76 



JOtJENAIi OF HOETICDLTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



[ July as, 1874. 



colour. It is, indeed, a gem of the first water, and thrives 

 under the treatment nsnally given to B. jaBminiflorum, that 

 of a warm greenhouse." — [Florist and Pomologist, 3 s., vif. 145.) 

 Peach — The Barrington. — " It ia the one variety that is 

 almost indispensable in the smallest collection. After the 

 glut of the mid-season varieties, such as Noblesse, Koyal 

 George and Bellegarde is past, then we find out the merits of 

 this grand Peach, for were it not for the Barrington, a blank 

 would almost ensue ; with it, however, the supply is kept up 

 till the Late Admirable and others come in. Moreover, as 

 regards our exhibition-tables, the most magnificent dish of 

 Peaches to be generally seen there is the Barrington. Like aU 

 other good fruits, the Barrington Peach has many synonyms. 

 It is known as the Buckingham Mignonne, also as Colonel 

 Ansley's. A few years ago it received another, having been 

 exhibited before the Fruit Committee of the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society by Mr. Knight, of Hailsham, Sussex, under the 

 name of Markly Admirable, when from the wonderful ex- 

 cellence of its quality, and its fine appearance, it was awarded 

 a first-class certificate as a new variety. This notion was, 

 however, upon closer investigation dispelled by Dr. Hogg, who 

 proved beyond question that it was nothing more than the 

 true Barrington." — (Ibid., 157.) 



GRAVELLY HILL, BIRMINGHAM. 



This place is the residence of J. Wright, Esq., and is about 

 a mile and a half from Aston. The grounds are small, but 

 beautifully situated, and well kept. There are beds of Ehodo- 

 dendrons, which are kept in good health by frequent waterings, 

 and they must be very beautiful when in flower. The grounds 

 also contain some nice specimens of the fine yellow-leaved 

 Holly named Lord Errington's; but it was to see the Orchids 

 that my visit was made. 



Tlicre are three houses devoted to their culture. One for 

 cool Orchids contains some healthy specimens. Masdevallia 

 Harrjana is here, as everywhere, the freest-flowering species 

 yet introduced, and also the most beautiful. There are some 

 of the varieties not so good as others, but the worst of them 

 are well worth growing. One has very large flowers, and the 

 colour lasts well, which is not the case with some of them. 

 Odontoglossnm crispum, in variety, is also very effective. The 

 next house is for East Indian Orchids and all those requiring 

 a high temperature, and here the same degree of health is not 

 observable as in the cool department. The reason for this was 

 soon apparent after a short investigation. All theVandas and 

 Aerides had been repotted last year in fresh sphagnum, and 

 shortly after this was done an undesirable parisitical growth 

 appeared at the base of the plants, and spread rapidly over the 

 whole house. Specimens of this, which are kidney-shaped, 

 and not larger than Turnip seeds, yellowish brown, and of a 

 hard substance, were submitted to the Eev. M. J. Berkeley, 

 and recognised by him as Spbasrobolus stellatus. The aerial 

 roots formed above the sphagnum are attacked as soon as 

 formed, and rot immediately. The only remedy for such a 

 state of things would be to shake the plants out of the pots, 

 and burn the potting material, using fresh pots, drainage, and 

 sphagnum. The house would also require to be thoroughly 

 washed-out with soapy water, and the walls lime-washed. 

 Some of the plants attacked are of great value ; amongst them 

 area large specimen Saccolabinm gnttatnm, Ai-rides Schroderii 

 with two growths and thirty-eight leaves, Vanda suavis, &c. 

 In the Cattleya house I noted a fine Broughtonia sanguinea in 

 flower, and being of a purplish crimson colour the flowers are 

 distinct, and very effective in a collection ; they are borne in 

 clusters on stalks 18 inches long. — J. Douglas. 



PRESERVING THE PERFUME OF FLOWERS. 

 The season is advancing fast for Eoses, and the wind will 

 scatter their spent petals and those of other flowers in all 

 dirt ctions over lawns and walks, giving the gardener a great deal 

 of trouble. I write to remind your readers that if they were 

 to look over the flowers every morning when dry, and pick-off 

 those most advanced in decay, they might preserve the petals 

 of any flower which has an agreeable perfume by placing them 

 between thin layers of cotton wool, dipping these into the 

 finest olive oil, and sprinkling a small quantity of fine salt 

 on the flowers alternately until an earthen or wide-mouthed 

 glass vessel is quite full. Tie the top close with a bladder, 

 and place the vessel in a south aspect exposed to the heat of 

 the sun, and in fifteen days when opened a fragrant oil may 



be squeezed away from the whole mass, little inferior, if Eoses 

 are made use of, to the dear and highly-valued otto or attar of 

 Eoses. — J. H., Gardener, Bickley, Kent. 



[Tour offer is accepted, and obliges us. — Eds.] 



