9 o 



FLORA AND SYLVA, 



at such flowers as Earl Grey, Countess Grey, Vis- 

 countess Falmouth, Cecil Rhodes, Betty Berkeley, 

 Viscount, and Viscountess Visconte, and other dainty 

 variations of this hybrid of the Johnstoni group. 



Thirdly, we have what may be called the Engle- 

 heart section of star and poet's Narcissi, viz., those 

 having flattened saucer crowns in place of cups. The 

 essential character of the new Engleheart group is 

 the saucer-shaped crowns lying flat on much the same 

 plane as the perianth segments, the saucers being 

 much broader or wider than they are high or deep. 

 Of these there are now many, some with orange 

 or red edged saucers, and of great merit as cut 

 flowers. Princess Mary gave us an early glimpse of 

 this class, and modern representatives are Queen 

 Alexandra, Gold Eye, Red Knight, Orange Star, 

 Clarissa, Ariadne, Astradente, and others now too 

 numerous to name. 



In addition to the above we have many additions 

 to the red-cup, star, and poet's section, like Will 

 Scarlet, Flambeau, Bullfinch, Firefly, Vermeil, Vivid, 

 Red Disk, Blood Orange, Occident, Caroline Car- 

 ver, etc. These are very beautiful as indoor flowers, 

 but should be cut in the bud stage, as the least blink 

 of hot sunshine on a dry day impairs their beauty. 

 Many of them have, indeed, drooping flowers which 

 shade the coloured coronas ; but even so they are 

 indoor, or exhibition flowers, rather than useful for 

 ordinary forms of decorative gardening. They are, 

 in fact, somewhat like the Lenten roses, and look 

 very much alike when growing, on account of the 

 backs of the flowers only being seen by the casual 

 observer. 



In addition to the above, we have new forms 

 of large star Narcissi of the Sir Watkin type, some 

 white as White Queen, others bicolor like Lady 

 Margaret Boscawen, the sulphur-tinted Hidalgo and 

 Winifred, and self-yellows varying in size, form, and 

 shade of yellow from the type. Some of these large 

 Sir Watkin, or star flowers, have irregularly frilled 

 chalices or saucers, crested on the inside. Of these 

 there were two examples at Edgbaston lately, viz., 

 N. cristata shown by Mr. Pope, and N. Coronation 

 exhibited by Mr. Walton. Mr. R. O. Backhouse, 

 Sutton Court, Hereford, has this season shown seed- 

 lings having a second or basal corona not unlike the 

 catacorolla of some Gloxinias. All these freaks are 

 more curious and interesting to the teratologist than 

 to the gardener; still they show that we are by no 

 means at the end of possiblevariation in the develop- 

 ment of these flowers. The new seedling forms of 

 N. poeticus improve every year and many are very 

 fine in form and colour. 



Lastly, we are obtaining some very notable new 

 double Narcissi, especially in the Peerless section. 

 Apricot Phoenix, as shown at Birmingham on 16th 

 and 17th April, is a very remarkable flower indeed. 

 It is said to be a constant sport from Sulphur Phoe- 

 nix, and has shapely blooms of a soft apricot or buff 

 colour, the colour deepening towards the centre of 

 the flower. Doubloon is another spiky, semi-double, 

 bicolor peerless seedling likely to be useful as a cut 

 flower, and Primrose Peerless, an old Irish variety, 

 distinct in colour, has again appeared in good form 

 from several sources this season. 



F. W. BURBIDGE. 



TREES ON SLOPING GROl 



In some districts landslips are far from uncommon, 

 and in alterations or clearing land in such a country 

 it is best to be careful to keep surfaces likely to be 

 affected in that way planted, so far as may be. Slopes 

 on such ground cleared of trees, and which for ages 

 may have held sound, sometimes slip after the roots 

 of the trees begin to decay. Roads and drives, too, 

 are apt to give trouble if made near such ground. If 

 near a house or road a landslip may be a very great 

 expense. Unplanted land with the same tendency 

 should be planted at the earliest opportunity with 

 Oak, Beech, or Tree Willows, with a few Spruce 

 between them, and as these trees got old and strong 

 they would hold the bank up. I once, unfortunately, 

 took it into my head to cut down some old Oaks 

 which grew on a slope above a public road, one of 



SD LIABLE TO LANDSLIPS. 



those roads that have been there for ages, and, like so 

 many in the southern country, is well cut down into 

 the earth. Soon after the Oaks were cleared and the 

 stout roots which held the bank together had lost 

 their hold, the great bank began to slip down to the 

 road. The cost and labour I underwent to repair the 

 bank I should prefer not to tell of, but I never re- 

 gretted anything more than having disturbed my 

 old Oaks. Difficulties of this sort do not arise so 

 much except in diversified country, of which, how- 

 ever, we have so much. In the parish from which 

 I write I have known several instances of awk- 

 ward slips of this kind, and in one case of a slip near 

 a road endeavours to get over the trouble had to be 

 renewed half-a-dozen times. 



Planter. 



