death of the plant.

Kempferia Tubers—Mr. Morris exhibited specimens of
tuberous roots produced by a species of Kempferia at Trinidad,
and used as food under the name of Toppee Tambo. Mr. J. H.
Tart, F.L.8., the sender of the specimens, stated that the small
tubers are preferred, and these are boiled and eaten like a Potato
with salt and butter. They have an agreeable nutty flavour,

and are much liked by the people. Similar tuberous roots are «~

used at Dominica under the name of Tokkee Tambo. Mr. Morris
added that this was an interesting record of the use of the
swollen roots of a Scitamineous plant for purposes of food, and
he suggested that they might be carefully investigated. Professor
Church was good enough to undertake an examination of the
specimens, and report the results at a subsequent meeting.

NATIONAL AURICULA AND PRIMULA SOCIETY.

THE Southern Section of the above Society held its Annual
Exhibition in the Drill Hall in conjunction with the Society’s
meeting. Notwithstanding the lateness of the season, the
display of Primulas and Auriculas was much better than had

Ix _ PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

been anticipated, and the exhibits, though not up to the usual
standard, were on the whole very satisfactory.

In the class for ‘‘Show Auriculas,” Mr. T. EK. Henwood, of
Reading, was first with Lancashire Hero, Abbé Liszt, Rey. F.
D. Horner, Black Bess, and others, including a fine specimen of
George Lightbody, which latter was adjudged to be the Premier
Auricula. Mr. James Douglas, gardener to Mrs. Whitbourne,
Great Gearies, Ilford, came second. His plants seemed to have
suffered somewhat, but his Mrs. Moore, Acme, and Sapphire
were good. The third prize was won by Mr. A. J. Sanders,
gardener to Viscountess Chewton, Brockham Lodge, Cobham,
with good plants of Rev. F. D. Horner and Black Bess. Mr.
P. J. Worsley, Rodney Lodge, Clifton, was fourth, and Mr. R.
Dean, of Ealing, fifth.

In the class for six Auriculas, Mr. Henwood was again first,
Mr. Douglas second, Mr, A. J. Sanders third, and Mr. P. J.
Worsley fourth, the varieties exhibited being Rev. F. D. Horner,
Abbé Liszt, and Lancashire Hero, with green edges; George
Rudd and Marmion, grey edge; Mrs. Dodwell, Elaine, and
Heatherbell, white edge; and Black Bess, a self-coloured form.

There were altogether nine classes for Auriculas, five for
Alpine Auriculas, three for Polyanthuses, and eight extra ones
for miscellaneous exhibits of each of the above, with the addition
of Primroses, single and double, and distinct species of Primulas.

The Alpine Auriculas were very fine, especially those from
Mr. C. Turner, of Slough, and Mr. James Douglas.

The gold-laced Polyanthuses were fairly numerous, and Mr.
J. Douglas, Mr. J. Weston (gardener to D. Martineau, Esq.,
Clapham Park), Mr. R. Dean, and Mr. A. J. Sanders exhibited
some fine varieties.

The Primroses and Primulas presented a much brighter
appearance than the Auriculas, and were more appreciated by
that portion of plant lovers who do not care so much for the
floury appearance of the latter. The exhibitors were almost
the same in this group as in the others, with the addition of Mr.
O. T. Hodges, of Chislehurst; Messrs. Paul, of Cheshunt; and
Sir J. T. D. Llewelyn, Bart., of Swansea. Among the species of
Primula shown were P. yapomca, P. amena, P. cashmeriana,
P. obconica, P. mvea, P. floribunda, P. verticillata, P. inter-
media, P. rosea, P. latifolia, P. denticulata, &e.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. xi

GENERAL MEETWG.
May 12, 1891.
Sir J. T. D. LuEwetyn, Bart., in the Chair.

ELECTIONS.

Fellows, 29.—W. R. Barker, T. H. Barnett, W. McKenzie
Bradley, John P. Cregoe, Jno. Coppen, Chas. Dalby, F. W.
Forrester, W. O. Forrester, Joseph Hall, Geo. Haywood, Miss
H. B. Johnstone, Mrs. F. Kelly, James Martin, Sam. Prout
Newcombe, E. G. Niesigh, J. Paddon, H. B. Raven, John Reid,
Mrs. Eliz. C. Routh, W. B. Sadgrove, Mrs. Tatton, H. A. Tracy,
F, J. Underwood, Arthur B. Wadds, W. F. Walters, C. D. Wise,
H. Wood, H. F. Wooderson, Francis Worsley.

Societies Affiliated, 2.—Reading and District Horticultural
Society ; St. John’s Amateur Horticultural Society, Sevenoaks.

A paper on ‘‘ Hybrid Rhododendrons’’ was read by the Rev.
Professor Henslow, M.A. (see p. 240).

FLORAL COMMITTEE.

W. MarsHatt, Hsq., in the Chair, and twenty-one members
present.
Awards Recommended :—
Silver Gilt Flora Medal.

To J. C. Tasker, Esq., Middleton Hall, Brentwood (gardener,

Mr. P. Perry), for a well-flowered group of Roses in pots.
Silver Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, for a beautiful assort-
ment of cut Daffodils, Anemones, Chionodoxas, and Tulips.

To Sir J. T. D. Llewelyn, Bart, Penllergare Swansea, for
cut blooms of an interesting series of Hybrid Rhododendrons.

Bronze Banksian Medal.

To Mr. G. Phippen, Reading, for an attractive group of Poly-
anthuses and Primroses.

To Stafford F. Still, Esq., Lismore, Woodside, Wimbledon
Park (gardener, Mr. J. Curtis), for a pretty group of seedling
Amaryllis in flower.

First Class Certificate.
To Anthurium Laingii (votes, unanimous), from Sir T.
oo

Ixli PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Lawrence, Bart., M.P., Burford Lodge, Dorking. Large white
spathe ; noble foliage.
To Anthurium Burfordiense (votes, unanimous), from Sir T.
Lawrence, Bart., M.P. Bright crimson spathe ; very beautiful.
To Pteris cretica crispata (votes, 13 for, 1 against), from

Fic. 54.—Hysrip Sweet Briar. (From the Gardeners’ Chronicle.)

Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. A valuable decorative
Fern of compact habit. 2
To Lilac Léon Simon (votes, 10 for), from Messrs. Paul &

Son, Cheshunt. Flowers very double, and of a pale clear lilac
tint.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Lxili

To Myosotis Bexley Gem (votes, 14 for, 1 against), from W.
Marshall, Esq., Auchenraith, Bexley. Plant of very dwarf habit,
with large bright blue flowers.

To Sweet Briar Lady Penzance (votes, 11 for, 1 against),
from Lord Penzance, Eashing Park, Godalming. A single
variety, with metallic rosy-red flowers, with a yellow base, It
was stated to be a ‘‘ graft or bud on the Manetti of a seedling from
the common Sweet Briar, crossed with the pollen of Austrian
Copper Briar in 1886. The seedling came up in the spring of
1887, and flowered for the first time in 1889, but had only one
flower. It is now a vigorous plant four feet high, the wood a
sort of purple colour like that of the pollen-parent ”’ (fig. 54).

Other Exhibits.

K. M. Nelson, Esq., Hanger Hill House, Ealing (gardener,
Mr. EK. Chadwick), sent plants in flower of Arthropodium
cirratum.

Mr. Coppin, Battersea Park, sent a plant of Puya Whytei,
with a flower stem 7 feet high, bearing at its summit large
bright-metallic green flowers.

W. E. Gumbleton, Esq., Belgrove, Queenstown, Ireland, sent
some well-executed paintings of Daffodils, Snowdrops, and
Chionodoxas.

Stafford F. Still, Esq., sent two baskets of Auriculas, well
flowered.

James Bateman, Esq., Home House, Worthing, sent a flower-
stem of Chamerops Fortunei.

Messrs. W. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, sent a plant in
flower of Spirea multiflora arguta.

NARCISSUS COMMITTEE.

The Narcissus Committee held, as usual, four meetings this
season, when the majority of the flowers shown were fine forms
selected from bulbs collected wild and seedlings raised in this
country. Of the latter those due to the Rev. G. H. Engleheart
were of great interest, a careful record having been kept of the
parentage, and a distimct advance in colour and form being notice-
able in many cases. Moreover, by his experiments the origin of
many of the varieties now cultivated in gardens is shown elearly.
Only one variety was registered this year, wiz., “ Flora Wilson.’’

Oz

lxiv PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,

Awards Recommended.

Silver Gilt Flora Medal (presented by Messrs. Barr), for the
best English-raised seedling Daffodil.
To the Rey. G. H. Engleheart, Appleshaw, Andover, for

.
Z

Fia, 55.—Narcissus AuBatross. (From the Journal of Horticulture.)

Poeticus Albatross. Mr. Engleheart sent to this meeting a very
interesting exhibit of a dozen hybrid Narcissi—some remark-
ably fine—accompanied by flowers of the parents. The most

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Ixv

remarkable was a variety called “ Albatross”’ (fig. 55), the
result of crossing N. poeticus ornatus with N. pseudo-Narcissus
Empress.

Prizes.

Prizes were awarded in Class 6 (Open) for Collection of
Daffodils, Polyanthus excluded. rst Prize, Silver Flora Medal,
Rev. G. P. Haydon, Hatfield Vicarage, Doncaster. Second Prize,
Silver Banksian Medal, H. J. Adams, Esq., Roseneath, Enfield
(gardener, Mr. C. May).

The medals were presented by Messrs. Barr & Son.

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Harry J. Veitcu, Esq., in the Chair, and nine members
present.

Awards Recommended :—
Award of Merit.

To Odonteglossum Hallii leucoglossum (votes, unanimous),
from Gustav R. Le Doux, Esq., Langdon House, Kast Moulsey
(gardener, Mr. H. J. Chapman). A very fine form of this
excellent species, with a pure white lip.

To Odontoglossum crispum Wrigleyanum (votes, unanimous),
from E. G. Wrigley, Esq., Howick House, Preston (gardener,
Mr. G. Beddoes). The sepals and petals are mauve, heavily
blotched with reddish brown.

To Phalenopsis speciosa Imperatrix (votes, unanimous),
from F. Wigan, Esq., Clare Lawn, Hast Sheen (gardener, Mr.
W.H. Young). The flowers were large and of a deep mauve
purple.

To Cattleya Schrédere, Temple’s var. (votes, unanimous),
from J. W. Temple, Esq., Leyswood, Groombridge (gardener,
Mr. K. Bristow). The sepals and petals are pale rose; the lip
is deeper in colour, with an orange throat and a finely frilled
margin.

To Cattleya Mossie gigantea (votes, unanimous), from
Malcolm §. Cooke, Esq., Kingston Hill (gardener, Mr.
Cullimore). The flowers were remarkably large and delicately
coloured.

lxyi PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Cultural Commendation.

To Sir Chas. W. Strickland, Bart., Hildenley, Malton, for
Cattleya citrina, nine plants of which were exhibited growing
on blocks, in the most healthy and vigorous condition.

To Mr. W. H. Young, gardener to F. Wigan, Esq., Clare
Lawn, East Sheen, for Lelia majalis, the flowers of which were
large and remarkably well coloured..

To Mr. W. Murray, gardener to Norman C. Cookson, Esq.,
Oakwood, Wylam-on-Tyne, for a striking example of Cypripedium
Rothschildianum.

Other Exhibits.

R. B. White, Eisq., Arddaroch, Garelochhead, N.B. (gardener,
Mr. Brown), contributed cut blooms of aboug twenty beautiful
varieties of Cattleya Mendelii, and a few Lelia purpurata, and
was accorded a special vote of thanks.

T. Statter, Eisq., Whitefield, near Manchester (gardener,
Mr. R. Johnson), sent Cypripedium Lawrenceanum expansum,
with a very large upper sepal; and Cattleya Mendelii ccelestis,
a form almost pure white, except for the pale purple tinge on
the lip.

F, Wigan, Esq. (gardener, Mr. W. H. Young), sent Phalen-
opsis speciosa, Dendrobium clavatum, and Cymbidium tigrinum,
the latter being a well-flowered plant in a small pot.

Gustav R. Le Doux, Esq. (gardener, Mr. Chapman), con-
tributed a few Masdevallias and several Odontoglossums—O.
nebulosum being particularly fine.

F. A. Bevan, Esq., Ludgrove, New Barnet (gardener, Mr. B.
Phillips), staged Odontoglossum crispum, Cypripediums, and a
soft-tinted form of Sobralia macrantha known as delicata.

Mr. Martin Standing, The Gardens, Patching, Worthing,
exhibited Dendrobium densiflorum.

Messrs. F’. Sander & Co., St. Albans, sent the curious Cypri-
pedium viridiflorum, which, as the specific name implies, has
green flowers.

Messrs. Seeger & Tropp, East Dulwich, staged a small group
of interesting Orchids, comprising Cypripediums, Masdevallias,
and Cattleyas.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Ixvii

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

Puintie CROWLEY, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair, and sixteen
members present.

Awards Recommended

Cultural Commendation.

To the Duke of Northumberland, Albury Park, Guildford
(gardener, Mr. W. C. Leach), for fine fruits of Strawberry James
Veitch.

To Messrs. T. Burton & Son, Bexley Heath, for excellent
examples of Peach Waterloo from a pot-tree.

Other Exhibits.

Mr. E. Bradshaw, Davenham Gardens, Malvern, sent a seed-
ling Melon.

Mr. C. Turner, Slough, sent good samples of Apples from
Tasmania.

The Duke of Northumberland sent fruits of Strawberries
Noble and Auguste Nicaise.

From the Society’s Gardens, Chiswick, were sent ten varieties
of Rhubarb.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE.

Dr. Maxwewt T. Masters, F.R.S., in the Chair, and nine
members present.

Growth in Darkness.—Dr. Masters received a communication
from Gloucestershire, in which it was stated that wooden props
in a coal-mine at a depth of 1,000 feet had sent out shoots with
perfectly blanched leaves. They had grown vertically upwards,
and proved to be Oak and Sweet Chestnut. He also exhibited a
large mass of interlacing roots, apparently of a Lime-tree (judging
by their bitterness and mucilaginous character), which had grown
underneath the floor of a house in Bayswater. No tree was
Inown to be anywhere in the neighbourhood. It was suggested
that the root had grown along some drain-pipe, and finally found
an exit where it could develop into branches.

Acacia dealbata.—Dr. Masters showed flowering branches
from a tree which had been killed down to the ground ten years
ago, but had sent up suckers. These proved to be hardier than
the original plant, as they were uninjured during the past winter,

Ixvlll » PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

and were now in full bloom. As another instance of a late
recovery he mentioned an Ailanthus glandulosus, which sent up
suckers fifteen years after it had been cut down.

Malformed Narcissi.—Rev. C. Wolley-Dod exhibited speci-
mens of different varieties of Narcissus, showing a constriction of
the mouth of the trumpet or ‘‘ corona.” It was suggested that it
might be due to some check or enfeeblement, since it was always
the later flowers which exhibited the peculiarity. An analogous
constriction in corollas sometimes occurs in flowers reverting to
self-fertilisation—as, e.g., in Gentiana Andrewsi.

Haxcrescence on Willows.—Mr. Blandford exhibited a branch
with a tumour-like growth, 3 to 4 inches in diameter. They
appear to be common on Willows by the river Meuse. It was
suggested that a species of saw-fly might prove to be the cause.
Mr. MacLachlan undertook to report further upon it.

Oak Wood Destroyed.—He also exhibited a piece of Oak com-
- pletely converted into powder by attacks of Lyctus canaliculatus.
It is a beetle which causes great mischief to gun-stocks in Birming-
ham. He also showed specimens of wood from barrels perforated
by Carpophilus hemipterus. In a previous case the staves were
perforated on both sides; in the present instance the attack by
the insects was made after the barrels had been completed, as the
perforations only occurred on the exterior.

Primrose Seedling.—Miss Woolward sent a new and remark-
able form of a Primrose which accidentally appeared in a cottage
garden at Belton, near Grantham. Its peculiarities consist in
the corolla lobes being red below and yellow above, as well as in
possessing a sweeter and more powerful perfume than most
varieties.

Heterecismal Fungi.—Dr. Plowright exhibited specimens of
Pucceinia Digraphidis, Soppitt, on the leaves of Phalaris arundi-
nacea, which were found by Dr. D. Franzschel near Wiborg in
Finland, growing m the vicinity of Aicidium Convallarie; also
specimens of Puccinia Agrostidis, Plow., on Agrostis vulgaris
collected by the same gentleman near Lewaschow, in Russia,
growing in the vicinity of Aicidium Aquilegie. He further stated
that he had this year produced the Ceoma Laricis upon Larch
by infecting this plant with the germinating teleutospores of
Melampsora betulina, the converse experiment of producing the
Melampsora on Birch from the spores of Ceoma Laricis having

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. lxix

been made last year. This culture is the more interesting as it
shows that the Larch is the host plant for the scidiospores
of two species of Melampsora. Hartig had previously demon-
strated that a Melampsora on Populus tremula similarly affects
the Larch foliage.

“Anti-blight,” a Preparation for the Destruction of Mildew.—
A visitor, Mr. A. Buchanan, of Glasgow, was invited to give an
account of a preparation recommended by Mr. Tait, of Oporto. It
was found to be beneficial to Vines in the north of Portugal, and
as the Potato disease was due to another species of Peronospora,
it was suggested as a remedy for it. He read a communication
presented to the Highland Agricultural Society, in which the
results from its use were described as beneficial to port wine
growers, as well as being destructive to mould on trees, &e. He
gave a description of the composition of ‘‘ anti-blight,’’ which con-
sisted of lime, flowers of sulphur, and sulphate of copper. The
sulphate of copper disappears, and is replaced by a hydrated oxide
of copper. The preparation is used in the dry state instead of
being in solution, which, excepting the sulphur, is apparently
the only appreciable difference between “ anti-blight ” and other
well-known preparations. There appears to be a certain danger
in its use, in that if the powder be not ground sufficiently fine,
small particles of sulphate of copper may be left on the foliage,
unaltered, which destroy it. These have, therefore, to be sifted
out, the finer powder being alone used. ‘The dispersion of the
powder has to be effected by means of bellows and fans of peculiar
construction.

It was observed by Dr. Plowright that the flowers of sulphur,
though destructive to the oidium upon Vines, would have no effect
upon the Potato disease. He also referred to the extended use
of preparations of sulphate of copper on the Continent—as, e.g., for
Tomatoes, the foliage and fruit of which are dressed with it. The
practice is even adopted of painting the Vine poles, as this has
been found to lessen the disease. Sulphate of copper is also
largely used in America.

Mr. Wolley-Dod described his experience with similar materials,
only used wet, in the following proportions :—8 lbs. of sulphate of
copper, 10 gallons of water, and 2 lbs. of quicklime. Having
applied it to growing plants of tender foliage liable to mildew,
it proved injurious, because the sulphate of copper had not passed

lxx PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

into the hydrated oxide. He added that flowers of sulphur, though
an old remedy for foliage, proved injurious to roots, paralysing
root growth by the sulphur probably becoming oxidised and
giving rise to sulphurous acid. He suggested that it shouldnever ~
be used as a top-dressing. Bulbs thus arrested had been exhi-
bited at a previous meeting.

Having heard Mr. Buchanan’s account, the Committee expressed
their willingness to give publicity to his statements; but they
did not consider there was sufficient novelty in the preparation
to justify them in recommending experiments to be carried out
at the Society’s gardens. Moreover, the question appeared to
them to be rather more of a commercial than scientific nature.
The Committee, however, thought that if private cultivators
would undertake to try it, its true value might soon be discovered
by testing the powder in various ways on different plants, as well
as by using the liquid preparations for comparison, to discover if
it were really preferable to the latter or not.

THE GREAT FLOWER SHOW, 1891.
INNER TEMPLE GARDENS, E.C.
May 28 anp 29.

By the kind permission of the Treasurer and Masters of the
Bench, the Society was enabled, for the fourth time, to hold its
great City of London Flower Show in the gardens of the Inner
Temple on Thursday and Friday, May 28 and 29. The Gardens
were open to the public at one o’clock precisely, and at three
o’clock H.R.H. the Princess Christian, who was accompanied
by H.R.H. Prince Christian and their two daughters, arrived
and presented the Cups awarded to the most meritorious exhibits.
The Royal Party was conducted round the tents by Sir Trevor
Lawrence, Bart., M.P., the President of the Society, Baron
Henry Schroder, Vice-President, and other members of the
Council.

The weather, although somewhat unsettled, with occasional
showers of rain, was on the whole fine, and the attendance
of visitors was larger than on any previous occasion.

The band of H.M. Scots Guards, under the conductorship of

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. lxxi

Mr. E. Holland, was present each afternoon, and was highly
appreciated by the great multitude of visitors.

The “ City Flower Show,’ as it has now come to be called,
is every year becoming more popular, and perhaps this is due to
the remarkable fact that not a single prize was offered and
the exhibition is entirely of a non-competitive character. Silver
cups and medals are of course awarded by the Council, on the
recommendation of the judges and committees, to groups in the
various sections possessing more than ordinary merit.

The area required for this great display of flowers under
canvas was almost 25,000 square feet, and was covered by means
of four large tents, the dimensions of which were respectively :
No. 1, 170 x 80 feet, containing Gloxinias, Begonias, Calceolarias,
Ponies, Streptocarpi, and hardy herbaceous plants in general;
No. 2, 140 x 40 feet, devoted chiefly to Orchids, Ferns, Azaleas,
Pelargoniums, Begonias, and New Holland Plants; No. 3,
160 x 60 feet, was decorated with Orchids from amateurs, Palms,
Roses, Azaleas, hardy shrubs, stove and greenhouse plants, «c. ;
while No. 4, 150x380 feet, had a miscellaneous collection of
new or rare plants, bouquets, cut flowers, Tulips, Violas,
herbaceous plants, fruits, and garden implements.

The tents were so arranged that it was possible to pass from
one to the other immediately, and in this way the entire exhibi-
tion was conveniently displayed, especially as the public were
kept moving in the same instead of opposite directions, and thus
unpleasant crushing past one another was avoided. Had the
weather been pouring rain instead of being fine, it would have
made no material difference to the enjoyment of seeing the
unique display, because the pathways in and leading to each tent
were neatly boarded and consequently made a much nicer
footing.

It would be a very difficult matter to give anything like a
proper account of each exhibit, and we will therefore content
ourselves with the following summary of the whole.

ORCHIDS.

The display of Orchids was remarkable in every respect, and
did more than anything to show the tremendous popularity
which they have attained. Altogether, about 3,000 square feet
was covered with them. The collection of some amateurs are

Ixxll PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

becoming so large, and contain so many excellent examples of
good cultivation, that this year it was found necessary to draw a
distinct line between them and the groups of the nurserymen,
and the exhibits were consequently arranged in separate tents.

The first group in the amateurs’ section was a splendid one
from Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P. (grower, Mr. White).
The Burford Lodge collection has for many years been noted for
the excellence of its plants, and it may be fairly said that the
best of these were represented on this occasion. Rare Cypri-
pediums were very noticeable, especially such kinds as C. Stone
grande, C. caudatum Wallisu, GC. grande atratum, C. Frasert,
C. Swamanum, as well as the remarkable C. Rothschildiamum,
which seems to improve more and more since it has been under
cultivation. Odontoglossums were represented by Coradinet,
Andersonianum, cirrosum, and several varieties of the useful
crispum. The varieties of Masdevallia were of a very rich hue,
and proclaimed the good treatment they had received. Among
other kinds were some M. Harryana and M. coccinea, bearing
as many as twelve flowers each. Among the other exhibits were
Maaillaria Lehmannu, Kimballiana, and Sanderiana, the latter
with its large waxy-white flowers splashed with deep crimson at
the base of the sepals, petals, and lip; Oncidiwm- ampliatum
majus, some exquisite forms of Cattleya Mossie Wagner, Lelia
purpurata, Masdevallia Schlumu, Vanda teres, Phalenopsis
Sanderiana, Bulbophyllum Dearet, Ormithocephalus grandiflorus,
several Aérides, Lelias, Stelis muscifera, Calanthe purpurea
and veratrifolia.

