App.il 6, 1912.] 



THE GAHDENERST CHRONICLE. 



227 



■ 



Pot Strawberries.— We grow about one 



thousand plants of Strawberries in pots for 



early forcing. The runners are layered early 



in small pots, being transferred afterwards 



to 6-inch pots. They are well protected in 



frames during the winter. Our earliest batches 



this season were placed in a Peach-house and 



vinery early in January. The plants grew 



strongly, some of the flower-stems being 12 



inches long. No manure was afforded until after 



the berries were set, when Le Fruiterer was 



applied alternately with liquid manure. The 



first fruits were* ripe on March 16, and 



successional plants promise good results. The 



variety is Royal Sovereign. I have known 



a similar case to that described by F . W., but 



the plants were not well protected from cold, 



and the trouble was attributed to frost injuring 



the roots. Fruit Foreman, Ingestre Gardens, 

 Stafford. 



>Ir. West did not state how he treated 



his pot plants of Royal Sovereign Strawberry 

 after placing them on an ash bottom fully ex- 

 posed to light and air. Did they remain stand- 

 ing out in the open all through the early part of 

 the winter, exposed to the incessant rains, or were 

 they stood in unheated frames? If they were al- 

 lowed to remain in the open even until Christmas, 

 it is possible that many of the roots were killed or 

 badly injured by the excessive wet. Mr. West's 

 predecessor invariably wintered the bulk of his 

 pot Strawberry plants plunged in ashes. It 

 would be interesting to learn whether the system 

 practised at Syon House by the late John Wood- 

 bridge, and continued by Mr. G. Wythes, of 

 stacking the pot plants several layers deep in 

 ashes, is still adopted there, the plants being, of 

 course, stacked on their sides. An objection to 

 this practice is that in dry winters the soil in the 

 pots becomes dry, causing the roots to suffer 

 harm. No doubt plunging the pots in leaves in 

 cold frames or turf pits, over which lights can 

 be placed during heavy rains or cold weather, is 

 the best method. D. 



Early Flowers in Scotland. — Mr 



Williamson's experience does not coincide with 

 mine as to the earliest Snowdrop, although his gar- 

 den is only distant from Monreith some 20 miles 

 by crow flight. I do not know Galanthus Mel- 

 villei, to which he refers, nor have I any desire 

 to make its acquaintance, for I have never seen 

 any species or variety superior in beauty or 

 equal in constitution to the common G. nivalis. 

 The following are the dates on which I have 

 noticed the first bloom during the last seven 

 years :— 1905-6, December 27 ; 1906-7, Janu- 

 ary 8 ; 1907-8, January 20 ; 1908-9, January 13 ; 

 1909-10, January 19; 1910-11, December 30; 



1911-12, December 30. Herbert Maxwell, Mon- 

 reith. 



DlANTHUS CALLIZONUS. 



lucky 



not experiencing the difficulty which Mr. Farrer 

 says he has encountered with this beautiful 

 Pink. It does not seem so avid of sunshine as 

 D. neglectus and D. alpinus, making better 

 growth on a west exposure than full south. I 

 grow it on a retaining wall, but have never ven- 

 tured to give it lime, acting on the belief that, 

 while many plants from limestone thrive in a 

 timeless soil, most of those from non-calcareous 

 districts hate it. D. callizonus seems quite con- 

 tent with good loam, a little sand, and a good 

 deal of grit. On the other hand, I followed the 

 advice of Mr. J. A. Clark, in his useful little 

 manual, Alpine Plants, and began several years 

 ago to treat D. neglectus with a free allowance 

 of hme rubbish. D. callizonus seeds as freely 

 with me as D. neglectus, but their proximity in 

 the garden destroys all guarantee of purity of race. 

 Herbert Maxwell, Monreith. 



Birds and Fruit Buds.— During the cold 

 weather m January and the beginning of Feb- 



r u ar & ^° me kind of bird destroyed nearly 

 att the buds on the Peach trees out-of-doors 



!3 ere ' J am interested to know if any other gar- 

 aener has suffered the same loss, and what kind 



?.\K T uld be likel y t0 do the mischief. It 

 nvl.in tlme in m y experience, which extends 

 ThZ years > that such a thin S ha s happened, 

 manv^ numbers of sparrows, but not 



K?£w A fin ° hes A n the district - G ' S - Hatcher, 

 Uoljield Grange Gardens, Coggeshall, Essex. 



The Old Shirley Society.— The note on 

 the Shirley and Frecmantle Horticultural Society 

 (see p. 187) interested me greatly. Probably, of all 

 who associated themselves with the formation of 

 that society in the mid 'sixties, my friend, Mr. 

