October 3, .1878. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 259 
victory oyer one of his two invincibles at Manchester, the 
other, though he had entered, declining to show; but I must 
take this opportunity, on behalf of many rosarians, to assure 
‘“ WYLD SAVAGE” that remarks upon Roses by one who does 
not realise them in their perfection affect us no more than 
a slight overflow of the Cam would alarm the University of 
Cambridge.—S. REYNOLDS HOLE. 
NOVELTIES IN THE ROYAL GARDENS, KEW. 
BEGONIA STARLIGHT has taken the attention of horticul- 
turists, and we cannot do better than point out a specimen in 
the coolend of the T range. Itis the production of Col. Clarke, 
who gaye to the world the invaluable B. Weltoniensis, and is 
the result of crossing B. insignis with B. Pearcei. The latter 
has brought to order the straggling habit of B. insignis, has 
relieved it of its pink colour while imparting none of its yellow, 
and the result is almost a pure white. Its points of merit are 
dwarf shrubby habit and great profusion of flowers ; with it to 
grow is to bloom, which it has done all the summer, and by 
judicious resting at this season it can be made one of the best 
of winter-flowering plants. Another hybrid raised by the 
same gentleman called Sunlight is also of merit, but the 
flower stalks are so long that above the foliage it has a loose 
habit. The colour is rich orange, obtained by crossing 
B. Pearcei with B. cinnabarina. The former is an excellent 
parent for experiment, having a very compact and floriferous 
habit; in itself it is nearly perfect with regard to a king of 
good habit with golden yellow flowers. The advent of this 
beautiful class marks an era in floricultural progress. 
Still in the same compartment we notice a specimen of the 
rare and curious Brunsyigia Josephine. It bears an umbel of 
flowers scarcely surpassed in size by any bulbous plant. The 
individual flowers resemble Nerine ; they are sharply depressed 
at the end ofa straight stalk, often a foot in length; the colour 
is red, irregularly marked with orange, and a single umbel 
may consist of forty blooms. It comes from the Cape, and is 
of the choicest character for bulbous collections. Hzemanthus 
coccineus is also sufficiently rare to receive notice ; there are 
two fine pans, each with about a dozen immense flower heads. 
The florets are densely packed within several large fleshy 
scarlet bracts, and these no doubt by many are supposed to 
constitute the perianth. It also comes from the Cape. 
The Victoria regia this year has shown a peculiarity ; its 
flowers, instead of reposing on the water, are raised from 6 to 
Sinches above, standing firmly erect, A large picture we are 
aware was once condemned on account of exhibiting the same 
circumstance, now, however, proved to be a truthful represen- 
tation. Around this tank are many plants of interest ; one of 
these, Zizania aquatica, will shortly be in flower. It isa Grass, 
the stems of which form a valuable material for paper-making, 
though best known on account of the value of its seeds, which 
are said to equal the best rice, known as Canada rice ; it affords 
food for countless flocks of water fowl. The plant until the 
spring of this year had long been out of cultivation; young 
plants were then obtained for the Royal Gardens, seeds being 
quite useless, as they soon lose their germinating power. 
Another interesting plant, with the addition of considerable | 
beauty, is Monochoria vaginalis. It is nearly allied to Ponte- 
devia, of which it has much the aspect, but the leaves are much 
larger. The flowers are blue, collected together in a mass, and 
appear as if growing from the petiole, a leaf above being in 
direct line with the stem. When young it is eaten in India as 
a pot herb, and is used also medicinally for disorders of the 
stomach and liver. It is considered when chewed a remedy 
for toothache. Reana luxurians is a Grass, about which much 
thas been said for its alleged value asa forage plant. It is a 
native of Guatemala, and has been tried in the most favourable 
parts of France without any result to show the ground of its 
reputation. Here it reaches a height of 10 feet or more, and 
has something the appearance of Maize. It is proper to add 
that rightly it is called Euchlena luxurians. Ceratopteris 
thalictroides—the only truly aquatic Fern, and a great rarity 
in collections—is extremely pretty, especially in its fertile 
fronds, which are tripinnate with narrow segments. It has a 
most graceful habit, and but for its succulence would be useful 
for decorative purposes. Like all water plants it is widely dis- 
tributed, growing in all the tropics. It is one of the very few 
annual Ferns, and produces its spores in immense quantities. 
