132 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Scilla hispanica -be planted with them there 

 will be a display from March till May, the S(iuills 

 flowering beautifully when the young fronds of 

 the Ferns are pushing forth. There are other 

 Squills, of course, which flower earlier — viz., 

 Scilla sibirica and S. bifolia — which come in 

 March and light up many a corner with their 

 sparkling blue flowers. They are suitable for 

 the rock-garden, but in gardens where they have 

 been grown for years they are found coming 

 up in all sorts of places. For small gardens 

 they are extremely useful, as a few groups 

 may be grown under the windows or other 

 situation near the house, where they will 

 gladden all with their pretty flowers in early 

 spring. 



Tuli^DS are among the most beautiful of hardy 

 bulbs, and make a brave show in many parts 

 of the garden. Many of the wild species are 

 suitably placed on the rock garden, and rival 

 in beauty the garden-raised forms. Tulips 

 generally are not suitable for naturalising in 

 grass, though T. sylvestris may be induced to 

 flourish under trees Avhich do not throw too dense 

 a shade. The Cottage and Darwin varieties of 

 robust habit may, however, be grown in the open 

 spaces in shrubberies by simply loosening the 

 soil and adding a spadeful of sand. They are 

 mostly tall growers, and look very attractive in 

 April and May. It is unlikely that anyone will 

 wish to fill beds with these or other bulbs at the 

 present time, biit those who have stocks on hand, 

 or who desire to have flowers for sending to 

 hospitals and Fetes for our fighting men, should 

 endeavour to f^nd odd corners where sufficient 

 may be grown to keep alive the national love 

 of flowers. Last on our list, but perhaps most 

 important of all, we place the "Dancing Dafi^odil." 

 Of all bulbous plants there is none so well 

 adapted for growing in grass and for naturalising 

 in all sorts of places. They do not care for a 

 dry, hot soil, at least the larger growers, but there 

 are few soils that will not grow Daffodils of some 

 kind. Very many of them increase rapidly, and 

 though some of the finer new varieties are too 

 dear for extensive planting in these times, yet 

 there are scores of beautiful varieties of the 

 various sections procurable at very low rates 

 as a rule. Those, therefore, who would have 

 quantities of flowers for early cutting should 

 consult a bulb merchant at the earliest oppor- 

 tunity with a view to acquiring early such 

 bulbs as may be wanted, and whicli may be had 

 at a reasonable price. 



It will be necessary to write for catalogues, 

 as they cannot be sent out unless asked for. 



B. 



Henbane. 



HYOSCYAMU.S NIGEE, L. 



The information which is available at present 

 regarding the characteristics, culture, &c., of 

 medicinal herbs is often vague and inaccurate. 

 For instance, Hyoscyamus niger has been 

 endowed by recent writers with a degree of 

 capriciousness amounting almost to self-will, and 

 even learned botanists disagree as to whether it 

 is primarily an annual or a biennial. 



With reference to Henbane, the writer has 

 made rather extensive inquiries, observations 

 and experiments during this season and last, 

 with results that are surprisingly consistent. 

 An hypothesis based on these results may 

 stimulate interested readers to help in solving 

 this riddle. 



Hyoscyamus niger, in the wild state, probably 

 exists normally as a biennial in localities where 

 conditions are sufficiently favourable to permit 

 of the roots surviving the winter. The species 

 is, however, very much inclined to produce 

 "■ sports " which seed the first year. Through 

 the agency of natural selection these sports may 

 have enabled the species to persist as an annual 

 under natural conditions which were fatal to 

 the biennial. The foregoing is a probable ex- 

 planation of the fact that the species has been 

 found persisting as a biennial in the West of 

 Ireland and as an annual along the eastern coast. 

 (See illustration at page 134.) Competent 

 observers have similarly reported that Henbane 

 is an annual in parts of Suffolk and a biennial 

 in Cornwall. 



In the first year of growth the annual and 

 biennial varieties display differences in appear- 

 ance which are so wide as to be almost specific, 

 but the biennial closely resembles the aiinual 

 variety in the second year of growth. The two 

 varieties might easily be confused by collectors 

 of seed from wild plants, and this circumstance 

 may have given rise to the prevalent idea that 

 the plant may become either an annual or 

 biennial on the slightest provocation. 



The writer's experience is that the two 

 varieties breed practically true in Ireland. In 

 fact it is considered rather fortunate that two 

 plants out of several thousand plants having the 

 characteristics of true biennials have shown a 

 tendency to produce seed in the first year.' If 

 this seed should ripen, it will afford material 

 for further interesting experiments. 



August 1917. 



G. N. Keller. 



