236 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 275. 



Persian Lilac. — Bushes of varieties of this small-leaved, 

 compact-growing Lilac have been masses of white or pale 

 lilac fragrant tlowers for the past fortnight. The value of 

 shrubs of this character is not generally known, in England 

 at any rate, if one may judge by the amount of attention 

 they receive from visitors at Kew. They are admirable 

 plants for the shrubbery, and they may be used with good 

 effect as isolated specimens on lawns, in small gardens, or 

 to fill a large bed where space can be afforded. 



Rhododenhron Vasevi. — This North American Azalea 

 has flowered most profusely here this year. Among the 

 many varieties of the popular Ghent Azaleas and the various 

 Swamp Honeysuckles from North America, which oc- 

 cupy a large space in the arboretum at Kew, A. Vaseyi 

 has stood out conspicuously, its compact heads of flowers, 

 borne on leafless branches, being rosy when they first ex- 

 pand, changing to white in a day or so, and possessing a 

 charm that has won for it much attention from the thou- 

 sands who have this year visited the Azalea garden at Kew. 

 It is impossible to say too much in admiration of these 

 plants as grown at Kew. They are planted in beds in an 

 open space in oneof the woods, covering at least half an acre; 

 every bush is an irregular mass, from three to six feet high 

 and through, of soft-colored fragrant flowers. Resting 

 on the green turf and surrounded by large trees of Beech, 

 Oak, Lime, etc., with openings here and there to allow of 

 the Azaleas being seen from a distance, the flowering of this 

 collection is considered one of the London horticultural 

 events of the year. The Mollis Azaleas, now called R. 

 sinensis, are distinct from the Ghent Azaleas in color, 

 and generally in the size and shape of the flowers. They 

 are known chiefly as useful pot-plants, but they have 

 a greater value as hardy shrubs, and now that they 

 are being improved and multiplied in variety they are 

 likely to become rivals to the older, better-known Ghent 

 Azaleas. 



SoLANUM cRisPUM, which some one has called the Tree- 

 potato, is a useful, hardy shrub, which grows quickly and 

 flowers freelj% either as a bush or trained against a wall. 

 It is an old garden-plant, but, like many such, is not too 

 well known to be unworthy of a note. Against a wall at 

 Kew it is crowded with pendent bunches of rich blue flow- 

 ers. I have also seen it lately as a standard seven feet high, 

 with long waving shoots wreathed in flowers. In Ireland 

 it is not uncommon in cottagers' gardens, and at railway 

 stations it is used for covering the walls of waiting-rooms, 

 etc. It grows very freely, too freely, in fact, if in rich 

 soil. We find it a good plan to cut out the thick fleshy shoots 

 and encourage only the smaller, twiggier branches, as 

 these flower most freely. It is a native of Chili. 



Drac^na Sanderiana. — As the result of some misunder- 

 standing between Messrs. Linden, of Brussels, and Messrs. 

 F. Sander & Co., of St. Albans, the following particulars of 

 the history of the plant called D. Sanderiana have been 

 sent by Dr. Engler, of Berlin, to the Gardeners' Chronicle 

 for publication : The plant was found by Mr. J. Braun, who 

 in 1888 was sent by the German Government to explore the 

 flora of the German Cameroon boundary in Africa. Braun 

 found a green-leaved plant which was provisionally named 

 D. thalioides, and also one with variegated leaves. These 

 he brought home alive, and they were deposited at the 

 Berlin Botanical Gardens. Mr. Braun afterward obtained 

 permission to dispose of a portion of the plants to a Berlin 

 nurseryman, who afterward sold them to Messrs. F. Sander 

 & Co. Several of the plants were recently obtained from 

 the Berlin Botanical Garden by Messrs. Linden, who exhib- 

 ited them in London last week under the name of D. tha- 

 lioides variegata. Plants were also shown at the same 

 time by Messrs. Sander & Co. With regard to the name I 

 am quite certain that D. Sanderiana is totally distinct from 

 typical D. thalioides of Morren, figured in the Belgique Horti- 

 cole, i860, p. 338, and from its variety Aubryana, figured in 

 the Flore des Serres, t. 2522-3, both of these plants being in 

 cultivation at Kew. It is, of course, impossible to say what 

 D. Sanderiana is until it flowers, but Mr. Baker agrees with 



me that it is either a new species of Dracaena or not a Dra- 

 caena at all. 