In the herbaceous collection several novelties may be found, 
the most choice for the moment being Meconopsis simplicifolia, 
a Poppy of the Himalayas, hardly suggesting its relationship. 
It has a tuft of narrow undivided leaves resting on the soil, 
from the centre of which arises a single scape bearing a single 
large purple flower. In this particular it differs from other 
species with which we are acquainted, all these having a large 
number of flowers on the same stem. Next in order of rarity 
are Kniphofia sarmentosa and K. Macowani. They are species 
of the genus known to some as “ Red Hot Pokers,”’ justified to 
the greatest extent by the well known K. Uvaria. These are 
much smaller in growth, and when out of flower are orna- 
mental on account of their glaucous leaves. Castilleja indi- 
visa, introduced by Mr. Thompson, is still in flower, or rather 
in bract, these having all the colour and size ; the flowers are 
small and comparatively inconspicuous. 
Passing through the Orchid houses, even at this dull season 
we find much to entertain. Dendrobium cumulatum has 
clusters of flesh-coloured flowers at intervals along the stems, 
and from its similarity to D. mutabile is suggestive of use for 
the same purpose, that of making buttonhole bouquets. Leelia 
Dayana is flowering nicely on a block, Masdevallia is repre- 
sented by M. Veitchii, and Miltonia by M. Clowesii and M. can- 
dida grandiflora. Coming to Cypripedium and Oncidium there 
are several kinds of each. Of the first C. Sedeni is no doubt 
the most choice ; then follow C. concolor—growing in chalky 
loam, and showing that it likes this exception to the usual 
treatment for Cypripedia—C. longifolium, and, as we think it 
should be placed, C. longifolium var. Roezlii. Oncidium 
Krameri is a most beautiful species, and a Butterfly Orchid is 
always of interest. O. tigrinum has a fine pale yellow lip and 
barred segments, O. flexuosum has a number of small pretty 
flowers, and lastly O. triquetrum is curious ; it is one of the 
smallest species, looking best and even attractive when placed 
thickly together on a stem. Its flowers are brown and fre- 
quently present. A native of Jamaica. 
THE ROSE ELECTION. 
WHAT am I to think of the election? Surely it must be 
a mockery to me; for can anything be more mocking than 
to be placed in the election the seventy-first out of seventy- 
two Roses, the penultimate number in this grand election 
being the Rey. John B. M. Camm? Is it any wonder that I 
am wyld? Ilook for comfort at the returns, and I see that 
some kind friend has placed me in the first twelve. Another 
gleam of comfort to be derived by me from the declaration of 
the poll is that Catherine Mermet is in the first twenty-four, 
and that at least is something ; while Gloire de Dijon has 
descended to fifty-nine [it was No. 59 last year], in the forty- 
eight and is not mentioned by a single nurseryman, which is a 
state of things highly consolatory to one who has written to 
this effect for years. 
On this occasion the election, I feel bound to say, that though 
to me it is a mockery, it is neither a delusion nor a snare to 
me or anyone else. It is a most valuable return, and the two 
tables, the seventy-two and forty-eight, furnish us with not only 
a noyel, but a most useful table of reference. As an organ 
builder said to me on completing a large organ, “You will 
find it will take you years to find out all the combinations of 
stops that you can make ;” so it will be many weeks before I 
shall have exhausted all the interesting information which the 
declaration of the poll conveys. The labour of drawing up 
such a return must have been very great, and I, as I think I 
have done on all previous occasions, lose no time in thanking 
Mr. Hinton for the trouble and labour that he has expended 
upon this work. Perhaps Mr. George Paul will show his 
appreciation by naming his next seedling after the returning 
officer; if he does, let us hope that when the election comes 
he will not find his name placed No. 71 in one list and not 
mentioned at all in the other—WYLD SAVAGE, 
PRESERVING FRUIT WHOLE. 
THE art of preserving green fruit in bottles and ripe fruit 
in jars of syrup is well known to all cooks, but unless the 
operation is done very carefully the fruit very often does not 
keep well, being apt to be mouldy and to lose flayour. A 
friend of mine, an Edinburgh nurseryman, who lately stayed. 
with me on his way back from Paris, told me that in the ~ 
Exhibition there his attention was attracted to some preserved. 
fruits in a very perfect state. On making inquiries as to the 
process of preserving he was informed that the price of the 
secret was five francs; on paying this he was told that it was 
accomplished by placing the fruit in a close box or press with 
