Aveust 8, 1874.] SHE GARDENERS’ CHRONICLE. 163 
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ae of flower of the species under examination. Soh Potentilla Fragariastrum, Primula vulgaris, | Gentiana Amarella, and in the abundant Devil’ nie 
mmon weeds are of little use in this respect, asa | Ranunculus Ficaria (Celandine), Narcissus Pseudo- | Scabio ous (Scabiosa succisa), often filling moist pas 
Daisy, a Dandelion, or a Dead Nettle may be Nuria (Daffodil), and Anemone nemorosa abe at this time. Oa hillsides, or in moist sandy oia 
iced in flower any bright day in January, and | Anemone). belong. March Violets are of co the scented triple Lady’s Tresses (Spiranthes autum- 
Primroses this very year were ir Bt in full flower ar wa aos nalis) presents its aat orm in a spiral bs a and 
in February s oi vicinity, e Vernal time is introduced by Cardamine pri among the withered s whose time is past the 
Trees and shrubs are not so sensitive to a transient Enp: (Cacked Flower), the gorgeous Caltha palus- | Soa pro, als of pape +P arenal Simite "(Saponaria 
sunny gleam in ike early part of the year, so that s (Marsh Marigold) and F reckled Cowslips cover | officinalis), and a rustic favourite, makes a show like a 
their leafing is better fitted for general observations, id meadows. In some fields Dandelions bec — flame about to Üp: The orchards now show their 
though in such an uncertain climate as ours dis- | very numerous and conspicuous, while on the mar, products, ‘‘red as evening sky” ; Elderberries droop 
crepancies are not unfrequent, and at least half a cen- | of woods Orchis mascula (Lon ng Purples), that in sable clusters; ripe baitis of various kinds, 
tury would be required to strike an average with cor- | ‘liberal she epherds”” gave a grosser name to in | especially those of the Hawthorn and Mountain Ash, 
rectness. A few ag gone: gt Ani only | Shaks kspeare’s time, and Ranunculus auricomus are | glisten in the dews of morning; Hips show their 
deceptive in any locality. I remember a on in conspicuous to to the cere ruddy tint, and every Bramble hedge is loaded with 
ich, from a continued high oida the hifege Early in April many hedges are white with the | Blackberries. On mountain sides the glaucous-tinted 
whi m riy i 
of nearly all our forest trees was completed within a | small but densely clustered ia of the Sloe (Prunus | Bilberries abound. The floral period closes with the 
week in March, and I have known other nio when | spinosa), and, later in the m month, the common Blue- | flowering of the sombre Ivy, on whose green 
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tion took in only one of these spare a years the | mination of the Vernal season is marked by the flower- | foliage of deciduous trees now senate various 
results obtained would not be trustworthy. In the | ing of the Hawthorn, while a golden week is given | colours, indicative of fading life; and with the first 
year I a paper of mine appeared in the PAyłolo. | to the pastures by the too numerous flowers of Ranun- | frosts and the equi spe gales the leaves fall, and 
it “On the Acceleration of the Flowering of | culus acris. The Germander T aapa (Veronica | are whirled about in all direction 
lish Plants” in that particular year, which | chamædrys), the Broom (Sarothamnus scoparius), and The Hibernal season x ows the floral world in 
ae weeks of difference in the times stated | Anthriscus sylvestris s, where it abounds, may also be | ruin, and, except that berries and fruits remain 
ice 
| E ry porta o gen be generally in flower in the e cryptogamic oe i foggy and chill 
upon plants for observation that are well ond w ut I have known years in | period entirely y thei calcareous Tes 
and of general occt » Dut domestic or field | which leri wale not Pli i in flower before the middle er, where e Clematis Vitalba forms se 
that pr irregularly ‘either on waste ground | of May. e Apple orchards are usually in flower | thickets, its haa plumose ea tink. 
