254 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AKD COTTAGE GARDENER. [ September 29. ma. 



awarded a certificate of commendation as an example of 

 meritorious gardening. A seedling Peach was sent by Mr. 

 Rust, of Broom House, Fulliam, called Thames Bank. It is 

 alai-geyeUow-fleshed Peach as large as Late Admirable, and 

 with the broad broken stripes of that variety. It was found 

 to be a good Peach and received a certificate of com- 

 mendation. Fine dishes of Selway and Late Admirable 

 Peaches were received from 'Mi: Thompson, gardener to Mrs. 

 Dixon, Stanstead Park, Sussex, which were much admired 

 for then- handsome appearance, but the flavom- of both was 

 inferior. Mr. Veitch, of Chelsea, exliibited three varieties 

 of Syrian Peaches, one of which had a bitter kernel. Neither 

 of them was named, but they were distinguished by numbers. 

 No. 1 was a good-sized oval Peach with a dark red cheek ; 

 the flesh tender but not remarkable for flavom-. The kernel 

 is bitter. No. 2 was also a good-sized fruit with a green skin 

 like BaiTington, and very dai'k red at the stone ; but the 

 flesh was coarse and the flavom- inferior, whUe the stone was 

 xmusually lai-ge. No. 3 was of larger size than the others, 

 but the flesh of tliis also was coarse and not remarkable for 

 flavour. 



Messrs. Downie, Laird, & Laing, of Sydenham, sent a 

 bunch of a Grape which proved to be Black Morocco. Mr. 

 Turner, of Slough, sent a dish of Belle de Fontenay Rasp- 

 ben-ies, which were of large size and very handsome, pos- 

 sessing a good deal of flavour considering the late period of 

 the season, and they received a certificate of commendation. 

 Mr. Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth, brought fruit of a Peach 

 called Clemens Isam-e, a large yeUow-fleshed fruit deeply 

 stained with red at the stone ; but it was acid, and without 

 much flavour-. Ooe's Large Yellow is also a yellow Peach, 

 and it, too, had a cold acid flavour. Columbia, a dusty- 

 coloured and very downy Peach, was remarkable as having 

 the flesh deep red for some depth under the skin and thence 

 quite pale to the stone ; Imt it was very acid, and without 

 flavoiu-. A seedling Plum, raised from Coe's Late Red, was 

 richly flavoured. It is yeUow and oval like a Small Coe's 

 Golden Drop, and promises to be an excellent variety. The 

 Nectarine Peach, a seedling raised by Mr. Rivers, partake s 

 of the ehfu-acter of the Peach and Nectarine both in shape 

 and flavom-. Round the stalk the fruit is quite smooth, and 

 over the remaining sm-faee it is covered with a fine down. 

 The flesh is vei-y tender, juicy, and richly flavom-ed. 



THE GLADIOLUS QUESTION. 



I HAVE been much intei-ested in the Gladiolus controversy 

 which has appeai-od in your pages of late, the result of which 

 I trust will enable your subscribers and others not only to 

 grow the bullj properly, but to know what to call it when 

 they have grown it. 



The proper pronunciation of the word " Gladiolus " has 

 certainly been a matter of dispute for some time, and, as 

 "D.," of Deal, observes, is continually a subject for argument, 

 and to this day is not settled. I do not see, however, why 

 it should not be settled after the very satisfactory explana- 

 tion given by the above writer in yom- Number for the 15th 

 inst., which fm-ther agrees with the statement given by 

 " R. T. E., Shrewsbury," who quotes Ainsworth, Riddle, and 

 other lexicographers as authorities. 



As regards adoijting the gardeners' pronunciation of the 

 word, I think that could scarcely be a rule to be relied upon, 

 although we have many instances, no doubt, that if the 

 strictly classical pronunciation of plants was adopted it would 

 appear affected and pedantic ; custom having given a pro- 

 nunciation which in time becomes accepted as correct. If, 

 however, Mr. Beaton has a better avxthority for his pronun- 

 ciation of the word than the one above refen-ed to, let us 

 adopt it ; if not, I think we cannot do better than settle the 

 matter at once by bowing to Ainsworth and Riddle as set 

 forth in your Niunber of the 1st inst.— R. Ticheoukne, 

 Soutlunnpton. 



HOYA IMPEEIALIS. 



" E. M." asks us " Which is the handsomest plant to 



cultivate and train in a trellised pot?" Tliis is a wide 



question, and we can only reply that the plant so cultivated 



and trained which we have never seen surpassed was a 



Hoya imperialis, and of that plant we here publish a por- 

 trait. It was exhibited by Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, & Co., 

 of Exeter. This beautiful flowering climber was thus noticed 

 by Dr. Lindley at the time of its fii-st introduction in 1846 : — 

 " Imagine a true Hoya, with woolly stems, leaves 6 inches 

 long, and clusters of the most magnificent flowers, forming 

 a diadem of ten rays ; each flower fully 3 inches in iliameter, 

 and with the delicate texture of the common Hoya carnosa, 

 and you wOl have some notion of this superb species. In 

 Mr. Lowe's letter from Sar.awak, dated Januai-y 12th, 1S46, 

 we have the foUowiug accoimt of its discovery : — ' On the 

 next day, when in the territory of tlie Gumbang Dyaks, I 

 found another cm-ious plant, belonging to Asclepiads ; it is 

 an epiphytal climber ; there was but one individual, growing 

 from the decayed pai-t of a tree, also overhanging the river. 

 The flowers are large and in umbels ; the leaves are leathery ; 

 and the stem abounds in a white, perhaps acrid, juice. The 

 contrast between the purple of the petals and the ivory 

 white of the parts of fructification renders it highly beau- 

 tiful.' " 



It requires a strong rich soU to sustain fidly its nu- 

 merous large flower-trusses, which are produced throughout 

 the lengths of its twining stem. At Kew they used a com- 

 post of equal jiarts loam, decayed leaves, and peat, \vith 

 some flakes of di-y, half-decayed dung intermixed, -with sand 

 and broken crocks mixed UberaUy throughout. Each flower 

 lasts a long time without fading, and is highly fi-agrant 

 throughout the evening and night. — [Botanical Register — 

 Botanical Ma<;azine.) 



PLANTS IN BALCONY-BOXES. 



Last year I had plants in window-boxes. Geraniums, Cal- 

 ceolarias, &c., and with yom- assistance and advice succeeded 

 pretty weU. This yeaa- I had evcrgi-eens in pots in the 

 balcony, and these shaded the window-stools so completely 

 that nothing did well. The evergreens are, however, so 

 pleasant that I am unwilling to give them up, and propose 

 having next year boxes with small rockery and alpine plants. 

 Will they do shaded? and if so, will you mention a few 

 names of those which have flowers with decided colours, and 

 when I ought to begin operations? The boxes might bo 



