May 18, 1907 



horticulture: 



651 



British Horticulture 



VISIT OF FRENCH HOKTICULTUEISTS 



On several occasions parties of British horticulturists 

 have paid a visit to the French nurseries. This visit 

 is now to be r?turncd. The .Journal of the Federation 

 Xationale des Syndicate- Horticoles de France in Paris 

 is making the arrangements amongst its readers for 

 iJie trip, which ]n'oiiiises to be unusually interesting. 

 The visitors will arrive in London at the end of May 

 in time to atte7id the siunnier show of the Royal Horti- 

 culture Society, in the Temple Gardens. This is the 

 premier show, and the French visitors will have an op- 

 portunity of comparing British show methods with 

 those of their country. Britishers who have visited the 

 French shows usually get the impression that the grow- 

 ers in that country cannot excel tlie British ones as re- 

 gards cultural skill, but in eft'ective and artistic arrange- 

 ment the French horticulturists are unbeaten. The 

 trippers will take full advantage of their few days in 

 London to see the chief attractions, such as Kew Gar- 

 dens, described on the progi'amme as the most beautiful 

 botanical garden in the world, Hampton Court Gar- 

 dens, Eichmond Park, and the ether Metropolitan open 

 spaces. The instructive side of sightseeing will not 

 be overlooked. The colony of glass belonging to Messrs. 

 Eochford at Turnford Hall, where quantities of lilies 

 are grown under the retarding method, will be inspect- 

 ed, in addition to the nurseries of Messrs. Rivers at 

 Sawbridgworth, where fruit culture in pots is a spe- 

 cialty. It is also hoped to inspect the orchids of 

 Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Bush Hill Park, and the 

 many rare plants at Chelsea, belonging to Messrs. 

 Veitch & Sons. 



SOIL INOCULATION 



Some very interesting experiments in soil inoculation 

 have in recent years been conducted by Professor Bot- 

 tomley. It is due to scientists of this calibre that hor- 

 ticulturists have the advantage of modem research. If 

 they had depended on the Board of Agriculture for 

 assistance in this field of investigation they would have 

 been sadly disappointed. Our Board is very much be- 

 hind the American Department in this respect. The 

 British Department, sometime ago, made an experi- 

 ment with some material obtained from the United 

 States, and this was reported as a disappointing failure. 

 It subsequently transpired that the material had been 

 kept in England for six months before the experiment 

 was made, in spite of the fact that its vitality can only 

 be depended upon for two years. These and other 

 instructive facts were laid before a meeting of the 

 Horticultural Club in London recently. Mr. Cuthbert- 

 son spoke of the advantages of soil inoculation for the 

 poor land in Essex, where he resides. Professor Bot- 

 tomley answered that the experiments made in that 

 county had proved verj' successful. 



FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 



The scope of the Eoyal Horticultural Society's opera- 

 tions is now extended by the erection of a laboratory at 

 the beautiful gardens at Wisley. This extension will 

 enable the Society to pay ah increased attention to sci- 

 entific research. The sulijects to be experimented upon 

 include soil-sterilization by steam as a means of de- 

 stroying plant pests which live in the soil; an investi- 

 gation into the influence of sterilization on the plants 

 cultivated in the soil ; study of the bacterial flora of the 

 soil; etherization of plants; and certain plant diseases. 



The usefulness of the Society will he immensely en- 



hanced by this experimental work to accompany the 

 trials of f.owers, fruit and \;egetables which form part 

 of the Wisley work. The Society is now thoroughly 

 equipped for aiding the gardener in solving the doubts 

 and dithciilties which arise. It has an excellent Scien- 

 tific Committee whose deliberations are always of value. 

 The Society's publications are also of incalculable as- 

 sistance. The ".Journal" issued quarterly has in recent 

 years grown in bulk and usefulness. One of the So- 

 ciety's latest publications is an official report of the 

 third international conference on genetics, held in Lon- 

 don last year. The papers are admirable contributions 

 to many important problems of plant life, and will be 

 valued by all interested in the scientific side of horti- 

 culture. 



THE DAY OF THE DAFFODIL 



Lately I was able to see the golden array of daffodils 

 on the famous nursery of Messrs. Barr & Sons. The 

 firm have a wide selection of new and old friends and 

 some of these are still costly favorites. Peter Barr, 

 named after the head of the firm, is now catalogued at 

 £31 a bulb. There were several unnamed seedlings to 

 be seen at tlie nursery, indicating that the "last word" 

 has not been said on this branch of horticulture. Splen- 

 did as is Peter Barr, with its bold graceful form, it is 

 hoped to even excel this floral aristocrat. Amongst 

 the leading varieties, King Alfred, a majestic bloom, 

 fit for a monarch's name, retains its wide popularity. 

 Mrs. George Barr is a white Ajax, of smaller dimen- 

 sions. Engleheaiti Royal Star is an imposing bloom, 

 with sulphury wings and a broad flat cup of an orange 

 red tint. The Bride may be regarded as one of the 

 pick of the poeticus section. Others worth noting are 

 P. R. Barr, Duchess of Westminster, Cleopatra, Maggie 

 May, C. H. Curtis, Sabrina, Cloth of Gold, Shakespeare, 

 etc. Ariadne has won many honors on the show table. 

 It belongs to the early-flowering section, and its soft 

 lemon-colored cup in an ivoiy white perianth usually 

 attracts considerable notice. With this special attention 

 being paid to the daffodil there is little chance of this 

 cliarming subject losing its hold on the public. 



>t?y- C^M^, 



Magnolia glauca 



(Hee Frontispiece..) 



The beautiful magnolia which is the subject of our 

 frontispiece this week is a native of the southern and 

 middle States where it is found growing luxuriantly 

 along the river banks and brooks. In the south the 

 foliage is more or less evergreen. The northern limit 

 uf the tree is at Magnolia, Mass., the name of the 

 town having been given for this reason. The flowers 

 are creamy white and deliciously fragrant. By many. 

 Magnolia glauca is considered the most beautiful of 

 cur American flowering trees. In flowering time the 

 blooms are sold in enormous quantities by colored 

 women on the streets of Washington and few passers 

 there are who have not the price of a magnolia flower. 



At the Arnold Arboretum may be seen a beautiful 

 liybrid of Magnolia glauca called Thompsoniana. The 

 other parent is Magnolia tripetala — the umbrella mag- 

 nolia. The flowers of M. Thompsoniana are like those 

 of glauca but three times enlarged. It flowers all 

 through the summer but, unfortunately, it is not quite 

 as hardy as either of its parents. 



