394 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 397. 



Foreign Correspondence. 



London Letter. 



BY the middle of September we begin to notice the 

 touch of approaching autumn here in the aspect of 

 gardens, and already we see the brightening tints of ripen- 

 ing foliage. To-day I noticed in the Kew Arboretum crim- 

 son and golden hues developing on many trees and shrubs, 

 chiefly those of American origin. The Tupelo is growing 

 ruddy, and the Missouri Currant is a mass of crimson and 

 gold. The Liquidambers, Azaleas and Vacciniums will 

 presently give us a hint of an American autumn, and upon 

 these rich colors planters must rely for effects in country 

 places at a season when the owners are there. Of flowers, 

 too, there is no lack. The abundance of autumn bloom 

 this year is surprising, and no place excels the displays at 

 Kew, where the warm gravelly soil has been greatly ben- 

 efited by the heavy rains of the past month. The most 

 striking features just now are the Japanese Lilies, particu- 

 larly Lilium speciosum and L. auratum. These are planted 

 freely in broad masses which rise out of Rhododendron or 

 other evergreen shrub-growth. The shrubs make a foil for 

 the flowers, and the damp soil required by the shrubs suits 

 the Lilies. The golden-banded Lilies are especially luxu- 

 riant this year. They were grown from bulbs imported 

 direct from Japan, and planted so late as May. The se- 

 lected bulbs represent the variety known as Broad-leaved 

 or Platyphyllum, though they may be only extra-vigorous 

 seedlings of the common L auratum selected with care 

 and cultivated as in the Lily-fields about Yokohama. 

 Whatever the origin of this vigorous form, it should always 

 be obtained, if possible. The rnass of these Lilies at Kew 

 is of even height, and does not exceed three feet. The 

 stems are stout and the leaves broad and strongly ribbed. 

 Each plant carries from one to four flowers nearly a foot 

 across the outspread sepals, which are of thick and firm 

 texture, and withstand stormy weather better than those of 

 the ordinary form. The flowers vary from those heavily 

 spotted and blotched to spotless forms with broad bands of 

 golden-yellow down each sepal. This mass will grow 

 much taller and bear more flowers, but, considering the 

 time it has been planted, the result is remarkable. The soil 

 is a deep peat, mixed with leaf-mold and sand to suit the 

 Rhododendrons among which they are planted, and the 

 position is open and only moderately sheltered. 



The Tea and China Roses are as remarkable as the 

 Lilies. Among the Tea Roses in abundant second bloom 

 are Marie Van Houtte, Perle des Jardins, Madame Berard, 

 The Bride, Comtesse Riza du Pare', Madame de Watteville, 

 Hon. E.Gifford, Marie d'Orleans, Madame Lambard, Madame 

 Hoste, Jean Ducher and Doctor Grill, a dozen first-rate 

 kinds that have proved to be the most satisfactory for Sep- 

 tember bloom about London and southward. The China 

 Roses may well be termed perpetual bloomers, for they 

 have been in continuous flowering since the middle of 

 May, and are now more crowded with flowers than earlier 

 in the season. They may be seen at Kew in large masses 

 fifteen and twenty feet across. They are most effective in 

 masses, as the flowers individually are not showy, com- 

 pared with the Tea and hybrid Perpetual Roses. The best 

 are Camoens, Laurette Messiny, the old Fellenberg, Jean 

 Siseley, Cramoisi-Superieure, White Fairy, and White Pet 

 and Red Pet. The last three are thickly set with buds and 

 will continue to flower for another month. 



At the Royal Horticultural show at Chiswick this week, 

 Messrs. Paul, of Waltham Cross, showed a large collection 

 of Roses that may be relied upon for September and Octo- 

 ber flowering, if frosts are not severe. Besides those already 

 named, their collection included such fine sorts as Mrs. 

 John Laing, one of the best autumn Roses of its color, and 

 the flowers were of as good quality and size as in July ; 

 Countess of Pembroke, another of Bennett's hybrids, and 

 Augustine Guinoisseau, known as the White La France. 

 These three kinds were particularly fine. One of the most 

 beautiful of the miscellaneous sorts was the double White 



Rosa rugosa (Blanc double de Coubert). This is probably 

 the piirest white of all Roses, and there is a massiveness 

 about the large semidouble flowers that makes it effective 

 in contrast with the broad green foliage. The variety of 

 R. rLigosa called America is exciting a good deal of interest ; 

 its large crimson-lake flowers are brighter than the ordinary 

 rugosa, but it does not seem to be very distinct from the 

 original. 