rin pastures. Some very common plants keep up | during the first week in May. The H Chestnut | abl cteristic appearan 
a flowering ie far into the winter, which woul shows its splendid flowersin general towards the close I have only given a sketch of what a skilful observer 
prove nothing as to climate but only the hardiness of | of April, but in 1837 an ungenial spring checked it | of experience, making use of the accumulated stores 
those Er. species, and a looker-out might easily | until May 25. of those that have preceded him, and tabulating 
gather of wild flowers at Christmas if snow The approach of the ogee reign is well marked | where necessary, might develope into an interesting 
was not Sieribe ae ound rd frost | by appearance of the t Midsummer Dais ume, especially if rance of birds and 
deed of late n- | (Chrysanthemum Leucant aol aisy) sel- | insects were made to synchronise with the flowering 
years we have been u 
accustomed to severe weather until after Christmas. | dom behind time, and it is actually advanced when the | of plants. In our general Floras the time of 
Some particular plants stand out as beacons of | yellow Iris Pseudacorus gilds the marshes, and Rubus | inflorescence of the native oe is given vay loosely, 
constancy, unless under very exceptional circum- | cæsius and Rosa canina appear in the hedges. n i and 1s re- 
stances, and these demand particular attention. Poppies then flame in the corn-fields, the Foxglove is | quired. Distributed fists to Pa marked by naturalists 
Amo these I — mention Pe affodil (Nar- | an ornament to sandy lanes (M alva n poA —com- | would no doubt be very useful if the country were 
cissūs Pseudo-Narcis us), the Cuckoo-flower (Car- on Mallow), Po tentilla posit: na (Silver Weed), | marked out in well-defined geographical districts, and 
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damine pratensis), Sttehiw ort (Stellaria Holostea), pie Boe Geraniums, and St. John’s Wort (Hypericum) not merely confined to county limits. Zdwin Lees, 
Salix Caprea, Pru spinosa, Caltha ustris, | appear in waste places, and calcareous banks a F.L. S., Worcester. 
A mon rhes m se page “re covered with a repi harry in poten aay. ee e ma no enmener - 
R-matans), e Luy of the Valley (Con. | The Stonecrops are now in flower, and Sedum acre 
majalis). In an average season he Prii spreads a bright yellow tint over rootsand walls. The TABLE DECORATIONS. 
osa should show expanded flowers on April T, and lofty Mullein (Verbascum) now rears its lofty spike of |, DECORATIONS FOR ROUND DINNER-TABLES,— 
season to | backward or forward as the | flowers, Chamomiles and Bindweeds are abundant. | some remarks which I lately made (vol. i i, 1874, p. ne 
ng of the Sloe is accelerated or tarded. The | Vicia and others of the ni class appear, | on ject of vases for round tables, I’m: atone 
_the Elder (Sambucus nigra) clearly pom er rig sr (Mouse Ear) leads the Com- | that of the reasons which induced me to pre 
, dec ded mmer temperature, and the ositze to r n the sunny rays. he fragrant Lime ‘ar i of table to any other was, that it could be 
v Iris (I. Pseudacorus) often shows its flowers (Tilia) 3 now olf its gri with the Privet, as | made to look well with only one vase, judiciously 
o also with regard to Rosa canina, ornus sanguinea, the Elder spreads its datai, placed in the centre. Lest, however, it 
ought to show expanded flowers early in June, silver spreading cymes in Srolailo n. Hillsides are | should be thought by some pe : intended to advo 
i ubus cæsius, while the common Bramble red with the scented T yme in full bloom. | cate the invariable use of one central decoration a only 
discolor) only e xhibits its epera late in Porter makes the Solstitial period last from the be- | for round table es, I propose to penis the applicability 
eae Flos-cuculi is a goo mer harbinger, | ginning of June to July 15, and within this time the |” of such tables for more peate styles of ornamenta- 
o Yellow Rattle (Rhina crista-galli), -= hay harvest is carried on in the midland and southern | tion, by describing the manner in which a table 
de $ among a e grass, is sai to mark mowing | counties of England, beginning, ny Stillingfleet in |- r04 ‘feet in diameter was late ely arra : 
Hag y the rattle of its seeds in their capsules, ` The his Calendar of Flora, with the flow aimn. of the Lime, In the centre was placed a Palm, Thrinax 
mace er before May 1, would ag Clover beig out of bloom and Cockscomb (Rhinanthus | elegantissima, about 4 feet high. Around this were 
te vanced season ; but this is not often the c crista-ga Hi) shedd =~ its seeds. placed four tin bis so made as to form a circle of 