ALPINE ROSES NOT RHODODENDRONS. 

 As no doubt many of your readers are meditating a journey 

 to this delightful country (Switzerland), let me submit to their 

 notice a correction of the prevalent popular error of calling the 

 Rhododendrons Alpine Eoses. A short time since a corre- 

 spondent of the English-Swiss paper, " Continental Herald," 

 stated therein that the real Alpine Eose was theEhododendron 

 ferrugineum. Upon which I addressed the following letter — • 



" Allow me to inquire upon what authority your correspondent, 

 states (as mentioned in your Monday's paper), that the Rhodo- 

 dendron ferrugineum is the true Alpine Rose. It does not even 

 belong to the Eosacese family, but to that of the Ericaceae. The 

 calling it by this name is a mere popular error, as it is not a Eose 

 at all. I have certainly seen at Sils Maria in the Engadine on 

 a sign-board the Rhododendron painted, and underneath the 

 words ' Alpen Rose Hotel.' This is all the authority I know. 

 The real Alpine Rose is Rosa alpina, a very different flower. A 

 specimen gathered here is enclosed. Rhododendron ferrugineum 

 is very common in Ibis neigbbourhood (Chamouni), and among 

 the Alps generally, and now coming into blossom. R. hirsutum 

 is a brighter plant, but not so common. I have found it on the 

 Wengern Alp, and it is also at the Gemnii. — Edward Copland." 



This elicited the following reply — 



" The Rhododendron ferrugineum is certainly, as Mr. Cop- 

 land asserts, not a Rose ; but its beantiful flowers are known aa 

 'Alpine Roses.' This is not from any resemblance to the Rose 

 properly so called, but owing to the red colour of the flowers. 

 Mr. Copland talks of a * mere popular error,' as if the connection 

 of the Eose with the Rhododendron was an error of modern 

 date. Is he aware that his popular error originated in ancient 

 Greece, when its poets adopted the word Rhododendron — a 

 compound formed of rhoiJon, a Eose, and dendron, a tree, and 

 thus Rhododendron signifies a Rose or Rose-bearing tree ? But 

 if we go farther and search for the derivative of the Greek word- 

 rhodon, we find that it means red ; and so it is probable the 

 original Greek meaning of Rhododendron was the Red Tree. 

 There are many flowers and trees to which the term ' Rose ' is 

 attached, but which no one — not even the simplest child — would 

 mistake for veritable Roses. The ' Rose of Sharon ' is the 

 popular name given to the gorgeous Lily of Palestine ; and the 

 probability is that the appellation has descended from a more 

 remote era than even the days of Solomon, who * in all his glory 

 was not arrayed like one of these.' The Eose of Sharon bears 

 no resemblance to the real Eose : the name originated in the- 

 red colour of the flowers. In England a common garden flower 

 is popularly known as the Eose Campion (champagne ?), simply 

 because it bears red flowers. Many similar instances might be 

 adduced. The impropriety fades away if we will only consider 

 the word ' rose ' to mean red, a colour connected with Eoses in 

 every oriental country. I only know two instances where Rose 

 is not connected with red — viz , in the common Hellebore or 

 Christmas Eose, and the Guelder Rose or Snowball Tree. The 

 Rosa alpina is Alpine Rose of course, but it is not the Alpine 

 Rose. To use the language of Obadiah in the play, I would say, 

 'Thy name maybe Prim, but thee art not ^/(a( Prim ! ' The 

 Rosa alpina is a mere botanical modern term to distinguish one 

 of the numerous Eglantines that grace the Alps. It has no 

 affinity with the flowers of the Rhododendron, the only shrub 

 whose blossoms are known in Switzerland and elsewhere as 

 Alpine Roses. — T. H. Dixon, LL.D., Member of the Sieiss Alpine 

 Club, &c., Lausa7inc." 



To which I rejoined — 



" I am glad to have to meet such a learned opponent as Dr. 

 Dixon, for I have no doubt he brings forward all that can be 

 adduced in favour of that which I still term 'a mere popular 

 error.' I can hardly call him an opponent, for he virtually 

 admits what I have advanced. I asked for some authority; he 

 gives none, but says I talk as if it was ' an error of modern date.' 

 I do no such thing, for I am quite aware that it has long existed, 

 and he may be right in saying ' it is probable it originated in 

 ancient Greece,' and was caused by a poetical corruption (adop- 

 tion) of words. I do nut dispute that Rhododendron may mean 

 the Red Tree, but that is very different from Alpine Rose. He 

 quotes other popular errors, just as if two wrongs could ever 

 make a right. I freely admit that there is a common garden 

 flower in England called Rose Campion, because its colour is 

 red, but that is altogether another thing to its being called a 

 Campion Rose. The introduction into this discussion of Obadiah 

 and the play borders on the ridiculous. It has about as much 

 to do with it as the caricature of Obadiah and his wife. I there- 

 fore still contend with all due deference to the learned member 



