:may 



iSSS.] 



Garden and P'orest. 



I r 



garden room. Oleanders, Rhododendrons, Figs, Azaleas 

 and Bamboos, grown in tubs, are to be set upon the terrace 

 in summer. They are to be kept in a cold pit during the 

 winter. 



The service garden (gff, Fig. 2) will have a slope of one to 

 five inclining to the south. It is intended only for such suji- 

 plies to the house as cannot always be obtained in the public 

 market in the tresh condition desirable, and is divided as fol- 

 lows : 



g' I . Roses and other plants to provide cut flowers and foliage 

 for interior house decoration ; 



_§" 2. Small fruits ; 



j^-3. Radishes, salad plants. Asparagus, Peas, etc.; 



a- 4. Mint, Parsley, Sage, and other flavoring and garnishing 

 plants for the kitchen , 



£ 5. Cold-frame, wintering-pit, hot-beds, compost-bin, ma- 

 nure-tank, garden-shed and tool-closet. 



Bkookline, Mass., J4th April, 1888. Fred' k Law OhnslfJ. 



forces well even earlier than the present date, and I im- 

 agine that it would be invaluable for market Iforists. It is 

 one of the Rosa polyanSha hybrids of which Ma Parqueritte 

 and Anna Maria Montravel are other beautiftd examples. 



Among other noteworthy flowers were the new Ciner- 

 arias, shown by Mr. James, who for several years past 

 has made the improvement of this flower the study of his 

 life. He has changed starry flowers into perfectly circular 

 flowers with overlapping florets, besides impressing into 

 his "strain " new self-tints, and combinations of tints, in 

 zones and stripes. Some critics hold that the improved 

 Cineraria has lost the elegance and beauty of the old- 

 fashioned Cineraria in the severely symmetrical flower. But 

 the balance of opinion among florists is in their favor, and 

 this strain of seeds ahva)^s commands the highest prices, 



which 



fair test of 



Foreign Correspondence. 



London Letter. 



With the equino.x: our spring flower shows begin, the most 

 important being that of the aristocratic Royal BotanicSociety, 

 Regents Park, on the 21st of March. This conservative 

 body never dreams of innovation, never tolerates a change 

 in the prize schedule, so that the masses of Hyacinths and 

 Tulips, Azaleas and Cyclamens, repeat themselves at each 

 spring exhibition. Nevertheles.s, hither throng crowds ot 

 ShQ elite of London society. Forced Roses made an interest- 

 ing feature, and none of the sorts shown seemed to win so 

 many admirers as the new Lady Alice, which was even 

 finer here than at South Kensington, and the judges awarded 

 it a certificate of merit. The pretty little Mignonette Rose, 

 with clusters of button-like rosettes of pale pink, was a 

 much admired flower. It is extremely floriferous and 



popular favor. The very finest 

 \'arieties are named, and, of 

 course, are propagated from cut- 

 tings, though in some cases the 

 sorts are perpetuated true from 

 seed. There was a large gather- 

 ing of tliese flowers on exhibition, 

 and of the three sorts certificated 

 the finest was a pure white \\\\\\ 

 p u r p 1 e centre, named Maria. 

 Another, named Irene, had the 

 colors purplish violet, carmine 

 and white arranged in zones, and 

 a third, named Favorite, rich car- 

 mine and white. If one could 

 ]5lace one of these plants beside 

 the original Cineraria cruenia of 

 the Canary Islands, from which 

 this garden race has descended, 

 lie could better appreciate the 

 enormous strides that have been 

 made in the improvement of the 

 flower. The pure C. crueiila, from 

 seed gathered in the Canaries, is 

 in bloom just now in Kew Gar- 

 dens, and the contrast of the flor- 

 ist's strain v\'ith it is remarkable. 



One would think that a special 

 feature would be made of forced 

 shrubs at these early spring shows, 

 but with the exception of a fine 

 mass of forced white Lilac from a 

 market florist, the old Dentzia gra- 

 cilis, andafew specimensof Labur- 

 num, and other shrubs, there was 

 nothing remarkable in this way. 

 The forced Lilacs were the ad- 

 miration of every one, the plants 

 lieingso fine and thickly hung with 

 large dense clusters of pure white 

 bloom. They came from Mr. 

 Dorst, of Richmond, one of the 

 market florists whose success in 

 forcing Lilac is now well kiKjwn. He is, in fact, one of the 

 few florists who have proved that Lilacs can be forced profit- 

 ably. Ever since October last he has sent almost daily 

 supplies to Covent Garden. His flowers always look 

 fresher than the imported bloom from France, and conse- 

 quently fetch a higher ]3rice. The best variety he uses 

 is Charles X., which in the ordinary flower season is pur- 

 ple, but when forced in the dark is pure white. Enormous 

 quantities of Lilac plants are grown by this florist, and all 

 are subjected to preparatory treatment in pots a year or so 

 before wanted for forcing, so as to get them well rooted and 

 with strong, well ripened wood. The bushes are pruned 

 severely, leaving only the strongest growths, and then are 

 gradually introduced into heat "in batches, from October 

 onwards. The forced supply lasts till past Easter, when 

 it is in much demand. W. 



FIGUREE. 



SCALE 



10 20 30 



Goldring. 



Li>ndon, March 22d, 18 