is rather connected with old Ma hoover si hee he thy The Æstival, or advanced summer floral reign, is 3 feet in diameter, bu Pewee a Fragen coms in the 
when, if not to be seen in flower, vegetatio closely linked with the Solstitial, ? but it may be con- | middle for the central plant. rie ede 
ea as behind the average tim venient to make a distinction. The Hawkweeds and | with common moss, high e pico in the middle to 
. F. Forster, in his his Perennial ‘Calen endar f r, pub- | Bell-fl and wall hide the Pde pee papit going Pees TEE the edge 
lished some years sin six distinct t eca: as the carpenters say, ‘‘ to nothing.” moss was 
Seasonal periods in the English floral year, and as his Then rains t tumbling to ‘ane Bpl, i surfaced’ a over with Selaginella, which also formed a 
it K seems lent or no. gage a quotation from Still ever springin fringed margin to the mossy mound. Near the top of 
be deserving of notice. He says :—“ As Where pride and pomp have passed away, this mound were plunged, at equal distances apart, 
e plants 1 may ted as flowering, culmi- On ancient tomb and turret grey three little plants of Anthurium Scherzerianum, each 
sng and deflowering, according as they first open, Like friendship clinging.” having a couple of small blooms on them, and 
said irs full maturity, and fade, so the same may be | The purple gant krooni Salicaria), so gene- | between each pair of plants two blooms of Cape 
SO the aggregat owers of each particular brooks, well c Jasmine on their own Taches irere stek -inii the 
sason, and this is the best meth e can adopt for | this portion of the “Tow year, and the Water Lilies | moss. I had some fears at time these six 
illustrating the face of Nature at each of axe o uty. By road-sides and | Gardenias might prove too odoriferous 
indications of the revolving year.” The various waste places the whole tribe of Thistles, lovers of | feet square, but such not the case. An outer 
deduced of oe of the seasons are to be high temperature, mark the advanced summer time, as | circle was formed of six large blooms of flame-coloured 
certain ne y m the — ee retum of | well The — golden- | Cactus, interspersec with trusses of Stephanotis some- 
of the eager phenomena, such a nce | yellow flowers of the Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), what irregularly disposed, so as to break up without 
other h of passage, the awakening of insects and belong to this period, and in moist places the odorous destroying the geometrical arrangement. Towards 
ing ybernators from their lon ng inaction, the pair- | \feadowsweet (Spiræa Ulmaria) scents the air, The | the edge a few pieces of Erica ventricosa were intro- 
“oye Pidification of e asr thered tri a the | Erica tribe now give eftulgence to heathy spots | duced here a 
heao Plan and .th ening of — In g i 
of of plants tem mperature is the grea apanas 7 o 1ed over 
wil td » and retardation or i Ro a of flowering | The universal piara of the flowers of different | resting upon them, and in some instances serie 
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: Place accordi ingly, bles instead of Roses show the culmination of the | little beyond the outer margin. Near this margin 
a a tiods adverted to are :—1, the Primi- Estiva Tetlod: while the berries of the Mountain Ash, | were placed, equidistantly, six elegant timpa 
Kail: e ine Vernal; 3, the Solstitial; 4, the | Hawt nn and eo a become colour shaped glass vases, 21 inches high, the edges an 
Tn the fr ee Autumnal ; 6, the Hibernal. hough not as yet ri The flowering of the Virgin’ s | feet of which were ornamented with a narrow band of 
® Poetical te eng only to the garden with a of waning days and | ruby glass. These vases were all connected together 
Pr jiin Thomso Sy be considered to, tence Bower (Clematis Vita) heer Re Ey lan by ft ‘one of fine brass wire, the ends of which went 
ate PAN inr The cool autum eri ins as soon as the | down to the bottom of the tube of the ; S 
Eaichanded Spring unbosoms every grac Meadow Saffron (Colchicum autumnale) shows pale | these “arches were lightly twined taig, ior o 
The Dai Out the Snowdrop and the Choos ma purple flowers, commonly called ‘‘naked ladies,” in | Lygodium Be secre rom the m, short ti ch ‘io same 
And A ‘ath: imrose, Violet darkly blue, the meadows, and the aftermath “ pastures exhibits | branched Bete of ea around 
ae yanthus of unn j a faint tinge of pols oa the n se vite 
i i n the 
sori > attentive sore will u an earlier eae 
: i the catkins of the Hazel, and the Lamium 
wh may often be Ae in flower before er 
D period, as selecting the most 
Plants, Tussilago Farfara (Colesfoot), Draba 
Apargia autumna 
ber ii tints are toned aowi 
aspect of the Aarra ' year, : and | 
