March 9, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS CHRONICLE. 



159 



Trees for Fuel. — The coal strike brings us 

 to a very clear appreciation of the enormous value 

 coal is to us Englishmen. In one respect it may be 

 a blessing in disguise if it teaches us to econo- 

 mise it more and to prepare ourselves for the 

 time, not so far distant, when our supplies of 

 coal and oil are either exhausted or so dear that 

 ordinary men cannot use them. Unless we can 

 bottle up heat from the sun or obtain power from 

 the winds and the tides, both for heat and power, 

 we shall be dependent on such natural substances 

 as wood and peat. It is well known that certain 

 trees are good timber trees for firewood, and fast 

 growers, but both timber and growth can be 

 much improved by careful plant-breeding and cul- 

 tivation. One of our finest gifts to posterity 

 would be a really good fast-growing timber 

 tree, which would grow almost everywhere, 

 and that it would be making some sort 

 of amend, even if it be a scanty one, for 

 the atrocious and wasteful way the present 

 generation has depleted the world's supply of 

 fuel? Cannot such a tree be produced in a cen- 

 tury or so of experimental cultivation? B. 

 Ramsden, Siddinghurst, Chiddingfold, Surrey. 



Plants for a Dry Border.— The following 

 plants, in their order of flowering, seem to with- 

 stand practically every extreme of heat and cold. 

 Many of them will reproduce themselves natur- 

 ally from seed. (January). Various early-flower- 

 ing forms of Galanthus according to soil; Crocus 

 vitellinus and C. chrysanthus. (February). 

 Galanthus ; Crocus species, such as C. Im- 

 perative. Sieberi, &c. ; Cyclamen Coum, and 

 C. ibericum. (March.) Crocus species, such 

 variety ; Museari ; Narcissus Triandrus albus ; 

 azureum; and Iris reticulata. (April.) Cyclamen 

 repandum, C. libanoticum; Anemones in 

 variety ; Museari ; Narcissus Triandrus albus ; 

 Scillas ; and Iris Juno. (May.) Cyclamen 

 and Iris pumila. (June.) Liiium umbella- 

 tum; Iris ensata. I. graminea, Spanish 

 Irises, and hybrid Irises. (July and August.) 

 Cyclamen europseum ; English Irises. (Septem- 

 ber.) Crocus speciosum and C. sativus. (October.) 

 Cyclamen ; Crocus speciosus var. Critchisonii, C. 

 eridiflorus; and Sternbergia lutea. (November.) 

 Crocus medius and Sternbergia lutea. A good 

 carpeting plant is the wild, white Violet, which 

 flowers in great profusion during March and 

 April. The Cyclamen and Narcissus Triandrus 

 albus require a light, sandy soil containing lime 

 rubble ; shade, oi partial shade from sunshine, 

 as do Anemone Pulsatilla, A. ranunculoides, and 

 Iris reticulata. Basil Ltvttt, Wychnor, Staf- 

 fordshire. 



Lilies and Sunshine. — In Mr. Grove's 

 article, so full of interest to the lover of this 

 beautiful genus, special praise is given to a Lily 

 of recent introduction, namely, Lilium myrio- 

 phyllum. I believe there is a great future before 

 this particular plant, for its points of recom- 

 mendation are hardiness, healthiness, fine habit 

 and exceptional beauty. I well remember unpack- 

 ing the cases as they arrived, very, very late in 

 spring from China. The bulbs had been packed 

 in the previous autumn, cased in mud, as is the 

 usual method, but so hardly had they fared on 

 the voyage that but very few reached their desti- 

 nation in the mud envelopes. They were terribly 

 dry and had commenced to grow, each bulb 

 having a shoot of sickly white, flabby leaves pro- 

 truding. They had then a very peculiar appear- 

 ance, for the leaves are very narrow, and they 

 looked like bulbs with bunches of half-dead grass 

 on the top. Such were the unpromising bulbs 

 when they first arrived. They were planted im- 

 mediately in a rather heavy, loamy soil, and one 

 or two flowered with a single flower the first 

 year (1909). The bulbs were taken up in the 

 autumn, and they looked in a very poor condi- 

 tion, the young bulb in many cases being 

 small. They were planted again after a brief 

 rest, and in 1910 the flowers made a beautiful 

 sight. Most of the plants were single-flowered, 

 but others had up to as many as six flowers to a 

 stem. The foliage was perfectly healthy, without 

 a trace of the disease that had taken off a whole 

 lot of L. Brownii received from China at the 

 same time. And last year (1911) they were better 

 and stronger than ever. Mr. E. H. Wilson, who 

 collected them, 6aid that they were found in a 

 very hot valley, in a heavy soil containing lime, 

 and that the Chinese natives of that particular 

 locality grew them over the porches of their 

 nouses, planted thickly together in about 6 



inches of clay, the only water they got being 

 from the rain ; and in this position they flowered 

 abundantly. These remarks, I think, fully 

 justify Mr. Grove's contention that L. myrio- 

 phyllum is possibly the most satisfactory of all 

 modern Lilies. It seeds freely and germinates 

 readily, is easily propagated from scale offsets, 

 and should before long be plentiful enough to 

 be in every garden where plants of beauty and 

 interest are treasured. In planting it is well 

 to avoid peat, giving the bulbs rather clay. 