Arranged next was a magnificent group from Baron Schréder
(gardener, Mr. Ballantine). It was a delightful mass of loveli-
ness. One hundred and sixty well-grown specimens were staged,
and as many as ninety-two different varieties were represented.
To take them alphabetically, there was the brilliant Ada
aurantiaca; four varieties of Aérides, including the new deep
crimson Savageanum, imported last year from the Philippines,
and the graceful white Williams; thirteen Cattleyas of sur-
passing beauty, among them being Mendelw and its variety
Blunti, Mossie Schrédere, Skinnerit, two remarkable specimens
of the latter bearing hundreds of rosy flowers, Regnellw and |
Mossie Reineckiana; Calogyne pandurata, with several of its
curious green and black flowers, was en evidence; while among

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Ixxiii

the large group of Cypripediums were to be seen Hlliottianwm,
Rothschildianum, cilhiolare, Dayanum, Loww, Hooker, Law-
renceanum, caudatum, Wallisw, and others. Dendrobiums were
represented by Bensonia, with its clusters of white flowers, and
its yellow variety, zanthina; also D. Jamesianum. The Epiden-
drums were remarkable for the two new hybrids, O’Brienianuwm x
dellense, in addition to good specimens of the showy vitellinum
majus. Lelia grandis purpurata, and its variety rosea striata,
were also present, and interspersed throughout the group were
about thirty brilliant Masdevallias of the Harryana, Lindeni and
Vettchir section, one specimen of Veitch grandiflora having as
many as thirty large flowers; two plants of Mazillaria Sanderiana,
and several varieties of Miltonia vexillaria.

Several excellent Odontoglossums were staged, the most
notable being the charming O. Cervantesw decorum, Pescatorei,
and its rare and richly coloured variety Veitchianwm ; the white
cirrosum, rendered lovely by its heavily spotted sepals and
petals ; the blotched cordatwm and its near relative maculatum,
besides several forms belonging to the luteo-puwrpwrewm section.
Others to be noted were aspersum, citrosmum, crispum, Bonney-
anum, excellens, Halli xanthoglossum, triumphans, Wilckeanwm,
Schillerianwm, and the graceful little Oérstediw. The old and
beautiful Saccolabiwm anvpullaceum, with its erect clusters of
bright rose-carmine flowers; the peculiar Bulbophyllum (Sarcopo-
dium) Dearet, the dwarf and brilliant Sophronitis grandiflora,
Vanda cerulescens Boxall, Schomburgkia Tibicinis, and the
remarkable Spathoglottis awrea (Kimballiana), with its bright
canary-yellow flowers, completed this remarkable display.

T. B. Haywood, Esq., Woodhatch Lodge, Reigate (gardener,
Mr. Salter), had a most tastefully arranged group, consisting of
Odontoglossuwm crispum, O. Pescatorei with several spikes, several
nighly coloured varieties of Masdevallia Harryana and
M. Veitchi, Dendrobium chrysotoxuwm, and Miltoma vexillaria,
remarkable for the deep colour of its flowers. This group was
displayed to great advantage by means of Maidenhair Ferns
judiciously intermingled with the plants to serve as a background
for the flowers.

Major-General Berkeley, Bitterne, Southampton (gardener,
Mr. Godfrey), contributed a small but remarkably fine collection
of Phalenopses—P. speciosa and its variety Tope Ne
Luddemanniana, and Lf’. tetraspis.

lxxiv PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

From Malcolm §. Cooke, Esq., Kingston Hill (gardener,
Mr. Cullimore), came a choice display made up of Odontoglossum
Uro-Skinnerit, several Oncidiums, including O. crispwm and
serratum, Leptotes bicolor, Epidendrum vitellinum majus and
E. varicosum, besides such Cypripediums as C. Lowu, Druryi,
and hirsutissumunr.

The Right Hon. J. Chamberlain, Highbury (gardener, Mr.
Burberry), contributed a few brilliant examples of Masdevallias.

G. Burnham, Esq., Stoke Newington, staged good plants of
Cypripedium bellatulum and Lela purpurata.

A pretty little group came from W. F. Darnell, Esq.,
Stamford Hill (gardener, Mr. J. Elhott). It contained well-
srown Cattleyas and Lelias, together with some graceful
Palms.

Mrs. Arbuthnot, Bexley (gardener, Mr. J. Mitchell), had
among her exhibits good specimens of Miltonia vexillaria,
Brassia cordata, Cypripedium caudatum, the deep-coloured
Lelia purpurata Brysiana and the white L. p. alba, the
golden Anguloa Clowesit, the old and distinet Vanda Roxburghu,
and a plant of Sobralia macrantha magnifica with flowers fully
bearing out the Latin adjectives applied to them.

Mrs. Haselfoot, Southampton (gardener, Mr. N. Blandford),
sent a large specimen of Dendrobium nobile completely covered
with flowers. The plant was exhibited for the purpose of showing
that severe praning, which had been freely practised on it for
some years, was at least not detrimental.

His Grace the Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim (gardener,
Mr. T. Whillans), had a large collection, neatly embellished with
small Ferns—Cattleyas, Dendrobiums, Lelia purpurata, Aérides
virens, Odontoglossum citrosmum, Cymbidium Lowianum, and
Vandas noticeable among others.

Messrs. de Rothschild, of Gunnersbury Park, Acton
(gardener, Mr. G. Reynolds), contributed a group of sixty
remarkably fine plants of Vanda teres, which seems to thrive
better in the gardens of the various members of this family than
anywhere else. Most of the spikes bore about four to six large
and highly coloured rosy flowers.

From A. H. Smee, Esq., Carshalton (gardener, Mr. C. W.
Cummins), came well-grown specimens of Cattleya Mosse,
with delicately shaded flowers of various hues; C. Mendelii

—

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. lxxv

hackbridgensis, remarkable for its deeply tinted labellum and
purple-striped petals. The Hackbridge variety of Cypripedium
Lawrenceanum, with its substantial flowers, in conjunction
with showy Masdevallias and chaste Odontoglossums, pro-
duced a pleasing effect.

T. Statter, Esq., Whitefield, Manchester (gardener, Mr. R.
Johnson), sent cut blooms of the Mexican ‘‘ Flor de Mayo,”’ or
May Flower (Lelia majalis), with rosy lilac sepals and petals
and a blush lip with a white centre speckled with purple ; Lelia
elegans, and its rare varieties Stelznervana and Philbrickiana,
LL. purpurata Schréderiana, several Odontoglossums, and the
almost pure white Cattleya Skinneri alba were also represented,
and formed a pretty and interesting group on account of their
comparative rarity.

A select group was exhibited by F. Wigan, Esq., East
Sheen (gardener, Mr. W. H. Young). Some uncommon things
may always be expected from East Sheen, hence it was not
surprising to find a finely coloured form of Cypripediwm
philippinense (C. levigatwm), its relative C. Roebelinu, C.
concolor, Pescatoret cerina with its waxy pale yellow flowers,
the dwarf and pretty Cymbidiwm tigrinwm with its yellowish
ereen flowers tinged with olive and speckled with red, the
rare and handsome Sarcochilus Berkeleyz (often called by the
generic name of Thrixspermum) with its drooping racemes of
creamy white flowers with a conspicuous purple stain on the
lip, besides Vanda teres and V. swavis, and a good specimen
of Oncidiwm Marshallianum.

We now come to the Orchids staged by trade growers—who
were not in such numbers as the amateurs. Their groups
were, however, very extensive and extremely important, as show-
ing the great extent to which popular taste has made it neccesary
for these wonderfully curious flowers to be grown.

From its extensiveness and the great number of different
varieties exhibited, the most important were the Orchids con-
tributed by Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans. Almost
500 square feet were covered with plants from this firm alone,
and the display was most effective and charming, intermingled
as the plants were with such graceful Palms as Areca lutescens,
Kentia Belmoreana, Cocos Weddelliana, as well as with Maiden-
hair and other Ferns. About sixty plants of Odontoglossum

lxxvi PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,

citrosmum, with their pendulous racemes of white and rosy flowers,
were shown off extremely well by the green baize partition of
the central stage acting as a pleasing background. Cymbidiwm
Lowianum is now a very well known Orchid, butit loses none of
its popularity, asit is so easily grown—a fact testified by the six
huge specimens in the group, with deep green foliage and long
arching racemes of pale yellow and red-streaked flowers.
Miltoma vexillaria in numerous shades of colour served to
form an attractive edging to the group, in which masses of the
golden Oncidiwm Marshallianum and O. ampliatum majus at
once attracted the eye. Odontoglossums were, of course,
represented, among them being O. polyxanthwm splendens, with
clear yellow and brown-blotched flowers; O. Wialckeanum
burfordiense, luteo-purpureum <Arnoldianum, tripudians,
Andersomianum, excellens Sandere, crispum, and the beautiful
Harryana, with exquisitely veined lip,

Several varieties of Cattleya Mossie were to be seen, their
large délicate flowers varying in colour from the snow-white
Wagneri to the deep crimson and maroon of Measuwresiana.
Lelia purpurata is a noble Orchid, and will always be sought
after on aceount of its substantial flowers, in which the large
lip forms as it were the playground on which nature disports
her most beautiful hues of crimson and purple.

There were many fine examples of Cypripediums, the most
noticeable being the rare Juno, the. handsome dwarf bellatulum,
the long-tailed caudatum, and the gold and purple Rothschild-
ianun with bearded petals spreading out like waxed mustachios.
Anguloa Clowesu, with its large golden yellow tulip-like flowers ;
Mazillaria Sanderiana, white and blood-red; Hpidendrum
vitellinwm majus, Ornithocephalus grandiflorus, Calogyne
nandurata, the inky-brown Catasetum callosum, and the
white Cattleya Skinneri alba, all formed a highly pleasing
contrast to one another by their great diversity in form and
colour. There were also Oncidiums—dasystyle, macranthum,
Weltoni, cardiochlena, and loxense, the latter being rarely seen
—and also a fine plant of Granumatophyllum Measuresianun,
which now flowered for the first time in cultivation.

Immediately following this group came that of Messrs. B. 8.
Williams & Son, of Upper Holloway, containing numerous
examples of well-grown specimens. Dendrobiwm Bensome

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Ixxvil

were remarkably fine, the pseudo-bulbs bearing clusters of
beautiful white flowers with a yellow stain on the lip. The
drooping yellow clusters of D. thyrsiflorwm were very conspicuous,
and contrasted well with the large canary-coloured Dalhousie-
anum, the old D. nobile, D. swavissemum, and D. transparens.
Among the Cattleyas, the bright yellow and highly lemon-
scented citrina, the rosy Skinneri, and several forms of Cattleya
Mossie were conspicuous. Cypripediums were strongly repre-
sented by specimens of C. bellatulum, nivewm, Hookerianum,
philippinense, concolor, grande, Stoner, and selligerum majus.
Among Oncidiums were noticeable the charming concolor, with
its drooping racemes of yellow flowers, the bronzy and yellow
macranthum, and the golden Marshallianum, besides others.
There were several other miscellaneous Orchids, among them
being Calanthe masuca, Masdevalha Harryana and M.
Vettchiana, Calogyne tomentosa, Leha cinnabarina, Miltonia
vexillaria, and Aérides Fieldingu. Among the Orchids,
and considered as such by many visitors, were two well-
grown masses of Utricularia montana with clusters of white
flowers.

Messrs. H. Low & Co., Clapton, staged an excellent collection
of Dendrobiums, including several fine specimens of Bensonia,
thyrsiflorum, Dalhousieanum, and Parish. There were also some
good varieties of Cypripedium bellatulum and C. nivewm, while
Phalenopsis amabilis, with its gracefully nodding spikes of
white moth-like flowers, presented a charming sight.

Among the small but effective group contributed by Mr.
J. Cypher, of Cheltenham, were many remarkable species.
Mention might be made of Masdevallia Schlumu—a wonderfully
well-crown plant, with numerous deep reddish-brown flowers
with yellowish tails. The curious M. Chimera, several varieties
of M. Harryana, M. Shuttleworthu, M. Davisu, and Maxillaria
Sanderiana were also to be seen, as well as Calanthe veratri-
folia, with its broad plicate leaves and tall spikes of white
flowers. Dendrobium Dearet, clothed with clusters of almost
pure white flowers, and Hpidendrum radicans with its fiery
orangeracemes, together with several Cypripediums and Oncidiwm
macranthwm, helped to render the whole group one of much
interest and attraction.

Messrs. Heath & Son, Cheltenham, sent a few plants, among

' P

‘lxxvili PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

them being Cypripedium Stonet magnificum and Masdevallia
Heathit, the latter somewhat resembling M. Chelsoni.

From Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, came a form of
Odontoglosswm excellens, which was interesting as being raised
from O. Pescatoret and O. tripudians, thus confirming the view
that O. excellens was a natural hybrid between these two species.
Epiphronitis Veitch x and Masdevallia caudata Estrade x
were also shown.

ROSES.

Next in importance and interest to the Orchids must be
mentioned the Roses, the specimens of which were remarkably
fine, and added a most charming effect to the other exhibits.

The group contributed by Messrs. W. Paul & Son, Waltham
Cross, was very effective, and consisted chiefly of dwarf plants
in pots, standards, and cut blooms. Among the dwarf forms
were Crimson Queen, a good dark H.P., Spencer, Baroness
Rothschild, and Souvenir du Rosieriste Gounod. The standards
included good plants of W. A. Richardson, the deep lemon Etoile
de Lyon, and a few plants of a new Tea, Corinna, which will
probably be in demand in the future. Among the Teas, notice-
able was a stand of Lady H. Grosvenor, with pointed globular
flowers of a blush colour. A new Hybrid Perpetual called
Danmark appeared in cut flowers; it has blooms of the old
La France type, but of a somewhat darker tint.

The next group was a fine one, displayed by Messrs. Paul &
Son, Cheshunt. There were some large and well-trained speci-
mens of Hybrid Perpetuals and Teas, as well as several standards.
Among the latter were Her Majesty, a vigorous grower with
pale rose-coloured blooms, and Etoile de Lyon. There were also
noticeable good dwarf plants of H.P.’s Duchess of Albany and
Inigo Jones. A specimen of Polyantha Clothilde Soupert,
having white blooms with a pink centre, formed a contrast to
Polyantha grandiflora, a single white variety with numerous
sweet-scented flowers somewhat smaller than those of the ‘‘ Dog
Rose.”’

Mr. W. Rumsey, Waltham Cross, staged a good collection of
Hybrid Perpetuals, Teas, and Noisettes. Among the Hybrid
Perpetuals might be mentioned the strong flesh-coloured
Duchesse de Vallombrosa, the cherry-rose Marquise de
Castellane, Magna Charta, pink suffused with carmine, the old

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. lxxix

General Jacqueminot, and Fisher Holmes, with scarlet blooms.
~ Teas Souvenir de Paul Neyron, strong, with creamy white and
rose flowers, the old white Niphetos, Marie Van Houtte,
yellowish white tinged with rose, the pale rosy-flesh Anna
Olivier, and several others of various shades completed the
group.

Mr. C. Turner, Slough, had a group made up of good
examples of the best sorts of Hybrid Perpetuals and Teas.

FERNS.

The principal exhibitors of these plants were Messrs.
W. & J. Birkenhead, of Sale, near Manchester, who staged
nearly 400 distinct species and varieties, all admirably grown,
and presenting a most healthy appearance. The contrast also

Fic. 56.—ApDIANTUM FARLEYENSE.

between the Ferns and the flowering plants was very marked, it

being generally observed that the former presented such a “nice,

cool appearance”’ after the brilliancy of the Orchids, Roses,

Azaleas, &c. Among the collection were plants natives of distant

climes, suitable for cultivation under almost every condition—
P2

$

lxxx PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

in the stove, the greenhouse, or out of doors in rockeries or shaded
nooks and corners. Amongst Stove Ferns there was a goodly
display of Adiantum or Maidenhead Ferns, about twenty species

POSE AS
CK (Al Pea is “

Fia. 57.—ADIANTUM PEDATUM.

of this beautiful and popular family being present, with their
rich glossy black stems and feathery clusters of fronds variously
tinted with green. Noticeable was A. Farleyense (fig. 56), an
exceedingly beautiful form of the tropical American A. tenerwm.

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Fic. 58.—G. SCHIZOPHYLLA GLORIOSA.

It has a graceful habit, and when well grown is most valuable
for exhibition purposes. A nice plant, which may be grown in a
ereenhouse, or even out of doors in some parts of England, was
A. pedatum ‘fig. 57), with light-green ornamental fronds.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Ixxxi

Aspleniums and Aspidiums—both very extensive genera—
were well represented, the former by A. brasiliense fragrans,
a pretty plant, the fronds of which emit a fragrant odour when
cut and dried ; Nidus, or the Bird’s-nest Asplenium ; and nobilis,
with finely-cut fronds: the latter by dilaceratwm, the bold and
attractive Plumierii, and the very ornamental trifoliatum. The
“ Lace Fern ”’ (Chetlanthes elegans) does justice to its name, and
looked well in company with its brothers—the exceedingly rare
and distinet tenuis and viscosa. The Davallias, or Hare’s-foot

Fic. 59.—G. PERUVIANA ARGYROPHYLLA.

Ferns (so called from the brown hairy rhizomes), are deservedly
popular Ferns. The varieties shown were alpina, dwarf; the free-
growing decora; dissecta, and its light, graceful variety elegans,
with finely-cut fronds ; fijzensis, and about twenty other kinds.
The Gold and Silver Ferns (Gymnogrammes) are always
attractive to amateurs, and on this occasion their tastes were
gratified by seeing nearly a score of beautiful examples. Perhaps
the most remarkably handsome form was G. schizophylla
gloriosa (fig. 58), which makes a handsome ornament when
grown in a basket suspended from the roof of a greenhouse.

Ixxxii PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

It has long, graceful, drooping fronds cut into exceedingly narrow
segments, which give it a very light and feathery appearance.
G. peruviana argyrophylla (fig. 59) is one of the best Silver
Ferns, having heavily powdered fronds, which must not, however,
be too freely wetted, or their beauty will be much spoiled.

There were many other Stove Ferns exhibited, such as the
Climbing Lygodiums, Nephrolepis, &c.; but, perhaps, what at-
tracted most attention were the plants of the remarkable Stag

WAR Ae
BS

Fic. 60.—PLATYCERIUM ALCICORNE.

or Elk’s-horn Ferns, Platyceriwm grande and P. alcicorne
(fig. 60). These plants may be grown on blocks of wood, on
walls, or stones, to which the “ sterile’ fronds—those at the
base, rounded and shield-like—tightly adhere, while the fertile
fronds grow erect and branch into the curious forms which have
suggested the horns of the animal after which they are called.
Among the Greenhouse Ferns—that is, those plants which
may be grown in a winter temperature of 40° to 55° Fahr,—many
genera were extensively represented, e.g., Adiantum, 28 species;
Asplenium, 12; Davallia, 6; Nephrodium (Lastrea), 12;
Lomaria, 12; Polystichum, 8; Pteris, 14; and so on, there being

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. lxxxili

often several plants of the same variety. But the Filmy Ferns
were one of the chief attractions, and comprised the genera

We,

Fic. 61.—HyMENOPHYLLUM TUNBRIDGENSE.

Hymenophyllum and Trichomanes. The Tunbridge Fern (H. tun-
bridgense) (fig. 61) is an elegant little plant, found wild in some

Fic. 62.—HyMENOPHYLLUM WILSONI.

parts of the United Kingdom; as is also the rarer H. Wilsoni
(fig. 62), remarkable for its compact masses of pretty fronds.

XXXIV PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Trichomanes reniforme is a most distinct Filmy, having
large kidney-shaped fronds, on the edge of which the fruit
(sorv), when ripe, stand out like the teeth of a saw.

Todeas are highly ornamental Ferns, and require to be treated
somewhat in the same way as Filmies. 1’. pellucida (fig. 63)
and J. superba (fig. 64) are both exceedingly beautiful; the
former is very free-growing, and the latter has very dense, almost
feathery, fronds of the most delicate texture.

Passing on to the British Ferns, one was struck with the

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Fig. 63.—TopEA PELLUCIDA.
great beauty and variety of them. It is only by careful study of
this class that one is enabled to form a correct idea of the great
wealth of beautiful forms into which the comparatively small
number of British species have been developed, and much is due
not only to Messrs. Birkenhead for their labours in this direction,
but also to several ardent amateurs.

To particularise, it might be mentioned that Aspleniums and
Athyriums were staged in great variety, including many of the
rarest forms. There were about a dozen distinct kinds of the
“Hard Fern” (Blechnum spicant), as well as many of the Male,
Buckler, and other popularly named sorts, including a great
variety of Polypodiums and Scolopendriums. The latter genus

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Ixxxy

is not a very extensive one, and is represented in the British
Islands only by Scolopendrium vulgare, popularly known as the
Hart’s Tongue Fern. It is easily recognised by its strap-like
fronds, more or less heart-shaped at the base, and tapering to a
blunt point at the tip. Although, comparatively speaking, a
common plant, S. vulgare is frequently absent from many
situations where one would naturally expect to find it growing
freely. The plants thrive on the walls of old ruins as well
as in the soil. Under the former condition, however, the fronds

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Fic. 64.—TopEA SUPERBA.

are generally stunted, while under the latter, which seems to be
the most favourable, growth is luxuriant, the fronds often
attaining a length of two to three feet, especially near the banks
of shady streamlets and sheltered copses.

By means of careful cultivation and hybridisation, the
ordinary simple fronds have developed innumerable variations
of form, all tending in the direction of crispness or dissection.

Many of these beautiful forms were to be seen at the exhibi-
tion, the most noticeable being Cooling, crispum, crispatum,
cristulatum, densum, fissum, grandiceps, &e.

The “ Royal Fern”’ (Osmunda regalis), also often called the

lxxxvl PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

“Flowering Fern,’’ owing to the upper portions of the fronds
becoming transformed into spore-bearing panicles, wasrepresented
by a few plants, as was also its peculiar crested variety (fig. 65).

Besides the Ferns proper there were several examples of
Selaginella, a genus of ‘‘ Club-mosses,’”’ remarkable for their flat
feathery branches. The mest noticeable were S. amena, a
pretty upright-growing variety; S. c@sza, creeping, with a
metallic bluish tinge suffusing the frondlets ; the compact bushy
molliceps; and the charming perelegans, which has dull green
foliage and reddish stems,

Fia. 65.—OsMUNDA REGALIS CRISTATA.

Mr. H. B. May, Upper Edmonton, also exhibited a large
number of beautiful Ferns and Selaginellas, including many of

the varieties noted above, and these were tastefully interspersed
with such beautiful stove plants as Pandanus, Caladiums, Palms,

Phyllanthus (Xylophylia) falcatus, numerous Crotons and
Aralias, the variegated Pine Apple, &c.

Messrs. B. 8. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway, showed for
the first time the new Pteris tremula Smithiana, which bids fair
to become popular with all Fern-lovers.

BEGONIAS.
These popular flowers formed a very dazzling display and
were shown in large numbers, occupying an area of about 120

| EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Ixxxvil

square feet. Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, of Swanley, had two
fine groups of single and double varieties, the colours of which
passed from pure white through pink, salmon, deep rose and
purple into golden yellow.

The collection of Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest. Hill, was
equally resplendent in all the subtle variety of colour tints, and
the flowers were as large and remarkable for substance and good
form as those of Messrs. Cannell.

CALCEOLARIAS.

Sir Chas. Piggott, Bart. (gardener, Mr, J. Ford), contributed
some fine specimens.

Messrs. J. Carter & Co., Holborn, hada good group of highly
coloured flowers belonging to the Victoria and Japanese strains.

From Messrs. J. James & Son, Farnham Royal, Slough,
came a collection of very dwarf plants, bearing good flowers.

Messrs. Peed & Sons, Roupell Park, also staged a select
group of these plants.

PELARGONIUMS.

Mr. C. Turner, Slough, staged an effective group in which
many fine varieties were represented.

Mr. D. Baldwin, Hillingdon Heath, sent twelve fine varieties,
and Mr. Rupert Miller, Shoreham, contributed two boxes of cut
blooms, among which a new form known as Pearl was con-
Spicuous by its large trusses of pure white flowers.

AZALEAS.

These were not shown by themselves to any great extent,
although many beautiful specimens were to be seen here and
there, intermingled with various plants in other groups, to the
arrangement of which they added great effect. The charming
sroup of well-flowered Azalea imdica and varieties, neatly
arranged with Ferns, contributed to Mr. C. Turner, of Slough,
however, deserves to be specially mentioned on account of the
fine strong plants, which bore an enormous quantity of blooms.

MISCELLANEOUS GROUPS.

There were many of these dotted throughout the exhibition.
Taking the exhibitors in alphabetical sequence, we noticed that
Mr. J. Balchin, Hassocks, had an effective group of the deep blue
Leschenaultia biloba major (fig. 66), covering a space of about 40
square feet.

