1 84 



IRISH GARDENING 



under the following' t-oiulitions^. Tlie i)larit.s 

 should he ]>la(M>d on iuverted ]>ut«, or on a li^lil 

 up])er stik.'Aiuy coiuposed of lathefs. covering' llic 

 hotkiin .sta.L^e wil.h hrokcii coke fine ^i"!''^*^''' "•' 

 siuiilar Juoisture-hoUUu^ material, as the re(|uu'ed 

 atmospheric condition is generally jtrodueed hy 

 the stagini; beinj? eonstrueted in such a. way. 



The eom])ost or ]»otting material should consist 

 of loam about three parts, and care should be 

 taken that this is fibrous and light, (Ibrous ]>eat or 

 Osmunda libre. adding some coarse silver sand 

 or (inely broken crocks, mixing well before using. 



The most suitable time to ])ot or sui'face 

 C'y])ripedium insigne is about one montli after 

 flowering, during wliicli time the plants should 

 be kept moderately dry. When i)otting the com- 

 post sliould be worked carefully througli the 

 roots, ]>ressing it lirndy witli a ] minted stick or 

 dibble, leaving a s])ace of one-half to an inch for 

 the watering of the ])lant. 



During briglit weatlier — say from Marcli to 

 Se]itember — the plants must be shaded from 

 strong sunshine, giving an occasional spraying or 

 syringing over head in the late afternoon, which 

 will |)rove beneficial. The amount of ventilation 

 should he regulated according to the outside 

 temperature during mild and moist weather, or 

 when the outside tem]>erature is not too low , 

 plenty of air may be given with advantage. 



The following are some of the best varieties : — 

 Cyi)ripedium insigne Sanderse. ('. i. Harefield 

 Hall, C. i. Laura Kimball, C. i. Chantinii Lindenii, 

 C. i. George Corser, C. i Commander-in-Cliief. 



M. C. 



Tiarella cordifolia. 



AN^HKN well grown the " Foam J^'lower " is a 

 beautifid plant for the rockery over a hing seasi>n. 

 In May it sends u]) elegant spikes of creamy- 

 wliite flowers with chocolate antiiers to al>out 

 inclies in lieight, and during tlie autumn the 

 pretty heart-shaped foliage often turns to a 

 bronzy tint. 



The Tiarella succeeds in most .soils, but it does 

 not like to be burnt u]) in summer, so on very 

 dry soils add some peat or leaf-mould to retain 

 the moisture. After flowering, the plant sends 

 out short runners which soon take root, and a 

 healthy colony is soon formed. 



Tiarella cordifolia belongs to the Saxifrage 

 order and is a native of North America, the name 

 coming from tiara, a Persian diadem, alluding 

 to the shape of the fruits. 



Tiarella unifoliata is similar in liabit and in 

 flower, but is a larger plant, growing a foot high. 

 T. trifoliata, another North Ajiierican s))ecies, is 

 more uncommon, V)ut not quite .so pretty, and 

 u]> to the present has not flowered so freely as 

 tlie others ; it may be easily distinguished by the 

 trifoliate leaves and absence of runners. 



The Double Erica Mackaii. 



This pretty Erica may be known to a few ]jeo|t.le 

 as E. Orawfordi, or Crawford's Ifeath, but the 

 plant is simply a double form of Erica Mackaii, 

 and it is now being sent out by Messrs. Cunning- 

 ham & Eraser under the name E. Mackaii, fl. pi. 



The history of the plant is that it was found by 

 Mr. F. ('. Crawford, of KdiiiliurKh (who took 

 the plant t() Scotland), at Crai;^'ga More, in West 

 (ialway, in the year ISIH. Since that time it 

 has not been collected, and this specimen was 

 sujiposed, until recently, to be the only one 

 found. 



Some time ago Mr. Praeger tells me that a 

 specimen of this double form has been found 

 among the late A. (J. More's specimens of E. 

 Mackaii, now in the Herbarium of the Dublin 

 National Museum. Tiie.se specimens were col- 

 lected nearly lifty years ago, so that A. (i. More, 

 author of " ('ybele llibernica," first collected the 

 double K. Mackaii, although apparently it was 

 unrecorded, and no special note is attached to the 

 specimen sheet. 



The dried specimen seems identical with a 

 growing ])lant at (ilasnevin. 



When one knows E. Mackaii fl. i)l.. it is quite 

 easy to imagine how difficult it would he to find 

 when growing wild, for only when bending down 

 to examine it one sees that the flowers are double. 



The corolla is urn-shai>ed. undivided like the 

 type plant, but wider at the mouth, the inside 

 closely ]jacked with petals, and the reproductive 

 organs are absent, so that this doubling does not 

 disfigure the flowers, but enables them to last a 

 longer time in beauty. 



For a peaty pocket in the rockery it is an ideal 

 little subject, forming a spreading tuft about 

 1)S inches across and (i inches high. Tne blooming 

 period is from the end of August, often jjrolonged 

 to October. The flowers are pink on the side 

 expo.sed to the sun, but blush or white when 

 unexposed. 



Although now considered to be a species or sub- 

 species, E. Mackaii has been known as a variety 

 of E. tetralix, while Linton considered it to be a 

 hybrid of E. cinerea and tetralix. In Cialway it 

 has two main stations, and the plants vary in 

 some particulars from these localities — one is 

 around Craigga More Lake, where it extends for 

 a mile east and west, and on Urrisbeg and near 

 Carna. 



A pretty jdioto of Mackay's Heath appears in 

 Praeger' s West of Ii-eland Flora, where the 

 plants surrounding it are Calluna, Erica cinerea. 

 Sweet Gale, and Osm' nda. F. B. 



Gardening for Amateurs. 



Paut is of this most interesting and useful 

 fortnightly ]>ublication issued by Cassell tV; Co. is 

 just to hand. It contains much that should be 

 of value to the amateur, the informafion being 

 given in a most readable and lucid manner. 

 Plants for Rooms is the title of an exhaustive 

 article on tliis ]»o])ular form of plant culture 

 which covers nf>t alone those ]ilants suitable for 

 the puripose. but also gives details of culture, 

 proiiagaiion, <.V:c. Hardy Ferns ami (ireenhouse 

 Ferns have numerous i)ages devoted t<j their 

 culture, many splendid illustrations being given 

 of the mo.st useful and beautiful species. 



Cha|)ters are devoted to Hothouse Flowers. 

 Climbing Plants for the Hothouse, Hedges and 

 Hedge Plants, and other interesting subjects. 



