July 23, 1875. ] 



JOUaN'AIi OP HOBriCULTURB AND COTTAQii GARDENBB. 



69 



Bat wbile at this nursery we mast give a passing glance at 

 some other of its occapants. Pre-eminent just now ore the 

 Carnations and Picotees, of which perhaps Mr. Turner holds 

 the lineet collection of the day. Through all the varying 

 phases of fashion these fine garden flowers have been cherished, 

 preserved, and improved. And glad we are to note that they 

 are rising iu pnhlic estimation, and that the demand for them 

 is every year increasing. No flowers of the garden are more 

 intrinsically beautiful than are these, and with their beauty 

 is blended sweetness. They are hardy, and of easy culture. 

 When in bloom they are exceedingly handsome, and even 

 when out of bloom the plants neither look seedy nor weedy. 

 No wonder that their' cultivation should spread, and it is 

 surprising that they should be affected by any decorative 

 fashion of the hour. For the benelit of those who cannot 

 choose for themselves we name a few in each section — the 

 cream of an exceedingly valuable collection — as possessing 

 ondoubted merit, and which may be grown with confidence. 



Caknaiions. — Scarlet Lizarrrs : Campanini, Dreadnought, 

 Fanny Gardener, G-uardsman, Mars, Mercury, Eccentric Jack, 

 Marshal Ney, Kiflemau, Purity, Albion's Pride, and John of 

 Gaunt. Purple Flakes : Dr. Poster, Earl of Stamford, Ajax, 

 Mayor of Nottingham, Florence, and Ascendant. Scarlet 

 Flakes : Mars, Superb, Annibilator, Mr. Battersby, Sportsman, 

 and Splendour. Rose Flakes: John Eeet, Christigala, James 

 Merryweather, Sybil, Pha'bus, and Mrs. F. Barnaby. Cloves : 

 Hindoo, Prince Arthur, Bride, Albert, Cremorne, Maiden's 

 Blnsh, King of Yellows, and GOant des Batailles. 



Picotees. — Red-edi/ed : Mrs. Norman, Princess of Wales, 

 Mrs. Hornby, Leonora, Miss Small, J. B. Bryant, Peeress, and 

 Mrs. Keynes. Purple-edijed : Cynthia, Venus, Chanticleer, 

 Alliance, Mary, Mrs. Little, and Admiration. Hose and Scarlet- 

 edged: Mrs. Fordham, Edith Dombrain, Mrs. Allcroft, Miss 

 Sewell, Juliana, Miss Wood, Ethel, and Regina. 



This is a short but select list of the flowers as seen in per- 

 fection, and if justice is done them in culture they cannot dis- 

 appoint. 



Pelaegoniums of the Show and Fancy section are another 

 speciality of this nursery. For a time the Zonal section ab- 

 sorbed primary attention, and there was a subsidence in the 

 demand for the class we are noticing. The two sections are 

 so thoroughly distinct that it is almost absurd to think of one 

 being in any way a rival to the other. Neither is it so now, 

 for the demand for both is rapidly increasing. Than the 

 Show and Fancy Pelargoaiums no more beautilul greenhouse 

 plants are to be found in cultivation. It is superfluous to say 

 that no one grows them better than does Mr. Turner ; that is 

 admitted, and we can better utilise space by noting a few of 

 the very best for the ioformation of others who are contem- 

 plating the culture of these plants. The bloomiug period is 

 now over, and the plants are being cut down and placed in a 

 light house to break. The cuttings are being struck in sandy 

 Boil also in the same house. The varieties have been seen at 

 the principal exhibitions, and we note a few of the best of them. 



The new sorts are an exceedingly fine group. Crown Prince 

 being perhaps the best, followed by Constance, Archduchess, 

 Isabella, Queen Victoria, Presbyter, Sultan, Dauntless, Alice, 

 Duchess of Cambridge, and Sybil. Those are all varieties of 

 high merit. From the general collection we select Euth, 

 Favourite, Duke of Cambridge, Claribel, Highland Lassie, Iron 

 Duke, Blue Boy, Coronet, Conquest, Great Mogul, Lord Byron, 

 Mabel, Prince Leopold, Protector, Scottish Chieftain, States- 

 man, Prince Arthur, Purple Gem, Viptory, and Pompey. 



The newest Fancies — Atlantic, Henry Bailey, Jewess, La3y 

 Mayoress, Mrs. Hart, and The Shah — are all of very superior 

 merit; and amongst the best of the older varieties may be 

 noted Ellen Beck, Agrippa, Fanny Gair, Vivandicre, Princess 

 Teck, Marmion, Mrs. Alfred Wigau, Victor Hugo, and Excel- 

 sior. Triomphe de St. Maude and Queen Victoria are the 

 most striking of the French section, the variety last named 

 being remarkably bright. The above list is a very choice and 

 reliable one. 