Ixxxvill PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, had a remarkably
attractive group of large dimensions. In it were a collection of
Parrot and other Tulips with fantastic-coloured markings, Pansies,
white Violas, Irises of many kinds, Daffodils, Bulbocodiwm
monophyllum, single Ponies, Saxifraga pyramidalis with up-
right masses of pure white flowers, Centaurea montana rubra,

Fic. 66.—LESCHENAULTIA BILOBA MAJOR.
(From the Journal of Horticulture.)
Camassia esculenta, Anemones, in addition to which were several
fine specimen Ponies grown in pots.
Messrs. J. Carter & Co., High Holborn, staged a fine group of
Emperor Petunias and Queen’s Prize Mimulus, the colours of
which were remarkable. Gloxinias covered an area of about

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. Ixxxix

eighty square feet, and next to these came a collection of
Succulents and Cactacese, noticeable among which were Aloe
ferox and frutescens, Opuntia leucotricha, Cereus senilis,
Phyllocactus, Echinocactus, Sempervivum, &c.

From Mr. W. Chambers, Isleworth, came examples of the
white Viola Snowflake, also wreaths and other floral devices.

Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons, Crawley, contributed a group of
‘Tom Thumb ”’ Dabhlias in pots.

Messrs. J. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, staged an effective
croup at the entrance to one of the tents. It occupied a space
of about sixty square yards, and consisted of Palms, such as
Cocos flexuosa, C. Weddelliana, Kentia Belmoreana and
Fosteriana, Heaths, Dracenas, Boronias, Hydrangeas, Leschen-
aultia biloba, Spirea palmata, and the seldom seen but pretty
white-flowered Leptospermum bullatum (fig. 67.)

From Messrs. Dobbie & Co. came a collection of cut flowers
of Pansies and Violas, to which they pay special attention.

Mr. H. O. Garford, Stoke Newington, staged a neat group of
Plants and Cut Flowers suitable for table decoration.

Mr. F. Hooper, Bath, sent cut Roses, Tulips, and Pansies,
all neatly arranged.

All the way from Angers, France, MM. Hennequin-Denis
& Cie. sent a large collection of Anemones and Ranunculus,
which attracted much attention, notwithstanding that the flowers
had been cut four days prior to the opening of the show.

Mr. W. Howard, Southgate, contributed several nice plants
of the Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria excelsa).

Mr. W. Iceton, Roehampton, sent a tasty group of Palms
interspersed with Dracena Lindem, Lnliwm longiflorwm,
Agapanthus umbellatus, and the variegated Negundo acerifolia.

Messrs. Kelway & Son, Langport, had a grand and varied
collection of Peonies, the large flowers of which were displayed on
boxes like Roses. There were also Lupines, Tvollius europeus,
Ulex hispanica, Pyrethrum, Iris florentina, &e., to be seen.

Mr. G. M. Knight, Farnborough Park, Hants, sent specimens
of the golden yellow Arum Lily (Calla Elliottiana), which were
much admired.

Besides Begonias, Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill,
exhibited a remarkable group of Palms, Heaths, Orchids,
Dracenas, Saxifrages, Ferns, and Caladiums, the latter being
particularly gorgeous in the colouring of the foliage.

xC PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

From Mr. J. Lakin, Temple Cowley, Oxford, came a collec-

tion of cut flowers of Tulips.
Orchids were not the only remarkable plants sent by Messrs.

H. Low & Co., of Clapton. Hard-wooded plants were also well

=
—
—S—_—=

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“jp

—U KW“

= a | fe
= NUE
COA
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Fic. 67.—LEPTOSPERMUM BULLATUM. (From the Jowrnal of Horticulture.)

represented. Among the fine group of these shown were such
plants as Genista Everestiana, with clusters of deep yellow
flowers, Metrosideros floribunda alba, Rhodanthes, Aphelexis,
Pimeleas, Heaths, Azaleas, Hydrangeas, and Dracena Linden.

Rent see

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. X¢l

R. W. Mitchell, Esq., Bickley Park (gardener, Mr. H. Hazell),
sent a group of plants suitable for decorative purposes.

A large and attractive group of herbaceous plants and cut
flowers of Alpines were effectively displayed by Messrs. Paul &
Son, Cheshunt. The individual plants were well grown, and
the flowers were of the largest.

Mr. G. Phippen, Reading, exhibited a great number of taste-
fully arranged wreaths and bouquets, as well as a collection of
Pansies and Violas. One of the bouquets, made of Orchids and
other choice flowers, was presented to H.R.H. the Princess
Christian.

Messrs. J. Peed & Sons, Roupell Park, 8.E., staged a brilliant
group of Anthurium Scherzerianum and Andreanum, whose fiery
spathes were effectively relieved by a background of Palms,
Ferns, and a few Orchids.

Mr. M. Pritchard, Southbourne, Christchurch, Hants, had a
valuable group of herbaceous plants, among which were notice-
able Cypripedium Calceolus, White Lupines, Cotton Grass
(Hriophorum vaginatum), Gentiana verna, Clematis montana,
Geum miniatum and aureuwm, Trollius jgaponcus, Ramondia
pyrenaica, Saxifraga longifolia, Arenaria lispanica, Heuchera
sanguinea, Yellow Banksian Roses, and several other choice things.

Leopold de Rothschild, Esq., Leighton Buzzard (gardener,
Mr. Jennings), contributed a most remarkable bank of Carnaticn:
Souvenir de la Malmaison, the flowers of which were unusually
large and presented delicate shades of white and pink.

Messrs. Ryder & Son, Sale, near Manchester, sent several
fine varieties of Primula Sieboldi, which were very attractive ;
and Messrs. R. Smith & Co., Worcester, sent, besides Ferns, a
group of a snow-white Clematis Jackmant.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, staged two large and
important groups consisting of hardy plants and cut flowers,
as well as a choice collection of rare and hardy shrubs, the
foliage of many of which was extremely ornamental. In
one of the groups, however, a class of Gesneraceous
plants, not yet generally grown, were exhibited and attracted
much attention. These were the Séreptocarpi which Messrs.
Veitch have been hybridising for the past year or two.
The strong-growing South African species, S. Dunnit, a single
leaf of which is three to four feet long, and the sturdy, erect

XCll PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOOIETY.

scapes bearing an enormous number of brick-red flowers, has
been crossed with the smaller and more convenient kinds, such
as floribunda, parviflora, &e., with the result that many beautiful
forms have been raised. The first two of these hybrids were
raised at Kew in 1887, and were duly named Watson and
Kewensis—the former name commemorating Mr. Watson, the
Assistant Curator, for his labours. The woodcut (fig. 68) gives a

Fic. 68.—Hypripn STREPTOCARPUS.

correct idea of the graceful habit and the number of beautiful
flowers produced by these new hybrid Streptocarpuses, which
possess the additional advantage of being easily grown in a cool
house.

Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway, contributed
a grand collection of flowering plants, the chief attractions being
the Azaleas, Cliveas, and Anthuriums, which were well set off
by Palms, Dracenas, Crotons, &c.

FRvIt.

Fruit was plentifully shown, and it was evident that many
visitors took the greatest notice of the exhibits.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. X¢cilll

From J. EK. Campbell, Esq., Uttoxeter (gardener, Mr. J.
Hollingworth), came dishes of Black Hamburgh and Foster’s
Seedling Grapes.

Mr. J. R. Featherby, Gillingham, Kent, also sent Black
Hamburghs and some Tomatos.

From the Duke of Northumberland, Syon House (gardener,
Mr. Geo. Wythes), came some remarkably fine Brown Turkey
Figs, President Strawberries, and Melons.

K. Pettet, Esq., Oatlands Park, Weybridge (gardener, Mr. J.
W. Reed), sent a collection of Grapes, Melons, and Oranges.

Messrs. T. Rivers & Son, Sawbridgeworth, staged a remark-
able collection of fruit trees in pots, and these were the objects
of much attention during the show. Peaches, Plums, Oranges,
Nectarines, and Cherries all vied with each other in scenting the
atmosphere with their fragrant flowers, and gladdening the eye
with their magnificent and luscious fruit.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, also contributed an
extraordinary collection of 86 dishes of Apples, the sight of which
in May was very remarkable. Standard trees of the St. John’s
Fig were also exhibited.

Mr. J. McIndoe, Guisborough, sent some very fine dishes of
Peaches, including Grosse Mignonne and Crimson Galande, and
also Nectarine Lord Napier.

Messrs. F’. Burton & Son, Bexley, sent a box of Alexander

- Peaches.

Major Shuttleworth, Old Warden (gardener, Mr. G. R. Allis),
contributed some fine Melons.

From Lord Foley, Ruxley Lodge (gardener, Mr. J. Miller),
came a few large-ribbed and well-netted fruits of Melon Ruxley
Lodge Favourite.

Messrs. W. & EK. Wells, Hounslow (gardener, Mr. G.
Thomson), sent fruiting Strawberries in pots.

Mr. G. Munro, Covent Garden, exhibited some fruit grown
in the Channel Islands, including baskets of Black Hamburgh
and Muscat Grapes, and Melons. Besides these there were some
excellent Peas, Beans, and Potatos.

Messrs. Alford & Millar exhibited Mildura Raisins from the
Irrigation Colonies, Victoria, “‘ from vines planted one year and
nine months, and one year old when planted.”’

Messrs. Gaymer & Son, Attleboro’, exhibited some samples

Q

XC1V PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

of Norfolk cider. Mr. M. Smout, Hastings, displayed marine
decorations made from seaweed, shells, &c.

HORTICULTURAL SUNDRIES.

Under this heading Messrs. W. S. Iles & Co., Camberwell,
exhibited plain and ornamental pottery, red and brown rustic
ware, garden and flower-box tiles; Mr. G. W. Riley, Herne Hill,
rustic summer-houses, garden-seats, &c.; Messrs. Clark & Co.,
Great St. Helens, E.C., the Vermorel knapsack pump; Mr. W.
Colchester, Ipswich, guano; Mr. G. Fry, Lewisham, his patent
garden-pots; Mr. J. George, Putney, specimens of manures, &c. ;
Messrs. Green & Nephew, Queen Victoria Street, flower-glasses,
&c.; Messrs. E. Newton & Co., Hitchin, specimens of patent
glazing ; Messrs. Seymour, Sidney & Co., Glasgow, Fern pottery,
fruit preservers, and African erass for floral decorations. Syringes,
Sprayers, &c., were sent by the Stott Fertiliser and Insecticide
Co.; Messrs. Toope & Son, Stepney, a model greenhouse fitted
with a patent fog annihilator ; Messrs. Wallers & Co., Leyton-
stone, Orchid baskets, cylinders, rafts, &c.; and Messrs. Wood
& Son, Wood Green, samples of peat, loam, &ce.

New or rare plants examined by the various committees are
noticed below, as are also the prizes awarded to particularly fine
groups of plants.

FLORAL COMMITTEE.
INNER TEMPLE GARDENS.
May 28, 1891.
W. MarsHat, Esq., in the Chair, and sixteen members present.

Awards Recommended :—
First Class Certificate.

To Eremurus himalaicus (votes, unanimous), from Mr. John
J. Smyth, Rathcoursey, Ballinacurra, Ireland. A hardy border
perennial, bearing fine spikes of fragrant white flowers.

To Cocos Pyneerti (votes, 6 for), from Messrs. F. Sander &
Co., St. Albans. A charming little Palm, in the way of C.
Weddelliana.

To Dracena australis variegata (votes, 7 for), from Messrs. J.
Laing & Sons, Forest Hill. An elegant variegated form of {D.

australis.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XCV

Award of Merit.

To Clematis Snow-white Jackmani (votes, unanimous),
from Messrs. R. Smith & Co., Worcester. As its name implies,
a pure white variety of Jackmani.

To Begonia (single) Mrs. R. Dean (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. J. Laing & Sons. Light centre with broad Picotee edge
of rosy carmine.

To Begonia (double) Lady Addington (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley. Buff-salmon-rose, very
fine.

To Begonia (single) William Marshall (votes, unanimous),
from Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons. Rich deep golden orange.

To Caladium B.§. Williams (votes, 4 for, 2 against), from
Messrs. J. Laing & Sons. Leaves large, veined with red on a
white ground.

To Rose (H.P.) Crimson Queen (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. William Paul & Son, Waltham Cross. A grand flower,
crimson.

To Rose (H.P.) Souvenir du Rosieriste Gounod (votes, 7 for,
1 against), from Messrs. W. Paul & Son. A fine dark scarlet.

To Rose (H.P.) Spencer (votes, 7 for), from Messrs. William
Paul & Son. Soft pink flowers of good substance and shape.

To Rhododendron Rosalie Seidel (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. A beautiful hardy
variety, bearing a profusion of pure white flowers.

To Streptocarpus, New Hybrids (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons. A beautiful strain, in rich variety, of
these charming flowers.

To Lilac (double) Madame Lemoine (votes, unanimous), from
Mons. V. Lemoine, Nancy, France. A fine large-flowered white.

To Lilac (double) Michel Buchner (votes, unanimous), from
Mons. V. Lemoine. Very fine silvery lilac.

To Rose (polyantha) Clothilde Soupert (votes, unanimous),
from Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt. A beautiful pink, promising
for pot and garden culture.

To Azalea alba odorata plena (votes, 6 for), from Messrs. Paul
& Son. A fine double white, sweet-scented form.

To Peonia arborea Mrs. Wm. Kelway (votes, 6 for), from
“Messrs. Kelway & Son, Langport. Flowers large and handsome,
pure white. |

To Pelargonium (decorative) Royal Ascot (votes, unanimous),

* XCVi PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

from Mr. C. Turner, Slough. Brilliant scarlet, with a white
centre and dark blotches.

To Asplenium lanceolatum microdon (votes, 6 for), from
Messrs. W. & J. Birkenhead, Sale, Manchester. Of compact and
neat habit, distinct.

To Athyrium f. f. Girdlestonei cristatum (votes, 5 for), from
Messrs. W. & J. Birkenhead. Slender crested fronds.

To Polystichum angulare pulcherrimum (votes, 4 for), from
Messrs. W. & J. Birkenhead. A distinct and beautiful variety.

To Polystichum angulare divisilobum decorum (votes, 5 for),
from Messrs. W. & J. Birkenhead. Very elegant.

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Harry J. Verto, Esq., in the Chair, and nine members present.

Awards Recommended :—
First Class Certificate.

To Cattleya hybrida Lowryana (votes, 6 for, 4 against), from
Messrs. F. Sander & Co. Parentage unknown. In form the
flowers are near those of C. intermedia—sepals and petals white,
front lobe of lip purple-crimson.

To Cattleya hybrida Prince of Wales (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans. This is the result of a
cross between the light form of C. calummata x and C. Wagneri.
The sepals and petals are white, and the lip is tinged with rose.

To Grammatophyllum Measuresianum (votes, 5 for, 3 against),
from Messrs. F. Sander & Co. The plant had several spikes,
each about four feet high, and carrying numerous greenish white
flowers, heavily blotched with brownish purple.

To Masdevallia hybrida Mundyana (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. Sander & Co. This is the recult of crossing M. ignea
aurantiaca with M. Veitchii. The flowers, which are of an
orange hue, are very handsome.

To Aérides Savageanum (votes, unanimous), from Sir Trevor
Lawrence, Bart., M.P., Burford Lodge, Dorking (grower, Mr.
White) ; Baron Schréder, The Dell, Egham (gardener, Mr. H.
Ballantine) ; and Messrs. F. Sander & Co. This is a new species,
with brilliant crimson-purple flowers, smaller but somewhat
similar to those of A. quinquevulnerum.

To Oncidium loxense (votes, unanimous), from J. Ingram,
Esq., Elstead House, Godalming (gardener, Mr. Bond). This is

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XCV1l .

a very old species which has been lost sight of for years.
It belongs to the macranthum section, but reminds one of
having the sepals and petals of Odontoglossum Harryanum and
the lip of Oncidium tigrinum. The sepals and petals are
yellowish green, the former transversely barred with deep shiny
brown, the latter longitudinally lined with the same colour.
The lip is deep yellow, with several bristle-like teeth forming
the crest.
Award of Merit.

To Cypripedium hybridum Euryale (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. F. Sander & Co. This is the result of a cross between
C. Lawrenceanum and C. superbiens.

To Cypripedium Stonei magnificum (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. Heath & Son, Cheltenham. A magnificent form of
the typical C. Stonei.

To Dendrobium Parishii albens (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. H. Low & Co., Clapton. A nearly pure white variety of
the type.

To Lelia elegans Statteriana (votes, unanimous), from T.
Statter, Esq., Standhall, Whitefield, Manchester (gardener, Mr.
Johnson). The sepals and petals are white, and the labellum,
which is almost as broad as that of L. purpurata, is a glowing
crimson.

To Masdevallia Harryana luteo-oculata (votes, unanimous),
from Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., Burford Lodge, Dorking
(grower, Mr. White). This is a magnificent new scarlet variety,
with a distinct yellow eye and perianth tube.

To Odontoglossum excellens Sanders (votes, unanimous),
from Messrs. F. Sander & Co. This is a very fine form with
large flowers heavily spotted with rich crimson.

To Odontoglossum crispum Amesianum (fig. 69), (votes,
unanimous), from Messrs. F. Sander & Co. This is a very fine
erimson-blotched variety in the way of O. c. apiatum.

Other Exhibits.

Messrs. F. Sander & Co. submitted for the ingpection of the
Committee, Cattleya Parthenia, Bleu; a fine dark form of C.
Mossiz ; Lelia purpurata brilliantissima and L. p. Germinyana,
both fine dark forms; Cypripedium barbato-superbiens x, and
various good forms of Odontoglossums under provisional names.

XCVlll PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. .

R. B. White, Esq., Arddarroch, Garelochhead, N.B., sent a
fine spotted Odontoglossum crispum and a pretty light variety
of Cattleya Mendel.
Messrs. Heath & Son, Cheltenham, exhibited their hybrid
Masdevallia Heathu x.
Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., staged Cypripedium
Fraserii x (C. hirsutissimum x C. barbatum). .
it

Fic. 69.—ODONTOGLOSSUM CRISPUM AMESIANUM.
(From the Journal of Horticulture.)

J. T. Bennett-Poé, Esq., Riverstone, Nenagh, sent a spike of
Odontoglossum Pescatorei, Poé’s var.; a purple-spotted form pre-
viously certificated.

FRUIT COMMITTEE,
P. Crowtey, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair.

Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, sent Apple North End
Pippin, which the Committee expressed a desire to see again.

EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. XCix

Messrs. T. Burton and Son, Bexley Heath, sent some fine
examples of Peach Alexandra from a pot tree.
Mr. Foster, Berkhampstead, sent good fruits of Tomatos.

Special Awards.
The special awards made at the Temple Show were as follows:
Silver Cup.

To Sir T. Lawrence, Bart., M.P., for a group of Orchids.

To Baron Schréder for a group of Orchids.

To Messrs. W. and J. Birkenhead for a group of Ferns.

To Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons for a group of Begonias.

To Messrs. J. Carter & Co. for miscellaneous groups of Plants.

To Messrs. W. Cutbush & Son for a group of Foliage and
Flowering Plants.

To Messrs. Kelway & Son for Hardy Herbaceous Plants and
cut Flowers.

To Messrs. J. Laing & Sons for a group of Begonias.

To Mr. G. Munro for a collection of Fruit.

To Messrs. Paul & Son for a group of Roses, &e.

To Messrs. W. Paul & Son for a group of Roses, &c.

To Messrs. T. Rivers’ & Son for a collection of Fruit.

To Messrs. F. Sander & Co. for a group of Orchids.

To Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons for a group of Hardy Shrubs and
Plants.

To Messrs. B. 8. Williams & Son for a group of Foliage and
Flowering Plants.

Silver Gilt Flora Medal.

To the Duke of Marlborough for a group of Orchids.

To Messrs. de Rothschild for a group of Vanda teres.

To Leopold de Rothschild, Ksq., for a group of Carnations.

To Sir C. Pigott, Bart., for a group of Calceolarias.

To Messrs. Barr & Son for groups of Hardy Herbaceous
Plants and cut Flowers.

To Messrs. J. Cypher & Son for a group of Orchids.

To Messrs. H. Low & Co. for a group of New Holland Plants.

To Mr. W. Rumsey for a group of Roses.

To Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons for Hardy cut Flowers, strain of
Hybrid Streptocarpi and Gloxinias.

Silver Flora Medal.
To T. B. Haywood, Esq., for a group of Orchids.

c PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, ~

To A. H. Smee, Esq., for a group of Orchids.

To Mrs. Arbuthnot for a group of Orchids.

To Mr. W. Iceton for groups of Palms and Foliage Plants.

To Messrs. J. James & Son for a group of Calceolarias.

To Messrs. J. Laing & Sons for a miscellaneous group of Plants
and Caladiums.

To Mr. H. B. May for groups of Ferns and Foliage Plants.

To Messrs. Paul & Son fora group of Hardy Herbaceous Plants.

To Mr. C. Turner for groups of Pelargoniums, Azaleas, and
Roses.

To Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons for a collection of Fruit.

To Messrs. B. 8. Williams & Son for a group of Orchids.

Silver Banksian Medal.

To F. Wigan, Ksq., for a group of Orchids.

To M.S. Cooke, Esq., for a group of Orchids.

To T. Statter, Esq., for Orchids (cut blooms).

To Right Hon. J. Chamberlain, M.P., for a group of Mas-
devallias.

To Mr. J. Walker for cut Roses, &e.

To Mr. M. Smout for Seaweed, Shell, Coral, &c.

To Mr. D. Baldwin for a group of Pelargoniums.

To Mr. F. Hooper for Pansies and Roses.

To Mr. Balchin for a group of Leschenaultias,

To Mr. W. Chambers for Floral Devices.

To Messrs. Dobbie & Co. for Pansies and Violas.

To Messrs. H. Low & Co. for a group of Orchids.

To Messrs. W. Paul & Son for cut Roses.

To Messrs. J. Peed & Sons for a group of Anthuriums.

To Mr. G. Phippen for Bouquets.

To Mr. G. W. Riley for Rustic Summer-houses, Seats, &c.

To Mr. T. 8. Ware for a group of Ponies.

Bronze Flora Medal.

To Major-General Berkeley for a group of Orchids.

To J. F. Campbell, Esq., for Black Hamburgh and Foster’s
Seedling Grapes.

To W. F. Darnell, Esq., for a group of Orchids.

To Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons for a collection of Fruit.

To Messrs. W. S. Iles & Co. for a collection of Pottery.

To Messrs. W. & E. Wells for Strawberries in pots.

EXTRACTS FROM THE PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

GENERAL MEETING.
JUNE 9, 1891.

J. BENNETT-Po#k, Esq., in the Chair.
HiLECTIONS.

Fellows, 66.—Job Ashton, H. A. Barnard, John Barron,
Rey. B. Bateman-Jones, Miss Anne Bateson, Major-Gen. E. 8.
Berkeley, Samuel Bindley, J. Birkenhead, W. Birkenhead, Cecil
Erskine Bovill, Eustace Brickwell, W. M. Bullivant, Major
Chapman, T. H. Crasp, Mrs. A. J. Crawhall, S. Cresswell,
Major J. Cooke Cox, Mrs. Dawes, I’. V. Dickins, A. H. Parr
Ewer, G. A. Farini, W. E. B. Farnham, Mrs. Ayscoghe Floyer,
Alexander Fraser, Walter Gill, F.L.8., Richard Gill, Mrs. Sophia
Gladstone, Charles Gow, — Greenwood, Mrs. Howell Gwyn,
Thomas Hall, Robert Hales, Henry Hawkins, jun., Arthur Head,
A. James Henderson, A. G. Hubbock, Benjamin Hudson,
George Anson, H. A. James, Miss Champion Jones, Joseph
Lakin, Joseph Lawrence, Walter Lea, Miss Ella E. Ley,
Thomas F. Lynch, W. Mattinson, S. Mortimer, C. T. Musson,
A. Newington, M.D., Miss A. Norman, James Edward Passmore,
K. D. Payne, L. G. Pike, Richard Potter, EH. H. F. Reeves,
H. B. Roberts, Capt. R. Slazenger, W. Stephens, Alfred Venables,
Robert Walters, Dr. H. Weber, W. Wells, Rev. Edward Wensley,
Mrs. Whitfield, Berkeley Wilkinson, George Woodgate.

Society Affiliated, 1.—Broughton-in-Furness Horticultural
Society.

A paper on “ Alpine Plants’’ was read by the Rev. C.
Wolley Dod, M.A. (See p. 285.)

i

Chl PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

COUNCIL MEETING.

