3 2 4 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 495. 



Eucryphia is beautiful at Kew now. A bunch of flower- 

 branches of the Spanish Broom, Spartium junceum, served 

 to remind of the glory of this shrub. I lately saw some 

 grand bushes of it at and about the railway station at Tap- 

 low, near Windsor. Indeed, the display made by this 

 plant there is a startling revelation to any one seeing it for 

 the first time. Taplow is the nearest railway station to 

 Dropmore, of conifer fame. 



New Tea Roses were shown by Messrs. \V. Paul & Son, 

 the best of them, to my taste, being a rich crimson well- 

 formed flower named Francis Dubrieul, two equally strik- 

 ing pinks named Madame A. Chatenay and Grand Due 

 de Luxemburg, and a fine white named Empress Alex- 

 andra. The lovely G. Nabonnand received an award of 

 merit. Godetia gloriosa, shown by Dobbie & Co., is a new 

 variety in the way of Lady Godiva, but colored rich crim- 

 son, in effect like Crimson Rambler Rose. Sweet Pea Pink 

 Cupid was shown by Atlee, Burpee & Co., Philadelphia. 



Cacti. — We have now a National Cactus Society, com- 

 posed of cultivators of Cactaceous plants, who are more 

 numerous in England than formerly. The society's annual 

 exhibition was held this week at Westminster, and, although 

 the muster of plants was not large, it was most creditable, 

 the collections generally showing good cultivation. Cacti 

 will stand rough treatment better than most plants, but not 

 without showing it, and careful cultivators who appreciate 

 Cacti keep them well groomed, so that none of their attrac- 

 tions are sacrificed. The difference between a carefully 

 grown plant and a roughly used one of such as Pilocereus 

 senilis, Echinocactus Grussoni, E. Wislizeni, etc., is most 

 marked. Phyllocacti, under the careful cultivation of 

 Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, are very much superior as gar- 

 den plants to what one usually sees. I call attention to 

 this matter because collectors and packers of these plants 

 in the United States, the source of most of them, appear to 

 be careless of bruising them. I have seen collections of 

 them arrive in England in a most deplorable state from this 

 cause. The Secretary of the National Cactus Society is 

 Mr. C. A. Blogg, Brighton Road, Croydon. Messrs. Can- 

 nell & Sons are the only nurserymen who stock a collec- 

 tion of Cacti here. 



Crinum Woodrowi, Baker. — This new species has lately 

 flowered at Kew, whither it was sent a few months ago by 

 Mr. Woodrow, of Poona, Bombay. It has a large ovate, 

 smooth-skinned, brown bulb, without any distinct neck, 

 and broad glaucous leaves not unlike those of Crinum 

 giganteum, and a stout scape two feet high bearing an 

 umbel of about a dozen flowers, which have an erect slen- 

 der greenish tube four inches long and narrow oblanceo- 

 late, pure white segments, elegantly recurved, and of the 

 same length as the tube. The stamens are about half as 

 long as the segments. The bulbs were sent for C. brachy- 

 nema, which is peculiar to the Bombay Presidency, but 

 which is distinct from the new one in its narrower leaves 

 and smaller flowers, and differs from all other Crinums in 

 having stamens no longer than the tube — that is, the 

 flowers are thrum -eyed. It is a handsome garden 

 Crinum. A figure of it will shortly appear in The Botanical 

 3Iagasine. 



Kew Hand-lists. — A list of all the tender Monocotyledons 

 cultivated at Kew is the most recent publication emanating 

 from the Royal Gardens. It includes all except Orchidea?, 

 of which a separate list was published last year, and con- 

 sequently large groups of plants of more or less garden 

 interest are enumerated ; that is, Seitaminese (Gingerworts, 

 Musas, etc.); Bromeliacea?, of which Kew possesses over 

 250 species ; Liliaceae, Amaryllidea? and Irideaa, among 

 which are many of those plants popularly known as Cape 

 bulbs, Aloes, Agaves, etc. ; Palmse, no less than 400 species 

 of this order being in cultivation at Kew ; Aroideas, which 

 are nearly as well represented as the Palms ; Pandanads 

 and Bamboos. So far as cultivated plants are concerned, 

 these Kew Hand-lists are more trustworthy in regard to 

 nomenclature than the Kew Index, the latter great work 

 being an index to the names that have been given to plants 



rather than a critical revision of them, whereas the names 

 used in these lists are in almost all cases those which Kew 

 has decided to adopt. It is intended to eventually accom- 

 plish a complete enumeration of all the plants cultivated at 

 Kew, and this means practically all plants that are capa- 

 ble of cultivation in England both out-of-doors and under 

 ^lass. 



