764 



THE GARDENERS 1 CHRONICLE. 



[DECEMBER 29, 1888. 



elegant and commodious building, the main por- 

 tion being square (32 feet 6 inches), with straight 

 sides 23 feet high, and a curved roof, the upright 

 portion being constructed of wood and the roof of 

 iron ; leading to the main portion is a spacious porch, 

 10 feet long, 21 feet 6 inches wide, aud 17 feet high, 

 and a passage connects the new house with the 

 Victoria-house No. 2. The entire house is furnished 

 with slate and iron shelving, concrete floors, and 

 provided with ample heating appliances. Arrange- 

 ments were made by which the porch can be heated 

 separately from the main building ; it is therefore 

 used for the cultivation of tropical Ferns, whilst in 

 the other portion the cool and temperate temperature- 

 loving Ferns are collected together. It would be in- 

 judicious so soon to pronounce an opinion as to 

 whether or not the new conservatory suits the cul- 

 tural requirements of plants. 



No. 6. The Orchid-house is now in every respect a 

 greatly improved house in comparison with what it 

 was at the date of my last report, in which I described 

 the very decayed condition of the roof. Messrs. 

 Boyd were directed to put a new roof to the Orchid- 

 house, and arrangements were made to allow them to 

 commence work in September. As was the case with 

 the Ferns in No. 1 conservatory, all the Orchids had 

 to be removed and accommodation found for them 

 elsewhere. The new roof is an excellent one in 

 every respect, being light and strong, and contain- 

 ing all modern improvements, such as grooved sash- 

 bars to carry away condensed moisture, the benefit of 

 which is already apparent. The arrangements for 

 ventilation are also good. Clear glass has been sub- 

 stituted for rough grooved glass with which the roof 

 was formerly glazed, so that much more light is 

 admitted to the plants — an important factor in the 

 successful cultivation of Orhids. Advantage was 

 taken of the opportunity afforded by the constructing 

 of the new roof, to extend each side 7 inches out- 

 wards, so that a substantial addition of 14 inches 

 has been gained in the breadth of the Orchid-house. 

 When closely examined the side staging was found 

 to be too old for repairs, and it has, therefore, been 

 replaced by a neat and substantial slate and iron 

 staging. 



The Orchid-house is now thoroughly sound, 

 and may be regarded as one of the best and 

 most suitable conservatories in the garden. I feel 

 bound to testify to the excellent and expeditious 

 manner in which all the work undertaken by Messrs. 

 Boyd in this garden has been performed. 



No. 7. The more experience I have of the large 

 Palm-house, the more I can praise it as an excellent 

 house for the cultivation of plants. The rapid 

 growth and excellent health of the plants in it bear 

 ample testimony to its suitability to their require- 

 ments. They are growing so rapidly that they will 

 soon be overcrowded, and some of the duplicates 

 must be eliminated. 



LUirary and Herbarium. — I can only repeat with 

 emphasis the appeal made in former reports for 

 increased accomodation in this department. A large 

 number of valuable books was lately purchased for 

 the library. The collection is a very valuable one, 

 and well merits a more suitable location. 



Outdoor Department. — Several causes combined 

 to render it impossible to do much new work in 

 the outdoor department during the past year, the 

 chief cause being the extreme dryness of the season. 

 Such a long continued drought has rarely been 

 experienced at Glasnevin as that which prevailed 

 during the spring and summer months of 1887. 

 The. result was disastrous to newly moved plants and 

 to herbaceous plants in general. On the shallow 

 gravelly soil of Glasnevin, moisture quickly dis- 

 appeared, and although several men were constantly 

 employed watering them, herbaceous plants only 

 attained to about one-half their normal development, 

 and many of them did not flower. Several large 

 trees throughout the garden died, and it was only by 

 constant watering that newly planted trees were kept 

 alive. The usual indoor staff were unable to per- 

 form their ordinary daily work, owing to the numerous 

 movements of plants from house to house, rendered 



necessary by rebuilding and repairs, so men had to be 

 transferred from the outdoor department. 



Considerable changes were made in the walks and 

 grounds adjacent to the new Fern House. The main 

 walk leading from the. entrance gate, was altered, 

 widened, and re-made. The shrubberies at the gate, 

 which had become poor and overgrown were reformed, 

 and the herbaceous border in front of the new house 

 was re-made ; all the plants in it being lifted, the 

 ground well trenched and manured, the former occu- 

 pants being then re-planted, and many additions made 

 to them. 



The Rose garden also received attention. Many 

 kinds of Rose had died out, and the soil in the beds 

 was exhausted. All the plants were regrouped and 

 classified, the old plants replaced by a fresh stock, 

 and the beds renewed. 



The process of removing ivy from . some of the 

 large specimen trees throughout the garden was con- 

 tinued, but much more remains to be done, as owing 

 to the matted growth of the ivy stems, this work 

 occupies much time. Those trees from which the 

 ivy was removed last year are already much improved 

 in vigour and appearance. 



SPECIMEN TREES IN KEW 



GARDENS. 

 Pinus Cot/i/tem. — Some time since we published 

 a description, accompanied with figures, of the mag- 

 nificent cones of Pinus Coulteri (see p. 413, March 

 28, 1S85), as produced in Mr. Baker's pinetum at 

 Bayfordbury. In that article we had occasion to 

 advert to the fine specimen of this tree at Kew, and 

 which from its regularly pyramidal habit and im- 

 posing proportions never fails to attract the atten- 

 tion of tree lovers. We have now an opportunity 

 of giving an illustration (fig. 109), and we are 

 indebted to Mr. Geo. Nicholson for the following 

 measurements of the tree in question : — Height, 

 56 feet ; spread of branches, 45 feet ; girth of stem 

 at 4 feet, 6 feet 2 inches. The growth of the tree 

 is relatively rapid, so that its value to the landscape 

 gardener may readily be estimated. Mr. George 

 Paul tells us the tree does well on London clay. 