A Silver Flora Medal was voted to the Rey. G. H. Engleheart,
M.A., for his skilful and scientific labours in the hybridization
of Daffodils. (Vide p. 1xiii.)

FLORAL COMMITTEE.

W. MarsHatt, Esq., in the Chair, and twenty members present.

Awards Recommended :—

Silver Gilt Flora Medal.

To Messrs. Kelway & Son, Langport, Somerset, for a very
fine collection of Pzonies, Irises, Pyrethrums, and other hardy
flowers.

Silver Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. William Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, for twenty
boxes of Rhododendrons. |

To Messrs. Collins Brothers & Gabriel, Waterloo Road, S.E.,
for an effective group of Ponies grown in pots.

To Mr. T. S. Ware, Tottenham, for a bright and well-
arranged group of Hardy Flowers.

To Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, for a beautiful col-
lection of Hardy Flowers.

Bronze Banksian Medal.
To Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill, for a pretty group
of Begonias, Palms, Ferns, &c.

First Class Certificate.

To Celmisia spectabilis (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. J.
Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. A very distinct dwarf hardy Composite,
native of New Zealand, where it grows at an altitude of
2,000-—5,000 feet. The flower-heads are two inches across, with
narrow white ray-florets and a gold centre. This is the only
species at present in cultivation, although there are more than
twenty others known.

Award of Merit.

To Begonia (single) Lady Lawrence (votes, 15 for), from
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley. Flowers clear golden
yellow, well shaped.

FLORAL COMMITTEE, JUNE 9. Clil

To Begonia (single) Duchess of Leinster (votes, 6 for), from
Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill. Deep orange flowers.

To Prony (herbaceous) paradoxa (votes, 13 for), from Messrs.
Kelway & Son. Dark red flowers, Anemone centre.

To Peony (tree) Louise Mouchelet (votes, 14 for), from
Messrs. Kelway & Son. Fine form, and of great substance.

To Pyrethrum (single) James Kelway (votes, unanimous),
from Messrs. Kelway & Son. Brilliant crimson flowers.

To Iris germanica ‘“‘ Queen of May” (votes, 10 for), from
Messrs. Kelway & Son. Flowers soft rosy mauve, the falls
lighter at the base, with darker veins.

To Iris germanica “ Princess of Wales”’ (votes, 10 for), from
Messrs. Kelway & Son. Flowers white, with a faint creamy tint
in the centre, somewhat resembling Iris florentina.

To Carnation (tree) Selby (votes, 9 for), from Leopold de
Rothschild, Esq., Ascott, Leighton Buzzard (gardener, Mr.
Jennings). Clear bright yellow.

To Pink Princess Maud (votes, 11 for), from Mr. John Stacey,
Farnham Royal. Large globular flowers, petals white, fringed
at the edge.

To Spirea multiflora compacta (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. Collings Brothers & Gabriel. A distinct form of
S. japonica ; compact in habit, with fine feathery spikes of white
flowers.

Commended.
A very fine strain of Hybrid Aquilegias (votes, unanimous),
from Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons.

Cultural Commendation.
To 0. T. Hodges, Esq., Lachine, Chislehurst, for a pretty
little group of Alpine Plants in flower.

Other Exhibits.

Lord Wimborne, Canford Manor, Wimborne (gardener, Mr.
T. H. Crasp), sent a large basket of handsome Rhododendrons,
and fine flowers of Gardenias and Pyrethrums.

Mr. R. Dean, Ealing, sent an interesting collection of English
and Dutch Tulips; also flowers of Lathyrus Sibthorpii and
L. rotundifolius.

Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons sent several fine varieties of
eZ

ClV PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Hydrangea hortensis in flower; also the double purple Wistaria
sinensis.

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Harry J. Veriton, Ksq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and eleven members
present.

Awards Recommended :—

First Class Certificate.

To Lelia hybrida Arnoldiana (L. pu purata x Cattleya labiata,
Warneri var.) (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. F. Sander & Co.,
St. Albans. Fine and richly coloured forms of both parents were
evidently used to produce this beautiful hybrid. The leaves and
pseudo-bulbs as shown were not unlike those of a tall form of
Cattleya labiata. Leaves, pseudo-bulbs, and flower-sheath pro-
fusely tinged and spotted with reddish brown. The plant had a
two-flowered scape equal in size to the flowers of Leelia pur-
purata. The sepals and petals are purplish rose, the veinings of
the petals being slightly darker than the sepals. The lip is
formed like that of Lelia purpurata, almost wholly rich dark
purplish crimson, with velvety maroon veins. There is a white
and yellow area at the base of the lip, on which are purple lines.

To Sobralia macrantha Kienastiana (votes, unanimous), from
Baron Schroder (gardener, Mr. H. Ballantine). This is a very
beautiful, almost pure white form of Sobralia macrantha, with a
pale tinge of lemon-yellow in the throat.

To Miltonia vexillaria ‘‘ Mrs. H. Ballantine” (votes, unani-
mous), from Messrs. I’. Sander & Co. A very novel and attractive
variety, with white sepals, having two bronzy-yellow lines at the
base; petals white, stained in the centre with rose; lip rose,
edged with white; the base white, with a yellow tinge in front
and a few brown lines.

To Disa Veitchii x (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. J. Veitch
& Sons. This is interesting as being the first hybrid Disa raised.
Its parents are Disa racemosa and D. uniflora (syn. D. grandi-
flora). The plant partakes of the free growth of D. racemosa,
and the tall flower-scapes bear four to eight flowers, each two
inches across. The flowers are bright rose-pink, with the excep-
ition of the petals, which are yellowish, and have crimson spots.

ORCHID COMMITTEE, JUNE 9. CV

Award of Merit.

To Cattleya Mossie Lawrences (votes, unanimous),* from
Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P. This is equal to the best
form of ‘‘ Wagner’s White Mossiew’”’ (C. Wagneri), but it has a
slight rose-coloured veining on the front of the labellum; the
Committee therefore recorded it under the above name in order
to distinguish it from C. Wagneri.

To Lelia elegans, Cullimore’s var. (votes, unanimous), from
Malcolm §. Cooke, Esq., Kingston Hill (gardener, Mr. Cullimore).
Sepals and petals pale lilac, veined with purple; the front and
side lobes of the lip deep purple, and presenting some of the
features of Lelia Perrinil.

To Cattleya Mendelii, var. Morgane (votes, unanimous), from
R. B. Cater, Esq., Westfield, Bath. A marked improvement on
the original form, having larger and better-shaped flowers.

Cultural Commendation.

To G. R. le Doux, Esq., Langton House, Hast Molesey (gar-
dener, Mr. H. Chapman), for a finely flowered plant of Miltonia
vexillaria, Le Doux var. (votes, unanimous), which had previously
received an Award of Merit.

Other Exhibits.

Gurney Fowler, Esq., Glebelands, South Woodford (gar-
dener, Mr. Davis), sent a group of Cattleya Mossie in several dis-
tinct varieties.

Messrs. Pitcher & Manda exhibited a small group of Orchids,
consisting mainly of Cypripedium spectabile.

Messrs. de Rothschild, Gunnersbury House, Acton, showed
cut spikes of a very good form of Lelia purpurata.

Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons exhibited an Odontoglossum raised
by them from seeds obtained by intercrossing O. triumphans and
O. Pescatorei. It resembled some of the inferior forms of
O.excellens. Also Epiphronitis Veitchiu x ,Thunia Veitchiana x,
and Disa racemosa.

Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, showed Cattleya Mossi
Reineckiana, Sander’s var.

R. B. White, Esq., Arddarroch, Garelochhead, N.B. (gardener,
Mr. Brown), sent Cattleya Mendelii ‘‘ Enchantress.’ Flowers

CVl1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

white, with a pale yellow stain in the throat of the labellum
and a slight carmine mark on its front lobe.

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton, staged a supposed
natural hybrid Cattleya, with flesh-coloured flowers spotted
with crimson, and crimson front lobe to the labellum. It was
stated to be known as C. intermedia punctatissima.

G. R. le Doux, Hsq., Langton House, Hast Molesey (gar-
dener, Mr. H. Chapman), exhibited Miltonia vexillaria albo-mar-
ginata and the curious little M. v. leucoglossa Reich. x, which
the Committee desired to see again.

Thomas Statter, Esq., Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester
(gardener, Mr. Johnson), sent Odontoglossum luteo-purpureum ;
also a form of Cattleya Mossiw, and a flower of Cypripedium
Curtisii.

J. W. Field, Esq., Southsea House, Dorking, exhibited a well-
flowered form of spotted Odontoglossum crispum.

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

P. Crow.ey, Esq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and sixteen mémbers
present.

Awards Recommended :—
Bronze Banksian Medal.

To the Marquis of Salisbury, Hatfield House, Herts (gardener,
Mr. G. Norman), for fifty wonderfully fine well-coloured fruits of
Strawberry Sir Charles Napier.

Award of Merit.

To Melon Wythes’ Seedling (votes unanimous), from the
Duke of Northumberland, Syon House, Brentford (gardener, Mr.
G. Wythes). Well-flavoured, white flesh.

Cultwral Commendation.

To Messrs. de Rothschild, Gunnersbury House, Acton
(gardener, Mr. J. Hudson), for twelve extremely fine fruits of
Nectarine Lord Napier, stated to be from a crop of twenty-four
dozen gathered from a tree planted in 1878, which now occupies
a space 24 feet by 12 feet.

To the Duke of Northumberland, for a dish of large Brown
Turkey Figs.

To W. H. Long, Esq., M.P., Rood Ashton Park, Trowbridge

FRUIT COMMITTEE, JUNE 9. cvll

(gardener, Mr. A. Miller), for some well-filled pods of Windsor
Castle Pea.

Other Exhibits.

The Right Hon. Lord Foley, Ruxley Lodge, Esher (gardener,
Mr. J. Miller), sent some fine samples of Grand Admiral
Cabbage and Hicks’s Hardy Green Cos Lettuce; also three
fruits of Melon Ruxley Lodge Favourite, and a dish of Peaches.

Lord Suffield, Gunton Park, Norwich (gardener, Mr. W.
Allan), sent fruits of four seedling Strawberries. Two of the
varieties (Nos. 38 and 4) were considered to promise well, and
the Committee desired to have them sent to Chiswick for trial.

The Earl of Rosebery, Mentmore, Leighton Buzzard (gardener,
Mr. J. Smith), sent several dishes of fine Strawberries, viz. :
Noble, Auguste Nicaise, Keen’s Seedling, Sir Joseph Paxton,
and Vicomtesse Héricart de Thury.

Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, sent, by request of previous
meeting, fruits of Apple North End Pippin, which was considered
by the Committee to be identical with Gooseberry Pippin.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE.

D. Morris, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair, and eight members
present.

Vine Branch Grown in Darkness.—With reference to the
specimen exhibited at a previous meeting, Mr. Rivers contributed
the following additional information, accompanied by sketches :—
“The situation is absolutely dark ; first, there is a covering of
slates overlapping each other, above which is a bed of tan
6 inches deep; the front wall and the back is of brick; the
temperature must be very high, as the hot-water pipes pass
through the place, that of the house being seldom below 70° Fahr.
The house was cleared of Grapes and plants by the middle of
July, and the heat taken off. It was then undisturbed until
March, when the slates and beds were cleared preparatory to a
new crop. The branch was then discovered, its length being
about 12 feet. It had, therefore, been about nine months with-
out heat; during part of the time a severe frost had lasted. The
leaves and bunch of Grapes were of the colour of a well-blanched
Lettuce. It is impossible to say how long the branch was
forming. I did not see any seeds in the fruit.”

CVill PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

A discussion arose as to the degree of perfection to which
flowers can attain when grown in total darkness. Mr. McLachlan,
for example, found a Hyacinth, which by accident could not
emerge from the ground, to be rose-coloured. Mr. Smee on a
former occasion exhibited a dark purple Hyacinth which had
developed underground beneath a slate. Many other instances.
are known. The Committee expressed a wish to receive de-
scriptions of any cases of plants developing in darkness which
correspondents may be able to furnish.

Hxcrescences on Willows.— Mr. Blandford had examined,
sections of the specimens: brought to the last meeting. The
woody tissue was very dense, and indicated no clear evidence of
insect origin. He suggested that there might have been an old
eall, and that the hypertrophy of the tissues continued after the
escape of the insect, possibly a cryptocampus or sawfly. The
wood was referred to Professor H. Marshall Ward for an examina-
tion of the tissues. 1 hey

Staves perforated.—Mr. Blandford observed that the insect
officially reported by the India Office as taken from the barrels,
and supposed to be the wood-borer, as mentioned at the last
meeting, proved to be incorrect. The staves are really per-
forated by Xyleborus perforans, an insect well known since 1855,
and detected as perforating Sugar-canes in St. Vincent in 1867.
He proposed making further investigations. Mr. McLachlan
remarked that the original home of this insect was Central and
South America, that it was exported to Madeira, and thence to:
India. Mr. Morris observed that the distribution also agreed
with exportation of the Sugar-cane.

Thyuries to the Cocoa Tree (Theobroma cacao).—Mr. Morris
remarked upon the presence of Styrastina depressa infesting
Cocoa-trees in Grenada, that it was not a native of the West
Indies, but introduced from South America. At the Jamaica
Exhibition, Cocoa from Surinam, together with insects injurious
to it, were shown. Hence it was undoubtedly introduced into
the West Indies along with the Cocoa.

Kempferia, Tuberous foots of—Professor Church had
examined the tuberous roots exhibited at a previous meeting by
Mr. Morris, which are used as food in Trinidad and Dominica.
He found that they contained very little starch, but a relatively
large amount of gummy matter, which possessed a strong left-

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE, JUNE 9. C1xX

handed rotation, being apparently, therefore, of the levulose
eroup. He remarked that it rapidly absorbed iodine, which
became quite colourless, so that it was difficult to detect the
starch unless a considerable quantity of iodine was present.
These roots, therefore, would seem to have a composition closely
resembling the tubers of Stachys tuberifera.

Papaver pilosum (?).—Rev. C. Wolley Dod exhibited a Poppy
with orange-coloured flowers, about which some doubt was raised
as to its identity. It was referred to Kew.

Apple Twigs ijured.—Mr. Lee, of Clevedon, sent a number
of twigs “‘ ringed’ in places. Generally the ringing had taken
place at the buds. It was suggested to have been done by bull-
finches rather than sparrows, as Mr. Lee intimated. It was
observed by Mr. Blandford that hymenopterous insects not un-
frequently produce a like result when collecting materials for
their nests, as, e.g., hornets on Ash-trees. It was suggested that
the trees should be searched for the presence of insects at the
time when the injury was done.

Hippeastrum diseased.—Mr. Morris exhibited bulbs with
leaves covered with red spots and blotches. They were received
from Mr. J. Douglas, of Ilford. The bulbs were reddish coloured,
and the leaves died off prematurely. It was thought to be due
to Saccharomyces glutinis (described and figured in the Gardeners’
Chronicle, 1886, p. 896). It was referred to Prof. H. M. Ward
for further examination and report.

GENERAL MEETING,
SoMa. Sot.
Sir J. T. D. Ltzwetuyn, Bart., in the Chair.

ELECTIONS.

Fellows, 20.—N. Blandford, Charles Edward Brotherton,
George Brumell, Frank Callender, T. S. Carlyon, J.P., Alfred
Clifton, George Cole, Edward Davis, James Flexman Walter
Gardiner, E. Goodyear, Perey Hall, John Idiens, Mrs. Arthur
Kiliik, Miss H. Locke-King, James Packham, Anthony Roozen,
Richard Reynolds, F.I.C., Henry Southall, C. J. Van Tubergen.

Ox PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

A lecture on ‘Tea Roses’? was delivered by Mr. T. W.
Girdlestone, M.A. (see p. 299).

FLORAL COMMITTEE.

W. MarsHatu, Hsq., in the Chair, and seventeen members
present.
Award Recommended :—
Silver Gilt Flora Medal.
To Messrs. Kelway & Son, Langport, Somerset, for an ex-
tensive collection of Pzonies, Pyrethrums, Delphiniums, &c.

Silver Gilt Banksian Medal.
To Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, for a miscellaneous group
of Hardy Plants, Single Roses, &c.

Silver Banksian Medal.

To Lord Wimborne, Canford Manor, Wimborne, Dorset
(gardener, Mr. T. H. Crasp), for a well-flowered group of
Souvenir de la Malmaison Carnations.

To Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, for a fine collection
of Hardy Flowers.

To Messrs. B. 8. Wiliams & Son, Upper Holloway, for an
interesting group of Sarracenias.

Bronze Banksian Medal.

To Mr. 8. Barlow, Stakehill House, Castleton, Manchester,
for a most interesting collection of Florist’s Tulips (cut blooms).

To Lord Penzance, Kashing Park, Godalming (gardener, Mr.
G. Baskett), for a very interesting collection of Sweet Briar
Hybrids, containing varieties of great promise.

To Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, for some magnificent
specimens of Verbascum olympicum.

First Class Certificate.

To Iris Gatesii (votes, unanimous), from Mr. C. G. Van Tuber-
gen, Zwanenburg, Haarlem, Holland, and Messrs. James Veitch &
Sons, Chelsea. Flowers of large size, dull greyish colour; the
standard petals finely streaked, and the falls freely spotted with
brown.

To Weigela hortensis nivea (votes, 10 for), from Messrs. J.
Veitch & Sons. Flowers pure white, freely produced.

To Indigofera Gerardiana alba (votes, 5 for, 2 against), from

FLORAL COMMITTEE, JUNE 23. CX1

Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons. Long slender racemes of white
flowers.

Award of Merit.

To Carnation Lord Rendlesham (votes, 6 for, 4 against),
from Mr. J. Mill, Campsey Ashe, Wickham Market. Orange-
coloured flowers, somewhat resembling Mrs. Reynolds Hole.

To Iris variegata ‘‘ Robert Burns ”’ (votes, 5 for, 2 against),
from Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden. Standard petals rich
golden yellow, falls maroon, veined with white.

To Begonia (double) Mme. la Baronne de St. Didier (votes,
unanimous), from Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley. Clear
delicate yellow, of good shape.

To Clove Carnation Iver White (votes, unanimous), from Mr.
C. Turner, Slough. Snow-white flowers of good form.

To Gloxinia Monarch (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. J.
Veitch & Sons. Rich crimson, of fine form.

To Gloxinia Electra (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. J.
Veitch & Sons. Bluish purple, margined with white-blue.

To Canna Jules Chretien (votes, unanimous), from Messrs.
Paul & Son. Very large rich scarlet flowers.

To Canna Antoine Chantin (votes, 10 for), from Messrs.
Paul & Son. Rich golden yellow.

To Campanula abietina (votes, 7 for, 1 against), from Messrs.
Paul & Son. Flowers soft purple, very freely produced.

To Pyrethrum (double) Moonbeam (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. Kelway & Son. Large creamy-white flowers.

Other Exhibits.

From the Royal Gardens, Kew, was sent a choice selection
of plants, consisting of Orchids in flower, and Primula imperialis,
P. Poissoni, Kxacum macranthum, Crinum purpurascens, &c.

Messrs. Paul & Son sent some promising varieties of Climbing
Roses of the Dijon family, which the Committee desired to see
again.

Mr. §. Mortimer, Farnham, Surrey, sent a group of Celosias
and Coleuses.

Mr. R. Dean, Ealing, sent flowers of seedling Border Pinks
also Lathyrus tingitanus, which the Committee desired to see in
larger form on a future occasion.

GXll PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Prizes.

Prizes were awarded for a collection of Herbaceous Pxonies,
erown in the open; not more than three blooms of a sort.
Open to amateurs. Hirst Prize, Silver Challenge Cup, to Rev. W.
Wilks, Shirley Vicarage, Croydon. Second Prize, £1, to Lord
Wimborne, Canford Manor, Wimborne, Dorset.

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Harry J. Verrcn, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair, and seven members
present.

Awards Recommended :—

Silver Banksian Medal.
To Messrs. B. 8. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway, N., for
a group of Cypripediums, Cattleyas, Anguloas, Thunias, &c.,
and good varieties of Oncidium macranthum.

First Class Certificate.

To Odontoglossum crispum guttatum, Burford variety (votes,
unanimous), from Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P. (grower,
Mr. W. White). A very fine and heavily blotched variety.

To Lelia Gottoiana x (votes, unanimous), from E. Gotto,
Esq., J.P., The Logs, Hampstead Heath (gardener, Mr.
T. Banks). A remarkably fine supposed natural hybrid of
L. grandis, with which it was imported. ‘The flowers were of
the uniform rosy lilac, with darker lines on the lip, as seen in
L. Boothiana, but in shape similar to Lelia purpurata.

To Lelia grandis, Tring Park variety (votes, unanimous),
from the Right Hon. Lord Rothschild, Tring Park, Tring
(gardener, Mr. E. Hill). This is the showiest form of true
Lelia grandis which has yet appeared. Its flowers are larger
than in the type, but the chief peculiarity is its broad, flat petals,
which do not reflex as in the ordinary form.

To Dendrobium Phalenopsis Statterianum (votes, unani-
mous), from Messrs. B. 8. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway. This
is the dark, smaller-flowered form which is now much commoner
than that originally imported.

Award of Merit.
To Lacena bicolor (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. F.

BUN ES NI MAME A RAR UW ANE GO

Sander & Co., St. Albans. A very old, but still very rare and
handsome Orchid, with the habit of the larger Acinetas.

To Odontoglossum luteo-purpureum illustre (votes, unani-
mous), from Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans. This isa finely
marked form with much of the appearance of O. Halli.

To Thunia Bensonize Winniana, from Charles Winn, Ksq.,
The Uplands, Selly Hill, Birmingham. An improvement in every
respect on the type. Flowers rosy purple.

Botanical Certvficate.

To Cycnoches chlorochilon (votes, unanimous), from Sir
Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P. (grower, Mr. W. White). A noble
example of the Swan Orchid, with two spikes, each bearing six
flowers of a peculiar greenish-yellow colour.

Other Exhibits.

Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., exhibited Odontoglossum
erispum ‘‘ Purple Emperor,” a variety with flowers of a charm-
ing rosy-purple tint; also O. cuspidatum platyglossum, and a
grand plant of Masdevallia Davisil.

J. T. Gabriel, Esq., Palace Road, Streatham Hill, sent a fine
form of Cypripedium Curtisu.

Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, exhibited the new
hybrid Cypripedium Astrea (C. Spicerianum ¢ x C. philippin-
ense?), which the Committee desired to see again. Also the
beautiful Disa Veitchii x (D. racemosa x D. grandiflora) and
Thunia Veitchiana x.

E. Gotto, Esq., The Logs, Hampstead Heath (gardener,
Mr. T. Banks), staged two good forms of Lelia grandis, and a
Lela purpurata with white flowers having two purple marks,
one on each side of the lp.

Messrs. Seeger & Tropp, Lordship Lane, East Dulwich,
exhibited several Orchids of botanical interest.

Messrs. IF’. Sander & Co. sent two curious Catasetums of the
C. barbatum section, Epipendrum Randii, Odontoglossum Mulus,
Phajus Humblotii, &c.

CX1V PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

Puitie Crow.ey, lsq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and fifteen
members present.

Awards Recommended :—
Cultural Commendation.

To Lord Wimborne, Canford Manor, Wimborne, Dorset
(gardener, Mr. T. H. Crasp), for very fine examples of Peaches
and Nectarines.

To Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons, Crawley, for good fruits of
Strawberry Noble, sent to show its better quality when erown
on heavy soil.

To the Duke of Northumberland, Albury Park, Guildford
(gardener, Mr. W. C. Leach), for well-filled pods of Pea Duke
of Albany.

Other Exhibits.

Mr. J. Collis, market gardener, Bollo Lane, Acton, sent
Strawberry Collis’s Seedling, a promising variety, which the
Committee desired to see again.

Mr. J. Watkins, Pomona Farm, Withington, Hereford, sent
fruits of Apples Striped Beefing and Duke of Devonshire. The
latter was considered of very good flavour for the season.

R. Burrell, Esq., Westley Hall, Bury St. Edmunds (gardener,
Mr. A. Bishop), sent a seedling white-fleshed Melon, which was
over-ripe. The Committee desired to see it again.

Messrs. de Rothschild, Gunnersbury House, Acton (gardener,
Mr. J. Hudson), sent a seedling Melon of promise, but not ripe.
Requested to be seen again.

