ISO 



Garden and Forest. 



[March 27, 1889. 



Foreign Correspondence. 

 London Letter. 

 "l^rE are getting' tired of double flowers, not long since the 

 ' * acme of perfection with horticulturists. The first ten- 

 dency to doubleness in a flower was hailed with delight, and 

 the monstrosity was coddled and encouraged till a perfect 

 double flower was obtained. Thus came the double Dahlias, 

 the Hollyhocks, and hosts of other things besides. The double 

 Dahlias were discarded for the single-flowered kinds not very 

 long ago, and most people asked how it came to pass that 

 such monsters as the big Dahlia were tolerated. The revul- 

 sion now is against the double Camellias, which very few peo- 

 ple admire. No lady will wear them ; they are worthless for 

 bouquets. In fact, they have had their day. But the single- 

 flowered Camellias are in favor, and are likely to become very 

 popular. The blossoms of C. reticulata are too large to be 

 worn by any one save a cabman at a wedding, but they are 

 grand flowers, nevertheless. The bicolored flowers of C. Doiick- 

 laari 3.ve also handsome. These are, however, large-flowered 

 species. But we have now a race of Camellias, recently intro- 

 duced from Japan, and being rapidly propagated by the nur- 

 serymen here, which are remarkable for their compact habit, 

 small leaves, and small single or semi-double flowers of the 

 most elegant form, and varying in color from white to deep 

 crimson. Probably they are the result of crossing the small- 

 flowered C. Sasanqtia with the larger-flowered race, but, what- 

 ever their origin, they are certain to become popular garden- 

 plants. I do not pretend to any knowledge of the horticultui-al 

 methods of the Japanese save what I have seen in a few plants 

 imported direct from Japan, but these showa lamentable want 

 of neatness and true horticifltural skill. These grafted Camel- 

 lias are a case in point ; nothing could be more primitive, 

 nothing uglier than the manner in which they are grafted. No 

 English horticulturist would tolerate such work. The Japan- 

 ese distort, starve and mutilate their plants to get them into 

 some ridiculous and unnatiu'al shape ; they cannot allow their 

 plants to grow their own way. This may be art, but it is an 

 abomination all the same. Judging of Japanese art in the gar- 

 den from the papers lately published in Garden and Forest, 

 I will say that we want none of that kind of garden-makers in 

 England at any rate. 



None save a Philistine would venture to find fault with 

 double Roses ; at the same time the single-flowered kinds are 

 creeping into favor in many gardens in England. The Rose 

 Conference and Exhibition to be held at Chiswick in July next 

 is expected to bring to the front a great many Roses which at 

 present are known only to a few specialists. This, of course, 

 applies chiefly to species, for which a special appeal is made 

 in the schedule. Many of these are of great beauty and as 

 easy to manage as the Dog Rose, but they are rare in English 

 gardens. Your Cherokee Rose flowered here for the first time, 

 I believe, last year ; and now many growers are wanting it. 

 The handsome, large-flowered R. involucrata, said to be the 

 most tropical of all Roses, was not in cultivation until it was 

 introduced from India to Kew last year, where it flowered out- 

 of-doors in autumn. The flowers are white, and very fra- 

 grant. Probably this species will prove hardy in the south of 

 England. Seeds of the new R. gigantea have also been 

 received at Kew, and the pretty little R. miniitifolia, figured in 

 Garden and Forest last year, is represented by young plants 

 raised from seeds supplied by an Italian nurseryman. The 

 seeds distributed by Vilmorin & Co. at a franc each all failed. 

 The remarkable Afghan species, R. siiuplicifolia, is in vigor- 

 ous health here, but it does not flower; on the other hand, the 

 hybrid, R. Hardyi, raised from the last-named and R. laxa, 

 flowers frequenUy. It is one of the most beautiful of all single 

 Roses ; it has large yellow petals, cup-like in arrangement, 

 with a blotch of crimson in the base, suggestive of tlie Gum 

 Cistus flowers. R. simplicifolia would probably do better with 

 you than in England, as it does not like our damp, dull win- 

 ters. Does any one know of the existence of the single R. 

 anemonccfolia ? We have the double red and double white, as 

 introduced l)y Fortune, but the single-flowered form is not 

 known here. As it is Japanese, some of your readers who in- 

 troduce plants direct from Japan may know something about 

 it. The single-flowered Banksian is almost as rare. The 

 white and the yellow double-flowered varieties of this grand 

 Rose are plentiful enough, but we did not know of the exist- 

 ence in gardens of the single-flowered form until it was found 

 last year in the garden of Mr. Hanbury at Mentone. Our 

 knowledge of Roses will no doubt be greatly improved by this 

 forthcoming conference. 