The show was mainly devoted to vegetables, but there 

 were no new ones or any that were specially noteworthy. 

 The floral exhibition was principally of Dahlias, which are 

 the flowers of the season, and the principal cultivators of 

 these flowers seem to have made an effort to surpass one 

 another on this occasion. One collection, from Mr. Ware, 

 of Tottenham, was fifty feet long by five feet deep, and all 

 classes of the flower were represented. The prevailing 

 fashion among Dahlias is for the Cactus-flowered sorts. 

 They comprised two-thirds of the exhibits, and some of the 

 new kinds were certainly beautiful. Nothing can excel in 

 brilliancy the vermilion-scarlet novelty Miss Nightingale, 

 the rich saturn-red of Mrs. Wilson Noble, and the glowing 

 scarlet Miss Annie Jones. The committee considered these 

 all worthy of awards of merit. Among the older yet not 

 common Cactus sorts were the lovely delicata Minnie, pale 

 pink ; Miss Beck, pale orange-scarlet ; Mrs. Francis Fell, 

 white and pale yellow, and Mrs. Charles Turner, the latter 

 the largest Cactus Dahlia I have seen and of a pure chrome- 

 yellow. As a bold vase flower at this season nothing could 

 be finer. There were some good new kinds among Pom- 

 pon and show Dahlias, but nothing striking, and there 

 seemed to be no new kinds in the decorative section. 

 These, though not suitable for the exhibition table, are 

 most effective in gardens if planted in bold masses, since 

 the flowers stand up away from the foliage, unlike the par- 

 tially hidden flowers of the Cactus sorts. The best among 

 the decorative Dahlias is the brilliant scarlet Flambeau, or 

 Glare of the Garden, as it is also called. 



Only a few Orchids were shown, but these were choice 

 and consisted of new hybrids from Messrs. Veitch, the 

 result of the careful work of Mr. Seden. A certificate of 

 the first class was voted to La^lio-Cattleya Clonia superba, 

 a cross between L. elegans Turneri and C. Warscewiczii, 

 which is undoubtedly one of the finest hybrid Orchids yet 

 raised. The flowers are as large as those of C. Warsce- 

 wiczii, with a similarly broad labellum, but of a more in- 

 tense crimson, while the sepals, which stand out firmly, 

 are more in the way of the Leelia, being of a rich rosy-pur- 

 ple, veined with a deeper hue. An award of merit was 

 given to Lselio-Cattleya Eunonia, a cross between C. Gas- 

 kelliana and L. pumila Dayana. It has the dwarf compact 

 grovi'th of the latter parent. The flowers are much larger, 

 with pale rose-pink sepals and an intense crimson lip, with 

 an orange blotch and light-tinted margin. A similar award 

 was voted to I^selio-Cattleya Parysatis, between C. Bow- 

 ringiana and L. pumila. This has also the dwarf growth 

 of L. pumila, vi'ith larger and finer flowers more richly col- 

 ored. La?lio-Cattleya N)'ssa purpurea, between C. Warsce- 

 wiczii and L. crispa, is a beautiful hybrid with flowers 

 larger than the typical L. crispa, and with the same charac- 

 teristic vi'hite frill to the labellum. These four hybrids are 

 the finest group that has been shown at one time by this 

 firm. A very remarkable hybrid Cypripedium was also 

 shown by Messrs. Veitch. It is the result of intercrossing 

 C. Haynaldianum and C. Spicerianum, and has the charac- 

 ters of both parents strongly marked in the flower. The 

 dorsal sepal is that of C. Spicerianum, but the lateral sepals 

 are like those of C. Haynaldianum, while the lower sepals, 

 instead of being joined in the usual way, are separate and 

 stand at an angle between the lateral sepals and the upper' 

 ones. The lip is like that of C. Spicerianum. This singu- 

 lar and beautiful hybrid is named C. Carnusianum (Veitch's 

 variety), and the committee was unanimous in voting it an 

 award of merit. Another hybrid, called C. Melis, between 

 C. Philippinense and C. villosum Boxalli, was not remark- 

 able, as it was too much like the latter parent. 



K=«'- W. Go/dn'fisr. 



