304 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[September 15, 1888. 



CROCOSMA AUREA. 



I enclose a photograph of a plant I have called 

 the golden Crocus of the universe, Crocosma aurea, 

 that was grown out-of-doors in the bulb bed in 

 Hyde Park, Sydney. Nearly five years ago we 

 imported six corms from London, four of which 

 survived the carriage. The plant when in flower 

 measured exactly 4 feet in diameter, and a little 

 over 3 feet in height, and had 300 flower-spikes, 

 which have upwards of 5000 flowers. It can be more 

 easily imagined than described the wonderful effect 

 this plant made with its bright orange coloured 

 flowers. The plant is growing in a rather loose 

 sandy soil, and the position is one fully exposed to 

 our sub-tropical sun. The way I have managed to 

 keep the stems close together is, that during the 

 spring months, when the plant is growing, to put 

 the spade down as deep as it will go, about 1 foot 

 outside the previous season's growth. This is done 

 two or three times at intervals of three weeks or a 

 month, which has the desired effect in preventing 

 the stolons getting away. I thought a photograph 

 and description of this plant would be interesting to 

 your readers, from the fact of its being always con- 

 sidered a rather shy flowerer at home, and an erratic 

 one at that, as its long underground stolons render 

 it not very easy to be kept within bounds. Fred. 

 Turner, Superintendent, Hyde Park, Sydney. [The 

 engravings (figs. 40 and 41), which were taken from 

 the photographs, amply bear out our correspondent's 

 remarks. 13d.] 



Societies. 



BOTAL HORTICULTURAL. 



The Floral and Fruit Committees met at the 

 Drill Hall, James Street, "Westminster, on Tuesday, 

 September 11. The bulk of the exhibits consisted 

 of plants, cut flowers, and fruits sent by nurserymen 

 and amateurs taking up but a small amount of 

 space. Hardy herbaceous flowers from Mr. Ware's 

 nursery, Gladiolus from that of Messrs. Kelway & 

 Sons, Lilies from Mr. Gordon, Twickenham ; and 

 a collection of Asters from the Society's [garden, 

 together with fruits from Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons' 

 nursery at Fulham, were the chief. 



Floral Committee. 



Present: G. F. Wilson, Esq., in the chair; and 

 Messrs. Rev. W. Wilks, J. Walker, W. Goldring, W. 

 Bates, Low, R. Dean, T. Baines, C. Pilcher, J. 

 Dominy, H. M. Pollett, J. O'Brien, B. Hill, S. 

 Hibberd, W. Holmes, J. Fraser, and G. Nicholson. 



A few Orchids were exhibited by Mr. B. S. Wil- 

 liams, and included Oncidium ornithorhyncum album, 

 showing a single spray, 1J- foot long, of minute white 

 flowers having a yellow crest, and the perfume of 

 Patchouli ; Catasetum tabulare (lseve), a whitish- 

 green flower, singular looking, but wanting in deco- 

 rative value ; Laelia monophylla, orange-scarlet in 

 colour ; no opinion could be formed of the character 

 or beauty of the plant, one flower only being shown. 

 It was awarded a Botanical Certificate. A well- 

 flowered plant of Miltonia Candida — the tube is pure 

 white exteriorly, but marked on the inside with 

 mauve ; the sepals are brown, edged and barred with 

 yellow. Mesospinidium vulcanicum (superbum), a 

 plant having two fine spikes of its deep rose-coloured 

 flowers. 



F. G. Tautz, Esq., Studley House, Shepherd's 

 Bush, exhibited Oncidium macranthum var. Wil- 

 liamsii, a well bloomed specimen ; Disa graminifolia, 

 from the same exhibitor, was awarded a Botanical 

 Certificate. 



The fine Cattleya Eldorado, flower white all bnt the 

 throat, which is yellow, was shown by W. Soper, 

 Esq., 337, Claphatn Road, S.W. Two plants of Lselia 

 elegans came from Mr. Cook, Kingston Hill. 