The death_ of Mr. J. T. Peacock, of Hammersmith, has 

 robbed English horticulture of one of the most remarkable 



of its patrons. Many years ago Mr. Peacock was famed for 

 his rich collection of succulent plants, a collection which 

 in point of number of species was surpassed only by that at 

 Kew. He paid very high prices for large specimens of 

 Echinocactus, Cereus, etc., and whenever any of these arrived 

 or flowered he threw his garden open to visitors. These 

 large plants always perished in a short time after their arrival 

 in England. Mr. Peacock's collection of succulents grew so 

 large that he could afford to loan great numbers of them to 

 the Crystal Palace, the Royal Horticultural Society and other 

 large public gardens. Latterly he tin^ned his attention to 

 Orciiids, and before his death he possessed one of the richest 

 collections in the neighborhood of London. The whole col- 

 lection of Orchids and succulents is to be sold by auction. It 

 is remarkable that so many large private collections of 

 Orchids are distributed by the auctioneer annually. Last 

 year, within about three months, no less than six large collec- 

 tions of Orchids were sold by auction in London. This year 

 already five large collections have been placed in the auction- 

 eers' hands. Orchids are costly playthings, no doubt, and 

 although some amateurs have occasion to regret ever having 

 had anything to do with them, others are lucky and get most 

 of their outlay back. There must be an enormous number 

 of new growers to make a demand for all these plants; besides 

 these, tlie importations which are ever on the increase. The 

 last big arrival was three thousand fine plants of the new 

 Cypripediicni Roilischildianuin, which were sold here on 

 Thursday last. Those who bought and paid dearly for the 

 few sold last year will have occasion to regret their {pur- 

 chases now. There is a good deal of lotteiy in the Orchid 

 trade; much more than in any other branch of horticulture. 

 There is a marked increase in the number of growers in 

 France, Germany and Belgium, and I am told that in America 

 Orchids are almost as popular as in England. 



The directions given in Garden and Forest, on February 

 I3tli, for the management of greeh-house plants makes us 

 here envious of the weather which enables you to syringe 

 green-house plants twice a day in winter, and makes it neces- 

 sary for you to use shading. Here we do not get sim enough 

 for Ferns, even, and no one would think of using shading in 

 February, or even in March, for any plant save filmy Ferns. 

 The losses caused by the bad light, fogs and changeab'te 

 weather here are often heart-breaking. English horticifltur- 

 ists would be glad to get some of that suiflight in P'ebruary 

 which is over-abundant with you. For early forcing yoiu" 

 bright sunlight in winter must give you an inmiense advan- 

 tage. For the last fortnight the weather here has been dull 

 and snowy, with a cold north-east wind blowing, and scarcely 

 any sunshine. Plants outside have been nipped by frost, or 

 they have crept back into their winter shells. In-door plants 

 are suffering from fire-heat and want of light. In the coun- 

 try matters are not cpiite so bad, and I speak only of what is 

 experienced by horticulturists in the neighborhood of London. 



Kew. ^- Watson. 



Cultural Department. 

 Asparagus for the Home Garden. 



T N boyhood I was accustomed every spring to wander along 

 ■'■ " high-water mark" on the shore of the Chesapeake and 

 gather the brittle stems of the wild Asparagus, which grows 

 there in the greatest abundance. No knife was needed, for 

 the stems snapped off at the lowest point where they were tender. 

 All that was gathered was therefore eatable. This wild Aspara- 

 gus was never as large as the highly-fed stems from the market 

 gardens, but one who has become accustomed to its use will 

 always take it in preference to the cultivated sorts.. My early 

 experience with this sa\'ory plant intensified my distaste of the 

 first market asparagus I ate, which was white, and worthless as 

 an article of food. Argenteuil Asparagus is celebrated as un- 

 surpassed, and some authorities assert that Asparagus, to be 

 good, must be bleached, but if the canned French Asparagus 

 is a fair sample of the bleached product, it is only sophisticated 

 palates which prefer the stringy white stalks to the tender green 

 stems which have developed above ground. 



To make an asparagus bed for home use there is no need to 

 buy roots, which in many cases will come to you in a mouldy 

 and worthless condition. Asparagus is a wonderfully hardy 

 plant and will stand any amount of rough treatment, but noth- 

 ing so quickly moulds in damp packing as the roots do, and 

 many nurserymen will pack them with wet moss and in this 

 way insure their destruction. In making an asparagus bed, 

 remember that it is to last many years. It will therefore pay 

 to prepare the soil very thoroughly. If your garden is of heavy 

 clay it will pay you to use an abundant dressing of sand. If the 