RicHARDiA LuTvvYCHEi. — This is described by Mr. N. E. 

 Brown as a new species, which was distributed a few 

 months ago under the name of Pride of the Congo, and 

 was stated to have been imported from the region of Lake 

 Nyanza. I saw the plant described by Mr. Brown, and to 

 me it appeared to be nothing more than a form of R. mela- 

 noleuca, with the spathe a little longer and more convolute 

 at the base than the plant fLguredin the Bolam'ca/ Afag-azme. 

 As a garden-plant it will not bear comparison with R. Pent- 

 landii nor with R. Elliottiana, the size and color of its spathe 

 being similar to those of R. hastata. I have also lately 

 seen R. aurata, described as a hybrid between R. hastata 

 and R. albo-maculata, and said to be identical with R. Pent- 

 landii. It may be a hybrid, but it is no better as a garden- 

 plant than either of the species it is said to be from. We 

 have at Kew plants which came direct from Africa, and 

 which I have good reasons for believing are R. Pentlandii, 



New Plants certificated this week include the following : 

 Ulmus Wreedii aurea, an erect fastigiate variety with small 

 crinkled foliage of a golden hue. It is not unlike what is 

 grown at Kew as U. campestris, van fastigiata aurea. Rho- 

 dodendron Helen Schiffner, a dwarf evergreen variety of 

 the Ponticum type, with medium-sized pure white flowers 

 in compact trusses, said to be a good plant for cultivation 

 in pots. Loelia purpurata Lowiana, a variety with mauve- 

 colored segments and a broad-lobed amethyst-purple hp. 

 It is the deepest-colored variety I have seen. Cattleya 

 Harold, a hybrid between C. Gaskelliana and C. gigas, 

 raised by Mr. Norman Cookson. The sepals are three 

 inches long, the petals very broad and wavy and colored 

 soft mauve-purple, the large lip being deep purple, with 

 darker veins and a yellow throat. Cypripedium Charles 

 Rickman is a hybrid between C. bellatulum and a variety 

 of C. barbatum. It is not unlike the hybrid raised by Sir 

 Trevor Lawrence from C. bellatulum and C. Lawrenciana, 

 and named by him C. Lawrebel. _,_ rrr 



London. yV. WaiSOtl. 



Cultural Department. 



Fertilizers for Small Fruits. 



IN selecting the fertilizers suitable for small fruits the charac- 

 ter of the soil must be taken into account as well as the 

 kind of fruit, so that no formulas of universal application can 

 be made. The effect of highly nitrogenous manures on Straw- 

 berries tends to a vigorous growth of foliage, while phosphoric 

 acid and potash seem to do more toward producing and de- 

 veloping fruit. For this reason stable-manure is considered 

 too stimulating, so that stable and yard manure are chiefly 

 valuable as a mulch for covering the ground and furnishing 

 humus for the soil. Even when used in this way, they are 

 objectionable, because they contain so many seeds of weeds 

 and grasses. I have seen somewhere an analysis of the Straw- 

 berry, in which the ash is said to contain about forty per cent, 

 of potash, sixteen of lime and eleven of phosphoric acid. This 

 high per cent, of potash justifies the American belief that 

 wood-ashes and potash-salts are especially valuable as fer- 

 tilizers for this fruit. They are used largely by the most care- 

 ful and successful growers, and Strawberry-beds have been 

 known to last for years with no other fertilizing than an annual 

 dressing of wood-ashes. A good sample of ground bone 

 should furnish from three to four per cent, of nitrogen and 

 twenty to twenty-five per cent, of phosphoric acid. An appli- 

 cation of 600 to 800 pounds to the acre on good soil ought to 

 furnish enough of these ingredients for the requirements of 

 the plants. If from 400 pounds to 600 pounds of muriate of 

 potash, or the equivalent of this in wood-ashes, is added, food 

 for a splendid crop of fruit will be furnished. 



Ground bone has been considered a particularly good food 

 for the Grape, and experience has proved with me that when 

 potash-salts are liberally added to this, little else is needed. 

 That the same is true of the Peach has been proved by many 

 experiments. It is generally understood that potash gives 

 quality and sweetness to the fruit, and Mr. Hale, the well- 

 known grower, of Connecticut, claims that the high color of his 

 fruit is due to the same source. The greatest success I have 

 achieved has been with these two fertilizers almost exclusively. 