 We can answer for it on a chalky loam, for some of 

 the finest cones we have seen were grown on a tree 

 in the pinetum of Mr. Thomson, of Petham, near 

 Canterbury. 



The Bulb Garden. 



TIGRIDIA PAVONIA. 

 Considering the great beauty of this highly 

 coloured Iridaceous plant, the wonder is that it is 

 not more grown in gardens, as it is so gorgeous and 

 large in flower as to attract notice and command 

 admiration from even the most casual observer, and 

 those not acquainted with it are sure to ask what it 

 is. Unfortunately the gay blossoms last only a day, 

 but as they are produced so freely and in such rapid 

 succession plants are seldom without one or more 

 open for several weeks, The past season, however, 

 was against them, the wet and cold having been too 

 much for such heat-loving subjects, and in conse- 

 quence many failed, and in some cases the bulbs 

 died outright. The finest form of this Tigridia is 

 the variety named grandiflora, and besides the type 

 there are several that have originated from seed, the 

 best among them being T. splendens, T. Wheeleri, 

 and T. speciosa ; but any and all of them are well 

 worth growing. They take up but little room, 

 as they may be planted among Tulips or Roses 

 or other tall things, and the slight shade they 

 get in such positions just suits their require- 

 ments. In some places where the soil is very light 

 and naturally well drained, Tigridia pavonia will 

 live out during the winter, but unless the situation 

 is specially favoured in the way referred to, the bulbs 

 should be taken up when the tops die away, and be 

 stored in some dry shed till the spring. The right 

 time to plant is early in April, when, if placed in 



borders, they look best in clumps or patches of 

 three or so, and should be dibbled in about 3 inches 

 deep, and have a little silver-sand dropped into the 

 holes to cover them up. Tigridias admit of ready 

 propagation by offsets and seed, which they produce 

 freely, and the latter should be sown in pans of fine 

 soil in March, and if then placed in gentle heat the 

 seedlings will soon be up, which, when large enough, 

 may be pricked out in a bed and left to grow for the 

 summer, but it will take about three years' growth 

 before the bulbs will be large enough to produce any 

 flowers. J. 8. 



LlLIOM CANDIDUM FOR FORCING. 



Although replete with all that is lovely, the 

 genus Lilium cannot boast of containing many 

 species which can endure even a moderate amount of 

 artificial heat with impunity, and fewer still are 

 those kinds to which the term forcing as usually 

 understood may be applied ; indeed, none of the 

 species are benefited by anything beyond a green- 

 house temperature at any time, that is, if you place 

 value on the future bulb ; if not — and the only thing 

 needed is to have their flowers at all hazards — then 

 it matters little how much or little heat be given 

 them so long as the flowers are forthcoming when 

 required ; but it is not many who would care to risk 

 their stock in this way, or who could even afford to be 

 so extravagant. Taking all things into consideration, 

 the old white garden Lily, L. candidum, is, without 

 doubt, the most valuable for the above purpose, not 

 merely because of the glistening purity of its flowers, 

 or its fragrance, but because these two primary 

 qualities are combined with unparalleled cheapness ; 

 and, seeing that it does not object to gentle heat, it 

 may with fair treatment be made a profitable invest- 

 ment where flowers are grown in quantity either for 

 market or home use. 



Many growers of this Lily during the early 

 part of the present year suffered considerably 

 from the disease, and the crop was destroyed 

 wholesale, — in one particular instance which came 

 under my notice the average of good flowers 

 hardly equalled the number of spikes pro-duced, 

 and to record this fact of some hundreds of 

 plants means a serious loss in many ways besides 

 their flowers, such as time, firing, house-room and 

 the like ; nor did these bulbs look any too pro- 

 mising when I saw them, a few days ago, though 

 they may pull through in many instances if allowed 

 to start their flowering stems naturally. It may be, 

 however, that no new flowering bulb was built up, 

 after so severe an attack of disease ; and, therefore, 

 it will be looked for in vain. One of the best 

 and surest signs of good health in this species is the 

 production of radical leaves early in autumn; if these 

 appear, and provided the bulbs are of sufficient size, 

 you may rely upon flowers in due course, and even in 

 small bulbs it is an excellent sign of good health to 

 see these push forth at the right time. Those bulbs 

 which were forced early last spring, and escaped the 

 disease are now pushing up good flowering stems 

 again, fully 8 or 10 inches high ; all these, however, 

 produced their radical leaves in the usual course. 

 Those who would grow this Lily for forcing 

 may regard this as the best possible proof of 

 healthy root-action below, and this species with its 

 varieties are wholly dependent on basal roots for 

 support ; for I have never seen stem roots upon 

 this species at all. But radical leaves have 

 been somewhat sparsely produced this autumn, it 

 least from plants in the open ground, and particularly 

 is this true of those attacked by the disease in early 

 summer. These remarks, I may observe, have 

 special reference to such as have been grown fcr 

 forcing previously, for there is a distinction — a wife 

 one, too — between established pots of this Lily ai d 

 newly imported ones. It is a great rarity for the 

 latter to produce radical leaves at all the first year 

 but, if the bulbs are strong, they will push forth their 

 flower-stems direct from the bulb. These remarks 

 may or may not be of much importance to those 

 who desire to force this Lily in the future, but they 

 are at any rate the result of observation, and may 



