462 



Garden and Forest. 



fSEPl'EMBER 25, 1889. 



Foreign Correspondence. 

 London Letter. 



AT last we have bright sunshine and summer warmth 

 again, and, in consequence, autumn Hovvers of all kinds 

 iiave come out amazingly durmg the past week or so. Owing 

 to this the last August exhibition at the Royal Horticultural 

 Society's meeting was exceptionally large and interesting. It 

 was remarkable, also, for the large number of novelties sub- 

 mitted, and no fewer than two dozen certificates were 

 awarded. The chief feature of the meeting was a magnifi- 

 cent collection of Gandavensis Gladioli from the celebrated 

 nurseries at Langport, which is undoubtedly the headquarters 

 in Europe for these splendid flowers. There were about two 

 hundred spikes shown, representing all the colors through 

 which the Gladiolus ranges, and every spike was massive and 

 set with large flowers of faultless shape. In some instances I 

 measured spikes fully eigiiteen inches long-, with only two or 

 three unexpanded Ijuds. But, unhappily, Messrs. Kelway's 

 splendid success is not a reflex of Gladiolus-culture through- 

 out the country. Failure in fact is more common than suc- 

 cess, and no one can deny that the highly-bred Gladioli of the 

 Gandavensis race are delicate in constitution, requiring excep- 

 tional treatment and favorable conditions of soil and climate. 

 Though I have seen them grown in private gardens as 

 fine as the Langport specimens, the prevalent complaint is 

 that they are disappointing. But a new era in the culture of 

 this flower is at hand, and in a few years success will be 

 more frequent, and this will be brought about by the inter- 

 mixture of hardier blood with these delicate strains. M. 

 Lemoine's recent triumphs with the Purpureo-auratus race 

 have convinced Messrs. Kelway at last of the importance of 

 these new hybrids, for they have begun to raise them at 

 Langport, and at this exhibition they showed us one fine 

 exainple, at least, of their work. This variety is one called 

 Leonard Kelway, in which we see the characteristic features 

 of Gandavensis, the large spike and open flower combined 

 with the growth and habit of G. purpureo-auratus. It is of 

 wonderfully rich color, some of the petals being a deep 

 maroon-crimson, others rose-pink brightening to scarlet. 

 Now that Messrs. Kelway have made a fair start, we hope to 

 see next season numerous new hybrids of the same stamp, 

 which will be most welcome. They showed a large number 

 of new sorts of the ordinary Gandavensis type, but as they 

 reached perfection witfi these years ago, one cannot appre- 

 ciate the difference between the old and the new ; now and 

 then there is a distinct "break "in color, but neither of the 

 two certificated were exceptional in this respect. They were 

 called Duke of Fife, a brilliant crimson, flaked with white, and 

 Vulso, a pale salmon-pink with white centre. In both, the 

 llowers were quite up to the florist's standard, and the spike 

 was long and massive. 



Turning from the Gladioli to the Dahlias we find novelties 

 in every section, but in most cases it is a difficult matter to 

 intelligently describe how they differ from old sorts, especially 

 in the large, double, show kinds. There was a large collec- 

 tion of these from the famous raisers, Keynes & Co., of Salis- 

 bury, and four were selected as worthy of awards of merit. 

 These were Crimson Globe, brilliant crimson— almost scarlet ; 

 Reliance, yellow-buff, flaked and tipped with crimson ; John 

 Hickling, a warm yellow, and Alice Emily, orange-yellow 

 marked with carnation-red. All these were, of course, the 

 acme of size and form. Among the Cactus section, which 

 seems to be now more popular than any other, there were 

 some very beautiful new sorts, and one named Panthea, a 

 large spreading flower of a vivid flame color, won an 

 award. The others that pleased me much were Asia, a deli- 

 cate blush-pink ; Empress of India, maroon-crimson ; Lady 

 Marsham, cherry-crimson ; H. Patrick, the best white Cactus ; 

 Honoria, the best yellow ; Mrs. Hawkins, yellow, flushed with 

 pink, and Amphion, buft' and reddish-brown. Tlie only sin- 

 gle sort certificated was named F. L. Temple, in compliment 

 to an American nurseryman now travelling in England. His 

 namesake is like the old Paragon, the best of the earliest 

 sorts, but larger, and the deep maroon and crimson edges 

 seem brighter. It was shown by Mr. Ware, of Tottenham. 



Among othercertificated plants were three goodOrchids, two 

 of which were varieties of the popular Lcelia elegans which 

 flowers at this season. One variety'was from the Duke of 

 Marlborough, at Blenheim, and was named The Duchess. 

 It is very distinct from the ordinary form, and beautiful, the 

 sepals and petals being rosy-piu-ple, and the broad, middle lolie 

 , of the labcllum rich crimson, faeling to almost white, while 

 the lateral lobes are quite white. Another form called Cook's 



variet\- is at once recognized by the sm&ller flowers, their sym- 

 metrical shape, and the brilliant crimson hue of the labellum. 