EosEs. — These are only noticed to say that the majestic 

 plants which have achieved so many triumphs have just been 

 repotted, and are kept under glass to make their growth. So 

 many growers of pot Roses do not repot until the autumn that 

 we note the practice which is adopted in the culture of some of 

 the finest plants which have ever been perfected. We also 

 note as bearing on the soundness of Mr. Camm's views that 

 the whole of the Roses which Mr. Turner has this year ex- 

 hibited are the produce of cut-back plants. Up to this date, 

 Joly the 17th, Mr. Turner has not commenced to cut from his 



maidens ; fine blooms are ready, but are being injured by the 

 incessant rains. 



We cannot detail the condition of the extensive and fine col- 

 lection of pot Vines and the collections of plants generally ; it 

 must suffice to say that they are in the first order of health, 

 and that the entire establishment is in a high state of keeping. 



NOVELTIES IN THE ROYAL GARDENS, KEW. 



EuRYANOirsi SuMBUL is flowering in the Herbaceous ground 

 for the first time in this country, and a more important plant 

 from a scientific point of view has not flowered since the 

 Rheum oflioinale of last year. It yields the drug known as 

 " Radix Sumbul," which about the year 18:^.5 was first intro- 

 duced to Russia as a substitute for Musk, and then recom- 

 mended as a medicine against cholera. It was first known in 

 England about twenty-five years ago, was included in the 

 British pharmacopajia in 1867, and is now prescribed in tinc- 

 ture form as a stimulating tonic. The species yielding this 

 drug was not known till ISG'.t, when a plant flowered at Moscow, 

 received from the mountains of Maghian eastward of Samar- 

 oand, which proving new was named and described by Kauff- 

 mann. Its root only appears iu commercs, cut into transverse 

 slices an inch thick. 'The musky smeU of the resin is strong 

 and agreeable, but is not fuUy developed until after contact 

 with water. The root of this spacimen is fusiform in shape, 

 ?A inches in diameter near the top, with a floweriag stem 

 nearly 8i feet high. The leaves are now dead; they were 

 much-divided and similar to some species of Ferula, to which 

 genus this is closely allied. Its cultivation is not diflioult, 

 though in pots it will apparently not succeed, as the leaves 

 die off on the slightest check. In the open ground, however, 

 where the roots are free it does well. Sandy loam should be 

 prepared, intermixed with stones, and the plant should be 

 placed on a small mound so as to be a little above the ground 

 level. It is evidently accustomed to a dry season of rest, it is 

 therefore necessary to cover with a handglass during winter. 

 A mulching of litter is beneficial in summer. The roots do- 

 not branch, and when at rest may be sent to a distance iu th& 

 same way as a bulb. 



In the Orchid-house porch, near the Carnivorous plants, we 

 observe the very rare and pretty Sarmienta repeas, which 

 though small is covered with flowers. It is much like a di- 

 minutive ^Eschynanthus, and has the same habit. The flowers, 

 it has been aptly observed, are like Mitraria cocci oea; they are, 

 however, a little reduced in size. We know of no one cul- 

 tivating this plant but Mr. Wheeler of Warminster, who is 

 very successful iu its culture. It is a native of Chili and Peru, 

 and does best on a shelf near the glass. In the choicest col- 

 lection of greenhouse plants this should be included. It would 

 be especially useful for baskets, and perhaps rockwork. We 

 believe that a greater number of Chilian plants are hardy, or 

 nearly so, than is supposed, and therefore we should recom- 

 mend a trial of this plant out of doors in a sheltered position. , 

 It has been included among stove plants, but there it is cer- 

 tainly not in its proper place. 



On the Piockwork some Orchidaceje appear to do well. Orchis 

 latifolia var. speciosa, a largo form from Morocco, is very 

 handsome. Orchis latifolia var. sesquipedalis and 0. foliosa 

 are also good. The Man Orchis (Aceras anthropophora), a 

 rare British plant, has been in flower for the last two months. 

 Here we are glad to see healthy plants of the blue Meconopsis 

 Wallichi, of which we gave a figure last year, and another 

 species M. simpUcifoiia. 



Noteworthy as a rarity, though not now in flower, is Arnebia 

 echioides, which we believe is the only plant now in the 

 country. It is of neat habit, and has scorpioid spikes of yellow 

 flowers with five purple spots at the throat. It belongs to the 

 Boraginacea;, and is native of the Caucasian Alps and Armenia. 



Among other interesting plants in flower may be mentioned 

 Swertia perennis with peculiar purplish blue flowers ; Sedum 

 obtusatum with foliage much like Echeveria pumila, but with 

 yellow flowers — it is quite a distinct species and is yet rare; 

 Saxifraga mutata ; and a hybrid of which it is one of the 

 parents, the other parent being S. aizoides. 



THE NEW DISEASE OP POTATOES. 



Now that the subject of the new disease (not new with me, 

 having noticed it here for four years) is being discussed, every 

 hint and observation leading to the discovery of the root of the 

 evil is of value, for aa physicians say, " knowing the disease is 



