

Or, 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[February 



3 ; 



1912. 



. 



likewise at the Hall belonging to the Worship- 

 ful Company of Clothworkers." Figs also were 

 a success, and " prospered extremely as in Dr. 

 l;« nnett's Garden ^at Cripplegate," and elsewhere 

 in the vicinity, as well as in the Rolls Garden, 

 Chancery Lane. The Virginian Acacia (Robinift 

 Pseud-acacia) was established at Russel House 

 and Westminster, where it remained till cut 

 down in 1801. The Bladder Senna grew fl well 

 in a Court in Crutched Fryers." Hops grew 

 11 very vigorously " in a close alley near White- 

 cross Street. The Privet at several places, and 

 White Thorns of large proportions, Mezereon, 

 Horse Chestnuts, Almonds, and Morello Cherries 



The Creeper of 

 and there 



are among others mentioned. 



w as 



was 



Virginia was very common, 



M hardly a Street, Court, or Alley in London 



without some examples." 



Of flowers he mentions Auriculas and Carna- 

 tions being cultivated in pots by Mr. Heymens, 

 at Whitehall, and for the adornment of balconies 

 he notes quite a large selection of plants, includ- 

 ing Guelder Roses, Lilacs, common hardy 

 flowers, Apples on the Paradise, Aloes, Fig 

 Marigolds, which " Mr. Jobber, a very curious 

 gentleman in Norfolk Street," cultivated success- 

 fully. It is incidentally remarked that water 

 could be carried as high above the streets as a 

 balcony to furnish a jet for a fountain as a 

 " Plummer " at the " upper end of the Hay 

 Market" had working for a " long Time." 



In the few paragraphs devoted to Chambers, 

 Fairchild deemed that it would be not impossible 

 to replace boughs, &c, with plants. He remarks 

 M The Chimneys which are generally dress'd in 

 Summer with fading Bough Pots might be as 

 well adorn'd at once with living Plants, as I 

 have observ'd at her Grace's, the late excellent 

 Dutchess of Beaufort." Among the plants men- 

 tioned are M Campanulas " (Campanula pyrami- 

 dalis, which received the name of " Chimney 

 Bellflowers " on account of the great esteem in 

 which they were held for furnishing fireplaces. 

 He thought Aloes and Torch Thistles, then rare, 

 would " add an extraordinary Gaiety " if mixed 

 with the plants he had already recommended. It 

 is noted how purchasers were cheated by 

 "Higglers in Plants" and others, and how he 

 had seen plants " to be sold in the markets that 

 were as uncertain of growth as a Piece of Noah's 

 Ark." I cannot conclude without recording how 

 in the part relating to furnishing Squares, Fair- 

 child recommends planting lines of the same 

 flower- 



-really 

 Brotherston. 



a Ribbon border. 



B. P. 



FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE. 



PROPOSED VISIT TO THE LONDON 



INTERNATIONAL SHOW. 



A few of my comrades and myself of the Ecole 

 Nationale d'Horticulture de Versailles would like 

 to visit the Royal International Horticultural 

 Exhibition, which is to take place in London in 

 May next. It has been the custom for many 

 years for the students of our school to make a 

 journey, for their instruction, in the last year of 

 their studies. This year, however, the authorities 

 object to our journey to London on account of 

 the high prices asked in the hotels. For this 

 reason I should like to get information of some 

 means of lodging about 20 young men at a reason- 

 able price for about a week. I should be much 

 obliged for any information or suggestions that 

 will enable us to visit that remarkable exhibition. 

 Gustave Adrion, ileve a V Ecole Nationale 

 d l Horticulture de Versailles. 



[We have forwarded the above note to the 

 president and founder of the Societe Francaise 

 d'Horticulture de Londres, Mr. George Schneider, 

 3, Meredyth Road, Barnes, whose kindly interest 

 in gardeners and others from the Continent is 

 so well known. Mr. Schneider states that his 

 society will do what is possible for the visitors. 

 Eds.1 



NEW OR NOTEWORTHY 



PLANTS. 



AFGHAN MOUNTAIN PAL'm. 



(Nannorrhops Ritchieana.) 



At the last meeting of the Linnean Society a 

 letter was read from Dr. G. Henderson, stating 

 that Nannorrhops Ritchieana, of which he sent 

 a quantity of seeds for trial in British gardens, 

 grows in the Khyber Pass, where it is some- 

 times covered with snow in winter, whilst the 

 summer is very hot. In 1886 (see Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, November 20, 1886, p. 652) some par- 

 ticulars were given of this Palm, seeds of which 



Nannorrhops used to be Chama?rops, and the 

 main difference between N. Ritchieana and the 

 European Chamaerops humilis is in the foliage 

 the latter having a spiny petiole, whereas, in 

 the Nannorrhops the leaves are unarmed. 

 Aitchison said that, on the higher hills in 

 Afghanistan, N. Ritchieana w T as dwarf and 

 stunted, but in sheltered situations it grew to a 

 height of 15 feet to 25 feet, which is exactly what 

 happens in the case of Chamaerops humilis in 

 Europe. The leaves are about 3 feet long, the 

 petiole being half as long as the palmate blade, 

 which is stiff and tough in texture, and is 

 covered with a whitish powder. The leaf divi- 

 sions number from 8 to 15, and they are about a 



FlG, 32. — NANNORRHOPS RITCHIEANA. 



had been sent to Kew by the late Surgeon-major 

 Aitchison, who was with the troops under 

 General Roberts in Afghanistan. These seeds 

 were distributed, some being sown at Kew 5 but, 

 although we had the advantage of particulars as 

 to climatic conditions supplied by Dr. Aitchison, 

 none of the plants raised here were estab- 

 lished, nor is there any report of success 

 elsewhere, so that it is doubtful if this Palm is 

 in cultivation anywhere in Europe. Seeing 

 that another effort is to be made to accomplish 

 what we failed to do 25 years ago, it is worth 

 while to give some particulars of this Palm from 

 information furnished partly by Dr. Aitchison, 

 who had seen it growing wild in the Kuram 

 Valley. 



foot long. The inflorescence is terminal, erecv 

 and paniculate. The fruit is a roundish berry, 

 about the size of a Grape, and the hard, bony 

 seed is covered with an edible pulp, and known 

 to the Afghans by the same name as the fruit of 

 the Date. The stem of this Palm is sometimes 

 branched, owing, it was thought by Dr. Aitchison, 

 to the early abortion of the inflorescence. 



With respect to the hardiness of this Palm, 

 we must not overlook the fact that, for a con- 

 siderable period every year, it is covered witii- 

 snow, this covering, no doubt, serving as a pro* 

 tection from severe frost. Plants which, i n 

 nature, are snowed under during the cold season, 

 and are not exposed until the sun is powerful 

 enough to melt the snow, after which there is- 





