402 



JOUENAIi OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ June 8, 1S71. 



ards, at the Society's OiSces, Sontli Kensington, as in default of the 

 receipt of this docnment delay has already in some cases taten place 

 in the delivery of perishable objects sent for exhibition. 10. In ail 

 . other respects, and in so far as they apply, foreigners will be gnided by 

 the general regulations of the Society's Exhibitions, as printed in the 

 schedules. 



Messes. Ja^ies Caeteb & Co. liberally offer upwards of 



£100 ID prizes for Specuiex Boots of ilangel, Swedes, Kchi 

 Bdbi, Turnip, &c., grown from seed supplied by them, and 

 will be glad to give any further information that may be desired 

 by intending competitors. The roots will be judged on the 

 premises, at 237, High Holbom, by practical farmers, on Pxiday, 

 November 24ih, and the prize roots will be on view at Messrs. 

 Carter's stand in the north gallery at the annual Smitblieid 

 Club Show in December. 



Maeeet Gaedentsg i>> Cobswaix. — Every year the 



number of acres cultivated in West Cornwall for the supply of 

 the London market is increasing, and now a very large extent 

 of ground is thus devoted. Three trucfes of fine Strawberries 

 have been forwarded this week, and during the twelve months 

 ended on the 27th of May last about 8800 tons of Broccoli and 

 above 3000 tons of Potatoes were despatched by rail, principally 

 to the metropolis. In the immediate neighbourhood of Gulval, 

 near Penzance, twsnty-iive acres are covered by Gooseberry 

 bushes. The cultivation of Scrawberi-iea is being very con- 

 siderably increased. 



THE GAYEST OF AMEEICAN WILD FLOWERS. 



I A2I going to write an account of the members of the American 

 flora wliich are famous for beantj and fit for British gardens. At 

 the present time, when herbaceous and alpine plants are fast becoming 

 fashionable, and the ordinary system of bedding is living up part of 

 the prominent position it held a few years ago, I feel sure that any 

 information regarding the fresh candidates for admiration will be wel- 

 come to many. 3Iy remarks will all be the result of observations 

 tafeen amidst the living realities just as these occur in their native 

 haunts. It may take a long time for me to accomplish this under- 

 talring, hut if I am spared I shall proceed steadily until my task is 

 finished, and always endeavour to do my work faithfully. 



In Xentucty, one of the earliest of the iiowers of spring is Claytonia 

 ■virginica, or Spring-beauty, or Glad-tidings. It may be in England 

 or Scotland, but I never saw it there ; and yet it should be grown 

 everywhere, for it is one of the most perfect little gems imaginable. 

 No spot comes amiss to it, and it is the Daisy of this region. Woods, 

 in which the soil is a rich deep loam, f ornish all it desireS; bat it is not 

 in the least afraid to take the open pastures where the soil is as hard 

 as a road, and it is quite plentiful on cultivated ground. Claytonia 

 perfoliata and Claytonia sibirica are common in European gardens, 

 but they have the misfortune to be annuals. This species has the 

 great advantage of being perennial ; and the conn which enables it to 

 be so is sometimes buried 2 inches underground. The leaves are i 

 linear-lanceolate, and have a good deal of succulency about them. A ; 

 specimen which is 5 inches above the ground may be considered rather ; 

 more than the average size. The stem bears at its apex a consider- 

 able raceme of flowers, and a little way down are a couple of opposite 

 leaves. The corolla is about as large as that of an ordinary scarlet 

 Pelargonium, and the petals are very neat and spreading, white, or 

 between white and a delicate pink, with a little yeUow near the base. 

 The veins of the petals are rose-coloured, and then the blossoms 

 glisten when the sunlight plays upon them. The anthers are of a rich 

 red tint. I cannot describe the charm which fbiR little plant gives to 

 the places in which it abounds. 



By the side of the preceding grows Viola cncuUata, and it, too, is at 

 its gayest late in ilarch or early in April. This is none of your modest 

 Violets retiring and hiding in the shade, and the sun shines on no 

 brighter or richer blue than that of the corolla of this plant. Out in 

 the meadows, amongst the pure green young leaves of Poa pratensis, 

 this has no peer at this time of year. In my efforts after the applica- 

 tion of generalisations, I remember how I used to spoil this lovely 

 plant when I had charge of it at Kew. Along with many more 

 requiring the same sort of treatment as this, I put it beneath the dark 

 shadow of an ugly screen, and indulged in a lot of other foolishnesses, 

 Buch as putting many little stones about its roots. This last, however, 

 ■wa'^ performed at the bidding of another. I am going to be very candid 

 an-l rell mv mistakes, feeling certain that this, is the best way to put 

 others on their guard. 



Martinsia virginica. — It is now early in April, and this plant is at 

 the zenith of its beauty. Oft*n, as I wander along through the woods 

 in which it is found, I wish that some of my friends in Britain — eht 

 lorer of herbaceous plants, like Mr. Niven, of Hull, or Mr. Sutherland 

 — could be with me to enjoy so rich a treat as that which is afforded 

 by a quantity of this in full flower. I have referred to it as a forest 

 plant, but I may. add that it stands exposure well. I got ample proof 

 of this the other day. In a little garden in the vicinity of Lexington 

 I saw a bed of it in fall bloom, as healthy as could be, and quite open 

 to the son daring the whole day. And this ia not by any means a 



small plant. It rises 2 feet above the ground, and is, therefore, when 

 othfir things are taken into account, admirably adapted for a mixed 

 border, and would look glorious anywhere. I am not certain that it 

 would care about much shifting — a practice I have heard landed with- 

 out stint. The leaves have all the delicacy of tint of Funkia grandi- 

 flora, and they are quite as large as those of that plant. The stem, 

 bearing at its summit the raceme of flowers, has foliage all the way up. 