Miscellaneous. — A neat growing Adiantum, said to 

 be obtained by .'crossing A. cuneatum and A. Paccoti, 

 and certainly possessing the characteristics of both, 

 was shown by Mr. R. Allum, nurseries, Tamworth, 

 Staffordshire. 



Several forms of cut blooms of Lilium auratum, 

 L. tigrinum flore-pleno, from plants growing in the 

 open, were shown by G. F. Wilson, Esq., Weybridge ; 

 Carnation Blushing Bride, a light pink, of nice form 

 and picots at the margin, came from Mr. T. Butcher, 

 Croydon ; a sport from Wermig'a Yellow was shown 

 by Messrs. Hawkins & Bennett, Twickenham : it is 

 showy bright yellow, with broad reflexed florets. 



A basketful of blooms of Hydrangea paniculata 

 grandiflora came from the Society's garden. This 

 variety shows a larger spike than the ordinary form 

 of paniculata. 



Mr. F. Ross, gr., Pendell Court, showed the old 

 stove creeper Arauja albens, in full flower. (See our 

 last issue (p. 271) for a full description of this hand- 

 some plant.) 



A showy hybrid of Dianthus Heddewegii crossed 

 with D. barbatus (Sweet William) was shown by Mr. 

 R. Dean, Ealing. In colour it is intermediate between 

 the two parents, and is taller than D. Heddewigii and 

 rather more spreading, as well as having smaller 

 flowers. It should make a showy bedder. D. H. 

 Snowdrift, a pure white form ; Phlox deeussata 

 Rosamond, Chrysanthemum maximum, growing 

 3 feet high, &c, were also shown by Mr. Dean. 



Messrs. H. Low & Co., Clapton, showed Lilium 

 nepalense, a flower having black-brown segments, 

 abundantly tipped with green colour. 



A few single Dahlias were shown, but nothing 

 which calls for any remarks from us. The Mikado, 

 a crimson-petalled bloom, the disc and base and tips 



Fl«. 10.— CROCOSMA AUREA 



of the petals a yellow colour, was shown by T. W. 

 Girdlestone, Esq. 



The Gladiolus from Messrs. Kelway & Son made 

 a rich display ; the flowers individually also were 

 fine and well assorted. Besler, a carmine flamed 

 with scarlet at the edge, and Castro, a bright cerise 

 colour, flaked with white, met the approbation of 

 the committee. A Silver Banksian Medal. 



A variety of pot Carnations, Bouvardia Excelsior, 

 pink ; B. President Cleveland, deep crimson ; and 

 some very stocky Mignonette in small 48's, were 

 exhibited by Mr. H. B. May, of Dyson's Lane, 

 Edmonton. A great bank of Crotons, in much 

 variety, of market size, came from the same exhi- 

 bitor ; the brightest was Etna, and all were compact 

 and vigorous, though showing less colour than is 

 their wont. 



From Mr. Hardy, Orton Hall, Peterborough, came 

 fruits of Torreya myristica, egg-shaped, \\ inch in 

 their longer, and 1 inch in their shorter diameter : 

 colour green, marked with alternate longitudinal 

 stripes of light and dark. A cone of Abies magnifica 

 was also sent by Mr. Hardy. 



A large number of Liliums, mostly L. auratum, 

 but likewise including L. Kratzeri, L. longifolium 

 album, L. 1. roseum, and L. 1. rubrum, and others 

 were shown by Mr. W. Gordon, Twickenham. 

 Bronze Banksian Medal, 



The Society's garden contributed a numerous 

 array of German Asters of all sections which have 

 been on trial there this season. It was an interesting 

 group, but, like most out-of-door flowers this season, 

 the flowers showed damage from rain and deficient 

 sunshine. 



Mr. T. S. Ware, Tottenham, had a showy display 

 of hardy cut flowers, consisting chiefly of Lilies, 

 Gladiolus Lemoinei, Tigridia, Alstromerias, Cactus 

 Dahlia Professor Baldwin, a scarlet coloured flower ; 

 Papaver orientale and P. nudicaule, and Trollius 

 europffius, Eremurus Olgre, a fine variety of E. spec- 

 tabilis and Romneya Coulteri, a Papaverad, with 

 large and beautiful white flowers ; Crocosma aurea 

 was likewise observed. A Silver Banksian Medal 

 was awarded. 