C. H. Hooper, Esq., sent an interesting collection of French
instruments used in fruit-tree cultivation.

Mr. S. Mortimer, Farnham, Surrey, sent a seedling Cucum-
ber, a cross between Express and Lockie’s Perfection, of good
form and appearance.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE.
D. Morris, Esq., M.A., F.L.S., in the Chair, and seven
members present.

Excrescences on Willows.—With reference to the specimens
exhibited at the last meeting by Mr. Blandford, and referred to

ee ee ee? ee ee ee ee es eel Vay

Professor H. Marshall Ward for an examination of the tissues,
it was reported that there was no evidence of any fungoid growth,
and Mr. McLachlan added that there was also none of insects
having ever been present. Hence the true cause of the hyper-
trophy could not be ascertained.

Papaver piloswm (?).—This plant having been referred to
Kew, was ascertained by Mr. Baker to be Papaver rupifragum
var. atlanticum, and is figured in the Bot. Mag., t. 7107. It is
a native of Morocco, P. rupifragum being a native of Andalusia.
Mr. Wilks observed upon the fact that there are a great number
of Poppies now in cultivation which require a careful systematic
treatment with regard to the correction of names.

Iris Petals variegated.—Mr. McLachlan exhibited three
petals, half white and half purple, which appeared on a single
plant of Iris florentina. The question was raised whether the
plant was a white variety of Iris germanica reverted. It was
referred to Kew for further consideration.

Scotch Fir and Larch attacked by Chermes.—Mr. R. Maher,
of Yattendon Court, Newbury, forwarded specimen branches of
these trees infested with species of chermes. The only remedy
is the free use of paraffin spray. At Kew, Mr. Morris observed,
they were obliged to cut down some Pine-trees growing in the
midst of others, as from their height and crowded condition the
spray could not be used effectually, and the only alternative was to
destroy the infected trees.

Ash Wood diseased—Mr. Maher also sent specimens of
branches having the common cankerous-like hollow places on
them. They were from an old tree 18 inches in diameter at a
foot from the ground. The trunk and all the branches presented.
a similar appearance. They were referred to Professor H.
Marshall Ward for further investigation. Mr. McLachlan
observed that the Weevil Hylesinus Fraxini, or else the larva of
amoth, Myelois pingwis, which feeds beneath the bark, might
possibly have been the primary cause of the injury.

Cycnoches chlorochtlon (Klotzsch).—Mr. Rolfe exhibited what
was apparently the male flower of this well-known Orchid, the
column being very slender and the pollen normally developed.
In addition he showed another form, believed to be hitherto
unrecorded, having a larger flower with a short stout column,
and supposed to be the female flower of the same species.

CXvi PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

These two flowers appeared upon separate individuals imported
from Caracas as C. chlorochilon. They flowered in the collec-
tion of M. A. Houjean de Lehaie, Membre de la Chambre des
Représentants, Hyon (Mons), Belgium. The special interest
attached to the specimens was the great similarity between the
two sexes, a character also observed in C. Loddigesi, while in
©. ventricosum, C. pentadactylon, and C. Rossianum the male
and female flowers are very dissimilar. C. Egertonianum, che
male of C. ventricosum, is a familiar example.

Elm with Colowred Wood.—A branching specimen in full
leaf was exhibited by Mr. Morris. It was received many years
ago at Kew from Van Houtte, under the name of Ulmus sp.
libero-rubro. This is believed to be only a form of the Scotch or
Wych Elm, Ulmus montana. The peculiarity possessed by the
specimen consisted in its having the wood immediately beneath
the bark of a bright pink colour, which easily distinguishes it
from the type. The exact nature of the colouring substance in
this instance did not appear to have been investigated.

TEA-ROSE SHOW.
JUNE 23.

In connection with the Society’s usual show of new and
yare plants, flowers, fruit, and vegetables, the National Rose
Society held its great show of Tea Roses in the Drill Hall.
After the severity of the preceding winter, the beautiful display
of Roses came as a great surprise, almost everyone being
under the impression that the season would be very backward.
Despite the fact that the exhibition was confined to Teas and
Noisettes, cut in some cases from under glass, the show proved
to be a good one, and the general display was bright and
interesting.

In Class A, for twenty-four single trusses, not less than
twelve varieties, Mr. A. H. Gray, Beaulieu, Newbridge Hill,
Bath, well merited the first prize for his remarkable collection.
Among the varieties exhibited were Madame Cusin, Niphetos
(very fine), Comtesse de Nadaillac, Maréchal Niel, Souvenir
d’Elise Vardon, Catherine Mermet (two charming blooms), The
Bride, Alba Rosea, Reine du Portugal, Comtesse Panisse,
Caroline Kuster, and Souvenir d’un Ami. Mr. T. B. Haywood,

TEA-ROSE SHOW, JUNE 23. CXVll

Woodhatch Lodge, Reigate, was second with smaller, but fresh
and well-finished blooms.

In Class B there were three stands of twelve, not less than
six varieties, and here the Rev. A. Foster-Melliar, Sproughton
Rectory, Ipswich, won somewhat easily. The winning twelve
were as follows :—Rubens (one a beautiful bloom), Marie Van
Houtte, Madame Bravy, Madame Hoste (two charming
blooms), Souvenir de §. A. Prince, Anna Ollivier, Hon. Edith
Gifford, and Perle des Jardins. The Rev. J. H. Pemberton,
Havering, Romford, was second, his best blooms being Souvenir
d’un Ami, Belle de Bordeaux, Gloire de Dijon, Madame Welch,
Jules Finger, Bouquet d’Or, and Rubens. Mr. R. L. Knight,
Bobbing Place, Sittingbourne, was third.

Mr. T. W. Girdlestone, Sunningdale, Berks, won against four
competitors with six blooms in Class OC, having a magnificent
Comtesse de Nadaillac, which was selected as the best bloom in
the show, and well deserved that honour; Climbing Devoniensis,
Maréchal Niel, Souvenir d’EKlse Vardon, Catherine Mermet,
and Caroline Kuster.

The Rev. Alan Cheales, Brockham Vicarage, Surrey, was
second in the same class, with Cleopatra and Marie Van Houtte
as his best flowers; Mr. HK. Mawley, Rosebank, Berkhampstead,
was placed third, and Dr. Ashurst, Farningham, fourth.

In Class D, Mr. Gray had the best six of any one variety,
that exhibited being Maréchal Niel. Mr. Cheales and Mr.
Girdlestone were second and third respectively with the same
variety.

Mr. Gray also won with six treblesin Class HE. The varieties
were Catherine Mermet, Souvenir d’Elise Vardon, Comtesse
de Nadaillac, Madame Cusin, Maréchal Niel, and Souvenir de
Thérese Levet.

In the open class (G) for twenty-four flowers there were
three very good stands, the well-known seedling-Briar-budded
blooms of Mr. G. Prince, of Oxford, securing the first prize
with Niphetos, Madame de Watteville, The Bride, Catherine
Mermet, Souvenir de S. A. Prince, Souvenir d’un Ami, Souvenir
d’ Elise Vardon, Comtesse de Nadaillac, Amabilis, Anna Ollivier,
La Boule d’Or, Hon. Edith Gifford, Maréchal Niel, Innocente
Pirola, Princess of Wales, C. Koch, Jean Ducher, Ernest Metz,

M

CXVilll PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Caroline Kuster, Princess Beatrice, Madame Cusin, Mlle. M.
Arnaud, Devoniensis, and Amazone.

Mr. B. R. Cant, Colchester, was second, and Mr. G. Mount,
Canterbury, third.

In Class H, Mr. Prince won again with twelve trebles, the
varieties being Souvenir de S. A. Prince, Princess of Wales,
Souvenir d’Elise Vardon, Catherine Mermet, The Bride, Jean
Ducher, Souvenir d’un Ami, Anna Ollivier, Caroline Kuster,
Hon. Edith Gifford, Comtesse de Nadaillac, and Innocente Pirola.
Mr. B. R. Cant came second with a collection in which Souvenir
d’Elise Vardon was conspicuous; and Mr. G. W. Piper, Uckfield,
was third with small but delightfully fresh and well-coloured
blooms of Jean Ducher, Anna Ollivier, Catherine Mermet,
Josephine Malton, Marie Van Houtte, Rubens, &c.

Mr. A. H. Gray followed up previous successes by a highly
creditable victory with twelve large and perfectly fresh Maréchal
Neils in Class K, in which- Mr. Frank Cant, Braiswick, Col-
chester, and Mr. R. L. Knight were second and third
respectively. Mr. Gray also won with twelve blooms of any Tea
or Noisette in Class LL, having a superb stand of Souvenir
d’Elise Vardon, so that he may be said to have been the hero of
the day. In this class Mr. Prince was second with a splendid
box of his beautiful Tea Souvenir de §. A. Prince, Mr. B. R.
Cant third with a good stand of Souvenir d’Klise Vardon, and
Mr. Mount fourth with Anna Ollivier, small but fresh. The
best basket was shown by Mr. G. Mount.

One of the most interesting features in the exhibition was
a stand of seedling Sweet Briar hybrids raised by the Right
Hon. Lord Penzance. Some of these were remarkably pleasing
both in form and colour, and their delicious scent attracted
universal attention. The Sweet Briar crossed with Alfred
Colomb, H.P., yielded a charming rosy-crimson single flower,
marked P. 91, but the spicy Briar fragrance was wanting
in the foliage. In the case of Lady Penzance the perfume of
the leaves was retained in conjunction with small single flowers
of a rosy-salmon hue, distinct in colour and most charming in
character. The result of a cross between the Sweet Briar and
Pau Ricaut, H.C. (D. 44), had bright pink flowers. The hybrid
between Sweet Briar and William Jepe (D. 59) had large pale
rose flowers, which showed an inclination to doubling. Souvenir

TEA-ROSE SHOW, JUNE 23. CX1x

d’Auguste Riviere produced a deep rose-purple variety (R. 55),
and Rosa lucida with the Sweet Briar brought out white flowers
tinged at the tips with pale rose (O. 63). Lord Penzance also
exhibited the fine old Rose Fortune’s Yellow from a N.E. wall,
and the old double yellow Rosa sulphurea. The trusses of the
former were remarkably beautiful and greatly admired. Messrs.
Paul & Son, Cheshunt, had a box of Rosa rugosa varieties,
and such species as De Meaux, pomifera, Sweet Briar, Janet’s
Pride (a charming variety), rubrifolia, Domeril, Boccard, White
Burgundy, Copper Austrian, and several of the Scotch Roses.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY’S DINNER.

The same evening the Society held a dinner in the Whitehall
Rooms of the Hotel Métropole, the President (Sir Trevor Law-
rence, Bart., M.P.) taking the chair. Among the guests were
the Greek Minister, the Karl of Rosse, Lord Justice Fry, Baron
Schroder, Sir James Paget, Sir Joseph Lister, Sir Henry Thomp-
son, Mr. Sheriff Farmer, Mr. Brymer, M.P., Dr. Farquharson,.
M.P., General Donnelly, C.B., Mr. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S.,
Sir J. T. D. Llewelyn, Mr. Martin R. Smith, Mr. W. T. Thisel-
ton Dyer, F.R.S., C.M.G., Professor Michael Foster (Secretary of
the Royal Society), Dr. Stewart (President of the Linnean Society),
Dr. Hogg, Mr. T. B. Haywood, Mr. Philip Crowley, F.L.S., &c.
The toast of the ‘“‘ Ministers of Foreign Countries’ was coupled
with the name of the Greek Minister. Sir James Paget pyro-
posed the ‘‘ Royal Horticultural Society,’’ which Sir Trevor
Lawrence acknowledged. Professor Foster proposed ‘‘ Botanical
Science,’ coupled with the names of Lord Justice Fry and Dy.
Stewart. Another toast was the “Treasurer and Benchers of
the Inner Temple,’’ and Sir Joseph Lister responded for the
visitors.

Cxex PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

EXHIBITION OF HARDY SUMMER PERENNIALS AND
SMALL FRUITS AT CHISWICK,*

JULY 7 AND 8, 1891.
FLORAL COMMITTEE.

W. MarsHAtt, Hsq., in the Chair, and sixteen members present,

Awards Recommended :--
Silver Gilt Flora Medal.

To Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill, for a large and rich
collection of Hardy Flowers.

To Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, for a very fine collection
of choice Hardy Flowers.

Silver Flora Medal.

To Mr. T. §. Ware, Tottenham, for a smaller but very
beautiful collection of Hardy Flowers.

To Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, for a choice collection
of Hardy Flowers, containing many good varieties of Del-
phiniums, &e.

To Messrs. Kelway & Son, Langport, for a fine collection of
Delphiniums, Gaillardias, Irises, &e.

Silver Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, for a beautiful mis-

cellaneous collection of Hardy Flowers.
Award of Merit.

To Peony Mme. Emile Galle (votes, 4 for), from Messrs.
Paul & Son. Pale blush, of good substance.

To Veronica anomala (votes, 6 for), from Messrs. Paul & Son.
A white-flowered dwarf hardy shrub.

To Prunella Webbiana (votes, unanimous), from Messrs.
Paul & Son. Showy spikes of flowers, of a rosy-violet shade.

To Delphinium Robert Adair (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. Kelway & Son. A large bright blue single-flowered
variety.

To Centaurea cyanus nana compacta (votes, 6 for), from Mr.
H. Herbst, Richmond. Miniature Corn-flowers of a deep blue
shade; plant of very dwarf growth.

To Mimulus cupreus “ Prince Bismarck’’ (votes, 7 for), from

* Tor papers real at the Con’erence see page 309.

FLORAL COMMITTEE, JULY 7. CXXi

Messrs. J. Laing & Sons. Flowers rich crimson, freely produced ;
an exceedingly dwarf variety.

To Godetia White Pearl (votes, unanimous), from Messrs
James Carter & Co., High Holborn. Pure white flowers ; plant
about 18 inches in height.

To Begonia (double) Miss Faulkner (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons. Rich yellow, flowers of fine form.

To Rose (single) Reine Blanche (votes, 7 for), from Mr. B.
Ladhams, Southampton. Blush white, free flowering.

To Escallonia exoniensis (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. J.
Veitch & Sons. A hybrid variety ; flowers of a pale blush colour,
very freely produced.

To Pink The Rector (votes, unanimous), from Mr. C. Turner
Slough. Ground colour pure white, with margin of a rosy shade ;
a beautiful variety.

Botameal Certificate.
To Lilium maritimum (votes, unanimous), from Mr. T. §.
Ware. Bell-shaped flowers of a dull red colour.

Convmended.
Strain of Gaillardias, from Messrs. Kelway & Son. Flowers
large and finely coloured.

Other Exhibits.

From the Royal Gardens, Kew, was sent a very interesting
collection of hardy flowers, conspicuous being Chrysogonum
virginianum, rich yellow ; Perezia multiflora, pale blue; Cosmos
bipinnatus, Layia heterotricha, and varieties of the Alpine
Dianthus.

Mr. W. C. Leach, Albury Park Gardens, Guildford, sent
bunches of Alstrcemerias.

Mr. Anthony Waterer, Woking, sent trusses of late kinds of
Hardy Azaleas.

Mr. R. Dean, Ealing, sent a useful selection of Border Pinks.

Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons sent Gerbera Jamesoni, a handsome
Composite from the Transvaal, with heads of flowers over
83 inches across. ‘The ray-florets are orange-red above, pale
yellow beneath. (Botanical Magazine, t. 7087.) The Committee
desired to see it again.

Mr. T. Laxton, Bedford, sent several promising white Border
Pinks.

CXX1i PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Prizes.

Prizes were awarded in the following classes :—

Class 1.—Highteen bunches of Hardy Perennials (distinct).
Amateurs. Jrst Prize, Silver Gilt Flora Medal and £2, to
O. T. Hodges, Esq., Lachine, Chislehurst. Second Prize, £1. 10s.,
to Mr. G. H. Sage, Ham House, Richmond.

Class 2.—Twelve bunches of Hardy Perennials (distinct).
Amateurs. Furst Prize, Silver Flora Medal and £1. 10s., to
W. Marshall, Esq., Auchinraith, Bexley (gardener, Mr. Pratt).
Second Prize, £1, to KE. M. Nelson, Ksq., Hanger Hill House,
Haling (gardener, Mr. E. Chadwick).

Class 3.—Hight bunches of Hardy Perennials (distinct).
Amateurs. First Prize, Bronze Flora Medal and £1, to Miss
R. Debenham, St. Peter’s, St. Albans.

Class 14.—Six varieties of Gaillardias. Amateurs. First
Prize (presented by Messrs. Kelway), Kelway Silver Medal, to
Lord Wimborne, Canford Manor, Dorset (gardener, Mr. T. H.
Crasp).

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, Hextable, Swanley, Kent, exhibited
Cypripedium Browni x ; a cross between C. longifolium var.
and C. leucorrhodum, the flowers very closely resembling those
of the last-named variety.

Messrs. Seeger & Tropp, Lordship Lane, East Dulwich,
staged several very distinct forms of Cattleya labiata Gaskelliana ;
also C. Mossize formosa, a very brightly coloured variety, Lela
xanthina, with an imperfectly developed spike, and a plant of a
Grammatophyllum, near to G. multiflorum, named G. Seegeri-
anum. It came from the Molucea Islands.

Mr. Prewett, Hammersmith, sent Aérides maculosum,
Prewett’s variety. A well-grown plant with a stout, branched,
ascending inflorescence, the flowers closely resembling those of
Aérides maculosum Schroderi.

F. Wigan, Esq., Clare Lawn, East Sheen (gardener, Mr.
Young), exhibited a plant of Angrecum caudatum in flower,
also a specimen of Odontoglossum cordatum ; and Mr. C. Harris,
The Gardens, Victoria House, Dukinfield, Cheshire, sent cut
flowers of several varieties of Cattleya Mossiz.

FRUIT COMMITTEE, JULY 7. CXXlli

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

Puruip Crow ey, Esq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and ten members
_{present.

Awards Recommended :—

Silver Banksian Medal.
To J. A. Rolls, Esq., The Hendre, Monmouth (gardener, Mr.
T. Coomber), for eight remarkably well grown examples of
Queen Pines.

Bronze Banksian Medal.
To Mr. J. Watkins, Withington, Hereford, for examples of
well-kept and highly coloured Apples.

First Class Certificate.
To Banana Lady’s Finger (votes, unanimous), from Mr. J.
Fitt, Panshanger, Hertford. Well-flavoured fruits; short, with
very thin skin, and remarkably sweet and good.

Other Exhibits.

Mr. G. F. Pontin, Stanley Vineries, Wokingham, sent several
fine Melons—Golden Triumph, 7 lbs., Conqueror, 10 lbs., Sutton’s
Triumph, 73 lbs., and Golden Perfection, 8 lbs. in weight.

Mr. J. Collis, Bollo Lane, Chiswick, sent a seedling Straw-
berry, No. 1, which the Committee desired to have tried in the
Society’s Gardens.

Mr. J. Fitt sent good examples of Strawberry Premier.

Mr. R. Gilbert, Burghley Gardens, Stamford, sent a promis-
ing seedling Strawberry named Chief Secretary, greatly re-
sembling Sir J. Paxton. The Committee desired to have it
tried in the Society’s Gardens.

The Duke of Northumberland, Albury Park, Guildford
(gardener, Mr. W. C. Leach), sent very fine fruits of Straw-
berries Noble and Sir J. Paxton.

Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, sent examples of Strawberry
Marie Nicaise. A very handsome variety.

Mr. J. W. Church, The Vineyards, Braconash, sent a bunch
of Alicante Grapes which had been kept since 1890.

Messrs. James Carter & Co., High Holborn, sent specimens
of Cabbage Lettuce Holborn Favourite.

Mr. R. Daws, High Road, Chiswick, sent examples of a

XXIV PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

seedling Rhubarb, which the Committee desired to have tried in
the Society’s Gardens.

Prizes.

Prizes were awarded in the following classes :—

Class 4.—Six dishes of Strawberries (distinct), not less than
thirty fruits toa dish. Amateurs. first Prize, Silver Banksian
Medal and £1. 10s., to Mr. G. H. Sage, Ham House, Richmond.
Second Prize, £1, to Mr. W. Palmer, Thames Ditton, Surrey.

Class 5.—Four dishes of Strawberries (distinct), not less
than thirty fruits to a dish. Amateurs. Furst Prize, Bronze
Banksian Medal and £1, to EK. M. Nelson, Esq., Hanger Hill
House, Haling (gardener, Mr. E. Chadwick).

Class 6.—One dish of Strawberries, not less than thirty fruits
toa dish. Amateurs. first Prize, 10s., to HE. M. Nelson, Esq.

Class 9.—Two dishes of ripe Gooseberries (distinct), not
less than thirty berries to a dish. Amateurs. frst Prize,
withheld. Second Prize, 7s. 6d., to Mr. W. Palmer.

Class 10.—Six dishes of Green Gooseberries (distinct), not
less than thirty berries toa dish. Amateurs. First Prize, 15s.,
to Mr. W. Palmer. Second Prize, 10s., to the Rev. L. R. Flood,
Merrow, Guildford (gardener, Mr. J. Gilbert).

Class 18.—Three dishes of Peas, Sharpe’s Sir F. A. Mil-
bank, Queen, and Triumph. first Prize, £2. 2s. (presented by
Messrs. Sharpe & Co.), to HE. M. Nelson, Esq.

CHISwick TRIALS, JuLy 7, 1891.

FLORAL COMMITTEE.
W. Marsuatt, [isq., in the Chair, and sixteen members present.
Awards Recommended :—

Highly Commended (x x x).

To Pink Hettie Dean, from Mr. R. Dean, Ealing.

To Pink Charmer, from Mr. R. Dean, Ealing.

To Pink Mrs. Dark, from Mr. R. Dean, Ealing.

To Pink Modesty, from Mr. Charles Turner, Slough.
To Pink Beauty of Bath, from Mr. Hooper, Bath.
To Pink Her Majesty, from Mr. Hooper, Bath.

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE COMMITTEE, JULY 7. CXKV

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE COMMITTEE.

Puitip Crowtey, Esq., F..S., in the Chair, and ten members
present.

Awards Recommended :—

Highly Commended (x x x).
To Pea Ameer, from Messrs. Harrison & Sons, Leicester.
To Pea Sutton’s Empress of India, from Messrs. Sutton &
Sons, Reading.

CHISWICK T'RIALS, JuLy 14, 1891.

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE COMMITTEE.

W. Warren, Esq., in the Chair, and seven members present.

Awards Recommended :—

First Class Certificate.
To Potato Early Laxton, from Mr. T. Laxton, Bedford.

Highly Commended (x x xX).

To Pea Chelsonian, from Messrs. James Veitch & Sons,
Chelsea.

To Pea Duke of Albany, from Messrs. James Veitch & Sons.

To Pea Telephone, from Messrs. James Veitch & Sons.

To Pea Critic, from Mr. H. Eckford, Wem, Salop.

To Pea Essential, from Mr. H. Eckford, Wem, Salop.

To Pea Epicure, from Mr. H. Kckford, Wem, Salop.

To Pea The Echo, from Mr. H. Eckford, Wem, Salop.

To Pea Alderman, from Mr. T. Laxton, Bedford.

To Pea The Marquis, from Mr. T. Laxton, Bedford.

To Pea Extra Dwarf Daisy, from Messrs. James Carter & Co.,
Holborn.

Commended ( x x ).

To Pea Optimum, from Mr. T. Laxton.
To Pea Sutton’s Karly Marrowfat, from Messrs. Sutton &
Sons.

CXXV1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

GENERAL MEETING.
Juuy 2ie 1380
Puinie Crowrey, Hsq., F.L.S., in the Chair.

ELECTIONS.

Fellows, 23.—John P. Barber, Joseph Watts Church, Percy
N. Cobbett, J. Gurney Fowler, T. R. Jones, F. George Lloyd,
Matthew Low, M.P., C. J. Lucas, Lady Lyttelton, Frank Mar-
shall, M.A., Mrs. McCreagh Thornhill, Captain Nash, R.A.,
Herbert Pearson, W. Pennyfeather, R. Pullar, G. D. R. Rust,
Mrs. Rutter, Jas. Simmons, J. H. Simpkins, E. Unwin, George
Whitley, Mrs. Geo. Whitley, Mrs. Wynne-Corrie.

Associates, 2.—George Duncan, A. Mayne.

Societies Affiliated, 2.—Alvaston Horticultural Society, Mat-
lock Bath Horticultural Society.

A paper on ‘ Early Peaches and Nectarines”’ was read by
Mr. T. Francis Rivers. (See p. 363.)

FLORAL COMMITTEE.