 These two were the best of a number of varieties of this Lcelia 

 exhibited, which exemplified clearly what a wide range of vari- 

 fition exists in the cultivated forms of this beautiful Orchid. 

 The other certificated Orchid was the old Angrcecinii Chaillii- 

 anum, disco\'ered thirty years ago b}- the great African explorer 

 Du Chaillu. It is still rare, and by certificating it thecomnfittee 

 stamp it as a good Orchid. It is small in growth, and produces 

 a longspike of greenish-white flowers with long narrow sepals 

 and attenuated spurs. Messrs Veitch showed, for the first time, 

 a new species of Phajus from the Philippines, which has been 

 named at Kew P. Philippensis. It is interesting, but not a 

 striking beauty, the flowers being small and poor in color. 

 Some fine examples of Satyrium (Terrestrial Orchids from 

 South Africa) attracted notice, as they are so seldom seen in 

 a flourishing, much less flowering, state. 6". carneuvi has a 

 dense spike of pink flowers, and S. aurantiancm has flowers 

 of a rich orange-yellow. 



A beautiful old half-hardy bulb from the Cape, known as 

 Watsonia rosea, was certificated because of its value as a garden 

 plant. It has Gladiolus-like growth, and a tall and slender 

 spike, thickly set with open flowers of a clear rose-pink color. 

 Mr. Ware exhibited it in splendid condition, showing what a 

 fine plant it is when well grown. Mr. B. S. Williams was 

 awarded a certificate for a new species of Carludovica belong- 

 ing to the Cyclanthacese, and allied to the Palms, which they 

 resemble. This new species is C. paliiicefolia, and is of grace- 

 ful growth, with tall recurving fan-like leaves. It will make a 

 first rate decorative plant. A new Sarracenia, named 6". decora, 

 was shown by Messrs. Veitch. It is a hybrid between S. vario- 

 laris and S. psitlacina, and has curved pitchers -about six 

 inches high, richly colored with deep red, and variegated with 

 white and green veins. Another form of Pteris serrulata, with 

 crested fronds, called Densa, was shown by the market Fern 

 grower Mr. May. It is very dense and conipact in growth, and 

 as crested as curled Parsley. The committee did not hesitate 

 m awarding a first-class cerdficate to it. The same grower 

 won a certificate for a new Bouvardia called Double Hogarth. 

 It is precisely like the single Hogarth in color and growth, and 

 the flowers are very double. Another was shown, but it was 

 inferior to President Cleveland. Mr. Ware won an award for 

 a pale straw-colored variety of the Iceland Poppy {Papaver 

 nudicaule). It is called Sulphureum, which appropriately 

 describes its color. The only new early Chrysanthemum was 

 a shoot from the yellow Precocite with flowers of a deep bronzy- 

 yellow. It is called Maud Pitcher, and being dwarf and com- 

 pact in growth, and a free flowerer, is regarded as a good thing-, 

 and therefore was certificated. From a large number of vari- 

 efies of Java Rhododendrons, from Messrs. Veitch, the com- 

 mittee selected for an awai'd one called Ophelia, a lovely variety, 

 with large flowers of perfect shape, and of a pale clear pink 

 color. The importance of these beautiful green-house shrubs 

 is being fully recognized now, and people have found out that 

 they are among the most reliable plants for yielding an 

 almost perpetual supply of the loveliest flowers one could wish, 

 and, no doubt, their popularity will spread to American gardens. 

 There was a large gathering of hardy ornamental trees and 

 shrubs, but the only novelty was a golden tinted variety of 

 the old Taxus adpressa. It came from the Handsworth nur- 

 series under the name of Variegata. It is decidedly golden, 

 and I can imagine what a big spreading tree of it will look like 

 in future. It is a first-class novelty, and the committee, by 

 awarding it a certificate, showed that this was their opinion of 

 it. The new Clen-iatis, Baron Veillard, was again shown, and 

 though a freely-flowered specimen was shown, the committee 

 did not seem to appreciate the color, which is- a purplish- 

 n-iauve, hardly bright enough for a Clematis. 



London. ' " J_ W. Gflldriiig. 



Cultural Department. 



Fertilizers for Ornamental Plants. 



T N floriculture, the appHcation of fertilizers may be made 

 ^ with three purposes in view : (i) effect on bloom ; (2) 

 effect on foliage ; (3,1 effect on seed, bulb or other parts for 

 propagation. The first and third purposes generally go hand in 

 liand, and, if -we secure the first, as a rule the other is attained. 

 Much space in the agricultural and horticultural journals is 

 devoted to the recommendation of a plenteous applicadon of 

 manures to plants, but rarely do we find any testiniony from 

 experience except in the riiost general way. The past winter 

 and spring I had under test in the university green-house some 

 interesting work with manure for the purpose of ascertaining. 



