354 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



t :Movember G, 1878. 



in Pai-ia onr party enjoyed very much at breakfast a fair supply 

 of these Jlontpellier Grapes. The black Grapes were not nearly 

 so good, and after one trial were dispensed with. 



And truly I may say with my good friend the Boulevards 

 with their ranges of trees are surpassingly beautiful ; and 

 whatever bad taste may be showu, whether architecturally, as 

 in the hideous New Opera House, or in the gardening, it is 

 a marvellously beautiful city, and not even the commune has 

 been able much to mar its beauty. One never tires of it as of 

 other cities, and one need not wonder at the feeling which it 

 stirs in the hearts of its inhabitants. One thing struck me as 

 indicative of what many hope for — a Legitimist restoration : 

 the far greater number of priests moving about, and the break- 

 ing-up old houses in the Faubourg St. Germains which I have 

 seen for years shut up. Well, with these things we gardeners 

 have nothing to do. Let us hope, whatever may be the issue 

 of events, the gardeners of both countries may continue to 

 learn from one another, and exchange those kindly courtesies 

 which no class of men are more ready to show. — D., Deal. 



FLOWERS FOR OUR BORDERS.— No, 20. 



DELPHINIUM HENDERSONII— Henderson's LiBKSPOK. 

 If a stately habit and magnificent flowers of the deepest 

 blue are to be regarded as recommendations to notice, then 



Delphinium Hendersonii. 



is the Delphinium Hendersonii entitled to a prominent place 

 in our list of choice subjects. It possesses in a high degree 

 those characteristics for which the perennial Larkspurs are so 

 deservedly esteemed. As one of the chief points by which 

 it is distinguished from most other varieties is the large size 

 of the flowers, we have preferred to give one or two detached 

 blossoms of nearly the natural size (about two-thirds), rather 

 than a reduced figure of the entire spike, which must, neces- 

 sarily, have failed to convey a correct idea of their great 

 beauty. The dark green glossy foliage cut into acute seg- 

 ments is strikingly handsome, as is that of most of the 

 Delphiniums. In common with the other members of this 

 showy genus, it delights in a rich light soil, in which it grows 

 from 4 to 5 feet high, and is, as might be supposed, perfectly 

 hardy. It is a hybrid between D. cheilanthum and D. elatum 

 Bplendens, and was raised by M. Chauvicre, of Paris, of whom 

 Messrs. Henderson, of the WeUington Nursery, purchased the 

 entire stock. 

 The size of the flowers is very remarkable; but it is, we 



think, fully within the range of probability that varieties will, 

 ere long, be raised with yet larger blossoms. By a very simple 

 process all our perennials, and, indeed, every description of 

 plant, might be greatly improved. 



It must have been remarked by all observant horticulturists 

 that the first few blossoms which expand on most plants are 

 considerably the largest ; and that even when the flowers are 

 removed as soon as faded, the succeeding ones do not equal 

 them in size. In such plants as the Potentilla, ffiuothera 

 speciosa, and many others, the flowers gradually diminish in 

 size until, at last, they are scarcely more than one-half the 

 dimensions of the earliest ones. It follows, as a matter of 

 necessity, that the seeds ripened by the flowers first expanded 

 will be much finer than those produced by the latest blossoms ; 

 and if, instead of permitting the whole of the buds upon the 

 spike or raceme to reach maturity, all but the first two or 

 three are pinched-off, a still further improvement will result ;; 

 for the vital forces of the plant will be concentrated in the 

 development and maturation of a very small number of blos- 

 soms. When the plant produces several flower-stems, one- 

 may be very well spared for this purpose. It is not advisable, 

 we think, to cut-off the upper portion of the spike ; we would 

 simply pick-off the buds, and that at the very earliest period 

 at which they can be removed, so that none of the strength 

 of the plant be wasted in nourishing them. The plants raised 

 from seed thus obtained may be subjected to the same pro- 

 cess ; and so on, for any number of generations, with increasing 

 benefit. It would , however, be necessary to guard against cross- 

 impregnation by any other species of an inferior kind present- 

 in the same garden, as this would tend to modify materially 

 the character of the progeny. 



To return from this digression to the Delphiniums, which- 

 we must not quit without a few remarks on the structure of 

 the flowers. Like many other genera of the Ranunculus 

 tribe, the Larkspurs are remarkable for their coloured sepals, 

 the true petals being comparatively small. Of the five divi- 

 sions of the calyx, the upper one is prolonged into ahoUov/i 

 spur, which varies in length in the different species. In the 

 true Delphiniums the petals are four in number ; two usually 

 very narrow, and furnished with spurs, which are included iu 

 that of the upper sepal ; the other two are much broader at 

 their ends, and reflexed downwards over the stamens. In 

 D. Hendersonii, and many other kinds, these two petals are 

 covered with yellowish hairs about the centre, which com- 

 municate to the flower the appearance of being occupied by a 

 bee, or other large insect , which may be supposed to have crawled 

 in in quest of nectar, and thence the popular designation of 

 Bee Larkspur applied to D. elatum and other species. 



D. Hendersonii does not produce seed, but many other 

 garden varieties being fertile, a considerable number of seed- 

 lings have been raised of late years, some of which are great 

 acquisitions. Not to speak of the well-known D. formosuni 

 raised by Mr. W. Moore, of East Dereham, the following 

 deserve especial mention : — D. Bella Donna, of dwarf habiO 

 and light sky-blue flowers ; D. bicolor grandiflorum, a seed- 

 ling from D. formosum, but with a centre of pure white ; 

 D. Le Mastodonte, one of the largest yet raised, with deep 

 blue flowers, the centre white ; D. Nahamah, dark blue, in 

 long close spikes ; and D. Madame Eichalet, with cobalt blue 

 flowers, the centre nearly white. These are all single-flowered 

 varieties, but a copious selection could easily be made of double 

 and semi-double forms, of which alopecuroides, Beatsonii, 

 Herman Stenger, Keteleeri, Mens. Barral, and EanuncuL'p- 

 florum are among the best. — (ir. Tlionqison's English Floicer 

 Garden, licvised by the Author.) 



MR. ROBERT FISH. 



In addition to our remarks on the death of Mr. Robert Fisi 

 which were made in our last publication, we wish to state that 

 he was in the 6.5th year of his age, and that he was buried ou 

 the 27th of October in the churchyard of Lilley^ in Hertford- 

 shire. Besides the members of his own family, who came from 

 distant parts in England and Scotland, his funeral was at- 

 tended by George Sowerby, Esq., of Futteridgebury, by the 

 manager of the estate, and other friends ; and it is right to be 

 mentioned that the whole expense was defrayed by Mr. Sowerby, 

 who will also erect a suitable memorial — a graceful tribute to 

 the worth of one who for so many years served his family so 

 faithfuUy and so well. 



In the last week's Journal of Hokticdltcke you gave an 