W. MarsHatn, Esq., in the Chair, and seventeen members
present.

Awards Recommended :—
Silver Flora Medal.
To Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, for a beautiful collection
of Cut Roses, Lilies, and other Hardy Plants.
To Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, for a very interest-
ing collection of Hardy Ornamental Trees and Shrubs.

Silver Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. Laing & Mather, Kelso, N.B., for a beautiful
collection of the different types of Souvenir de la Malmaison
Carnations.

To Mr. W. Rumsey, Waltham Cross, for a fine display of
Cut Roses.

To Messrs. Kelway & Son, Langport, for a fine group of
Delphiniums and Gaillardias.

FLORAL COMMITTEE, JULY 21. CXXVIL

To Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill, for a collection of
Hardy Flowers.

To Mr. T. 8. Ware, Tottenham, for a very fine collection of
Lilies, embracing all the more noteworthy varieties.

To Mr. W. Stacey, Dunmow, for a well-grown collection of
Verbenas.

Bronze Banksian Medal.
To Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, for an extensive collection
of Carnations and Picotees, grown out of doors at Chelsea.

first Class Certificate.
To Allamanda Williamsii (votes, 11 for), from Messrs. B. S.
Williams & Son, Upper Holloway. Flowers bright golden yel-
low, of moderate size, and very freely produced.

Award of Merit.

To Pteris serrulata pendula (votes, unanimous), from G.
Standford, Esq., Horsham (gardener, Mr. F. Lane). A most
graceful and distinct variety.

To Rudbeckia californica (votes, 7 for), from Messrs. Paul
& Son. Bright golden ray-florets, which are long and drooping.

To Spirea Bumalda ‘“ Beauty of Knap Hill”’ (votes, 7 for),
from Mr. A. Waterer, Woking. Large heads of very pretty rosy-
red flowers.

To Pelargonium (Ivy-leaved) Beauty of Castle Hill (votes,
unanimous), from Mr. R. Owen, Maidenhead. A fine semi-
double pink-flowered variety.

To Sweet Pea Lady Penzance (votes, 8 for), from Mr. H.
Kekford, Wem, Salop. Large bright rose.

To Sweet Pea Venus (votes, 6 for), from Mr. H. Kekford.
Soft buff tint, very distinct.

To Sweet Pea Mrs. Kckford (votes, 10 for), from Mr. H.
Kekford. Creamy yellow.

Botamecal Certvficate.
To Delphinium Zalil (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. Kelway
& Son. A species with small yellowish flowers arranged in a
short dense spike.
Other Exhibits.
H. E. Monro, Ksq., Bazzleways, Milborne Port, Somerset,

C@XXVI111 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

sent a pink-flowered Vallota, which the Committee desired to
see again next year.

Messrs. William Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, sent cut blooms
of a fine new Rose, named Spenser, bright pink.

Messrs. John Laing & Sons, Forest Hill, sent several good
varieties of single and double-flowered Begonias.

Myr. J. T. Gilbert, Dyke, Bourne, Lincolnshire, sent fine cut
blooms of Rosa polyantha ‘‘The Engineer,” certificated last
year, the Committee confirming the award then made.

From the Society’s Gardens was sent a varied collection of
Sweet Peas.

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Harry J. Verrou, Esq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and eleven
members present.

Awards Recommended :—
Silver Flora Medal.

To His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth (gardener,
Mr. O. Thomas), for a group of twenty plants of Disa uniflora
(D. grandiflora), magnificently grown and flowered, and stated to
be but a sample of about 200 plants in flower at Chatsworth at
the time. The plants had from one to seven spikes each, and
the individual flowers were large and of a brilliant scarlet.

To the Right Hon. the Marquis of Salisbury, K.G., Hatfield
House (gardener, Mr. G. Norman), for a group of fifteen cut
spikes of Saccolabium Blumei. Similar spikes from the same
piants have been exhibited annually for several years from Hat-
field House, and the Committee recommended the Medal for
continued good culture and excellent flowering.

To Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway, for an
extensive group of Orchids, comprising ten well-flowered plants
of Cypripedium Morgane x, and various other Cypripediums;
the rare Vanda concolor; many varieties of Vanda tricolor,
among them being V. t. insignis, V. t. formosa, V. t. Glen var.,
and Y. t. Dalkeith var. ; also some forms of V. suavis, and Den-
drobiums, Odontoglossums, &c.

ORCHID COMMITTEE, JULY 21. CXX1X

Silver Banksian Medal.

To J. W. Temple, Esq., Leyswood, Groombridge, Tunbridge
Wells (gardener, Mr. K. Bristow), for a group consisting chiefly
of fine specimens of Cattleya Warscewiczii (gigas), well grown
and profusely flowered. With them were a variety of C. Mendelii
and a specimen of Trichopilia tortilis alba.

First Class Certificate.

To Cattleya Hardyana, Hamar Bass’s variety (votes, unani-
mous), from Hamar Bass, Hsq., Byrkley, Burton-on-Trent
(gardener, Mr. Hamilton). This is the darkest-coloured form of
C. Hardyana which has yet appeared, and the rosy crimson of
its sepals and petals and the yellow at the base of the lip is
brighter than in the original form.

Botanical Certificate.

To Cochlioda Noezliana (votes, unanimous), from Messrs.
B.S. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway. A pretty plant of the
genus formerly known as Mesospinidium, with orange-scarlet
flowers.

Other Exhibits.

Messrs. Seeger & Tropp, Lordship Lane, East Dulwich,
exhibited Aérides maculosum (Prewett’s variety), Dendrobium
leucolophotum, D. Dearei, and two plants of Zygopetalum
Wendlandii.

Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, Hextable, Swanley, Kent, again
sent Cypripedium Browni x (C. longifolium x C. leucorrho-
dum x), which the Committee considered almost identical with
C. leucorrhodum x.

Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, staged plants of three
distinct and brightly coloured forms of Masdevallia Harryana,
and two good varieties of Odontoglossum crispum.

Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, exhibited a group of seedling
Disa uniflora (grandiflora) showing some variety, one of the
forms being almost devoid of scarlet colour, and of a uniform
nankeen-yellow.

C. EK. Smith, Esq., Silvermere, Cobham, Surrey (gardener,
Mr. James Quarterman), showed a good specimen of Oncidium
Lanceanum.

CXXX PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

P. Crowrey, Esq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and eighteen members
present.

Awards Recommended :—
Silver Gilt Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, for a very large and
fine collection of Gooseberries, Strawberries, Currants, &c.

To Messrs. T. Rivers & Son, Sawbridgeworth, for a magnifi-
cent collection of Cherries, Peaches, Plums, and Nectarines.

Silver Banksian Medal.

To J. T. Hopwood, Esq., Ketton Hall, Stamford (gardener,
Mr. W. H. Davis), for splendid examples of six varieties of
Peaches, viz., Royal George, Sea Eagle, Barrington, the Nec-
tarine Peach, Princess of Wales, and Prince of Wales.

To Messrs. James Carter & Co., High Holborn, for a very
interesting collection of Peas, comprising about eighty varieties.

First Class Certificate.

To Strawberry Lord Suffield (votes, unanimous), from Lord
Suffield, Gunton Park, Norwich (gardener, Mr. W. Allan). Fruit
large and firm, of excellent quality and appearance.

To Strawberry Gunton Park (votes, unanimous), from Lord
Suffield. Fruit of very large size, broad ‘‘ cockscombed,” and of
good colour and quality.

Cultural Conumendation.

To the Dowager Lady Freake, Fulwell Park, Twickenham
(gardener, Mr. A. H. Rickwood), for fine fruits of Grosse Mig-
nonne and Dr. Hogg Peaches.

To Lord Suffield, for magnificent fruits of Dr. Hoge Straw-
berry.

To F. Crisp, Esq., White House, New Southgate, N. (gardener,
Mr. H. A. Page), for good Lord Napier Nectarines and excellent
Cannon Hall Muscat Grapes.

FRUIT COMMITTEE, JULY 21. CXXxi

Other Exhibits.

Dr. Hogg sent a fruiting branch of the Early Julyan Apple
to show the character of the variety in the Weald of Sussex.
There were forty-six fruits on a shoot three feet in length, most
of them being highly coloured. In most districts they are pale.
This is a very early and useful Apple, much grown in some of the
London market-gardens.

Major Heneage, V.C., Compton Bassett, Calne, Wilts
(gardener, Mr. W. A. Cook), sent six dishes of Peas.

Lord Wimborne, Canford Manor, Dorset (gardener, Mr. T. H.
Crasp), sent a dish of Fig Ursule d’Avignon, and a small fruit-
ing bush of what was described as a ‘new’? White Currant.
This was recognised as the old Cut-leaved, or Shilling’s White.

Mr. Crook, Ford Abbey, Chard, sent examples of two Seed-
ling Tomatos.

Some very large Apples were sent through the Secretary of
the Wellington Horticultural Society, New Zealand. They had
been packed in powdered charcoal, which much disfigured the
fruit. Having been forty-two days in transit, they were all more
or less decayed, and not in a condition for examination. The
thanks of the Committee were recorded for the endeavour that
had been made in sending the specimens to arrive in good con-
dition.

Mr. B. Ashton, Glossop Hall, Derbyshire, and Mr. G. H.
Mould, Frampton Court, Dorchester, sent Seedling Melons.

From the Society’s Gardens were sent eighteen varieties of
Currants.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE.

Dr. Maxwett T. Masters, F.R.S., in the Chair, and four
members present.

Conifers attacked by Chermes.—With reference to this sub-
ject, brought before the Committee at the last meeting, Mr.
Blandford remarked on the difficulty of destroying the insects
with the paraffin spray, inasmuch as it was practically useless
for large trees, and could be only applied to small ones; more-
over, it will not remove chermes unless it be applied with force,
and in that case water alone would answer the purpose. The

CXXXii PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

only effectual method was to nip off the galls made by the
chermes. From some observations of Dr. Masters, it would
seem that the gall-making species does not appear to attack the
Larch, but only the Spruce Fir, though other species of chermes
attack various members of the Conifere.

Microscopical Structure of Hybrids.—Dr. McFarlane sent
photographs illustrating the microscopical structures of Lapa-
geria, Philesia, and of the hybrid between these two genera—
Philageria. In all cases the anatomical details of the hybrid
were intermediate in character between those of the two
parents.

Prinula stikkimensis attacked by Slugs.— Rev. C. Wolley Dod
sent plants from which the cortical chlorophyllaceous tissue had
been gnawed off by the common white slug. As a proof of the
slug’s partiality, he observed that stalks of P. rosea and of Dode-
catheon, growing side by side with the above, were not touched.
If the P. sikkimensis is barked soon after flowering it withers
and develops no good seed.

Loranthus (2) from Bechuanaland.—Mr. Johnstone forwarded
a specimen of what appeared to be a species of Loranthus, on
which he observes: ‘‘It has a small berry, not quite round, of a
colour similar to red coral, on a short stalk.’’ It was referred to
Kew for identification.

Apple and Pear Twigs barked.—My. G. Lee, of Clevedon, sent
some more specimens, but no new light could be thrown upon
the injury. A method adopted by Mr. Bunyard, who is familiar
with the fact, may be mentioned. In cases where nocturnal
beetles or other insects attack young trees, he lays a sheet under
the tree, and by violently shaking it the insects fall upon the
sheet, are easily seen, and then killed.

Strawberries attacked by Beetles (?).—Messrs. Wood &
Ingram, of Huntingdon, forwarded specimens of beetles of two
species, Harpalus ruficormis and Terrostichus madidus, supposed
to have been the depredators. They are nocturnal, but very
exceptionally vegetable feeders, hence some suspicion was felt as
to their being the right insects; and the question was raised as
to whether they had been actually observed eating the seeds of
the Strawberries as described. If the above beetles were the
real enemies, hand-picking at night is the only method of
destroying them, as they are nocturnal in their habits.

CARNATION AND PICOTEE SHOW, JULY 21. CXXXili

Plants, éc., Hxhibited.—Dr. Masters showed a specimen of
Weigela sessilifolia, with small scentless and yellowish flowers,
a dimerous Cypripedium, a pelorian Linaria vulgaris, and a
proliferous Carnation. Mr. Henslow exhibited a white Iris with
two flowers, both being dimerous instead of trimerous.

CARNATION AND PICOTEE SHOW.
JULY 21.

The annual exhibition of the National Carnation and Picotee
Society was held in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural
Society, at the Drill Hall, Westminster. Owing to the lateness
of the season the number of exhibits was not so large as usual.
However, a good display of flowers was obtained, and the show
proved to be an interesting one.

The struggle for first place with twenty-four Carnations was
contested by Mr. C. Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough, and Mr.
J. Douglas, gardener to Mrs. Whitbourn, Great Gearies, Ilford.
Both contributed some excellent blooms. Mr. Turner was first
with fresh, clean flowers, among which the following were
noticeable: Jupiter, Dr. Foster, Hutchinson’s Rose, Juno, Cle-
mentine, Mrs. Payne, Squire Potts, Jas. Taylor, Dr. Hogg,
Robert Houlgrave, E. Adams, Charles Turner, Squire Trow,
Saturn, E. S. Dodwell, and Teresa. Mr. Douglas’s flowers
were smaller, but his Thalia, Mrs. Gorton, John Keet, and Mayor
of Nottingham were very good.

There were four stands of twelve, and Mr. Douglas came first
with Sarah Payne, Thalia, James Douglas, William Skirving,
Squire Potis, Alisemond, Wm. Wardill, Master Stanley, and four
seedlings, one (No. 203) a charming purple flake. Mr. C. Phillips,
Hamilton Road, Reading, was second with fresh, bright, but
small blooms, James Douglas and Mayor of Nottingham being
the best. Mr. H. W. Headland, The Firs, Leyton, was third
with larger but somewhat badly formed flowers, and the Rev.
L. R. Flood, Merrow, Guildford (gardener, Mr. Gilbert), was
fourth.

Mr. F. Nutt, Rose Road, Southampton, won with six, Sarah
Payne, Crista-galli, John Keet, James Douglas, Joseph Lakin,
and Alisemond representing him admirably, though one or two

N

CXXXiV PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

were hardly filled. Mr. J. J. Keen, Castle Street, Bevois Town,
Southampton, was second with equally large but rather coarse
flowers; Mr. T. H. Catley, Claverton Buildings, Bath, was
third; Mr. G. Chaundy, William Street, Marston Road, Oxford,
fourth ; Mr. Rowan, Manor Street, Clapham, fifth; and Mr.
Sanders, gardener to Viscountess Chewton, Bookham Lodge,
Cobham, sixth.

In the scarlet bizarres Mr. J. Keen was first with single
specimens of Squire Potts, Mr. Douglas second with Robert
Houlgrave and third with Master Stanley, Mr. Lakin fourth
with Mars, and Mr. Chaundy fifth with Admiral Curzon. In the
crimson bizarres Mr. Douglas was first with a seedling and
third with William Skirving, Mr. Hooper second with Squire
Dodwell, Mr. Phillips fourth with Harrison Weir, and Mr.
Headland fifth with J. D. Hextall.

Mr. Nutt was first with Sarah Payne, Mr. Douglas second
with the same variety, Mr. Headland third with Squire Llewelyn,
and Mr. Turner fourth with James Taylor, in the pink and purple
bizarres.

In the purple flakes Mr. Douglas was first with his seedling
before referred to (No. 203), Mr. Sanders second with James
Douglas, Mr. Rowan third with the same variety, Mr. Hooper
fourth with a seedling, and Mr. Turner fifth with Squire
Trow.

In the scarlet flakes Mr. Douglas was first with Cannell, jun.,
and third with Alisemond ; Mr. Keen second with Matador, Mr.
Headland fourth with Henry Cannell, and Mr. Phillips fifth with
Sportsman.

Mr. Lakin was first in the rose flakes with Mrs. Gibson and
third with Lovely Mary, Mr. Douglas second and fifth with
Thalia, and Mr. Hooper fourth with Mrs. George Cooling.

In the competition for Picotees only Mr. Turner and Mr.
Douglas were able to muster a presentable twenty-four stand.
They were first and second as before, Mr. Turner having the
following varieties: Madeline, Favourite, Clara Penson, Miss
Flowdy, Lucy, Mrs. Rudd, Mrs. Sharp, and several seedlings,
the whole forming a clean and well-finished collection. Mr.
Douglas’s flowers were somewhat uneven in point of size, but
they were in capital condition.

The best of the three stands of twelve came from the Ilford

CARNATION AND PICOTEE SHOW, JULY 21. CXXXV

grower, the varieties being Liddington’s Favourite, Brunette,
Muriel, Thomas William, Miss Flowdy, Mrs. Sharp, Clara
Penson, Violet M. Douglas, Mrs. Chancellor, John Smith, and a
seedling. Mr. Phillips was a fair second, his flowers, though
small, being very fresh and good in colour. Mr. Headland was
third.

There were five stands of six, Mr. Chaundy winning with
Amelia, Annot Lyle, Winifred Esther, Mrs. Rudd, Juliette, and
a seedling. Mr. Nutt was a close second, Mr. Sanders third,
Mr. Catley fourth, and Mr. Flood fifth.

In the heavy red edge class for single specimens, Mr. Lakin
was first and second with Isabel Lakin, Mr. Douglas third with
Brunette and fourth with a seedling, and Mr. Phillips fifth with
Brunette.

In the light red edge Mr. Phillips was first and fifth with
Thomas Wiliam, Mr. Douglas second with Violet Douglas and
third with Thomas William, and Mr. Headland fourth with Mrs.
Gorton.

In the heavy purple edge Mr. Lakin was first and third with
Amelia, Mr. Chaundy second and fourth with the same variety,
and Mr. Douglas fifth with Muriel.

Mr. Turner was first and second in the light purple edge with
Clara Penson, Mr. Douglas third with Silvia, Mr. Phillips fourth
with Clara Penson, and Mr. Headland fifth with Pride of
Leyton.

In the heavy rose edge Mr. Phillips was first with Mrs.
Ricardo and third with Mrs. Sharp, Mr. Douglas second with
the latter variety and fifth with Constance Heron, and Mr. W.
Nicholls fourth with Lady Holmesdale.

In the light rose edge class Mr. Turner was first and third
with Liddington’s Favourite, Mr. Douglas second and fifth with
a seedling, and Mr. Phillips fourth with Mrs. Ricardo.

Mr. Douglas was first and second witha seedling, Mr. Turner
third and fourth with Annie Douglas, and Mr. Headland fifth
with a seedling, in the yellow grounds.

Mr. Douglas had a charming box of twelve yellow grounds,
all seedlings, unnamed, and Mr. Headland was second, also with
seedlings. Mr. Chaundy won with six, showing Peter Barr,
Stadtrath Bail, and four seedlings. Mr. Hooper, Vine Nursery,
Bath, was a very good second, and Mr. Phillips third.

N 2

CXXXVI1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Among the selfs and fancies were some of the most beautiful
and valued of Carnations and Picotees. In the class for twenty-
four Mr. Turner secured the first place with the following:
Almira, Victory, Hutchinson’s Rose, Mrs. Reynolds Hole, Alice
Ayres, Annie Douglas, Lord Rendlesham, Ruby, Chas. Turner,
Fimbriata alba, Germania, Duchess of Fife, Robt. Houlgrave,
Mrs. Maclaren, and two seedlings. Mr. I’. Hooper was second
with a delightful stand, but some of the flowers were undersized
and others imperfectly filled. Mr. Douglas was third with a
large proportion of selfs, Mr. Catley fourth, and Mr. W. H.
Divers, gardener to J. T. Hopwood, Esq., Ketton Hall, Stam-
ford, fifth.

There were eight stands of twelve, and they produced a
lovely display. Mr. Rowan was first with a splendid col-
lection. The varieties were Purple Emperor (a grand bloom),
Comtesse de Paris, Mrs. Reynolds Hole, Vice-President, Edith,
Rose Celestial, President, Dodwell’s No. 614, Mlle. Darquille, Mrs.
Du Croz, Prince of Wales, and Lady Agnes. Mr. Nutt was a
good second with a very attractive stand, the blooms being large,
fresh, and finely coloured. Mr. Phillips was third, Mr. Chaundy
fourth, Mr. Headland fifth, and Mr. Sanders sixth.

The premier Carnation was H. Cannell, a scarlet flake in Mr.
J. Keen’s second prize stand of twelve, and the premier Picotee
was Madeline, heavy rose edge, in Mr. Turner’s first prize stand
of twenty-four.

Specimens in pots were best shown by Mr. J. Douglas, the
second prize going to Mr. Headland.

Cuiswick TriaLs, Auacust 5, 1891.

FLORAL COMMITTEE.

W. MarsHAtt, Esq., in the Chair, and fourteen members present.

Awards Recommended :—

Highly Commended (x x x).
To Carnation White Queen, from Messrs. Fisher, Son, &

Sibray, Sheffield.
To Carnation Snowdrift, from Messrs. Fisher, Son, & Sibray.

FLORAL COMMITTEE, AUGUST 5. | CXXXVI1

To Carnation Dante, from Mr. Hooper, Bath.

To Carnation Maggie Laurie, from Messrs. Dicksons & Co.,
Edinburgh.

To Carnation Guiding Star, from Mr. T. S. Ware, Tottenham.

To Carnation Rowena, from Mr. R. Dean, Ealing.

To Carnation The Moor, from Mr. R. Dean, Ealing.

To Carnation Achilles, from the Novelty Seed Company,
Newton-le- Willows, Lancashire.

To Carnation Hoffgartner Schaffer, from Myr. HE. Benary,
Erfurt, Germany.

To Carnation Dan Godfrey, from Mr. C. Turner, Slough.

To Carnation Madame Van Houtte, from Mr. E. Benary.

To Carnation Drusilla, from Mr. J. Douglas, Ilford.

To Carnation Fancy, from Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt.

To Carnation Professor Virchow, from Mr. E. Benary.

To Picotee Margaret Rueder, from Mr. E. Benary.

To Picotee Redbraes, from Mr. EK. Benary.

To Picotee Romeo, from Messrs. Paul & Son.

To Picotee Mr. Rudd, from Mr. C. Turner.

To Picotee Favourite, from Mr. C. Turner.

To Picotee Mary, from Mr. C. Turner.

To Godetia Duchess of Fife, from Messrs. Daniels Bros.,
Norwich.

To Chrysanthemum Sipthorpi, from Mr. R. Dean, Ealing.

To Chrysanthemum multicaule aurea, from Mr. R. Dean,
Ealing.

To Viola Croft House, from Messrs. Dobbie & Co.,
Rothesay, N.B.

To Viola The Mearns, from Messrs. Dobbie & Co.

To a strain.of Pansies, from Messrs. Dobbie & Co.

To a strain of Pansies, from Mr. Hooper, Bath.

To Sweet Pea Mrs. Sankey, from Mr. H. Eckford, Wem,
Salop.

To Sweet Pea Mrs. Gladstone, from Mr. H. Eckford.

To Sweet Pea Captain of the Blues, from Mr. H. Eckford.

To Sweet Pea Princess of Wales, from Mr. H. Eckford.

To Sweet Pea Isa Eckford, from Mr. H. Eckford.

To Sweet Pea Senator, from Mr. H. Eckford.

To Sweet Pea Countess of Radnor, from Mr. H. Eckford.

To Sweet Pea Monarch, from Mr. H. Kckford.

CXXXVili PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

To Fuchsia Earl of Beaconsfield, from Messrs. H. Canne .&
Sons, Swanley.

To Fuchsia Aurora superba, from Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons.

To Fuchsia Gustave Doré, from Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons.

To Fuchsia Flocon de Neige, from Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons.

To Fuchsia Berliner Kind, from Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons.

To Fuchsia First of the Day, from Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons.

To Fuchsia Adolphe Legour, from Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons.

To Fuchsia President Grévy, from Mons. V. Lemoine, Nancy,
France.

To Pentstemon La Foudre, from Mons. V. Lemoine. }

Commended ( x x).

To Carnation Rosy Morn, from Mr. J. Douglas.

To Carnation J. R. Allinson, from Mr. T. S. Ware.

To Carnation Beatrix, from Messrs. Fisher, Son, & Sibray.
To Carnation Terra Cotta, from Mr. C. Turner.

To Carnation Van Dyck, from Mr. E. Benary.

To Viola Virginalis, from Messrs. Dobbie & Co.

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE COMMITTEE.

Puinie Crow ey, Esq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and thirteen
members present.

Awards Recommended.

Highly Commended (x x Xx).

To Dwarf French Bean Mohawk, from Messrs. J. Veitch &
Sons, Chelsea.

To Dwarf French Bean Smythe’s Speckled Hybrid, from
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons.