A single flower of Crocosma aurea was shown by 

 Mr. J. O'Brien, West Street, Harrow-on-the-Hill. 

 It has orange coloured petals, having a crimson bar 

 about the middle of their length. 



Fibst-class Certificates. 



Carnation Madame Carle, from Mr. B. H. May. 



Chrysanthemum Mrs. H. Hawkins, from Messrs. 

 Hawkins & Bennett. 



Dahlia The Mikado, from Mr. T. W. Girdlestone. 



Dianthus splendens, from Mr. R. Dean. 



Eremurus Olga;, from Mr. T. S. Ware. 



Gladiolus Besler, from Messrs. Kelway & Sons. 



Gladiolus Castro, from Messrs. Kelway & Sons. 



Lilium nepalense, from Messrs. H. Low & Co. 



Oncidium ornithorhynchum, from Mr. B. S. 

 Williams. 

 Romneya Coulteri, from Mr. T. S. Ware. 



Botanical Certificates. 

 Disa graminifolia, from Mr. F. G. Tautz. 

 Loelia monophylla, from Mr. B. S. Williams. 



Fruit Committee. 



Present : Messrs. R. D. Blackmore, A. H. Pearson, 

 P. Crowley, J. Cheal, J. Burnett, J. Willard, W. 

 Warren, W. Marshall, G. T. Miles, J. Wright, and 

 P. Barr. 



From Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons' nurseries there 

 were collections of Plums, Apples, and Pears, and a 

 dish of fine Morello Cherries. The Apples were 

 noteworthy for size and the clearness of the skin. 

 Another exhibit was a number of very young cordon 

 Plums in full bearing. 



TheBlackman Ventilating Co., 63, Fore Street, 

 E.C., sent dried Strawberries, Gooseberries, Rhubarb, 

 and Potatos, whole as regards the first two fruits, the 

 others being sliced, or cut into short lengths. These 

 were shown under various heats, and appeared to be 

 quite dried for long keeping, but how they would 

 stand the crucial test of cooking was not ascertainable. 



A few fine fruits of Apples and Pears which were 

 set with just enough glass protection as would save 

 them from injury by frost, were sent by Rev. W. 

 Wilks, Shirley ; the trees from which the fruit was 

 picked were growing in 10 — 12-inch pots, and are 

 bearing abundantly, yet the fruits were in many 

 cases above the average in size. A constant bearing 

 Apple, The Vicar, said to do well in poor soils, and 

 with a sturdy growth, came from Mr. Wilks. A 

 Cultural Commendation was awarded. 



W. Roupell, Esq., Harvey Lodge, S.W., showed 

 various Apples from bushes on the Paradise stock, 

 all being fine of their kind. 



A few Melons, Figs, and Pears completed the 

 exhibits. 



CRYSTAL PALACE. 



NATIONAL DAHLIA SHOW. 



Friday and Saturday, September 7 and 8. — This 

 proved in all respect much better than was expected. 

 The very fact that the season is so late led some to 

 think that the flowers would scarcely be ready in 

 time ; and Mr. Harry Turner states that his collec- 

 tion at Slough will be at its best in a fortnight's 

 time, should the weather prove fine and open. But 

 there was a good competition in all the classes, though 

 a general lack of brightness was noted in the Dahlias. 

 The forty-eight blooms shown by Mr. C. Turner in 

 class 2 were very fine throughout, and indeed all the 

 strength of the Slough collection was put into this 

 class. The fancy varieties were a little rough. 

 Pompon, single and decorative (Cactus) Dahlias very 

 fine, and seedlings unusually numerous, some de- 

 lightful new varieties of the pompon section being 

 produced. A large number ol exhibitors took part 

 in the competition, 