 Plant in full sunshine. Thos. II. Chandler, 

 Wittington Hall, Marlow, Bucks. 



SOCIETI 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL. 



March 5. — The spring exhibitions include the 

 most successful of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society's fortnightly shows, and the meeting on 

 t Tuesday last emphasised the popularity of these 

 shows. Every space, even in the two annexes, 

 was occupied with exhibits, although those not of. 

 a purely horticultural nature had been excluded. 

 The success was partly due to a special bulb 

 show, whilst the Narcissus Committee met for 

 the first time this season. The show attracted a 

 large number of visitors, and during part of the 

 time the avenues were packed as on Temple 

 Show days. The exhibits of Orchids were re- 

 markable, both for numbers and quality ; but 

 the Orchid Committee granted only two Awards 

 of Merit. 



The exhibits in the floral section included 

 large groups of Indian Rhododendrons and other 

 flowering shrubs, Carnations, Primulas, Ferns, 

 bulbous plants, and rock-gardens. The Floral 

 Committee recommended four Awards of Merit. 

 The Fruit and Vegetable Committee made no 

 award to a novelty. 



At the 3 o'clock meeting of the Fellows, a 

 lecture on "The Stimulation of Plant Growth" 

 was given by Professor H. E. Armstrong, F.R.S. 



Floral Committee. 



Present: Henry B. May, Esq. (in the Chair); 

 and Messrs. Chas. T. Druery, John Green, T. W. 

 Turner, G. Reuthe, R. C. Noteutt, W. J. Bean, 

 F. Herbert Chapman, Charles Blick, W: Howe, 

 J. F. McLeod, J. Dickson, W. Bain, Chas. 

 Dixon, R. C. Reginald Nevill, Herbert J. Cut- 

 bush, Charles E. Shea, J. T. Bennett-Poe, W. P. 

 Thomson, E. H. Jenkins, W. J. James, F. Page 

 Roberts, Charles E. Pearson, George Paul, W. B. 

 Cranfield, and R. Hooper Pearson. 



Messrs. James Carter & Co., Raynes Park, 

 provided, against the side wall of the Hall, a 

 spring garden scene. Tall Cedars, shapelv 

 Cryptomerias, and other Conifers hid the wall 

 up to a goodly height, and rockwork was ar- 

 ranged at the foot. Water spouted from the 

 mouths of a couple of stone dragons, and splashed 

 into pools below. These circular pools, enclosed 

 with rugged stones, had a dense band of bright 

 Crocuses. A weather-worn, bronze, Japanese 

 vase was placed on a granite pedestal in the 

 centre of the garden, and contained a number 

 of bright Tulips, whilst many pale-blue Hya- 

 cinths encircled its base. Around and on either 

 side of this centrepiece stretched a smooth, green 

 lawn of grass. Circular flower-beds were 

 cut out of this velvety lawn, and in them 

 grew almost perfect Hyacinths. Brightly-hued 

 Tulips displayed their charms. Many of the 

 boulders which were used in the rockwork 

 came from Japan, and amongst them Daffodils 

 in plenty, Pyrus japonica, and other spring 

 flowers lent their aid towards making this spring 

 scene pleasant to the eye. (Silver-gilt Flora 

 Medal.) 



Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, showed 

 superb plants of Rhododendron indicum, ar- 

 ranged on a staging, with here and there a 

 standard specimen as a foil. With these were 

 Prunus sinensis, double-flowered variety, Amyg- 

 dalus persica rosea. Wistaria Viburnum Opulus, 

 and Staphylea colchica. As a table exhibit, this 

 firm showed indoor flowering plants, making a 

 bright group with Primula x kewensis, Boronia 

 megastigma, Lily of the Valley, Tillandsia 

 Zahnii, with yellow flowers ; and Cyclamen, with 

 fimbriated petals, of the type known as "Papilio" 

 or Butterfly. The new variety of Rhododendron 



indicum, Blushing Bride, was shown in a baWii 

 of excellent plants. (Silver-gilt Flora Medal.) 



Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading, exhibited 

 Hyacinths arranged in batches of two sorts, to 

 show effective colour blending. The best effects 

 were pale yellow and light blue, pink and deep 

 blue, yellow and deep blue, blush and light blue, 

 and light blue and dark blue. The plants were 

 excellent specimens, with large inflorescences, 

 and arranged with small Ferns. (Silver-gilt 

 Banksian Medal.) 



Messrs. H. B. May & Sons, The Nurseries, 



Edmonton, staged Clematis in groups of distinct 



varieties, including Lord Wolseley (blue), Mrs. 



Quilter (white), Miss Bateman (white), and Lady 



Londesborough (lavender). Ferns were employed 



as a groundwork to the flowering plants. (Silver 

 Banksian Medal.) 



Messrs. W. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, ex- 

 hibited, as on the last occasion, a showy group 

 of forced shrubs and vases of Carnations. Mag- 

 nolias, Azaleas, Lilac, and Prunus triloba 

 were all good. Amongst the Carnations, the 

 choicer varieties were Miss Winnie Hey (yellow 

 ground, with pink markings), White Wonder, 

 Mrs. Lucy Mackinnon (a large, scarlet flower, 

 very fragrant), Lady Meyer (pink), and Countess 

 of Lathom (crimson). (Silver Flora Medal.) 



Mr. L. R. Russell, Richmond, showed an ex- 

 ceptionally large exhibit of Indian Azaleas (Rho- 

 dodendron indicum), with a few forced shrubs. 

 The Azaleas presented a bank of bright flowers, 

 and were greatly admired. Mr. Russell also 

 showed a small rock-garden exhibit. (Silver-gilt 

 Banksian Medal.) 



Messrs. R. Gill & Sons, Falmouth, showed 

 trusses of Himalayan Rhododendrons, including 

 R. barbatum (scarlet), R. b. carneum (flesh 

 colour), and Mrs. Henry Shilson (soft blue). Other 

 plants in the exhibit included Andromeda 

 japonica, Erica codonodes, Camellias in variety, 

 and the beautiful Cyclamen Coum. 



Messrs. Paul & Son, Old Nurseries, Cheshunt, 

 staged dwarf plants of Lilacs in bloom. 



Messrs. Wm. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, 

 Hertfordshire, put up a very pretty exhibit of 

 flowering Peaches and Almonds, with Magnolias 

 as a background. (Silver Flora Medal.) 



Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, Kent, 

 showed Zonal-leaved Pelargoniums in 50 varie- 

 ties, also winter-blooming Begonias, a dwarf type 

 of Stellate-flowered Cineraria, Isoloma hirsuta, 

 and Amphicome Emodii. 



A batch of Primula obconica of an exception- 

 ally fine strain was shown by Adeline Duchess 

 of Bedford, Chenies, Rickmansworth (gr. Mr. 

 J. Dickson). (Silver Banksian Medal.) 



A batch of well-flowered Freesias was shown 

 by Mr. H. Brotherston, Knebworth, Hertford- 

 shire. 



Mr. H. N. Ellison, West Bromwich, showed 

 hybrid Gerberas and Freesias. 



Mr. H. Burnett, St. Margarets, Guernsey, 

 again showed superb blooms of perpetual-bloom- 

 ing Carnations, for w T hich a Silver Flora Medal 

 was awarded. 



Messrs. Allwood Bros., Hay wards Heath, 

 showed a small but pretty exhibit of Carnations. 

 La Rayonnante (yellow) and Geisha (puce, de- 

 scribed by the exhibitors as a shade of helio- 

 trope) are two novelties exhibited well by this 

 firm. 



Mr. B. E. Bell, Castel Nursery, Guernsey, 

 showed the cerise-pink Carnation Coronation, 

 also White Wonder, R. F. Felton, Mikado, and 



others. 



Mr. C. Engelmann, Saffron Walden, Essex, 



received a Bronze Flora Medal for a collection 



of Carnations of the perpetual-blooming type. 



Messrs. Stuart Low & Co., Bush Hill Park, 

 Enfield, were also the exhibitors of Carnations, 

 as well as greenhouse flowering plants in variety. 

 (Bronze Flora Medal.) 



Messrs. Young & Co., Cheltenham, and 

 Messrs. W. Wells & Co., Ltd., Merstham, 

 Surrey, also exhibited Carnations of the per- 

 petual-blooming type. 



Hardy Plants. 



Mr. Clarence Elliott, Stevenage, again put 

 up a rockery similar to the one he displayed 

 at the last meeting, and much the best of its 

 kind in the hall. The plants were arranged so 

 as to present sheets of flowers of such choice sub- 

 jects as Saxifraga Burseriana speciosa, S. Gloria, 

 S. apiculata (yellow), S. oppositifolia alba, S. 

 splendens, and Primula Allionii. (Silver Banksian 

 Medal.) 