& London. W. Wa/SOtl. 



Cultural Department. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



"""PHIS summer is characterized by a great deal of sunless 

 -l weather, and the rainfall has been several inches above 

 the average. Artificial watering has been unnecessary through- 

 out the season, and the frequent and copious drenchings of the 

 ground and the luxuriant growth of the plants have made it 

 difficult to keep the weeds in check. Hoeing and cultivating 

 of the wet soil has not been possible, and a good deal of hand 

 weeding has been necessary to keep the vegetable-beds clean. 

 When any hoeing is done all weeds should be raked off the 

 same day and wheeled away to the rubbish pile. Some kinds 

 are hard to kill, as Purslane and Chickweed. 



Most vegetables have done well this season, excepting Sweet 

 Corn and Tomatoes. The former has been later than usual in 

 maturing and lacks flavor, and high winds and rains broke 

 down the stalks about the middle of July. Tomatoes thus far 

 have ripened slowly and cracked badly, and those lying on the 

 ground have a poor chance to color at all. The plants trained 

 on trellises or poles need to be looked over once a week and 

 to have surplus laterals and decaying foliage cut away and any 

 leaves which keep the sunlight from reaching the fruit. Good 

 sorts tried this year for the first time are New Imperial, Honor 

 Bright and Autocrat. Plants for family purposes to fruit from 

 November onward are now quite stocky in four-inch pots. At 

 present we grow in the open air, and will do so until the 

 middle of September. A pinch of seed sown now will give 

 ripe fruit early in January. 



All members of the Brassica family are doing finely this sea- 

 son, and no better weather could be wished for them. Late 

 plantings of Savoy Cabbage and Curled Borecole are still 

 seasonable, and both will give nice heads for cutting. Cauli- 

 flowers are benefited by a soaking of guano or cow-manure 

 water after a heavy rainfall ; the ground should be stirred 

 whenever it dries out sufficiently. Squashes are doing 

 specially well. If the ground is heavy and retentive of 

 moisture it is a good plan to lay a piece of slate or a shingle 

 under the fruit ; this may also be done with Melons, which are 

 now setting and swelling an extra-good crop, but need some 

 hot dry weather to ripen them and give them the proper flavor. 

 Eggplants still need constant watching from the the attacks of 

 potato-bugs, and they are greatly benefited by a scattering of 

 chemical fertilizer or a soaking of strong liquid-manure. 

 Onions will soon be sufficiently ripened to pull up and dry ; 

 the hoe is worked through them frequently, and any weeds 

 near the bulbs are carefully picked out by hand. No vege- 

 table better repays extra attention than Onions. To produce 

 the finest bulbs liquid-manure is necessary, and the bulbs of 

 plants treated with it are double the size of those not receiving 

 any fertilizer or manure-water at all. The best bulbs are those 

 of Pnzetaker, Ailsa Craig and Cranston's Excelsior. All these 

 are sound, good-keeping sorts. 



We sow Lettuce until the end of September. Ground 

 vacated by Onions toward the end of the month will give good 

 heads before winter. We find Deacon, New York, Sutton's 

 Cabbage, Salamander and Big Boston excellent varieties for 

 late sowings. To winter in frames we still find nothing better 

 than White Tennis Ball. A last sowing of Endive is also now 

 seasonable ; plants of earlier sowings will need tying up loosely 

 by the tips of the cone-shaped leaves to blanch. Radishes 

 may be sown for several weeks yet, those of the French 

 Breakfast type being preferable. This is a good time to make 

 a late sowing of Purple-top Munich or White Globe Turnip, as 

 well as of Ruta-bagas. About September 1st is as early as we 

 generally sow Prickly Spinach to stand out in winter. 



Celery has reveled in the recent moist weather and is grow- 

 ing luxuriantly. Most of its growth will be made, however, 

 between now and the end of September. The earliest batch 

 is being blanched by means of boards, which is a superior 

 method to earthing up with soil, as is done with the winter 

 supply. Celery is a gross-feeding plant, and after heavy rain- 

 falls a few barrels of liquid-manure water will materially 

 improve the plants. So far we have seen no signs of leaf-rust, 

 but this i? -aore likely to appear when cooler nights with 