To Dwarf French Bean Fulmer’s Forcing, from Messrs.
J. Veitch & Sons.

To Dwarf French Bean Syon House, from Messrs. J. Veitch &
Sons.

To Dwarf French Bean Ne Plus Ultra, from Messrs. J.
Veitch & Sons.

FLORAL COMMITTEE, AUGUST 11. CXXxix

To Dwarf French Bean Dark Dun, from Messrs. J. Veitch &

Sons.
To Dwarf French Bean Ne Plus Ultra, from Messrs.

Harrison & Sons, Leicester.
To Dwarf French Bean Wax Mont d’Or, from Messrs.

Vilmorin, Andrieux & Co., Paris.
To Pea Sequel, from Mr. T. Laxton, Bedford.

GENERAL MEETING.
Avueust 11, 1891.

Mr. JAMES Dovuauas in the Chair.

ELECTIONS.

Fellows, 14.—Herbert V. Collins, Miss Berta F. M. Doyne,
Henry B. Evans, W. J. Grant, James Kelway, jun., Peter
Adolphus Kent, Captain Kerrison, William King-Wilkinson,
the, Rt. Hon. the .Harl of, Rosse, Mrs. .L.. J...Rowe,:J..W.
Sangwell, James Scholar, Captain Trollope Mrs. Trollope.

Mr. James Hudson read a paper on ‘‘ Ornamental Stove and
Greenhouse Plants.’ (See p. 370.)

FLORAL COMMITTEE.
W. MarsHatt, Esq., in the Chair, and sixteen member present.

Awards Recommended :—

Silver Gut Flora Medal.
To Mr. H. B. May, Upper Edmonton, for a group of Crotons,
Ferns, and Bouvardias.

Silver Gilt Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, for a beautiful group
of plants suitable for table decoration.

exl PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

To Mr. F. Bause, nurseryman, South Norwood, for a maenifi«
cent collection of Caladiums.

Silcer Flora Medal.

To Mr. M. Rowan, Clapham, for a choice collection of Car;
nations and Picotees. .

Silver Banksian Medal.

To the Duke of Northumberland, Syon House, Brentford
(gardener, Mr. G. Wythes), for a beautiful collection of
Campanulas in flower, chiefly blue and white varieties of
C. pyramidalis and turbinata.

To Mr. C. Turner, Slough, for a group of Carnations, remark-
ably well grown.

To Messrs. Dobbie & Co., Rothesay, N.B., for a very beautiful
collection of Violas, and French and African Marigolds.

Bronze Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, for a well-grown collection
of Hardy Flowers and Roses.

To EH. M. Nelson, Esq., Hanger Hill House, Haling (gardener,
Mr. Chadwick), for a collection of Gooseberries.

Award of Meritt.

To Border Carnation Pride of Sevenoaks (votes, 3 for), from
Mr. W. A. Searing, Oak Lodge, Sevenoaks. A fine white flower.

To Border Carnation Ketton Rose (votes, 8 for, 1 against)
from Mr. W. H. Divers, Ketton Hall Gardens, Stamford. Bright
rose, free flowering.

To Fancy Carnation Mrs. R. Sydenham (votes, 5 for), from
Mrs. Whitbourn, Great Gearies, Ilford (gardener, Mr. J. Douglas).
Pale yellow, edged with light rose.

To Caladium M. Leon Say (votes, 11 for), from Mr. F. Bause.
Bright glossy red leaves, lightly spotted.

To Caladium Louis A. Van Houtte (votes, 8 for), from Mr. F.
Bause.. Large very dark red leaves, with a metallic gloss.

To Carnation Romulus (votes, 10 for), from Mr. C. Turner.
Yellow ground, flaked with deep rose.

To Carnation King of Scarlets (votes, 9 for), from Mr. C.
Turner. Brilliant scarlet.

FLORAL COMMITTEE, AUGUST 11. exli

To Carnation Victory (votes, 9 for), from Mr. C. Turner.
Buff, streaked with bright red.

To Carnation Ruby (votes, 7 for, 1 against), from Mr. C.
Turner. Rosy-crimson self, of fine form.

To Carnation Queen of Bedders (votes, 9 for), from Mr. C.
Turner. Bright shade of red; very free flowering.

To Carnation Edith M. Wynne (votes, 6 for), from Mr. C.
Turner. Yellow ground, dark red edge.

To Carnation Countess of Jersey (votes, 7 for), from Mr. C.
Turner. Pale yellow, light rose edge.

To Carnation Mrs. Walford (votes, unanimous), from Mr.
C. Turner. Sulphur yellow, streaked with red.

To Carnation Madeleine (votes, 8 for), from Mr. C. Turner.
White, pale rose edge.

To Rose (H.P.) Charles Gater (votes, 10 for), from Messrs.
Paul & Son, Cheshunt. Dark crimson; flowers of good sub-
stance, and very fragrant.

Other Exhibits.

Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, sent blooms of several
varieties of Cactus Dahlias ; also double-flowered Begonias.

Mr. A. Rawlings, Romford, sent an interesting collection
of Dahlias. The Committee expressed a desire to see one
named Mrs. McIntosh again.

Mr. G. Wythes, Syon House Gardens, Brentford, sent fine
flowers of Cereus hexagonus.

Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons sent a collection of Carnations and
Picotees.

Mr. J. Hudson, Gunnersbury House Gardens, Acton, sent
several varieties of Stove Plants, in illustration of his lecture.

. Messrs. Hurst & Son, Houndsditch, sent a collection of double
Annual Chrysanthemum carinatum, showing a variety of tints.

Messrs. J. Peed & Sons, Norwood Road, S.E., sent a beautiful
collection of Gloxinias (cut flowers), representing a good strain.

The Rev. A. Wilkin, Summerhill, Tenterden (gardener, Mr.
Cheksfield), sent flowers of a seedling Decorative Dahlia, Mrs.
Wilkin.

From the Society’s Gardens was sent a collection of Carna-
tions and Picotees.

exlii PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Prizes.
The following prize was awarded :—

Class 1.—Twelve Stove or Greenhouse Plants, in pots not
exceeding 12 inches in diameter. First Prize, Silver Gilt Flora
Medal and £3, to E. M. Nelson, Esq., Hanger Hill House,
Kaling (gardener, Mr. E. Chadwick).

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

JAMES O’Brien, Ksq., in the Chair, and eight members
present.

Awards Recommended :—

First Class Certificate.

To Cypripedium macrochilum x (C. longifolium 2 and
C. [Uropedium] Lindenii ¢) (votes, unanimous), from Messrs.
Jas. Veitch & Sons, the raisers. This extraordinary hybrid ex-
hibits many curious and beautiful features, the most prominent
of which is the large and strangely elongated labellum or pouch,
whose enlargement is all the more singular as the pollen parent
is practically without a labellum. The plant exhibited had a
four-flowered scape of flowers equal in size to those of C. cauda-
tum, but with shorter petals. The colour is similar to C. cauda-
tum Wallisii, and the inside of the pouch is very beautifully
spotted.

To Cypripedium Youngianum x var. Corningianum (C.
superbiens:? and C. philippimense ¢) (votes, unanimous), ex-
hibited by Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons under the provisional
name C. Corningianum x. ‘This variety was much darker than
the original C. Youngianum x (C. superbiens x C. Roebeleni),
which had previously received an Award of Merit.

Award of Merit.

To Dendrobium Statterianum (votes, unanimous), from Thos.
Statter, Esq., Stand Hall, Whitefield, near Manchester (gardener,
Mr. R. Johnson). A supposed natural hybrid, probably between
D. Bensonie and D. ecrystallinum. The fine plant exhibited
resembled D. Bensonizw in growth, but the flowers were like
those of a fine form of D. crystallinum, and with a rich yellow

ORCHID COMMITTEE, AUGUST 11. exlill

area at the base of the lip. This plant must not be confused
with Dendrobium Phalenopsis, var. Statterianum. (See p. cxii.)

To Cattleya Gaskelliana speciosa (votes, 5 for), from Messrs.
Seeger and Tropp, Lordship Lane, East Dulwich. A distinct
form with white sepals and petals, and broad labellum, yellow
at the base, and rich purplish-crimson edged with white on the
front lobe.

Botanical Certificate.

To Odontoglossum Hennisii (Rolfe), (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. Charlesworth, Shuttleworth, & Co. This is a small
species with brown and yellow flowers, nearly allied to O.
crinitum.

Cultural Convmendation.

To C. J. Lucas, Esq., Warnham Court, Horsham, for a fine
plant of Angrecum Ellisii with twenty-one flowers (votes,
unanimous).

Other Exhibits.

His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth (gardener,
Mr. Owen Thomas), sent a group of Disa uniflora (grandiflora)
similar to those exhibited at the previous meeting. All were
splendidly grown; the flowers very brilliant, and one spike had
eleven blooms.

Thos. Statter, Esq., Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester, ex-
hibited a fine form of Bollea ccelestis, Phajus Humblotii rube-
scens, and cut spikes of Lelia elegans Turnerii and Cattleya
velutina.

FE. Wigan, Esq., Clare Lawn, Hast Sheen (gardener, Mr.
W.H. Young), sent Lycaste tetragona and Dendrobium longi-
cornu.

C. J. Lucas, Esq., Warnham Court, Horsham, staged Thrix-
spermum Berkeleyii, and a cut spike of Ceelogyne pandurata.

F. M. Burton, Esq., Highfield, Gainsborough, exhibited a
Cypripedium, a supposed cross between C. barbatum and C.
venustum, which, however, showed but little change from an
ordinary C. barbatum.

Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons again sent Cypripedium Cleola
(C. reticulatum x C. Schlimii albiflorum).

cexliv PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

P. Crowuery, Esq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and nineteen members
present.

Awards Recommended :—
Silver Banksian Medal.
To Messrs. T. Burton & Son, Bexley Heath, for a fine collec-
tion of Peaches and Nectarines, the fruits of Alexandra Noblesse

Peach having been gathered from a standard tree under glass,
bearing fifty dozen similar fruits.
Bronze Banksian Medal.
To KE. M. Nelson, Esq., Hanger Hill House, EHaling (gardener,

Mr. E. Chadwick), for a large collection of Gooseberries, and very
fine fruits of Rivers’ Early Prolific Plum from a wall tree.

First Class Certificate.

To Cucumber Matchless (votes, unanimous), from Mr. §.
Mortimer, Farnham, Surrey. The result of a cross between
Express and Lockie’s Perfection. Fruits uniform, smaller and
smoother than Express.

Award of Merit.

To Melon Meritorious (votes, 12 for, 38 against), from Lieut.-
Col. Eyre, Welford Park, Newbury (gardener, Mr. C. Ross).
Fruit large, roundish, well netted; flesh scarlet, very sweet.

To Plum St. Etienne (votes, unanimous), from the Society’s
Gardens. An excellent. small early yellow cooking variety.

Cultural Convmendation.
To EK. M. Nelson, Esq., for splendid examples of Humboldt
Nectarines.

Other Exhibits.

Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, sent a fine collection
of fruit, consisting of seventy-five varieties of Gooseberries,
twenty-five of Apples, four of Pears, four of Cherries, two of
Plums, and seven of Currants.

Mr. R. Nicholas, The Gardens, Castle Hill, South Molton,
sent examples of a large and very fine seedling Cherry. It
closely reseinbled the St. Margaret. The Committee expressed a
desire for further information as to its parentage, culture, &c.

FRUIT COMMITTEE, AUGUST 11. exlyv

R. D. Blackmore, Esq., Teddington, sent a dish of dark-
coloured Peaches from an open standard tree. Mr. Blackmore
stated that he had obtained trees from America of the Amsden,
Alexander, and Waterloo Peaches, and found them very similar,
if not identical.

Mr. G. Wythes, Syon House Gardens, Brentford, sent three
seedling Melons.

Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, also sent new Melons,
which were over-ripe.

H. Balderson, Esq., Hemel Hempstead, sent a promising
seedling Pear, resembling Ne Plus Ultra, which the Committee
desired to be tried at Chiswick.

Mr. C. Leeson, Brigg, Lincoln, sent two varieties of Peas.

Mr. R. Maher, Yattendon Court Gardens, Newbury, sent a
seedling Grape, named Royal Nursery. Sweetly flavoured; in
appearance like a badly coloured Black Hambyro’.

GENERAL MEETING.
Aueust 25, 1891.

Dr. Hoaa, F.L.S., &c., in the Chair.
ELECTIONS.

Fellows, 8.—J. E. Balfern, Mrs. Balfern, John Coventry,
A. R. Knight, Mrs. Knight, Jasper Knight, Edw. Webb,
Mrs. A. T. Weekes.

A paper on “ The Gladiolus’’ was read by the Rev. H. H.
D’ombrain, M.A. (See p. 380.)

FLORAL COMMITTEE.
W. MarsHatt, Esq., in the Chair, and twenty members present.

Awards Recommended :—
Silver Gilt Flora Medal.

To Messrs. Kelway & Son, Langport, Somerset, for a magni-
ficent collection of Gladioli.

exlvi PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Silver Flora Medal.
To Mr. G. Phippen, Reading, for a beautiful collection of
Cactus and Decorative Dahlias.

Silver Banksian Medal.
To Messrs. Keynes, Williams, & Co., Salisbury, for a fine
collection of the different classes of Dahlias.
To Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons, Crawley, for good stands of
Show, Bouquet, Single, and Cactus Dahlias.
To Messrs. H. Low & Co., Clapton, for fine examples of
Lilium nepalense and L. Wallichianum superbum.

Bronze Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, for a collection of
Cactus and Decorative Dahlias.

To Messrs. Wallace & Co., Colchester, for fine flowers of
Lilium eximium giganteum, L. e. magnificum, and L. takesima.

To J. T. Hopwood, Esq., Ketton Hall, Stamford (gardener,
Mr. W. H. Divers), for a beautiful collection of Border Carna-
tions, Ketton Rose (certificated at the last meeting) being shown
in fine condition.

To C. E. Smith, Esq., Silvermere, Cobham, Surrey (gardener,
Mr. Quarterman), for a very interesting collection of Oak foliage,
representing thirty-six varieties.

To Mr. 8. Mortimer, Farnham, Surrey, for fine blooms of
Show and Fancy Dahhas.

First Class Certificate.
To Hypericum Moserianum (votes, unanimous), from Mr. A.
Waterer, Woking. Large rich yellow flowers.
To Cupressus arizonica (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. J.
Veitch and Sons, Chelsea. Dull greyish-green foliage ; growth
slender and graceful.

Award of Merit.

To Dahlia (Show) John Walker (votes, 11 for, 2 against),
from Mr. J. Walker, Thame. White, faintly suffused with
lemon ; large and handsome.

To Gladiolus Thalis (votes, 6 for, 3 against), from Messrs.
Kelway & Son. Ivory ground, throat suffused with crimson ;
very large flower.

FLORAL COMMITTEE, AUGUST 25. exlvil

To Gladiolus Bias (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. Kelway
and Son. Salmon-red, throat blotched with crimson.

To Gladiolus James O’Brien (votes, 9 for, 2 against), from
Messrs. Kelway & Son. Salmon, large bold flower.

To Dahlia (Cactus) Delicata (votes, 13 for, 4 against), from
Mr. T. S. Ware, Tottenham. Soft rose; flowers of fine form.

To Carnation (Border) La Neige (votes, unanimous), from
Mr. T. 8S. Ware. White self, clove-scented.

To Carnation (Border) Mr. C. R. Humbert (votes, unani-
mous), from Messrs. Dicksons, Chester. A free-growing scarlet
self.

To Dahlia (Cactus) Kynerith (votes, 8 for), from Messrs.
Keynes, Williams, & Co. Rich red, yellow centre.

To Dahlia (Cactus) St. Catherine (votes, 10 for), from Messrs.
Keynes, Williams, & Co. Bright yellow; large flower.

To Dahlia (Cactus), Baron Schréder (votes, 7 for), from
Messrs. Keynes, Williams, & Co. Rich magenta.

To Dahlia (Single) Miss Glasscock (votes, 7 for, 8 against),
from Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons. Soft lavender, edged with deep
mauve.

To Dahlia (Cactus) Robert Cannell (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons. Carmine; a beautiful and striking
flower.

To Dahlia (Cactus) Swanley Cactus (votes, 16 for), from
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons. Orange-red.

To Dahlia (Show) Arthur Ocock (votes, 7 for), from Mr. A.
Rawlings, Romford. Crimson-scarlet, of fine form.

To Dahlia (Show) Mrs. L. Standbridge (votes, 9 for, 1
against), from Mr. A. Rawlings. Clear amber, of good shape.

To Dahlia (Show) John Rawlings (votes, 5 for, 3 against),
from Mr. A. Rawlings. Pale mauve ; very large, distinct.

To Dahlia (Show) Mrs. McIntosh (votes, 8 for), from Mr. A.
Rawlings. Old gold; fine form.

To Dahlia (Single) T. W. Girdlestone (votes, unanimous),
from Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons. White, margined with crimson.

Other Exhibits.

Messrs. James Veitch & Sons sent flowers of Java Rhodo-
dendrons ; also a small Begonia with marbled foliage, which
the Committee desired to see again when larger.

exlvili PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons sent a collection of Tom Thumb
Dahlias in pots.

Mr. T. 8. Ware, Tottenham, sent a group of Dahlias, Liliums,
Carnations, and Chrysanthemums.

Mr. A. Campbell, Lord Street, Southport, sent Scolopendrium
vulgare crispum Campbelli. A beautiful form.

C. B. Powell, Esq., Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, sent
interesting forms of Hydrid Gladioli.

Mr. A. Swanson, Barton-on-Humber, Hull, sent twelve
varieties of Border Carnations.

From the Society’s Gardens were sent cut flowers of Peren-
nial Asters and Sunflowers.

Prizes.

Prizes were awarded in the following classes :—

Class 1.—Kighteen Gladioli, Gandavensis vars. (distinct).
Amateurs. Jurst Prize, Silver Gilt Flora Medal and £2, to
Mr. Herbert Fowler, Claremont, Taunton.

Class 2.—Twelve Gladioli, Gandavensis vars. (distinct).
Amateurs. ‘First Prize, Silver Flora Medal and £1. 10s., to
Mr. Herbert Fowler.

Class 8.—Nine Gladioli, Gandavensis vars. (distinct). Ama-
teurs. Lirst Prize, Bronze Flora Medal and £1, to the Rev.
H. H. D’ombrain, Westwell Vicarage, Ashford.

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Mr. JAmes Dovuatas in the Chair, and five members present.

Awards Recommended :—
Award of Merit.

To Leelio-Cattleya Behrensiana x (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans. A hybrid between Lelia
elegans Schilleriana and Cattleya intermedia. In growth the
plant much resembles Cattleya superba. The flowers are equal
in size to those of Lelia elegans. Sepals and petals blush
white, the front and sides of the labellum (which resembles in
form that of Cattleyatintermedia) bright crimson.

To Lela elegans Blenheimensis (votes, unanimous), from

ORCHID COMMITTEE, AUGUST 25. exlix

Thomas Statter, Esq., Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester
(gardener, Mr. R. Johnson). This is a lght form of L. elegans
Turnerii, with the labellum more broadly developed than in the
type, and of a clear rosy crimson.

To Sobralia leucoxantha (votes, unanimous), from Messrs.
Seeger & Tropp, Lordship Lane, Hast Dulwich. The flowers,
which last but a day or so, are white with the exception of the
front of the labellum, which is yellow. The plant is similar in
habit to S. macrantha, but the flowers are only half the size of
those of that species.

Botanical Certificate.

To Zygopetalum grandiflorum (Batemannia grandiflora, Bot.
Mag.t.5567 ; 2nd Cent. Orchid. Plants, t. 172) (votes, unanimous),
from Messrs. Charlesworth, Shuttleworth & Co., Park Road,
Clapham, and Heaton, Bradford. A distinct species of similar
growth to Z. crinitum, and flowers of equal size to those of that
species. Sepals and petals pale green, with longitudinal lines of
chocolate colour ; lip white, thick in texture, and studded with
short papille.

Cultural Commendation.

To Mrs. Whitbourn, Great Gearies, Ilford (gardener, Mr.
James Douglas), (votes, unanimous), for a spike of six flowers
of Cypripedium Lowii.

Other Exhibits.

Thomas Statter, Esq., Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester,
sent cut spikes of Lelia elegans Turner, L. e. T. prasiata, L.
amanda, Cypripedium Morgane x, Odontoglossum Harryanum,
and Dendrobium Dearei.

Mr. J. Prewett, Hammersmith, showed a good plant of Den-
drobium Phalenopsis Statterianum.

C. J. Lucas, Esq., Warnham Court, Horsham, sent for identi-
fication a spike of Dendrobium undulatum.

Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, King’s Road, Chelsea, exhibited
their new Leelio-Cattleya Nysa (Cattleya Warscewiczii [gigas] ¢ x
Lelia crispa ¢). Its flowers resemble those of L. exoniensis.
As the plant was not strong, the Committee desired to see it
again. Messrs. Veitch again also exhibited Cypripedium Cleola x.

O

el PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

R. I. Measures, Esq., Cambridge Lodge, Flodden Road,
Camberwell (gardener, Mr. H. Simpkins), exhibited, under pro-
‘visional names, Cypripedium leucochilum, a supposed hybrid
between C. Godefroye and C. bellatulum ; and C. tortile, imported
by Mr. Osmers from the Dutch East Indies. It resembles a
small form of C. philippinense, with the petals more than usually
twisted. The Committee referred these to Kew.

Messrs. F’. Sander & Co. showed Masdevallia Measuresiana x
(M. amabilis x M. tovarensis). It hada slender scape with two
small white flowers, tinged at the edge with rose.

Malcolm 8. Cooke, Esq., Kingston Hill (gardener, Mr. D.
Cullimore), sent a cut spike of a fine form of Cattleya velutina,
and flowers of three varieties of Lelia elegans Turneri.

F., Wigan, Esq., Clare Lawn, East Sheen (gardener, Mr. W.
H. Young), exhibited Aérides suavissimum.

G. Palmer, Esq., Springfield, sent Cypripedium apiculatum,
Springfield variety (C. Boxalli x C. barbatum), which differs
from the original form in being of a darker tint.

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

P. Crow.ey, Esq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and thirteen members
present.

W. Roupell, Esq., Harvey Lodge, Roupell Park, 5.W., sent
four varieties of early Dessert Apples, Mr. Gladstone, Irish
Peach, Red Astrachan, and Devonshire Quarrenden, grown on
dwarf trees in his garden within five miles of Charing Cross.

Messrs. Laxton Brothers, Bedford, sent seedling Apple
Harvest Queen.

Mr. W. H. Bannister, Cote House, Westbury-on-Trym, sent
well-coloured fruits of Doyenné Boussoch Pear, from a bush
tree.

Messrs. T. Burton & Sons, Bexley Heath, sent four boxes of
Peaches.

Seedling Melons were shown by Mr. G. Wythes, Syon
House Gardens, Brentford; Mr. A. Bishop, Bury St. Edmunds ;
and Mr. Wilson, Fulham.

Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., Burford Lodge, Dorking,

FRUIT COMMITTEE, AUGUST 25. eli

sent fruits of Prunus Pissardi, similar, if not identical with
those of the Myrobalan, or Cherry Plum.

Dr. Hogg exhibited fruiting sprays of a Plum resembling the
Cherry Plum, but smaller, and glossy red in colour.

Mr. J. Foster, Horse Market, Kettering, sent examples of
a fine-looking white kidney Potato, named Tit-Bits.

Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading, sent specimens of Bean
Sutton’s Tender and True—a Runner variety of the Dwarf type.
The pods long and handsome, and very prolific. It was desired
to be grown at Chiswick.

Mr. W. C. Leach, Albury Gardens, Guildford, sent Bean
Sutton’s Emperor of Germany—Scarlet Runner type. It also
was desired to be grown at Chiswick.

From the Society’s Gardens were sent twelve fruits of Tomato
President Cleveland, each averaging 1 lb. 4 oz. in weight.

CHISWICK TRIALS, SEPTEMBER 3, 1891.

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

Dr. Hoae, F.L.S., in the Chair, and eight members present.

Awards Recommended :—

First Class Certificate. ’
To Bean Tender and True, from Messrs. Sutton & Sons.

/

Highly Commended (x X x).

To Potato Mottled Beauty, from Mr. HE. 8. Wiles.

To Potato Ellington’s Prolific, from Mr. Ellington.

To Potato Crawley Prizetaker, from Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons.