 I feel certain that I cannot do anything like justice to the corolla. It 

 is about 1 inch long, and comparatively narrow for the greater part of 

 its length ; it widens towards the mouth, and ultimately becomes a 

 quarter of an inch across, and cup-shaped, whilst throughout it is 

 almost transparent, and of an exquisite blue or pink colour. In con- 

 clusion, I believe that this must be a scarce plant in England, and it 

 was not in Kew Gardens in 1S70. I need hardly add that, being a 

 native of Kentucky, it is certain to be quite hardy in any part of Great 

 Britain. 



When Viola cncullata begins to decline, Viola striata starts to ex- 

 pand its cream-coloured blossoms. The stem of the former species 

 never rises above the ground, but it is otherwise with the stem of this 

 one. Though not so gay, nor yet so capable of producing a large 

 quantity of flowers as the earlier kind already referred to, still it well 

 deserves attention wherever a pleasing variety is maintained by means 

 of well-marked species. In short, no lover of good hardy herbaceous 

 plants can afford to be without this. The same may be said of Viola 

 pubeseens, which is produced sparingly hereabouts, and may be known 

 immediately from any other American Viola by its yellow corolla, re- 

 minding one of a small form of Viola lutea. The two species now 

 under consideration have not yet been found by me out of woods in 

 which the soil is a rich loam, as deep as you like, and without a stone. 

 One evening, early in April, I went out on a short botanical excur- 

 sion, and was rewarded by finding any quantity of Trillium sessile, and 

 a considerable amount of Phlox divaricata, and both in fuU blosiom,. 

 and growing in a wood without mu^-h shade ; although I have observed 

 that the vitality was by far the greatest where protection most abounded^ 

 and indeed I have not been able to meet with these plants on cleared 

 lands. 



Trilliam sessile, like all the members of the curious and heantiful 

 genus to which it belongs, has first three leaves in a whorl, then three 

 sepals, next three pistils, afterwards come six stameEs, and finally three 

 carpels forming the pistil. The flowers, the leaves, the sepals, and 

 the petals of this species are all sessile ; and hence the trivial name is 

 sound, inasmuch as it is descriptive. The leaves of this, in addition 

 to being sessile, are ovate, and very often marked with large black 

 spots, such as occur on Arum maculatum. The petals grow erect, or 

 nearly so, are lanceolate, about an inch long and of a dark purplish 

 colour, and this last is also true of the inner side of the sepals, the 

 outer side of these being nearly green. The specimens which I saw 

 were never above 7 inches high. 



Well deserving of every attention as Trillium sessile is, it is not 

 nearly so lovely a plant as Phlox divaricata. This was a great favourite 

 with me, even when I knew it endeavouring to grow in a pot half full 

 of drainage, and having the soil dried off in the winter time. It is, 

 however, an undeniable fact, that to be admired as it deserves, it 

 should be seen springing freely and faultless from its native soil, and 

 surrounded by, and mixed with, its appropriate associates. What a 

 gem this would make for a rockwork ! It should have a nook into 

 which the extremely intense rays of the mid-day sun never go, and it 

 could hardly fail to do admirably if set out in a plantation, and cared 

 for until it took root. It is not a tall plant, as I have not observed 

 any above 1 foot high. It may be known from any other perennial 

 American Phlox by the corolla, the lobes of which are notched at the 

 end, and by the leaves being remote. The corolla is of a pale lilac or 

 bluish purple colour, and about as large as that of the common Texan 

 annualPhloxDrummondi. — John: Dttscmu, J^exitifftoiij Ketituchff II.S^ 

 (in The Gardener). 



DINNER AN-D PRESENTATION to MR. THOMSON, 

 DALKEITH GARDENS. 



On the 31st of May a complimentary dinner was given to Mr. W. 

 Thomson, on the occasion of his leaving Dalkeith Gardens to superin- 

 tend his extensive vineyards on Tweedside, and a presentation was- 

 made to him of two hundred sovereigns, and a handsome service of 

 silver plate, richly chased, and bearing Mr. Thomson's initials. The 

 silver plate bore the following inscription : — 



" Presented, along with a purse of two hundred sovereigns, to Wm. 

 Thnmson, Esq., on the occasion of his leaving Dalkeith Gardens to 

 superintend his extensive vineyards on Tweedside, by a number of 

 attftched friends ia Scotland. England, and Ireland, to mark the high 

 regard in which they hold him — on personal, professional, and pubUc 

 grounds ; and the warm wishes they entertain for his future success and 

 happiness. May 31, 1S71." 



The meeting was held in Waterloo Hotel. Mr. Alexander Mitchell, 

 Dalkeith, occupied the chair. 



The Chairman, after giving the usual loyal and patriotic toasts, and 

 the healths of the Duke and Duchess of Baccleuch, then said — I come 

 now to the toast of the evening — the health of our esteemed and re- 

 spected guest. The propriety of the coarse we are now taking need 

 scarcely be pointed out, for I have met with no one to whom this very 

 course did not suggest itself the moment Mr. Thomson's purpose 



