i8 97 . 



GARDENING. 



107 



there was no addition to the number. In 

 1S60 nine varieties are recorded in the 

 leading catalogues. In 1865 what are 

 known as the Invincible strains began. 

 First the scarlets, then purples, white, 

 striped, and perhaps the most beautiful 

 of all, the Carmine Invincible. These 

 were undoubted improvements on the 

 old varieties, and are still grown. Fairy 

 Queen, probably a sport from Painted 

 Lady, now became known, and was soon 

 followed by Crown Princess, Adonis, 

 Butterfly, Princess Beatrice, Violet Oueen, 

 Princess of Wales, and a few others? 



About the year 1S77 the great im- 

 provement in sweet peas began. Mr. 

 Henry Hckford, at that time gardener to 

 Dr. Sankey, of Boreatton Park, in Shrop 

 shire, and who has since established a 

 business at Wem, has done more than 

 any other man to popularize this beauti- 

 ful flower by bringing out a great num- 

 ber of charming varieties much improved 

 in form, size and constitution, and of 

 almost every shade of color, so that Eck- 

 ford's name has become a household word 

 in connection with sweet peas. 



BOUQUET OF EULALU JAPONIOA 



The Flower Garden. 



EULflLlfl JflPONIGfl. 



In the issue of Gardening of September 

 1, 1896, we illustrated a bed of eulalias 

 as grown at Egandale, and presented an 

 article giving their history and method 

 of cultivation. We now present an illus- 

 tration showing the seed plumes of these 

 plants, as arranged for decorative effect. 

 The bouquet in question was shown at 

 the last chrysanthemum exhibition of the 

 Horticultural Society of Chicago, and 

 was placed upon the front centers of the 

 stage. 



These seed plumes are everlasting, and 

 will remain in good condition fully a year 

 after cutting. To be seen at their best, 

 the bouquet should be placed where the 

 light is immediately behind it. This im- 

 parts to the fleecy plumes an indescriba- 

 ble sheen that produces a charming effect. 

 In this instance a powerful electric light 

 was behind it. The two varieties used 

 were E.Japonica stricta and E.Japonica 

 zebrina, the stalks of the latter being 

 about ten feet long when cut. 



SWEET FEfl HISTORY. 



The Gardeners' Magazine gives cur- 

 rency to the following from a paper read 

 by Mr. G. Stanton at a meeting of the 

 Reading (England) Gardeners' Associa- 

 tion: 



Sicily, a large island in the Mediterra- 

 nean, a few miles from the coast of Italy, 

 enjoys the honor of being the native home 

 of the sweet pea (Lathjrus odoratus), 

 whence it was introduced into England 

 in 1700 — nearly 200 years ago. There 

 is some uncertainty as to its original 



color, some authorities asserting that 

 more than one varietv of the species came 

 over. Philip Miller, however, in bis 

 "Gardeners' Dictionary." mentions it in 

 1731 as the "broad-leaved, soft, hairy 

 chickling, with large and ver\- beautiful 

 purple, sweet-smelling flowers, commonlv 

 called sweet-scented peas." Chickling is 

 an old name formerly applied to the pea 

 or vetch. This must be considered good 

 authority, and it gives us, as far as I can 

 learn, the first reliable date of its exist- 

 ence after its introduction. I think purple 

 or bluish-purple was probably its original 

 color, as there is a tendency to revert to 

 this more than to anv other shade. 



I have a copy of "Mawe's Gardener," 

 published in 1800, in which annuals are 

 ranked in three sections, and sweet peas 

 are placed in the third, or lowest class, 

 containing the hardiest and commonest 

 plants, so that its position at this date 

 could not have been a very high one. The 

 work mentions five varieties — the Purple, 

 the Black Purple, White, Scarlet, and 

 Painted Lady. This shows the position 

 of the sweet pea 100 years after its intro- 

 duction, or its centenary. Its bicentenary 

 will soon be here, and, as it has become 

 the custom in modern times to commem- 

 orate these periods in a favorite flower, 

 we shall no doubt in 1900 show our due 

 appreciation of this most beautiful of all 

 annuals. 



The variety of color in 1800 was very 

 good, seeing that theie were a white, 

 scarlet, purple, and a bicolor called 

 Painted Lady, and it is remarkable that 

 the last named variety has retained its 

 position up to the present day In Page's 

 "Prodromus," published in 1817, astriped 

 variety is mentioned, bringing the num- 

 ber up to six. In 1842 a list was pub- 

 lished which still contained only the six 

 varieties, so that for twentv-five vears 



RUDBECKIA GOLDEN GLOW. 



A correspondent writes in an English 

 paper: This plant is not a verv new plant 

 to English gardens. It was* introduced 

 from North America nearly twentv years 

 ago by Messrs. Smith, of St. John's Nur- 

 series, Worcester, and offered in their 

 catalogue by the name of Rudbeckia 

 laevigata; thence it came into my garden, 

 and though it does not increase fast, it 

 has had time to find its way into most of 

 the cottage gardens in the parish. 



I sent the plant some years ago to 

 Kew for identification, and it was there 

 considered to be a variety of R. laciniata, 

 though it differs in many respects from 

 the type of that species. Asa Gray, in his 

 "Flora of North America." considers R. 

 laevigata of Pursh to be a dwarf form (a 

 foot or two high) of R. laciniata, though 

 he does not seem to know the variety. 

 Our plant does not fit anv rudbeckia 

 described by Asa Gray. Perhaps it ma \ 

 be a hybrid, say between R. laciniata anc 

 R. pinnata or R. maxima. This seems 

 more likely, as I hf.ve revtr been able tc 

 find or hear of a fertile seed on the plant 

 whilst R. laciniata ripens seeds freely it 

 English gardens. Iu was figured in "Tin 

 Garden" as "A', nitida," a species tb 

 characters of which it will not fit, thoug] 

 that too, has a var. laevigata (Nuttal 

 said to be distinct from the R. l&vigaU 

 of Pursh. 



The provisional name Rudbeck : a Goldei 

 Glow is safer than a conjectural specifi 

 name, but I think I have seen it in Barr' 

 catalogue called Autumn Glory, and i 

 would be well to obtain consistency i 

 these fancy names. The flowers 'las 

 remarkably long, often well into Noven 

 ber, and few plants make so large a sho^ 

 from so small a base; it has also th 

 merit of flourishing for many vears in tb 

 same spot without interference. 



[Rudbeckia Golden Glow is distinctly 

 variety 0/ Rudbeckia laciniata and thei 

 is nothing dwarf about it and most surel 

 it is not slow to grow. While its foliaj 

 has a certain resemblance to that of j 

 pinnata, we fail to find a trace of reser 

 blance between Golden Glow and j 

 maxima or R. nitida. — Ed.] 



OrNITHOGALIM niHELLATl'M.- Repl 



ing to an inquiry of your last issue, I bi 

 to state that O. umhellatum is perfect 

 haidv in this region. [ames A. Hunt 

 Winnetka, 111. 



