February 10, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



So 



be dressed with sulphate of potash, 1 lb. to every 

 4 yards run, and well forked in, doing this when 

 the soil will allow firm treading. Between May 

 and July, one ounce of permanganate of potash 

 to the yard run will be given every two weeks, 

 reserving one lot of plants as a control. Manure 

 and watering will be as usual, but very little 

 nitrate will be given. W. 



AMERICAN NOTES. 



THE LOXDON INTERNATIONAL 



EXHIBITION. 



Considerable interest is being taken in your 



show. 



SAUSSUREA GOSSYPIPHORA AND 



S. LEUCOMA. 



(See fig. 88 and Supplementary Illustration.) 



The genus Saussurea is one of the largest and 

 most widely distributed, with great variation in 

 form and also in stature, specimens ranging from 

 the minutest Alpines of an inch, or even less, 

 to plants of fully 4 feet. The altitudinal 

 range is likewise extraordinary; on the Hima- 

 layas and the lofty mountain chains of N.W. 

 China they are almost the last plants found at 

 the limit of vegetation. 



Amongst the most interesting of the Alpine 

 forms are those composing the sub-genus Erio- 



posed and bleak situations on the ledges of lime- 

 stone cliffs at an altitude of 16,000 to 17,000 feet. 

 The species is biennial ; a curious point in con- 

 nection with the foliage of the first year's growth 

 is that the long, cottony hairs are entirely absent, 

 the upper surface of the leaves being glabrous, 

 the under-surface coated with a short, dense, 

 ash-coloured tomentum. During the flowering 

 season the plants are exposed to chilling rains 

 and an extremely foggy atmosphere, thus most 

 probably the heavy coating has been evolved as 

 a protection from those conditions. 



The Supplementary Illustration portrays a new 

 species belonging to the same section, which I 

 discovered in the same region. It has been named 



forthcoming big 



Horticultural Society decided to offer a gold 



medal for American-raised Roses at the exhibi- 



The Massachusetts cor * vne >. a11 the species contained in it being more Saussurea leucoma, Diels. It does not attain such 



an 



Several other delegates 



of Boston, a delegate. 



will probably be appointed, and there will be one, 

 if not more, exhibitors from Massachusetts. I 

 might mention that the Society of American 

 Florists will hold a National Show in New York, 

 opening on April 5, 1913, and remaining open for 

 eight or ten days. This show, it is expected, will 

 surpass in magnitude even the one held in Bos- 

 ton in March, 1911. 



AMERICAN FORCING ROSES. 



With one or two exceptions the varieties ol 

 Roses quoted in your Covent Garden 

 lists are now little 



Rose 



here 



mense one, 

 devoted to 



industry 



millions 



grown in America. 



price 

 Ths 



is 



of 



an lm- 



of 



their 



course, 

 feet of glass being 

 culture. Fortunately, we 

 have clear skies in winter as well as summer, 

 which makes the production of high-grade flowers 

 comparatively easy. The tendency is more and 

 more towards larger and wider houses, these cost- 

 ing less to build and heat than a number of small 

 ones of equal area ; furthermore, the temperature 

 is very much more even in the large houses. Few 

 Rose houses are now built less than 200 feet in 

 length, while 500-feet houses are common ; not a 

 few are 700 feet and 800 feet and some even 

 longer. William H. Elliott, at Reading, N.H., 

 has one 1,340 feet by 60 feet, which is the largest 

 of its kind to date. In regard to width, 40-feet, 

 50-feet, and 60-feet houses are in use ; one in 

 Pennsylvania is 150 feet wide. With trussed 

 roofs it is now possible to use very wide houses 

 without any supporting posts. * The tendency to- 

 wards larger houses is equally strong amongst 

 growers of Carnations, Violets and Sweet Peas. 



American Beauty continues to hold the leading 

 place as a forcing Rose, especially in the west, 

 and as much as $12 per dozen for long-stemmed 

 flowers are readily secured for this variety at 

 Christmas; it is less grown in the east than 

 formerly, owing in large mea ure to the increased 

 culture of Richmond, which has now entirely 

 displaced Liberty for forcing purposes. Flowers 

 of Richmond with 4-feet, 5-feet, and 6-feet stems 

 are not at all uncommon in the markets in 

 winter and early spring. The most popular Roses 



wu-^T^f t0 " day ' however > ar * Killarney and 

 White Killarney; these have almost entirely dis- 

 placed Bride, Bridesmaid, and Mermet, which 

 are now rarely seen in the markets. It is sur- 

 prising that these varieties have not been more 

 grown in England. Antoine Rivoire, re-christened 

 Mrs. Taft, and also called Prince de Bulgarie, is 

 becoming very popular. American growers, to 

 popularise a new European introduction are very 

 prone to change names ; the American Beauty is 

 merely Mme. F. Jamain ; under the latter name 

 it did not sell well, hence the change. Mrs. 

 Aaron W ard has become immensely popular as a 

 »orcing Rose; Lady Hillingdon is also rapidly 

 coming to the front, also Mrs. A. R. Waddell. 

 £ome growers still cultivate Mme. Abel 

 ^iiatenay ; very few now grow Perle des Jardins ; 

 on« or two specialists have of late vears grown 

 limited numbers of the old Safrano i 

 Silene. JUIiam N. Craig, North Easton, 

 Mass., U.S.A. 





[Photograph by George Forrest* 



FlGi 38.— SAUSSUREA GOSSYPIPHORA IN ITS CHINESE HABITAT. 



or less densely clothed with long, shining, cottony 

 hairs, which vary in colour from the purest white 

 or dull yellow to pale pink. 



Thft most extreme tvne of this srrouD is Saus- 



an altitude as S. gossypiphora, but its range is 

 more extensive, from 13,500 to 16,000 feet. The 

 plants are from 4 inches to 9 inches in height and 

 form small colonies on the huge limestone screes 



surea gossypiphora, Don., a Himalayan species, which are a striking feature of the Lichiang 



but plentiful in places on the Lichiang and other 

 ranges in N.W. Yunnan. Viewed at a short dis- 

 tance, in situ, the plant resembles nothing more 



Range. The foliage, which at the base is narrowly 



pinnate, varies in form upwards, until those 



leaves nearest the inflorescence are almost linear, 



closely than a teased-out pyramid of glistening the lamina being entirely sacrificed to the de- 



pinkish or yellowish-tinged cotton. The only foli- 

 age visible consists of a few of the lower cauline 

 leaves ; the whole inflorescence is embedded in 

 the dense tomentum, the presence and situation 

 Bon of the flower-heads being indicated by cavities. 



velopment of the abundant cottony tomentum in 

 which practically the whole of the* plant is 

 smothered. The flower-heads alone are free of it, 

 and form a compact mass 2 inches to 3 inches in 

 breadth. The florets are deep bluish-crimson and 

 The plants are from 6 inches to as much as fragrant. The stems in both species are stout, 

 18 inches in height, and grow in the most ex- fleshy and hollow. George Forrest, 