To Turnip the Early Milan, from Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons,
Mr. E. Benary, and Messrs. Harrison & Sons.

To Turnip the Early White Strap-leaf American Stone,
from Messrs. Vilmorin & Co.

To Turnip the Long White Globe Purple-top, from Messrs.
Vilmorin & Co.

To Turnip the Large Green Globe, from Messrs. Vil-

morin & Co.
OnZ

eli PROCKEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

To Turnip Early Snowball, from Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons.

To Tomato Golden Sunrise, from Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons,
Messrs. Barr & Son, and Messrs. Daniels Bros.

To Tomato Italian Wonder, from Messrs. Hooper & Co.

GENERAL MEETING.
SEPTEMBER 8, 1891.
Painie Crow.ey, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair.

HLECTIONS.

Fellows, 3.—W. Alfred Netley, Mrs. Stroudley, H. W. Ward.

Society Affiliated, 1.—Twerton-on-Avon Horticultural
Society. |

A paper on “Hardy Water and Bog Plants” was read by
Mr. George Paul. (See p. 385.)

FLORAL COMMITTEE.

W. Marsuatn, Esq., in the Chair, and nine members present.

Awards Recommended :—

Silver Flora Medal.

To KE. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S., Shirenewton Hall, Chepstow,
for a very interesting group of Scolopendriums, containing
varieties which the Committee desired to see again when more
fully developed.

To Mr. G. Phippen, Reading, for a group of Dahlias.

To Mr. G. Phippen, for a group of Lihu:ns.

To Messrs. Kelway & Son, Langport, Somerset, for a beautiful
display of Gladioli.

Bronze Banksian Medal.
To Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, for a group of Hardy

Flowering Plants, among which Hydrangea paniculata attracted
special attention.

FLORAL COMMITTEE, SEPTEMBER 8. eli

To Mr. C. G. Van Tubergen, Haarlem, Holland, for a small
but interesting group of Hybrid Gladioli.

First Class Certificate.

To Athyrium f. f. plumosum Drueryii (votes, unanimous),
from C. T. Druery, Esq., F.L.8., Fernholme, Forest Gate. A
seedling from A.f. f.p. superbum. Fronds multipinnate, graceful
and delicate.

To Scolopendrium vulgare crispum decorum (votes, unani-
mous), from EK. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S. Not unlike Cowburni,
with a fimbriate margin.

~To Scolopendrium vulgare supralineatum Moone (votes,
unanimous), from E. J. Lowe, Hsq., F.R.S., having an internal
margin on the upper side of the frond.

To Scolopendrium vulgare ramo-inequale laudabile (votes,
unanimous), from E. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S. Widely branching
as well as crested.

To Asplenium f. f. lunulatum Nelliz (votes, unanimous), from
EK. J. Lowe, Ksq., F.R.S. A lunulate variety, with a large
crested head composed of minute divisions.

To Aspidium angulare grandiceps teda (votes, unanimous),
from E. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S. An erect-growing grandiceps,
with enormous tassels.

To Aspidium angulare cruciatum Nympha (votes, unanimous),
from EK. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S. A large narrow form, with
ascending pinne.

To Aspidium aculeatum cristatum hybridum (votes, unani-
mous), from HK. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.5S. A cruciate hybrid
between A. aculeatum and A. angulare.

To Nephrodium paleaceum Willsii (votes, unanimous), from
K. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S. A broad-fronded, large-tasselled
polydactylous form.

To Osmunda regalis capitata (votes, unanimous), from E. J.
Lowe, Esq., F.R.S. A grandiceps form, raised from a bulbil
formed on the variety cristata.

Award of Merit.

To Athyrium f. f. revolvens (votes, unanimous), from: ©. 2,
Druery, Esq., F.L.8. Pinne curled under like a: feather ;
distinct.

cliv PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

To Athyrium f. f. superbum densum (votes, unanimous), from
C. T. Druery, Esq., F.L.5S. Finely divided delicate fronds.

To Asplenium Ceterach var. multifida-cristatum (votes,
unanimous), from E. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S. A notable variation
of the species.

To Scolopendrium vulgare muricatum superbum (votes,
unanimous), from HK. J. Lowe, Ksq., F.R.S. A large-growing
very rugose capitate form.

To Scolopendrium vulgare muricatum crispum (votes,
nnanimous), from EH. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S. <A very fine form
of the common Hart’s Tongue.

To Aspidium angulare grandiceps coronale (votes, unani-
mous), from EH. J. Lowe, Hsq., F.R.S. Hrect-growing, with
large twisted capitate fronds.

To Aspidium angulare setosum gracile (votes, unanimous),
from E. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S. <A delicate variety with copious
thorns.

To Aspidium angulare plumoso-divisilobum gracile (votes,
unanimous), from H. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S. A plumose form
with finely cut divisions.

To Aspidium aculeatum Adrastia (votes, unanimous), from
K. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S. A distinct yariety, both crested and
capitate.

To Gladiolus Sir Arthur Sullivan (votes, 7 for), from Messrs.
Kelway & Son. Bright orange-scarlet, slightly flaked with cerise.

To Gladiolus Sheila (votes, 7 for), from Messrs. Kelway &
Son. A charming light variety.

To Gladiolus W. S. Gilbert (votes, 7 for), from Messrs. Kel-
way & Son. Delicate pink, flaked with carmine.

To Gladiolus George Meredith (votes, 7 for), from Messrs.
Kelway & Son. Blush-sulphur throat, heavily flaked with
crimson.

To Gladiolus Lady Brooke (votes, 7 for), from Messrs. Kelway
& Son. Blush, with sulphur throat, and slight flakes of purplish
crimson.

To Dahlia (Show) Arthur Rawlings (votes, unanimous), from
W. Keith, Esq., Cornwalls, Brentwood (gardener, Mr. J. T. West).
Finely formed crimson self.

To Dahlia (Show) William Powell (votes, unanimous), from
W. Keith, Esq. Deep yellow.

FLORAL COMMITTEE, SEPTEMBER 8. ely

To Dahlia (Decorative) Mrs. Keith (votes, unanimous), from
W. Keith, Esq. Salmon and delicate mauve.

To Croton Golden Ring (votes, unanimous), from Mr. H. B.
May, Upper Edmonton. Of the spiralis type. Beautiful golden
foliage. A capital table plant.

To Dahlia (Decorative) Claxton’s Harlequin (votes, 7 for),
from Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt. Yellow, flaked and striped
with crimson. Novel.

Botameal Certificate.

To Abies (Picea) Omorika (votes, unanimous), from Messrs.
J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. Plant 4 feet high, this season’s
leader being 18 inches long. Leaves deep green above, glaucous
below.

To Davallia assamica (votes, 5 for, 1 against), from Messrs.
H. Low & Co., Clapton. Fronds rich green. A very pretty
basket-fern.

To Scolopendrium vulgare peraferens nepenthesoides (votes,
unanimous), from EH. J. Lowe, Hsq., F.R.S. <A variety with
large cup-like appendages at the apex of the frond.

To Aspidium aculeatum cristatum circumlobatum (votes,
unanimous), from H. J. Lowe, HKsq., F.R.S. A large-headed
grandiceps.

Convmended.

A fine strain of Quilled German Asters, from Mr. J. Walker,
Thame, Oxon.

Other Exhibits.

Some very interesting plants were sent from the Royal
Gardens, Kew, noteworthy being Aristolochia grandiflora (syn.
A. gigas) (Botanical Magazine, tt. 4868-9)—the Jamaican
“‘ Pelican-flower ’’ or ‘‘ Poison Hog-meat”’ ; Clematis Stanleyi,
flowers lilac-pink, 14 inches across, stamens yellow; Ixora
macrothyrsa (syn. I. Duffii) ; Solandra grandiflora, and Mucuna
atropurpurea.

Mr. W. Whiteley, Hillingdon, sent Chrysanthemum Miss
Whiteley, which the Committee desired to see again.

Mr. J. Hole, Commercial Road, Teignmouth, sent Carnation

clvi PROCKEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Devon Beauty. As the flowers were not in condition, the
Committee requested to see the variety again next year.

Messrs. Paul & Son sent an interesting collection of Bog
Plants to illustrate Mr. George Paul’s lecture.

Prizes.

Prizes were awarded for a collection of British Ferns and
their varieties. Amateurs. Jrst Prize, Silver Challenge Cup,
to E. J. Lowe, Esq., F.R.S. Second Prize, £2, to C. T. Druery,
Hisq... US:

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Dr. Maxweuu T. Masters, F.R.S., in the Chair, and six
members present.

Awards Recommended :—

First Class Certificate.

To Miltonia Bluntii Lubbersiana (votes, unanimous), from
Baron Schroder, The Dell, Egham (gardener, Mr. H. Ballantine).
The variety Blunti is supposed to be a natural hybrid between
M. spectabilis and M. Clowesii, and this form appears to be
intermediate between M. s. Moreliana and M. Clowesii. The
habit of the plant approaches that of M. Clowesii, but its hand-
some flowers are as large as those of M. spectabilis. The sepals
and petals are nearly equal in width, pale lilac, heavily barred
with blotched markings of purplish lilac. The labellum is
purple at the base, fading to nearly white in front, and with
some purple blotches in lines on each side of the crest.

Botanical Certificate.

To Catasetum fimbriatum (votes, unanimous), male and
female forms, from Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton, and
W. Wright, Esq., The Grange, Denmark Hill (gardener, Mr.
G. Parott). The labellum of the female flower resembles a
helmet in shape.

To Mormodes buccinator aureum (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton. A bright yellow form of this
most variable species.

ORCHID COMMITTEE, SEPTEMBER 8. elvii

To Cattleya granulosa var. Dijanceana (votes, unanimous),
from Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans. This is the only
discovery of the ill-fated collector Dijance, who lost his life in
Brazil. The plant is very dwarf, being about one-third the size
of typical C. granulosa. The flowers have green, unspotted
sepals and petals; the side lobes of the lip are pure white, the
middle verrucose lobe being a narrow, spathulate, rose-coloured
blade. The column is yellow, tipped with purple.

Cultural Commendation.

To C. J. Lucas, Esq., Warnham Court, Horsham, for a
finely flowered plant of the pure white Angrecum articulatum
(votes, unanimous).

Other Exhibits.

Thos. Statter, Esq., Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester
(gardener, Mr. R. Johnson), again exhibited Lelia elegans
Blenheimensis (A.M., Sept. 8); also L. e. Stand Hall var., and
L. e. atrorubens, both of the Turneri section. Odontoglossum
Harryanum, Cochlioda vulcanica, and Saccolabium Blumei
were also exhibited.

Messrs. I’. Sander & Co. staged a small group of Orchids,
among them being Cattleya crocata rosea, Lelia elegans
Robinsoniana, a dwarf, richly coloured form of the Turneri
section; also L. e. Turneri, L. e. T. Marlboroughensis, and
Vanda ccerulea.

Drewett O. Drewett, Esq., Riding-Mill-on-Tyne (gardener,
Mr. A. J. Keeling), sent flowers of Cypripedium Beatrice x (C.
Lowii X C. Boxalli), and C. Kyermanianum x Drewett’s var.
(C. barbatum nigrum x C. Spicerianum).

Messrs. Charlesworth, Shuttleworth, & Co., of Heaton,
Bradford, sent fine plants of Oncidium macranthum, some of
which bore large flowers on spikes only a few inches in height.
The Committee desired to see the plants again in order to test
whether the desirable short flower-spikes proved constant.

Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton, exhibited a fine specimen
of Vanda Kimbalhana and a plant of Cattleya Gaskelliana
albens; flowers white, with a crimson staining on the front of
the lip.

elviii PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

P. Crowxey, Esq., F.L.S., in the Chair, and twelve members
present.

Awards Recommended :—

Silver Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, for a fine collection of
fifty varieties of Plums, containing most of the best kinds; the
most noteworthy being Kirke’s, Jefferson’s Plum, The Czar,
Denniston’s Superb, Early Transparent Gage, and Brandy Gage.

Award of Merit.
To Melon Halstead Favourite (votes, unanimous), from T. F.

Burnaby-Atkins, Hsq., Halstead Place, Sevenoaks (gardener,
Mr. A. Gibson). (Green-fleshed, well netted.

Cultural Commendation.

To P. Crowley, Esq., F.L.8., Waddon House, Croydon
(gardener, Mr. W. King), for nineteen excellent fruits of Louise
Bonne of Jersey Pears, grown in a 10-inch pot.

To W. Roupell, Esq., Harvey Lodge, Roupell Park, S.W.
for fine examples of Apples Lord Suffield, Duchess of Oldenburg,
and Bietigheimer.

Other Exhibits.

P. Crowley, Esq., F.L.8., sent splendid specimens of Jefferson
Plums, showing effect of the sap (?) being checked, the fruits
being from a branch on which a wire ligature had been acci-
dentally left.

Mr. W. Whiteley, Hillingdon, Uxbridge, sent fruits of Tomato
Hillingdon Favourite.

Messrs. Keynes, Williams, & Co., Salisbury, sent a seedling
Plum named Mrs. Amy Kille.

Seedling Apples were shown by Messrs. G. Jackman & Son,
Woking, and Mr. G. Lee, Clevedon, Somerset.

T. Philpot, Esq., Vale Road, Guernsey (gardener, Mr.
Harding), sent a seedling Melon.

Messrs. J. Wrench & Sons, 39 King William Street, E.C.,
sent examples of Parsley, Wrench’s Champion.

FLORAL COMMITTEE, SEPTEMBER 22. clix

GENERAL MEETING.
SEPTEMBER 22, 1891.

Dr. MaxweEtt T. Masters, F.R.S., in the Chair.

ELECTIONS.

Fellows, 5.—Robt. M. Ivatt, Miss Stone, Mrs. Vaughan,
Walter Wadmore, Arthington Worsley.

A paper on “ Insectivorous Plants,’ by Mr. Robert Lindsay,
was read by the Secretary. (See p. 393.)

FLORAL COMMITTEE.
W. MarsHatnt, Ksq., in the Chair, and sixteen members present.

Awards Recommended :—

Silver Gilt Flora Medal.

To Messrs. G. Phippen, Reading, for a fine group of Cactus
Dahlias, intermixed with Palms, Lilies, Ferns, &c.

Silver Flora Medal.
To Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons, Crawley, for a beautiful collec-
tion of Dahlias.

Silver Banksian Medal.
To Messrs. T. 8. Ware, Tottenham, for a well-flowered group
of La Neige Carnations and an excellent collection of Dahlias.
To Mr. A. Rawlings, for a collection of Dahlias, in which
Show varieties were largely represented.

Bronze Banksian Medal.
To W. Keith, Esq., Cornwalls, Brentwood (gardener, Mr.
J. T. West), for excellent blooms of Dabhlias.
To Messrs. W. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, for a collection
of cut Roses.
To Mr. J. Walker, Thame, Oxon, for cut flowers of a good
strain of German Quilled Asters.

First Class Certificate.
To Hleagnus pungens maculatus (votes, unanimous), from

elx PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. Leaves creamy white and
yellow in the centre, narrow green margins.

To Rhododendron Ceres (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. J.
Veitch. A fine variety, with large clear yellow flowers.

Award of Merit.

To Dahlia (Pompon) Nellie Mackray (votes, unanimous), from
Mr. T. S. Ware. Deep orange-buff; new and distinct.

To Dahlia (Pompon) Mrs. W. Besant (votes, 6 for), from Mr.
T. 5S. Ware. White, tipped with deep purple.

To Dahlia (Fancy) Mrs. Ocock (votes, unanimous), from Mr.
A. Rawlings, Romford. Yellow, tipped with purple.

To Chrysanthemum Vicomte Cliquot (votes, 7 for), from
Mr. R. Owen, Maidenhead. Deep yellow, with slight flush of
orange-red.

To Dahlia (Cactus) Sultana (votes, 7 for), from Mr. C.
Turner, Slough. ‘Terra-cotta, tipped with white; of good form.

To Dahlia (Cactus) Rayon d’Or (votes, unanimous), from Mr.
C. Turner. White, edged with bright red.

To Dahlia (Pompon) Mars (votes, unanimous), from Mr. C.
Turner. Bright scarlet.

To Dahla (Pompon) Lorna Doone (votes, unanimous), from
Mr. C. Turner. Bright crimson-purple.

To Dahlia (Pompon) Cecil (votes, unanimous), from Mr. C.
Turner. Bright red, tipped with white.

To Dahha (Fancy) Touchstone (votes, 6 for, 3 against), from
Mr. C. Turner. Bronzy yellow, flaked with red.

To Dahlia (Show) Ada Rehan (votes, unanimous), from Mr.
C. Turner. Soft pinkish-hlac, of good form.

To Dahha (Cactus) Sir Roger (votes, unanimous), from Messrs.
H. Cannell & Sons. Brilliant orange-scarlet; very striking.

To Dahlia (Cactus) Ernest Cannell (votes, 6 for), from Messrs.
H. Cannell & Sons. Fine bright red. |

To Dahlia (Cactus) Mrs. Thornton (votes, unanimous), from
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons. Soft rosy-purple, of good form.

To Dahlia (Show) Draughtsman (votes, 6 for), from Mr.
G. §. P. Harris, Orpington. Crimson flushed with orange-
salmon.

To Dahlia (Pompon) Little Sarah (votes, unanimous), from
Mr. G. Humphries, Chippenham. Yellow, tipped with purple.

FLORAL COMMITTEE, SEPTEMBER 22. elxi

To Dahlia (Show) Mrs. Humphries (votes, unanimous),
from Mr.G. Humphries. Warm pink, tipped with purple on the
centre florets; good form.

Botanical Certificate.
To Cuphea Llavee (votes, unanimous), from Messrs. Pitcher
& Manda, Hextable. Petals brilliant scarlet, with a black spot
at base.

Cultwral Conumendation.
To W. Marshall, Esq., Auchinraith, Bexiey (gardener,
Mr. Pratt), for a fine specimen of Nerine flexuosa, with twenty
scapes of flowers.

Other Exhibits.

Mr. C. Turner sent several good stands of the Cactus, Show,
Fancy, and Pompon types of Dahlias.

Messrs. H. Low & Co., Clapton, sent Lilium claptonense.
The Committee desired to see it again, with information as to
origin, &e.

Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons sent an interesting series of varieties
of Eleagnus of a highly ornamental character, and a collection
of insectivorous plants to illustrate Mr. Lindsay’s lecture.

Mr. R. Owen sent a representative collection of summer-
flowering Pompon and Japanese Chrysanthemums.

ORCHID COMMITTEE.

Dr. M. T. Masters, F.R.S., in the Chair, and ten members
present.

Awards Recommended :—

Silver Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, for a group of rare
Orchids, comprising three varieties of their new Cypripedium
Pollettianum x (C.calophyllum x cenanthum superbum), which,
being second crosses in both parents, exhibited great variety ;
C. Maynardii splendens (C. purpuratum x C. Spicerianum),
Lelia grandis tenebrosa, several fine varieties of Miultonia

elxii PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

vexillaria, including the rare M. v. superb, Cattleya Gaskelliana
alba, and Vanda Hookeriana (votes, unanimous).

First Class Certeficate.

To Cypripedium Antigone x (C.niveum x C. Lawrenceanum)
(votes, unanimous), from Baron Schréder, The Dell, Egham
(gardener, Mr. H. Ballantine). This is a fine hybrid raised by
Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, of Chelsea. In colour and form
it much resembles C. niveum, but in size of plant and flower it
is equal to C. Lawrenceanum. The white sepals and petals
have a delicate flush of rose colour, a similar tint suffusing the
front of the lip.

To Cattleya intermedia alba (votes, 5 for, 4 against), exhibited
by Thos. Statter, Esq., Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester
(gardener, Mr. R. Johnson). This variety has pure white
flowers, but not so large as those of the other white variety,
C. 1. Parthenia.

Other Exhibits.

Baron Schréder, The Dell, Kgham, exhibited cut spikes of
Cattleya Hardyana and C. Dowiana.

C. J. Lucas, Esq., Warnham Court, Horsham (gardener, Mr.
G. Duncan), sent a plant in flower of the form of Aérides
suavissimum known in gardens as A. Rohanianum; also a
plant of Odontoglossum Pescatorei and cut spikes of a very
handsome variety of Cattleya Schofieldiana, C. bicolor, and Vanda
Sanderiana.

Thos. Statter, Esq., Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester
(gardener, Mr. R. Johnson), showed Cattleya Loddigesii and
C. L. splendens, a bright rosy-crimson form of the species, and
having a bronzy-orange stain on the lip; also cut flowers of
Miltonia Moreliana atrorubens.

J. C. Parr, Esq., Grappenhall Heyes, Warrington, sent a
three-flowered spike of Cattleya, which the Committee decided
was C. Hardyana.

Capt. Hincks, Brechinborough, Thirsk, exhibited his new
hybrid Masdevallia Stella (M. Harryana ¢ x M. Estrade @ ).
The flower-spikes each bore a small lilac-coloured flower equal
in size to M. amabilis.

Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, Hextable, Swanley, Kent, staged

ORCHID COMMITTEE, SEPTEMBER 22. elxill

a small group of Orchids in flower, including two plants of the
pale rose Lelia Eyermani, Cypripedium intermedium x, C.
Chas. Canham x, C. Harrisianum x, and C. H. Rougierii x ;
also Cattleya maxima and Burlingtonia fragrans.

Messrs. W. L. Lewis & Co., Chaseside, Southgate, sent a
plant of a pretty variety of Masdevallia Gaskelliana, and a
richly coloured form of Cypripedium Harrisianum x named
‘* Southgate var.”

Messrs. Seeger & Tropp, Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, ex-
hibited a plant of Grammatophyllum Seegerianum, recently
imported from the Molucca Islands. ‘The plant had a four-foot
spike of thirty-five flowers, greenish white, heavily barred with
chocolate-brown, after the manner of those of G. multiflorum.
The Committee, not being satisfied as to its distinctness from
other species, referred it to Kew.

FRUIT COMMITTEE.

P. Crowtey, Esq., F.L.8., in the Chair, and nineteen members
present.

Awards Recommended :—
Silver Banksian Medal.

To Messrs. Wm. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, for a fine col-
lection of Apples and Pears, the most noteworthy varieties
amongst the former being Duchess’s Favourite, Duchess of
Oldenbureh, Lord Suffield, and Emperor Alexander. Large and
well-coloured examples of Souvenir du Congrés and Clapp’s
Favourite Pears were shown.

Other Exhibits.

Rev. R. L. Flood, Merrow, Guildford (gardener, Mr. J.
Gilbert), sent good examples of Salway Peaches, eleven fruits,
weighing 7 lbs. 134 oz.

Messrs. R. Veitch & Son, Exeter, sent a new seedling Peach
named Lady Walrond.

Messrs. W. Balchin & Sons, Hassocks, Sussex, sent examples
of an Apple for name, which was recognised as Miller’s Seedling.

Seedling Apples were shown by Mr. Rogers, Harrow-on-the

° E +
clxiv PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Hill, and Messrs. Laxton Bros., Bedford; the latter also sent
fruits of seedling Plums.

A. H. Smee, Esq., The Grange, Omishulton (gardener, Mr.
Cummins), sent examples of Apples, names unknown.

Messrs. H. Lane & Son, Great Berkhampstead, sent fruit of
a Pear-shaped Apple.

Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, sent fruits of Crab
Apple John Downie, and Pyrus malus Elise Rathe; also free-
fruiting branches of Damson Farleigh Prolific.

Rev. W. Wilks, Shirley. Vicarage, Croydon, sent fruit of a
new Pear named Marguerite Marillat—very large and handsome.
It was not ripe.

Mr. J. Tubbs, Shrewsbury Lodge, Teddington, sent a seedling ~
Melon, which the Committee desired to see again.

Seedling Melons were shown by Mr. G. Wythes, Syon House
Gardens, and Mr. Gilman, Ingestre Gardens.

From the Society’s Gardens were sent specimens of ‘‘ evapo-
rated” Plums, the fruit kindly contributed by Messrs. Rivers &
Son, and dried at Chiswick. It was requested that some be
cooked for the Committee to taste at their next meeting.

Mr. J. Roberts, The Gardens, Tan-y-Bwlch, South Wales,
sent fruits of Passiflora edulis.

Mr. Bloxham, Great Brickhill Manor, Bletchley, sent good
examples of Onion Veitch’s Maincrop.

Cecil H. Hooper, Esq,, Elmleigh, Beckenham, exhibited an
album containing pictures of vegetables, which he had collected
in Paris; also illustrations from his own photographs of French
methods of training fruit trees ; and other views in and around
Paris of matters of horticultural interest.

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