 B. Ladhams, and myself are the only members 

 remaining. The first show was held in the month 

 of August, and rain fell heavily all the day. 

 Nothing daunted, we resolved to* continue it for 

 a second day, but that was very wet also. Still, 

 we stuck to the society and the show, and it 

 grew gradually, so much so in fact that when 

 the exhibition was transferred to Whitedwood 

 Park, it became both large and attractive. How- 

 ever, the society was forced to find other quar- 

 ters for its annual display, and the show receipts 

 became less and less. For a society to have held 

 46 annual exhibitions is something of which to 

 be proud, for it shows that the initial labours 

 were not in vain. A. Dean. 



Chrysanthemum King of Plumes.— This 

 beautiful variety is one of the best late sorte ; 

 having cultivated it for several years past I can 

 testify to the cut blooms being splendid for 

 table decorations. I enclose photographs show- 

 ing a group of Chrysanthemums, comprised of 

 King of Plumes (yellow), Mrs. Thompson (yel- 

 low), and Wm. Thompson (white). The three 

 varieties continue to flower until February. I 

 also send a photograph of plants of Begonia Gloire 

 de Lorraine. Arthur Fin, Apethorpe Hall 

 Gardens, Northamptonshire. [We regret" that 



the photographs are unsuitable for reproduction. 

 Eds.] 



Iris tuberosa.— This sweetly-attractive Iris 

 is now in full flower, and has been in bloom 

 since the middle of February. It is popularly 

 known in this country as the Snake's-head Iris, 

 but in Spain it goes by the name of La Vedovina 

 or the Little Widow, on account of its dark- 

 tinted flowers, with velvet-black falls and pale, 

 apple-green standards. In the North of England 

 there are constant complaints of its failure to 

 bloom, but in South Devon and Cornwall it 

 never fails to flower abundantly every year, and 

 blossoms annually though grown under the most 

 dissimilar conditions. In a certain Cornish gar- 

 den it has grown for sixty years in a wood 

 greatly overrun by Ivy, and the owner of the gar- 

 den referred to very naturally came to the con- 

 clusion that the Iris required" shade and shelter. 

 However, in a^ Devon garden, it grows well and 

 blooms freely in an exposed site, on a southern 

 slope, in the full sunshine, and in light soil that 

 becomes dust-dry in summer. Few appear to 

 know this quaintly-pretty flower, and it is rarely 

 met with in gardens, but no one who has once 

 grown it would wiUingly be without it. Though 

 it cannot be termed a showy flower, and is far 

 more sombre in colour than such of its family as 

 I. alata, I. persica, I. Histrio, I. histrioides, I. 

 reticulata and others, it has a refined beauty of 

 its own. The delicate blossoms have the addi- 

 tional merit of being sweet-scented, and are 

 always welcome for indoor decoration, especially 

 as in the south-west they appear so early in the 

 year. It is a native of the Levant, whence it 

 was introduced into this country in 1597. The 

 species has become naturalized in some parts of 

 South Devon, where it now grows wild in the 

 hedges. The leaves, which are each about 3 feet in 

 length, are quadrilateral in shape, with a dis- 

 tinct ridge at each corner, and the flowers, which 

 measure about 3 inches across, are borne on foot- 

 stalks about 18 inches in height. In this locality 

 it seeds freely, and self-sown seedlings spring in 

 quantities some yards away from the parent 

 plants. These can be removed when in full 

 growth, and do not appear to resent the trans- 

 plantation. Wyndham Fitzherbert. 



SOCIETI 



SCHEDULES RECEIVED. 



Bolton Horticultural and Chrysanthemum Society.— 



The twenty-sixth exhibition of this society will take place 

 on Friday and Saturday, November 15 and 16, in the Albert 

 Hall, Bolton. Five silver challenge cups will be offered 

 for competition; also the R.H.S. silver gilt medal, silver 

 and bronze medals are offered. A gold medal will be 

 offered for two pots of large-flowered Chrysanthemums. 

 Secretary, Mr. George Corbett, Heaton Grange Gardens, 

 Bolton. 



Preston Horticultural and Industrial Society— The 



fourteenth annual exhibition of this society will be held in 

 the Vicarage Gardens, Preston, on Thursday, August 22, 

 Secretary, Mr. A. J. Gaston, 170, Springfield Road, Preston, 

 Brighton. 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL. 



March 26. — Owing to the proximity of Easter 

 and the railway difficulties, the attendance at the 

 fortnightly meeting on Tuesday la^t was not quite 

 so large as at recent exhibitions, but there waa no 

 falling off in the exhibits. Tall sprays of flowering 

 shrubs rising above the partitions of the tables 

 gave a very pleasing appearance to the Hall. The 

 principal subjects in the floral section were Roses, 

 flowering shrubs, Carnations, Pelargoniums, and 

 hardy plants. The Floral Committee granted 

 eight Awards of Merit to novelties. 



Orchids were shown well, and included a larger 

 proportion of good novelties than usual. the 

 Orchid Committee granted three First class Cer- 

 tificates and five Awards of .Merit. The Com- 

 mittee included Mr. F. Sanders, who received 

 numerous congratulations on his recovery from a 

 severe illness. 



The Narcissus Committee awarded one First- 

 class Certificate and two Awards of Merit. 



The exhibits before the Fruit and Vegetable 

 Committee were unimportant. 



At the three o'clock meeting in the lecture- 

 room a lecture on " Tender Plants for Warm 

 Corners " was delivered by Mr. R. Irwin Lynch. 



Floral Committee. 



Present: George Paul, Esq. (in the Chair); 

 and Messrs. C. T. Druery, J. Green, T. W. Tur- 

 ner, G. Reuthe, J. T. Bennett-Poe, C. R. Fielder 

 Wm Howe, C. Blick, J. Jennings, F. F. McLeod! 

 R. C. Nevill, Chas. Dixon, H. J. Jones, Chas. 

 E. Shea, W. P. Thomson, E. H. Jenkins, Wm. J. 

 James, W. G. Baker, R. C. Notcutt, R. Hooper 

 Pearson, G. Gordon, R. Wallace, J. Dickson, 

 Jas Hudson, and W. B. Cranfield. 



Messrs. R. & G. Cuthbert, Southgate Nur- 

 series, Southgate, Middlesex, filled each corner 

 at one end of the hall with groups of flowering 

 shrubs. Tall standard Lilacs and Laburnums 

 towering over a groundwork of dwarfer plants 

 were very effective. This firm also filled a table 

 with profusely-flowered plants of Lachenalia Nel- 

 sonii. (Silver-gilt Banksian Medal.) 



Messrs. Wm. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, 

 exhibited spring-flowering shrubs and plants, 

 with a group of Carnations at one 

 the staging Plants of the well-known 

 dendron Pink Pearl were shown 

 large trusses, illustrating how well this 



bears gentle forcing. The old favourite „ 



tuosum fl. pi. is another useful Rhododendron for 

 forcing into bloom. (Silver Flora Medai.) 



Messrs. R. Gill & Sons, Falmouth, Cornwall, 

 brought a splendid collection of their famous 

 Rhododendrons. Such varieties as Gill's 

 Triumph, Duke of Cornwall, and Shilsonii are 

 quite dazzling in colour. Some sprays of Acacia 

 juniperina, bearing quantities of fluffy yellow 

 flowers, served to heighten the brightness of the 

 fine Rhododendrons and Camellias. Messrs. 



end of 

 Rhodo- 

 b earing 

 variety 

 R. fas- 



Crawley, Sussex, 



Gill also exhibited an interesting little Primula, 

 which they provisionally named P. Gillii. It was 

 raised from seed collected in the Himalayas at 

 an elevation of 12,000 feet. The plant, which is 

 under 3 inches in height, bears purple, bell- 

 shaped flowers in ai umbel, with pure-white in- 

 teriors. (Silver Flora Medal.) 



Mr. L. R. Russell, The Richmond Nurseries, 

 Surrey, filled a long table with a collection of 

 flowering Clematises, Primula obconica hybrids, 

 and such rockery subjects as Primula denticu- 

 late, seedling Auriculas, and Diosma capitata. 

 (Silver Flora Medal.) 



Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons, _ r 



displayed a very ^ attractive group of* flowering 

 trees and shrubs in large flower pots. The old- 

 fashioned Kerria japonica plena w^as exceptionally 

 well-flowered. 



Messrs. Wm. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, 

 filled one corner of the hall with an interesting 

 group of different kinds of Pyrus in full flower. 

 The double variety of Pyrus angustifolia bore 

 very large flowers, but the smaller, single-flowered 

 P. Malus atrosanguinea, with numerous pink 

 blossoms, was the more attractive. 



Messrs. J. Piper & Son, Bishop's Road, Bays- 

 water, London, W., contributed a very effective 

 group of flowering shrubs, for which a Silver 

 Flora Medal was awarded. 



Messrs. Felton & Sons, Hanover Square, Lon- 

 don, arranged large branches of forced Lilac 

 in Japanese vases. (Bronze Flora Medal.) 



